BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM-Chapter 1319: The Vermillion Lake (9)

Erik plunged into the murky and cold waters and dove. The surface light grew distant, smaller, and feebler as he went deeper into the lake.

His clones already spread through the watery area and started searching, but ten Dark Shapes swam around Erik. They were there to observe his immediate surroundings and ensure nothing dangerous was there.

Visibility inside the water was scarce, and whatever thaid used to hunt in these waters could come without Erik even realizing.

There was a limit to how much the biological supercomputer and Erik’s Instability could detect. The lake was large, and the thaids there were swift enough to reach him in a matter of seconds. That meant that Erik might not detect them in time, and the system itself could be fooled.

Erik channeled mana into his Elemental Lord brain crystal power’s neural links to manipulate water. He created a pocket of air around his head, allowing him to breathe normally despite being submerged. The bubble remained stable as he swam downward, pushing against the increasing pressure.

Even with the air bubble, Erik struggled to see more than a few meters ahead. The water grew darker with each meter of descent, and particles of sediment floated like snow in the murky depths, making it impossible for him to see farther than three meters.

<Well, I’m here to lure the thaids after all,> Erik thought, adjusting his eyes to the darkness.

Through the Hive Mind, his clones fed information back to Erik—water temperature changes, terrain features, and potential threats. It was like having ten additional sets of eyes searching.

<Any sign of structures?> Erik asked through the mental link.

<No artificial structures detected yet, but many of us spotted movement throughout the lake.>

Multiple Thaids patrolled these waters, some small and easy to avoid, others large enough to warrant caution.

Erik swam deeper, following a gradual slope toward the center of the lake. His scouts reported a drop-off ahead—a steep underwater cliff that plunged into darker depths.

The Hive Mind then flared. Three Dark Shapes at the front had detected something rapidly approaching.

<Be careful, master.>

Erik couldn’t see it yet himself, but the mental image projected through the Hive Mind showed a creature with elongated fins and rows of needle-like teeth.

<Incoming threat, twenty meters ahead, moving fast.>

Erik focused, drawing more mana into Elemental Lord. The water around his right arm swirled, compressed, and then extended outward, taking the shape of a blade.

As the creature shot past his scouts, ignoring them in favor of the larger prey, Erik prepared to kill it. The issue was that the creature’s blood would attract more Thaids to his location.

Though he came there for that very reason. As soon as Erik saw the creature, he asked the system to analyze it.

—[Analysis]—

Race: Nyxab⁠

Physical Description: An aquatic predator approximately 2 meters. Its body is covered in scales for ease of movement in the water. The creature has multiple rows of needle-like teeth and specialized fins that allow for rapid acceleration in water.

Brain Crystal Power: Liquid Beam (Bα3B): The Nyxab can shoot concentrated beams of pressurized water.

{Attributes}

STRENGTH: 330

INTELLIGENCE: 2

DEXTERITY: 154

ENERGY: 493

{Others}

Power Level: 782

Estimated experience by killing it: 24,487,177.67

—[End]— novelbuddy.cσ๓

Erik released the compressed water blade before the creature could attack. It cut through without resistance, slicing clean through the Thaid’s body.

The creature jerked once before going limp, dark blood clouding the water. Erik pushed it away, watching as it drifted toward the lake floor.

[Hostile creature killed: Mana-absorbing process starting.]

[0%...1%...5%...30%...70%...100%]

[Mana successfully absorbed, starting converting procedure.]

[3...2...1...0]

[Mana successfully absorbed into experience. 24487177.69 experience points awarded to the host.]

<Now we wait.>

He mentally turned to the clones close to him.

<Be careful, the party is going to start soon.>

The scouts resumed their search, spreading out in a wider formation this time, since they were expecting the thaids to smell the blood and drown the area.

Erik continued his descent, approaching the underwater cliff his scouts had found. Standing at its edge, he looked down into the abyss below, considering Emily’s vision.

She had seen the lake. It was not the serene abyss beneath her she had seen, but the surrounding area. The waters were filled with Thaids; he got there less than two minutes earlier, and yet he already killed one. They were weaker than he assumed, but they were fast.

He might have been unlucky, but he was inclined to think the waters were just filled with Thaids. It only made sense there was something dangerous inside the waters.

<Maybe the monster isn’t here yet,> Erik said to himself. <Or maybe it’s sleeping somewhere below.>

Either way, he was going to fight it, regardless. The lab had to be secured, so the beast had to die, and so did all the other thaids. But while he could take care of the weaker thaid by simply electrifying the waters, he doubted a beast as strong as Emily claimed would just be killed by such an attack.

<Any news?>

The Dark Shapes shared their findings. None had noticed anything resembling a facility yet, though several noted curious forms in the lakebed they were currently investigating.

<Continue searching,> Erik said. <Focus on areas where the bottom topography seems unnatural. Look for straight lines, perfect angles, anything that wouldn’t form naturally.>

As his scouts spread out further, Erik descended the underwater cliff. The water grew significantly colder here, and the pressure increased. He adjusted his air bubble, reinforcing it to resist the crushing force.

Then something caught his eye—a glint of white against the dark lake floor. Erik got closer.

<Maybe it’s a piece of equipment. If it is, I can be sure the lab is here.>

When Erik reached for the item and brushed away the layers of silt with his hand, he froze in place. Upon closer inspection, what he hoped was research equipment turned out to be something else.

<Well, not that I didn’t expect it. Besides, that proved even more that the lab was there.>

Erik just found a human skull.