Poseidon in Arknights

"What's wrong?" Yuzuki looked at Kurenai with a smile, who seemed to have resigned herself to her fate after struggling. "Is there something you can't tell Mommy?"

"Ugh~" Seeing that she couldn't break free and lunge to stop her, Red could only look at Exusiai with a look that said, "If you dare to tell anyone, I'll settle the score with you."

"Oh, you're provoking me~" The angel probably won't fall for Red's act. Anyway, Red won't do anything, and as long as Yuuki goes back to the medical department tomorrow, someone will definitely tell Yuuki about it.

"Ahem." Exusiai cleared her throat, looking at Red with a smile. "You know Red likes to touch her tail, right, especially her fluffy tail~"

"Oh~" Upon hearing this, Yuuki immediately realized that Exusiai probably wanted to say something. Then, Yuuki looked down at Red, who was not planning to struggle.

"Tell me, you little rascal, what did you do?"

“There’s a big purple wolf with a big tail…” Red’s eyes darted around a little. Red wasn’t afraid of anything except Xi Yue. “His name is Provence. Actually, we’ve met him before.”

“I remember her.” Xi Yue rubbed her red hair. “So, the child came for a medical check-up, and you couldn’t resist?”

Before Hong could give a proper answer, Xiyue could roughly guess what was going on just by looking at Hong's turned away face.

Provence is a messenger of natural disasters, and Provence is infected; she almost always undergoes a medical examination whenever she returns.

It's likely that when Yuuki went to catch Yuuki with Nian, Provence happened to be returning from there and was undergoing a medical examination related to Ore Disease when she was targeted by Hong.

However, the reason why no one rushed forward in Siesta might simply be because Yuuki was nearby.

So at that time, Red had restrained herself, and since Yuuki had a tail, Red probably didn't care about Provence's big tail.

During the time that Yuuki was away on a business trip, Provence could only suffer a little bad luck. Well, with the massage techniques that Yuuki taught Hong, it might be a bittersweet experience.

"Did you get permission?" Xi Yue asked with a helpless smile, touching her red head.

"I did ask..." Hong's voice sounded quite guilty. Although she had gotten permission at the time, she had used a little bit of force, otherwise she wouldn't have let others know.

"Alright then." Xi Yue lowered her head and kissed Hong's head. "Okay, next time you must agree as soon as possible, and be a little gentler. Okay, I'm going to cook now, come on."

"Okay~" After receiving a kiss from Yuuki, Hong immediately pounced to the side with great energy, accurately leaping over Texas who was sitting on the sofa, and pounced next to Texas, where she obediently sat down to watch TV.

"Sigh, I hope there won't be any trouble." Yu Yue shook her head helplessly, then pushed the cart into the kitchen.

——————Rhodes Island, Accommodation Area, Iberian Medical Mutual Aid Association——————

"Lord Specter." Allely looked respectfully at Specter, who was sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, and Skadi, who was sitting obediently beside him.

"Oh, is it all settled?" Ghost Shark looked at Alleri. She was supposed to be having a meal now, but to be honest, she still didn't trust the people from the Deep Sea Church, or the two Sea Heirs beside her.

Even for Yuuki's sake, it won't work. Just like Yuuki said, their feud isn't something that can be easily resolved, and Yuuki isn't going to get involved in this matter right now.

No one wants Yuuki to express her opinion. No one wants Yuuki to take any stance, so no one has asked her yet, and Yuuki herself hasn't brought it up either.

“No.” Allelli shook his head. “We found the companions of two adults in the bay port village of Iberia and asked if we should take them to Rhodes Island or…?”

"Companion?" Specter and Skadi looked at each other. Specter knew that Skadi had another companion on this land, but she really didn't know there was a second one, or two new companions still alive.

Skadi's eyes, now somewhat dull, were fixed on Allelli: "Who is it?"

"Eh...?" Allely looked at Skadi with some confusion. Just a moment ago, he suddenly felt that Skadi in front of him seemed to have become taller and more worthy of his submission than the two masters he served.

“Answer me.” Skadi stared intently at Allelli in front of her.

