The Haunted Submarine

How tempting is the prospect of rebirth?

In the clean and tidy office, Uncle Han Zhi gave Xue Ming a brief introduction to the state of the Canaan Mother Goddess.

A series of photos hang on the blackboard, and the corresponding documents and logs are kept in the cabinet. All the passengers' encounters with the Canaanite life can be found here.

"Your anonymous name has a pinky finger," Uncle Han Zhi continued. "I suppose many people wish they could start over with a different identity—right?"

"Actually," Jiang Xueming pursed his lips, somewhat reserved. He crossed his arms and rested them on his knees, unsure how to describe the divine power of his little finger in front of this old Uncle Tian Shu.

"--This is like changing your name; you need your family's consent."

Han Zhi was quite surprised. "Oh?"

Jiang Xueming explained, "If someone suddenly changes gender, disappears from the station's system, and then becomes her—that won't do. Back when the medical and healing system centered around [B·Side] was built, I designed a whole set of rules and regulations for the little finger."

He tapped the table repeatedly to emphasize the key point.

"Rebirth is not a simple matter. We have social identities, kinship ties, and the nature of natural persons and legal entities. We have citizens and passengers, all sorts of prefixes."

"So Little Finger and I established a complete set of rules. Whether it's the mind or the body, the flesh or the spirit, when people truly need rebirth, they will have some pathological symptoms—gender identity disorder or a clean and decisive brain death, an inescapable internal struggle and depression, and incurable mental damage. If it's more serious, I will use the power of Fragrant Dream to try to treat them, give them time to adjust, and then consider the matter of [B·Side] cooperating with the treatment."

Of course.

Jiang Xueming licked his lips, his mouth dry from talking.

"All of this requires the family's consent, the employer's stamp, and the knowledge of friends, relatives, and everyone connected to the patient—that this person is about to die and will be brought back to life under [her] identity."

"I don't think this should be a process of running away, but a process of facing it bravely."

"So, Uncle Han Zhi, when you told me about this reborn Mother of God, I think I can understand the allure of it."

Jiang Xueming continued his analysis--

"-- Possessing new abilities, saying goodbye to the DNA of pure-blooded Homo sapiens, a rapidly healing body, quick reflexes, stronger Inspiration, or the ability to change bodies and faces, discarding past social identities and kinship, getting rid of all burdens, discarding all past shame, failures, and regrets, thus becoming free. I know all of this, I understand it all."

Uncle Han Zhi was quite surprised by the gunsmith's breadth of knowledge.

"You're less like a soldier and more like a scholar."

Jiang Xueming replied modestly and politely, "I just like to take things apart; before I do that, I have to understand them."

"Before we get straight to the point, I'd like to formally introduce myself." Uncle Han Zhi opened his arms, revealing the spirit garment beneath his protective cloak, just like the operator configuration of Tian Shu.

"I am a researcher in the [Wenqu] department, and also one of the earliest data analysts to explore psionic materials in the lattice dimension. I shuttle between the [Tiantong] and [Wenqu] departments. The Philosopher Foundation asked me to go to the US aerospace industry, that is, to serve as a technical advisor at NASA. I can't disclose the specific technology. -- This time I came to Fang Feng for thirty-three major research projects."

"It all revolves around extraterrestrial life, their deep space travel, their ecological surveys, their fundamental structure, their basic psionic energy, and so on."

"I will provide you with an isolation suit, similar to the very thick and bulky suits astronauts wear during spacewalks, to combat the psionic contamination of Our Holy Mother —you can have close contact with her, but it's best, best, that you don't try to have any more mental interaction with her."

Without hesitation, Jiang Xueming asked, "Could she have performed a blood transfusion on me? Is that right?"

Uncle Han Zhi thought for a moment about the "blood transfusion procedure": "Among the passengers who have had close contact with her recently, some do indeed resemble hybrids created by the Madness Butterfly Sect's blood transfusion method—but let's not say that before making a definitive conclusion."

"Have these people been taken into custody?" Jiang Xueming pressed. "There are seventeen people in total, led by Pixar Adriano. I think they should still be at the Research Station."

Uncle Han Zhi replied, "He's already been locked up and is still under observation."

Jiang Xueming: "Can I go see them?"

Uncle Han Zhi shook his head. "I'm afraid that won't work. Their mental state is very unstable. After obtaining the purplish-gray blood, their bodies underwent Heaven and Earth Turning transformation—it's not just as simple as the data on the Polarized Sextant."

"The psionic transformation stages in the underworld are based on the growth stages of the Vita Imprint, as you should know. Every psionicist must undergo six transformations."

"During the transformation process, spiritual threads emanate from the limbs and bones of the human body. These threads then form clumps, which begin to develop color and transform into more solid limbs—ultimately, the limbs become complete, becoming an embodiment of soul power."

