Lie Hai raced through the sky.

From Jade City to the Alien's location was 1700 kilometers. The Hunter could pull up to 200 kilometers per hour, but even at this extreme speed, it would take over half a day to fly. However, unlike electromechanical life, Lie Hai couldn't maintain this high-speed state for long.

Zhou Yi told it not to rush, just fly normally.

He couldn't help but feel that the most suitable pilot had been by his side all along, yet he had not realized it.

Lie Hai's size was limited, although it couldn't support carrying heavy cargo, delivering a few people, or even an electromechanical life like Da Vinci, who was not exactly light, was still doable.

The high sky seemed no different from the past with its blue and white clouds—it appeared as if the world itself hadn't changed much.

But below was a different scene.

Zhou Yi saw that the land had been submerged by a vast amount of light mist, revealing only scattered pieces of land, as if the entire atmosphere had descended onto the earth.

The land area had shrunk a lot from the era he was from.

This led him to think.

Death Light had a high density in the Dead Sea, but a low density on land. He wondered if there was more or less Death Light in the sky.

Red Kestrel replied, "The distribution of Death Light in the upper atmosphere is uneven, with the concentration near the ground close to that on land. But above 1000 kilometers from the surface, the density of Death Light significantly increases, forming the outer Dead Sea with the atmosphere."

"The Death Light density in the outer Dead Sea is higher than that of the inner Dead Sea on land, and it harbors far more uncontrollable dangers. It is usually in these regions that Skywalkers and higher-order lifeforms emerge."

Zhou Yi snapped back to reality.

The Dead Sea was a mix of Death Light and various gases; thus, the atmosphere served as a natural carrier of Death Light.

He asked, "Does Death Light come from outside this world?"

Red Kestrel stated, "Death Light comes from beyond the skies, enveloping the entire world; that much is certain."

The various powers had continuously studied Death Light, but its origins and source remained a mystery.

By the time they arrived at their destination, night had fallen. The area was experiencing snowfall, and the snowflakes melted by the Dead Sea turned into an even thicker mist.

Yet under the guidance and lenses of the Red Kestrel, the massive oceanic Alien was still clearly visible.

It had a curved hook-like body outline, extending outwards with eight straight dams like a giant comb.

The main structure resembled a gently sloping mountain with little vegetation. At the ends of the dams stood three large concrete shelters, each harboring deep, circular holes.

It was like a separated piece of coastline.

Far from this oceanic living structure were five ships of the Seventh Fleet, all flying blue and white anchor flags.

Just like the previously encountered Wind Organ, their hulls were also painted black—Zhou Yi now knew that was actually Light Soot, convenient for installing Light Imprint Structures.

Leading them was the flagship, twice the length of the other ships, its visible armament featuring four secondary guns, two Main Guns, as well as lookouts and communication towers.

This was the B-class heavy patrol cruiser "White Dove," where ship captain Qin Xie was stationed.

A flag with a white background and a red cross rose on the White Dove.

"That is the peace signal amongst signal flags."

Red Kestrel explained, "They're indicating they don't want conflict, likely hoping for formal negotiations."

That could be dealt with later.

Zhou Yi focused his attention on the massive oceanic structure below.

This was what mattered most now.

On command, the Hunter slowly descended, landing on the wide back of the oceanic Alien.

Zhou Yi once again stepped onto solid ground.

Adjacent to him was a black bunker consisting of cubes and spheres—this was where the Sheng Snakes stood guard.

Zhou Yi summoned, and Jiao Tou swiftly swam over.

"Chairman!"

"After we got here, we conducted a thorough reconnaissance. It's massive, but it doesn't attack outwardly; we just can't enter the Alien. We've been all over the surface and found no suspicious life or anything else, although there are some Light Absorption Monsters following it."

"Oh, there's one more thing."

Jiao Tou blinked its sole eye, "Just before you arrived, the Alien had a tussle with a big fellow. But to say they fought isn't quite right; it was more like a hunt, where the other side had no power to fight back... That guy seemed quite formidable, but it didn't dare to attack the oceanic Alien."

Zhou Yi prompted it to describe the incident in detail.

According to Jiao Tou, the prey was a large black fish, covered in steel armor, likely an electromechanical life.

The electromechanical black fish caught the oceanic Alien's attention, struggled fiercely, but ultimately failed to escape its hunt and was devoured by those cavernous mouth-like holes.

"…Everyone was quite shocked at the time, but thankfully, the Alien showed no interest in us. Its hunting targets are only those specific large electromechanical lives."

"There was also a little bear, no, should be an electromechanical life, that arrived. It claimed to be called Teddy, the cooperator to Seventh Fleet's ship captain Qin Xie, and it slept here. By dreaming, it was able to converse with some of us within their dreams, quite magical."

"It said in the dream that it wants to collaborate with the company, hoping to meet with you…"

Teddy?

Zhou Yi gave it some thought.

If Red Kestrel was his cooperator, then it was normal for that Qin Xie to have a Teddy.

But that would come later.

Zhou Yi looked around and walked down toward the comb-shaped dam near the Dead Sea. Up close, he could see it was actually a Pier. Red Kestrel conducted a measurement, indicating each of the eight piers to be 229 meters long.

Behind the piers were three concrete aquatic hangars, plus there were eleven hidden land entrances, all discovered by the Sheng Snakes.

