bioinnovel Chapter 441 The Queen's Reward!
Chapter 441 The Queen's Reward!
The moment the tentacles tore open the dimensional rift, the Devouring Shark's system completely collapsed.
This is not an overload but a deeper level of disorder. The images transmitted by the sensors began to distort, the sonar waveform turned into chaotic shrieks, and all energy readings dropped to zero.
Countless eyes flashed simultaneously on all the screens inside the cabin—dark, grayish-white pupils densely packed on the screens, staring at him.
A murmur echoed in my mind.
This was not a sound, but fragments of information poured directly into consciousness, incomprehensible and unanalyzable, only pure and cold malice, bringing a dense stinging sensation as it probed the underlying protocol of the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship.
Zhang Yan gritted his teeth.
He severed all external connections and blocked his sense of sight, hearing, and touch, leaving only the resonance channel of the Heart of the Gods, and his consciousness sank into absolute darkness.
There he saw the tentacles in their entirety.
It is being squeezed out of the crack, with a diameter of three meters and an unknown length. Its surface is covered with a hard chitinous carapace, the color of which is between dark gray and black.
The eyes inside the suction cups are not independent organs, but rather some kind of energy-sensing array, scanning all the physical parameters of the surroundings.
It is absorbing the energy of the seawater. Zhang Yan can see the energy flow spiraling around the tentacles and sinking into the shell. It is regenerating and growing continuously.
Physical attacks are ineffective; it can absorb any form of energy.
Zhang Yan gave the order in his mind.
The Azure Dragon's chip popped out of the portable case. He didn't have time to complete the full summoning process, so he had to use the most brutal method.
The core space folding ability of the Azure Dragon was forcibly activated directly using the Heart of Heaven as a medium.
The seawater began to move.
This wasn't being pushed away, but rather being folded. The seawater, fifty meters in diameter around the tentacle, was compressed and folded within a fraction of a second, eventually being sheared out of three-dimensional space, and a vacuum sphere appeared out of thin air, enveloping the tentacle.
Without a medium, energy absorption is interrupted.
The tentacles stopped moving for the first time.
Zhang Yan opened his eyes. The alarm in the cabin was still on, but the screen had returned to normal.
The vacuum sphere maintained a fragile balance in the seawater three thousand meters deep, with seawater constantly trying to pour in from its edges, but it was firmly blocked by the residual spatial force field of the Azure Dragon.
Inside the sphere, tentacles writhed wildly, and the suction cups on the surface of the carapace opened wide, their eyes fixed on the sea-devouring shark outside the vacuum.
Zhang Yan wasted no time.
The White Tiger's chip is activated, and the Black Scorpion's chip is activated.
Two mechs popped out of the backup space and were summoned inside the vacuum sphere. The White Tiger pounced on the middle of its tentacles, its claws crossing and slashing, while the Black Scorpion flanked from the side, its stinger aiming at the gaps in its shell.
Sound cannot travel without a medium, but Zhang Yan could see that when the white tiger's claws cut into its carapace, what burst forth was not sparks but black energy fragments.
The tentacles were struggling, but their speed had slowed significantly. The vacuum environment had deprived them of their energy source and limited their physical functions.
The black scorpion's stinger pierced the gap in its carapace.
The pitch-black toxin was injected, causing the tentacles to convulse violently. The eyes inside the suckers rolled back and burst open one after another, oozing a grayish-white, viscous liquid.
The tentacle broke off.
The first half lost power and drifted towards the edge of the sphere, while the second half frantically retreated, trying to return to the crack.
Zhang Yan did not give it a chance.
The light from the Heart of Heaven exploded from its chest, and a dark cyan energy beam pierced through the vacuum, striking the edge of the crack directly.
This was not an attack on the tentacles but an attack on the rift itself. The energy resonated with the dimensional barrier, and the rift began to close at an accelerated rate.
The latter half of the tentacle struggled desperately but was held down firmly by the White Tiger and the Black Scorpion. At the same time, the Azure Dragon's spatial force field contracted to form a sharp cutting surface, cutting along the edge of the crack.
Three seconds later.
The crack closed.