"It is based on the essence of Homo sapiens, the transient nature of blood flow, the laws of neural activity, the coordination between muscles and the brain, and a combination of various complex elements, representing the burst of Homo sapiens' spiritual energy."

"The blood-donating units modify the organs of Homo sapiens, steal a portion of their DNA, and operate directly on their physical essence, turning Homo sapiens into monstrous forms mixed with the blood of various calamity beasts and holy beings. They can take a shortcut to gain greater power, longer lifespan, and more aggressive soul might, but their spiritual bodies will also become more fragile."

"But the metaphysical operations performed by Our Holy Mother on these passengers were completely different. There was no parasitic relationship or blood-transfer relationship between the host and the body; it was a major operation performed solely on the structural components of the body's tissues."

As he said this, Uncle Han Zhi showed Xue Ming several human body scans.

Whether it's X-rays, ultrasound, or psychic detection instruments, they all show the same result—those who have received the blessings of Our Holy Mother have all become "inhuman" in terms of bone structure, fascia, muscles, and brain.

Outwardly, the passenger appeared to retain the physical appearance of a Homo sapiens, but X-rays revealed countless, densely packed, bright cavities within the adult male's skeleton.

These cavities appear to be embedded with crystals of varying densities, resulting in shadows of different color temperatures under the same radiation intensity.

Jiang Xueming: "It looks very much like... a pyroxene. Could it be that she implanted a pyroxene into the bones of these people? A complete transformation?"

"So you invited me here." Uncle Han Zhi put away the picture book and continued, "Originally, I was researching psionic artifacts related to gabbro—after obtaining the consent of several subjects, we did indeed take a portion of bone from their bodies, and chemical testing confirmed that it was gabbro, the most common gabbro in the underground world."

"In addition, the color of the pyroxene in people with different personalities is also different. Similar to what the Spirit Elder did, this Holy Mother is performing what she understands as a rite of bestowing stones."

"She's got something," Jiang Xueming exclaimed in surprise. "This woman's got it all covered, doing both things at once, giving blood and stone at the same time."

Uncle Han Zhi took a piece of aluminum oxide, which is raw corundum, from the drawer.

"We've been trying to unravel the mystery of pyroxene—why this substance, after processing, can become a psionic amplifier for psionicists."

"Among Galahad's teaching materials are two books: one is 'An Introduction to Spiritualism' and the other is 'Spiritual Energy Conduit Diagrams'—it's not as reliable as electricity, but spiritual energy also has the potential for industrialization, which is why scholars study it."

"The stones that protect the passengers are usually ornaments produced through the exquisite processing of the spirit elder."

"We compared the works of ordinary jewelers with those of Ling Weng, and the difference lies in the more microscopic level of lattice and molecular atomic potential arrangement caused by internal stress in the materials."

"Clearly, this involves some of the one-dimensional and two-dimensional pathways in superconductivity theory—with the support of the Mortal World Academy of Sciences and the Philosopher Foundation, and by using this theory and experimental results to correspond with the transformation of the passengers by Our Holy Mother, she was able to perform these delicate operations."

"She gave the passengers a portion of the Canaanite life's characteristics and directly implanted crystals into their bodies. The modified people should not be called Homo sapiens, but rather the young children of Canaan. She was indeed the mother of these passengers—this surgery almost completely transformed them from the inside out."

Jiang Xueming said, "They seem like a new type of human?"

"They are hybrid life forms from different races." Uncle Han Zhi emphasized, "These passengers have very strong Inspiration. After acquiring this hardware, their transformation process will become very fast. It is estimated that in a few years, with a suitable tribulation, they will be able to gain Soul Power—just like a computer with upgraded hardware running the original program, of course there will be a significant improvement in efficiency."

Jiang Xueming: "Is this synthetic life form stable?"

Uncle Han Zhi immediately said, "Of course it's unstable. Just like the rumors you heard, that Pix Adriano immediately started preaching the Afterlife cult—almost treating the gift of Canaanite life as a divine grace."

At this point, the researcher was quite troubled.

"It's something that science can slowly explain and disprove, yet they want to sanctify and superstitious it—it's truly baffling. Every drop of blood and every piece of flesh on this guy's body is a bioengineered product created by the Holy Mother through meticulous manipulation and nanoscale cutting techniques of Canaan life. But in this 'little rascal's' mouth, it becomes '[those who believe in the Holy Mother will have eternal happiness]'—I'm starting to lose my composure."

Before Jiang Xueming could speak...

Uncle Han Zhi then brought up another matter.

"That's enough for the lesson. I won't go into any complicated theories. Ming De brought you here not just for the purpose of rendering the plague bones harmless."

Jiang Xueming: "Any other requests?"

Han Zhi nodded. "The Tengzhen submarine has lost contact."

