Transformation / Coming Ashore

Bai Ye indeed believed that Seaborn's existence was not quite the product of natural selection and evolution. It was full of signs of being programmed and edited, and was more like a tool or weapon than a living being.

However, Bai Ye was not a professional biologist, and his biological knowledge was insufficient to support his research on Seaborn. Furthermore, the knowledge from the Swarm offered no explanation for its origin.

The Swarm itself was unclear about the meaning and mission of its existence. Ishar-mla only wanted to lead the Swarm out of this land to find its own purpose.

"Perhaps this is a way to solve the problem..."

Bai Ye nodded and muttered to himself, putting the book back into his inventory. Then, as if sensing something, he turned his head and found that Gladiia had already woken up.

The awakened Deep Sea Princess has opened her eyes and is silently gazing at Bai Ye with her blood-red eyes.

"..." Bai Ye looked at her silently, not knowing what to say.

Gladiia just stared at him, making it impossible to tell what she was feeling.

Bai Ye felt a chill run down his spine.

A moment later, Gladiia turned her head slightly to look at her clothes, which she was now fully dressed in.

Then, she raised her hand and subconsciously touched her neck.

Unexpectedly, the scales that were originally there had disappeared. Gladiia had grown accustomed to the slightly raised, rough feeling, but her fingers only touched smooth skin.

It seems that Bai Ye's words were true; his outrageous views and methods actually worked.

Not only that, the madness that had been assaulting his mind had now vanished, as if everything that had happened before was just a nightmare.

Gladiia slowly rose, but felt a faint pain in her lower body. The Abyssal Hunter's powerful self-healing ability was repairing her "wound," but the stretched sensation still lingered.

Chapter 165 Transformation

(Are you ready for a 6-day work week?)

Gladiia covered her lower abdomen with her hand and slowly sat up from the ground. Then, she tried to stand up, but her legs suddenly went weak and she almost fell. Bai Ye stepped forward and supported her.

"No wonder Skadi is getting weaker... At first I thought it was because the land made her confused and hesitant—now I know that's where the problem lies."

Gladiia leaned against Bai Ye, frowning as she felt her body weaken.

She had a thorough grasp of the theoretical knowledge; after all, she was Technology Executor, and even the simplest biology was a piece of cake for her. However, after experiencing it firsthand, she felt as if the books had deceived her.

"Perhaps, only the first time is like this?" Bai Ye couldn't help but defend Skadi. However, he suddenly realized that with the Abyssal Hunter's regenerative abilities, every injury would heal, meaning that every time, it would have to start all over again.

Only Laurentina was different; her self-healing factors all acted on the locations where highly concentrated liquid Originium was injected, so Bai Ye didn't have to start anew every time.

Thinking of this, Bai Ye stopped talking.

"It's strange... I always see Shark and Skadi looking like they're enjoying themselves, so this experience is a bit... weird," Gladiia murmured.

She did admit to herself that the sensations she experienced before losing consciousness weren't too bad; at least she didn't hate them. But she hated the feeling of pain and weakness she felt now. Before, injuries hadn't affected her attacks, but now even a small wound made her unsteady on her feet.

"You might not be used to it at first, but you'll gradually get used to it and understand it," Bai Ye whispered from the side.

Upon hearing Gladiia raised her eyebrows and glared at Bai Ye:

"There will be a next time?"

Seemingly because she was no longer hiding her emotions, Gladiia's expression became more vivid. This was the first time Bai Ye had ever seen Gladiia with such a rich range of expressions.

"Your symptoms haven't been cured, they've only been alleviated," Bai Ye replied, bringing himself back to his senses.

Gladiia turned her head and stared at Bai Ye with her red eyes:

"So, this isn't the only time?"

"Mm." Bai Ye nodded.

"You didn't do this on purpose, did you?" Gladiia suddenly asked, feeling something was off.

Bai Ye shook his head. On this point, he truly wouldn't lie. Because it was indeed the truth.

Gladiia looked into Bai Ye's eyes. Because they had already spent time together and become familiar with each other, she could tell that Bai Ye was serious and not joking.