Allely immediately replied, "Their names are Ulpian and Gretia, respectively."

"Second Captain? There's a Captain too?" Skadi looked at Specter beside her. "What do you think?"

“I knew the captain was still alive.” Specter looked at Skadi’s eyes, which were sparkling with excitement. “But I didn’t expect the third captain to be alive too.”

"Did you hurt them?" Ghost Shark asked Allelly.

“No.” Allely shook his head. “We have decided to follow the will of the sea, so naturally we will not choose to harm our companions.”

“Tell them about our situation.” Specter stared intently at Allelli. “And tell them about those three bastards too. I don’t think you’d recommend having a couple more helpers, would you? Or are you intentionally covering for them?”

Upon hearing Ghost Shark's words, Allely surprisingly revealed a hint of anger in his eyes: "Even if you are an adult, you absolutely cannot tarnish our faith in pursuing the ocean."

“We can never leave such heretics alive, even if they later choose to repent and follow the will of the sea.”

"Heh." Ghost Shark curled his lip. "Then go do what you're supposed to do."

"Then let's talk about pursuing faith and trust."

——————Iberia·Gulf Harbor Village·Iberia Medical Mutual Aid Association——————

In a guest room, Goredia looked at Ulpian, who was deep in thought with his eyes closed. "I need your explanation. Why do you only need one answer?"

"And why did you agree to let them bring us here?"

“…” Ulpian was silent for a moment, looking at Goredia’s neck, “Have the Haisi cells in your body recently caused you to hear some auditory hallucinations?”

Goredia watched as Ulpian touched his neck, where a patch of skin had changed from its surrounding whiteness to scales.

"What do you mean?" Goredia stared intently at Ulbian, her eyes seeming to say that if Ulbian didn't give a reasonable explanation, she might consider him a traitor.

Grandia knew some of the truth about the Deepsea Hunters, and she also knew that if she listened too much to those so-called whispers, she might not be able to stay here as a Deepsea Hunter.

Furthermore, after Ulpian listened to the sea creature answer a question, she seemed to lower her guard against them and followed their advice to bring the two of them here.

“If you'd heard them, you'd know why I asked who the ocean was,” Ulpian pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you know what I was doing before?”

"What?" Goredia frowned. "How would I know what you were doing?"

“I went to the deep sea.” Ulpian didn’t deliberately keep Goredia in suspense. “I remember you once used the metaphor of the ocean as a giant petri dish.”

"That's very apt, extremely apt."

"..." Goredia saw that Ulpian had relaxed his guard slightly, and a feeling rose in her heart as if something was really about to slip out of her control.

“But we were slightly wrong in our judgment,” Ulpian continued. “We once thought we had the ocean, this enormous petri dish, under our control.”

"But we were wrong. What if our civilization is the germ on this petri dish?"

"..." Goredia looked at Ulpian, subconsciously touching the scales on her neck. "So what do you mean? If we are the germs on this petri dish, then who are?"

Ulbian, observing Goredia's actions, said, "You already have the answer in your heart."

"..." Just as Ulpian said, Goredia did indeed have the answer in her heart, but she wanted to deny this guess.

Because it represents a colossal mistake their civilization made, a mistake powerful enough to overturn the earth.

But at this moment, her heart was telling her that the whispers in her ear were true, and that their civilization had made a colossal mistake.

“I saw the nest of the Sea Spirits in the sea, and I managed to sneak in, or they allowed me to,” Ulpian continued. “Deep inside, I saw unimaginable wonders.”

"I cannot describe to you how ingeniously each item is designed. I assure you, even you would not be able to understand even a single function of them."

“Those sea creatures we consider beasts are not beasts at all.” Ulpian closed his eyes. “Behind them is a civilization far superior to ours.”

"..." Goredia fell silent. As the governor, she undoubtedly knew more about the things behind the Sea Heirs and the Deepsea Hunters than Ulpian.

“This is not a reason for you to leave the team.” Goredia lowered her guard, crossing her arms, but her fingers kept tapping her arm in confusion. “And you still haven’t answered what the ocean really means.”

