The submarine followed the mermaid at a steady pace. There were three small dots on the screen. The red dot in the front represented the mermaid, the white dot in the middle was their ship, and the white dot at the back was the submarine behind them.
The visibility in the deep sea is very low, and even under the searchlight of the submarine, it is pitch black outside.
The fear of the ocean comes from the unknown.
In total darkness, you have no idea what might be around you.
Maybe you think there is nothing, but when you turn around, the hunter has appeared in front of you.
Through the glass in front, they could only see an ocean of unknown depth, and the mermaid had disappeared.
But the little red dot on the screen continued to move.
After diving with the mermaid for nearly an hour, the mermaid finally stopped at one place.
Seeing this, Dr. Blond also slowed down the submarine.
Just as they were about to get close to the red dot, the screen flickered for a moment, and when the screen lit up again, the small red dot on the screen had disappeared.
The blonde doctor's annoyed voice came from the front: "Damn it, it's like this again, drive over!"
Like this again
Xia Chi subconsciously glanced at the person next to him. He thought the person sitting opposite him was his companion, but when he turned around and saw a pale face and eyes rolling up, he immediately felt bad: "..."
What a damn visual impact!
Ahem, but, is it like this again
Does that mean that they have used this method to release mermaids before, with the purpose of finding the mermaids' nest
So every time the tracker disappears after it reaches a certain place
After diving for a distance, the submarine finally arrived at the place where the mermaid disappeared.
There was a tall coral reef in front of where the mermaid disappeared, and behind the coral reef was a towering rocky cliff.
This looks very much like a mountain. Could it be that this was land before, and then the Banqiao Movement turned it into an ocean
The submarine flew around the rock. Just when Xia Chi thought they were going to turn back, the blond doctor suddenly pointed to a place and said, "Shine there!"
When the searchlight was shone over there, a long and narrow cave entrance could be vaguely seen in the steep rocks.
"Hurry, hurry, go over there." The blond doctor looked a little excited, as if he had made some surprising discovery.
As the submarine approached, they finally saw the place clearly.
It was a cave entrance with a diameter of about four or five meters, and the mermaid could indeed enter from it.
The blond doctor said quickly: "Release the detector."
Xia Chi didn't understand what the detector was at first, but as the hatch opened, an object with flashing lights spiraled out, and when the picture appeared on the screen again, he understood.
It's the camera.
Xia Chi was just about to peek to see what was on the surveillance camera when he suddenly saw the blond doctor turn his head back abruptly.
His lifeless eyes looked behind him, his head didn't move, but his pupils just moved from left to right like a chameleon.
That action will make him angry with anyone who says it is not anti-human.
His eyes moved and his nose sniffed the air, as if he was looking for something.
Xia Chi suddenly became a little nervous.
Just now when I saw him on the deck, it seemed like he had discovered my presence. Now we are in a confined space, could he smell my scent again
"Doctor, what are you smelling?" Xia Chi took two deep breaths and bravely asked the blond doctor.
Dr. Blond: "Strange, I seem to smell something from just now, do you smell it?"
Xia Chi: "What's that smell? I don't smell it."
The blond doctor's eyes fell on Xia Chi's face. He paused for two seconds and said slowly: "Of course you can't smell it. After all, you are just..."
He stopped talking halfway as if he remembered something.
After a while, the blond doctor stood up from the chair. He continued to look up and sniff, walking forward while sniffing, as if searching for something.
Soon, Dr. Blond came in front of Xia Chi.
Xia Chi swallowed nervously, and saw the blond doctor put his nose to his neck and sniffed it.
The moment the two people came into close contact, Xia Chi smelled a fishy odor.
In fact, he smelled this smell on the deck, but because there was ocean all around him, he thought it was the sea breeze that brought the smell of the ocean to him.
But now in a confined space like a submarine, he finally confirmed that the smell did not come from the ocean, but from the blond doctor himself.
Xia Chi subconsciously held his breath.
The blond doctor sniffed Xia Chi's body for a while and then left.
This time he came to the seat behind Xia Chi, where Baili Xin sat.
Xia Chi's heart, which had just relaxed, was lifted up again, and he quickly opened the private chat interface in the system.
Xia Chi: Brother, where are you
After a while, Baili Xin's private message came over, and now he was sitting next to another player.
Xia Chi heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the turn, but the sigh of relief didn't last long, as he saw the blond doctor walk up to another player.
