Psychics don't die from gunfire

Will we be able to see Chapter 881?

This pitch-black object is nearly a cube, with a length and width of just over three meters. A lapis lazuli laser measured its diameter and found that the length and width were not a standard 1:1 ratio; it still falls within the precision range of "looking like a cube."

The weight is just over thirty tons.

Twenty-seven cubic meters of pure iron weighs 212 tons, and twenty-seven cubic meters of pure gold weighs 521 tons.

Lapis lazuli conducted on-site analysis of the outer layer material, including its crystal structure, phases, and defects. The results showed that it is an alloy mainly composed of iron, chromium, and nickel. In simpler terms, it is stainless steel.

Handmade stainless steel.

It is full of traces of artificial synthesis. Someone absorbed elements such as iron, chromium, and nickel at the microscopic level, adjusted the proportions, and recombined them to form the outer shell of this cube.

It floated silently above the sea, with a fist-sized gravitational sphere hovering above it, steadily pulling on its mass.

"This is a masterpiece."

Song Shi stroked it; it was cold and delicate. The craftsman had even taken the time to polish it at the end: "Not the same person."

One is "transcendence," and the other is "great source."

“There’s a hollow structure inside.” Lapis Lazuli took out his detection module and performed an X-ray scan: “I suggest—”

Song Shi placed one hand on it.

On the jet-black surface, with its barely perceptible texture, a new color emerged, with strands of crimson gold gradually spreading, like a master butcher dissecting an ox, dissecting the entire cube from the inside out—

It wasn't burned to ashes, but rather as if thousands of incredibly fine laser beams were cutting it in a perfectly uniform manner.

Lapis Lazuli nodded slightly, and an invisible gravitational field rose, preventing the cut pieces of metal from falling directly into the sea.

Like an onion, each layer is peeled away, gradually revealing the core hidden within.

Upon seeing the "core", Song Shi was stunned.

Blind boxes are always unknown, and the unknown brings joy, anticipation, and fear. So Song Shi made preparations; the True Spirit "Present World" had already been activated, sealing off the world within a few thousand meters.

No one knows what an ancient psychic was thinking.

Even if this blind box contained a gravity bomb that would collapse the moment it saw light, he was confident he could stab it open with a knife and force it back in without making a sound.

But it's not a gravity bomb.

A perfectly round sphere, it's hard to tell whether it's pure blue or pure white, formed from crystalline matter. Its surface isn't smooth, unlike the usual impression of a "sphere"; rather, it's crisscrossed with grooves.

这 是
Song Shi stared at it for a moment, then said softly, "...A planetarium?"

What appeared before the machines and humans was a planet sculpted entirely from the material "ice".

The separated, pitch-black shell, just like it has for thousands of years, silently guards it.

Among carving techniques, there is a branch known as "micro-carving." Legend has it that masters skilled in this art can carve an entire, exquisitely detailed boat on a peach pit.

But the planet in front of us cannot be encompassed by the term "micro-sculpture".

Song Shi's pupils were the color of glass, reflecting every inch of the crystal-clear planet. Those grooves and wide openings that dotted the surface, if viewed more closely, would reveal that they too contained grooves.

Like a tangled root system, each root can extend into new and multiple roots, until finally, a complex structure is built deep underground.

Such masterful craftsmanship is evident everywhere on this planet.

“Song Shi,” Lapis Lazuli suddenly spoke up. “This one.”

a book.

Beside the planet lay a book, also made entirely of ice, slightly larger than a palm. It was closed, but even today it hadn't stuck together; dry and crisp like summer paper, it could be opened with a little force.

Song Shi picked up the book; it wasn't as cold as he had imagined, it was just chilly.

"Can you translate it?" Song Shi turned to the first page, where unfamiliar characters appeared. "Phonetic script. I've done a preliminary search of the database, but I haven't found any records of this script yet. It must have been lost." Lapis Lazuli glanced at it: "Direct translation will take time, but I can try."

"Approximately how long will it take?"

“More than three hours.” Lapis Lazuli pondered for a moment before giving a conservative answer: “My algorithms in comparative languages, cryptography, and semantics are not particularly outstanding.”

"It's been too long." Song Shi pondered for a moment, then decisively pulled out his phone: "Is the spinning machine here?"

With the support of a "quantum communication link," the other party instantly replied, "What do you need me to do?"

