Crossing the azure as a black dragon

"Black Flying Dragon said."

……

Inside the spire that had been hacked by the Black Dragon before, two figures stood by the control panel.

"How is this possible? It wasn't affected at all?"

The girl in white clapped her hands on either side of the screen, as if she had seen something she couldn't believe.

"Perhaps this level of influence is no longer effective for her."

The brown-haired girl said calmly.

"Impossible. She was in a daze for a long time. She was definitely affected. Could there be a place in her heart that is more unforgettable than that experimental area?"

The girl in white was somewhat agitated.

She was tasked with dealing with the Black Dragon, but after putting on a show when she first appeared, she didn't dare to show herself in front of the Black Dragon afterward. Despite planning for so long to lure the Black Dragon over, she still failed to capture it.

This is no longer a simple matter of humiliation.

Upon hearing the girl mention the experimental area, the brown-haired girl's expression changed slightly. Even someone as oblivious as her felt a chill run down her spine when she stepped into that area. Even they wouldn't dare to set up such a harsh living environment for experiments.

"So what do we do next?"

The brown-haired girl asked honestly.

Upon hearing this, the girl in white bit her fingernails, her expression gradually returning to calm as she began to ponder.

……

"This is it."

Led by Cleveland, an island shrouded in mist appeared before the Black Dragon.

"It seems the things the Sirens used to protect the facility have been a great help to us."

Black Dragon closed her eyes as she looked at the island before her. Information about the surrounding terrain, the Sirens fighting in the sea, and other things flooded into her mind, but the island in front of her was the only thing missing.

Even after so many encounters, Black Dragon still couldn't figure out the amount of fog and the principle behind signal shielding.

"what happened?"

Cleveland ran a distance, turned around, saw the black dragon with its eyes closed, and ran back.

“This fog is troublesome; if we can’t find a way to deal with it, we’ll be trapped again.”

Black Flying Dragon opened his eyes, his voice tinged with worry.

"New Jersey is planning to bring some of its fog-related facilities back to White Eagle for research. Should we give it a try too?"

Cleveland thought for a moment and then said.

"No, it's too dangerous. If the Sirens can be operated remotely, it could very well bring danger to the port."

Black Dragon directly vetoed it.

.

No matter how many ship girls a Free Port has, it's still just a port. Unlike New Jersey, which is backed by the USS White Eagle, it can't afford any mistakes.

"Um…"

Cleveland was at its wits' end.

Chatting briefly, the two landed on the island and stepped into the mist. Before long, research institute-like buildings appeared in front of Black Dragon.

"This is it."

Cleveland stepped forward and opened the facility door using a button. A brightly lit passage appeared before Black Dragon, with a ship girl guarding each side of the passage.

"We're back. Hope there haven't been any problems during this time."

Cleveland went inside and talked to the two ship girls.

Black Dragon followed Cleveland into the passage. In terms of lighting alone, this place completely outclassed the Spire. It was unclear what this place was built for.

"Let's go, the others are inside."

After a brief exchange, Cleveland led Black Dragon into the passageway. Soon, several rooms came into Black Dragon's view, many of which were laboratories separated by glass. The lights inside were off, and they looked somewhat cold and eerie from the outside.

Soon, the two arrived at a large gate at the end of the road. They opened the gate, and many familiar figures appeared in front of Black Dragon.

Welcome back! Did you miss me?

The first to speak was New Jersey, who was standing in the center of the room. The moment the door opened, she turned around, with her usual goofy smile, and walked up to Black Dragon, opening her arms wide.

"That won't be necessary. Is there any valuable information here?"

Black Dragon nimbly dodged the attack and asked the others present.

“There are some.”

Someone responded to Black Dragon's question; it was Shangri-La, who was operating the control panel on the left side of the room.

The room is quite modern, with a light white color scheme. Apart from the main entrance, there are control panels on the other three sides, each with its own monitor. There is also a virtual projector in the center of the room, making it look like a combat command center.

