Qin Ke Wei and Fang Qing Hao descended into the water, immediately sinking towards the seabed. Fang Qing Hao held a glow stick, wearing a diving suit with an oxygen tank on his back. The two entered the dark and icy deep sea. With the faint light from the glow stick, they could finally make out some of their surroundings.
Upon reaching the seabed, Qin Ke Wei began searching for the cross. When she had buried the meteorite, she had created a cross above it. Therefore, as long as she could find the cross, she could locate the meteorite and bury it deeper.
Fang Qing Hao tapped Qin Ke Wei’s diving suit, reminding her that they had reached the seabed.
Qin Ke Wei looked at the underwater world through the narrow glass and then began searching for the marker she had made earlier. Although the warships and ferries had been anchored and seemed to have not moved at all on the sea, their anchors could not reach the seabed. At a depth of over four thousand meters, the ships did not have anchors that long. Thus, the warships had drifted with the currents. Fortunately, Qin Ke Wei had made a marker, allowing her to find the meteorite's location.
However, at this moment, the copper chain on Qin Ke Wei's diving suit was suddenly tugged, as if someone was pulling it upwards with force.
Qin Ke Wei sensed something was wrong. She had given the chain to Yue Heng Yi, but now Yue Heng Yi seemed to be pulling the chain with all his might. Could danger be approaching?
Fang Qing Hao did not understand this. He was not tied to a chain and only needed to ensure his oxygen tank was sufficient. He held the glow stick and found a cross on the seabed fifty meters away. He quickly gestured for Qin Ke Wei to come towards him.
Qin Ke Wei suddenly felt the chain on her body loosen. Immediately, she had an answer in her heart: "Little Yue is no longer pulling the copper chain. This means the chain might have gotten tangled on the ship earlier, or the danger has passed. This trouble is now gone."
Qin Ke Wei knew the situation was dangerous. Although they were only one step away from bringing the meteorite back to the country, the divine realm was now surrounded by sea beasts. Their only option was to escape. The task of burying the meteorite was a heavy burden on her shoulders.
Qin Ke Wei dared not delay. Propelled by Fang Qing Hao, she moved towards the cross. Unbeknownst to her, the copper chain that had been bound to her slowly fell to the seabed. In the water, the once sturdy copper chain showed a broken end.
The seabed was almost entirely mud, with occasional rocks. There were very few fish in the deep sea. The immense water pressure made it difficult for fish to breathe. Since the environment was not suitable for survival, fish would not stay in such harsh conditions unless absolutely necessary.
On the seabed, some starfish and shells could be seen. These two species could withstand the water pressure in the deep sea, but their size was naturally limited. They crawled slowly on the seabed.
Fang Qing Hao could not see their surroundings clearly on the seabed. The deep sea was perpetually dark, with no sunlight reaching it. Therefore, there were no seaweed or algae on the seabed, making it extremely cold and dark. To move forward, they could only rely on the glow stick in their hands.
As they moved, they used the faint light to observe the surrounding waters. In their eyes, the deep sea appeared even darker and more tranquil. Perhaps it was psychological, but both felt that this dive seemed to hold immense danger.
Inside her diving suit, Qin Ke Wei had no control over her movement. After all, it was made of pure copper, heavy and restricting free movement. She could only be passively led by Fang Qing Hao.
"Why do I feel like something is watching me in the darkness? Could my intuition be wrong?" Qin Ke Wei thought to herself.
Two minutes later, they reached the location of the cross. Fang Qing Hao stepped forward, pulled out the cross, and dug into the ground. Twenty centimeters below, they found the grayish-black meteorite. It was clear that no one had found it yet.
Fang Qing Hao shook his glow stick and pointed at the meteorite on the ground, signaling Qin Ke Wei to begin her work.
However, at this moment, Qin Ke Wei was signaling Fang Qing Hao with her eyes. Her gaze was anxious. If they could speak underwater, she would probably be roaring by now.
Fang Qing Hao did not understand. He thought Qin Ke Wei might have an urgent need.
"Why isn't she acting? Doesn't she know time is of the essence?" Fang Qing Hao thought to himself.
Suddenly, Fang Qing Hao saw a reflection on the glass in front of Qin Ke Wei. He wondered if he was seeing things. Wasn't the seabed completely dark? Where did this reflection come from? There should be no light source on the seabed.
Fang Qing Hao quickly turned to look and was greatly astonished. In his eyes, he saw two round moons emitting a soft glow in the distant sea. However, these two moons were also blinking.
"This... are these eyes?" Fang Qing Hao finally realized. There should be no light source in the deep sea. What he was seeing at this moment was merely the eyes of a sea beast.
At this moment, Fang Qing Hao finally understood why Qin Ke Wei had been signaling him. She had discovered the danger and was warning him. He hadn't expected the sea beasts to reach the divine realm so quickly, and that he himself was already being targeted.
"Run!" Fang Qing Hao's mind was filled with only this thought. The power of sea beasts was undeniable. Any single giant sea beast was more powerful than a warship. Even fleets sailing at sea would suffer heavy losses if they encountered sea beasts. Now, only he and Qin Ke Wei were in the sea, and Qin Ke Wei was unable to fight. If they didn't run now, it would be a dead end!
Subsequently, Fang Qing Hao immediately used his abilities to propel Qin Ke Wei with the water. The two prepared to quickly ascend to the surface and rendezvous with the main force.
