Chapter 60: Shadows in the Deep Sea

“Shh—” Luo Shang made a shushing gesture.

“The fish will get scared off by you two in a moment!”

He said this through the Team Internal Psychic Link.

Chen Guyi itched to complain.

Deputy Captain, we’re in the deep sea right now. Some of the fish down here are bigger than we are—swimming overhead like a dark cloud. We’re so tiny that it’s not even certain they can see us…

To keep his power suppressed to the level of an ordinary person—so he wouldn’t frighten the fish away or have flatterers hanging pre-caught ones on his hook—Luo Shang had honed his concealment techniques to an extraordinary degree. He could nearly perfectly mask his spiritual energy fluctuations, passing for just another unremarkable human.

Out fishing with his teammates, Luo Shang had naturally shared his Concealment Spell with them, cloaking the whole group. Now the three of them blended seamlessly with the seabed rocks in every way but shape.

“But we’ve been communicating through the team link this whole time, without sending out any sound waves. Fish shouldn’t be able to hear us at all,” β-62 pointed out.

“True enough, but what if they can? Don’t assume the Concealment Spell is foolproof,” Luo Shang replied gravely.

“So let’s just wait in silence.”

β-62 and Chen Guyi: …

What a blunder. Back when Luo Shang had asked if they wanted to head to the deep sea or the earth’s crust, they’d figured the crust had nothing worth seeing and picked the deep sea. They should have realized right then that the Deputy Captain had an agenda!

“Actually, I think your captain would enjoy this place. Once I wrap up my business, I’ll bring him down to give it a try,” Luo Shang said, eyeing the colossal fish, jellyfish, and shadowy insect-like forms drifting past.

“This kind of water pressure is nothing to the captain. You’d do better to take him for a soak in a lava pool, Deputy Captain.” β-62 harbored a grudge against Ke Yanjin and felt a sly, cunning type like him was unworthy of Luo Shang.

“I considered that,” Luo Shang said with a smile.

“But he hates the heat. And most importantly, you two chose the deep sea, didn’t you?”

So that’s what it was—he’d been polling us just to pick the spot for his next date with the captain, Chen Guyi thought to himself.

Damn it, we’re getting shown up again.

Flaunting their romance once more. Are we just props in your little game?

β-62 clearly caught on too. With a huff, she stood and swung her fishing rod through the water.

Her strength flowed effortlessly through the rod, shrugging off the water’s drag. It felt as natural as casting on dry land. When the hook snagged something rigid, β-62 reeled it in.

Catching Luo Shang’s glance, she declared, “This counts as fishing!”

“Yes, yes, of course it does,” Luo Shang agreed.

He knew full well it counted. In the Reincarnation Space, “fishing” came in endless varieties.

“Still, I prefer the sit-and-wait style. It’s more satisfying…” Luo Shang muttered.

His serenity held until he got a look at β-62’s catch.

“There’s some steel contraption down here on the seabed…” β-62 studied the metal sphere she’d more accurately speared than hooked.

“The shell’s tough. I had to infuse a bit of spiritual energy to wedge the hook inside.”

“What do you suppose it is? A relic from some bygone civilization? Trash dumped by players vacationing at the bottom of the sea? Or…”

Chen Guyi leaned in for a closer look at the orb.

Until β-62 flipped it over, exposing the camera lens.

She moved faster than any human reflex, clapping her hands together to crush it flat.

“It’s one of those Deep Sea Probes the locals here deployed, Deputy Captain!” β-62 growled through clenched teeth.

Luo Shang whipped his head around. “…?”

“System, blur the footage!” he ordered at once.

Wiping it outright would look too suspicious. Better to fuzz it over, letting deep-sea distortions and creature shadows account for β-62’s silhouette.

“Affirmative,” the System replied.

~~~

Inside the Deep Sea Current Research Institute, Professor Huang—his beard streaked with white—paced a room crammed with screens and tangled wires. He spoke with fervor.

“Humanity has always understood the cosmos overhead far better than the abyss underfoot. But starting today, that changes. We will conquer the deep sea!”

It was the day for the preliminary dive test of their new Deep Submersible Probe. Success would shatter the record for seafloor depth sounding, deepening their grasp of the ocean’s secrets and paving the way for bolder research.

From the screens, they watched the deep submersible’s depth meter drop bit by bit until it finally touched down on the seabed. Everyone in the room held their breath, waiting for that moment to arrive.

One thousand meters. Two thousand. Three thousand. Six thousand…

Ten thousand meters!

The deep submersible settled steadily, and cheers erupted throughout the room. Professor Huang wiped his glasses, his heart pounding with excitement.

“Now let’s see if the camera’s intact. This is the latest technology from the Materials Institute. Can it capture images of the seabed…”

“Not good!” one of the researchers suddenly shouted.

“What’s not good? Young man, don’t get all flustered,” Professor Huang said with a frown.

Even though the man he was addressing was already over forty.

“It’s shooting out! Something seems to have hooked onto 001 and yanked it away!” the researcher cried.

The deep submersible’s designation was 001.

“Probably just some deep-sea creature brushing up against it,” Professor Huang replied, his expression turning serious.

“Report: Camera activated!”

Another researcher called out.

“No rush. Let’s check the footage. Panicking won’t help—we can only hope 001 isn’t too badly damaged.” Professor Huang walked over to a screen and studied the images streaming in from the submersible.

Even this eighty-year-old professor, who prided himself on his worldly experience, froze in shock.

“That’s… a person, isn’t it?” the first researcher said, his voice laced with panic.

“That’s a human silhouette…”

The footage clearly captured a shadowy human figure, short hair visible. Gender markers were indistinct, but the deep sea was pitch-black with low visibility—they couldn’t make out the face.

Behind the dark silhouette loomed two more figures. One stood beside it, peering curiously as if trying to figure out what it was. The other sat directly behind.

Then the feed cut out. Alarms blared from the control panel: the deep submersible had been utterly destroyed.

“Impossible… Absolutely impossible.”

“How could there be people in the deep sea?!”

The old professor muttered to himself.