I wasn't sure if our Deep Diving Project could be considered a complete success. In fact, we had already achieved our original goal. We planned to conduct a Deep Dive to test the performance of the prototype Deep Diving Ship, collect data from the depths of the Abyss to build the next, more powerful Deep Diving Ship, obtain more than two effective databases, and finally safely withdraw from the experimental site. Now, all of these goals had been accomplished. However, the unexpected situation was that we had lost an experimental universe with superior conditions.
This loss wasn't unbearable, and it didn't affect the profits of the entire Deep Diving Project. However, when we thought about how the Fallen Apostle was behind this, we felt as though there was a fishbone stuck in our throat. Sandora was especially furious. She had already sent three times the number of soldiers to guard every Gate of the Abyss within the Empire that was used for scientific research. This was to prevent the Fallen Apostle from suddenly emerging from these Gates. However, other than that, she had no other choice. At the moment, the Empire still didn't possess the ability to form a fleet that could fight in the Abyss.
After dealing with the power of the Abyss that might have tainted our bodies (which made me feel as though I had just taken a stroll in a heavily infected area), the three of us went to the headquarters of the City of Shadows. Everyone was already waiting there. In the officer's lounge, I saw Shallow Shallow lying on the sofa lazily, groaning. She didn't have the slightest bit of self-awareness as a matriarch of the Empire. In such a serious military location, she was openly playing with a doll in front of a few guards. The doll resisted fiercely. In order to stop Shallow Shallow from putting strange little clothes on her body, she had already fluttered her feathers all over the floor. Alright, the doll was Mercury Lamp.
"Ah, Ah Jun … Aiya …"
Seeing us enter, Shallow Shallow's eyes immediately lit up. A second ago, she was still lying lazily on the sofa, but the next second, she jumped up and rushed into my arms. Unfortunately, just as she stood up, her feet swayed and she fell to the side unsteadily. Mercury Lamp had just escaped from the poisonous claws. Before she could fly far, Shallow Shallow subconsciously grabbed her ankle and we both fell to the ground. The little doll was shocked. She flapped the wings on her back desperately, trying to fly up. She blushed and begged me for help. "Help … Help … She's heavy … Quick, take care of your wife!"
I quickly helped Shallow Shallow up and saved Little Lamp. The doll sat on my shoulder, still in shock. After a round of beating, she flew into her sister's arms and glared at us. Shallow Shallow smiled apologetically. "Ahh, looks like your legs are still a little wobbly …"
Qian Qian, who was always full of energy, as though she had taken 20 kilograms of stimulants, now looked tired and pale. I could feel that she wasn't exerting any strength when she was in my embrace. It was as though she was lying on my body — — Yeah, where did this lass get the strength to toss the mercury lamp around? Bullying your daughter is a non-exhaustible skill?
"What happened to you? Where's your sense of propriety?" I carefully helped the girl in my arms to lie down on the sofa. She simply rested her head on my lap and closed her eyes, making it impossible for me to reprimand her. "Are you hurt?"
I was quite worried. What Qian Qian had done today could be said to be unprecedented. She had single-handedly suppressed a Chaos Abyss Gate that had gone berserk and out of control. Even a high-level True God would have to think twice about whether or not they would be able to come out alive. Even if Shallow Shallow's special ability allowed her to complete such an impossible task, she still had to bear a lot of pressure and risk. Did the Chaos Abyss Gate hurt her when it collapsed?
"I'm fine." Shallow Shallow completely ignored everyone's gazes. She happily snuggled in her lover's arms. She didn't even bother to open her eyes. "Ah Jun, did you forget? I'm the master of time. No matter how fast the Chaos Abyss Gate exploded, it couldn't be faster than the smallest unit of time. To me, it was just a series of static images. I could always find an opportunity to escape. I just used up a lot of my mental energy. That thing was really destructive. It could even corrupt time. I had to constantly create new time vortexes to allow the Chaos Abyss Gate to jump between two points in time. Aha, that's interesting. This is my new technique. How about I call it 'Tiring You to Death' -3000 '? By creating two points in time, I can make a target repeat between two points in time. At the same time, I can choose whether the target will keep or not keep the changes that occur during each repetition. It's just like AB … Phew, this was forced out when I was suppressing the Chaos Abyss Gate … I'm a little sleepy … I'm going to sleep for a while … "
As she spoke, Shallow Shallow's voice gradually became softer. In the end, it was replaced by a light snoring sound.
