Free Web NovelChapter 136: Chapter 136: River, Fish, and People
"BLECH..." Billy was heaving his guts out, feeling like he was about to turn his stomach inside out.
That last stretch had been far too fast. Tucked under Shen Feng’s arm, he had been swung around like a ragdoll—it was even worse than a roller coaster.
But even now, he didn’t dare spend too much time vomiting.
After heaving a few times until he felt stable enough, Billy quickly wiped his mouth and turned to Shen Feng with an apologetic smile.
On a metal wall not far from them, a few large Arabic numerals were written.
2981.
They were already approaching the 3000th floor.
At the pace the prisoners used to travel, an expedition team would have needed several months at least to reach the 3000th floor.
After all, there was no telling how many twists and turns they would have to navigate, especially with mechanical monsters constantly blocking their path and hunting them down. Just finding the right staircase was a major ordeal.
But now, in just over a day, they had already crossed two thousand floors!
This was a place that even those expedition teams had likely never reached.
Shen Feng paid Billy no mind. Instead, he began to carefully inspect the state of his Nanomechanical Cluster through his Silicon-Based Brain.
Inside every single Nanomechanical Insect was an energy storage unit. While each one didn’t store much power on its own, the total amount was substantial when added together.
Besides, these things were capable of absorbing solar energy for storage.
Even so, they still needed to be recharged after intense energy output.
After all, there was no sunlight inside the mega-structure.
According to the information stored in the Nanomechanical Robot, recharging required a trip to a charging station 1500 floors down to the southwest.
A single charge could sustain about seven days of activity.
Another method was to directly consume other materials, like munching on carbohydrates, to generate a certain amount of energy through chemical conversion.
The Nanomechanical Robot Shen Feng was currently controlling—the Construction Machine—didn’t have much energy left.
It could only operate for about seven more hours.
Shen Feng’s brow furrowed. After carefully examining the condition of the Nanomechanical Insects, he spoke to Jingwei.
"Can you figure out a way to switch its charging mode? For example, convert the kinetic energy from my movements into stored power within the Nanomechanical Insects, to be used when needed?"
Jingwei’s voice replied:
"I can try. I’ll run some model simulations and then have the Nanomechanical Insects modify each other... While they can’t consume one another, mutual modification at a microscopic level should be possible... This kind of kinetic energy conversion mechanism is as old-school as it gets; it’s the same principle as the power-assist system on an electric bicycle."
Shen Feng nodded. ’As long as it can be modified, that’s good enough.’
It would take time, but if Jingwei succeeded, things would become much more convenient in the future.
Even if it failed, worst-case scenario, he would just find a charging station. He could also take the opportunity to see what was going on with the other Nanomechanical Robots and whether there was some super-consciousness controlling everything from behind the scenes.
With the Electromagnetic Pulse Bombs he had, it wouldn’t be a big deal even if his disguise was seen through.
"Shen Feng, you still need to be careful. These Nanomechanical Robots have different iteration times, so their resistance to electromagnetic pulses also varies. Haven’t you noticed? The Construction Machine you’re controlling has significantly stronger EMP resistance."
Having guessed Shen Feng’s thoughts, Jingwei offered a cautious reminder.
Shen Feng nodded, his own vigilance increasing.
Jingwei was right.
From the looks of it, the bottom of the mega-structure seemed to be populated with early, outdated models of Nanomechanical Insects, existing in a state of disordered development. frёeωebɳovel.com
This had also led to the constructs on the lower floors being extremely messy, almost like abstract art.
Furthermore, these older Nanomechanical Insects had all lost their power. Either that or, due to issues with their own design directives, they had fallen into complete dormancy after becoming part of a construct. In other words, they had lost their nanomechanical activity and died.
The higher up he went, the newer the models of Nanomechanical Insects became. More of their bugs had been fixed, and they had fewer weaknesses.
Perhaps by the time he traversed the entire mega-structure, he would encounter Nanomechanical Insects with no flaws or weaknesses at all. That would be the most terrifying Gray Tide.
Before that, he had to gather enough intelligence to ensure he could handle whatever came his way...
Just as Shen Feng was thinking, the sound of splashing water suddenly came from a distance, and there seemed to be faint human voices mixed in.
He shot a questioning glance at Billy, who immediately stammered:
"Th-this should be the area... I’ve never been to this floor myself, I only heard about it from others..."
Shen Feng nodded, his form once again shifting into the burly, dark-skinned appearance of Mike. He then led Billy silently toward the source of the sound.
The overall structure of Floor 2981 was completely different from the floors below 1000.
Not only were there none of the chaotic constructs here—everything appeared neat and orderly—but there were even some decorative structures.
It was no longer the interior of an office building or factory. What appeared before Shen Feng and Billy was a vast, open area with a high dome overhead, like a silver-gray sky.
