Chapter 180: Fish, Ants, Grains of Sand, Lumps of Coal

"The seawater temperature has dropped significantly over the past month. During this time, I caught a few creatures fleeing from the far ocean, and from them, I learned some not-so-good news."

The tubes behind Lv Ping constantly emitted the sound of bursting bubbles, and the sound became more intense whenever his emotions fluctuated significantly.

"The Arctic glaciers have melted a great deal, likely due to the Ten-Day Burning; large swaths of ice shelves have collapsed. The fact that the temperature managed to stabilize over the past few months is thanks to the Black Rain—the water cycle was rapid, and the release of heat from burning in many places helped stabilize the climate. As for what comes next..."

"It is very likely to be a massive temperature drop," Liu Mu continued after his pause. "Not just at the North and South Poles, but also the glaciers on high mountains; the possibility of an Extreme Cold Disaster erupting is very high."

Just as Lv Ping said, the Black Rain saved humanity's life; if the initially melting glaciers had directly led to a global deep freeze, the massive temperature span from extreme heat to extreme cold would likely have brought humanity very close to extinction.

"After Yang Shu left, I had people start building underground facilities, hoping to let most people survive it. By the way, Lv Ge, what are your plans next? If it's extreme cold, Hong Hu won't be able to hold up either."

"I can only return to the sea. Once the Mother Nest digests that thing, I will go find a place in the deep sea to stay." Lv Ping was very satisfied with this nest at Hong Hu; if not for the Cold Wave, he had intended to settle here long-term.

There were mountains and water, plus enough fish, and the key was that it was sparsely populated. He could be in the water when he wanted to be, and on land when he wanted to be, without worrying about enemies or worrying about scaring anyone.

Honestly, his body size after merging and mutating with the Mother Nest was truly terrifyingly large; even he himself sometimes didn't know how to face it, which is why he tried his best to avoid contact with humans.

"In your sea..." Liu Mu's peach-blossom eyes seemed like a lightbulb that had just been plugged in, growing brighter and brighter, with a hint of revealing her true intentions. "Are there any good things? Oil fields, gas fields, sunken treasure, endless seafood, mineral deposits..."

Lv Ping hurriedly waved his hands. "Stop, stop, stop. Why am I not surprised at all? Little sister, it really is you!"

"Fine, let's discuss them separately. First, sunken treasure has no value now. There is plenty of seafood, but even more of it is mutated; only a limited amount is suitable for human consumption. As for oil and gas, once I've finished digesting and become stronger, I'll go look for them. Don't even think about mineral deposits for now; given the situation in the sea, humans currently have no conditions for extraction."

Liu Mu had considered these things early on, so she wasn't particularly anxious.

She stroked her chin, her heart growing inappropriately warm. "Lv Ge, listen to a piece of truth from your little sister: a lone wolf is cool, but it's easy to die. In my opinion, you should build your own force in the sea; unity is strength. You be the boss, and in the future, cooperate with me on land. That way, you'll have prestige both at sea and on land—how great would that be!"

"I'll consider it. This journey has been especially difficult for me, and the more difficult it gets, the more I miss you all, miss the Captain. Why couldn't I save them back then?" Lv Ping had been trying every way to save his own life, but hearing Liu Mu say this, he was somewhat moved.

Yet, thinking that he was still alive and could still plan for the future, and might even be able to accomplish something, the self-reproach he had just suppressed began to surface again, and he fell back into depression and regret.

Liu Mu could tell; this was likely what the psychiatrist called 'Bipolar Mood Disorder'.

Seeing his emotional fluctuations were a bit intense, she had to change the subject again. "Lv Ge, there aren't many people around me I can trust, and now Sister-in-law Zhuo Qing isn't at the Barrier either. There's a matter I want you to help me analyze."

Lv Ping, whose emotions were just about to take flight, was suddenly interrupted; he was stunned for a moment before he reacted. "Ah, what is it?"

"It's like this. Suppose there are two people: one is chasing to the death, and the other is fleeing a hundred thousand miles away. Suppose the one chasing only eats fish and no other food. Now, there is a plump, delicious fish blocking the path between them. Do you think this pursuer would eat this fish while fighting the one being pursued?"

"If it doesn't affect the fight, yes!" Lv Ping answered very firmly, without mentioning any other possibilities.

Liu Mu's face was flickering in the light of the campfire, her emotions somewhat obscure and hard to discern. "Then, if the one being pursued helped this fish, even if the pursuer didn't eat the fish, they would still eliminate both of them, right?"

He had expected Lv Ping to agree directly, but he shook his head. "First, we don't know the extent of the hatred between the two. Second, do you think that if the pursuer has the ability to wipe out the one being pursued, they would still bother with food?"

Clearly, he had already heard that 'food' was a very weak existence to both the pursuer and the pursued. So weak that it didn't need to be calculated into combat power at all.

Then, according to the civilization classification mentioned by Heitao A, the Thirteen Ring Cities can easily perform Space Jump, so they are at least a level five or even higher existence.

And the hunter that chased 13 across the universe, forcing it to hide, would only have even more powerful strength. It might be that in their eyes, Earth and even the entire Taiyang Xi is perhaps just an ant on the road, a grain of sand by their feet...

No, it should be said that it is just a piece of burnable coal in a Coal Mine.

