Chapter 254: Have You Ever Walked in the Dark?

Chapter 254: Chapter 254: Have You Ever Walked in the Dark?

The surroundings suddenly turned pitch black. Even the submarines’ equipped lights were useless, completely unable to illuminate the path ahead.

Everyone’s hearts leaped into their throats. Fortunately, the communication equipment still worked. They cheered each other on, which managed to dispel a bit of their fear.

"What do we do now? We can’t tell our direction at all," someone asked over the comms.

"Could it be that we were wrong before? The so-called black mist isn’t actually caused by those creatures blocking our view?"

"I don’t know! The main point is, what should we do now? I feel so panicked..."

Before this, Leila and the others hadn’t ignored the possibility of their vision going completely black. However, after deducing that the submarines might be pushed forward by some kind of creatures, they naturally assumed that their blocked vision was also due to the presence of those very creatures.

"It seems we took things too much for granted," Ao Ke said, his tone heavy.

Although they had solved the mystery of being pushed forward, they had overlooked the issue of their blocked vision.

"Fortunately, we are bound to the Killer Whale, and it doesn’t seem to be affected."

To better control the overall situation, Leila and Ao Ke were positioned at the head and tail, hanging at the front and back of the Killer Whale respectively. Because of the obstructed view, Leila, being at the very front, was much more sensitive to the Killer Whale’s forward movement than Ao Ke and the rest of the crew.

"But it doesn’t know where we want to go. What if it leads us the wrong way?" another crew member worried. Unlike Beastmen, no matter how smart a Killer Whale was, it couldn’t achieve perfect coordination with humans. Moreover, exploring the Mysterious Sea Area was inherently extremely dangerous; no one dared to truly entrust their lives entirely to a Killer Whale.

"Liang He said that when we are at our wits’ end, we must trust the Killer Whale’s judgment." Before setting off, Liang He had specifically briefed Leila on some precautions, which included situations she had anticipated. Now it seemed Liang He might have foreseen the exact problems they would encounter.

"Alright, since you all say so, let’s calm down first and see where the Killer Whale takes us."

After working together for the past few days, Ao Ke and the others had gained a clear understanding of Liang He’s abilities. Furthermore, since a Federal Colonel like Leila trusted her so implicitly, there seemed to be no need for the others to question her.

"However, if I sense something wrong, I will still contact the main control room and have them pull us back," Ao Ke added. He didn’t want to risk the lives of his fellow brothers just to save someone. Besides, before they set off, Goring had repeatedly instructed him to prioritize everyone’s safety and avoid acting impulsively.

"Agreed," Leila replied, not refuting Ao Ke’s words. It was just that they had finally managed to penetrate deep into the Mysterious Sea Area by relying on the Killer Whale. If they couldn’t uncover the truth, she would feel somewhat unwilling to give up.

"Leila, Ao Ke, can you hear me?"

Just as everyone fell silent, quietly observing the Killer Whale’s movements, Liang He’s voice suddenly echoed in their ears. Perhaps due to the distance, or maybe because of the influence of the Mysterious Sea Area, Liang He’s voice sounded somewhat ethereal, yet it brought them immense comfort. This indescribable, strange feeling seemed to inject a mysterious strength into everyone’s bodies, dispelling their panic and helplessness.

"We can hear you!" Leila was certain that Liang He had something important to say, so her response rang with excitement, completely unlike the strong, calm demeanor she had just displayed toward Ao Ke and the crew.

"Good. Now listen to me. Turn off all the submarine lights. Don’t be afraid, I will be with you the whole time." Standing in the main control room, Liang He’s tone was gentle yet full of determination.

She didn’t offer much explanation, but Leila and the others followed her instructions without hesitation, shutting down all their lights.

"Liang He, why did you tell them to turn off all the lights?" Lick asked, not quite understanding the purpose behind her actions. Based on the intel that had just been sent back, their vision was blocked just like before. If they turned off the lights on top of that, wouldn’t they truly become blind?

"Have you ever tried walking in the dark?" Facing everyone’s curious gazes, Liang He smiled faintly and threw out a simple question.

"Walking in the dark?" Pondering Liang He’s words, President Lucas suddenly looked up as if enlightened. "I know!"

As the elder with the most life experience, it wasn’t surprising to Liang He that President Lucas was the first to grasp her intention.

Just as Lick was about to ask President Lucas for an explanation, another commotion came from Leila’s end over the radio.

"We can see! We see it!"

See? See what? Wait! Weren’t their submarines blocked, rendering them unable to see anything?

"What on earth is going on?" Goring’s eyes widened. He leaned close to the communication equipment, wanting to get a clear picture of the situation. "Ao Ke! Can you hear me? What’s going on over there? What did you see?"

Hearing his direct superior’s voice, Ao Ke gradually calmed down from his excitement. He took a deep breath, picked up the communicator, and began to report to the main control room.

"Just now, we followed Liang He’s instructions and turned off all the lights. Only then did we realize there was a faint Light ahead."

The Mysterious Sea Area indeed obscured everyone’s vision, but it wasn’t completely pitch black. Rather, their instinctive fear of the dark had driven them to turn on all the submarine lights. This created an overly intense contrast between light and dark, ironically causing them to overlook the faint glimmer ahead.

"After gradually adapting to the darkness, we are actually able to see the scene ahead clearly," Ao Ke concluded.

No wonder the Killer Whale hadn’t seemed affected earlier and was able to continue moving forward.

"I remember now! Liang He, when you advised me on selecting personnel earlier, you said to avoid those with night blindness and prefer those with good night vision. Did you anticipate this from the start?!" Leila, having recovered her wits, sought answers from Liang He in disbelief.

She didn’t understand. They were all humans and had received the exact same intel. How could Liang He think of so much? She had even been the one to propose binding themselves to the Killer Whale!

"I just analyzed the information I got from the Tiger Whale Mother. I wasn’t even sure if it would work," Liang He said. Facing Leila’s awe, Liang He downplayed her contribution like a hidden sage. In her eyes, this had merely been a shot in the dark; she had no guarantee of its success whatsoever. "I didn’t hide it from everyone on purpose. Please don’t be angry."

Hearing Liang He’s apology, Leila and the others hurriedly waved their hands dismissively. Suddenly remembering that she couldn’t see them, they immediately replied over the comms.

"No, no! Why would we be angry? You’ve been a huge help!"

Previously, when exploring the Mysterious Sea Area, Leila had also turned on all the submarine lights due to her instinctive fear of the dark, which caused her to miss the opportunity to observe her surroundings. Now, with Liang He’s help, they could smoothly explore the depths of the Mysterious Sea Area. She couldn’t be more grateful.

"We are currently heading into the depths of the Mysterious Sea Area. We’ll contact you immediately if we find anything. We’ll sign off for now."

Time was tight, and none of them were overly sentimental. There was no need for further words of gratitude; figuring out the Mysterious Sea Area as soon as possible was better than anything else.

After hanging up the comms, Leila and the others continued their advance under the Killer Whale’s lead.

Meanwhile, on the surface of the sea, something unusual seemed to be happening.