Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 725: Chapter 724: Welcome to the Extreme Cold

Seeing is believing, and since Fang Zheng asked, Nymph naturally found the footage from that time to play.

”This is the footage captured by probe number 2333 in the waters of District 15.”

With Nymph’s explanation, Fang Zheng saw on the screen before him a seabed overgrown with various kinds of underwater plants. One could even see various fish shuttle through, and a depth display on the side indicated that at first, probe number 2333 was at a depth of 500 meters, then it gradually descended to a depth of 1000 meters, 1500 meters...

As the probe descended along the seabed, the surrounding scenery began to change. Initially, one could see various underwater plants and schools of fish, but as the probe went deeper, the ubiquitous seaweed and coral reefs gradually disappeared, and even the shapes of the fish slowly began to turn bizarre. Fang Zheng even saw several large creatures that looked similar to whales, but they seemed non-aggressive, perhaps mistaking the probe for some small fish and paying it no mind.

”Beep beep beep...!”

And just then, a series of alert tones rang out, and at the same time, the probe seemed to have discovered something. It quickly changed direction and then directly ”jumped” off a cliff to the depths of 5000 meters. There was no light at all here, but the probe’s own dark exploration capabilities still allowed Fang Zheng to clearly see the surroundings.

Next, probe number 2333 rapidly sent out search signals, then it seemed to find the direction and started to head toward the side of a large rift on the seabed. It then dove into a cave that appeared to be about one person tall. After passing through a long passage, suddenly, everything before it opened up dramatically.

”This is...!”

Seeing the scene before him, Fang Zheng was also surprised as he stared wide-eyed. After passing through the narrow cave, what appeared before probe number 2333 was a huge hollow. Around the hollow, there were Spirit Crystals shining with Magic Power light everywhere! The largest of them was as big as a room, and the smallest was the size of a basketball, and judging from the light emitted by these Spirit Crystals, their purity was also quite high!

This was truly a treasure trove!!

At that moment, the probe’s point of view shifted again, and it seemed to be about to take some samples back for analysis, but just as the probe was about to collect the Spirit Crystal samples, the screen suddenly turned and then went completely black.

”...What’s going on?”

Staring at the black screen before him, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but be stunned, and Nymph also timely provided an explanation.

”At that moment, the signal from probe 2333 was interrupted and disappeared.”

”...That quickly?”

Hearing Nymph’s response, Fang Zheng was also greatly shocked. That was a probe, after all! Each probe was equipped with a Plasma Barrier! Ordinary creatures, no matter how powerful, should give the probe a moment to withstand an attack, but it got killed in a flash before it could react?

”After that, I dispatched a team of six probes once again to search the target area.”

As she spoke, Nymph opened another video, this time showing six probes, formed into teams of three, following the previous probe’s ill-fated route to search again. Just like before, when the probes reached the destination, they encountered no danger, but as they began attempting to collect from the Spirit Crystal Mine, they were suddenly ”killed” on the spot.

However, this time Nymph had made preparations in advance, so before the probes were ”killed,” they managed to send back the image of the attacker—Roughly a dozen tentacles of various sizes suddenly burst out from within the pitch-black caves, piercing straight through the probes and then quickly retracting, taking the probes with them... The whole event probably took less than two seconds.

”There’s even this kind of tactic...!”

Watching the footage that lasted less than two seconds, Fang Zheng was also taken aback. Was he watching The Abyss? What on earth was this creature?

”After that, we conducted another exploration of this area and found a huge Monster hidden beneath the Earth’s crust... It looked like some kind of soft-bodied organism. From the looks of it, it seemed to have settled there, ambushing and capturing any occasional intruders for food... It’s roughly... this big.”

As Nymph spoke, the screen in front of Fang Zheng quickly changed to a map, and then Nymph drew a circle on it with her hand...

”Pfft!!”

Seeing the red area marked on the map, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of water.

”It’s that big?”

”At least from the life fluctuation readings, it’s about that big...”

