Chapter 609: Section 396: Fishman Youth Makes His Entrance!
Deep Sea Monster Fish.
Alchemy Cabin.
Zhongyong tipped his head back and gulped down a potion, instantly feeling revitalized. After days and nights of relentless alchemy, his weary body regained a burst of new strength.
Behind him, the light of the Alchemy Array slowly faded, revealing the fruits of his recent alchemy efforts.
“Squad leader, the dual-ear reconnaissance puppets have been completed,” he communicated to the Dragon-man youth.
Soon after, the cabin door slid open, and the “Dragon-man youth” entered.
Zhongyong quickly went forward to meet him and introduced, “These dual-ear puppets utilize sonic transmission alchemy technique. They can emit sound waves of multiple frequencies, and the range of frequencies is quite large.”
“Using them to explore the Ocean Nest not only allows us to detect the situation inside the nest but the sound waves can also pass through the cave walls for some external surveillance.”
The Dragon-man youth slightly nodded, “So, do these puppets have any disadvantages?”
Zhongyong replied, “The downside is their energy consumption. They consume a lot of energy and need frequent substantial replenishments.”
“Besides, they are very fragile because they are focused on reconnaissance and have weak combat capabilities.”
“Lastly, their reconnaissance time is quite long, which is greatly related to the way sound waves are utilized. We need to secretly deploy them, letting them swim around the nest, drop down, and continuously emit sound waves for surveillance, at least for 24 hours, before we can obtain interim results.”
The Dragon-man youth then asked, “Then, when can we detect the situation outside the nest?”
“This…” Zhongyong showed a troubled expression and slightly shook his head, “Squad leader, I’ve only heard about the Ocean Nest and am not familiar with its secrets. I can’t estimate the time the sound waves will take to penetrate the nest’s cave walls, as the material and thickness of the walls are significant factors.”
The Dragon-man youth questioned further, “So, using these reconnaissance puppets, would that sea beast in the Holy Domain react? Would the emitted sound waves awaken it or even enrage it?”
Zhongyong shook his head, “I’m not sure, sir.”
“That Holy Domain sea beast has always been coiled up; we don’t know its true identity.”
“Each living creature has a range of hearing. If the sound waves are outside the hearing range of the Holy Domain sea beast, then perhaps there will be no impact.”
“If it’s within the hearing range, it also depends on the specific volume.”
“My suggestion is that we can start with a trial. Adjusting the potency from low to high, and testing it step by step.”
“I think there’s still a risk. Even a Holy Domain sea beast, not venturing out and purely minded, getting awakened from slumber might still experience some form of ‘morning grumpiness,’ right?”
“Squad Leader, this is somewhere on the ocean floor. Such a battle environment won’t allow your combat abilities to shine fully, and my combat capabilities are also weak…”
Watching Zhongyong hesitate, the Dragon-man youth smiled, “Don’t worry. This moving Alchemy Ship has certain combat capabilities.”
“I am not going into battle myself; I’m only Silver Level.”
“Nor will I let you go into battle and risk yourself; your value lies in alchemy.”
“I am confident in the Alchemy Ship’s ability to disguise, and also, on board, there are my trusted confidants, my capable generals!”
“Come in. Houlang, you are also a Fishman; meet Zhongyong.”
Zhongyong immediately showed interest.
According to the Dragon-man youth, there were other individuals on the Alchemy Ship.
This person was extraordinary, a senior member of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, deeply trusted by the leader of Long Fu and he was also a Fishman!
In the next moment, the Alchemy Cabin door slid aside again, and a Fishman walked in from outside.
This Fishman was quite tall at 1.6 meters.
In the Fishman race, this height was already considered above average.
He was corpulent, with a bulging abdomen, thighs, and arms, clearly filled with subcutaneous fat. His body was covered in deep blue scales adorned with black wave patterns.
His eyes were large and pure black, giving a deep and intense impression.
The Life Breath he emitted informed Zhongyong that this was a Silver Level Extraordinary Fishman.
“Hello, my name is Zhongyong, I recently joined the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps,” Zhongyong swiftly introduced himself.
