Chapter 243

Chapter 243: Hints

“Misha, look—that’s a whale. Even though its name has the word ‘fish,’ it’s not actually a fish. It’s a mammal. It can’t breathe underwater on its own… And no matter how hard you stare at me like that, what’s lost can only be reclaimed by yourself.”  

Okulet, who had been lecturing about marine life, solemnly patted his daughter’s head.  

The ship’s internet was expensive and spotty, severely affecting gameplay.  

After a few rounds, Okulet—who had originally planned to help his daughter rank up—ended up dragging her down two whole tiers instead.  

All of this could be blamed on the terrible connection.  

Receiving no response, Okulet turned away, pretending to admire the ocean to avoid Mi Xiaoliu’s unwavering stare.  

She had been glaring at him like this for ages, following him with her eyes no matter where he went.  

The stench of the sea was overwhelming, and the deck reeked of heavy metals mixed with petroleum. Combined with the rocking from the waves, anyone foolish enough to come up for “fresh air” would likely end up feeding the fish in the most literal sense.  

This was, after all, a cargo ship—comfort was nowhere near that of, say, a yacht.  

But Mi Xiaoliu showed no signs of seasickness. Maybe all that jumping between buildings had toughened her up.  

The sailors were kind. Seeing the little girl staring intently at her father, one even brought her a small crab from the kitchen to play with.  

But Mi Xiaoliu wasn’t fond of crabs.  

She knew they were stingy creatures that only cared about money.  

Crouching down, she poked the crab with her finger.  

It pinched her.  

It hurt.  

The sailor who gave it to her laughed heartily. Who wouldn’t want to tease such an adorable girl?  

Mi Xiaoliu shook the crab off and ran to Okulet, showing him her injured finger.  

Okulet took her hand and blew on it gently.  

Satisfied, she scampered away.  

Easy to please.  

“Such a cute little girl. Yours?” The burly first mate struck up a conversation.  

Today, Heli had pinned Mi Xiaoliu’s bangs to the side with a hair clip and dressed her in a more feminine T-shirt and shorts, paired with pink sandals that had tiny heels.  

The look was undeniably girlish.  

“Yeah.”  

“Already this pretty at her age? She’ll outshine celebrities when she grows up. Speaking of which, my wife called last night—she’s pregnant…”  

Okulet clamped a hand over his mouth. “Yeah, I don’t need to hear that.”  

Not exactly friendly.  

Gazing at the endless sea, Okulet seriously considered how to handle an enemy attack.  

Truthfully, the three- to four-day journey had gone smoother than expected. No enemies, not even a single rainstorm. Mi Xiaoliu’s body had stubbornly endured the turbulent voyage, and everything seemed to be progressing well.  

The only downside was Heli, who needed her brain sharp, hadn’t been getting enough rest—her arm kept going numb at night from being used as Mi Xiaoliu’s pillow.  

By noon, they finally reached the target waters. After measuring the depth to ensure safety, the three boarded a pre-prepared submarine and let the cruise ship depart first.  

Releasing the island would, unsurprisingly, cause a sudden rise in sea levels—similar to what happened in Metropolis. While barely noticeable in the open ocean, the resulting waves could capsize nearby ships.  

Staying in the submarine wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it was safer.  

Once everything was ready, Mi Xiaoliu pressed against the submarine’s interior wall and, from the maximum possible distance, released the first item from her system storage.  

Amid the dizzying churn of waves, Shrimp Tail Island reappeared.  

Even mentally prepared, Heli couldn’t help but marvel at the sudden emergence of such a colossal structure.  

“Even the current Fourth Fractal can’t store something this massive at will. No wonder Easter both despises Xiao Mi and hesitates to act recklessly.”  

Accurate, if slightly disrespectful to Okulet.  

A quick survey confirmed the island was relatively stable, with no immediate risk of sinking.  

Exploring such a vast area on foot would be impractical, but the submarine had portable motorcycles prepared in advance.  

Following Okulet’s directions, they entered the “Greenhouse.” Almost immediately, Mi Xiaoliu—seated behind Heli—began fidgeting.  

Heli straightened her back slightly. “Don’t be scared.”  

The corpses littering the streets had been cleared out back in Metropolis, leaving only faint bloodstains. The emptiness and silence only amplified the eerie atmosphere.  

Heli navigated the streets clumsily, trying to discern the purpose of the buildings lining the roads.  