This player's mental quality is no different from mine, and he looks like he's almost scared silly.
Xia Chi: Brother, where are you now? !
Blissin: In the front.
Xia Chi subconsciously looked ahead and saw that the other two NPCs also began to sniff in the air.
Xia Chi's heart was in his throat.
The blond doctor continued walking forward, and soon he returned to his seat. His expression looked a little dazed, and there was a bit of doubt in his confusion.
He scratched his head, and was about to look for it again when he heard the driver NPC beside him shout, "Doctor, there's something wrong."
The blond doctor then shifted his attention away from his surroundings and his eyes quickly fell on the screen in front of him.
In the middle of the screen, as the detector continued to go deeper, a hollow area appeared.
The probe is amphibious, and at the signal of Dr. Blond, the probe landed on land.
The visible range of the searchlight was very limited. As the detector rotated, they also saw the mysterious void on the screen.
This is not a narrow hollow area, on the contrary, it is very wide.
There are stalactites everywhere that have been eroded by sea water, and the walls and the top are full of potholes.
Just as the detector was about to go deeper inside, a black shadow suddenly flashed across the camera.
The next second, the screen was covered with white lines. Snowflakes flickered for a moment, and finally the screen went completely black.
Before the screen went black, the middle picture lit up once, and when it lit up, a leg appeared faintly on the screen.
That leg is not a human leg because its color is green, but its shape is very close to that of a human leg.
The blond doctor's eyes widened. He pressed a few buttons on the screen. The light on the screen flickered for a moment and the scene returned to the previous state.
As the video played, he seized the opportunity and quickly pressed the pause button.
The picture stopped at the moment when the shadow appeared.
The shadow was blurry, and blurriness meant the opponent was moving very fast.
But in the blurry picture, the blond doctor still found a clue: "Come and take a look, does it look like a human?"
"These are two legs." The blond doctor pointed to the two dark shadows below.
"Here is the head." The blond doctor pointed to the head above again.
"Here, are its two arms." The blond doctor's voice became excited.
"Our discovery is a major breakthrough. This is most likely a mermaid. In our past research, we found that the body structure of mermaids is suitable for amphibious life. They not only have gills, but also noses and respiratory systems. So they can breathe with gills in water and breathe with noses on land."
"If they lived only in water, they wouldn't have evolved a respiratory tract connected to their nasal cavity."
"We have previously speculated that mermaids might undergo metamorphosis, just like frogs."
"But they are more flexible than frogs. They can grow two legs like us when on land, and they can grow a tail when in the sea."
The pilot retorted: "But the mermen we caught, no matter how we experimented, they never completed this metamorphosis."
"Because they are very smart!" Dr. Blond said excitedly, "That's their cleverness. They won't reveal their last trump card. If they can really complete this kind of evolution, it will further prove their wisdom."
"Let's go!" The blond doctor stood up from his seat, "Let's drive in and take a look."
The driver nodded: "Okay, Doctor."
After saying that, he steered the small submarine and went into the cave.
The rock walls inside the cave were rugged and uneven, and they could only drive carefully to ensure that the submarine did not hit the wall.
Soon, they arrived at the hollow area that the detector had just detected.
Before disembarking, they released matches to test the oxygen concentration.
After making sure the match was burning, the submarine's hatch opened and a group of people walked out.
Behind them, another submarine quickly followed.
People came down from the submarine one after another, each holding a flashlight in their hands.
They gathered at the water's edge. The blond doctor looked at the hollow area with excitement and nervousness. "Go, bring the fish trap."
The NPCs who came down from the second submarine turned back into the submarine upon hearing this. When they came back, they had a few things that looked like pistols/guns in their hands.
Dr. Blond took the fishing device and distributed one to each person.
When they got to Xia Chi and Yan Jing, they were all gone.
"..." Xia Chi: "What about our two o'clock party?"
Dr. Blond: "Your task today is to learn. You don't know how to use the fish trap even if I give it to you. Just watch carefully."
Xia Chi: "But what if that monster suddenly attacks the two of us? We both have to protect ourselves."
Upon hearing this, several NPCs looked at each other and suddenly laughed a few times.
The next sentence of the blond doctor successfully made Xia Chi and the glasses' hair stand on end, "Wouldn't it be better to attack you?"
Xia Chi: “.”
Damn, did they intend to use them as bait from the beginning? !