As Shangri-La responded, the virtual projector in the center began to change, forming a square image like a sandbox, which was then divided into several sections, featuring various climates and terrains, with a small green dot falling into the vast sea.

"this…"

Black Dragon took a closer look.

“That’s right! After our discussion, this should be the layout map of this experimental area, but apart from the climate and topography, we can’t make any inferences. We don’t even know the exact size.”

New Jersey interrupted Black Dragon's speech and walked over to the projector to say something.

Black Dragon glanced at New Jersey and noticed that the guy was winking at her.

"Let me see, I came in from here, then passed through here... and finally arrived here."

Shaking his head somewhat helplessly, Black Dragon reached out and pointed to a spot on the projection, marking it according to his own movement trajectory. He eventually arrived at the laboratory, and upon finishing marking it, he realized that he had only covered a third of the entire space.

"The distance is probably more than 5,000 nautical miles."

After completing the circuit, Black Flying Dragon gave a number. She didn't know how it felt for others to run such a long distance over several days, but all she wanted to do now was go home, take a hot shower, and get a good night's sleep.

"Thanks for your hard work."

New Jersey reached out and patted Black Dragon on the shoulder.

"If you guys weren't so fast runners, I wouldn't have to work so hard."

Black Dragon complained irritably.

"Great, we've got the positions for everyone else. Take a break and get ready to meet up."

New Jersey ignored Black Dragon's statement and addressed the others present.

"We've been resting ever since we arrived here, why don't we just leave?"

In the corner, a woman with long, fiery red hair raised her hand to speak.

Really? What do you all think?

Upon hearing this, New Jersey looked at the others.

"Let's set off as soon as possible; it will probably take two days to meet up at this distance."

The company, which had remained silent until now, finally spoke.

"Agreed."

Long Island echoed, crouching in the corner like a ghost, playing video games.

"In that case, let's show the Black Dragon our other finds and then set off."

New Jersey listened to the feedback and changed the departure time.

"No need for that complicated process. Do you see any information here about the Sirens' production process?"

Black Dragon raised her hand to stop New Jersey from speaking. The events of the past few days had already given her enough of a headache, and she had no energy to remember so many things.

"Hmm? I think we have this?"

New Jersey looked at another ship girl with blue braids.

"Ah, wait a minute."

Upon hearing this, Biloxi turned around and let his fingertips jump across the keys, quickly completing the adjustment, and the projection in the middle changed again.

The first projection presented is of various shapes, some humanoid and some animaloid. It is also thoughtfully marked that this is the first step. The important thing to note is that the design of the shape needs to take into account the data of the finished product, the smoothness of the shape's movement, and various other details such as size.

After the form design is completed, the next step is to discuss the proportion of building materials and energy inputs. There are also comparisons of the advantages and disadvantages of building materials and energy, and various other miscellaneous things such as compatibility need to be considered.

"Is the best energy material energy stone?"

Black Dragon was taking notes nearby, and when he got to this point...

It felt somewhat unexpected.

She had always thought that energy stones simply contained more energy, but she never imagined that the energy quality inside was the best.

"Huh? Black Dragon, don't you know? Energy Stone is the source of the Magic Cube's energy. If valued in human society, it would be considered a national treasure."

New Jersey looked at Black Dragon with some odd curiosity.

"what?"

Black Flying Dragon lowered his voice. This thing is so valuable, why didn't anyone remind him back then?

"Although it may sound a bit boastful, I built the present world using a complete energy stone, and Shinano in Sakura Empire is probably similar."

New Jersey pointed to himself with his thumb.

"Is that so?"

Black Flying Dragon frowned and recalled that Shinano did seem to have said something similar, but he used the word 'divine stone'.

"That's right, Sakura Empire's planned ships must have been created based on energy stones."

New Jersey nodded in agreement.

"*, Boss Ming is really heartless."