novelraw Chapter 264: Spatial Jump Engine
Chapter 264: Spatial Jump Engine
Slap! Slap!
The massive tentacles tightly bound the fifteen-meter Black Rock mecha, using two particularly thick tentacles to viciously whip it twice! Two enormous sonic booms echoed through the air!
The underwater sea beast was named Vortex Hundred-Tentacle, a giant squid with a massive maw capable of creating whirlpools and using nearly a hundred continuously regenerating tentacles to drag enemies into the vortex.
Amid this violent storm, it effectively restrained the Black Rock mecha's movements.
Simultaneously, the tremendous noise disturbed countless fish, with numerous rare species emerging from the ocean depths, turning the entire sea into a chaotic frenzy.
Moreover, among the churning waves, fish with golden fruits atop their heads surfaced.
"Adult Golden Fruit Fish."
Watching this scene, mechanist Dia's cold golden eyes narrowed slightly:
"Bluefire, it seems our luck isn't particularly good today."
They had just caught up with the Viper Father ship and encountered rare Golden Fruit Fish, but along with this fortune came the uncommon Vortex Hundred-Tentacle."Luck..."
Bluefire remained silent, stroking his pale beard thoughtfully.
"The Sea God Pirates possess the ability to control sea beasts. Rather than calling it luck, this seems more like an inevitable challenge we must face."
"However, compared to sea beasts—"
Bluefire's pupils rapidly contracted, burning with pale blue flames as his gaze pierced through the mecha battling the giant squid, focusing on the man standing beside Melanie on the rapidly distancing Viper Father ship—the man wearing the Viper Father cloak...
"Viper Father?"
Bluefire closed his eyes, deep in thought.
He had fought Viper Father before, leaving him with certain impressions—a transcendent with decent brute strength and considerable experience.
But that was all. In his presence, Viper Father wouldn't last three rounds. Had Haige not rescued him, Viper Father would have died by his hand long ago.
Bluefire's gaze remained fixed on 'Viper Father'.
Dia, hands in pockets, asked curiously:
"What's wrong? Bluefire, did you notice something?"
The blue flames in Bluefire's eyes extinguished:
"Nothing, just a Lantern Bearer's intuition. Perhaps the Sea God Pirates deceived us, replacing Viper Father with a more troublesome transcendent."
A more troublesome transcendent... A proud smile curled at Dia's lips:
"Someone more powerful? Could they be another Supernova like me? If it's that Haige, then this journey just became much more interesting."
Among the Supernovae, rankings existed, and Dia only placed sixth. Naturally drawn to strength, he had sworn to become the first among these seven to reach legendary status while also becoming the strongest—proving himself to his family!
"Who knows?"
Bluefire pulled a cigarette from inside his suit jacket, shielding it from the rain as he produced a Bonfire brand lighter to light his roll.
Boom!
The next instant, the Black Rock mecha completed its recharge. Molten lava-like power surged across its body, enabling it to assume a punching stance despite being completely entangled atop the raging sea.
Its left arm gathered swirling colossal energy once more before delivering a devastating punch.
Dragon Flame Fist: Black Rock Shattering Explosion!
Accompanied by thunderous noise, scorching molten fire erupted like a colossal dragon, creating hundreds of concentric fiery ripples.
Boom!
Dozens of thick tentacles instantly vaporized into debris, the residual heat making even the cold raindrops feel uncomfortably warm.
Chen Qi felt the warm droplets sprinkling his face.
This time, the two third-tier transcendents dispatched by Bonfire Energy Company were clearly no ordinary opponents.
He had seized the opportunity to toss supernatural bait into the sea while using himself as additional lure to attract some large sea beasts.
However, it was evident this particular large sea beast lacked the capability to destroy the Black Rock mecha.
The Vortex Hundred-Tentacle was, ultimately, just an ordinary, albeit large, sea creature of the Sea of Calamities.
But it served its purpose well enough as a delaying tactic.
Chen Qi manipulated the helm, turning and accelerating.
At this moment, Aelor leaned against the railing, astonished that the Black Rock mecha's attack had driven so many fish from the depths—including the rare Golden Fruit Fish!
This demonstrated the value of high-risk zone marine life!
Aelor couldn't help marveling:
"Absolutely incredible! The Sea of Calamities' front section already contains such abundant resources!"
Melanie patted Aelor's head:
"Stop staring—none of this belongs to us. Let's go—"
Melanie and the others felt differently from Chen Qi; they only experienced a sense of narrow escape from death.
Under Chen Qi's control, the Viper Father accelerated at full power, taking advantage of the Vortex Hundred-Tentacle's distraction of the Black Rock mecha to plunge deeper into the Sea of Calamities.