I didn't know how to react to this lass who was jumping between words and actions. I could only raise my head awkwardly and smile at the people around me. Icetis nodded thoughtfully. "I realized something. When she's with you, Shallow Shallow never considers her surroundings. Her world is definitely not big. At most, it's two and a half meters with you as the center." Damn, what's with this accurate data!
"That's about it." Big Sis smiled gently and poked my arm. "Maybe to Shallow Shallow, Ah Jun is her world. When she was young, she would be thrown into our family's care every few days. She grew up with Ah Jun. After a long time, it became a habit. When she's around me and Ah Jun, her true nature will be revealed … "
"Cough cough. Let's talk about the Gate of the Abyss." I scratched my head awkwardly. I felt that Big Sis was embarrassed to bring up this matter. "There's also the Fallen Apostles. They appeared under our experimental site. We have to analyze this carefully. "
Sandora looked at Shallow Shallow enviously and muttered, "You're just changing the topic." Then, she became serious. "I'm guessing that those spaceships aren't special cases. The engineering team saw a total of three spaceships belonging to the Fallen Apostles under the Gate of the Abyss. It was obviously a formation. It included an armed battleship, an auxiliary communication ship, and a scientific research spaceship. The scientific research spaceship was unmanned. I don't know if the other two spaceships are the same. At the same time, we don't know if there are any other combinations of such a small team. It seems that the mission of these three spaceships should be scientific research. This is my judgment. Under most circumstances, if a team has a unit that has no combat power and is dedicated to scientific research, then the position of this team will definitely be scientific research … "
"Why?" Lin Xue didn't react for a moment and asked casually. Before Sandora could speak, Xiaoxue, who was sitting next to Lin Xue with her arm around her shoulder, shouted, "Hey, Mom, think about it. I've always heard of presidents bringing two guards with them when they go out. Who has ever heard of guards bringing two presidents with them when they go out …" This girl's sharp words were quite similar to her mother's style.
Sandora nodded. "That's the logic. A small military team wouldn't bring a scientific research spaceship that would drag them down. Of course, sometimes we bring along field engineers. This situation is different."
I immediately thought of that mysterious bearded man. I felt that he should be included in a military unit …
"If this is a scientific research team, then their configuration is obviously much more brilliant than ours. The Fallen Apostles already have the ability to create a variety of ships that can adapt to the environment of the Abyss and control them perfectly. Previously, the engineering team reported that one of the spaceships they destroyed was equipped with a large number of high-power antenna arrays. That ship should be used to communicate with the mainland in the Abyss. It might even be the prototype of some kind of fleet communication hub. The possibility of the Fallen Apostles forming an Abyss fleet is a very bad conjecture. In addition, we should all remember one point. The Abyss is a closed and dark spherical shell. The orderly world is located on the surface of the spherical shell. The Gates of the Abyss are holes that occasionally appear on the spherical shell. As long as they grasp the precise positioning and long-distance communication technology within the spherical shell, the Fallen Apostles have the ability to suddenly rush out from any of the holes and attack any world that they have grasped the coordinates of. Moreover, this kind of surprise attack cannot be stopped halfway. Even if we know their plan, it is still useless. At present, there is no technology that can stop the opening of the Gates of the Abyss. "
"There is also no technology to open the Gates of the Abyss on their own?" The elder sister suddenly said, causing the atmosphere to sink.
Sandora was very solemn. "If the Fallen Apostles really grasp this technology, then it will be terrible … They will truly become like the Abyss, freely opening the Gates of any world, destroying, plundering … I do not wish to see such a terrible scene."
