Chapter 149 A Branch in the Nest Forest (12)
After the ceremony, a huge bonfire was left for them to celebrate and jump around. The locals were unusually friendly, and the students of Cornunos also joined in. They gathered in circles of different sizes on the beach, making a lively and noisy scene.
Several boys rushed over and surrounded You An, who had taken off his mask, clamoring for him to dance again. He chuckled and ran around the fire, chasing each other as if he had inexhaustible energy.
Completely disoriented, he slumped back against the fire and struck up a conversation with Eric and Linlu, who were whispering to each other: "By the way, I saw her standing over there all alone... should we call her over to warm herself by the fire?"
Linlu knew his purpose without even looking, and mocked him listlessly: "Shu Ningmiao, Shu Ningmiao, all you ever think about is Shu Ningmiao."
"I was just checking up on things," You An wrinkled her nose. "Hey, I just saw her over there, where did she go?"
"It seems she's gone." Erice, already used to it, poked the fire in front of her listlessly with a twig. "Are you looking for her?"
"Are you going to confess to her? The atmosphere is so nice, with the sea and the campfire." Linlu only dared to tease her after seeing that Shu Ning was no longer there: "You've been wanting to take advantage of this situation for a long time, haven't you?"
You An was stunned, her cheeks quickly burning hot: "What did you say!"
"Why are you looking at me? Anyone with eyes can see that." Linlu glanced at him. "Although it's not nice to say it like this, she... doesn't she not have a boyfriend right now?"
Everyone knew the truth. Although the Shi family was gone, no one dared to bring up Shi Yu out of consideration for Shu Ningmiao; they could only speak vaguely about it.
No.
You An blushed slightly, took a deep breath, and all her shyness disappeared: "This is my own business, I don't need to tell her, I... don't want to bother her."
He clenched his fists, his palms sweating.
It's been like this ever since he met her; he can never understand what Shu Ningmiao is thinking or what she wants.
If you ask him why he likes her, he could come up with thousands of reasons, but those are her strengths, not his reasons. He doesn't have any reason to like her; he just couldn't take his eyes off her the first time he saw her, and everything she does after that is good.
After the Shi family's misfortune, she would occasionally reveal subtle, hidden expressions. Realizing this, he had lost all his courage.
What was she thinking? Whether he said it or not didn't seem to affect her attitude. You An grinned and repeated, "That's enough."
His fondness for it also made him very happy.
The wind billowed their clothes, blew across the shallows, and made a whistling sound. They noticed that the village had lost power again and discussed going back later.
On my first day in Gaber, my mentor told me that the electrical circuits in the coastal area were unstable and power outages were common. He also said that people here go to bed early and don't like to turn on the lights, so I shouldn't make a fuss.
The wind started to pick up at sunset, and the power went out in the house. Fortunately, there was a bonfire left over from the sea worship ceremony on the beach, and they all gathered around it, so it wasn't too dark.
On the desolate beach, only the warm light of the campfire could be seen; the moonlight was too weak, and in the damp night air, only a blurry cluster of houses could be made visible behind the beach.
Looking at You An wearing a mask, Shu Ningmiao always suspected that she would have nightmares at night. She caught a glimpse of faint lights in front of the village and decided to turn around and take a look.
The lights shining in the darkness were from the shuttle bus, and several students and instructors were carrying luggage in front of the bus.
Xiao Jiang sat on the rooftop watching the students. When she caught sight of her, she raised her hand and waved.
She climbed onto the roof: "What are you doing?"
"Several students who didn't want to go into the water gave up the exam, and the school arranged for them to go back," Xiao Jiang said casually.
"Return overnight?" Shu Ningmiao frowned slightly, then glanced at the car lights in the dark. The road to Gaber was already difficult to travel, and it was dark at night with poor visibility. Why did they have to set off now?
"I don't know, the school arranged the car." Xiao Jiang clearly shared the same question: "Maybe they don't want to stay here for even a day."
After a moment of contemplation, Shu Ningmiao looked away and then mentioned to Xiao Jiang what she had learned from You Gua.
“Oh, I’ve heard of that.” Xiao Jiang’s reaction was indifferent: “People from over there used to often bypass the coast guard to do business, but you probably don’t see them much now.”
She reminded Xiao Jiang, who blew on a fallen leaf, clearly more interested in the leaf than in the matter: "They didn't say they were going to do anything about it."
Although Intori and Pine were sworn enemies, she could not be considered a Pine person.
Whether to arrest these people or how to deal with them, these were just tasks to her.