Aboard the Bonfire Exploration ship, Bluefire and Dia chose not to pursue due to the Vortex Hundred-Tentacle and considerations about their subsequent progress.
Under the Black Rock mecha's assault, the Vortex Hundred-Tentacle—now missing dozens of tentacles—retreated to the deep sea, ceasing its attack.
Boom!
The Black Rock mecha violently tore away the remaining tentacles before its operator guided it back to the mecha landing area on the Bonfire Exploration ship.
The sea gradually returned to calm.
Dia smiled and said:
"Manager Bluefire, what a pity. Without that giant squid, we would have captured the Viper Father already, plus we lost a Golden Fruit Fish."
Bluefire removed the cigarette from his mouth, exhaling a thick smoke ring:
"Unimportant. Trying to extract the island coordinates from the Viper Father crew was never particularly realistic to begin with."
Dia shrugged dismissively:
"Making excuses at your age? And from my observation, our Bonfire Energy Exploration ship moves far too slowly."
"Slow?"
Bluefire showed no concern about Dia's rudeness, continuing:
"The Deep Sea Hunters' treasure will undoubtedly belong to us. You might not know yet—for this operation, our ship carries a Spatial Leap Engine Type C."
Spatial engine... Dia's mocking expression vanished, his eyes widening in genuine surprise.
"Bluefire, you're not joking, are you? For Deep Blue Fire, you actually acquired a Spatial Leap?"
The so-called Spatial Leap Engine was a special engine granting ships spatial traversal capabilities. Even in Beiguo, creating such engines required massive time and resources from Steam Hand Workshop!
The drop rate for such items in B-tier Hammer Phase rifts was less than one in a thousand!
And the Spatial Leap Type C was particularly rare among spatial leap engines—an 'anchor point' type leap that could instantly transport ships away from dangerous waters, effectively eliminating oceanic dangers!
The Spatial Leap Engine could truly be called a priceless heavenly treasure!
If the Blackfin Crew or Sea God Pirates learned about the Spatial Leap's existence, they might even face joint attacks from the Blackfin Crew's seven pirate lords and the Sea God Pirates' seven bishops—over a hundred ships laying siege!
Dia continued:
"Recently, because of the Flower Witch's reappearance, these waters have already attracted the Blackfin Crew. Now you bring such a massive Spatial Leap Engine? Bluefire, do you truly fear nothing!?"
Bluefire smiled:
"Ten years ago, I piloted the Bonfire Energy Exploration ship to these waters. Lost in the storm, I witnessed the Deep Sea Hunters' treasure buried within deep vortices. To obtain the deepest treasures, Spatial Leap is essential."
"The more valuable something is, the greater the price required."
Changing topics abruptly, Bluefire asked:
"Dia, do you know the difficulty rating assigned to this treasure in the Deep Sea Hunters' classification system?"
"What?"
Bluefire gripped his cigarette:
"It's hands. Both hands."
Both hands... Dia chuckled:
"That's it?"
Bluefire turned to look at this arrogant blond youth.
Dia was no ordinary person—he came from Steam Hand Workshop, one of Beiguo's seven great companies, as nobility. His father was a legendary mecha engineer within Steam Hand.
To ordinary people, legendary figures—even those mythical saints—were not unreachable concepts to Dia but tangible, real 'people' within his family circle.
In the Witch Sea region, his status could truly be considered nobility among nobility.
Bluefire narrowed his eyes, warning:
"Dia, the Witch Sea isn't so simple. The Azure Beast and Carol remain missing, while there are recent reports of the Black Hunter and Flower Witch appearing in nearby waters."
Black Hunter? The Witch? Dia lifted his face, enjoying the wind and rain:
"Don't misunderstand. If the Deep Sea Hunters included a saint, then I'd be quite interested in their treasure."
"A saint..."
Bluefire chuckled lightly before falling silent, his gaze fixed on the horizon where the Viper Father had disappeared.
...
...
Dusk, Sea of Calamities.
Upon the turbulent sea, three ships cut through the waves, gradually converging until they sailed side by side.
One resembled a python with dark green hull; another stood pure white flying the White Tower Federation flag at its prow; the smallest appeared to be a tourist-style vessel.
These three ships were respectively the Viper Father, White Tower Hunter, and Chen Qi's ghost houseboat.
Currently, all three vessels maintained steady navigation.
All had successfully traversed the Sea of Calamities' front section, reaching the rendezvous point.
Particularly the water spirits—they had successfully piloted the ghost ship to the meeting location, greatly surprising Chen Qi.
Whoosh—
Water Spirit Number Three leaped from the ghost ship onto the Viper Father's deck.
