Deep-Sea Stealth

Seeing Heratia cornered against the wall, Maria could tell that the other woman had probably misunderstood something.

However, considering that there is nothing unusual between the two, the other person may realize it on their own later.

"I can tell you everything that will happen next, but... are you sure you really want to know?"

Maria braced herself against the wall with one hand and grabbed Heratia's restless little hand with the other.

She simply looked down at the lovely woman in front of her with indifference, her voice low and languid.

Behind her, the soft light outlined her silhouette...

It was hazy...

On the other side, inside the other ships.

At this moment, Malitus has completely lost its human form.

His body was undergoing some kind of strange change. Atavism and mutation caused many unusual growths on his body surface, but what was even more unsettling was that at this moment, everyone else was completely indifferent to it.

He just walked around there, murmuring to himself.

"I'm not qualified..."

"We need something better..."

"A better platform..."

His thoughts gradually became complex and chaotic, leaving everyone somewhat bewildered by his murmurs.

At that moment, no one noticed.

Not far from them, another ship was hurtling towards them at high speed...

Catastrophe can strike in an instant!

404

Chapter 404 Deep Sea Dive

Today should have been a good day.

Although people didn't quite understand why the Mantle Survey Team, which had just set off, chose to return home in less than three months, it didn't stop them from believing that it was definitely good news.

Just as Heratia said, Aegir had lived in peace for too long.

Too many people have become accustomed to days with only good news and no bad news.

Everyone looked confidently at the dock, peering around, anticipating the return of the three fleets with a bountiful harvest.

Bright lights shone throughout Jiake Nanle, as bright as daytime on land!

And amidst the intense scrutiny of the crowd, in the darkness outside the city, a ship finally pierced through the darkness.

Everyone stared wide-eyed; the reporters even played Jenga, trying to capture the photos as quickly as possible.

But as time went by, everyone began to realize that something was amiss.

The first thing to show a problem was the lighting.

The light that tore through the darkness was extremely dim at this moment, and it would even go dark for a while every now and then.

Did something unexpected happen that forced them to return early?

A sudden chill ran through everyone. They exchanged bewildered glances, some puzzled and confused.

Meanwhile, the organizers in the stands were also frowning.

He immediately boarded the communications station, looked at the ship emerging from the darkness in the distance, glanced at the uneasy crowd beside him, and then turned on the broadcast, sending a message into the ship in a calm tone.

"This is Jiake Nanle, the survey team. Please explain the situation..."

The man's gentle tone calmed everyone's nerves. Indeed, there was a problem with the lighting, but that didn't mean the operation had failed, did it?

Perhaps they've actually retrieved quite a bit, but encountered some problems on the return trip?

Everyone watched with expectant eyes.

Only...

When the submarine finally appeared before them, they were all stunned...

No one expected that the ship that appeared before them would be in such a miserable state.

The black steel supports were completely exposed! The oval hull looked as if a section had been broken off, revealing the internal structure.

It looks like it's about to be scrapped... Even its creator probably wouldn't recognize it as the child they once painstakingly crafted.

The other ship didn't return voluntarily; it was brought back by its own return command!

"What exactly is going on...?"

The person in charge of managing the reception suddenly changed his expression and reacted almost instantly, waving his arm.

"Evacuate everyone from the port area immediately. The remaining professionals will begin preparations for a forced transfer!"

The technology for automatic ship docking is still not mature in Aegir's research. Although there have been many successful cases, they really don't think that this dilapidated ship, which can't even be called a ship, can dock successfully.

Manual forced connection is required!

"Yes!"

Everyone got busy.

Astute journalists sensed this might be something unprecedented and began taking photos en masse.

Chaos erupted from the crowd; even the most highly educated people could not hide the fragility of human nature in such a crisis.

A large number of people began to retreat.

Among the crowd, Ulpianus frowned as he looked at the ships.

Only after the staff began evacuating did he exhale a sigh of relief, turn around, and choose to leave...

Aegir's engineers were clearly skilled enough.

Under the direction of a couple who designed the dome, they decisively chose to change the ship's direction, causing it to crash into another area that was not yet completed, and using the existing industrial facilities to force it to stop.