The issue was that none of the entrances or hangars could be accessed, surrounded by some strong high-pressure force.

Standing on the Pier, Zhou Yi took in the view of the coastline behind him.

It was an entirely modern port. If moved back, it would immediately provide his company with aquatic infrastructure and facilities; ships would then have places to dock and for maintenance.

The most crucial part was next.

Zhou Yi placed his hand on the mottled stone pillar of the Pier.

Energy, input.

...

"I want to buy you, let you serve your purpose better. Name your price."

A response came into Zhou Yi's mind: "This place is not for sale. Who are you?"

I was rejected.

Zhou Yi had not expected this at all.

Could it be a state-owned port?

This was going to be tricky.

Zhou Yi mulled over possible solutions while continuing to communicate, "My name is Zhou Yi, and I'm the chairman of the Wasteland Development Company. Our company is currently developing and transforming the wasteland of this world, for the benefit of humanity and other lifeforms..."

"Is that so? That's great, I wish you the best of luck."

This one was clearly different from Jade City and Maria, with higher intelligence, clear self-awareness, and judgment.

Zhou Yi asked, "How may I address you?"

"Due to confidentiality principles, I cannot disclose that."

Tricky.

Zhou Yi persisted, "I have an employee named Jacob. It said that the 'Sea God' it lived with was taken by you. We're here to find the Sea God and hope to return it to its rightful owner."

The response came, "Due to confidentiality principles, I cannot disclose that."

Zhou Yi frowned.

Impenetrable as stone.

What to do now?

Zhou Yi paced back and forth on the pier, his mind racing through various solutions.

He decided to look around first, in search of any trace or clue to this being's identity.

Thus, Zhou Yi had the Red Kestrel and Jiao Tou start a more thorough investigation.

But this alien port was completely sealed on the inside, inaccessible, with no recognizable carvings or lingering text. The only certainty was that it was separated from the land for some reason and then embarked on its own journey in the Dead Sea.

Suddenly, Zhou Yi remembered.

There was a group of natives here.

Beneath the pier, surrounding the concrete, were star-like substances. They resembled dimly lit lamps, clinging to the edges of the alien body, pulsating slowly like the breath.

Light Absorption Monsters.

They were rated a D because of their special physiological structure and skill attributes. In all other aspects, they were an E or even lower.

Like quicksand or bubbles, when captured, they burst and scatter on their own, dying without hesitation, leaving the captor with little to gain. They would be reborn quickly in Death Light.

These creatures were scattered throughout the Dead Sea, drifting with the flow of Death Light, and clinging to some large Guangna Species, serving as a natural illumination on the sea floor.

But whether they possessed intelligence or the capacity for conversation, Zhou Yi wasn't sure.

He had to try.

So Zhou Yi jumped down from the pier, and carefully reached out to touch a Light Absorption Monster. Instantly, it burst open and died.

He had to switch to another one.

...

After much effort, Zhou Yi was drenched in sweat, but he hadn't managed to safely touch even one.

The situation was at a standstill.

The Red Kestrel suggested, "Why not try using Light Seeds? Attract them with Light Seeds."

Right, Zhou Yi thought.

Too much fishing had caused him to fall into patterned thinking.

The Bone Fish was to blame.

Zhou Yi poured out Light Seeds from the Guangna Box into his palm, then approached the flickering lights under the pier.

As expected, a Light Absorption Monster slowly approached and attached itself to a Light Seed.

The moment of contact, Zhou Yi immediately commenced transferring energy.

...

"I'd like to ask you some questions. If you're willing to answer them, I'll give you another Light Seed."

"Sure, sure."

The voice of the Light Absorption Monster was ethereal, reminiscent of that of a young child whose mind was still unformed.

"Do you know anything about the marine alien you guys are following?"

"It's very strong."

No matter what Zhou Yi asked, the response was always "It's very strong," with only slight variations in tone and rhythm.

The intelligence of this Light Absorption Monster was limited; the information it could convey was scarce. It had tried its best.

The Red Kestrel also said, "This life form has a simple structure and rapid turnover, so most Light Absorption Monsters struggle with complex descriptions and interactions. We should look for some that have lived longer, perhaps they'll have some news."

Following the drone's advice, Zhou Yi began searching everywhere.

Around the pier were only small Light Absorption Monsters. Through Jiao Tou, he learned that the larger ones were all near the entrance on land.

It was safe there.

Zhou Yi saw them near the closest land entrance.

These Light Absorption Monsters were much brighter. Although they couldn't enter the pitch-black entrance, they floated and lingered nearby, like lights mounted on a concrete wall.

After repeated attempts and giving up 117 Light Seeds, Zhou Yi finally got the answer he was looking for.

One of the larger Light Absorption Monsters said, "It only eats certain electromechanical lives, the kind that are long and can dive under the Dead Sea. It specifically hunts those ships, searching for them everywhere."

"The ships look like finless fish..."

Zhou Yi and the Red Kestrel confirmed over and over again through the descriptions of the Light Absorption Monsters, the finless fish below were submarine-type electromechanical lives.

This was not an ordinary port, but a submarine base!

All of Zhou Yi's accumulated fatigue suddenly disappeared.

No wonder it mentioned confidentiality principles.

This individual could very well be a military facility!

But if he could take it over, he would not only gain this base but also the two submarine-class electromechanical lives inside!