"Please allow me to express my opinion. Right now, this technology of theirs should be very immature," Seves' voice came from the door. She was still wearing the neat and tidy high-ranking officer's uniform, always looking smart and capable. "It might even be inferior to the current New Empire." Without waiting for us to question her shocking judgment, she had already taken the initiative to explain, "According to the report of the engineering team, the size and performance of the three enemy ships that appeared on the other side of the Gates of the Abyss are inferior to the Abyss Work Ships that the Empire manufactured. They are only at the standard of light assault ships. This should not be a design requirement, but a limitation of the technology. The most obvious characteristic is that they need to hand over the communication of the ships to a specialized antenna platform. A small spaceship without any offensive or defensive capabilities, carrying dozens of high-powered antenna towers, used to ensure the communication between the other two small ships and the base. Isn't this kind of design rather clumsy? In the environment of the Abyss, it is very difficult for the ships to cooperate with each other. If the distance is increased, the disturbance from the Abyss will increase by several times. It is just like sailing in a storm. A small ship can capsize at any time, and even an important unit like the communication array can be easily destroyed. The best choice should be to build a battleship that can resist powerful storms, storing communication, weapons and various auxiliary facilities in a highly secure environment. This is not a simple principle of large ships, but common sense that should be present when resisting a storm. "
"So, the Fallen Apostles are unable to build a larger Abyss ship. Is that what you mean?" Sandora looked into Seves' eyes. "Indeed, your analysis is very reasonable. I am used to assuming things in the worst direction. It seems that my assumption this time is too bad. "
"The necessary vigilance is still indispensable," Seves said solemnly. "I have already stationed heavy troops near all the Gates of the Abyss in the territory according to your orders. At the same time, I have also increased the surveillance of the Garden of the Departed to warn of any newly formed Gates of the Abyss in the territory. Another reason why I made this judgment is because of the information from the research center. Chief Tawil's preliminary judgment is that the samples of the enemy ships that Your Majesty brought back have a technical bottleneck. Furthermore, the Fallen Apostles do not seem to have any signs of breaking through this bottleneck … "
"… Isn't her efficiency a little too high?"
"You have to understand the passion of a scientist," Seves said after holding it in for a long time. "Two hours is enough for Tawil to dismember anything within a radius of a kilometer."
At this moment, everyone should have simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief. Knowing that the Fallen Apostles did not suddenly rise up as Sandora had expected undoubtedly gave everyone a reassurance. However, Sandora's worries still needed to be taken seriously. As an experienced master strategist, it was her habit to expect the worst before any problem occurred. Tawil had discovered that the Fallen Apostles were trapped in a technical bottleneck, but this did not mean that this technical bottleneck would exist forever. There would be a day when the Fallen Apostles would achieve a breakthrough. When that time comes, we might really face a terrifying army that was roaming the Abyss and could rush out of the Gates of the Abyss to attack the real world at any time.
"We should put more effort into the Deep Submergence Project and its subsidiary projects," Sandora said with a frown. "At least, I do not wish for a situation where the Fallen Apostles barged into our experimental grounds again without us knowing anything. At the very least, we need to be able to grasp the situation inside every Gate of the Abyss in the territory in real time. This task will be handed over to the research center. Right now, our technology in this area is practically blank. I hope to see a solution as soon as possible, even if it is just an idea. "
"Your will." Sives immediately bowed and retreated.
"It seems that the Empire's side and the Fallen Apostles' technology tree in the Abyss have already taken two completely different paths," the elder sister said thoughtfully. "It's just that I don't know whose path is more correct. Now, it seems that the Fallen Apostles' progress is a little too rash. Their Abyssal spaceships are definitely submerged in their own territory, but they were able to cruise all the way to the Empire's territory. Even if they were cruising in the shallow regions, this is still a test of their technological strength. Our Deep Submergence Ships and Abyssal Engineering Ships do not have such a long endurance, but they are more outstanding in other aspects. Their size can be designed to be larger, and their shield capacity seems to be higher as well? "
The elder sister was not an expert in this area. At this time, she was just casually voicing her thoughts. No one really knew how the Fallen Apostles' Abyssal technology would develop, but as individuals who had been corrupted by the Abyss, they were undoubtedly more gifted than the Empire in this aspect. At the very least, the technology that allowed them to submerge all the way from the Fallen Apostles' homeland to the Empire's territory was very frightening.