Several years ago, the exploration plan for the Fang Feng also included the discovery of golden eggs around the offshore volcano.

As representatives of all humankind, the Philosopher Foundation sent a large number of linguists and geologists to explore this place. The original form of Canaanite life is very precious. Before they gradually adapt to the environment of Earth, it is necessary to preserve some samples to study Canaan's home planet—life created in such an environment is truly amazing and precious.

As the team that pioneered the front line of Red Star Hill in Niflheim, they received support from Canaan Life. It was the three engineering submarines, Black Dragon, Ishikawa, and Nagoya, that retrieved the golden egg, which led to the later bombardment of Surter by Canaan shells to recharge the machine.

Unfortunately, the Shichuan was lost forever on the seabed during a subsequent exploration mission, and the cause of its disappearance was never found.

The underwater environment, filled with active volcanoes and turbulent waves, made it difficult for underwater photography equipment to operate. The footage captured showed that the submarine's exterior was undamaged. It was not deformed, its hull showed no signs of cracking, and it was unlikely to depressurize and implode; it simply lay quietly paralyzed on the seabed.

The salvage operation for the Shichuan has been put on hold, as there is no powerful industrial equipment available to accomplish it.

Until recently, when the plan for a new station was put on the agenda, the people at the Research Station had a better radio system, and the railway network was being expanded. However, there was a very strange thing: the Shichuan had been sending distress signals to the Research Station for several years without stopping.

"Is it haunted?" Jiang Xueming asked, puzzled. "Is this submarine's radio station that powerful? Can it send messages out?"

"Sending a message and receiving a message are different, Gunsmith," Han Zhi explained patiently. "Making a lot of noise so that others can hear it is easy, but finding logical words in a bunch of noise and being able to resist interference is very, very difficult—that's why we recently received the distress signal from the Shichuan, which was quite frightening to be honest."

Jiang Xueming: "Could it be..."

"It's not what you think." Before Xue Ming could finish speaking, Han Zhi interrupted, "It wasn't a signal sent by the expedition members before they died. It seems there's still something alive operating the radio. The Shichuan hasn't lost power yet; it uses a nuclear reactor."

"If we can't recover them, the head of the Research Station won't be able to explain to the families of the victims. Putting that aside for now, if a nuclear leak occurs, these delicate Canaanite creatures will all suffer as well."

"The Tengzhen, serving as a search and rescue vessel, carried eight divers with experience in high-pressure deep-sea diving. Their equipment was among the best in the world. Over the past two months, they had eight close encounters with the Shichuan, taking photos and documenting their observations of the vessel's condition, estimating salvage data, and formulating a salvage plan."

"Until last week, the Tengzhen broke down along with the Shichuan."

Uncle Han Zhi glanced at Jiang Xueming again, and that glance held a deeper meaning.

"I told the BOSS that we could hire a powerful psionicist, preferably with some basic knowledge of electromechanical repair, who could locate the submarine's ballast tanks in extreme environments, use their soul power to break through a path, open these metal cans from the outside, and enter the submarine to see what's going on inside."

"This person needs to be brave, confident, bold yet meticulous, and able to come back alive."

"The most important thing is to come back alive."

Uncle Han Zhi emphasized--

"--You must come back."

Jiang Xueming blinked, seemingly not understanding, and said confidently, "There must be such a person. Let me contact the BOSS for you."

Han Zhi looked at Jiang Xueming--

" --Ming De recommended you to me."

Jiang Xueming: "I'll answer the phone right away."

Uncle Han Zhi: "I know it's dangerous; the underworld is full of unknowns."

Jiang Xueming: "No, listen to me."

Uncle Han Zhi: "Your eldest brother, Ye Bei, was like that too. Facing unknown dangers, he didn't hesitate at all—I crafted his equipment, and I personally cut the Red Mountain Stone for him. You can completely trust me."

"Alright then." Xue Ming sent a text message to his wife to let her know he was safe, hoping there wouldn't be any shocks or surprises on the Shichuan, and reluctantly accepted the job.

He didn't have much diving experience; his previous diving skills were taught to him by Meteor himself, and his lowest diving depth was 108 meters.

The Shichuan was 1,400 meters from the coastline, lying on the seabed 270 meters deep. By the time the sunlight from the King of Cinder reached this spot, very little of it remained.

After thinking for a long time, he still sent a text message to Ming De.

[Boss, why didn't you tell me sooner? I wasn't even prepared!]

The good cat will reply immediately--

[--Didn't I tell you? Wasn't it all clearly stated in the mission briefing?]

Jiang Xueming thought for a long time, and in front of Uncle Han Zhi, tore off the yellow talisman from the box containing the plague bones. Inside were thick pages filled with document folders.

"Damn it! I hate the ritual of unboxing!"