The Ocean People
In the center of the lounge of the "Mechanical Airship" is a large ornamental fish tank, in which some colorful bionic fish are kept.
However, at this moment, the bionic fish were electrocuted, their flesh splitting open, and the electronic components inside their bellies floated on the surface of the water, as if they had been "gutted".
The bionic fish died, and in its place came eight 'thundercloud electric eel pups', each over a meter long. These marine mutant creatures seemed dissatisfied with their 'small' living environment, their tails constantly crackling with electric sparks, and blue light flashing continuously in the water.
"The generator is here!"
Fortunately, the two exoskeleton warriors connected the backup generator to the tank, and the strong voltage made the Thundercloud Eel comfortably snore a series of times.
The cubs finally quieted down.
The onlookers looked at each other, speechless for a moment.
Who would have thought that those thundercloud electric eels were actually there to give birth?
When the senior engineer carried eight large fish into the cabin, everyone was stunned.
Zhou Cong hesitated for a moment, then said, "Those thundercloud electric eels probably mistook you for an ecological beast."
"What is an ecological beast?" Zhao Xie couldn't help but ask.
"When a whale falls, all things come to life. Whales are ecological beasts. The living environment in the ocean is much more complex than that on land. The mutated life forms in the ocean tend to coexist in an 'energy ecosystem,' and the organizers of this 'ecosystem' are the ecological beasts."
Du Zhaodi said softly, "You can simply understand it as, one ecological beast is a small beast tide."
Zhou Congdao added, "I have fought in coastal waters and seen mechanical whales that are comparable to aircraft carriers, as well as strange life forms that control an entire fleet. Countless mutated sea beasts are bred and spread in the ships. Every time such ecological beasts appear, it is a huge test for the mechanical legion."
"They're treating me like a wet nurse," the senior engineer said, stroking his chin.
Zhao Xie hesitated for a moment, then blurted out, "Then why don't we throw them away? What if those giant eels come looking for us?"
The senior engineer looked at Zhao Xie as if he were an idiot.
"If someone leaves their son with you and then you abandon him, do you think the parents would fight you to the death?"
Zhou Cong stretched out his hand, which was covered by armor, but before he could even touch the glass, a dense electric charge began to envelop his fingers, making a 'sizzling' sound.
The electric eel in the water suddenly turned its body, its fist-sized eyes staring at him warily.
Zhou Cong withdrew his hand and shook his head, saying, "Don't be so pessimistic, this might be a good thing."
"I heard an expert say that the seabed is far richer in minerals than the land, and it is definitely not enough to rely on only one type of radiated beast to mine seabed minerals. Therefore, marine radiated beasts tend to adopt a cooperative foraging model rather than conflict and fighting."
"Their herbivorousness far outweighs their carnivorousness, of course, this is when they are not initiating 'tidal waves'."
"With these thundercloud electric eel pheromones, at least on our way back, we don't have to worry about being attacked by lightning storms."
Regardless of its danger, this "electric eel" is actually a very beautiful creature, with a blue, almost transparent body, sapphire-like eyes, and a hazy glow emanating from its body. In ancient times, it would definitely have been worshipped as a water god.
"At least we don't have to worry about the factory running out of power anymore."
The senior engineer stared at the attributes displayed in the system and muttered to himself.
Name: Thundercloud Electric Eel Pup
Race: Mutant Cellular Life - Osteichthyes - Moray Eels - Electric Species
Radiation level: c-
Health Points: 1660/1660
Stamina: 300/300
Bioenergy: 3530
Biological Attributes: Strength 12, Agility 17, Stamina 19, Intelligence 8, Perception 12
Skills: Energy Storage Lv7, Hydropower Generation Lv6 (Advanced), Thunder Lv4 (Elite)
Note: Create a superior living environment for it and treat it with love; it will be your best bioelectric power plant.
Apart from the unexpected "Thundercloud Electric Eel", everything went smoothly, and around 3 PM, the senior engineer and his group successfully arrived at the outer perimeter of the "Hunter's Graveyard".
It was a colossal forest, far exceeding the size of the concrete jungle of the metropolitan area.
Being in it, the senior engineer could feel a more peaceful power, like a god standing on earth, looking down on all living beings.
The exoskeleton warrior scouting ahead suddenly gestured for cover.
The senior engineer pulled Du Zhaodi behind a tree, and soon, a antelope appeared not far away.
This antelope is over two meters tall, with two horns on its head that look like backward-curving steel bars. Its head is covered by a streamlined mechanical helmet, and its muscles are clearly defined from its neck down.
It slowly walked to a tree, picked up a metallic leaf from the ground with its tongue, and chewed it slowly for about five minutes before slowly leaving again.
The exoskeleton warrior ahead waved, and the group continued on their way.
Upon reaching a waterfall, the group spotted another mechanical bio-beast.
This is a mechanical rhinoceros that is three stories tall. Its body is covered with huge metal modules, and there is a row of mane-like cables on its spine. There are four blowholes on both sides of its abdomen.
At this moment, it stands under the waterfall, letting the water flow wash over its "steel frame". Every five minutes, the four jet holes will spew out jets of turbid water.
