Chapter 152.2 – Fire Seed (22)
◎ “Utopia” ◎
The shattered head of the armored sea turtle hung into the sea. The radiation within its body dissipated rapidly. Although it had just died, its body could still float temporarily. After a while, it would sink to the bottom. The remaining shark groups were also cleared out, and the exhausted awakeners swam towards the turtle’s back, flipping over and climbing up to rest.
Zhuang Qingyan swam to the side of the turtle’s head, propped himself up with both hands, and jumped up. Song Ke, pitifully curled up on top, was trying to figure out how to walk. The coat used to cover herself had long been torn, and no matter how she hid, the tip of her tail still peeked out.
Zhuang Qingyan casually jumped, took out a long coat from the dimensional space, and helped her wrap up again.
Then he bent down, his hands passing through Song Ke’s waist. He lifted her horizontally and, as he stood up, his steps were a bit unsteady, stumbling a couple of times. The feeling in the palms was slippery—her snake tail was indeed too heavy.
Song Ke blinked and earnestly suggested, “You should… exercise.”
After a while, she couldn’t help but mutter, “I can lift you with one hand.”
Zhuang Qingyan: “…”
His fingertips moved slightly, and a brand-new wheelchair appeared out of thin air. Carefully placing Song Ke onto it, he said with a cold face, “Tail, coil up properly.”
Song Ke puffed her cheeks, promptly coiling it into a ball.
Zhuang Qingyan then took out a blanket and covered her lower body securely.
Yin Xiao was not far away and walked over after escaping the danger. Upon seeing the appearance of the two, he was momentarily stunned. Why was Song Ke, who was in a wheelchair, now sitting there?
Yin Xiao took a step forward, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. “Song Ke, are you injured?”
“No! No!” Song Ke hurriedly retreated. “I-I just need to rest a bit.”
Yin Xiao, still concerned, wanted to approach for confirmation. However, Zhuang Qingyan blocked him, his gaze cold. “She’s fine. Please maintain social distance.”
Yin Xiao glanced at Zhuang Qingyan, observing him standing perfectly on his two long legs, and his mouth twitched. What’s wrong with this guy? Sitting in a wheelchair for no reason?
Lu Xiaoyu and Fang Zhixu came from the other side. Although they looked disheveled and had some blood stains, fortunately, they were not injured.
Su Cha also returned from underwater. He was wearing a black tank top, and his muscular arms had clear and smooth lines. His left hand, hastily treated, had poor blood circulation, already turned pale due to soaking in seawater. Fang Zhixu hurriedly ran over to treat him.
“Sister~” Xu Xing ran over with his short legs, wanting to leap into Song Ke’s arms. Midway, he was stopped by Zhuang Qingyan, who pressed down on his head, lowering his voice to warn, “Don’t lift the blanket, don’t let anyone get close to her. Protect your sister.”
Xu Xing’s radar lit up on his head. Although he didn’t understand what was happening, he was quite clever. He immediately ran to Song Ke’s side, like a little lion defending his territory with bared teeth and claws.
Veronica dragged Vladimir up, holding his head, continuously kissing his cheeks, and murmuring incomprehensible prayers. Vladimir’s eyes were tightly closed, his face pale. A whole piece was missing from the right side of his chest, almost reaching his heart. Although S-level awakeners weren’t so easily killed, he later attacked with his injuries and, soaked in seawater for a long time, his condition worsened. Without timely treatment, there was a risk of demotion.
Song Ke silently looked at the man on the ground. There was no doubt that Vladimir, in terms of character and strength, deserved to be S5 level.
She turned her head and called out softly, “Old Fang.”
Su Cha’s injuries were not severe, and Fang Zhixu had already dealt with them. Upon hearing Song Ke’s call, he raised his head and instantly understood Vladimir’s situation.
Song Ke opened the translator and skillfully switched to Luce language: “We have a doctor, do you need one?”
Veronica stared at her for two seconds, her eyes sad but calm: “Thank you, but a regular doctor can’t save him.”
Song Ke pointed to Fang Zhixu: “He is not only a regular doctor but also an A5-level, a healer.”