Within this vast area stood metal trees, rocks, and even metal flowers and plants, resembling a jungle.
Of course, everything was made of metal, with no trace of life.
But right before Shen Feng’s eyes, there was also a wide river!
The riverbed was also made entirely of metal, but the river itself meandered. If one were to ignore the metal bed and banks, it was a river forty to fifty meters wide.
Set against the dome and illuminated by the occasional surrounding lights, this great river on Floor 2981 looked exceptionally strange.
But that was nothing.
What truly excited Shen Feng was that there was something green in the river!
On the metal riverbanks, a lot of moss and algae-like substances were attached!
Life!
At the same time, there were even a few cockroaches crawling around the riverbank.
The significance of all this was simply immense!
It meant that even within this metallic mega-structure, life was still thriving, never-ending!
And with something like algae at the bottom of the food chain, there would be higher forms of life!
In a flash, a dark shadow shot through the water. Shen Feng’s eyes widened and he lunged forward. A sharp metal tentacle shot out from his Nanomechanical Insect-covered arm, instantly piercing the shadow.
The next moment, Shen Feng gave a sharp tug, and a palm-sized grass carp was hooked out of the water.
A fish!
There were actually fish here!
The moment he saw the fish, Billy’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, and his stomach immediately started to GROWL.
He hadn’t eaten fish in so long he had almost forgotten what it tasted like.
If he had a choice, he wouldn’t want to eat human flesh either!
A look of delight crossed Shen Feng’s face. He removed the fish, set it aside, and continued to stare at the water. A moment later, with another flick of his tentacle, he hooked another fish.
Time flew by. After about half an hour, relying on his sharp eyesight and speed, Shen Feng had pulled seven or eight fish from the thirty to forty-meter-deep river.
His food supplies were almost gone, with only crumbs left. He had even seriously considered whether he should drain Billy of his blood when he completely ran out of food.
Now, it seemed, that wouldn’t be necessary at all.
This wasn’t a completely metallic, barren world. There were still fish, cockroaches, and algae!
Billy, at his side, was even more excited. He stared at the fish as if he were looking at a Saint.
Shen Feng took out a dagger and deftly cleaned all the fish. He then pulled a small solid-fuel can and some remaining spices from his backpack and began to grill them.
Billy had never seen such a setup before. He was so shocked his eyes were about to bulge out, and he couldn’t stop swallowing his saliva.
But he also understood that it was impossible for him to get any of the fish.
’Not being eaten myself is already a blessing.’
"Go, get some of those aquatic plants," Shen Feng said, tossing him a plate.
Billy scrambled to the bank, scraped a good amount of the aquatic plants off the metal shore, rinsed them, and presented them to Shen Feng as if they were a treasure.
By now, the fish had been brushed with oil and spices and were almost perfectly grilled. All seven of them gave off a tantalizing aroma.
Shen Feng took one off the heat, sniffed it, and took a bite. It was fragrant, crispy, and tender. A satisfied smile spread across his face.
It was still a little fishy, but one couldn’t be too picky under these conditions.
He then grabbed a handful of algae and put it in his mouth. Although the taste was a bit bland, it had a faint, fresh fragrance that complemented the grilled fish perfectly.
Shen Feng nodded in satisfaction.
’Finally, I don’t have to worry about running out of food.’
Soon, he had finished five fish. With two left, Shen Feng picked one up and handed it to Billy.
"Eat."
Billy couldn’t believe his eyes. Overwhelmed with gratitude, he took the fish with profuse thanks and began to devour it, crunching up and swallowing everything, including the head and bones.
He even carefully picked up the fish bones and head that Shen Feng had discarded and ate them all.
Watching Billy eat the fish, a blubbering mess of tears and snot, Shen Feng couldn’t help but reveal a cold, emotionless smile.
’Eat up... my little battery.’
Just then, the faint sound of human shouts drifted from the distance. Shen Feng frowned and quickly packed everything into his backpack.
Once again enveloped by Nanomechanical Insects, he reverted to Mike’s burly, dark-skinned appearance. Slowing his pace, Shen Feng led Billy silently toward the source of the sound.
Soon, they could see several figures standing by the river, holding a tattered fishing net and shouting loudly as they tried to catch fish.
These people were all wearing tattered, patched-up clothes.
The clothes were all a standard-issue style, orange, but they were severely faded.
But Shen Feng had seen these clothes before.
Back on the 33rd floor, the worker who had been turned into a metal statue after being consumed by the gray had been wearing this kind of uniform.
Although that uniform had been metallized, Shen Feng could still make out the emblem on it.
On the chest and back of the uniform was the logo composed of The Stars and text in five languages.
Azure Sky Technology.
