Chapter One Hundred and Sixty: Invitation

An entire c—... Ahem, an octopus?

Chen Yanluo's eyes first widened, then slowly narrowed into slits.

The octopus was quite large—but not gigantic. After all, it was still small enough to fit inside a glass tank.

The octopus's body seemed to be a faint yellow, with each sucker clinging to the glass. Upon that light yellow skin, there were subtle stripes of gold!

Chen Nuo was not a marine biologist, but he instinctively felt that an octopus of this color, especially with gold stripes, must be... quite rare, right?

Subconsciously, Chen Nuo stood up and walked over to the glass tank, gently laying a hand on the glass.

A slow stream of spiritual power began to seep through.

A few seconds later, Chen Nuo frowned slightly. Huh?

He could sense that the octopus's life force was extremely weak!

And... usually, octopuses have three hearts. However, under his perception, two of this octopus's hearts had already stopped beating. Only one heart was still faintly pulsating, but its rhythm was exceedingly feeble and slow! Moreover, he could distinctly feel that with each beat of the octopus's last heart... with every pulsation, a fraction of its life force was draining away! Even though it was very little each time, clearly, it was on the brink of death!

"I've found the best marine biologists to study and protect it, but it's beyond saving now. My experts have clearly told me that it's going to die soon." Ishii Hisako said with great seriousness, "So I really don't have much time left!"

Chen Nuo gestured with his hand, stopping Ishii Hisako from speaking further, as he continued to channel spiritual power through the glass. Seconds later, his heart stirred!

He clearly sensed that after his spiritual power had infiltrated, he actually received a response! A strange psychic consciousness tangled with his spiritual power, as if offering a response. But that unfamiliar consciousness was beyond his ability to recognize or understand its meaning. Extremely weak, very feeble, yet it clearly possessed a distinct consciousness! It was hard to define what sort of emotions were contained in this sliver of consciousness. Complex and frail, like a tangled skein of yarn, intermixed with too many sensations that were impossible to recognize or describe. But among them, there was one emotion that he managed to capture. It was... a summoning? It was as if, faintly, a feeble force was summoning his spiritual power.

After a moment of silence, Chen Nuo suddenly spoke with a smile.

"Very well, you've successfully piqued my interest! I'll take the case."

A joyous smile burst onto Ishii Hisako's face. "Really?!"

"Mhm." Chen Nuo nodded. "Tell me about your plan."

"...It won't last much longer! My experts all agree that it could die at any moment, so... we must not delay! We should leave as soon as possible—the sooner, the better."

"...Two days," Chen Nuo pondered for a moment before speaking. "Two days to prepare, then we'll depart."

He glanced at Ishii Hisako. "Your injury?"

"I'm fine!" the woman said through gritted teeth. "I can endure! There might only be one chance! I can do this!"

What a tough individual, Chen Nuo sighed inwardly, then nodded. "Good! Then we leave in two days!"

Chen Nuo also needed these two days to make some preparations.

* * *

Two days later, in the early morning at the appointed location, Chen Nuo stood on the street corner.

Soon, a motorcade approached. A black executive car at the front slowly stopped beside Chen Nuo. The door opened, and Ishii Hisako nodded to him from inside the vehicle.

Ishii Hisako's attendants stepped out and bowed to Chen Nuo before offering to help carry his belongings—a large backpack lay at Chen Nuo's feet.

"I'll handle it myself," Chen Nuo declined their offer and lifted the bag single-handedly. He walked to the back of the car and placed it in the trunk.

Behind the executive car followed a sealed truck and two black sedans.

Chen Nuo boarded the executive car and sat next to Ishii Hisako.

The woman was dressed in sportswear, looking efficient—even her hair had been cut much shorter.

Chen Nuo only glanced at her without saying much, then leaned back in his seat. Once the car started, he closed his eyes to rest.

I've already scanned with my spiritual power. The octopus is in the truck behind us.

* * *

After driving for two hours, the motorcade reached the seaside. Chen Nuo estimated they were somewhere near Tokyo Bay.

In front stood a small wharf, part of which appeared to be allocated as a private dock.

Many yachts and private sailboats were moored at the dock.

It was nearly noon, and the dock was not very crowded.

Chen Nuo got out of the car and followed Ishii Hisako onto a large yacht.

Behind them, Ishii Hisako's subordinates began unloading the octopus from the truck.

A metal plate covered the glass tank to prevent onlookers. The attendants carefully unloaded the octopus and wheeled it onto the yacht.

When the yacht started to set out, Chen Nuo inquired, "Is the location out at sea?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, then let's set off," Chen Nuo said with a smile.

As the yacht made for the open sea, Chen Nuo declined an offer to rest inside the cabin. Instead, he stood on the deck, facing the sea breeze and gazing at the azure sky above.

Ishii Hisako said, "There's some wind and waves at sea today. If you're not feeling well, you can go inside and rest for a while."

Chen Nuo laughed. He looked at Ishii Hisako and said slowly, "Believe me, there are few on this boat better suited to life at sea than I."

Chen Nuo simply stood on the deck, silently watching the yacht as it sliced through the waves.

Beneath his feet lay the large bag he had brought with him.

Without Chen Nuo's permission, no one was allowed to touch his bag.

* * *

After the yacht had been sailing for just over an hour, a large ship could be seen anchored in the distance.

It seemed to be a modified research vessel, its hull shaped like a spindle and, surprisingly, it bore some dents and hollows on its metallic body.