Veronica looked shocked; healing awakeners were too rare. Luce certainly had A-level healers, but they were usually in big cities, well-protected and rarely involved in life-threatening S-level missions.
Veronica gently placed Vladimir’s head down, stood up, and expressed the highest respect to Song Ke in the Luce way: “Thank you.”
“Thank you,” she repeated in the Alliance language with a hint of awkwardness.
Fang Zhixu, carrying the first aid kit, crouched down. After more than half a year of training, he had evolved from an excellent operating room doctor to a field doctor who could treat anytime, anywhere, even in the most basic conditions.
The light-colored ability flowed out slowly, and Vladimir’s complexion visibly improved. Fang Zhixu efficiently helped him clean and bandage the wound.
“Vital signs are stable, and the loss of awakened energy is within a manageable range. Go back and treat him well; he can recover.”
Veronica also deeply bowed to Fang Zhixu.
Su Cha stepped aside, holding his collar and asked in a low voice, “Lin Youyou? Where are you?”
There was a rustling sound from the other side, and after a while, a voice came out: “Here, here! Oops, wrong, turn right!”
Who was she talking to? Su Cha furrowed his brows slightly.
Yin Xiao looked down at the terminal: “The client has decided to abandon the mission, and a starship is coming to pick us up nearby. Everyone stay put.”
The awakeners on the turtle’s back couldn’t help but feel a bit disheartened. This S-level mission was full of crises from start to finish, dangerous at every step. Yet, in the end, they still couldn’t figure out why the residents of the Elderly People’s Nation mysteriously disappeared.
In the low-spirited atmosphere, a certain awakener spoke with doubt, “Why do I feel something is off? Didn’t this sea turtle die? Why is it swimming even faster now?”
“Look… those island fragments are also moving.”
Could there be another unexpected twist? The mentally exhausted awakeners silently screamed.
Lu Xiaoyu thought of something and pulled out a wet screen to confirm, “We’ve already reached the Sea of Misfortune.”
The surrounding magnetic field was in chaos, and the image flickered incessantly. The weather map loaded frame by frame, and Lu Xiaoyu could finally see the whole picture, freezing at the sight.
“Look over there!” someone exclaimed in terror.
In the far distance on the sea’s horizon, an immensely large vortex was spinning rapidly, swiftly pulling in everything around it.
“What on earth is that?”
“Damn, is it causing an underwater earthquake!?”
“No, the suction is too strong…”
The corpse of the armored sea turtle was getting closer to the vortex, and the intense water pressure caused a strong feeling of suffocation. If this continued, everyone would perish!
“Dive! Swim back!”
“Don’t be foolish, where do we swim to?”
“What should we do then? Wait for death? Unless the rescue starship arrives now, what else can we do!”
“Hey—!!” A clear female voice echoed behind the crowd.
The familiar voice made Su Cha turn around abruptly! A heavy shadow loomed over, and a colossal creature was swiftly swimming in the sea. Describing it as a “colossal creature” was not enough; how large was its size? Even though they were quite far away, no one could clearly see its entire form, only vaguely glimpsing parts of its body as it moved.
This… this… is a ferocious beast, again?!
Caught between a rock and a hard place, the emotions of the awakeners on site were on the verge of collapsing.
A tiny figure sat on the back of the giant fish, and Lin Youyou cupped her hands around her mouth, shouting to the people on the turtle’s back:
“Captain—I’m here to pick you up—hurry up and get on!!”
Song Ke’s face showed surprise: “It’s Lin Youyou!”
Zhuang Qingyan decisively said: “Let’s go.”
V587 didn’t waste any time; the group crossed the turtle’s back and ran towards the unknown ferocious beast.
Others were dumbfounded: “What the heck, are they insane?”
But immediately after, more and more people went crazy. “Tustan” and “Peace Dove” followed without hesitation. Yang Xiaobo, while sprinting, shouted loudly: “Listen to your Brother Yang! If you don’t want to die, follow V587!”
Veronica helped the recovering Vladimir to his feet and followed closely.
With death on both sides, the remaining awakeners gritted their teeth and also chased after.
The colossal creature emitted a distant and resonant roar, extending half of its wing like a massive palm leaf, serving as a makeshift bridge resting on the turtle shell. The awakeners quickly changed their positions and moved to its back.