“I heard it, I saw it.” Ulpian took a deep breath. “I saw a maiden standing on the ocean, and I heard all things calling out to her.”

"What?" Gretia asked instinctively, vaguely remembering that she had also had a similar dream before.

That matter had been forgotten by Goredia, but when Ulpian brought it up today, a strange sense of déjà vu surged within her.

“I was at the bottom of the deep sea, exploring the very center of the Sealings’ nest,” Ulpian continued. “I wanted to see more before the Sealings saw me as an enemy, but I think I finally saw Him.”

“I’m sorry, Goredia.” Ulpian looked at Goredia. “The ocean is the ocean, and it does not refer to any sea god or any newborn being.”

"Literally speaking, this sea has awakened, this ocean has gained its own will."

Chapter 172: Healers and Pharmacists

"Do you know what you're saying?" Goredia stared intently at Ulpian. "Do you know the consequences of your words?"

“I can stand by every word I say.” Ulpian’s eyes were filled with unparalleled determination. “That’s why I have to tell you, haven’t you noticed the changes in the Deep Sea Church and the Sea Heirs?”

“This sea has acquired its own will, and we can no longer act recklessly.” Ulpian looked at Goredia. “Our proud civilization must bow its head.”

"Before our civilization angers the true god."

"..." Goredia gritted her teeth. As a ruler with a certain level of scientific literacy, her knowledge told her to deny this idea; the ocean could not possibly have its own consciousness.

She could accept Ulpian's claim that Haisi was born from a higher-class civilization; she could accept it because Haisi's existence was not biologically consistent.

Such an unlimited ability to evolve is unlikely to be the kind of species that can evolve autonomously. Ulpian's statement that a civilization of a higher level than theirs created the Sealings might explain this.

Goredia can believe this, because the reason makes sense and fits the current situation.

But once the matter escalated to the point that the sea was alive, Goredia simply couldn't convince herself to believe it so easily.

This not only contradicts the science known to Goredia, but also reflects an inner resistance: anyone can have their own consciousness, even a tree can.

But the sea was different; it was too terrifying. Goredia could not convince herself that the land she lived on had developed its own will.

This resistance is reflected in reality.

"Captain Ulpian!" Goredia slammed her hand on the table, her stern expression seemingly angry, but her pupils trembled incessantly.

"Do you know what you're saying?" Goredia stared intently at Ulpian. "You're talking about an environment, an object, that has acquired its own will! Can you imagine the consequences?"

“…I completely understand.” Ulpian closed his eyes. He didn’t want to accept this fact either; it was too terrible, especially for them.

Ulpian understood why Goddess was acting so irrationally; it was simply a denial of the matter, as if the earth beneath the feet of the people on the ground had given rise to its own will, and the people on the ground would not accept it either.

Because that would mean that the will that was born would transform from an absolutely objective thing into a "person" with a stance. Even if He were willing to remain neutral, no one would be willing to believe it, because will represents thought.

Thoughts represent having a stance, and no one wants to have a stance.

but……

“Gredia.” Ulpian looked at Gredia, whose eyes were trembling. She was expecting him to deny it, or that he was just joking.

"It's a fact that has already been established, and there's no point in denying it."

"..." Goredia took a deep breath, stood up, closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I will consider what you said."

A silent silence fell over the reception room. Neither of them had anything more to say. Ulpian had said what he needed to say, while Gretia needed to think things over carefully.

After a while, there were several polite knocks on the door, and Hai Si's voice came from outside: "My fellow countrymen, have you finished talking?"

——————Rhodes Island, Accommodation Area, Yuuki's Room——————

"I'm so full~" Exusiai stuffed the last bite of rice into her mouth. "Phew, Yuuki's cooking is still the best."

"You can't always rely on me," Yuuki said, looking at Exusiai. "It's not like I'm not going out. Does that mean you won't eat if I go out?"

"Well~" Exusiai waved her hand, walked to the sofa, and slumped down, clearly already a useless person. "We'll see when the time comes~"

"Seriously." Xi Yue shook her head helplessly. This Penguin Logistics is truly "useless." Maybe if she turned around and talked to the Emperor, they could even change its name.