Especially that strangely shaped bow made Chen Nuo look twice involuntarily before a knowing smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"This ship of yours, it was modified from a research vessel, wasn't it? And... it's an icebreaker, isn't it?"

Upon Chen Nuo's inquiry, Ishii Hisako immediately answered respectfully, "You have a good eye. This ship is a retired icebreaker I bought at a high price from the research department; it once served in the Arctic."

This 'retirement' business... of course, those in the know understood the implications. The ship appeared to be in excellent condition, so clearly the claim of 'retirement' was just the result of some under-the-table dealings.

Originally departing from Tokyo and heading out to sea, Chen Nuo had not inquired much about the destination. After all, this was an unspoken agreement between both parties. For Ishii Hisako, revealing the location was akin to showing her hand—compared to Chen Nuo, she acknowledged herself as the weaker party, which was indeed the reality. If she disclosed the location in advance and Chen Nuo then made off with the Golden Octopus and set off by himself, she would be absolutely powerless to stop him. Chen Nuo understood this and, to show sincerity, he hadn't asked along the way.

At this moment, once the yacht had stopped and everyone boarded the research vessel, Chen Nuo finally spoke up.

"We're not sailing all the way to the Arctic, are we?"

"...Of course not!" Ishii Hisako said. "The location is not far now."

All the crew members on the ship were part of the Truth Society, and clearly, they were all loyal subordinates of Ishii Hisako.

The deck was already bustling with activity.

A team dressed in fitted diving suits started to busy themselves, and Chen Nuo watched their preparations with a cool gaze.

Looking up, the ship's crane had already lowered two small research submarines. These submarines were small, with not particularly high pressure resistance. Each could carry only four passengers. The rear section was a cargo hold for equipment, along with an isolation chamber for deploying personnel underwater.

With two submarines, Chen Nuo roughly deduced...

First, the location must be underwater. Second... with two submarines, the maximum capacity for this trip is eight people.

He glanced at the Truth Society members putting on their diving suits. Sure enough, exactly six people.

"Please go into the cabin, and I'll have someone assist you with changing into a diving suit," Ishii Hisako suggested.

Chen Nuo shook his head, refusing the offer. "No need," he said indifferently.

Ishii Hisako, not daring to question further, could only nod and say, "Then, please wait for a moment. I will go change my equipment."

Ishii Hisako left. Chen Nuo remained on deck, watching the men work. Some crew members were still conducting final checks on the submarines. The six divers were inspecting each other's equipment.

These men had clearly received strict orders from Ishii Hisako. None dared to approach or speak to Chen Nuo. They didn't even venture too close. Only occasionally, their furtive glances would betray a hint of oddness and confusion.

Naturally, Chen Nuo ignored their looks.

When the glass tank containing the Golden Octopus was loaded into one of the submarine's cargo holds, Ishii Hisako returned.

The woman was also wearing a diving suit. Hers was beige and quite conspicuous, clearly distinguishing her from the other six men in their black diving suits. Since they weren't diving yet, items like diving helmets and respirators were not being worn; they had all been placed in the submarine's cargo hold.

"Wait a second."

Just as the six men were about to load a waterproof equipment bag into the submarine, Chen Nuo suddenly stepped forward, took the bag, and opened it in front of everyone.

Inside, plain to see, were several detonators and some small bombs.

A strange, cold smile appeared on Chen Nuo's face. "The place is at the bottom of the sea. What are these for?"

"They are for... just in case, in case of any danger..." one diver replied.

"Get rid of them. Don't bring them." Chen Nuo shook his head and turned to Ishii Hisako. "This place is at the bottom of the sea. If you use explosives and cause a collapse, do you plan on being buried down there, only to be dug up as fossils tens of thousands of years from now?"

Chen Nuo then picked through the bag again, pulling out a gun. With a cold laugh, he said, "And this."

Ishii Hisako's expression turned a little grim. "These are just weapons for self-defense, in case we encounter danger underwater..."

"Oh? You seem to be quite well-prepared."

There were several automatic assault rifles, evidently standard equipment for Self-Defense Forces, along with a few pistol-style stun guns and some net guns.

"Bring the stun guns, but leave the ballistic weapons," Chen Nuo said, shaking his head.

The divers looked confused, all turning to Ishii Hisako.

With clenched teeth, Ishii Hisako said, "Follow this gentleman's instructions! Leave the rest of the firearms behind!"

Some of the divers seemed hesitant, trying to step forward and say something to Ishii Hisako, but she snapped authoritatively, "Carry out the order!"

Afterward, the woman approached Chen Nuo and said in a low voice, "Sir, please don't misunderstand. These weapons were not meant to be used against you."

Chen Nuo shook his head, neither affirming nor denying. "Whether they are or not, don't bring them. I sense... for this underwater trip, we probably won't need these things."

All the while, Chen Nuo kept a silent tendril of spiritual power connected to the Golden Octopus in the glass tank.

He clearly felt that as they ventured further out to sea and reached this particular expanse of water, although the extremely weakened octopus was still losing its life force... its response to his mental probing seemed to grow clearer, more intense! In terms of actual content, he couldn't understand the octopus's consciousness. But judging by the emotional fluctuations... If, back in Tokyo when he first saw this Golden Octopus, its mental consciousness had conveyed a 'summons'... then now, it had transformed from a 'summons' into... an invitation!