When the game shut down, I took my skills with me.

Chapter 68 First Encounter: The Clash of Technology and Magic

Time stretched out infinitely at this moment.

Inside the command center of the flagship "Kunlun," everyone instinctively held their breath. On the enormous main screen, the black shockwave that seemed capable of swallowing light finally collided with the tiny blue shield of the "Striver."

There was no earth-shattering noise, only a slight "crack" sound, like glass breaking, which reached everyone's ears through the quantum communication channel.

The energy shield, technologically supported by the Ark and theoretically capable of withstanding a small nuclear explosion, couldn't even last a second upon contact with the black shockwave. It vanished silently, like a punctured soap bubble.

Immediately afterwards, a devastating force slammed into the hull of the submersible.

"Crack—Squeak—"

—

The outer shell, crafted from an ultra-strong shape-memory alloy infused with the [Void Dragon Turtle Armor], emitted a teeth-grinding groan. Countless visible cracks spread across the surface of the submersible like a spiderweb.

Inside the deep-sea submersible, chaos erupted instantly.

Alarms blared, metal creaked, and electrical crackles mingled together. The lights inside the cabin flickered wildly before finally going out completely, leaving only the emergency red lights that illuminated the pale faces of each team member like ghosts.

"The outer casing is 37% damaged!"

"Balance engine number three has malfunctioned!"

"Life support systems have malfunctioned; oxygen is leaking!"

The driver gripped the violently vibrating control lever tightly, veins bulging on his arms, trying to steady the steel coffin teetering on the brink of death.

"Hold on! Everyone, hold on!" Captain Long Yi's roar drowned out all the noise. "We are the most elite warriors of Dragon Shield! We're not here to die!"

His gaze swept over the team members, who were swaying from the violent impact, and finally settled on the weapons operator: "Take the gift we brought," he said.

"clear!"

The weapons operator wiped the cold sweat from his face and pressed several buttons heavily on the trembling control panel.

"Torpedo launch bay open!"

"Candle Dragon No. 1 and No. 2, loading complete!"

"Target locked—Fire!"

On the belly of the "Striver," two launch ports suddenly opened. Two special torpedoes, entirely black with dangerous red flashes at their tips, streaked with long, bubble-like trails, like two arrows released from a bow, hurtling towards the slowly rising giant stone statue.

The "Candle Dragon" special torpedo carries not conventional explosives, but miniature nuclear fusion warheads. The explosive yield of each one is enough to wipe a small city off the map.

This is the most advanced individual destructive technology that humanity has mastered so far.

Two torpedoes hit the statue precisely in the chest.

Time seemed to stand still once again.

The next second, two white orbs of light, brighter than the sun, exploded with a roar at a depth of 10,000 meters in the sea.

A terrifying burst of energy was released instantly, vaporizing the surrounding seawater and creating a massive vacuum. The intense light even briefly illuminated the outline of the entire ancient city of R'lyeh, casting grotesque shadows upon its twisted and indescribable structures.

—Inside the command center of the "Kunlun", the screens instantly turned white, and everyone was blinded by the dazzling light.

"Hit!" a staff officer shouted excitedly.

However, there was no joy on Qin Shiyue's face. His gaze was fixed on the rapidly fading white light on the screen.

The light dissipated.

The submersible's searchlights came back on, shining on the epicenter of the explosion.

Inside the command center, the hope that had just been ignited was instantly extinguished.

Everyone gasped.

The enormous stone statue remained standing silently in its place. Only two faint white marks, like chalk marks on a blackboard, remained where it had been struck in the chest.

Apart from that, it was completely unharmed.

The most cutting-edge technological achievements of mankind are like children's toys in front of it.

This overwhelming, unreasonable power caused a chilling despair to spread through everyone's hearts.

"roar--!"

It seemed to be enraged by those two harmless attacks.

The statue's eyes, formed by countless energy vortexes, shone brightly. It raised its arm, composed of twisted tentacles, once more, and this time, slammed it down fiercely towards the top of the "Striver's" head.

"It's over—" The driver stared at the enormous shadow that blocked out all light, his eyes filled with despair.

"Everyone, prepare to exit the capsule and engage in combat!" Captain Long Yi's voice rang out at this moment, carrying a resolute determination, "Even if we die, we will die on the road to victory!"

"yes!"

The four surviving members of "Dragon Fang" did not hesitate to put on the specially made deep-sea combat exoskeleton armor.

Just a second before the submersible was about to be smashed into a pancake, the hatch burst open, and four figures flashing with blue light, like birds separated from their flock, plunged into the endless darkness.

In the deep sea, facing a colossal mountain-like statue, they launched a fearless attack.

Energy beams, armor-piercing rounds from Gauss rifles, high-frequency vibrating particle blades —

Various attacks rained down on the stone statue, but only created tiny ripples of energy.

This was a brutal and hopeless battle.

The immense pressure of the deep sea, the pervasive mental pollution, and the attack of the stone statue that can stir up deadly undercurrents with a casual wave.

In just three minutes.

One of the team members' exoskeleton armors was struck by the statue's tentacles, instantly imploding. He disappeared into the darkness before he could even scream.

Another team member, unable to bear the insane gaze, suffered a complete mental breakdown, clutching his head and screaming wildly in the water, before being blown to pieces by his own overloaded power reactor.

Only Captain Long Yi and another team member remained, struggling to hold on.

Inside the command center of the "Kunlun," there was a deathly silence. Everyone could only watch helplessly as the two blue dots representing human courage teetered on the brink of collapse under the shadow of the enormous evil god on the screen.

Just then, the elven advisor, Lia, who had been inside the submersible providing mental protection for everyone, slowly opened her eyes.

Her face was as pale as paper, but her eyes, as clear as moonlight, were filled with an unprecedented determination.

She looked at the stone statue outside, which radiated endless chaos and malice, and began to chant softly.

"Listen, angry souls lost in bygone days—"

"Life is not just about destruction, and sleep is not an eternal end —"

"By the mercy of the moon goddess, I grant you a moment of peace."

As she chanted like a sacred hymn, a soft, crescent-moon-like green light emanated from her.

The light pierced through the shattered hull of the submersible and spread outwards.

Drops of light, like raindrops, emerged from the dark depths of the sea and slowly, gently, fell upon the enraged stone statue.

Part 1: [Quiet Rain].

The highest-level soothing spell of the Moon Whisper Clan.

The previously ferocious stone statue suddenly froze. A hint of confusion seemed to flash in its energy eyes, which radiated destructive light.

—The frantic, destructive thoughts that had been urging everything to be destroyed in my mind seemed to be washed away by a spring rain and gradually subsided.

The steel body, which technology could not shake, seemed to be touched by some more primal force at this moment.

The stone statue slowly, very slowly lowered its raised tentacles.

It stopped attacking and just stood there quietly, looking down at its hands that could easily tear steel, like a child who had just woken up from a nightmare.

The crisis has been temporarily averted.

Long Yi and another team member, who had survived the ordeal, were panting heavily, speechless as they stared at this unbelievable scene.

However, when Long Yi's gaze fell on the stone statue's hand, his heart sank again.

In the huge palm of the stone statue, made of dark green rock, lay a small object emitting a faint, warm glow, like the first rays of morning sunlight.

That was their ultimate goal for this trip—[the first ray of dawn in the sunken city].

Although the statue was appeased, it held the quest item tightly in its hand as if it were its most precious toy, showing no intention of letting go.

They can't beat them, and they can't take it away.

The mission has reached a stalemate.