However, as Fang Qing Hao led Qin Ke Wei upwards, they suddenly collided with something. Fang Qing Hao raised his glow stick and saw a white solid object with many stripes. It felt very hard to the touch.
"Are there sea beasts above us too?" Fang Qing Hao was stunned. Could there be sea beasts in the direction above them?
Fang Qing Hao's guess was correct. A five-hundred-meter-long killer whale swam directly over his head. With the obstruction gone, they could continue to ascend. But when they looked up, they saw over thirty round moons in the sky. These moons were paired, and it was clear that there were at least a dozen more sea beasts above them!
When they descended, they hadn't noticed any sign of sea beasts. But now, by chance, they looked up and found the surroundings filled with dense sea beasts. This stark contrast was overwhelming.
At this moment, a giant light appeared in the sea, illuminating hundreds of meters of the surrounding waters. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an anglerfish, commonly known as a lanternfish. A long lantern extended from its forehead, making it incredibly eye-catching.
Fang Qing Hao quickly looked around and discovered that over a dozen sea beasts had appeared on the seabed at some point. The dark seabed now had light, instantly revealing the surrounding situation. The once silent waters had become lively.
Qin Ke Wei also understood why Yue Heng Yi had been pulling the chain so hard earlier. Danger had appeared.
Just then, a dark shadow descended from above, rushing towards Fang Qing Hao and Qin Ke Wei. As it approached, they realized it was a tuna!
Fang Qing Hao quickly dodged, not forgetting to grab Qin Ke Wei and use the water flow to escape.
However, for tuna, their greatest ability is swimming. In the water, very few animals can catch up to a tuna's speed. Thus, after the tuna caught up, Fang Qing Hao and Qin Ke Wei were immediately surpassed. But strangely, the tuna did not attack them.
"Bang," as the tuna passed them, it suddenly swung its tail. The tuna's tail fin alone was over eighty meters wide. The massive tail struck with immense force, and the water flow surged like a tidal wave, creating bubbles even in the deep sea.
The two were hit hard by the tuna's tail fin, feeling as if their internal organs were about to shatter. Qin Ke Wei was fortunate; her heavy pure copper diving suit could withstand the water pressure and also serve as a buffer against the attack. But Fang Qing Hao was not so lucky. He only had a diving suit and an oxygen tank, with virtually no defense!
As a result, Fang Qing Hao was hit by the tail fin, breaking at least half of his bones. His survival was entirely dependent on his ability to control water flow.
"Damn it, when I get ashore, I'm going to eat tuna every day!" Fang Qing Hao was in excruciating pain, feeling that apart from one hand that could move, all his other limbs were immobile. He had no idea about the condition of his injuries.
Apart from cursing, Fang Qing Hao had no other means of retaliation. Moreover, even his curses could not be uttered underwater. He could only curse inwardly. Taking advantage of the moment, Fang Qing Hao threw away the glow stick and began to swim upwards.
Qin Ke Wei was almost knocked unconscious. When she stabilized herself, she realized that Fang Qing Hao was taking her upwards. However, the oxygen tank on Fang Qing Hao's back had been damaged, and oxygen was bubbling out. If they couldn't reach the surface in time, once the oxygen in the tank was depleted, he would suffocate in the deep sea.
After the oxygen leak, a white line suddenly appeared in the water, and countless bubbles floated towards the surface.
When Fang Qing Hao threw away the glow stick, it floated towards the sea. The two followed the glow stick upwards.
However, at this moment, the tuna reached the seabed. With the light from the anglerfish, it spotted the grayish-black meteorite on the seabed. It extended its mouth and nudged the meteorite from the shallow soil, then opened its mouth to bite it.
The tuna's actions actually saved Fang Qing Hao and Qin Ke Wei. Sea beasts naturally harbored animosity towards humans. Now, encountering humans in the sea, the sea beasts would not let them go easily. According to the behavior of sea beasts, they could easily crush tiny humans in the sea.
But when the tuna tried to grab the meteorite in its mouth, the other sea beasts saw this and immediately rushed forward to stop it. Sea beasts also possessed intelligence. Although they didn't know what the meteorite could do, their instincts and rational analysis told them that the meteorite must not fall into the hands of other sea beasts.
The sea beasts that were already at the seabed made the first move. It was a mantis shrimp, a lobster with claws like a praying mantis. The mantis shrimp quickly approached and attacked in an instant.
"Thump," after the mantis shrimp attacked, no sea beast could clearly see its movements. Its attack speed underwater instantly surpassed the speed of sound. In an instant, it struck out with its double claws. The tuna had just bitten the meteorite when the mantis shrimp's attack arrived. Its double claws fiercely struck the tuna's abdomen, creating a large hole in an instant.
The tuna cried out in pain, and the meteorite in its mouth fell. The mantis shrimp also wanted to clamp onto the meteorite, but as soon as it extended its claws, attacks from other sea beasts immediately appeared.
The dozen or so sea beasts began to fight each other. Possessing relatively high intelligence, the giant sea beasts understood cooperation and liked to cooperate against humans. However, their high intelligence also meant that when they encountered something good, they would start to fight over it and kill each other over the distribution of good things.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Fang Qing Hao, with no sea beast paying attention to the two tiny humans, took the chance to lead Qin Ke Wei out of the seabed. During this time, no sea beast attacked them.
"Splash," the two emerged from the sea, creating a strong splash on the surface. At this moment, Fang Qing Hao was nearing his limit.