Chapter 385 - 382: Mirror Surface

Chapter 385: Chapter 382: Mirror Surface

The next morning, a crunching, cracking sound came from outside the ship.

Mo Ling, who had just woken up, looked outside to see the Sky Shuttle moving forward slowly, crushing the hard, crystalline sea surface like an icebreaker.

The sea had frozen solid.

The Sky Shuttle’s journey also seemed to be nearing its end, as it could no longer advance.

Mo Ling could clearly sense the crystals getting harder and harder. The Sky Shuttle’s drill was beginning to struggle.

The Sky Shuttle left a long trail of shattered crystal in its wake.

However, the crystal fragments seemed to be slowly converging and healing back together.

The sea surface in the distance was like a lens, reflecting the light. The water had transformed entirely into solid crystal.

The morning sun fell upon the sea, as if shining on an impossibly smooth mirror.

This mirrored sea reflected the entire sky, as well as the Sky Shuttle.

The ubiquitous seabirds flying to and fro were also reflected in the mirror.

But what made Mo Ling’s skin crawl was that he could still see those strange, glass-like creatures in the reflection. They were still living vibrantly within the completely frozen seawater.

Even though it was a reflection of the surface, he could still see them.

’Creatures that live in mirrors?’

Mo Ling couldn’t tell if they were real or illusory, only that it was all exceptionally bizarre...

Meanwhile, the Sky Shuttle shattered the illusory images on the mirror’s surface as it pushed forward, its speed slowing continuously.

Finally, the Sky Shuttle ground to a halt in the center of the mirrored sea.

Several mechanical arms extended from the ship’s hull, anchoring themselves to the hard, mirrored edges nearby.

After a while, the familiar, mechanical voice of the broadcast sounded again:

"We have reached the deepest accessible point within the Sea of Creation."

"Passengers, please prepare to disembark. Follow all safety precautions to ensure your well-being."

"..."

The broadcast began repeating the familiar safety precautions.

Li Luo picked up his already-packed belongings and stood waiting at the door.

However, the door remained shut. The robots in the corridor were bustling about, but none came to open the door for Li Luo.

"Passengers, please wait. The Sky Shuttle must first unload its cargo." The reminder came over the broadcast just as Li Luo was about to open the door himself.

’Unload cargo?’

’Is it those strange packages?’

Mo Ling quickly looked toward the cargo bay.

The cargo bay door was now open, and a retractable gangway extended onto the mirrored surface.

Meanwhile, the Sky Shuttle’s drill began to emit a strange, rhythmic humming sound.

’What are they doing?’

A group of robots stood guard at the front of the gangway, warily surveying their surroundings.

The humming continued, maintaining its steady rhythm.

Before long, a figure appeared at the edge of Mo Ling’s vision.

It was sprinting from the horizon toward the Sky Shuttle.

’What a strange creature.’ Mo Ling was stunned as soon as he got a clear look at it.

It was a bright red, plant-like person with skin like an apple peel. It ran with an extremely bizarre gait, frantically swinging its branch-like arms as juice dripped from its entire body.

It seemed to have been attracted by the Sky Shuttle’s humming and had run over quickly.

The Apple Man was very fast and quickly reached the edge of the Sky Shuttle.

The robots immediately blocked its path.

The Apple Man seemed very anxious, constantly trying to peer into the cargo bay, but a tall robot shifted its position to block its view.

The Apple Man panted, juice dripping incessantly from its body.

Finally, as if remembering something, it took out a crystal bottle and began to collect the juice dripping off its body.

Once the bottle was full, it capped it and handed it to the robot in front of it.

Then, in broken human speech, it asked, "Where’s my package?"

It sounded extremely anxious.

’It really is a package?’ Mo Ling was stunned when he heard the Apple Man’s words.

His guess had been correct after all. The cargo on the Sky Shuttle really was just packages—deliveries for other races.

The robot took the apple juice and weighed it in its hand.

"It’s enough."

The robot exchanged a glance with its companion, then walked toward the cargo bay. A moment later, it returned with a package.

"Your package. Sign here," the robot said flatly, holding out an electronic screen. "Your signature confirms you accept the goods as is. You will not be allowed to hold us responsible afterward."

"Okay, okay," the Apple Man agreed readily.

It then used a twig-like finger to draw a circle on the screen, and only then did the robot hand over the package.

Mo Ling watched, somewhat puzzled.

’Shouldn’t it inspect the package first?’

This Apple Man seemed unusually naive.

It didn’t seem to realize that signing first was a bad idea. It just took the package excitedly and began unwrapping it on the mirrored surface nearby.

Soon, the contents of the package were revealed.

It was a plastic model of an apple.

It looked like a cheap, low-quality plastic model used by humans for decoration, but the Apple Man held it with trembling hands.

It held the plastic apple up to the sunlight, examining it from all angles as if it had just received a peerless treasure it couldn’t bear to part with.

"A divine object! A divine object!" the Apple Man exclaimed, its hands trembling as it held the plastic apple.

Suddenly, as if realizing it shouldn’t flaunt its wealth, it immediately hid the plastic apple under its branch-like limbs.

The bright red plastic apple blended in with its own apple-peel skin, making it genuinely difficult to spot.

"Now that you have your package, you should leave," the robot said flatly to the Apple Man, who could barely contain its joy.

"Right, leaving now." The Apple Man secured its "divine object" and ran back the way it came, disappearing in a flash.

The scene left Mo Ling utterly dumbfounded.

’A divine object?’

’That plastic apple model is a divine object to an Apple Man?’

’Is this another case of humans exploiting an information gap, running a surefire business in the Sea of Creation?’

Back on Fishman Island, Mo Ling had learned that humans often traded with Abyssal Creatures. It was a simple way to acquire resources from the abyss.

’Of course, humans are a ’black-hearted’ species.’

’If they can buy gold for a dollar, they’ll never pay two.’

’By exploiting information gaps, they can often make a fortune.’

’Trades like swapping a lighter for gold with a primitive tribe are commonplace in the abyss, and humans have mastered the art.’

Seeing the Apple Man’s excitement, Mo Ling realized that the Sky Shuttle’s packages probably all served a similar purpose.

The apple juice they received in exchange was probably for research.

He just didn’t know what the Apple Man planned to do with its "divine object."

Perhaps it was related to the god-supplicating rituals of the Sea of Creation.

As Mo Ling was pondering this, a large crowd of figures began to converge from all directions, swarming toward the ship...