TYMIMA Chapter 105

The space inside the submarine was somewhat stifling, with no windows on either side. People could only sense the descent speed through their bodies.

Lily was rarely a bit nervous, her blue braids hanging down obediently as she squeezed herself between Abaddon and Dream Witch.

Lance turned to ask the landlubber sitting upright beside him: “Are you afraid?”

“How could I be? I’m not a child anymore.” Zhan Pingchuan was being stubborn.

Having grown up in Desert City since childhood, he wasn’t proficient at swimming at all, let alone diving. Going this deep into the sea for the first time made him indeed somewhat nervous.

“What kind of talk is that? Children aren’t afraid either.” Lily was equally stubborn.

The anglerfish turned back, his eyes nearly squinting from smiling: “We’ll arrive soon.”

Sure enough, not long after he said this, the submarine’s front section sprayed something, then the submarine slid into a space.

The hatch opened again. Everyone filed out one by one, only to discover they could breathe freely here.

Even though Chen Shun’an had already introduced them to kelp tree bubbles, seeing them for the first time was still amazing.

In the deep sea, bubbles enclosed a space sufficient for human survival, like walking in an underwater tunnel. Through the light of fluorescent stone lamp posts on both sides, they could see fish slowly swimming through the deep waters.

Lance looked back at the direction the submarine had entered from, discovering that the bubble there was violently trembling, only gradually becoming quiet.

“How did we get in? Won’t seawater rush in?” Mudeli asked.

The anglerfish explained while leading the way: “We made a softening agent from kelp tree mucus. Just spray it on the bubble and you can freely enter and exit. Naturally, seawater can’t get in. We also make clothes from kelp tree leaves, so people can freely enter and exit too.”

“This tree is really useful.”

“Yes, fortunately mutant trees are different from mutant beasts. Mutant trees can still survive when branches are taken out and planted, but mutant beasts can’t survive when limbs are removed.”

Along both sides of the path, neat rows of kelp trees were indeed planted. Their appearance looked very similar to peach trees.

“Is this the palace?” Lily asked.

The anglerfish: “Of course not. This is a hotel near the palace, but there’s a passage that leads directly to the palace. You need a VIP card to pass through.”

Even as just a hotel, it was spectacular enough. This hotel looked very much like those coastal resorts in Passion County, with an overall century-old castle style built from natural stone.

The castle was ring-shaped, with a stepped azure swimming pool in the center. In the center of the pool was a fountain carved with a proud jellyfish raising its tentacles, apparently paying tribute to the king.

The hotel was hung inside and out with pale yellow fluorescent lamp posts. Guests from Peach Blossom Spring Village drove underwater speedboats docked at the pier, being warmly led into the hotel by service staff.

“I still have things to attend to, so I’ll leave you here. Someone will take you to your rooms shortly. You can move freely around the hotel and wait for Prince Selarl’s summons. Oh, and don’t wander around randomly—getting lost on the seabed would be dangerous.” After the anglerfish finished speaking, his gaze lingered on Adrian and Dream Witch, as if reminding these two leaders.

“Why Prince Selarl? Shouldn’t it be the king?”

The anglerfish had originally focused all his attention on the leaders, not expecting this sharp question to come from a very young red-haired Omega.

He found this Omega exceptionally beautiful while also thinking the young person lacked proper manners.

“The red parrot crystal ore is a marriage proposal gift Prince Selarl prepared for the king, so naturally Prince Selarl will summon you. Tomorrow at the engagement ceremony, you’ll be formally introduced to the king.” The anglerfish added another reminder: “Remember to bring your best samples. Prince Selarl wants to display his sincerity to everyone.”

With that, the anglerfish turned and left.

Only when surrounded by their own people did Dream Witch lightly part her red lips: “That was one of Selarl’s people.”

Chen Shun’an had already told them about the main personnel of the radical and rational factions. Reportedly, this one was the most smooth and versatile member of the radical faction.

Adrian: “They’re indeed sidelining the king. Sandro must want to meet with us right now, but Selarl has intercepted us.”

Dream Witch chuckled softly: “You’re S-level, and I’m S-level too. Of course Selarl would be wary and wouldn’t easily give us a chance to meet alone with the king. Too bad he doesn’t know that the king has private connections with both our guild leaders.”

After the anglerfish left, a service person indeed came to guide them through check-in. Since they weren’t marine life Awakened ones, someone even specially taught them how to use kelp tree bubbles.