That sense of powerlessness washed over Liu Mu's heart again. No matter how much she improved herself or scavenged for benefits, perhaps in a few decades she could really become a wealthy tycoon or even an overlord, but once the hunter arrives, everything will cease to exist.

Thinking of this, she decided to add some pressure to Lv Ping. Since she wanted to cultivate him as her ally in the ocean, she couldn't let him have no goal to strive for.

"There is one more thing. Lv Ge, don't ask me for the source of the news, but I guarantee with my character and financial luck that it is absolutely reliable."

Liu Mu paused, looking at Lv Ping with absolute firmness in the firelight. "That wasn't just a matter between two people earlier, but humanity is that fish..."

The stars shifted and the moon crossed the zenith.

Neither of the two, who were earnestly speaking and listening, noticed that above their heads, the starry sky that humanity had gazed upon for countless ages was undergoing changes that were incredible yet terrifying to the extreme.

The next day, Liu Mu left Hong Hu, and Lv Ping sank to the bottom of the lake with deep worry, while simultaneously setting out to plan a return to the ocean to establish a usable force.

Liu Mu leaving suddenly again, and after having gone to the Xiaojiaotang, made Li Fei very worried.

He found Zheng Tian again, but this time, even the person who considered themselves to know Liu Mu best couldn't give an accurate answer.

"Let's wait a bit. If the Boss has any arrangements, she will definitely tell us. Besides, if Kamp and the three nuns wanted to harm the Boss, they would have been killed in return immediately."

Li Fei had previously been guarding the Barrier Laboratory and had never gone on a mission with Liu Mu, so naturally, he didn't understand her true combat power.

But he inexplicably felt that Zheng Tian's words were very credible. The reason was a bit sad; after all, in that mission where the entire Former Special Operations Team sacrificed themselves, only Liu Mu returned alive.

Afterward, Liu Mu had told them the process of the mission in detail, and they only then learned that Liu Mu was a true mutant. And one of the type with exceptionally high combat power, which was why she could completely crush them on the training ground.

To say that Liu Mu could do business, had her own territory, and even temporarily acted as the highest leader of the Barrier—none of these were enough to make the soldiers of the Special Operations Team submit, but the crushing power in individual combat was truly enough to tame a group of unruly warriors.

After talking with Zheng Tian, Li Fei turned around and told the restless team members to continue to endure. Of course, he couldn't really do nothing.

As Lv Ping's successor and the Deputy Team Leader of the Sea Soul Team, he had the right to ask all team members for intelligence.

Miao Cuihua did not hide that she had seen Liu Mu head toward Hong Hu, and she even told everything about what happened in the lake and the giant octopus.

Miao Hentian had originally thought that since Liu Mu hadn't said anything, it might need to be kept secret, but he couldn't stop his sister at all.

"I'll go with you to find her," Miao Hentian blocked him before Li Fei could leave. "I know which path is closer."

But Li Fei didn't agree, because he hadn't intended to go find her in the first place. "I'm going back to the Mine. The Boss should have her own plans. Facing a giant octopus, if a fight really breaks out, we won't be of any help if we go over."

It didn't matter if people said he blindly trusted Liu Mu's combat power, but he was clear about the combat power of the Miao sisters and the Black Lizard.

After all, at the Laboratory, he had personally escorted them several times.

"Wait a moment," it was Miao Cuihua who called out to Li Fei, her voice gentle. "Deputy Team Leader, did the Boss say when she would take action, or if she isn't going to?"

"What do you mean by that?" Li Fei was stunned by the question, but immediately realized he shouldn't have said that. "Action will certainly be taken. The Boss has her own plan; you just need to wait for orders."

After saying this, he stopped paying attention to the two and went straight down the mountain.

Although Liu Mu had let the three of them join the Sea Soul Team, Li Fei and several other old team members still felt a deep-seated aversion to them, still believing they were people of the Sky Viper and must have some other motives.

Besides, who in the Former Special Operations Team didn't know how many heinous crimes the Miao sisters had committed? War crimes, crimes against humanity, human trafficking, etc. —any one of these items would have been enough to have them executed several times over in peaceful years.

But even so, when Liu Mu said they were useful, he hadn't opposed it, and even took the initiative to do ideological work for the other team members.

Everything was for the good of the Barrier.

It was just that this wait lasted another day.

At dawn, Li Fei couldn't sleep soundly, so he arrived at the Mine early.

He had originally wanted to check the preparations for today's work, but who would have thought he would see a suspicious person.

"Xiaoliuzi."

Standing on the edge of the Mine, his entire body was soaked with dew, facing exactly in the direction of Hong Hu.

Perhaps because he was not tall enough, Xiaoliuzi stood bolt upright, his neck stretched out in a bizarre way, looking much longer than usual.

"What are you doing here?"

Li Fei cleared his throat before asking this, his voice carrying a touch of military sternness, with a hint of a reprimand.

In the silent environment, he was startled by his own voice.

But Xiaoliuzi did not react; one could say not even a single strand of hair had moved.

Such a stiff appearance made Li Fei inevitably form certain guesses, such as the person having been dead for a long time, and the killer having used some method to keep his corpse standing upright here.

Li Fei secretly blamed his habit of being unable to put down detective novels, swallowed his saliva, and still decided to step forward to take a look.

Three steps away, he turned to face Xiaoliuzi's front, and then he saw a scene that made his scalp almost explode.

This person, no, this Xiaoliuzi... is not human!