When not on duty, Xiao Jiang harbored a subtle attitude towards the Intori people. This attitude was neither sympathy nor hatred; if one had to describe it, it would probably be one of shared sorrow. She had teachers and friends in Pinne, but some things ultimately belonged only to her, like the dry north wind of her hometown.
Shu Ningmiao sensed her avoidance and didn't pursue the topic further. Under the car headlights, she counted the number of people. There were only a few students, but nearly half of the instructors were with them. "These instructors are also evacuating with them. Will there be enough security personnel tomorrow?"
Only a minority of students gave up the exam. Given this situation, Cornunos withdrew nearly half of its staff. The underwater exam tomorrow will also require the supervision of the instructors. After all this fuss, the security force seems to be even weaker than the first superpower practice exam. At a glance, it is full of loopholes.
Xiao Jiang said, "The number of security personnel has been reported, and their decisions always have a reason."
She pressed her arm, her eyelashes falling over her eyes and casting a shadow: "I was just thinking about that reason."
Xiao Jiang gently patted her back. Shu Ningmiao turned her head to look at her face hidden in the shadows. Xiao Jiang's eyes had a rare plum-colored halo, soft and deep.
The hazy light softened her figure, and Xiao Jiang suddenly smiled in her line of sight, her long brown hair fluttering behind her head in the evening breeze.
"Bullshit reason." The woman extended a finger, her calloused finger pressing down on her brow. "What's there to think about?"
The campfire on the other side still cast a faint glow. Shu Ningmiao was being held tightly by Xiao Jiang. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the car drive out of Gabor and turn right. A few seconds later, it disappeared silently into a bumpy, broken road.
At dawn, as the gray sky began to lighten with a bluish-white hue, people slowly made their way to the shore to gather.
Even Chris, who got up the latest, had arrived, but Yu An was still missing. It took them quite a while before they saw him from afar and staggered over. His clothes were deformed from being pulled by his younger brother. Yu Gua nudged his lower back hard with his head, and the two seemed to be arguing about something.
Finally, You Gua ran off with his hands on his hips. You An straightened his clothes and explained in a flustered manner, "Gua Gua insisted on saying something to me and wouldn't let me leave."
The teacher leading the group, Lux, who was always popular with students, laughed upon hearing this: "Why don't you listen to what he has to say?"
Not wanting to trouble others, You An smiled and said, "Let's talk about it when we get back."
A medium-sized cruise ship was moored at the seaside. Over the next forty-eight hours, they would first travel by ship to a survey point nine kilometers from the land, and then dive underwater together from there.
Xiao Jiang sat at the highest point of the ship, like a mortar mounted on the sail, holding a knife and looking down at them. Although they vaguely knew that this person was an agent sent by the military, few dared to approach this strong woman whose skin color was obviously different from that of the Pinnesians.
Nearly half of the staff went back with the students who gave up the exam. Now, only the instructors of several classes remain. Apart from the sailors, everyone on the ship is a superhuman.
The main person in charge was Lux. After being severely reprimanded by his father for beating up Lin Shengyi, he had been keeping a low profile lately. On the deck, he carried a bag of blue gems and handed them out one by one, answering the students' questions with a smile: "Diving suit? No, you don't need it. How can you fight with so much stuff? Just take this—a superpower item provided by the military. After using it, you can transform into gills, just like a fish. You don't have to worry about breathing problems. Oh, and you don't have to worry about what to do if you fall. Even if you fall, the gill transformation can be maintained for ten minutes, enough to last until rescue."
Shu Ningmiao took the gem handed to her by Lux, lowered her eyes to examine it. It was a small, rhomboid gem, with a crystalline light shining in its deep blue color, like flowing seawater.
"In short, nothing else is needed. You just need to keep activating this sapphire with Pandora. This is the most important token for this exam. We will judge your status from three aspects: heart rate, the return signal of the gem, and location. If the gem is not activated by Pandora for a long time or is broken, it will be considered a failure, and the patrolling instructors will retrieve you."
Lux held up a gem as an example, attaching it to the heart rate monitor on his chest. He said that inputting a bit of Pandora would activate it: "The area within two kilometers of the sea beneath our feet has been cleared by the accompanying envoys, ensuring your safety. This sapphire will indicate the safe testing range. If you go beyond the range, it will vibrate continuously, and you need to return as soon as possible, because leaving the safe range for an extended period is also considered a failure."
Erice secretly glanced at Shu Ningmiao, praying that she would realize her mistake and return to the right path.