The Dragon-man youth nodded in response, “I am Houlang, always stationed on this underwater Alchemy Ship. I’ve heard about you; it’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time.”
The one who had just spoken with Zhongyong was actually an Alchemy Puppet equipped with a Communication Device.
Through Deception and Disguise Skill and Anti-Intelligence Prophecy Skill, the Dragon-man youth transformed himself into his Dragon-man form. His real body, however, took on the appearance of a Fishman.
This way, he could hide many secrets in front of Zhongyong.
For example, currently onboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish, there were only the Dragon-man youth and Zhongyong.
Another example was that the squad leader, Long Fu, could easily change life forms!
“You guys go ahead, I have other things to attend to,” the “Dragon-man youth” was the first to leave the scene.
Hou Lang and Zhongyong saw him off.
In the Alchemy Cabin, only the two Fishmen remained.
The Dragon-man youth—no, to be precise, the Fishman youth—truly began to examine the Reconnaissance Puppets in the Alchemy Array.
These puppets looked like rabbits, with two long ears standing up; one ear emitted sound waves, while the other received them.
“Zhongyong, with you joining, our alchemical capabilities have significantly improved. Previously, we wouldn’t have been able to create these,” the Fishman youth complimented.
Zhongyong smiled, “This model of Alchemy Puppet is indeed exquisite. When I first got the Alchemy Diagram, I spent a long time researching it.”
“I’ve found that our group’s alchemy knowledge is quite refined.”
“When I was tested to join the group, I encountered a question involving a wondrous Alchemy Array. Theoretically analyzed, its effect relates to Bloodlines.”
“Even if these two-eared reconnaissance puppets were placed within the Alchemy Guild of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, they would still be considered rare masterpieces.”
“I’m going to craft other models of Reconnaissance Puppets next. These puppets will only be stronger than the two-eared sound wave Investigators!”
The Fishman youth assessed Zhongyong, “It seems you are very motivated working here, which is great.”
“I was a bit worried earlier that you might not adapt well to this environment.”
“Not at all!” Zhongyong shook his head. “Even when I was in the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, I hardly ever left my home, spending every day either on alchemy experiments or practicing alchemy.”
“The field of alchemy is so vast, I could spend my entire life and still not grasp all its mysteries.”
“An even more wonderful aspect is that the field of alchemy is continuously expanding.”
“In this world, there are those alchemical geniuses, standing at the forefront of certain fields—each minor achievement they make is unprecedented. Our field of alchemy expands like this, evolving day by day.”
“I am willing to dedicate my life to alchemy!”
Moved, Zhongyong’s eyes filled with sincere emotion.
“Ah, I am sorry, Mr. Hou Lang. It’s our first meeting, and here I am talking about all these meaningless things,” Zhongyong suddenly realized and apologized to the Fishman youth.
Normally, even among the same species, it would be abrupt to share such innermost thoughts upon a first meeting.
But the Fishman youth had already anticipated this.
He patted Zhongyong on the shoulder: “I see your Mage’s heart, Zhongyong. I am glad our group has gained another Fishman.”
“You adapting here is great.”
“If the opportunity arises, I will speak to the squad leader about giving you the chance to conduct alchemy experiments.”
“Really? That would be wonderful!” Zhongyong’s face lit up with joy.
Currently, he could only perform alchemy, continuously work, and did not have the authority for independent designing of experiments, exploring, and verifying on the Deep Sea Monster Fish.
“To be honest, seeing a member of my own species here feels really good.”
Zhongyong said, “I’ve always had a worry because, as you know, the squad leader is a Dragon-man, and most of the members of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps are from the Human Race.”
The barriers of race are omnipresent.
Zhongyong couldn’t help harboring such concerns.
The Fishman youth really wanted to tell him that his worries were completely unnecessary; in this team, what’s a Fishman? We even have an Undead Mage.
He then consoled and encouraged Zhongyong some more before leaving the Alchemy Cabin.
After the conversation, Zhongyong felt rejuvenated, a newfound vigor surging from deep within, propelling him into a new round of alchemy endeavors.
Meanwhile, the Fishman youth summarized the meeting: “Is this the effect of the Familiarity Aura?”
This was one of the extraordinary powers his Fishman Form brought.