Chapter 174
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
Chapter 174: Title
The merfolk stood nearly two meters tall. The fish they relentlessly hunted proved equally formidable—measuring over thirty meters in length with razor-sharp teeth and impenetrable scales.
These were clearly not opponents to be underestimated.
"System, engage submarine’s invisibility function. Approach silently and avoid detection."
【Acknowledged.】
Ye Linlang maintained her distance, observing the aquatic hunt from a hundred meters away with keen fascination.
Water-dwelling merfolk naturally depended on marine life for sustenance, their survival tied to the ocean’s bounty.
Within minutes, the colossal fish stiffened into immobility, signaling the battle’s conclusion.
Working in unison, the merfolk hoisted their catch and swam westward with powerful tail strokes.
"Follow their trail."
The submarine glided forward soundlessly at her command.
Ten minutes later, the probe-filmed underwater city materialized before them in breathtaking splendor.
"Now I believe Atlantis’ technology indeed once reached at least Level One," she murmured, rising to study the transmitted imagery.
Though Blue Star’s ancient ruins bore Atlantean foundations, few authentic remnants survived the submerged eons in the Atlantic’s depths, weathered by cataclysms and time. Her reconstruction of their civilization blended system-generated simulations of the sunken continent with creative extrapolation.
Whatever historical truth lay buried, the world would henceforth recognize her curated vision as the definitive Atlantean legacy.
While this artistic license might disservice the original architects, Ye Linlang consoled herself that mythologized history still contained elemental truths.
Constructing marine cities posed immense challenges—even in shallow seas—requiring technology far beyond Blue Star’s current capabilities.
Modern engineers could barely manage coastal aquariums, let alone energy barriers repelling seawater while maintaining illumination systems.
Adjusting her wrist device at the submarine’s threshold, Ye Linlang commanded: "Open hatch."
The portal parted, revealing swirling seawater held at bay by identical barrier technology. Ocean currents rippled mere centimeters beyond her fingertips.
Though crushing depths concerned her less than oxygen supply—her enhanced physical strength easily withstood aquatic pressure—she’d engineered a solution: a technological device extracting breathable air from seawater while forming an imperceptible protective membrane.
Even her camouflage couldn’t eliminate water displacement from movement. Through mental command, she expended Fantasy Points to layer illusion magic over herself—effective against any visually-dependent observer.
Approaching the city’s shimmering barrier, her touch sent concentric ripples cascading across its surface.
Entry denied?
"System, initiate scan."
【Analysis complete. Protective dome employs chip recognition technology. Initiate system breach?】
Ye Linlang’s eyebrow arched in silent assent. "Proceed."
Compared to the system, the recognition capabilities of the protective dome were utterly primitive. The instant Ye Linlang’s words faded, her fingers had already pierced through the energy barrier.
The merfolk’s underwater city sprawled across a submarine rock formation, their dwellings being caverns hewn from stone. Pale gray slabs resembling petrified waves formed the walkways beneath her feet.
This was no haphazard cluster of boulders – the strategic placement of monoliths revealed careful urban planning. These architectural feats clearly predated the current merfolk inhabitants.
Their population numbered barely half of surface-dwelling Atlanteans, constrained both by oceanic perils and alarmingly low birth rates. While land-dwellers proliferated yearly, decades might pass without new merfolk offspring.
Throughout the city, bipedal merfolk moved with terrestrial ease, their ancestral adaptation to this air-filled environment evident. As Ye Linlang observed their fluid motions, she noticed diamond-shaped blue crystals adorning every forehead.
"System, identify those facial ornaments."
【Your Excellency, those are energy chips for dome access. The blue crystal forms merely decorative camouflage.】
Ye Linlang’s nod acknowledged the system’s unmatched analytical prowess – whether cataloging known entities or decrypting foreign mysteries through divine energy expenditure.
"Plot course to the temple."
【Acknowledged.】
【Proceed to next intersection for directional guidance.】
Her choice wasn’t arbitrary. Probe imagery had revealed this submerged temple as the planet’s most grandiose. System chrono-analysis suggested this might be among Atlantis’s primordial cities, its brine-preserved structures defying millennia better than their weather-beaten surface counterparts.
Passing merfolk pilgrims, she entered the sanctum where luminous architecture culminated in a central masterpiece. Unlike mundane stone effigies, this towering statue gleamed with otherworldly radiance – azure veins threading through alabaster crystalline matrix. Recognition flashed through her.
"This relic belongs to the Atlantean civilization’s Sea God Temple."
【Confirmed.】
The Atlanteans had venerated sea god Haetis through countless shrines, but only this sanctum housed the transcendent crystal icon discovered in their civilization’s twilight. Minimal sculpting had enhanced nature’s artistry, rendering what devotees considered divinity’s perfect mortal avatar.
Ye Linlang had presumed this treasure lost to the depths, never imagining exodus-bound refugees would salvage their holiest relic.
"System, cross-reference the deep blue pillar’s impact zone on Blue Star."
Though humans had detected the information-rich beam’s cosmic trajectory, their primitive sensors failed to pinpoint its Atlantean landing site.
【Terminus marked in adjacent waters.】 Cartographic holograms shimmered.
"Proximity risks? Witness potential?"
【No intelligent settlements within 2000km. However, atmospheric entry luminosity suggests surface observers.】
Nodding, Ye Linlang commenced urban exploration. Half an hour’s wandering brought her to merfolk juveniles at play – none exceeding seven solar cycles, the toddlers wobbling on unsteady fins.
Evolution had refined the merfolk’s inherited Atlantean beauty into aquatic perfection. As the vibrant pod giggled through games, a furtive movement caught her eye – a small figure lurking in shadowed recesses.
Approaching invisibly, she discovered a child concealed by stringy hair. The glimpsed forearm revealed alarming details – cerulean scales glimmering beneath ragged sleeves, reptilian patterns creeping up neck and cheeks. In Eastern realms, such features might mark incomplete spirit cultivator metamorphosis or half-demon ancestry.
Among countless observed merfolk – whether bipedal or caudal – this was her first encounter with such morphological irregularity.
"Full biometric scan."
【Processing…】
【Genetic instability detected in young lifeform. Critical collapse estimated within three revolutions.】
"Edited genome? Engineered hybridization?"
【Natural fusion across generations. Anomaly isolated – majority exhibit stable genotypes.】
【Conclusion: Atlantean merfolk represent intentional genetic modification with adaptive evolutionary coding. Marine existence has driven continuous optimization of piscine attributes over millennia.】
"Artificial intervention… intriguing." Ye Linlang’s gaze lingered on the scaled child. "Redirect to temple authorities. I’ll require audience with the presiding priest."
