CHAPTER 308: CHAPTER 137: NORTH SEA WHALE LOACH (PART 2)

Clearly, this isn’t an ordinary monster.

Just from its size alone, it has far surpassed any monster Chen Jian has seen before.

"What the hell... Is that a whale?? A mutated whale??"

Lei Jie asked, dumbfounded.

"I don’t know."

Chen Jian exhaled deeply and said after some thought:

"Rather than a whale, it’d be more accurate to call it a sea monster."

"Kraken, you know? The tentacle monster from the Cthulhu stories beneath the sea..."

"No."

Before Chen Jian could finish, Ji Xing suddenly interrupted.

Then she spoke with a slightly trembling voice:

"I know what it’s called."

"This is... the North Sea Whale Loach."

"It’s a Level One monster."

"It’s the only monster ever witnessed by both the Mechanical God Sect and the Holy Blood Temple!"

"If the records I saw are correct, then... it last appeared around 150 years ago."

"Back then, it was migrating south, which is why the Mechanical God Sect saw it!"

"Now... is it also heading south??"

As she finished speaking, Chen Jian’s gaze suddenly sharpened.

Southward.

That’s not what matters.

What matters is 150 years.

Another hundred and fifty years.

What exactly happened during that time??

Chen Jian took a deep breath and said:

"Go get Xie Yuan."

"They can no longer hide anything from us."

"A Level One monster has appeared; this is not just our problem, but everyone’s problem together!"

.....

Five minutes later, inside the mansion.

Xie Yuan sat across from Chen Jian, speaking with a steady tone and solemn expression:

"My lords, I can assure you, the Holy Blood Temple was utterly unaware of this."

"To be precise, we knew nothing about the appearance of the North Sea Whale Loach."

"In fact, a few days before you arrived, we did notice some disturbances coming from the east."

"The Holy Father has already dispatched a squad to try to trace the source of the anomaly, and that squad is the one later led by the monitor Lin Yu that you encountered."

"Frankly speaking, one quite significant reason they could so readily agree to your request was because their mission was inherently about exploration and tracking."

"Your task coincided with the one the Holy Father gave them."

"We just obtained this information not long ago, and we were discussing how to inform you in a way that wouldn’t be so ’offensive.’

"But clearly, we acted too sluggishly."

"If this has led you to doubt our sincerity, I offer you my sincerest apologies."

"But, I still hope you can trust us."

"We had absolutely no advance knowledge of the North Sea Whale Loach’s appearance."

"Even for us, this is a significant risk and crisis, and we have no reason to lie to you about this."

As his words finished, Chen Jian nodded in response:

"No problem, I believe your explanation."

"But that’s not the point; the point is, what is the origin of this monster? What is its connection to the monster in the east?"

"From the information we’ve monitored, these two monsters are definitely connected, they’re even communicating through some kind of low-frequency sound waves."

"Don’t tell me you think this is mere coincidence; the world doesn’t work with such coincidences!"

"I understand."

Xie Yuan nodded immediately and then replied:

"Our judgment aligns with yours, this cannot be a coincidence."

"From our perspective, we think this is likely a prelude to a Beast Tide coming."

"----In fact, my lords must have speculated this too, right?"

".....Yes."

Upon receiving Chen Jian’s reply, Xie Yuan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

After a brief pause to organize his thoughts, he continued:

"The North Sea Whale Loach is a quite... isolated monster."

"It lives on the sea and never approaches the shore."

"However, this doesn’t mean it poses no threat to humans."

"On the contrary, 150 years ago, when it first appeared, it nearly destroyed all the cities humans had established near the coast."

"This is exactly why Jinmen City is now established nearly twenty kilometers from the coast, while the main ’working area’ is closer to the coastline, forming two separate urban areas."

"We’ve suffered greatly at its hands... but we’ve found no solution to deal with it."

"Even now, we have no means to handle it."

As he said that, a change occurred in Xie Yuan’s gaze.

If previously he remained calm and composed, now a trace of fear and anxiety had seeped into his eyes.

He subconsciously rubbed his left hand, staring straight into Chen Jian’s eyes, then said:

"My lord, just as you mentioned."

"No matter what problems we’ve faced before, once a Level One monster resurfaces, all those problems become insignificant."

"We must unite to confront this potential crisis."

"If you need it, the Holy Blood Temple will provide all necessary assistance."

"But... I believe our immediate priority is only one thing."

"You must quickly travel to the Imperial City to meet the Holy Father."

"I am merely a monitor; I possess some information, but definitely not enough."

"I know very little about detailed information concerning this monster."

"I only know it is highly likely to continue migrating south, but where its destination is, when it will attack, what its weaknesses are... "

"I’m entirely clueless."

"So.... "

"Say no more."

Chen Jian raised his hand to interrupt Xie Yuan’s explanation.

Clearly, the opponent’s current attitude is sincere.

He says he doesn’t know, and it’s indeed true.

There’s no point in asking him further; confirming that the Holy Blood Temple didn’t purposely hide this fact is already sufficient.

Chen Jian stood up and said:

"Go back and prepare."

"At six tomorrow morning, we set out for the Imperial City."

"Yes, my lord."

Xie Yuan immediately stood, retreating from the mansion.

The remaining people in the room wore heavy expressions, the unprecedented immense pressure surging in, nearly stifling their desire to communicate.

But just then, Fu Xi’s voice suddenly rang out.

"Commander, the data analysis on the North Sea Whale Loach is complete."

"Current characteristics remain unclear, but I’ve detected important clues."

"Speak!"

Chen Jian commanded immediately.

"This monster is emitting a weak electromagnetic interference."

"??? Electromagnetic interference???"

Chen Jian looked up in shock, and the next second, a data graph appeared on the smart visor.

"From the data shown when the monster appeared, when it surfaced, the electromagnetic interference peak field strength within a one-kilometer radius reached 142dB, causing slight interference with our cellular network communications and radio communications."

"Due to the short duration of interference, more detailed data wasn’t obtained."

"But it’s certain it’s bringing electromagnetic interference."

"This might relate to the clue you previously mentioned about ’beast tide causing electronic devices to fail,’ and further research is needed for specific correlations."

"Understood."

Chen Jian closed his eyes.

Things were growing increasingly complex.

It’s even becoming intriguing.

A sea-dwelling monster able to cause electromagnetic interference?

This has surpassed what he perceives as a monster’s abilities.

So, where does this interference originate?

Did it swallow a ship? A radar station?

Or is the interference generated directly by itself?

What is the principle behind its generation?

One mystery after another nearly engulfed Chen Jian, squeezing his mind until it started aching with pressure.

He instinctively wanted to take off his helmet for some relief, but just then, a new piece of information suddenly popped up.

It was a message from He Shuo.

"Captain, Zeng Yi just got some information about the North Sea Whale Loach from Zhang Tao."

"This thing isn’t that complicated!"

"It’s an amphibious animal!"