“You’ve never been here?” Okulet looked puzzled.  

“My workplace was at headquarters. The Second Branch was just a large-scale research facility in comparison.”  

“Care to elaborate?” Okulet narrowed his eyes.  

“No.”  

Concise and to the point—it wasn’t that she wouldn’t speak, but that she couldn’t. Not out of loyalty to Easter, but bound by some form of restriction.  

Okulet nodded, piecing together her implications. If the Second Branch was merely a research facility, did that mean Easter’s headquarters engaged in other operations? Like Night Hawk, perhaps?  

Judging by Heli’s search patterns, this city-sized branch was clearly structured differently from headquarters—enough to disorient even a former Third Fractal like her.  

Yet she wasn’t entirely lost. With the aid of their vehicles, they located their target in under twenty minutes.  

A circular building stood at the city’s center, roughly six stories tall, its footprint vast enough to be repurposed as a stadium.  

This wasn’t insider knowledge from Easter—placing the core at the center was just common sense.  

As they approached on foot, Mi Xiaoliu ducked under Heli’s arm, pressing close enough for the older woman to feel her trembling.  

“Master… shouldn’t go further inside…”  

Heli sighed. “Just hand it over. Stay here and play—don’t wander off.”  

Mi Xiaoliu obediently passed her the item and plopped down on the first-floor lobby floor.  

Okulet would’ve preferred staying with her, but he was stuck playing pack mule for Heli.  

At least their destination was on the second floor—close enough for his abilities to cover Mi Xiaoliu’s position.  

Before leaving, he ruffled her hair reassuringly. “Play by yourself for now. Once everything’s settled, I’ll come back and play games with you.”  

“……”  

“We’ll likely stay here a few days. You can scout out the researchers’ quarters—they should be comfortable. Food won’t be an issue either. The first floor should have a staff cafeteria, and if that doesn’t suit you, there’s probably ingredients to cook with. All internally cultivated by Easter.”  

“Internally cultivated?”  

Okulet frowned.  

Now that he thought about it, rumors mentioned flora and fauna falling from the sky alongside humans during the Collapse—though the latter’s sheer numbers overshadowed the former.  

So Easter produced most resources in-house, minimizing external contact.  

The unidentified corpses of Easter members on Shrimp Tail Island already hinted at this: generations of internal propagation, self-sustaining ecosystems—a hidden Wakanda, far more complex than imagined.  

As he hauled equipment past gleaming laboratories, even mundane objects like doorknobs seemed sinister under Easter’s branding, evoking instruments of torture.  

Discomfort prickled his skin. The recordings of Misha’s screams and sobs echoed in his ears.  

His blood boiled, breath turning ragged with fury.  

That such a place was now their lifeline—  

Heli’s chosen site felt unnervingly familiar, especially the human-sized vats lining the walls, remnants of formaldehyde still sloshing inside.  

Seeing them in person stirred emotions he couldn’t name.  

Most equipment lay in ruins, yet Heli seemed relieved. The truly critical samples and devices were securely hidden elsewhere.  

Preempting his questions, she clarified, “This is one of the most comprehensively stocked labs. We don’t have much time—Easter will notice if we linger.”  

“Mm.”  

It took Okulet a moment to steady himself.  

Easter… deserves annihilation.  

————————  

First Floor.  

Mi Xiaoliu curled quietly in a corner, glued to her phone, glancing up intermittently.  

No internet meant only offline mini-games, and the battery icon glared a dire 5%.  

Unhappy, she fished out her charger and scanned for outlets.  

Only a three-pronged socket for air conditioners greeted her.  

She squatted, studying its shape, then attempted to bend her charger’s parallel (||) prongs into a diagonal (八) configuration.  

“Master, that’s too dangerous.”  

Mi Xiaoliu paused—mainly because the prongs refused to bend, and her fingers hurt.  

Her gaze drifted upward.  

A ceiling-mounted display, meant for surveillance feeds, now showed a crude 3D map with arrow markers pointing to locations of two-pronged outlets.  

Mi Xiaoliu stared, unmoving.  

“Master, don’t follow it!”  

Sasha’s fur stood on end.  

Who had uploaded that image? Who had seen Mi Xiaoliu searching for an outlet and offering guidance?  

The island had been materialized for less than thirty minutes. While stored in system space, no living beings could’ve survived inside.

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