Chapter 517: Super Bomb
Chapter 517: Super Bomb
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Petrachelys slowly decelerated over the ruins on the moon's surface, scanning every detail of the city. At the same time, it was moving towards the crystal-like, red area. According to data from the remote sensing equipment, the red substance was almost identical to the one from the Beinz Blood Lake.
The entire red area was extremely vast. It was estimated to be more than six million square kilometers in size and it had an irregular oval shape. The original Beinz Blood Lake seemed to be nothing compare to this. Large amounts of corroded and melted debris were visible at the edge of the red zone. The distortion of the ruins there was more severe than that of other places. It was apparently a result of long-term contact with the red substance. At the border of the red substance and the surrounding ruins, the most striking feature was undoubtedly the tentacles.
The spacecraft landed on a flat spot by the edge of the red area. Hao Ren got everyone to wear a life-support collar and led several autonomous machines to leave the spacecraft.
Nangong Sanba jumped on the spot. "This is how it feels like to land on the moon... I feel light."
"The gravity here is actually greater than the gravity of the moon near my hometown," Hao Ren said. He then looked up at Lily. "May I borrow your Flamejoy?"
Lily fluttered over as she brandished her claws. "Actually, I think I want to rename it and call it the Sword of Damocles..."
Vivian and Hao Ren glared at her. "No!"
Lily whined, and moved to the side with her tail between her legs, feeling dejected.
With the warm Flamejoy in hand, Hao Ren cautiously crossed the boundary between the two areas. He stepped on the frozen red lake, and scratched the ice, collecting some ice flakes as well as melted liquid. The nature of this liquid was almost indistinguishable from that of water. It was not known why the lifeblood had degenerated into this state after completing its task of annihilation and creation of life.
Then, he returned Lily's claw before he approached the tentacles by the lakeside. He discovered that these tentacles had been in a withered state for a long time and they were different from what he saw on the earth's surface: they were more slender, the pattern on their skin was neater, and their texture had a strong sense of metal. It looked like they were from another part of the First Born's body... or they could be a functional spinoff.
The MDT flew around and observed the surrounding conditions, speculating the scene after the destruction of the moon's surface. "The ancient people's lunar ecosystem may have been completely dependent on an artificial environment. So, the atmosphere and constant temperature were gone after the city's destruction. The Blood Tide became a large piece of ice once it receded into this area. These tentacles should be the last batch to grow from the Blood Tide before the lunar environment became completely unfit for life. Hence, no new tentacles grew, and as a result, they were all concentrated on the edge of the Blood Tide."
"Look at the bottom of the lake." Hao Ren lowered his head and pointed at the red, icy surface. With his extraordinary eyesight, he could vaguely see the shadows underneath the thick layer of ice, where human relics and building bases that were decomposed by the Blood Tide lay. They had been immersed in this red liquid and should be completely dissolved by now, but the unusually rapid loss of temperature following the shutdown of the lunar surface's thermostat had caused the Blood Tide to stop prematurely and turn into red water. Parts that had decomposed halfway were frozen in state.
These phenomena were not found on any other ecological planets. The special artificial environment of the moon city had retained these valuable chunks for study.
MDT hit the ice happily. "Oh, this is a good thing! We can take a look at the decomposition process they went through!"
Hao Ren shot the MDT a sideways look. The latter was swiftly spinning on the ice like a drill bit. "Do you realize that you're just a PDA? I have three autonomous robots here!"
The MDT then came to its senses. It quickly drifted back into the air and said, "Fine, let the autonomous robots do the drilling."
While waiting for the autonomous robots to bore through the ice, Hao Ren threw the MDT another sideways look. "Please refrain from downloading any more Korean dramas. You will degenerate yourself very quickly by doing so."
The MDT was angered. "Do you think I like to do it? Your dog likes to watch Korean dramas, Battie likes to watch cooking programmes, the siren likes to watch Animal World, and your daughter likes to watch the Pleasant Goat! No one's watching the TV at home, but they ask me to show them the Big Bang Theory every evening at 7:30 pm on the coffee table in 3D! After that, you would play DOTA! I have a X-880 Series Thinking Core, full-fledged artificial intelligence, three-meter-wide HD holographic projection as well as 1PB minimum internet speed, andyou use me to play DOTA? My internal storage is filled with your family's amusing things, and you complain that I'm brain dead? Oh yeah, speaking of which, who was the one who told me to soak in the basin together with a fish, huh?"
Hao Ren was at a lost for words.
Everyone pretended to hear nothing as they turned their heads away and continued to mind their own business. But actually, they had nothing to do. Lily for example, went to grind stones.
Vivian looked at the autonomous robots drilling and collecting samples from the ice, she felt she should be able to play a part. She summoned a large swarm of bats. "I'll check out the nearby tentacles..."
Before her voice trailed off, the little bats literally dropped like flies, struggling on the ground. Vivian was rooted to the spot. Hao Ren facepalmed and said, "You did it again—don't you know that this place is a vacuum? Bats won't fly in a vacuum."
Hao Ren felt it was a miracle that this team could still survive till this day.
While he was sighing, Nangong Sanba's voice was suddenly heard on the radio. "Hey, can you hear me? I've found something here. I wonder if you are interested to take a look."
Hao Ren did not expect the half-baked demon hunter was the one who made the first discovery. He quickly went to check it out with the others. Nangong Sanba was standing on a large rock, hand pointing to the edge of the red ice. "There's seed frozen below—an extra-large seeds."
Hao Ren took a peek and found that an ellipsoidal thing was at the edge of the ice layer which was relative thin. The thing was about three metres in length and shaped like an olive. The tip had a tentacles sprouting out. He hurriedly commanded an autonomous machine to dig the 'seed' out from the ice as everyone looked on curiously.
The huge 'seed' looked like a small spaceship with very complicated structure. In addition to the tentacle on top, raised pattern of lines could be seen on the lower half, and between the lines were a few weird meat balls. On waistline of the 'seed', some sharp organs stuck out from crack as if they were some kind of sensors. Undoubtedly, these were made by the First Born, and for some unknown reasons—perhaps because of the end of the lunar ecosystem—these 'seed' had died before it was activated.
The MDT flew around the seed and had quickly figured out its structure and basic functions: it was much easier to understand than the Progenitor or The First Born.
"These raised sarcomas are some kind of antenna operating by gravitational wave communication. They must be used to communicate with the mother First Born on the earth's surface. These concentric structures are some kind of highly efficient engine, biological tissues which can generate powerful impulses. Judging from its residual structure, it can form a circulating magnetic field around itself. By harnessing the particles of the solar wind, it could propel itself forwards rapidly by throwing the particles backwards. Just like paddling in the water, it can be used within the solar system. The stuff in the middle must be some kind of sensor, perhaps used to capture the reaction of life," said the MDT as it paused for a second. "Also the possibility that the thing possesses some advanced capabilities cannot be ruled out. Its core has an organ of extraordinary mass. Though already deformed, in the high-energy acceleration ring of that organ is still clearly visible. It is either a fusion reactor or a super bomb."
Hao Ren was a little flabbergasted as he touched the shell of the 'seed'. "... was this thing that destroyed the lunar ecosystem?"
"At least this is one of the weapons," the MDT floated up and down. "There is no body of the First Born on the primary moon, so the First Born on the earth's surface must have attacked the Second Borns on other planets by launching some kind of interplanetary firepower from the earth's surface. This seed is its battleship—as long as it can make blood, it's enough to destroy the ecosystem on any planet."