The latter half of the tentacle was completely severed and left inside the vacuum sphere. The White Tiger and the Black Scorpion retreated simultaneously to create distance. Zhang Yan maintained the energy output of the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship until the system indicated that the repair of the dimensional weakness point had reached 100%.
The vacuum sphere began to collapse.
The backflow of seawater caused a sudden increase in pressure, and the shell of the sea-devouring shark emitted a squeaking sound of metal deformation, but it ultimately held on.
All alarms in the cabin fell silent.
Zhang Yan loosened his grip on the armrest, his knuckles turning white.
On the screen, the tentacle remains are slowly sinking in the seawater after the vacuum sphere has dissipated. They have not dissolved or decomposed, and the eyes on the surface of the carapace have all gone out but remain intact.
A system notification popped up.
High-dimensional matter residue was detected; energy characteristics are unknown; pollution level is unknown; recycling is recommended.
Zhang Yan stared at the piece of wreckage.
It is sinking very slowly, exhibiting characteristics of extremely low density.
He manipulated the sea-devouring shark to approach and extend its mechanical arm to grab the wreckage. The touch was cold but not hard, exhibiting the texture of a high-density gel.
The system prompted again.
Material analysis is complete; the structure is stable and compatible with existing technologies, making it suitable for the ultimate evolution of mechs. Further research is required.
Zhang Yan collected the wreckage into the isolation chamber.
He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.
The murmurs in my mind have disappeared, but a strange feeling remains.
This wasn't fear, but something deeper, as if some unknown entity had touched him as well when he touched the heart of the divine craftsman.
The communication channel has been reconnected.
Qin Xiao's urgent voice burst into the channel.
"Brother Yan! How's it going on your end? I've dispatched three deep-sea submersibles, they're on their way..."
Zhang Yan spoke calmly.
"No need, it's over."
"it's over?"
"The lamp is dead, the tentacles are severed, and the cracks have been repaired."
There was a full five seconds of silence on the communication channel.
Qin Xiao managed to utter a sentence.
"...Holy shit."
Zhang Yan spoke.
"Inform Nie Qingcheng that I am returning to Jinghai."
He cut off the communication.
The sea-devouring shark began to rise to the surface, and sunlight refracted into fragmented spots of light as it shone through the water. Zhang Yan looked at those spots of light, his right hand resting steadily on the armrest.
There was no trembling.
We returned to Earth six hours later.
The military transport plane landed at Jinghai West Suburb Airport. Zhang Yan stepped out of the cabin and felt the cool night breeze. A black sedan was parked on the side of the tarmac. The headlights were off, but a person was standing by the car door.
Nie Qingcheng.
She was wearing a black silk nightgown, with Zhang Yan's men's trench coat draped over her shoulders, slippers on her feet, and her hair loosely tied back. The beauty mark at the corner of her eye was very noticeable in the dim light.
She saw Zhang Yan and quickly walked over.
She looked him up and down, her gaze lingering on his arm.
There was a shallow scratch there, caused by debris from the bulkhead during the vacuum collapse.
Nie Qingcheng's face turned cold.
Her tone was unfriendly.
"go home."
On the way back to the villa, Nie Qingcheng held Zhang Yan's right hand tightly without saying a word.
After entering the room, she pressed Zhang Yan down onto the sofa, turned around to get the first-aid kit, squatted in front of him, and carefully treated the abrasion with a cotton swab dipped in iodine.
The movements were very gentle.
Zhang Yan looked at her lowered eyelashes.
"It doesn't hurt."
Nie Qingcheng replied coldly.
"Shut up."
She put on a band-aid, got up, and went to the kitchen. Five minutes later, she brought out a steaming bowl of noodles with a soft-boiled egg on top.
She placed the bowl on the coffee table.
"eat."
Zhang Yan picked up his chopsticks. The noodles were handmade and the soup base was very flavorful. The egg was fried perfectly. He took a bite and then looked up.
Nie Qingcheng sat next to him, her legs curled up on the sofa, holding a cushion in her hands. Her gaze seemed not to be on him, but she kept an eye on him out of the corner of her eye.
She asked softly.
"Did the light switch die?"
"Um."
"Where are the tentacles?"
"It's been severed, and the fragments have been brought back."