Chapter 17 Loud Noise
The explosive roar blasted in everyone’s ears. Li Nanyi’s face changed. He lightly pressed the frightened worker’s shoulder, then quickly brushed past him, rushing toward the place where the explosion was loudest.
The sound came from near the dock, where many ships were dockedācargo ships loading goods and cruise ships carrying people.
The hoisted sails flapped whoosh whoosh in the strong wind.
Thick clouds rolled, and the wind began to pick up, seeming as if a rainstorm was about to descend.
Billowing white smoke mixed with a hint of gunpowder rolled over the churning sea surface. The white smoke spreading toward the shore blocked all vision; Li Nanyi could hardly see the road ahead.
“Cough cough cough, what is this stuff?”
Yan Hengze choked on the thick smoke, squinting to look inside. He suddenly grabbed Xiang Zhengming, who was lifting his foot to rush into the smoke.
“Do you have no brains? Is your head filled with water? Running in when you can’t see anything?”
“…I’m just anxious.”
Xiang Zhengming was blocked by Yan Hengze. They waited until the sea breeze dispersed the thick smoke before slowly approaching the coast.
“Ouch…”
Painful and weak moans sounded low. Everyone’s heart tightened, bodies tensing instantly.
They walked cautiously to the edge of the coast and peeked over. Right by the pillars under the dock, a worker soaked wet was struggling to hold onto a pillar, barely standing under the relentless battering of the waves.
“Save me…”
The worker looked at them pleadingly.
“Save him.”
Li Nanyi immediately reached down. The man was already weak; seeing someone reaching out to pull him, he grabbed that hand like the last straw. The sudden weight dragged Li Nanyi down.
“Hurry up, use force…” Xiang Zhengming and Yan Hengze dragged Li Nanyi backward. The distressed worker grabbed his hand and climbed up desperately, his rubber boots kicking ceaselessly against the wooden pile.
It took a lot of effort to pull the man up. Thunder rolled in the distance, and the sea tide surged violently. Li Nanyi and Xiang Zhengming supported the collapsing worker and walked away from the coast.
Splashā
Why was the sound of water so loud?!
Li Nanyi glanced down. A massive black shadow flashed very quickly beneath their feet. The soles of his feet could even feel the vibration generated when its huge dorsal fin hit the wood.
He quickened his pace, whispering, “Walk faster. There’s something underwater.”
Yan Hengze looked down calmly. Although he didn’t see anything, he could also feel the tremors from beneath his feet and the subtle palpitations caused by energy fluctuations.
There was indeed something in the sea. He gripped the metal wristband on his wrist.
The continuous drizzle became denser, seeming ready to trigger a ceaseless rainstorm.
…
“Lais is already waiting at the port. Hope your information isn’t wrong. Last time we nearly lost personnel again. You know we are short on hands already; I don’t want another incident like Bilal’s to happen.”
“Bilal misjudged on her own and engaged the enemy rashly. It was not my error.”
Listening to this stiff electronic voice, Lu Xiuan couldn’t help but frown. “Are you shifting the blame?”
“Eden does not shift blame. I only state facts.”
“Heh, robot.”
Lu Xiuan knocked on the table. He only came today to check on Lais’s progress. Because of Him constantly causing trouble at the port for a month, almost all workers at Xishui Port had stopped working. Except for a few responsible for Cargo Ship No. 13, the place was empty.
But why today…
Why did Xiaoyi go there? Dock workers wouldn’t order takeout from across half the city. And the other twoāone dim-witted, one seemingly the young master of a partner companyāwhat were they doing there?
These people gathering together was an anomaly in itself. And they happened to go to Xishui Port together, right on the day before the cargo ship sailed.
Lu Xiuan pushed up his glasses, picked up his phone, found that familiar avatar. He thought for a moment, typed a message, then looked up at the high heels clicking in from outside the door.
Dressed in capable work clothes with a silver badge pinned on, the short-haired woman hugged a file folder and knocked on the door.
“Miss Anna, I’d like to trouble you to investigate a few people for me, and their recent movements.”
Lu Xiuan maintained his consistent smile, his pupils constricting slightly, a drop of bright red seeping out from the highlight.
[Xiaoyi, when you have time, let’s go out together again. I found a delicious shop ^-^]
Initially, it was just an interest to adapt to human society. Now, he suddenly developed a very strong curiosity about him. So, digging to the bottom of someone he was interested in shouldn’t be wrong, right?
…
The worker was spooked. After resting briefly in the shed, he decided to go home. He muttered, “Almost lost my life. Not doing it, not doing it today…”
He touched his messy hair, bowed repeatedly to thank them with trembling pale lips, then left the port with staggering steps under the heavy rain.
“We’re soaked through. There’s a hotel nearby invested by my family. Let’s go there and take a shower first.”