“Alright, here are the exam rules.” Lux cleared his throat and continued, “The rules are quite simple. The exam will only cover contaminants of levels T4 to T6. That shouldn’t be too difficult for you, right? Each contaminant is worth between 5 and 15 points, depending on its difficulty. Candidates need to get at least 50 points to pass; there is no upper limit.”
"As for scoring, we'll use this too." Lux pointed to the sapphire in his hand: "Place it anywhere on the contaminant for three minutes, and it will leave a trace. Once we're ashore, we'll use the trace left in the gem to score points, so don't lose it."
"Finally, a friendly reminder." He waved his hand and, along with the other instructors, registered their data: "Don't think that having superpowered gadgets means you're invincible. The underwater environment is completely different from land. You'll be fighting off the contaminants while also dealing with the resistance in the water. I sincerely hope you all come out safe and sound, instead of being rescued the moment you step into the water."
With multiple safeguards in place, the students who were initially worried were now completely relieved, and even You An, who had been concerned about the safety of going to sea, stopped talking.
They responded with laughter and began to change into their waterproof suits in twos and threes. Shu Ningmiao bent down to adjust the heart rate monitor strap and saw You An leaning over, cupping his face in his hands and staring at her from below, looking a little silly.
Shu Ningmiao straightened up and glanced at him: "You should go change into your waterproof clothes."
You An said, "Wearing this is cumbersome. You can swim faster without it. I've never worn this since I was little, and I still swim perfectly well. How about we have a competition to see who's better later?"
She looked away: "Your special ability is fire, which isn't very convenient in the sea, is it?"
"Ah, how did you know?" You An was stunned, and forgot what she was going to say. She pressed her forehead and murmured, "I managed to keep it a secret until now."
Nonsense, everyone around him was an ordinary person who hadn't awakened any superpowers. He conjured such a huge fireball with his bare hands during the ceremony. She's not blind. You An's nerves are truly unexpectedly thick.
Shu Ningmiao heard his mutterings clearly.
She frowned: "Why did you hide it from me?"
"Because I heard you... don't like fire?" You An touched the tip of his nose.
Heard? Heard from whom? As soon as Shu Ningmiao opened her mouth, she immediately thought of the person. It must have been Lian Naqi who made up the story to confuse her. But this was not entirely unfounded. She was indeed very annoyed by Achini, who was suspected of having fire-type superpowers.
During that sensitive period of Prometheus's life, it was actually more advantageous than disadvantageous for You An to conceal his supernatural abilities.
She didn't refute the "rumor," but turned to look at him: "You grew up by the sea, how could you awaken a fire-related superpower?"
“Isn’t it amazing? I think it’s amazing too.” You An spread two fingers and gestured the size of the mask on his face: “Maybe it’s because I play the role of the fire god every year when I’m performing the sea sacrifice, so I naturally awaken the fire ability when I’m burning the fire.”
"So, everyone says I will be successful."
You An stretched out his legs, sat on the gunwale, took off his shirt, and plunged into the sea with a splash. After a while, he popped his head out of the water, shook off the water droplets, and looked up at her: "Come on, let's see who gets more points this time."
Shu Ningmiao picked up a piece of broken seashell from the deck and threw it at him, splashing water in front of him, signaling him to shut up.
The seawater was still a bit cold in this weather. As she dived down, the icy seawater immediately enveloped her.
After channeling Pandora into the sapphire in her chest, the discomfort from the water pressure quickly disappeared, and a virtual "gill" appeared on her neck, indicating that this superpowered item stored mimicry.
She turned her neck, quickly adjusted her posture, and found that fighting the water flow was not difficult. Apart from having some difficulty speaking, her movements were not greatly hindered.
While most people were still tumbling in the water, she was already rapidly diving down. Her destination was not the pollutant itself, but the source of the pollution—one of the abandoned research centers of Lanxi.
The balance between her and Wei Shengqianheng has been completely broken. Before he takes action, she urgently needs to find out more of the truth hidden behind the fog. After learning the location of this trip, Shu Ningmiao has been consciously preparing for this.
Lanxi, who mysteriously disappeared without a trace; the contaminant that is similar to yet different from the Manla disease patients; and Weisheng Qianheng, who previously tried to restart the abandoned research center by controlling officials—she believes there is some definite connection between these people and events, but it just hasn't been found yet.
Because there wasn't much room to maneuver underwater, the teachers didn't do much checking. She attached the miniature camera to her skin, put on a waterproof suit, and successfully took the camera into the water.