No wonder Fang Zheng was so surprised—the area was at least the size of three football fields!

What the hell kind of Monster was this, as big as three football fields, are you kidding me?

Although deep-sea Monster movies always feature creatures of various sizes, they shouldn’t be this outrageously huge!

And considering an Attack Power that could instantly kill a probe with a single tentacle... who knows how many tentacles it had given its massive size.

”So, this thing has taken over an entire Spirit Crystal Vein and turned it into its own shell? Then it hides inside to launch sneak attacks; how do we deal with this?”

Looking at the 3D analysis diagram on the screen, Fang Zheng was quite frustrated. If this creature was like those found guarding spiritual herbs and divine medicines in Immortal Hero novels, it would be manageable. He could have simply used a Soulstone and dealt with it. But now it had cunningly turned the entire Spirit Crystal Vein into its shell, complicating matters for Fang Zheng. Although he was certain that he could squash it with a slap of the Star Forging Dragon King, that slap would pulverize his Spirit Crystal Vein as well...

Similarly, the Fleet Girls were no help this time, and as for Kurumi, Yoshino, and Illya, they need not be mentioned; tentacles were the natural predators of Magical Girls...

As for the Soulstones he had on hand...

Fang Zheng rummaged through them and found that the only one he could use was... Malthael.

If that creature needed to feed, then it must be alive. And as long as it was alive, wouldn’t the Angel of Death just need to swing its scythe to settle the matter? After that, whether it was mining the corpse or whatever, wouldn’t it all be a piece of cake?

”Wait for me to deal with it, and then get ready to mine!”

With that thought in mind, Fang Zheng decisively made a decision. He refused to believe that he couldn’t take down a giant tentacle monster with Malthael’s assistance.

Fang Zheng was quick to act. Once he had identified his next target, he immediately boarded the Warship of Sea Mist and headed for the designated area.

But then...

”...how the hell did I not realize that I actually have thalassophobia?”

Looking through the porthole at the pitch-black sea and catching glimpses of colossal shadows swept by the lights, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but feel his legs trembling. Even though, rationally speaking, Iona’s warship felt extremely safe—indifferent even to starship barrages—he inexplicably felt less secure underwater than in space.

But speaking of which...

”Iona, why have you shrunk?”

Looking at Iona sitting next to him, Fang Zheng curiously asked. Previously, when Nymph suggested he travel in Iona’s vessel to handle the giant monster, Fang Zheng felt it was overkill to deploy a battleship. But he was surprised to find out when Iona’s ship arrived that it had actually shrunk. Wasn’t the modified Iona supposed to be a Hell Angel-class Battleship several kilometers long, and now she had downsized into a mere 300-meter-long Annihilation-level... ƒrēeNovelFire.com

”It was Miss Musashi’s decision.”

In response to Fang Zheng’s confusion, Nymph who was beside him quickly provided the answer.

”According to Miss Musashi, since Miss Iona did not complete her mission, she has been demoted. Currently, the Hell Angel Class is under the control of 400 and 402, while Miss Iona has been relegated to the Annihilation Level...”

”...”

In that moment, Iona also turned around and nodded at Fang Zheng.

”I made a mistake, so I must be punished. Originally, according to Miss Musashi, I should have been assigned toilet cleaning duties...”

”...I never expected your Mind Models to be this tough...”

Fang Zheng had little to say in response. Despite their soft and cute appearances, these Mind Models operated with an unwavering military discipline style.

However, the Army had its own rules, and Fang Zheng naturally didn’t feel it was his place to say much more.

”Iona, we’ve reached our destination.”

At that moment, accompanied by Iona’s voice, the warship gradually came to a halt. Then the lights came on, illuminating the pitch-black seabed below. Looking at the dark surroundings, Fang Zheng swallowed nervously.

Thalassophobia is really a killer...

”Well, I’ll be right back... Oh, and be ready.”

While speaking, Fang Zheng reached out his hand and opened the Dimensional Codex.

Then he activated the Angel of Death Soulstone that he hadn’t used in a while.