Twenty minutes later, Song Shi understood the meaning of the book.

"By the time you see these words, I should already be dead. Well, I should say I've been dead for a long time. I really don't know if you can understand these words, please forgive my selfishness."

"Before writing the first word, I hesitated for a long time, wondering which language to use to record it. Perhaps the right thing to do was to write it in every language, but I am a selfish person. In the end, I stopped hesitating and chose the language of Palao—I know what you want to ask—where is Palao?"

"This is an island covered with pittosporum and tamarisk, and when they bloom, people can't resist picking them. But I prefer to sit alone on the sea cliff and watch the wind, which always smells salty."

"Have you ever thought about going to see them? As a Palao, I should welcome you, but as a Palao, I must tell you something: Palao has been gone for a long time, and now you can only see traces of it at the very bottom of the Ahork Sea."

“I guess what you’re thinking. Why don’t I, a calamity who has unlocked the fourth key, go and retrieve it again? Yes, I can do it, of course I can.”

"When Palao was submerged by the tsunami, I had just unlocked the second key and could only watch helplessly as every tung tree flower and every Palao person was shattered by the waves. Now I do have the ability to lift Palao up again and make all the seawater roll away from it, but all the memories are gone. What's the point of this now?"

"I want to seek a new meaning."

"...I want to build an underwater city."

"A city that can truly be inhabited, where people can live, where sea tung flowers can grow, and which is located beneath the sea."

“This is not my unique idea, I’m sure of that. After leaving Palau, I spent several years going to Quedes, to the Ryūkyū Palace, to San Aphrodite. Believe me, I’ve been to every place you’ve ever heard of that’s supposedly built underwater.”

"To be honest, I'm not satisfied with any of it."

“Whenever the tide rises, half of Quedes is submerged, so it’s called ‘Sea City’—can it really be called Sea City? The master of the Ryūryū Palace entertained me; he was a truly generous and hospitable man, and his palace is indeed located underwater. But those servants, cooks, grooms, and court jesters who act in plays are only able to breathe underwater because of his protection and the bloodlines he provides. This is not what I want.”

"What's really disheartening is that while I'm not satisfied with these places, I can't come up with a replacement. Unless I freeze the entire sea surface and seabed into ice blocks and then arrange them into the shape of a city, that would indeed allow some people to live there and thrive. But, as I said before—is this really a sea city?"

"Haha, so I gave up."

"Let others, and future generations, deal with these difficult and troublesome problems! I can't find the answers, and I can't think of a solution!"

".well."

"What's really agonizing is that I can't let go of it. Every night my heart is pounding uncontrollably, urging me to get up and get things done. Even when I'm squatting on the castle drinking coconut, it's still pounding, making my hand slip and almost drop it on someone."

"Those of you looking here, you see it, right? That ice hockey puck."

"I spent thirty years swimming across Shichahai, traversing the Storm Sea, breaking through the Eternal Vortex, the Valerius Ocean, and the Western Intercontinental Sea. These names alone are enough to boast about, so I won't go into further detail. I personally explored every sea area of ​​Terra. It was truly perilous; I almost died there several times. Well, I understand. After all, no one wants to see a strange Calamity, who has unlocked the fourth key, sneaking into their territory to survey their domain."

"But I survived, managing to escape with the map and model."

“I measured their size with my hands and eyes, carved detailed shapes on the ice, and then carefully tucked them into my pocket to keep them from breaking. Finally, I put them together.”

“I’m old now, and I haven’t met any of my friends. I’ve lived for ninety-seven years, and most of the people I knew are no longer alive. The tavern I used to frequent is now run by his grandson.”

"I can't do any more. Although I've lived for so many years, I haven't accomplished many things. Perhaps this chart is the only thing I've ever done. It records the underwater landscape of every part of Terra's ocean, and I've tried my best to replicate it one by one—you'll definitely be able to use it, it will definitely be useful to you."

"If one day you also have the same idea and want to build an underwater city, please take this and take a good look at it. With its gentle ocean currents, suitable temperature, abundant resources, and stable geological structure, you can find a suitable place there."

"Ah, there's another possibility, but I don't think it's just wishful thinking. Perhaps when you see this text and take this planetarium, it will be in your era."

"Can you see it now? A city that can live underwater?"

(End of this chapter)