Dr. Blond: "Okay, it's just a joke. Hehe, you are our future companions. How could we do such a thing to our companions? I'm just kidding you. Go away now."
Future companions
A companion who looks like this
That's not necessary.
Not only is the hollow area full of potholes, but the road is also divided into several lanes.
They walked forward for a while and soon saw a fork in the road, behind which were several dark passages.
"When I watched the surveillance video just now, the shadow should have come out from this passage."
The blond doctor pointed towards the second passage, "It's here."
He paused and swept the flashlight over everyone. When the light shone on Xia Chi and Yan Jing, it seemed to stay there for an exceptionally long time.
Xia Chi and Yan Jing unconsciously became nervous again.
The blond doctor gave them a weird smile, and then dropped the flashlight on the other two NPCs, "You two, walk in front."
The two NPCs did not refute, but just said "hmm" and started walking inside.
After them, Dr. Blond and others caught up with them.
Compared to the hollow area outside, this tunnel is much narrower. Two people were leading the way in front. After walking for about ten minutes, there was no road inside.
This turned out to be a dead end.
Under the special landform structure of stalactites, the blond doctor's voice was particularly loud: "There is no way out. Okay, turn around and go back."
Xia Chi & Glasses, who were at the end of the team at the beginning: “???”
So weird, why did he turn around all of a sudden?!
So they are the two taking the lead now
Xia Chi and Yan Jing looked at each other again and still felt it was strange.
Along the way, the two of them walked carefully and cautiously.
As Xia Chi walked forward, he felt someone touching his shoulder. He subconsciously turned around and found no one behind him.
Xia Chi: Brother, is that you
Xia Chi was silent for two seconds, then quickly asked in the private chat window.
Baili Xin:? What
Xia Chi: Didn’t you touch my shoulder just now
Baili Xin: No, I am on another road, not the same road as you.
Xia Chi’s shoulders tensed up instantly. If it’s not you, then… who could it be
Baili Xin: Don't be afraid, you will be fine
Xia Chi: I know I'll be fine, but... when I need to be scared, no one can stop me!
Blissin: …
For a moment I couldn't tell whether you were showing off or playing the victim.
Xia Chi: Brother, which passage are you in
Baili Xin: The first one from the left.
Xia Chi: Have you discovered anything
Baili Xin: It’s true.
Xia Chi: What is it
Baili Xin looked at the green-skinned monster that had been knocked unconscious by him, and after two seconds of silence, he spoke: It is the monster you hate the most.
Summer Pool: qvq
After Baili Xin finished his private chat with Xia Chi, he slowly squatted down and looked at the green-skinned monster that had lost consciousness.
Dr. Blond was right, the structure of this thing is indeed somewhat similar to that of humans.
But it's only somewhat similar.
Well, at least in terms of having a head, two arms and two legs, yes.
After the expedition team went to the middle, he took the first passage on the left. The reason he took the first passage was that he felt the wind from the first passage. There should be a wind vent behind this passage. If creatures rely on oxygen to survive, most of the time they will choose to live near the wind vent.
Not long after he started walking, he encountered the first green monster.
Perhaps because eyes are not needed in the deep sea, the green monster's eyes have degenerated and disappeared. It has a human-like head with only a fang, two huge ears and a big nose.
The green monster's head has a structure somewhat similar to that of a human, even the distribution of the facial features is the same.
But where the eyes should have been, there was nothing. It was so empty, and it looked really weird.
Baili Xin opened the monster's mouth and took a look. The monster's mouth was full of fangs. A rough count showed that there were over a hundred of them.
Because they have no vision, they rely entirely on hearing and smell to locate their target.
He was walking in the tunnel just now. He didn't make any sound, but it must be the smell that betrayed his location.
So even though he didn't reveal his body, the green-skinned monster still attacked where he was.
Baili Xin searched the monster's body back and forth, but did not find anything that resembled gills.
How can it live in water without gills? Can it only live in this hollow area
What exactly are these monsters
Why are there creatures in the ocean that don't live on gills
Is it the state of a mermaid turning into a human
That shouldn't be possible, right? Could it be that mermaids would deliberately lose their eyes because they can't see
Baili Xin studied the green-skinned monster for a while and was about to drag the monster forward when he heard footsteps coming from the cave entrance.
He stopped suddenly and saw several flashlights shining in.
It’s Xia Chi and the others. They walked out of the passage just now and came here
With messy steps, as the light got closer, Baili Xin stood up from the ground silently and moved to the side.