“Put on kelp tree gloves and your hands can reach into seawater, like this. We suggest you don’t wear kelp tree clothes—if you can’t control them properly and accidentally fall out, it would be dangerous.” The service person handed them several gloves. “Although Awakened ones have strong physiques and can withstand seawater pressure better than old humans, falling out would still damage your internal organs.”

Putting on kelp tree gloves, the service person picked a few bubbles for them and led them through a small underwater forest to another building beside the hotel: “This is a shipwreck museum under construction. It will display antiques from various dynasties that have been lost on the seabed.”

The continuous clanging and banging sounds nearby interrupted the service person’s words. He turned to look: “Sorry, they’re making sculptures. It’s a bit loud.”

“What sculptures?” Fulunla asked.

She couldn’t make out the shape yet since it wasn’t formed.

“Naturally sculptures of the king and Prince Selarl. We all hope their marriage will be as strong as gold and stone.”

“Ugh…” Wu Peng retched upon hearing this.

As an Omega, he could deeply empathize. Just thinking about the pure and innocent king having to marry a despicable schemer full of conspiracies made him physically nauseous.

After touring the shipwreck museum and chasing fish in the underwater forest for a while, everyone gradually adapted to this lifestyle and was no longer as nervous as initially.

Adrian wasn’t someone with strong curiosity. Even while touring the palace, he was thinking about the upcoming mission. So as soon as the tour ended, he asked: “When will Selarl come to see us?”

“I don’t know about that. Prince Selarl is very busy, please wait patiently.”

This wait lasted another two hours.

There were still 24 hours until the engagement ceremony.

Adrian asked Dream Witch: “When will the videos and photos be released tomorrow?”

The footage Chen Shun’an had captured would be photoshopped and have copy written by High Tower Guild’s talented personnel. Dream Witch had only one requirement: make people suspect Selarl’s infidelity to the king at first glance.

Dream Witch: “Tomorrow morning at ten o’clock, it will be released punctually to Tasman’s network system. Two hours is just enough time for it to ferment.”

Adrian: “Mm, we’ll also do our best to spread it in the Federation.”

Everyone went to the hotel restaurant for lunch.

There weren’t many people eating in the restaurant, mostly media reporters invited to write press releases for tomorrow’s engagement ceremony.

“Remember, tomorrow we must grab the first-hand news no matter what. Whoever publishes first gets the traffic.”

“Sigh, we still need to photoshop a bit, didn’t the higher-ups repeatedly emphasize taking beautiful photos?”

“Just find good angles. There won’t be time to photoshop then—while you’re editing, others will have already published.”

“I’m just afraid the higher-ups won’t be satisfied and will give us trouble.”

“They won’t. Just add some lighting—with the king’s beauty, how could it not look good?”

“I already have a premonition that tomorrow will be a big battle. If we capture this wave of traffic, we can rest for the second half of the year.”

“After all, it’s a grand event that the whole nation is paying attention to.”

“Our Tasman has national fortune. Every time a crisis appears, we can cleverly turn danger into safety. Originally I thought when the king returned, there would be a power struggle with Selarl, but unexpectedly the two fell in love.”

“But I still hope the king will govern. To be honest, I think those radicals are somewhat frightening—they make everything political at the drop of a hat, making the current online atmosphere particularly tense.”

“Yes, every day there are people shouting slogans online about loving the king and shipping the king with Selarl, then turning around to sell products and make money. Anyone with eyes can see what these people really are.”

……

The High Tower and Ghost Eye people ate while listening, roughly understanding Tasman’s current public opinion situation.

There’s nothing new under the sun. Thinking of how someone like Erdiff, who appeared so righteous, was once a respected hero, you’d know the Federation wasn’t much better either.

At this moment, the hotel manager suddenly rushed over urgently to notify them that Prince Selarl was summoning them.

Lance looked up and immediately put down his knife and fork.

They followed the manager’s steps, passing through the kelp tree bubble corridor, walking all the way to the palace, then along winding stone steps, through several spacious and open halls, before finally reaching Selarl’s office.

Selarl’s current office area was a full fifty square meters, with red and yellow carpeting on the floor, huge murals over ten meters long hanging on the walls, and a massive fluorescent stone chandelier at the top.

Selarl was tall and large, with extremely broad shoulders and a neck twice as thick as a normal person’s.

He wore a custom-made black suit, the fabric stretched tight across his back, with creases forming at the elbows.

He was facing away from his desk making a phone call, his wristwatch gleaming blindingly, and on his bulging-veined hand were three whale-black vertical stripes.

