ALL NOVEL Chapter 073 – Ice Soul’s Debut
Before long, she arrived at the pier and saw the Coast Guard’s airship. Its speed was incomparable to her Poseidon. The pilot proudly said it was the fastest in the country. They circled the outer sea, attracting a lot of attention from tourists who took many photos.
The pilot didn't quite understand why they had to greet the orca before leaving.
Only the tourists noticed the orca following the Coast Guard’s ship for a while before diving back into the water and disappearing. They joked that the village chief had run off with the orca.
She was taken to a cruise ship heading from Shanghai to the high seas. It took the Coast Guard airship three hours to catch up. Qiao Jinnian and another soldier about his age were already waiting.
These two, standing on the deck, were immediately recognizable as soldiers. Zhao Zhao said to Yaoguang, “If this were an undercover mission, they would be exposed as soon as they stepped out.”
She expected Qiao Jinnian to introduce the person next to him first, but instead, he asked, “Aren’t you cold?”
It was quite sudden.
“No. ...Is it just the three of us?”
Qiao Jinnian then briefly introduced the other person, Ding Wei, who specialized in diving and close combat.
The three of them went to a cabin, and Zhao Zhao learned more about the mission. Qiao Jinnian did most of the talking, and this was the first time she heard him speak so much. Ding Wei, meanwhile, barely spoke and kept showing his little tiger teeth in a grin.
The mission location was near Japan's territorial waters. Someone had taken something important out and was caught, but the item wasn’t found on the ship. It's suspected to have been thrown into the sea.
“They secretly searched the area but found nothing. The ship’s navigation system indicated it had been near Japan's territorial waters, and Japan might also be aware. Recently, there have been many ships passing through that sea area. Our plan is to reach that area on the Lixing and then secretly dive. Here are the signal transmitters; there will be a disguised fishing boat to pick us up later.”
Qiao Jinnian handed each of them a signal transmitter and continued, “The smallest volume of the box is about 50 liters. It’s suspected to be disguised before being thrown into the sea. We have already searched the area once without success. The water depth in that area is between 200 and 300 meters. We have limited information. The criminal remains silent, likely to protect his overseas family. We have to rely on ourselves. This mission is dangerous. Don’t stray too far after entering the water. Japan is also monitoring the area. If we are discovered in their territorial waters... don’t show mercy.”
He said this while looking at her. She understood that in a life-or-death situation, she couldn’t hesitate. It was either them or her. Of course, it had to be them.
Qiao Jinnian didn’t want her to join because the danger wasn’t just from the sea but also from potential military and enemy agents from Japan.
Such missions were not for civilians. It required risking one’s life.
Qiao Jinnian then took out a gun and handed it to her, “Do you need me to show you how to use it?”
Zhao Zhao shook her head and refused, “It’s not very useful underwater. I have my own weapons.”
A gun needed to be used at close range in deep water, and if it came to that, she wouldn’t need a gun.
As they approached the Miyako Strait, Qiao Jinnian couldn’t help but remind her again before they disembarked, “If you encounter enemies and they see your face, don’t leave any survivors. ...Are you sure you won’t wear a wetsuit? It will be very cold.”
“I'm not cold.”
“Wearing one would hinder my movements. I can dive to over 400 meters without one.” Zhao Zhao strapped on a specially-made oxygen tank for appearances.
Under the cover of night, the three silently slipped into the water, each responsible for a different area.
Remembering Meng Hui’s request, Zhao Zhao asked Yaoguang to keep an eye on Qiao Jinnian.
At 300 meters deep, the signal was blocked, making it difficult to use instruments, and they had to rely on manual searching. It was very dark, and visibility was low. Zhao Zhao could see better using her spiritual power, but the other two likely struggled more, also having to overcome the fear of the unknown in the dark depths.
She released Siren to add to her protection.
“I’ve kicked every rock in my path. Who knows if we’ll find it tonight,” Zhao Zhao chatted with Yaoguang while working.
“Do you think there’s a trick to this? They probably used a metal sealed box, disguised it, and added an outer layer. Qiao Jinnian said they used probes to search the sea but found nothing.”
Yaoguang genuinely marveled, “Humans are truly cunning.”
“I almost feel sorry for the other two. I have Siren and you with me. Those poor guys are dragging heavy diving equipment through the dark sea at 300 meters. Keep an eye on them and alert me if anything happens.”
Yaoguang retorted, “Then hurry up and search. Why are you clinging to Siren?”
“I’m searching while thinking if there’s a way to cheat with my skills. Searching piece by piece could take until next year. We can’t add more people either; if 300 people were sent in, the Japanese military would notice even if they were blind. Are we really relying on luck? I’ve never won the lottery.”
Yaoguang disagreed, “You found me. Isn’t that luck enough? Is that comparable to a lottery?”