After doing all this, they looked solemnly at the dark ship, their eyes flashing, each with a different expression.

As the engineers inspected the area, they soon discovered an anomaly inside one of the sections.

"There are survivors! There are survivors!"

The calls quickly spread throughout the camp, and many people hurriedly carried their equipment and rushed over.

The hot welding torches rapidly cut through the metal surface, and with the help of specialized tools, they quickly opened up the ship's hull.

Inside, two women sat quietly to one side, watching this side...

"Ms. Heratia... I hope you can explain what exactly is going on?"

Inside the cell, two Sea Patrol, both clad in dark blue armor, stared at the woman before them with equally cold, expressionless faces.

The room was very plain; besides a few chairs, there was only a table and some organized documents.

"Why were you and that lady named Maria the only survivors of the expedition? What happened along the way? Where did the others go? What did you discover in the Precursor Ruins?"

The questions came at Heratia like a machine gun.

But Heratia's answer was always the same.

"During our investigation, the Malitus scholar discovered some items of special research value and asked us to return early... Considering his expertise, I chose to respect his suggestion and returned early."

"But on the return journey, other ships became chaotic for some reason and lost contact with us."

"Then, the ships' course became chaotic, and they began to collide with each other. For some special reason, Ms. Maria and I happened to be hiding in the safe room at the same time."

Gladiia's answer was as usual, and even the professional Sea Patrol couldn't find anything unusual. After a moment of silence, they asked a few questions as usual.

"Ms. Heratia, we respect your privacy, but this matter is far too important, and we need to know every single detail!"

"I know, and I never said I wouldn't cooperate. I just hope you'll respond accordingly... by signing a mutual confidentiality agreement to guarantee that this information will never be disclosed to anyone else unless it's necessary or relevant."

Heratia responded coldly.

This left the Sea Patrol members somewhat silent.

But after a moment, they nodded.

The prepared documents were taken out, and after both parties signed them, Heratia didn't stand on ceremony and spoke directly.

"We're a couple!"

"We're a couple..."

Maria gave a calm answer, but the two Sea Patrol members in the room felt uneasy.

They could sense that the atmosphere had turned somewhat cold after Maria brought it up.

But they didn't know where this chill came from, and could only exchange a glance before looking at Maria in front of them.

"You mean, you and Lady Heratia are a couple?"

Maria's words left the Sea Patrol inspectors somewhat bewildered; it was only when a colleague nudged him that he snapped out of his daze.

"Yes."

Whether it was their imagination or not, the two inspectors felt that the air around them was colder.

But they also had to admit that Maria's words made sense... Even in a relatively mature and open world like Aegir, feelings between people of the same sex are actually quite reserved and unusual.

People of higher status are particularly sensitive to this.

Heratia is also a key figure in Aegir's current affairs, and it's indeed difficult to explain why someone like her would have a female partner.

Only...

What evidence do you have?

The unwilling examiner still raised serious questions.

But Maria simply sat there, silently watching the man without saying a word.

The atmosphere gradually became heavy at this point...

It got awkward.

The examiner also realized how stupid his question was.

After a moment of silence, they got up without saying anything and chose to suspend the questioning.

Just then, the person interrogating them came out from the other side.

"Any results yet?"

The men interrogating Heratia asked questions.

Unfortunately, their companions also reacted.

"No..."

The group looked at each other, all feeling a bit of a headache.

By this time, a full three hundred natural hours had passed since their return journey, and news of the fourth mantle exploration team's misfortune had gradually spread throughout Aegir.

This has already caused quite a stir.

The bigger problem is that, to this day, they still don't understand what exactly happened.

Heratia did provide a result, but it was essentially the same as saying nothing at all.

They didn't know why the ships had lost contact, nor what Malitus had discovered. The only thing they were certain of was that the two men had indeed been found in the same place.

Everything is too vague and unclear.

They wanted to continue questioning each other, but both of them were from unusual backgrounds.

Even if Heratia was negligent, she was still a scientific governor until the actual order was issued, while the other Maria... because her identity was too special, they couldn't even find out her origins!

To this day, they still don't know what to do.