"Waku waku! (Master! I'm amazing, right!)"
If the Blackfin Crew or Sea God Pirates learned about the Spatial Leap's existence, they might even face joint attacks from the Blackfin Crew's seven pirate lords and the Sea God Pirates' seven bishops—over a hundred ships laying siege!
Chen Qi felt exceptionally pleased, taking the water spirit onto his shoulder.
The Sea of Calamities differed from previous sea regions—ordinary vessels simply couldn't progress here.
This meant if only one ship remained and got destroyed, they would be trapped forever within the Sea of Calamities.
Therefore, for this operation, both Chen Qi and the White Tower Hunters had deployed their respective vessels.
Everyone gathered on the Viper Father's deck alongside the water spirits to discuss subsequent plans.
Chen Qi produced the map on deck, announcing the latter half of their journey:
"Everyone, from here we simply need to sail straight in one direction to reach the island containing Deep Blue Fire."
Melanie's eyes brightened:
"Straight line?"
A straight course meant their journey's second half would be considerably safer.
"Yes, but night approaches soon. We must remain vigilant against shadow beasts and deep-sea monsters."
Chen Qi pondered:
"But rest assured, my lovely crew. Based on current conditions, the latter half appears quite safe."
Aelor frowned worriedly:
"How do we assign night watch? Nights in the Sea of Calamities must be extremely dangerous!"
Chen Qi smiled slightly:
"You needn't worry about nighttime because your Lamp Keeper captain will protect you! When the time comes, just assign two people to keep watch with me!"
Leaving night watch to the Lamp Keeper!
Bespectacled Aelor and mechanist Little Mary, along with the other four White Tower Hunters, looked at Chen Qi with grateful expressions.
Without the Lamp Keeper, they—the team's youngsters—would definitely be assigned night duty.
His shoulders seemed so broad, his gaze so confident!
To ordinary people, legendary figures—even those mythical saints—were not unreachable concepts to Dia but tangible, real 'people' within his family circle.
"Thank you, Lamp Keeper!"
Young Aelor and Little Mary high-fived in celebration. With the Lamp Keeper handling night watch, they could rest properly during nighttime.
"Ahem."
Melanie coughed twice, interrupting everyone.
Wait—the White Tower Hunters suddenly remembered Melanie was their actual captain.
They hurriedly explained:
"Who's your crew!?"
Chen Qi smiled:
"Understood, my partners. Rest well, knowing that when we reach Deep Blue Fire's island, what likely awaits us is an intense battle."
Saying this, Chen Qi retrieved the luxury fishing rod gifted by Captain Blackeye from his Backpack Card, walking to the ship's edge to fish.
Night watch proved rather tedious—until then, why not fish?
After all, the Sea of Calamities contained countless rare sea creatures.
Beneath the dusk sky, Chen Qi sat at the ship's edge, crafting supernatural bait which he attached to his hook before casting his line forcefully.
He had recently advanced to third tier, but his supply of supernatural food for physical development had depleted.
Acquiring some rare materials before reaching Deep Blue Fire's island would be ideal.
Aelor adjusted his glasses:
"Someone so fierce actually fishes? And with an ultra-rare limited edition rod..."
"Yeah, Mister Lamp Keeper is truly versatile."
Little Mary felt particularly impressed.
Bespectacled Aelor and mechanist Little Mary had gradually become captivated by Chen Qi's knowledge and life skills.
These two White Tower Hunters acted completely inexperienced... Seasoned angler Melanie said disdainfully:
"His technique looks completely unprofessional! To catch supernatural fish while avoiding dangerous beasts, one must use specially processed supernatural bait!"
Melanie smiled confidently—as a White Tower Hunter, she had read hundreds of angler manuals!
Chen Qi ignored Melanie, making no changes to either his fishing posture or bait.
Considering how much this person had helped... Melanie retrieved her long-cherished ultra-rare bait from her Backpack Card:
"Lamp Keeper, that bait won't catch anything. You need genuine supernatural bait. Coincidentally, I recently have some spare bait."
Using this opportunity to showcase her fishing skills and restore her captain's dignity... Melanie removed her hunter uniform, rolled up her sleeves revealing muscular arms, and said excitedly:
"Of course, professional guidance is also required. As payment, just call me Captain Sister..."
Melanie walked behind Chen Qi.
However, the next second, Melanie froze completely.
"What did you just say?"
Chen Qi asked as he lifted his fishing rod.
The rod was moving!
What situation? Melanie started visibly, slightly shielding her eyes with her hand.
A golden light emerged from the sea depths, flashing directly into her eyes.
He caught something already!
And it emitted dazzling golden radiance!