In order to complete the exam as soon as possible, the superpower that the "jealousy" state has stolen is the superpower "Vector Shackles" of that blond nobleman Lux.
She dove down, diving to about ten meters before she could see the contaminant.
The pollutants here are all sea fish, somewhat similar to the marine pollutants near Pingyi, but they are not the kind of fish that have two legs to run, but rather swimming fish skeletons.
She leaned down and dived, her upside-down eyes reflecting the hard, dark blue fish bones.
The school of fish rushed toward her, and in the trembling water, her pupils reflected the fish suddenly stopping, with black rings appearing on their smooth, white spines.
She randomly applied a direction, causing the school of fish to crash into a single point. The fish bones, which looked as hard as swords, all collided together, shattering into pieces.
Lucky her, there were at least a dozen fish in this group. Even if each fish was worth 5 points, she would have enough points. She finished faster than she had imagined. It seemed that this superpower practice was not difficult. She had not considered the actual situation of a first-year student's half-baked level at all. She took out the sapphire from her chest and stuck it on the fish bones.
While waiting, she carefully observed the contaminated object before her. No organs, no flesh, just a pure, snow-white fish skeleton. Could such a being truly be called a living being?
So how exactly did it survive?
Whether in Pingyi or here, the pollutants seem to have lost the proper posture of "living" "creatures," yet they can still move freely. If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, it would be hard to believe, and it's no wonder that most Pinheis people are completely unaware of it.
She retrieved the sapphire and floated upwards to find Erici.
The unique nature of the marine environment makes teamwork quite difficult. This exam only records individual scores, and everyone scattered without prior arrangement. When she came down, she noticed that Erice was floating alone very close to the surface of the sea, tearing hard at the seaweed on her body.
After circling around, Erici was still in the same spot and hadn't moved. Erici wove a net out of seaweed and tried to catch a pollutant in the most primitive way. Although this method seemed a bit clumsy, it was quite practical in this sea.
The underwater environment naturally suppresses many supernatural abilities, such as fire and electricity. Large areas of water cannot attract fire, and if electricity is attracted, it will electrocute the person. Although You An cannot use supernatural abilities, his physical skills are among the best in the students. Not everyone's physical skills are as top-notch as theirs. Most people just paddle in the shallow sea, hoping that a half-dead pollutant will bump into them.
Shu Ning swam over to Erici, pressed down on her shoulders, and, under Erici's horrified gaze, unfastened the sapphire-embedded heart rate belt, tied it around her waist, and then used her waterproof suit to cover herself.
Erice's eyes widened, her lips pressed tightly together, and she pointed wildly into the distance, waving her hands vehemently and pushing them apart—what's the difference between throwing away the heart rate monitor and the sapphire and swimming into the deep sea and committing suicide?
Shu Ningmiao pretended not to understand, released her hand from her shoulder, and stepped back.
Suddenly, the surrounding water rippled, and a pollutant with six fins was pulled straight towards them by something invisible. Erici was so frightened that he flailed.
Shu Ningmiao beckoned, changing the direction of her power, pushing the contaminated object towards Erici, and then turned and dived into the deep sea.
The distance and depth of the testing area were limited. About forty or fifty meters down, she was the only one left, as if she had entered another world. The deeper she went, the colder it became, and it was so dark that she could not see anything. It was extremely easy to lose her way in the pitch-black seawater. She turned on the spotlight that was provided and looked ahead by the concentrated light.
She already had a good idea of the research center's exact location. Although the ocean floor is vast, the ocean itself doesn't produce Pandora. The research center requires large amounts of Pandora to operate, so the area where the center is located must have a significant amount of residual Pandora. Following the old method, finding a place with a high concentration of Pandora should be the right approach.
As she descended, she sensed the concentration of Pandora underground. The location wasn't far, and even after the gill transformation effect disappeared, it would be enough for her enhanced body to swim a round trip.
The endless black sea around her clearly reminded her that she had left the school's designated safe zone. Her vision gradually narrowed as she looked ahead, and the uneven rocks beneath her feet were covered with the corpses of mollusks and spiky creatures that stood up like red tentacles, as if they wanted to reach out and grab or pierce her.
Shu Ningmiao had very limited knowledge of marine life and was unsure whether these things were pollutants. She didn't have much time, so she could only try to avoid them as carefully as possible.
Passing through the narrow crack, she reached out and touched a huge wall, cold and slippery. The greenish patina and soft biofilm clinging to it were easily wiped off by her, sticking disgustingly to her hand.
—We've arrived.
