Free Web NovelChapter 347: Chapter 54: Scenery of the Deep Sea
「December 22, 2015. 5:32 PM.」
[Hello, viewers. You are watching *Walking into the Ruins: Special Edition - Relics of Antiquity*, an international exploratory program brought to you by Zhengguo Central Television.]
[We are currently on the surface of the Northern Mariana Sea Area, and we are beginning our descent. The multinational joint exploration team is on its way, and we will be accompanying them as they dive into the depths of the sea in search of the ancient Divine Dragon.]
The Chilong submersible had a total of six rows of seats. The first row had three, forming the control console for the operators. The last row had a single seat, where Xuan Lu, an Awakening Peak Transcendent of the Black Tortoise Bloodline capable of controlling water, stood guard. The other rows had two seats each, and Su Zhou was seated relatively far back in seat number eight.
Seated in the front rows were the researchers and the live broadcast crew. They were talking amongst themselves, introducing the three pilots, the three researchers, the purpose of the operation, and the mission procedures to the audience.
"The Chilong’s descent will be rather slow. We will go down at a stable, constant speed, collecting data from various oceanic layers along the way. It should take about two hours to reach our destination."
The person currently speaking so eloquently to the camera was a female researcher with the surname Wen. Dressed in a protective suit, her speech and mannerisms were crisp and direct: "We will be transmitting all data to the research vessel in real-time. That way, even if we’re attacked by a Sea Beast and all of us perish, at least the data will be sent back."
As she said this, her tone was powerful and resolute, completely devoid of hesitation or doubt.
[Such an admirable scientific spirit! But surely it won’t come to that, will it?]
Of course, such an ominous remark was just part of the script. The female host chimed in with a smile: [For this operation, we’ve had the honor of inviting four powerful Transcendents to join us. With their protection, I’m sure no Sea Beast would dare cause any trouble.]
With that, the camera naturally panned over to Su Zhou and the others to introduce the four accompanying Transcendents one by one. Everyone the camera focused on offered a relaxed smile.
The camera, of course, focused mainly on Su Zhou—Zhengguo’s top genius of the younger generation and an expert commentator familiar to the audience—and on Xuan Lu of the Black Tortoise Bloodline. As for the other two Transcendents, they were merely Xuan Lu’s junior disciples. Unfortunately, they were just a flash on the screen, not worthy of any more camera time or even having their names mentioned.
"It’s Su Haiwang!"
"It’s Su Haihuang (correction)!"
"I knew it! I said he’d definitely be involved in any ruins related to the sea."
"Professor Su, can you do that thing?"
"Do what?"
"Talk to the fish!"
Across the various live streams, the already-flooded comment sections were instantly inundated with remarks about Su Zhou. One had to admit, Zhengguo’s promotional efforts were highly effective. Tens of millions of viewers across the globe recognized the face that so often appeared on judging panels. In just a few short months, he had become one of the most famous people in the world.
’The comments are definitely roasting me again.’
Su Zhou didn’t even have to guess. With his vast experience with internet culture, he knew that at this very moment, someone was bound to be spamming some lame joke about talking to fish or something related to the Sea King. As for how he knew so clearly, it was because he used to be one of the people spamming those same tired jokes.
At this thought, Su Zhou couldn’t help but sigh. "How the tables have turned. I never thought the day would come when I’d be the one getting roasted online... Next time I’m roasting someone, I’ll be sure to go even harder!"
The region from the sea surface down to a depth of 200 meters is the Shallow Sea layer, where sunlight can penetrate directly. The vast majority of fish shoals and large marine life live in this area. Further down is the dim twilight zone, also known as the mesopelagic zone, which extends down to 700 meters.
Below 700 meters lies the pitch-black, lightless zone—the true deep sea.
The introductions were brief. Soon, the camera switched to the submersible’s external view. The Chilong descended at a constant speed of one meter per second. The clearly visible Shallow Sea layer quickly passed, and everyone watched as the surrounding seawater gradually deepened from blue to black.
CLICK. The submersible’s lights switched on, illuminating the surrounding waters as it continued its steady descent.
But at that moment, something truly marvelous could be seen. Just as the Chilong entered the deep sea, a camera positioned at the rear of the submersible captured a magnificent sight—the seawater, which was supposed to be stratified only in a theoretical, oceanographic sense, now appeared to be physically and visibly layered.
Everyone could see it on the monitor: the entire upper layer of the sea was "burning brightly." The churning currents of seawater intertwined, releasing a brilliant, white-gold Spiritual Light.
"This is a natural phenomenon of Spirit storage," replied the researcher, Ms. Wen, in response to the host’s question. "The Spiritual Power from the sun that shines on Earth has accumulated in the seawater in vast quantities, turning the entire Shallow Sea zone into a bright, self-illuminating High Spirit Area during the day."
This phenomenon is difficult to see from the surface during the day, and at night, it’s imperceptible without the sun’s Spiritual Power. Only by diving into the deep sea during daytime and looking up can one witness this scene, which makes it seem as if the entire surface of the ocean is on fire.
"So beautiful!"
"I had no idea the Shallow Sea was so beautiful from below! I’m going to go diving too!"
"First, you need a submersible."
"I’ll just swim."
"Then first you need to know how to swim."
Like a Fire in Water, the dazzling radiance of Spiritual Power flickered. This strangely harmonious sight of fire and water intermingling caused countless viewers to gasp in awe and praise, quickly taking screenshots to use as their wallpapers.
