Chapter 114: The Sea Emperor Prison

After drawing closer, Qin Fei finally got a clear look at the two sea dragons. Their bodies exceeded one hundred meters in length, roughly the size of two colossal Toster giant squids. Their surfaces were covered by a shell as hard as rock.

This was primarily because sea dragons typically fed on minerals found in lava zones. These minerals accumulated inside their bodies until reaching a certain threshold, then seeped through their skin and gradually solidified into an inorganic protective shell. This layer shielded them from most weapons, rendering attacks largely ineffective.

Perhaps due to their overwhelming individual strength, these two sea dragon Leviathans showed no signs of mutation. In other words, they had not yet been corroded by the Tek liquid.

Creatures untouched by corrosion could be restrained by the stasis gun. As the two sea dragons approached Qin Fei, each unleashed a fireball from their mouths, striking the Sea Shrimp—the mech Qin Fei piloted. The fireballs shot rapidly through the water, making it impossible for the Sea Shrimp to evade at its current speed.

However, the Sea Shrimp’s robust defenses allowed it to withstand the blasts with minimal impact on its mobility. Qin Fei then drew his stasis gun from his backpack, exited the cockpit, and fired magnetic spheres at the two sea dragons. Instantly, they were immobilized.

Yet, this was as far as Qin Fei dared to go. Facing the formidable defense of the sea dragon Leviathans, he had no intention of killing them. Taking advantage of their paralysis, Qin Fei quickly piloted the Sea Shrimp away.

During his escape, Qin Fei discovered a cave entrance about two meters high nearby. Given the Sea Shrimp’s speed, outrunning the two sea dragons was impossible. Without hesitation, Qin Fei drove the Sea Shrimp into the cave.

The sea dragons’ massive size prevented them from following inside, as they lacked the ghostly Leviathan’s ability to pass through walls. Thus, once Qin Fei entered the cave, the sea dragons were effectively thwarted.

The cave was not very deep. After a short distance, the narrow passage widened until it opened onto a square structure built atop lava. Observing the unique materials and design, Qin Fei guessed this building was constructed by the alien lifeforms known as the “Precursors.”

If his memory served, there was indeed a Precursor building in the lava region within the game—a geothermal power station supplying energy to other Precursor structures. This had to be it.

Qin Fei left the Sea Shrimp and entered the geothermal power station. At its entrance lay two glowing green ion crystals and two ion batteries. Each ion battery held the equivalent charge of five regular batteries, which would extend the Sea Shrimp’s operational time fivefold. Qin Fei removed all the batteries and placed them in his backpack.

Nearby, Qin Fei found a vertical cave entrance descending into darkness—seemingly a path to the deeper lava zones. Deeper within the geothermal station lay the “Sea Emperor Prison” featured in the game, located at the lowest altitude in the lava region, nearly 2,000 meters deep.

The Sea Emperor Prison was designed to contain the strongest creature in the game—the Sea Emperor Leviathan. The Sea Emperor was highly intelligent, capable of communicating via electromagnetic waves, and exhibited no aggression.

Returning to the Sea Shrimp, Qin Fei jumped down the cave entrance. Below was a massive cavern with a radius of over a hundred meters, its floor filled with scorching lava. The intense heat radiating from the lava bathed the entire cavern in a crimson glow.

No sooner had Qin Fei entered than a wave of scorching air blasted toward the Sea Shrimp. Data from the mech indicated temperatures exceeding four to five hundred degrees Celsius.

Qin Fei’s physique had been significantly enhanced, and due to Tek liquid contamination, his body had undergone some mutation—his form now beyond ordinary human limits. Furthermore, he was protected inside the Sea Shrimp’s thick armor and wore heat-insulating Tek armor beneath.

Despite these defenses, the surrounding heat was still palpable. It was absurd how the game’s protagonist survived in such conditions wearing only a high-temperature diving suit.

After a short walk, Qin Fei spotted a massive building hundreds of meters wide at the cavern’s center. Outside it, a sea dragon Leviathan patrolled.

As Qin Fei noticed the building, his vision was engulfed by a dark, mist-like virtual image. Then, a female voice, sounding to be about thirty years old, spoke softly in his ear.

“I know you have been searching for me. Come to me, and I can help you.”

Qin Fei was stunned. That voice—it must be the Sea Emperor communicating with him.

He recalled that the Sea Emperor could communicate remotely. In the game’s main storyline, when the protagonist reached the Lost River, the Sea Emperor had spoken similar words.

Qin Fei immediately guessed that the voice came from the Sea Emperor imprisoned within this structure.

He did not rush toward the prison. Instead, he took his stasis gun from his backpack. Enduring the surrounding heat waves, he swam to the cavern’s center and immobilized the sea dragon with a magnetic sphere from the stasis gun.

Returning to the Sea Shrimp, Qin Fei approached the Sea Emperor Prison entrance. To the right of the entrance was a square slot. He scanned it with his device.

[Force Field Console Terminal: This device was manufactured by the Precursors and connected to a nearby force field. Analysis suggests it is a special lock requiring the correct key to open.]

Reading this, Qin Fei recalled that in the game, accessing the Sea Emperor Prison required a rectangular chip as a key.

Yet, in this terminal’s slot was already a blue rectangular chip inserted. Qin Fei pondered over it.

This blue chip must have been placed here by the game’s protagonist, who had presumably entered the Sea Emperor Prison and released the offspring of the Sea Emperor into the ocean.

The Sea Emperor naturally resisted the Kara virus—also known as the Tek liquid—mitigating its corrosive effects.

Thus, after the protagonist released the Sea Emperor’s offspring into the sea, contamination from the Tek liquid across planet 4546B should have decreased.

However, since Qin Fei’s arrival on this planet, the viral pollution in the ocean had only worsened.

Perplexed, Qin Fei entered the Sea Emperor Prison.

The prison contained no water. It was filled with experimental equipment and specimens of animals and plants.

In fact, the entire prison served as a laboratory where the Precursors studied the Kara virus.