It looks strangely like a car wash.
After a full half hour, it emerged from the waterfall, swaying its head, but it didn't go far before lying down on a rock. Its two electronic eyes flashed a few times, and then suddenly went black.
This should be 'sleep' or 'hibernation'.
At least it's not turned off.
This mechanical rhinoceros is clearly much stronger than the antelope from before. Although it's not a B-grade, it's probably at least a C+ grade.
Besides the cow and the sheep, the senior engineer also saw mechanical ostriches, heavily armed yaks, and folding-winged ducks, all living leisurely lives.
"So peaceful," Du Zhaodi couldn't help but say.
Compared to the raging darkness of the beast tide and the ever-present danger in the urban area, this place is more like a zoo, except that the animals inside are all cyborgs.
"We're almost at the place you mentioned," Zhou Cong said.
The senior engineer glanced at the map and nodded, saying, "Yes, we're almost there."
The senior engineer did not hide the legacy of the classic mechanical hunter; in fact, he also needed such a background story.
An ordinary mechanical hunter accidentally inherits the power of the previous generation of hunters, gaining immense strength—this is a plausible story.
Without this story, if the senior engineer suddenly produced a bunch of high-tech blueprints, he would definitely be dissected and studied.
"Be careful, something has triggered my alarm system," Zhou Cong frowned. He pressed a button on the exoskeleton, and immediately, the arm guards on both sides dented, and two palm-sized drones flew out and quickly disappeared.
Zhou Cong turned his head, and the electronic light from the eye sensor swept over the senior engineer. The senior engineer's prosthetic eye immediately gained a "small window" that shared the drone's field of vision.
The senior engineer sighed inwardly, thinking to himself that he must install a "firewall" for himself later, even if it's just the basic version.
Otherwise, a prosthetic body would be like a sieve.
Sharing views is one thing, but what if they share short videos?
I'm such a serious person.
Soon, through the drone's perspective, they "saw" a thick white fog. Shortly after the two drones entered the fog, the window in the engineer's eyes turned into a snowy screen.
"The drone has been attacked," Zhou Cong said gravely.
"Wild viruses, cyber organisms, or purely physical attacks?"
"I don't know, but the last image transmitted from the data terminal was of a humanoid creature."
"A humanoid creature, it can't be a scavenger, can it?"
The senior engineer raised his eyebrows, thinking to himself that the possibility of a mutated savage was actually greater.
Soon, the group arrived at a spot not far from the fog.
Zhou Cong divided the people into three groups: Gao Gong and Du Zhaodi in one group, himself and Zhao Xie in another group, and the other two exoskeleton warriors in a third group. The rest of the people were on guard around the perimeter to ensure that there would be no problems with the outside world when they entered the fog for exploration.
When Zhao Xie saw that the senior engineer and Du Zhaodi were in a group, he subconsciously opened his mouth, but then closed it again.
The senior engineer wouldn't mentor him, and Du Zhaodi wouldn't pay him any attention, so what's the point of saying anything?
The senior engineer, holding Du Zhaodi's hand, activated the radiation field as they entered the fog.
However, something unexpected happened: the radiation field, which had always been effective, suddenly lost its function, as if a wall had blocked all the radiation energy.
The senior engineer couldn't sense anything.
"This should be a new type of stealth material, similar to radar coating, except that it protects against energy rays instead of electronic signals."
Du Zhaodi scanned the white mist and made a judgment with her professional eye.
"It seems we have indeed arrived."
The senior engineer blinked his right eyelid twice quickly; under infrared vision, the fog had little effect.
Is this a radiation-proof beast that doesn't protect against mechanical modifiers?
The two explored further and soon discovered a huge corpse.
"Wow, it's huge!"
This corpse was only one size smaller than the previous mechanical rhinoceros, and was still two stories tall. The reason why the senior engineer was amazed was that the thing's true form was actually a lobster!
A super-sized steel lobster!
The lobster's shell was covered with a thick layer of ice. Du Zhaodi took out anti-radiation gloves, put them on, and then picked up a stone from the ground and started hitting it. Judging from her skillful movements, she must have done a lot of blacksmithing in the factory.
After breaking off a block of ice, the girl with the ponytail took out a flashlight. Under the flashlight's light, the surface of the ice block did not have a hexagonal pattern, but instead had a dusty appearance, as if countless tiny needles were sealed inside the ice.
"It's nuclear ice; it comes from the sea."
Nuclear ice, also known as nuclear ice, is a byproduct of nuclear winter and generally appears on glaciers at sea level.
After experiencing a war of "planet-shaping" magnitude, scorching heat and light are ultimately in the minority; cold, damp, and desolate are the dominant themes of this planet.
The senior engineer circled around it but found no wounds on the surface. Perhaps it starved to death, or perhaps it froze to death.
The senior engineer told this joke to Du Zhaodi, and the girl with the ponytail gave him a very nice eye roll.
Soon, the two found the second body.
The body reminded the senior engineer of a paper he had seen in Professor Han's laboratory.
Is it possible for ocean-dwelling humans to exist?