Chapter 110: Seven Thousand Meters Beneath the Sea

【Task ID E29856: Routine Patrol of Block B, Level 1, Broken Stele Prison, Remaining Slots: 2】

After discovering this task, Lin Qing immediately applied to join.

According to what Chen Guang had just said, this task carried less risk compared to others.

Although the Broken Stele Prison housed extraterrestrial smugglers who had committed crimes, the more violent ones faced stricter surveillance and had even less chance to cause trouble.

Moreover, the prisoners in Level 1 were among the weakest of all extraterrestrial smugglers.

The routine patrol task was also very simple.

And while God Island was safe, it housed powerful figures from extraterrestrial civilizations, even the Zhi Star Group dared not offend them—encountering any incident there would be far more troublesome.

"This task is good."

Lin Qing was quite satisfied, "I just don't know if I'll be selected."

He only wanted to focus on cultivation, avoid trouble, and wait until his strength was sufficient to begin raising his Order Level.

This task suited him well, and the point reward was also decent.

So, many people had applied.

After applying, Lin Qing also glanced at other tasks as backups.

Although his profile had been updated to show he had mastered the original "Zi Zai Shen," making him an excellent new patrol officer in high demand, whether he'd be selected was still uncertain.

However, not long after—

"Ding."

Lin Qing's phone had already received notification that his application had been approved.

"Good enough." Lin Qing glanced at Yuan Anping, who was still choosing tasks, then left.

……

"I'm leaving headquarters at 2 p. m. for a patrol task."

In his apartment, Lin Qing packed his luggage while instructing Zhao Jiayi beside him: "Stay put, don't casually use mental probing, and don't wander off."

"Oh…" Zhao Jiayi asked curiously, "This is the Patrol Headquarters—why be so cautious?"

"The Patrol Headquarters isn't that safe," Lin Qing glanced at her.

He had left Lin'an City and come to the Patrol Headquarters, effectively 'opening up' a new life circle, but his Order Level had only increased by 2.5.

This meant his current life circle's Order Level was only 2.5.

Fortunately, he could take leave anytime to return to his hometown—Lin'an City was still part of his life circle; otherwise, his Order Level would have dropped straight to 2.5.

According to deduction—

The height of Order Level depends on two things: one, his own rank; two, whether his life circle is peaceful and stable.

Before leaving Lin'an City, he had already stabilized it, but its upper limit was only 5.7.

That was the upper limit for Lin'an City's rank, but not his own.

Theoretically, if he entered a new life circle with a higher rank and sufficient stability, the Order Level increase should have exceeded 5.7.

But now, despite arriving at what seemed like a more peaceful and stable headquarters, his Order Level had only increased by 2.5—this indicated the headquarters clearly had problems.

There must be many hidden risks he couldn't see.

However, as long as his strength continued to rise and his rank climbed higher, he could resolve these risks.

"8.2… not far from 10."

Lin Qing silently pondered, "My current life circle is this training branch—what are the hidden risks?"

……

That afternoon at 1:45 p. m.

At the East District Airport of the Patrol Headquarters, Lin Qing passed iris and fingerprint verification, then boarded the aircraft arranged by headquarters.

This task was simple, so there was no need to bring Zhao Jiayi.

On the aircraft, several others had already arrived.

This task had very low difficulty, classified as E-grade—meaning Easy—and consisted of only ten people: three One-Star Elite Patrol Officers and seven new patrol officers.

The one designated by the headquarters system as team leader was among the top performers of the One-Star Elite Patrol Officers.

"Lin Qing?"

A handsome man with a slightly pale complexion studied Lin Qing, then slowly smiled: "I'm Cheng Cong, team leader for this mission. I saw your file—you've already mastered the original 'Zi Zai Shen'? You're nearly a One-Star Elite Patrol Officer?"

"About that." Lin Qing nodded.

Detailed information about headquarters patrol officers was accessible only to high-ranking headquarters officials.

"Good."

Cheng Cong's smile deepened, and his gaze toward Lin Qing became much friendlier.

Although Lin Qing felt the man's attitude was overly friendly, he was already accustomed to it.

Mastering the original combat technique before gene awakening did indicate considerable potential—once gene optimization was complete and gene awakening occurred, he would quickly become a Two-Star Elite Patrol Officer with a bright future.

It was normal for him to want to be on good terms.

After finding an empty seat on the aircraft, Lin Qing placed his backpack beside him to deter others from approaching.

Soon after, the remaining six new patrol officers arrived.

Lin Qing suddenly noticed that several of them looked familiar—they seemed to be the same new patrol officers from his Zi Zai Shen training class when he first arrived at headquarters.

After the aircraft took off, he observed them more closely and confirmed all these new officers were cultivating Zi Zai Shen.