I reckoned that the reason why they were able to submerge for so long in the Abyss' environment was most likely due to their special defensive technology, which was the effect of the layer of Abyssal Fog that enveloped the outside of the spaceships. This layer of fog clearly consumed less energy than the 'Three Skinned Face Shield' used by the Empire's Deep Submergence Ships. Moreover, it did not conflict with the Abyss' environment. It could be said that it fundamentally eliminated the possibility of being attacked by the fog vortexes in the Abyss. At the same time, the hull of the spaceship could fuse with the Abyss' environment, greatly reducing the consumption of the spaceship's propulsion. Err, this is just my guess. The theoretical basis is that "unscrupulous fellows are more likely to blend in with the crowd in the City of Shadows, and an uncle wearing sunglasses has his movement speed increased by one".
…
The Fallen Apostles used the Abyssal Fog to provide the spaceships with Abyssal resistance. This method was very miraculous, but it also seemed to have a serious flaw. Those spaceships did not seem to have strong defensive capabilities against other forms of attacks, or it could be said that the Fallen Apostles simply did not take any precautions in this aspect. The temporary bombs that Big Beard assembled blew up two of the spaceships. At the same time, because the spaceship had completely fused with the Abyss' environment, the moment the Fallen Apostles' Abyssal spaceship's shield was breached, it would immediately collapse. The spaceship would first be half-dead by its own Abyssal Fog. The brick that Icetis originally planned to use to break through the spaceship's propulsion system had actually directly smashed the entire spaceship. This was something that we had not expected.
In that case, we could only wait for Tawil's analysis report to determine whether this technology was of any value to us or not.
Big Beardy, who made a decisive judgment in this incident and resolved a potential crisis (even though it was later proven that this crisis did not exist), was later given credit. I felt that he was a talent, especially in the field of military technology. Big Beardy himself admitted that he was more interested in researching bombs and cannons than in researching the theory of the Abyss. So, I suggested to Tarver that Big Beardy should lead a new military research group to research various weapons that could still be used in the environment of the Abyss. This project did not sound difficult, because it was not difficult to destroy a target in the environment of the Abyss. There was Bryndis' brick as proof, but in fact, this was also a subject that needed to be tackled. In the environment of the Abyss, all acts of destruction were uncertain. Weapons could indeed achieve destructive effects, but this was completely uncontrollable. Conventional attacks could be magnified by the environment of the Abyss by more than ten times. It would be fine if it landed on the enemy's head, but it was more likely that it would land on your own head. If you fired a cannon, it was very likely that you would be blasted in half. Don't think that you could sit back and relax just because there were all sorts of barriers that could resist the Chaos Abyss. Reality proved that in an environment that did not follow common sense, no barriers were that reliable. The engineering ship's sudden loss of two escape towers under normal circumstances was a clear proof of this. After careful examination, it was proven that the engineering ship's escape towers had not been attacked by the Fallen Apostles when they broke apart. They had been destroyed when the engineering ship tossed out a set of guiding beacons. The process of tossing out the guiding beacons required the destruction of the engineering ship's two single-use locking gates. This destruction process was believed to have been affected by the Chaos Abyss and magnified, resulting in the destruction of the engineering ship's escape towers.
How the Chaos Abyss could still affect the engineering ship's escape towers under the obstruction of a barrier, even to the extent of causing structural damage to the latter was a mystery that needed to be explained. We were completely confident that the engineering ship's barrier system was effective, that it could operate normally in the Chaos Abyss' environment. This couldn't be faked, but it definitely had a loophole that no one knew about. Tawil had already organized experts to reexamine the blueprints of the Chaos Abyss' isolation system, comparing these blueprints with the original deep submergence ship in hopes of finding something that we had overlooked. This might be another task that required quite a bit of work, so Tawil gave up on her own vacation. A few days ago, I had even agreed with Sandora that after the first phase of the deep submergence project ended, Tawil and the main research staff would have a few days of rest. However, the follow-up projects came one after another, and the Fallen Apostle's progress in the Chaos Abyss was even more pressing, so it seemed like this promise had fallen through once again.
Tawil herself didn't seem to mind. She liked to work, and she enjoyed the joy of obtaining results after tackling difficult problems without rest. Only, I still felt a bit apologetic.
I could only hope that the Fallen Apostle would calm down a bit and stop giving us trouble every single day...
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