Soon, Dr. Blond and his group were not far away.
The researchers walking in the front soon discovered the humanoid monster lying on the ground. They first cautiously threw two stones at it. After the stones fell on the monster and there was no movement, they bravely approached.
The group approached and successfully and smoothly found the unconscious green-skinned monster.
"Doctor, what do you think this could be?"
The blond doctor's flashlight fell on the green monster. When he was about to lower his head to study the green monster, the green monster's arm suddenly moved.
"Doctor," an NPC said in a flat voice, "It moved."
The blond doctor glanced back and forth on the ground, then picked up something at hand and smashed it hard on the green monster's head. The green monster, who was about to wake up, fainted again.
The blond doctor said expressionlessly: "Okay, let's continue our research."
Xia Chi & Glasses: "…"
Uh, there's a bit of cruelty in this doctor, brother.
The blond doctor observed the green monster for a while and then said, "Tie it up and take it back to study it slowly."
Watching the skillful movements of several NPCs, Xia Chi, who had not helped, said, "Doctor, do you think it could be a mermaid?"
"Mermaid?" The blond doctor sneered, "How could a beautiful mermaid evolve into this? This is not a mermaid."
"Although they are not mermaids, they are also new species in the ocean that we have never discovered before. Take them back and study them. The mermaids just disappeared here. Even if they are not mermaids, they are likely to be the companions of mermaids."
After packing up the green-skinned monster whose name they could not remember, everyone started moving forward again.
Xia Chi and Yan Jing walked to the back again. After Xia Chi walked for a while, his shoulder was touched again.
Xia Chi, who was already very scared, shrank his neck again, and the next second Baili Xin's private message rang.
Xia Chi: qvq, brother save me, save me, I have encountered a supernatural event again, and something is patting my shoulder again, woooo woooo.
Baili Xin: This is really not a supernatural event, this time I am just patting your shoulder.
Xia Chi:
Baili Xin: Don't be afraid, I'm always behind you from now on.
Xia Chi straightened up instantly, and his back was no longer hunched.
Baili Xin followed them silently from behind, and he found that this scientist was extremely strong.
The green-skinned monster was about the same height as a human and less than two meters long, but due to long-term rock climbing, his body was covered with thick muscles.
But these scientists could easily lift the monster in their hands without showing any sign of effort.
They still look like humans, but in some ways, they are different from humans.
The group walked forward for a while, and suddenly, Baili Xin felt a gust of wind blowing towards him. The wind not only carried the fishy smell of the ocean, but also some bloody smell.
The system reminded him that his invisibility time was about to expire, so he took out an invisibility card from his backpack and extended it for another five minutes.
Baili Xin didn't dare to go too far forward, because these monsters attacked based on their sense of smell. If he went to the front and the monsters attacked him first, he would be completely exposed in front of this group of NPCs.
With the arrival of this gust of wind, the road ahead became difficult to walk on.
This time it is no longer a dead end, but I still don’t know what the future holds.
I don’t know if it was the familiar smell that awakened the unconscious monster, but after walking forward for a while, the monster that was tied up like a dumpling suddenly opened its eyes.
In order to prevent the monster from biting, the scientists had already wrapped a thick rope around the monster's mouth. The monster struggled violently on the man's back for a while. The blond doctor frowned, "Noisy."
After saying that, another stone was thrown at the monster, and it fainted again.
Having experienced the strength of the NPC once, Xia Chi was much calmer this time.
After walking forward for a while, the blond doctor suddenly stopped, pricked up his ears, and pointed ahead: "Listen, is there the sound of water?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Chi immediately pricked up his ears to listen, and just as Dr. Blond said, there was indeed the sound of water ahead.
It sounds like water hitting rocks, making a constant turbulent and shaking sound.
"Hurry up!" The blond doctor suddenly quickened his pace.
As everyone walked quickly and made progress, Xia Chi heard other sounds in his ears.
That was a cry mixed in with the sound of water.
The sound of water became louder and louder, and the air became colder.
After turning another corner, everyone finally saw where the sound of water came from.
This hollow area was like a tunnel, dividing the sea in the middle. Now that they had reached here, the sea water reappeared.
Something glowed brightly under the light. The blond doctor shone the flashlight over it and stared at it for two seconds. "It's scales. It looks a lot like a mermaid. Let's go over and take a look."