This struck Lin Qing as odd.

It was just a routine patrol of Level 1, Broken Stele Prison—why specifically select new patrol officers cultivating Zi Zai Shen?

"Lin Qing."

At that moment, team leader Cheng Cong walked over from the front, glanced at the backpack beside Lin Qing, and smiled: "Mind if we chat?"

Lin Qing glanced at him, said nothing, and simply picked up the backpack beside him.

Cheng Cong smiled and only then sat down.

"Does Group Leader Cheng have something to discuss?" Lin Qing asked straight to the point.

"Just wanted to make a friend with you," Cheng Cong said with a smile. "I see you're not yet nineteen; there aren't many new patrols as young as you. Moreover, you're a standout among the new recruits, with a bright future ahead."

"Group Leader overstates my worth," Lin Qing said, though his guard rose even higher in his heart.

If he hadn't known there were hidden dangers within the Training Branch, he might have thought the place harmonious, thinking a certain level of vigilance would suffice.

But knowing full well something was amiss, he naturally remained perpetually suspicious.

"For new patrols, the most important things are points and merit."

Cheng Cong sighed, "Back then, I was just like this, rushing about for merit and points. It took great effort to gather enough points and merit for genetic optimization, and even now, I must pass an assessment to obtain two-star authority."

"It is indeed difficult," Lin Qing replied casually, brushing it off.

At the Headquarters, points could often substitute for merit, though they could not be exchanged for opportunities to learn combat techniques, nor used to promote authority levels.

However, they could be used for genetic optimization or to purchase various resources, so points were also very important.

Nevertheless, what Lin Qing cared about most was: what exactly did this person want to say? "Speaking of which, Lin Qing, have you undergone genetic optimization yet?" Cheng Cong asked with apparent concern.

"Not yet," Lin Qing shook his head slightly.

New patrols could only advance one hundred points, while a single genetic optimization required at least three hundred. Anyway, the other party couldn't check his information, didn't know the requirements on his contract, and couldn't deduce it.

"True, points are hard to gather."

Cheng Cong nodded slightly and sighed, "It takes nearly a thousand points to complete three genetic optimizations. If you want to be safer, it's best to also cultivate the Bloodline Evolution Method, which requires several thousand points. Even if you save without spending, it would take at least many years to accumulate enough."

He glanced at Lin Qing and smiled, "I have high hopes for you, Lin Qing. Next time there's an opportunity to earn points, I'll try my best to bring you along."

Lin Qing's guard rose even further, though he politely thanked him with his lips: "Thank you, Group Leader Cheng."

"No big deal," Cheng Cong smiled, said no more, and stood up. "Alright, I won't disturb you further. We'll arrive at Broken Stele Prison soon."

Watching Cheng Cong turn and leave, Lin Qing couldn't help but feel strange.

He came over, said just that, and then left? It seemed the other party truly only wanted to make friends, but Lin Qing felt something was wrong.

"Hmm?"

Lin Qing noticed Cheng Cong had walked over and sat down beside another new patrol.

So he wanted to make a friend with every new recruit? Lin Qing was somewhat speechless.

Half an hour later, Cheng Cong had already spoken with six new recruits.

Immediately after, he walked toward the seventh new patrol.

Lin Qing merely glanced over, already too lazy to care; perhaps this was just this person's way of socializing?

Suddenly—

"Eh?"

Lin Qing suddenly noticed that when Cheng Cong approached the seventh new recruit, the friendliness and warmth on his face turned into a degree of seriousness and solemnity, along with an unmistakable eagerness to please and flattery.

Even... there was a hint of servility in his movements.

Although it lasted only an instant, Lin Qing saw it all clearly.

"Strange..."

From this angle, Lin Qing couldn't see the seventh new recruit's face, but he still felt something was odd.

Even a new recruit like Xu Qiu, who had a Patrol Enforcer as an aunt, shouldn't cause elite patrols to flatter him so humbly.

Lin Qing took out his phone and typed the words: 'Who is that new recruit?'

"New recruit?"

Chen Guang queried the information database in an instant and immediately replied, "Master, the new recruit sitting there should be 'Gong Leping', who joined the Patrol Headquarters Training Branch in the first half of this year, formerly the Patrol Chief of Tanzhou City."

'What background does he have?' Lin Qing typed another line to ask.

"No particular background," Chen Guang said. "A native of Tanzhou, quite talented in combat techniques. He has now mastered the original version of the 'Free Body' technique."

"Just that?" Lin Qing frowned slightly.

Such an achievement, while not bad, shouldn't warrant Cheng Cong treating him this way, right? Cheng Cong also mastered an original technique, had undergone genetic optimization, and had now achieved genetic awakening.