Yan Hengze smoothed his wet hair stuck to his forehead with his hand. Dissatisfied, he patted his suit again and took off the luxury watch on his wrist to shake off a few drops of water. After such an ordeal, none of their faces looked good. Plus, staying wet made it easy to get sick, so they simply followed Yan Hengze to the hotel.
Yan Hengze took them in and spoke to the front desk. After registering, he nodded to them, his voice cold. “Room numbers 312, 313.”
“I’ll thank you in advance!”
With the mindset that failing to take advantage was foolish, and failing to take advantage of Yan Hengze was being a bastard among fools, Xiang Zhengming took the lead to press the elevator, go upstairs, enter the room, and run hot waterāso fast one would suspect he had never stayed in a hotel.
Yan Hengze couldn’t be bothered with him, nor did he want to see his embarrassing behavior. He looked at Li Nanyi. Seeing him turn around and nod, his tone sincere: “Thank you.”
Yan Hengze shrugged and took the elevator on his own.
Steam rose. Having soaked in the cold rain all day, limbs and organs were frozen stiff. The hot water from the shower greatly relieved the stiff body.
Soaking in the hot water, the stalled brain finally resumed operation. Li Nanyi sorted through his thoughts, organizing the events of the day.
Xishui Port was initially built with joint investment from several large enterprises and the government. Later, due to the immense hidden profits, several more companies invested. As Yujiang City’s largest foreign trade export, it was one of the biggest employment sites. The port employees were numerous and diverse, and the answers from everyone were different.
“I… I heard a noise and went to check. Who would have thought… inside the water… there was a huge thing in the water. It suddenly moved as soon as I stepped on the dock. I… I lost my footing and fell in. As for that explosion sound, it seemed like a box of cargo fell!”
Inexplicable noises in the water, white smoke drifting in the air, that massive shadow, and the excessively abnormal weather at Xishui Port these past few days.
Li Nanyi wiped his head while looking out. It was still raining lightly outsideāa thin layer, misty and unclear.
Although it was summer, Yujiang hadn’t entered the rainy season yet. It shouldn’t rain continuously for so many days, even escalating to rainstorms. What was on that cargo ship worth those Xenomorphs staring at it constantly?
Could it really beāthe Cocoon?
…
Zhong Yi looked at Tao Lang blankly. “You mean, those Cocoons are knowledge of Their civilization?”
“You could say that. The technology of this civilization is highly developed, at least far ahead of humanity. They can dismantle and compress their knowledge into the Cocoon, and strip and reconstruct it from the Cocoon when needed.”
Qin Dayu: “Little Tao, explain in more detail. How is knowledge compressed and reconstructed?”
Tao Lang reached out for the tablet computer, pointing the screen at them. “Like this. These symbols on the Cocoon are the classification codes for the knowledge. We currently don’t know how these alien monsters of Yelaire achieved this. We judge that when They first arrived on Earth, They were separated from these Cocoons for some reason. Now Their frequent actions must be for the things inside the Cocoons.”
“What do They want this knowledge for?” Zhong Yi found it hard to understand.
“Little Zhong, let me ask you. If your own civilization was destroyed, and you discovered another civilization with intelligent life, and this race wanted to restore themselves, what would they do?”
“Rely on… war plunder or colonization?”
Qin Dayu nodded in affirmation. “Correct. And to achieve this with a disparity in numbers, what is needed?”
“Need… military weapons!”
The moment Zhong Yi figured it out, she felt horrified. “They are looking for knowledge related to military technology.”
“Biochemical technology, military technologyājust like the four sets of mechas we found. In the case of such a huge technology gap, to make up for the difference in numbers, They must find power that can fight one against a hundred.”
“So…”
Tao Lang pressed the computer face down on the table, his expression serious. “We cannot let Them get the Cocoon smoothly. Who knows if the next one will contain military or biochemical technology.”
If that’s really the case, those three mechas are humanity’s last defense. You three, please be careful.
Zhong Yi slowly clenched her hands, thinking anxiously and urgently.
…
Li Nanyi leaned back on the pillow, recording suspicious points on his phone memo. Before sleeping, he squeezed in time to check housing prices. Looking at the staggering numbers on the price tags, he sighed. Indeed, buying a house was not an easy task.
Lu Xiuan asked him to eat together. Of course, he wanted to go, but he was busy with house hunting and missions recently, so he could only refuse.
[Sorry, I have to look for a house recently, might not have time.]
[Alright.]
The aggrieved piglet emoji made Li Nanyi smile. He turned off his phone, recalling todayāit still felt incredible. They really were fated to meet even while on a mission, and he even helped out.
But why didn’t he ask why Nanyi was going to the port? Li Nanyi was grateful for his thoughtfulness, yet felt he seemed to have guessed everything.
Those all-seeing eyes wouldn’t let slip a single shred of suspicion.
regarding the mechas… Li Nanyi rubbed the bridge of his nose. The sound of rolling thunder came from outside. The rain suddenly grew heavier, ding-ding dong-dong against the glass window.
Just wait for a chance in the future to tell him slowly.
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