Zhao Zhao reminded it, “My grandfather found you.”
It really is.
Cheating wasn’t an option. A disguised dead object thrown into the sea wouldn’t be found by Yaoguang, let alone her.
Resigning to her fate, she started searching earnestly, turning over every rock, checking every trench, and even inspecting the sea garbage carried by the currents. She found a stick in Yaoguang’s realm and began to poke around with it.
“This job really sucks, ugh, so dirty!”
Yaoguang: “Weren’t you the one insisting on coming, even though Qiao Jinnian didn’t want you to? Be honest, did you come because you were attracted to him?”
Zhao Zhao: “If you keep talking like this, you’ll lose me!”
At this point, she was stubbornly denying it, insisting that she had a genuine liking for the soldier brother.
“If he hadn’t mentioned the danger, I would’ve declined. Think about it, can those soldiers in the army beat me? I came because of the danger. I might save many soldiers on this mission. And if the Japanese find it, that would be even more frustrating!”
“You have quite the awareness.”
“Of course, I’m a patriotic fairy.”
“That wasn’t a compliment. They’re getting farther apart. Not only are they bad at diving, but their sense of direction is terrible.” Yaoguang began to complain.
“Stop poking around. Even Siren got driven away.”
Zhao Zhao turned around to see that Siren had indeed retreated quite a distance. “Honey, how could you do this?”
She didn’t put down the stick, continuing to poke around the seabed.
“Ugh, I feel like a scavenger. We’ve been down here for three hours. The compressed oxygen is sufficient, but I don’t know how much longer they can hold out physically.”
Yaoguang concentrated and sensed the two people far away. “There’s trouble. If they didn’t activate the signal, it means enemies have arrived. There are eleven people over there.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhao knew they had to act quickly. “We need to go! Siren!”
She climbed onto Siren’s back, and Yaoguang pointed her in the right direction. “Siren, faster! Yaoguang, are they okay?”
The underwater environment affected their speed, so they ascended slightly. Sure enough, in the northeast direction, there was a ship – not a friendly one.
She kept urging Siren, helping it break through the water’s resistance.
They arrived quickly. At a depth of 100 meters, they saw powerful lights that didn’t come from Qiao Jinnian and Ding Wei.
Descending rapidly, a horrifying scene unfolded.
Several people in uniform diving suits floated in the water, dead.
Blood seeped through their suits, but what frightened her was that Ding Wei seemed to have lost consciousness.
His limbs were limp, and he floated in the water with blood nearby, his face obscured.
Seven or eight people surrounded the two of them. Someone fired at Ding Wei, and Qiao Jinnian, engaged in a struggle with several others, tried to shield him...
There was no time for fear or hesitation. They had to act swiftly to get them out of the deep sea. Their diving suits were already damaged. If they delayed any longer, she might escape, but those two would perish here.
In that moment, Zhao Zhao understood. She couldn’t hide her strength anymore. She drew out Ice Soul, tossing the dagger she had prepared into Yaoguang’s realm.
She quickly joined the fight, taking out an enemy with one swift move, her hands steady.
She maneuvered past two others, positioning herself between Qiao Jinnian, Ding Wei, and their attackers.
Yaoguang transmitted to her that both were injured, their diving suits damaged. Qiao Jinnian was in better shape, but Ding Wei was in bad condition.
Zhao Zhao signaled Qiao Jinnian with her eyes to finish it quickly, hoping he understood.
A swift move of Blue Sea Tide toppled the remaining six, and she drove Ice Soul into the neck of an enemy who hadn’t managed to get up. Qiao Jinnian was no slower, his knife precise and lethal, taking down the enemies before they could grab their weapons.
She took down two, and he dealt with four, showing remarkable efficiency. Zhao Zhao briefly wondered who was the cultivator between them.
She had an inkling, as her sharpened sixth sense after cultivation was usually accurate. He didn’t want her to kill, but now her hands were stained.
After Yaoguang confirmed the enemies were all dead, she checked Ding Wei’s oxygen tank, which was still functioning, and he was still breathing. She sighed in relief.
They needed to leave immediately. There was still an enemy ship above.
Zhao Zhao quickly summoned Siren, who was still loitering around, seemingly unfazed by the commotion.
Qiao Jinnian was already working to break open a large reef. She understood and helped with Ice Soul. The reef was incredibly solid...
Together, they soon extracted a box from inside the reef. They actually found it?
The reef was three meters long, surrounded by smaller stones as part of the disguise. This was more convincing than Meng Hui’s Dragon Palace. The person who hid this put in serious effort. Who would think it was hidden in such a heavy fake rock?
She gestured for Qiao Jinnian to place Ding Wei on Siren’s back. She climbed on, signaling Qiao Jinnian to hold onto her waist, and she grabbed Ding Wei, quickly heading towards the high seas.
