Chapter 1499 The Soul of the Sea

“Can we go over there and take a look?” The Siren Queen seemed to sense something in that area of water; her expression was odd.

“Sure, we can…” Hao Ren didn't think too much about it, but he was concerned about that patch of green. “What is that thing?”

Katerina frowned slightly. “I don't know, but I can feel the flow of living water; the currents are unusually active there.”

Hao Ren subconsciously asked, “You can sense water elements through a holographic projection?”

Before Katerina could explain further, Nangong Wuyue slithered over and poked Hao Ren's calf with her tail. “It's a mystical thing, you wouldn't understand. My mother and I also feel like there's something in the sea, something quite… familiar.”

Hearing the two sirens being so mystical, Hao Ren felt a little uneasy. He glanced back at the spaceship's control panel, figuring that Vivian and Lily would be busy for a while longer, so he nodded to Nolan. “I'll leave things here to you. If Lawrence sends a signal, proceed according to plan, don't wait for my instructions. Katerina and I will go check things out.”

After saying that, Hao Ren left the bridge of the Giant Tortoise Rock Terrace. By now, the storm outside the ship had almost completely calmed down; only a few damp air currents were still swirling in the air, while the sea below surged with waves, the continuous sound of the waves filling the vast expanse of the heavens and earth. The Ark Fleet that had landed on the Sea of Iou had formed a chain of islands; the black steel hulls, larger than mountains, rose high above the sea, reflecting a cold, solemn light under the brilliant sunlight of Iou. Waves crashed against the hulls of these giant ships, and the shattered spray fell like snow. It looked like the Ark giant ships were working well.

Hao Ren, along with Ahriman, Nangong Wuyue, and Katerina, left the ship and landed directly on the sea. The sirens created a surging current and quickly headed towards the area of water that was emitting the “strange sensation”. As they passed the Ark, King's Throne, Hao Ren saw that the lower half of the giant ship was churning with what looked like boiling bubbles, and he could vaguely see some huge mechanical devices operating beneath the surface. Those were the water intake valves, supplying the life-support systems within the ship.

Driven by the sirens’ power, they quickly arrived at the somewhat strange area of water, and large patches of green came into Hao Ren’s view.

“What… is this stuff…?”

Hao Ren looked at the scene in front of him in astonishment, bending down to examine the floating, algae-like things in the water. They undulated with the waves in continuous patches, and at first glance, they looked like simple seaweed, but after Nangong Wuyue used the tip of her tail to pick up some of the plants, she discovered that the structure of this stuff was more like some kind of rootless plant. It had a lattice-like vine structure and slender leaves, and all the stems and leaves were connected together, with no obvious differentiation of individual plants. Perhaps the entire area was a single plant – a huge marine plant stretching for nearly several square kilometers.

And it was probably not the only one.

Ahriman strained her eyes and saw another patch of green scenery similar to this one at the end of the sea.

“Shh,” Katerina suddenly noticed something. She raised a finger to signal everyone to be quiet, then used magic to gather the surrounding water and isolate everyone's aura. “Look over there, under the densest leaves.”

Katerina was referring to a place in the far distance, but Hao Ren's super-powerful eyesight still allowed him to see what was going on over there. He held his breath and looked over, finding that there were things moving under the giant “seaweed”. After careful observation, he realized that they were some flat and wide fish, which were vying to peck at the hanging “roots” under the seaweed. It seemed that they were already very used to this food.

“The ecological structure is recovering, and things that have never appeared before are appearing,” Hao Ren muttered in a low voice. He was sure that the Sea of Iou originally did not have this kind of large-scale “seaweed”. The surface of Iou used to be far more violent than it was now, and the constant hurricanes and thunderstorms meant that almost no plants or animals could survive in the shallow layers of the sea. “Could this seaweed have evolved recently? That speed is abnormal.”

The data terminal floated out of his pocket, checked the recent plant samples, and suddenly exclaimed, “This seems to be the moss you sprinkled into the sea last time—but it's completely changed!”

