The Almighty Ring

“I have not misjudged you, young Explorer. To think that you could solve my predicament at such speed. I’m now ready for war. Off you go then. Pay a visit to the Demolition General Frizt. He might need your help,” said Heinz as he patted Jiang Fei’s shoulder.

“Yes, commander,” said Jiang Fei as he left. From the looks of it, there would be no more quests from him. The next one should be Frizt.

As soon as he was heading toward Frizt, the entire world flashed in white light and Jiang Fei was logged out of the game. He was too engrossed in his newly obtained equipment that he had completely forgotten to check the time. Luckily the quest that he had got from Heinz was instantly completed.

Jiang Fei woke up in his makeshift hut with palm trees. The sky was still dark as the sun was still under the horizon. He took out some food and water from the ring and ate his breakfast. Although it was not wholesome, it was enough to fill him till he could finish his mission on finding the ship’s fragments. He wasted no time and quickly finished his breakfast and continued his search in the vast water.

“Where are we now?” asked Jiang Fei after three hours of surfing on the water. He had completely lost his sense of direction.

“We are located in the Mariana Archipelago. We are arriving at one of the islands soon,” said 0541.

“I see…”

The name Mariana Archipelago was not alien to him. He knew about it as it housed one of the deepest sea trenches in the world.

“Captain, I have picked up a signal. Please hold,” cried 0541 loudly thirty minutes later.

“What is it?”

Jiang Fei’s heart sank as he quickly stopped flying. They were current right on top of the Mariana Trench.

“It could be the signal of one of the Braveheart’s fragment. I could not identify it as the the signal is too weak,” said 0541.

“Oh man. I hope it’s not a false alarm!”

Jiang Fei braced himself to not expect much.

“Captain, request permission to start the high-intensity search!” asked 0541. The little ring was just a support system. Starting the high-tensity search would require a large amount of energy which required Jiang Fei’s direct permission to start.

“Start the search!” said Jiang Fei after thinking hard about it.

They were there to search the fragments in the first place. Even though they must save as much energy as they could, it would still be wise to spend some energy to search that faint signal! It was a gamble that Jiang Fei was willing to lose.

“Activating high-intensity search! Relaying the highest signal!”

Woosh!

As expected of the high-intensity search, Jiang Fei could feel powerful waves emitted by the ring. His fingers were vibrating intensely as 0541 directed the signal down into the water.

After ten minutes, Jiang Fei felt the ring suddenly stop emitting waves. Another five minutes later, the ring finally reported.

“Captain. I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?” asked 0541.

“Urgh. Gimme the bad one first,” said Jiang Fei as he rolled his eyes.

“You would have to start looking for energy sources as soon as we’re done here,” said 0541.

“Huh!? Are you telling me that just by using the searching function, you have already depleted your power reserve?”

“Negative. Although the search function had indeed consumed a considerable amount of power, I still have my power reserve running,” said 0541.

“Then why would you asked me to start searching for a power source!?”

“That’s because what we are about to do would consume at least 80% of my power reserves,” said 0541.

“What the hell?” cried Jiang Fei as he stood on the hover “sword” and frowned. He then suddenly thought about what 0541 had just said. They were about to do something that would consume 80% of the power reserves. That could only mean that 0541 had found something important!

“Tell me the good news.”

“Yes, Captain! Located at the absolute bottom of the Mariana Trench, also known as the Challenger’s Deep, is the Ship’s Bridge. We are only one step closer to finding the Data Center of Braveheart!”

“HO!?” cried Jiang Fei once more. This time, his heart rushed to his mouth, ready to pop out and dance along!

The Data Center! That was the part of the ship that 0541 had been mentioning every single time Jiang Fei encountered a problem. With the Data Center, he could have 0541 to make the perfect martial skill for him! He would no longer have to rely on weak martial skills learned from books and teachers! That was not all, after having the Data Center, Jiang Fei would be able to upgrade the Bio-Experimental Laboratory as well as the R&D Laboratory, enabling him to produce more potent drugs.

However, upon realizing the location of the Bridge, Jiang Fei started to worry. The Challenger’s Deep was at least 11,000 kilometers deep. The pressure down there would be too strong for any human to survive. Even a tank would be crushed into a pancake.

“Captain. There’s no need to worry about the water pressure. Remember, I would be using the power reserves to help you dive,” said 0541 after reading Jiang Fei’s thought.

“I see,” said Jiang Fei as he nodded.

“However, we mustn’t proceed now. Diving would take a long time and I suggest a proper rest before the expedition starts. Moreover, it would be wise to take this chance seriously. There will not be a second dive as my power reserve is predicted to deplete. If anything happens during the dive, we must resurface immediately and replenished the power reserves before attempting to dive again.”

“Alright. I understand the risk. In that case, let’s get some rest. Please find me a nearby land to rest,” said Jiang Fei.

He listened to 0541 advice and had a good rest. He ate some food and took a good nap. He was a little fatigued as he had been flying for almost the entire morning.

“Tsk… Just where is the Main Engine Room…?” wondered Jiang Fei as he woke from his power nap. Without the Main Engine Room, he would have to find more power sources for the ring. Going around the world and stealing Uraniums would not be a wise long-term idea since almost all of the Uranium mines are owned by big nations or big corporations. Even if he could take the form of Zhuge Shanzhen, he might be caught sooner or later. If Jiang Fei had taken a step too far, someone would eventually find him and defeat him.

“Argh… Might as well leave the Main Engine Room aside for now. I must first get that Data Center before anything else,” said Jiang Fei to himself. He lay down at the sandy beach and napped for about an hour before waking up, refreshed and energized.

“I’m ready, let’s proceed with the dive,” said Jiang Fei after he had stretched out.

“Very well, I have prepared diving gear. Please put them on and secure all the hatches and opening before diving in,’ said 0541 as it materialized a futuristic diving suit that looked and felt just like a regular wetsuit.

“Oh gods, please bless me! Keep me safe!” prayed Jiang Fei as he put on the suit.

“Let’s dive,” said Jiang Fei. He then got onto the sword and began his descent into the deepest part of the sea.