The Black-armored Exiled Knight moved swiftly through the streets and alleys.
Wherever he passed, titanium plate tents sprang up, replacing the once corroded and skeletal houses.
Most of the citizens had been saved.
No amount of grandiose excuses could compare to such hands-on rescue efforts.
“Your Honor, the situation is urgent. Please forgive us for having to leave the courtroom for a while. Once the crisis is resolved, we will await your judgment on our crimes.”
Wu Xiaomi once again offered diplomatic courtesy.
Without waiting for the judge’s reaction, she caught the carbon fiber protective suit tossed by Miss Nuo.
“Your arguments were impressive—you didn’t disgrace our Blue Star’s dignity,” Miss Nuo praised Wu Xiaomi. “Congratulations, you have become the first diplomat of Blue Star to officially contact extraterrestrial civilization. From now on, your name will be recorded in both the history books of Jinlifa and Earth.”
“Ha, let’s save the compliments for after the danger is over… Is there a changing room nearby?”
“What? You’re a grown man, and you’re afraid to change clothes in front of others? You don’t have to take off your underwear.”
“I just don’t like it.”
It wasn’t a matter of fussiness, but fear that touching his body while changing might trigger illusion fluctuations.
If that happened, everyone would know he was hiding something.
“I’ll cover you,” Lulutina kindly offered at the critical moment.
She stood on tiptoe, holding up a curtain high above.
Her eyes, looking at Wu Xiaomi, were filled with deep meaning.
“Thanks!”
Unaware of any implication, Wu Xiaomi quickly slipped into the corner behind the curtain to change his jacket.
The carbon fiber was soft and form-fitting, a one-piece tight suit, with gloves and shoes attached externally.
He hurriedly changed and passed by Lulutina’s side.
Right at his ear, Lulutina whispered, “Who exactly are you?”
Wu Xiaomi flinched in surprise.
Damn, damn, how much does she know? How did she find out?
Oh, just before the ceiling collapsed, he had shielded her a bit—must have been then.
“You carry a scent I recognize well,” Lulutina’s half-hidden face emerged from the shadows, a terrifying smile curling on her lips as she approached Wu Xiaomi. “It’s from another girl…”
“…”
Don’t come closer!
Don’t get near!
If you come any closer, I’ll take you down!
“So…” Lulutina’s fingers curled into claws, “you ate her, didn’t you?”
“…”
What nonsense!
“Don’t touch me! The situation’s urgent; I don’t have time to explain now. I’ll talk after we survive this!”
“Tch.”
Seeing the expression on Wu Xiaomi’s face, feeling as if he were a cornered beast ready to fight to the death, Lulutina paused for now.
“No matter what secrets you’re hiding, I will get to the bottom of this,” she vowed harshly. “When the time comes, hehehe…”
Also,
Lulutina clearly sensed that this Wu Xiaomi was keeping a distance from her.
Just now, he had even blurted out “Don’t touch me.”
In other words,
The key to uncovering the truth must be avoiding direct physical contact?
Silently keeping her deduction to herself, the two switched places, and Lulutina also put on a protective suit.
“Remaining survival time: five days. Known threats come from east of the coastline. Threat targets include—various small acidic seafood, medium-sized seafood strengthened by force, and that cluster of strong acid lifeforms.”
At the tactical briefing, Nurse An summarized.
“At present, that strong acid lifeform is the source of the mutation. If we deal with it, this disaster will end.”
“But that kind of formless, intangible thing, and so large… how do we fight it?”
“How do we fight it? How can you ask such a question?” Miss Nuo looked at them incredulously. “Did none of you graduate middle school? There are countless ways to neutralize strong acids using metal and alkali.”
As she spoke, the whites of her eyes reddened slightly, and beneath her mask, a fanatical madness appeared. “While you wasted time changing clothes just now, I examined it—that thing’s corrosiveness surpasses any acid we know! It even blows Fluoroantimonic Acid out of the water! It can protonate almost every organic compound!”
Furthermore, this kind of acid should violently react with water, losing its strength. But it coexists perfectly with water without any reaction whatsoever! What does that mean?
It has created a highly stable soft protective membrane for itself! Or perhaps the soft membrane is its conscious entity!
Do you understand what that implies? If we could negotiate with it, we could use its strong acid life nature to protonate organic compounds purposefully, facilitating material reprocessing.
This wouldn’t be worth much inside the White Space where materials can be exchanged directly. But outside of White Space, in the lonely Starry Sky?
It might help us realize fuel cycles!
It might even stabilize Dilithium and help us build humanity’s first Warp Engine, ushering in the era of faster-than-light travel— though that’s unlikely, but what if it works? The birth of new technology requires trying every material; once we pass this village, there’s no other store!”
Wuwuwu, don’t forget!
Listening to all these jumbled technical terms, Wu Xiaomi felt his head about to explode.
“In short, this thing’s research value is extremely high—higher even than the mission’s reward points. If conditions permit, I suggest capturing it. Whether using sequences or Perfluoropolyethylene containers… at the very least, we must obtain a part of it! Absolutely!” Miss Nuo said fiercely.
See, this is what professionalism looks like.
“Capture… that’s too difficult,” Nurse An hesitated. “That creature’s location is the most dangerous cluster of fierce seafood. Seafood with claws can cut through our protective suits, and the area is full of acid…”
“So we need agile elite members!”
“But elite members are still ordinary humans. How do we collect it in such a huge acid pool? Scoop it with a basin?”
“Drain it. Haven’t you heard that?” Miss Nuo’s expression turned fanatical again, frighteningly so. “You can’t spoil it; drain it dry!”
“You want to drain the sea?”
“I’m not that stupid. Do you know how the shipyard is built?
It’s a man-made bay where big ships sail in, then gates close off the water behind the ship. Then the water is pumped out, and the ship’s hull is fully exposed to air.”
“You mean…”
“Yes! We’ll build a bay! But not to dock ships—it’s for that pool of acid! As long as we lure it in, close the gates, and drain the water, we can trap it in one net!”
Insane.
This isn’t a project that can be realized overnight.
“Won’t the acid corrode the land? The bay will dissolve,” Wu Xiaomi asked some practical questions. “Also, how thick does the gate need to be to resist the sea’s water pressure? What powers the gate’s raising and lowering? Can we ensure no gaps?”
“1. The bay’s surroundings will be lined with Perfluoropolyethylene Isolation Plates. 2. I calculated it; since the bay doesn’t need to be very deep, the gate only needs to be one meter thick, made from the same material. 3. The gate will be raised and lowered manually; we need Sequence users with great strength. 4. After the gate is down, multiple layers of Isolation Plates will be installed outside it,” Miss Nuo answered one by one.
This person had thought through everything…
“But the Mangu District has no Sequence users with great strength,” Nurse An said.
“We have!”
Miss Law Enforcement Officer clenched her fist and knocked her collarbone—a military salute of Feisi City. “We can provide strength-type Sequence users to assist in building the bay and gates. We can help.”
At the same time, the judge put down the broken wooden gavel and came to their side.
“From now on, all Feisi City Tribunal guards are at your disposal.”
He smiled at Wu Xiaomi.
“At least until the crisis is over, we are friends.”