"If...if it's just treatment..." Gladiia didn't finish her sentence. Even though she was usually calm, her thoughts were now somewhat chaotic.

After all, so much had happened before.

Bai Ye led Gladiia toward the laboratory exit:

"You are the first hunter to recover from the brink of mutation and return to normal... At least, I have fulfilled my promise."

Gladiia shook her head:

"The most sensible thing to do would have been to kill me just now. Although your method succeeded, I suspect that you weren't entirely confident in what you were doing."

"Yes, actually I'm not entirely sure either, I can only give it a try." Bai Ye acknowledged what Gladiia said.

Then, looking into Gladiia's eyes, he said earnestly:

"But I will try no matter what. Because there are three things that people should abide by in this world: promises, love, and people to cherish. I promise you, I will pull you out of the abyss."

"Even if your method might not work, even if you might be attacked by me in my monster form?" Gladiia asked, looking at Bai Ye.

"Yes." Bai Ye met her gaze. "Even so. Do you remember what I told you in Saltwind City?"

"I said, I will change the fate of the Abyssal Hunter."

"Laurentina's, Skadi's, and yours Gladiia."

"Third time..." Gladiia lowered her head.

This is the third time already.

The person in front of him had saved him three times, and each time had put his life within his grasp.

Gladiia had never forgotten the conversation in Saltwind City. That time, Bai Ye's guess was incredibly close to the truth, but she herself was unwilling to admit it.

Therefore, along with the emotions that surged up later under the influence of the Bai Ye, Gladiia sealed them all away in the deepest part of her heart, forcing herself not to recall or remember them.

Now, Bai Ye's words once again stirred up her old feelings.

A surge of emotion welled up in Gladiia's heart again, and she pressed her hand to her chest. This feeling was something she had never experienced in the ocean, nor with her so-called "family." For this, she had even been willing to give up everything to join the Abyssal Hunter.

In the end, she found what she wanted on land.

She had felt these emotions many times in the past, mostly from the Bai Ye, but Gladiia forced herself to ignore them.

After all, she still had unfinished business to fulfill. This was a very useful reason to convince herself.

Now, Gladiia believes that the time has come for her to confront and face these feelings.

Although the process was incredibly absurd, if she could, Gladiia would like to experience more of this warmth.

After making her decision, Gladiia snapped out of her thoughts.

"I understand." She nodded. "I will cooperate with the treatment. Logically speaking, if it can prevent me from becoming a monster, I will naturally agree."

Bai Ye was unaware of Gladiia's thoughts; he was simply relieved that at least this girl wouldn't be thinking of going to her death anymore.

"So, let's go back to the original question, which is the reason you and I are fighting—I still believe that I need to go into the deep sea. Only by returning to the origin of everything can we resolve our doubts and get everything back on track." Bai Ye brought up the plan they had made earlier again.

Gladiia closed her eyes.

After a moment, she opened her eyes and said earnestly:

"Then, the plan remains unchanged, and we will go to the deep sea with you. Now that we know about those scoundrels' plot in advance, our position has changed. Now, the enemy is in the open, while we are in the shadows."

Bai Ye nodded:

"They have no idea that we have already communicated with Ishar-mla, and that the Firstborn is not currently in the hunter's body."

He paused, then turned to look at Gladiia and said:

"You were clearly flustered just now, otherwise you would have thought of this."

"Yes, the first thing I felt was despair. I never imagined that the Abyssal Church could corrupt Sargos so severely..." Gladiia agreed.

"At least for now, the Abyssal Hunter are not homeless. If you have nowhere to return to in the ocean, then at least you have a place on land that you can call home." Bai Ye smiled.

"Yes, you've already wiped us all out." Gladiia looked at Bai Ye, pressed her hand to her chest, and suddenly laughed.

Bai Ye was stunned.

"What's wrong?" Gladiia asked.

Bai Ye shook his head:

"This is... the first time I've ever seen you smile."

It wasn't a sneer, nor a sneer, but a smile.