Protected by the remains of these microorganisms, the alloy protective wall was not corroded too badly by the seawater and stood quietly in the depths of the sea. She groped around and found a foothold, then snapped off a large piece of the wall with a "crack".
Rust and seaweed silently swayed down the wall, and she pried open a jagged opening in the nearly meter-thick alloy wall. The surroundings remained dark and quiet, eerily so. She darted inside like a fish, surveying the scene within. Tall, Pietist-style buildings stood on the seabed, forming a steel forest submerged in the water. There was no sign of any living creature, yet they emitted a faint, teeth-grinding creaking sound, like the heavy breathing of a dead city.
Although the entire building was well preserved, it had been corroded from the bottom up and become part of the sea. The entrances and exits were blocked by pale red seaweed, making it impossible to enter. She floated up, found the rooftop of the building, and climbed inside. The interior had been occupied by the roots of some kind of sea plant, making it look even more bizarre and strange. The measuring equipment floated in the gnarled roots, mixed with various sea leaves.
She searched through each room, relying on her general impression of the existing research center, and stopped at the largest room. A room of this size should be the main laboratory or the office of important personnel. If she could find their safe, that would be great; obtaining some previous research data would also be worthwhile.
Surrounding the area with spotlights, the corrosion here seemed much less severe than outside. There were no tangled roots or floating plankton, and even the water in front of us was much clearer, with everything within sight crystal clear.
She rummaged through things, touching things here and there, making clattering noises in the deathly silent room. The remaining workbench was covered with a layer of rust, and other odds and ends had weathered away. The paper documents had swelled up into some unknown substance. As she searched through the drawers, a white skeleton fish suddenly emerged from one of them.
The white-boned fish swam past her, swaying its tail, and she noticed a photograph in the drawer, sealed tightly in a plastic bag. She picked it up; it was another group photo of three people, older than any other group photo she had ever seen. The people in the photo were about the same age as Arsia, with the youthful-looking Wei Shengqianheng standing in the middle, smiling broadly—he seemed to really enjoy taking photos before he got sick.
There were words on the back, but she hadn't looked at them closely yet. She noticed that after the photo was taken away, the drawer slid to the bottom, forming an angle, and she could vaguely see something else inside, like a safe.
Shu Ningmiao's eyes lit up. The table with drawers was made entirely of synthetic material, which was corrosion-resistant but also brittle and thin. She couldn't take out the things underneath, so she simply dismantled the entire outer wall of the table. Inside was a black safe as tall as the table, completely fixed to the ground and unable to be moved.
Without time to experiment slowly, she went into "angry" mode, violently removing the lock cylinder and carefully opening the safe door a crack—luckily, the contents were all stored in sealed bags.
She reached for the bag of documents, and it was actually much easier than she had expected. Along the way, she had not encountered any pollutants exceeding the standard, nor had she been hindered in any way. Moreover, she was the only living person in this abandoned research center.
The lock on the safe fell to the floor and bounced up gently.
She raised her hand and felt her fingertips trembling.
It wasn't her who was trembling, but the entire seabed.
A rumble of thunder slowly approached from afar. Shu Ningmiao gripped the sealed bag tightly in her hand, staggered, and then a violent tremor surged forth like a tidal wave. A massive roar and tremor instantly swept through the entire space, and countless bubbly torrents nearly swept her away—
Dozens of meters above her, the calm sea began to violently churn, with waves surging up and crashing directly onto the cruise ship, even causing the windows to shatter.
No—this isn't a tsunami. Clutching the sealed bag, she struggled to swim upwards. The entire seabed shook violently, but the epicenter seemed to be right beneath her feet, as if triggered by her actions. Could it be that this research center, submerged on the seabed for hundreds of years, still possesses enough energy to initiate a self-destruct mechanism?!
Without a moment's hesitation, she quickly swam to the top of the building, where the rooftop was her only escape route. If the rooftop collapsed, the situation would become very complicated—such a commotion could force the entire exam to end prematurely, and she had to get back immediately.
Perhaps it was the impact of the water that made her feel disoriented, but she vaguely felt a cold hand suddenly grab her ankle tightly, and the chill at that moment was even stronger than the seawater itself.
The water flow blew the hair around her cheeks, and Shu Ningmiao paused for a moment, wondering if it was just a hallucination. But soon, the hallucination dissipated, replaced by a force that gripped her tightly like an iron clamp, pulling her harder and harder.
She grabbed the floating test tube rack beside her, glanced back quickly, then sprang up and smashed the rack down on the thing that had grabbed her.
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