“What, can’t find it?!” Selarl suddenly questioned the other party with extreme displeasure. Just as the words left his mouth, he heard footsteps at the door.

He immediately covered his phone, looking back with a cold gaze.

He could sense that among this group of arrivals, there was more than one S-level: “What’s going on?”

“Uh…” The hotel manager paused, appearing somewhat flustered. “Didn’t you say to bring the two guilds that provided red parrot crystal ore to see you?”

Selarl took a deep breath, his gaze sharp: “Have them wait in the lounge. What are they doing coming to my office!”

“Yes, yes, yes… I misunderstood.” The manager quickly bowed apologetically, leading Adrian and Dream Witch toward the side lounge.

Lance hid in the crowd, staring at Selarl, carefully observing his expression.

He guessed this phone call must have brought some not-so-good news, which was why Selarl was angry.

And it had just happened.

Just then, Zhan Pingchuan lightly patted his hand and showed him his phone.

Lance withdrew his gaze and looked down.

The map showed that Li Bang had again moved west a short distance and had been stopped there for a full two hours.

According to Chen Shun’an’s description, Li Bang had now completely reached Wonderland Trench territory.

It seemed Selarl’s mission was to have him do something at the trench.

But aside from being where the king temporarily stayed when he disappeared, what else could be special about that place?

On the map, Li Bang was actually moving again, traveling from Wonderland Trench toward the suburban residence, with the two trajectories beginning to overlap.

“Ah, I think I dropped something!” Lance had a sudden inspiration. Without waiting for the manager to stop him, he suddenly turned and ran toward Selarl’s office.

“Hey, you—” The manager called out loudly, then realized this was the palace and quickly lowered his voice.

Lance rushed to Selarl’s office door, pretending to crouch down to pick something up, and indeed heard the lingering anger in Selarl’s voice.

“…Who gave you permission to come back!”

Unfortunately, Selarl was indeed sharp. Just as he shouted, he heard the subtle movement at the door.

The roar stopped abruptly. Lance immediately reacted, stood up, and turned to leave.

The bronze office door was suddenly yanked open. Selarl’s tall figure appeared in the doorway, his shadow spilling out like black water, enveloping Lance.

“Stop.” Selarl’s voice carried a hint of coldness, his lips curving into a bone-chilling arc.

Lance stopped, his eyes carelessly lifting. In just the time it took to turn around, his demeanor had completely changed.

“Sorry, my suppression patch fell off.” Lance’s ears turned faintly red as he shyly lowered his head. He raised his wrist, gently opened his palm to reveal a red corner, then quickly clenched it again, burying his head even lower.

Suppression patches were generally soft little round pieces, about the size of coins, that when stuck to glands could prevent pheromone leakage.

They weren’t really private items, but some introverted Omegas would still feel embarrassed to mention them.

When he had briefly opened his palm just now, Selarl had glimpsed what indeed appeared to be a round red object.

Alphas naturally lowered their guard around beautiful and introverted Omegas, especially when Lance’s disguise was flawless.

Selarl’s cold smile gradually faded as he moved his gaze away from Lance: “Be more careful.”

With that, he closed the office door again.

Lance clutched the ‘suppression patch’ and turned to walk back. He could now roughly confirm that Selarl’s anger was related to Li Bang’s return, and that Li Bang had temporarily failed to complete his mission at Wonderland Trench.

The High Tower Guild members were already very familiar with Lance’s acting, so they remained silent, just waiting for Lance to give them a signal.

Adrian and Mudeli also knew how to read situations, so they didn’t say anything either.

Zhan Pingchuan knew even better that the little fox never wore suppression patches—those things were purely created by merchants to constrain Omegas. Wearing them too long would cause skin allergies, and they weren’t convenient for using abilities.

Only Wu Peng was naive enough to comfort the young madam: “It’s just a suppression patch falling off, no big deal. I’ve even lost my suppressants.”

Fulunla knocked him in exasperation, signaling him to shut up.

When they reached the lounge and the manager left, Lance tucked the round button he’d torn from his clothes into his pocket, casually wiped the blood traces from his fingers, and said softly: “Selarl indeed wants to do something at Wonderland Trench, but Li Bang hasn’t succeeded yet.”

Zhan Pingchuan pulled over his finger with faint blood traces, kissing it tenderly at his lips: “You’re pretty harsh on yourself. In just a few seconds, you managed to cut yourself.”

He was quite surprised, because the little fox was bold and decisive like a trained agent, not only fooling Selarl’s eyes but even convincing Wu Peng, one of their own people.