Gladiia was also stunned. She reached out and touched her face, feeling the muscles in her face being pulled.

"Ah, so this is what a smile is? The feeling of a smile..." Gladiia murmured to herself, "No wonder using polite expressions at the Academy of Sciences was considered creepy. So a smile isn't something you can fake, it just comes out."

This was an unconscious emotion; it was the first time Gladiia had laughed from the bottom of her heart.

Chapter 166 Reaching the Shore

(I'm back! This is real writing today. I want to get full attendance bonus in May.)

The Abyssal Hunter's super-powerful self-healing ability was taking effect. After resting against Bai Ye for a while, Gladiia regained her strength. She got off Bai Ye, picked up the long spear next to her, tried to swing it, and then put the weapon back on her back.

Gladiia can now stand on her own. Apart from a slightly strange feeling in her lower body, she has the strength to move around on her own.

Because she hadn't finished cooling down, Gladiia was burning hot, and her fiery body left Bai Ye's embrace, leaving him with a sense of loss.

It seems that Laurentina's "prophecy" has come true; the three Abyssal Hunter she had previously found have now all been captured by Bai Ye.

Gladiia noticed Bai Ye's expression, and she tried to put on a serious face, saying earnestly:

"Stop overthinking. We've already wasted too much time. We should go up now."

She paused, then continued:

"However, this time it was indeed my mistake and dereliction of duty. I will explain it to them after I get ashore."

The two carefully tidied up again, and then Bai Ye installed bombs in various places in the laboratory. Worried that the quantity would not be enough, and in order to prevent the Originium energy of the high- Originium explosives from polluting the sea and causing the passive evolution of the Seaborn, this time Bai Ye used bombs from the "Earth where the Rainbow Team is located".

The formula for this explosive was very mature. After reverse engineering it, Luna found that it was almost identical to the technology on Earth. It was only 300 years old, and the database information was still complete, so it could be easily reproduced.

"Let's go."

Bai Ye and Gladiia swam out of the cave laboratory. Then, Bai Ye pressed the explosion button on the remote control. With a muffled sound from underwater, the explosion created a seawater spray dome that rose high into the air. The gas in the bubbles burst from the spray dome, forming jets of seawater that sprayed out in all directions.

With a deafening roar, Cicero's laboratory was completely destroyed.

"It's a bit of a pity about the place where we had our first treatment..." Bai Ye blinked.

Gladiia glared at Bai Ye.

As if some kind of switch had been flipped, Gladiia's expression became slightly more lively, no longer as cold and robotic as before.

On the shore, Laurentina and Skadi had been waiting for a long time.

Upon seeing Bai Ye and Gladiia, the two Abyssal Hunter girls waved to them.

"It's so slow," Laurentina couldn't help but complain.

"Yes, there was a small mishap down below, but it's been resolved," Bai Ye explained.

"Hmm? Is that so?" Laurentina focused her gaze on Gladiia, her eyes lingering suspiciously on her before she suddenly froze.

Of course, the girl's daze only lasted for a moment. The next moment, she looked away, then moved closer to Bai Ye, sniffed him, and a mysterious smirk appeared on her face.

Bai Ye sensed something was wrong. While the simple-minded Skadi should be fine, this one clearly couldn't be hidden from view; after all, she was a shark with an incredibly keen sense of smell. Furthermore, Gladiia's movements were slightly unusual; with careful observation, she would surely notice something amiss.

"Is it really just a minor accident?" Laurentina blinked.

"Her symptoms suddenly worsened, so I helped her with some treatment," Bai Ye explained, then added, "You can ask your captain for details."

Laurentina rolled her eyes upon hearing this. How could she dare to ask the captain? Of course, she also knew very well that now was not the time to talk about this, so she temporarily stopped asking.

Gladiia turned her face away, somewhat unsure how to face her teammates. In this respect, she was far behind the two Abyssal Hunter, and now she was in the same position, which made her a little uncomfortable. Fortunately, the Abyssal Hunter were connected by blood, and this bond could obviously overcome many ordinary difficulties.