As Yu Ren passed underneath a large ship, he faintly heard a soldier on board sneeze five times in a row.
Yu Ren found it a little strange. It seemed no one had caught a cold since the great flood. He frowned slightly. ’Could it be caused by the toxins in the rainwater?’
But he didn’t dwell on it. ’Perhaps they’re just having trouble adjusting to their gas masks!’
Yu Ren swam into Dawn Base proper, carefully broke the surface again, and began snapping a flurry of photos of the surrounding ships.
Although it was pitch-black all around, the occasional sweep of a searchlight provided some illumination, allowing the photos to capture some detail.
Meanwhile, inside Dawn Base, the soldier in charge of radar detection spotted a moving object darting all over the base. It definitely didn’t move like a fish.
The advanced radar equipment had been damaged by a geomagnetic storm, so the current system could only roughly identify an object’s size, not its specific shape.
So, he immediately reported it.
Hailan, who had originally been in charge of scientific research, now had full command of Dawn Base. Upon receiving the report, she glanced at its contents and tossed it right back.
"Don’t report any underwater animal less than ten meters long!" Seeing the report indicated the object was barely two meters long, Hailan was completely unconcerned. "Just have the searchlights pay more attention to that area!"
"Yes, ma’am!" the soldier replied, helplessly picking the report up off the floor before retreating.
Yu Ren soon discovered that wherever he tried to surface, a searchlight would be waiting nearby.
’They’ve spotted me!’ Yu Ren realized. He decided to make a few more passes around Dawn Base and then swim back.
Just then, Yu Ren felt a sudden disturbance in the current behind him. He immediately accelerated to create some distance, then glanced back.
It was pitch-black; he couldn’t see a thing. He could only sense something rapidly approaching him through the shifting currents.
Unsure what the object was, Yu Ren could only pick up his pace and swim toward Qin Haonan.
But the thing seemed to have locked onto him, relentlessly giving chase.
Yu Ren felt it getting closer and closer. As soon as he was a safe distance from Dawn Base, he broke the surface. While continuing to swim, he pulled out his phone and sent the photos he’d just taken to Ren Yuanyang.
"Leader, here are the photos I just took. Something’s chasing me. I’m not sure what it is yet, but I’m going to try and confirm!"
Yu Ren sent that message right after the photos.
Ren Yuanyang was, of course, still awake. He replied immediately, "Be careful. Get to Qin Haonan first, then try to identify it. At least you’ll have some backup that way!"
"Got it. I’m almost there. Can’t talk now!" Yu Ren cut the conversation short and continued to swim forward with all his might.
Ren Yuanyang immediately relayed to Qin Haonan that Yu Ren was being pursued.
"Be ready to provide backup!" Ren Yuanyang added.
"Understood, Leader!" Qin Haonan responded. "Do you have his location?"
"Yes, I’m sending it to you now," Ren Yuanyang replied with a nod.
As soon as Qin Haonan received Yu Ren’s coordinates, he started the speedboat and raced toward his location.
Just then, Yu Ren suddenly felt a paralyzing numbness spread through his body. He was losing control!
’This is bad. Is this a tracking device from Dawn Base? It can discharge electricity!’
He had sent the photos to Ren Yuanyang ahead of time precisely because he’d worried he might not escape.
Yu Ren immediately forced himself to surface. He wasn’t far from Qin Haonan now; if he could just get to the surface, they might be able to spot him!
Just as he broke the surface, another wave of numbness washed over him. His legs seemed to have lost all feeling. He quickly turned on his phone’s flashlight and held it high.
Yu Ren was powerful, but he had no defense against an electrical-discharging device in the water. The surrounding water was a perfect conductor; he’d be helpless unless he was wearing a fully insulated suit.
Most importantly, his pursuer was every bit as fast as him. Yu Ren couldn’t shake it.
Just then, Qin Haonan’s boat finally arrived. They spotted the light on the water and rushed to get closer.
But Yu Ren was shocked again. He fell unconscious and began to slowly sink beneath the waves.
Seeing the point of light about to disappear underwater, Qin Haonan scrambled down the boarding ladder. The metal in his hand instantly extended into the water, wrapping around Yu Ren before immediately pulling him upward.
Suddenly, an arc of electricity traveled up the metal to Qin Haonan’s hand. His arm went numb and he almost let go. He quickly switched hands, shouting, "Jianghu, quick, help! Throw down a rope! Watch out, it’s live!"
"Got it!"
Before the word was even out, a rope snaked down. Qin Haonan immediately had his metal construct grip it tightly and shouted up to the speedboat, "Pull!"
Jianghu immediately began hauling on the rope, slowly pulling Qin Haonan and the unconscious Yu Ren up.
Once Yu Ren was pulled from the water, Qin Haonan was shocked to discover a long, gray, serpentine animal wrapped around his lower body!
"Holy shit, there’s a snake on Yu Ren!" Qin Haonan yelled.
Once he was pulled onto the speedboat, Qin Haonan untied the rope. The metal in his hand morphed into a fork as he tried to pry the "snake" off Yu Ren.
The moment his fork touched the "snake," an arc of electricity shot from its body. Qin Haonan’s arm immediately went numb, and the fork clattered onto the deck.

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