However, this sudden thought was quickly covered by tenderness.

Lance didn’t care about this minor injury at all, but still pretended to be aggrieved: “The situation was urgent. I was afraid he’d check the surveillance.”

“Does it hurt, baby?” Zhan Pingchuan pinched his soft fingertip.

“It hurts.” Lance rubbed his knuckle against Zhan Pingchuan’s palm.

“If only we still had… Dean Chu’s pheromones.” Zhan Pingchuan said regretfully.

In his eyes, Lance had clearly become a curled-up little fox with fading breath.

Dream Witch glanced at her brother’s wound with alarm, then rolled her eyes in exasperation.

“Too terrifying. For this kind of wound, forget Dean Chu Fu’s pheromones—our platelets could handle it in half a minute.”

Zhan Pingchuan: “……”

Adrian deliberately ignored the young master’s embarrassing behavior and lowered his voice: “Do you think Selarl’s actions at Wonderland Trench are related to the engagement?”

Mudeli pushed up his glasses: “I don’t think it has much to do with the engagement. The king has already agreed to marry—he can’t be planning a rebellion, can he? Stationing a million troops in the suburbs?”

Dream Witch: “Chen Shun’an also said they basically never go to Wonderland Trench, but that masked figure in white robes is still somewhat strange.”

Fulunla: “Could it be they want to go to an underground city to bring rare crystal ore as a gift for the king, but the mutant beasts inside are hard to deal with, so they couldn’t retrieve it?”

Wu Peng nodded: “I think that makes sense. Didn’t they say the king hid in an underground city that year? Maybe it’s something the king likes.”

Lance temporarily stopped flirting with Zhan Pingchuan, but his hand remained nestled in Zhan Pingchuan’s palm. He pondered: “No, sending gifts for the king couldn’t possibly be rushed before the engagement, unless there’s some force majeure that made him have to delay until now.”

Zhan Pingchuan stroked his chin: “Maybe he’s just waiting for his rumored boyfriend.”

“……” It took everyone at least ten seconds to connect the masked white-robed figure with the rumored boyfriend.

In the office, Selarl naturally hadn’t completely dropped his suspicions about Lance. While opening his computer to check surveillance, he listened to Li Bang complaining on the phone.

“Prince, we really can’t find it. That monster has gotten smart—it knows we’re going to harm it, so it’s hiding inside and won’t come out. We even threw several people in as bait, which attracted other A-level mutant beasts, but that monster still didn’t show itself.”

“I’m guessing the king said something to it last time, telling it not to show itself easily?”

“A guard found rare lead ore chains on the seabed that had already been unlocked. It’s probably the king’s doing. When the messenger learned of this, he felt it was too dangerous and insisted on coming out first.”

Selarl was furious.

He didn’t know when Sandro had secretly obtained the key to the rare lead ore chains and unlocked them for that monster.

“The messenger certainly knows how to value his life,” he mocked.

Li Bang: “Prince, the underground city is too vast. Even if we recruit hundreds more people, searching the entire Green Sea would be a pipe dream. It seems you’ll still need to lure it out.”

Initially, any human footsteps could make the monster appear. Later, Selarl needed to imitate Sandro’s voice to attract it. That monster was becoming increasingly troublesome.

Selarl dragged his mouse around the surveillance footage, carefully watching the recording of the red-haired Omega’s appearance.

But he quickly gave up, because he saw that the Omega’s suppression patch was red, and the carpet happened to be red too—they were completely indistinguishable in the surveillance.

Selarl snapped his computer shut with a “click,” focusing his full attention on the call.

He sneered coldly: “Sandro must have told that monster to only come out when it hears specific words.”

“Then what do we do?” Li Bang was anxious because the messenger was already somewhat displeased.

After brief consideration, Selarl came up with a cruel idea: “Since that monster is blind, I’ll record Sandro being tortured and crying in pain. It will come out.”

What an exciting plan—when it thought it was rescuing Sandro, little did it know it was walking right into a trap, using its own life to deliver a fatal blow to Sandro.

The warm yellow fluorescent light fell on Selarl’s face, illuminating his venomous, cold white eyes.

Li Bang shivered slightly, then exclaimed with delight: “Brilliant!”

Meanwhile, in the lounge, the wound on Lance’s hand had already scabbed over and didn’t hurt at all.

He gazed through the wide-open doors and windows toward the dark deep sea and said softly: “To know what Selarl is really planning, we need to go to Wonderland Trench and see for ourselves.”