Su Cha swiftly walked a few steps to Lin Youyou’s side, “You…”
Lin Youyou’s long hair was soaked, clinging tightly to her face. Her life jacket was tattered, but her eyes were surprisingly bright. She patted Su Cha’s shoulder, winked mischievously, “This time, I really escaped from death. I’ll tell you the legendary story later.”
Su Cha: “…”
The onlookers, other awakeners, were completely stupefied. What kind of freaks were in this team called V587?
They looked like slackers yet easily soloing level 5 and level 4 ferocious beasts. The healing awakener was perfectly fine but didn’t stay in the city; instead, they played on the battlefield for the thrill. And now, there was a woman who could control ferocious beasts?
Did they even understand what a normal awakener should be like?!
Before the crowd could express their amazement, the scene before them changed once again.
In the center of the Sea of Misfortune, the vortex’s rotation speed increased rapidly, and the armored sea turtle’s corpse was sucked in, instantly torn apart!
Fierce winds, tsunamis, torrential rain… the powerful suction made it hard to breathe, and the sky turned as dark as the deepest night.
At this moment, the colossal creature beneath them suddenly flapped its wings, leaping out of the sea surface! Everyone felt a flash before their eyes, and the whole world became incredibly ethereal. Surrounded by flowing clouds, it felt like one could reach out and touch the sky. No one spoke; the ultimate shock couldn’t be expressed in words.
“This ferocious beast…” Zhuang Qingyan spoke with solemnity, “is a Kun.”
Ancient texts from the old civilization once recorded: In the northern seas, there is a fish called Kun, its size immeasurable, capable of transforming into a flying bird named Peng. The outspread wings resemble descending clouds.
The mutated marine creature brought by Lin Youyou, regardless of its original form, truly deserved the name “Kun.”
However, today was destined to be an extraordinary day, as they were about to witness history unfold.
In the center of the vortex, a colossal black city slowly rose, casting a shadow that covered the sky. The rushing seawater cascaded down like a silver waterfall from the celestial river. After leaving the sea surface, it freed itself from the constraints of gravity, accelerating faster and soon surpassing the Kun where the people were, hovering in the air.
Lu Xiaoyu quietly looked up; at the bottom of the city, an endless stream of “Yiyu” was continuously supplying energy. Even as a former member of the Lu family, he had never seen so many Yiyu at once.
“Utopia,” Zhuang Qingyan slowly pronounced a word.
“What?” Song Ke asked in confusion.
Zhuang Qingyan gazed at the enormous shadow overhead with deep and distant eyes.
“The famous utopianist, Smirel, proposed an idea in the early stages of his theory. He believed that above the 180 districts of the Alliance, there should exist an S-level city where people enjoy the most beautiful life—equality, shared wealth, free from oppression and troubles, like the legendary utopia.”
“That S-level city is called ‘Utopia.'”
Zhuang Qingyan smiled faintly, his eyes chilling: “Unfortunately…”
“Unfortunately… what?” someone couldn’t help but murmur.
Zhuang Qingyan’s tone carried a hint of mockery, “Unfortunately, Smirel himself was considered the most arrogant utopianist in recent history. He was sentenced to death and sent to the Death Prison for multiple crimes. The Central Court believed that his theory was fundamentally impractical and unanimously rejected it, officially abolishing it.”
He opened Song Ke’s terminal, went to the mission page, and without hesitation clicked “Complete.”
Thanks to this accidentally triggered S-level mission, now everyone knew—where did the residents of the Elderly People’s Nation actually go?
The awakeners looked solemn, turned on their cameras, faithfully recording everything before them.
As this floating city stabilized, visible changes occurred in the surrounding area. The storm over the Sea of Misfortune dissipated, and sunlight replaced the darkness. The thick black color on the surface of Utopia gradually faded, revealing a pure white glow, as if it truly resembled the idyllic paradise Smirel described.
However, everyone’s heads were shrouded in an undispersed shadow.
Veronica, sensing something, produced a new divination card in her palm. She slowly flipped it open:
—The reversed World card.
It meant an ungraspable scepter, unclear judgments, and a success filled with flaws. It also symbolized abandoned humanity.