Whether Gong Leping could successfully achieve genetic awakening was still uncertain.

How could Cheng Cong be so eager to please?

Either he had a hidden, powerful background, or there was some other reason.

Another half hour passed, and the plane began to descend.

Broken Stele Prison is located south of the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean Sea of the North Atlantic, a deep-sea prison hidden deep within the Cayman Trench, reaching a depth of over seven thousand meters.

Therefore, the Patrol Headquarters built an airport on a nearby isolated island.

Upon reaching the airport, one must board a nuclear submarine developed by the Dawn Group to quickly reach the interior of the underwater prison.

Even with Lin Qing's current strength, he could not reach it without the nuclear submarine.

The key is the underwater pressure, reaching seven hundred kilograms per square centimeter, which is the most terrifying part.

Professional divers only dive to depths of a dozen meters or so; even saturation diving technology is ineffective against such terrifying water pressure.

"Pity, genetic optimization doesn't include any gene abilities related to diving."

Inside the 'Broken Stele' nuclear submarine, Lin Qing stood before the submarine's round window, gazing at the pitch-black seabed outside, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Master," Chen Guang's voice sounded in his mind. "If you activate the gene abilities of Enhancement and Super Strength, use the defense of the 'Free Body' technique, and add the First-Order Starry Sky Battle Suit, you could actually easily withstand this water pressure, though not for long."

Lin Qing raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised.

His own physical constitution was only about ten times that of an ordinary person; relying solely on that, reaching two hundred meters underwater would be good enough.

However, the 'Free Body' technique combines hardness and softness, changing at will; at an instinctual level, it can increase the body's resistance to water pressure by several dozen times. Combined with the doubling effect of Enhancement and the First-Order Starry Sky Battle Suit, it seems... indeed capable of withstanding such water pressure.

Moreover, the breathing problem isn't hard to solve; the Starry Sky Battle Suit is essentially a spacesuit, capable of converting mystical energy to sustain normal life activities even in space.

"Provided I have enough energy to sustain swimming down in one breath."

Thinking this, Lin Qing felt it was somewhat unrealistic.

Such massive consumption from fully activating this state; trying to swim to the seabed several thousand meters deep on one's own would be far too difficult.

Unless one prepared Black Nest No. 16 in advance and kept consuming it, realization would be impossible.

Before long, the Broken Stele nuclear submarine had passed through waters several thousand meters deep, arriving at the underwater prison frozen on the seabed deep within the Cayman Trench.

"Remember, our patrol range is only in Zone B of the first layer. Do not leave this area. The work is very light, lasting only two days."

After instructing the mission team members present, Cheng Cong led everyone, stepping out of the submarine, passing through a long corridor, and undergoing triple identification via iris, fingerprint, and facial recognition before finally entering the prison interior.

Not long after, they saw another team wearing the same patrol uniforms approaching.

The short-haired woman at the head smiled and said, "Brother Cheng, you've finally come for the shift change. This underwater prison is truly boring."

"Only two days, and you can't hold out?" Cheng Cong laughed.

After the two teams finished the shift change, Cheng Cong ordered, "Pair up; one normal patrol round is enough."

Having spoken, he led one of the new patrol officers toward Zone B of the prison's first layer.

Lin Qing particularly noticed that the new officer Cheng Cong led was the 'Gong Leping' whom Cheng Cong had previously been unusually flattering and obsequious toward.

He didn't want to meddle in so much; he casually picked a new patrol officer who looked quite honest, and according to the work assignment, began patrolling prisons No. 11 through No. 24.

The prisoners held in this prison were all stowaways from extraterrestrial civilizations; naturally, they were all aliens.

This was Lin Qing's first time seeing an alien other than Zhao Jiayi, though they did not appear very different from Earthlings.

The female prisoner closest to an Earthling merely had rather strange eye color.

The alien prisoner with the greatest physical difference grew a pair of bizarre ox horns; their facial features were also somewhat different, appearing quite rugged.

But within this deep-sea prison, each prisoner was in a state of 'already being obedient and begging for mercy,' silently submitting to the search.

Lin Qing also took the opportunity to scan them; they were all Gene Awakeners, but all wore handcuffs and leg irons capable of triggering strong electric currents, so they could only remain obedient.

Before long, the first patrol round ended.

When Lin Qing passed through the patrol corridor back to the office area, the other four teams had also returned.

Cheng Cong was chatting and smiling with the new officer 'Gong Leping,' who was suspected to have a very powerful background.

However, Lin Qing felt his attitude seemed somewhat different?

"Lin Qing, the person has changed."

Chen Guang's voice suddenly rang in his mind: "This Gong Leping now is not the person you saw on the plane before; the life aura is different."

(End of this chapter)