“Moss?” Hao Ren was stunned for a moment, but after a few seconds, he realized what the terminal was referring to: the biological samples he had brought back from the wandering planet when he was looking for Nangong Couple. At the time, he had sprinkled the moss from the wandering planet into the ocean of Iou, hoping that these seeds of life would survive in the new environment. But he never expected that the moss would develop like this!

“The form has completely changed… is it because of the Iou's environmental stimulation?” Hao Ren looked at the endless “seaweed” in surprise, unable to believe that the predecessor of these things were actually some moss fragments. “No, environmental stimulation shouldn't make them change so quickly.”

At this moment, Katerina suddenly frowned. She gently nudged Nangong Wuyue and Ahriman. “Did you feel that? It seems like there's something in the sea.”

“I felt it just now, it seems to be watching this way,” Ahriman nodded, stretching her neck and looking around, but there was no nervous look on her face, because she didn't feel any hostility from the peeper. “It's a bit like a siren, but…”

Before Ahriman could finish speaking, an unnatural wave suddenly rolled up on the originally calm sea, and layers of broken waves gathered from all directions as if they were conscious, completely unlike the result of a normal sea breeze.

The moment he saw this wave, Hao Ren's heart suddenly moved. He seemed to “hear” a vaguely familiar voice ringing in his mind, and this voice was greeting him.

Nangong Wuyue had sharp eyes, and she suddenly saw a patch of seawater rising not far away. “Over there! Something's coming out!”

On the sea surface dozens of meters away, the abnormal wave was gathering at an alarming rate. As the wave gathered, the seawater quickly rose as if it were some kind of deformed soft-bodied animal. As the group watched in stunned silence, the rising seawater slowly formed a discernible shape. “It” grew hands, a head, and a waist. Although every part of its body was shaking extremely unstably, it was clearly forming a human shape.

Or rather, it was trying hard to form a human shape.

The indescribable “seawater” worked hard for a full half-minute before finally forming a relatively stable shape, and then rushed towards Hao Ren's group excitedly. The final form it took had a vague female outline, several meters tall, and was composed entirely of transparent seawater. It was impossible to see its facial features or other details on its body; it was like a slime that had failed to mimic.

After this strange “creature” rushed over, it circled around the group, constantly making huge swishing noises, and the splashing waves drenched Hao Ren from head to toe. After circling for a while, “it” suddenly dived into the sea, and then reappeared not far away, as if playing with everyone. Before everyone could react, this mass of seawater suddenly collapsed, and then wobbled to form a smaller shape, constantly adjusting its shape and size. Hao Ren watched for a long time before realizing that “it” was imitating Katerina's appearance.

The three sirens on the scene were stunned at this moment. They had no idea what the sudden “slime” was, but an unspeakable sense of intimacy prevented them from feeling the slightest bit of vigilance. Katerina was the first to react. She was stunned for a while, and then suddenly patted Hao Ren's arm with her tail. “Wait, could this be…”

“Iva?” The thoughts in Hao Ren's mind became clearer and clearer. He finally couldn't help but call out, waving at the “water girl” who was trying to transform into Katerina. “Iva!”

The “water girl” seemed to have given up on transforming into Katerina at this moment. She just maintained a rough female form, and after hearing Hao Ren's call, she surged over with a swishing sound, making a series of strange noises. “Glug, glug…”

Hao Ren reached out to this mass of seawater, and the other party imitated him by raising a “hand”, touching Hao Ren's fingers with the cool seawater.

At that moment, the mental connection was re-established.

After a moment, Katerina looked at Hao Ren's reaction. “This really is Iva?!”

“It's her… or rather, Iva after rebirth,” Hao Ren took a deep breath and slowly exhaled to calm his overly rapid heartbeat. Then he pointed to the seaweed that stretched for several kilometers. “This is her work.”

He turned his head, looked at the soul of the ocean who was curiously observing everyone, and showed a bright smile. “Long time no see, Iva.”