The night was deep, and the sea surged with violent waves.
Standing at the bow of the speedboat, Mu Da stared unblinkingly at the red and green points of light rising and falling with the waves in the distance, his eyes involuntarily filling with memories.
A little over two months ago, this place had still been peaceful and tranquil. Orange-yellow rollers rose and fell with the currents, glimmering beneath the sunlight like wheat fields growing across the sea's surface, with the rolling waves becoming their swaying golden stalks.
But now, that magnificent expanse of gold had become history, just like the vanished city of Shilong.
Scattered metal parts and ruptured pipelines had sunk into the sea together. Generator units, like wild horses freed from their reins, had been smashed apart by the raging waves and vanished into this endless stretch of ocean.
Sometimes, Mu Da could not help but wonder.
Perhaps humans were simply an incorrigible kind of animal, forever repeating mistakes they had made more than once, over and over cycling through destruction and rebirth, only to mourn the good old days after everything had become irreparable.
Maybe—
The Torch Church's beliefs were not entirely wrong.
If they wanted to eradicate the flaws rooted in human nature, they could only delete those vile traits from their genes and ascend into a higher form of life.
His thoughts drifted away with the sea breeze. Estimating that the time was nearly right, Mu Da took out his radio and pressed the button.
"This is the maritime patrol. We're about to pass through the restricted zone... requesting clearance."
A burst of noisy static came from the radio, followed by a rough voice and a long yawn.
"Patrol? What are you doing here?"
Mu Da answered concisely.
"We tracked an abnormal sonar signal.