Cave Refuge

Of course, the other party just wanted to collect a tip and wasn't looking to get much from Dong Tianyu, so there was no need to give too much or too good of an item. Dong Tianyu actually understood the other's intention, so he took out a bottle of liquid, packaged in a clear plastic bottle, from the Storage Space and tossed it to the person.

"This contains grain alcohol. Please go on and give a detailed account of the recent changes in Magic City," he said.

The person caught the plastic bottle Dong Tianyu threw effortlessly and, right in front of Dong Tianyu, unscrewed the cap, took a sniff of the liquid inside—indeed smelling of alcohol—originally intended to take a small sip, but hesitated for a moment and ultimately decided against it, recapped the bottle and carefully hid it in his chest.

Seeing this cautious action, Dong Tianyu refrained from laughing. Although the small bottle of alcohol was nothing for him, it could be of considerable value to ordinary people—if they encountered a buyer who loved alcohol, the selling price could be beyond expectation.

"At the Magic Capital Base now, aside from the influx of high-tech equipment sent over from Kyoto Base, the main thing is...," the man said, cautiously looking around before continuing, "you remember how a fleet of foreigners was captured by our people, right?

I heard, and this is just what I've heard, that after interrogating those foreigners, the Imperial Court came to a general conclusion about the situation outside."

There's a rumor circulating inside the base that, while our land has been completely submerged by the flood, the situation outside isn't much better than ours, and because they weren't as well-prepared as we were, many places no longer have any survivors."

The last time the Imperial Court directly issued an exploratory mission outside was because the disaster had caused Blue Star to expand several times in size, rendering all previously drawn maps ineffective.

The Imperial Court intends to take advantage of the flood, with all lands now becoming aquatic territory, to allow ships to navigate freely in all waters, and, with this opportunity, use sonar equipment to redraw the map of Blue Star."

Although the man said so much, none of this was of interest to Dong Tianyu, so he casually remarked, "Is that it?"

Seeing that the information he provided didn't catch Dong Tianyu's attention, the man thought that if he shared information Dong Tianyu wanted to know, he might get more in return. After biting his lip and a tumultuous internal struggle, he hesitated whether to share that piece of information with Dong Tianyu.

Seeing the man's expression, Dong Tianyu already knew that he must possess some more secretive information. He was just torn internally and unsure if he would share it.

Dong Tianyu didn't rush the still-hesitant person, despite really wanting to know what information was making the man deliberate so much. But Dong Tianyu also feared that speaking up might be counterproductive, either firmly deciding not to tell or intending to tell but demanding an exorbitant price from Dong Tianyu.

So, the best course of action for Dong Tianyu was to remain unchanged in response to all changes, waiting to see if the man would come around on his own. If the man, after much thought, still didn't want to speak up, then Dong Tianyu would reconsider whether to raise his offer.

Just as the man ceased his struggle and was about to leave, a change in his posture caused the hidden bottle of alcohol to brush against his body.

The resolve he had initially set wavered again, resulting in a resigned sigh.

"I discovered this secret unintentionally. Once I leave this place, if you try to confront me, I won't admit to anything," he said.

Seeing no reaction from Dong Tianyu, who just looked at him attentively, the man, at this point, could only pray that Dong Tianyu was a generous man who would keep his word.

"There's no need to go into the domestic situation; what's noteworthy is that intelligent beings apart from humans have appeared abroad. These intelligent beings are definitely not native to Blue Star but are Otherworldly Creatures that have arrived in an unknown manner.

These Otherworldly Creatures look very much like the Merfolk that legends say lived in Atlantis, distinct from the Fishmen in the Ghost Ship with human bodies and fish heads; these Merfolk have human-like upper bodies and fish-like lower bodies.

That's not even the remarkable part, but someone dissected a Merfolk and found a Bead in the Merfolk's heart. Because the Bead is located in the heart, it's also referred to as the Merfolk Pearl."

It's rumored that although Merfolk don't possess gills like other aquatic creatures, they can breathe normally underwater because of this Bead.

People say anyone who consumes the Bead from the Merfolk's heart, not only will they not need gills like the Fishmen but they will also gain the ability to live freely underwater just like the Merfolk.

With the flood, all cities lie deep beneath the water, and materials and resources have to be collected gradually by the scavenging teams from the depths.

All this I heard by chance; I can't guarantee one hundred percent of its truthfulness, but personally, I think it's very likely to be true.

I just didn't hear where those people found the Merfolk, nor do I know the exact location of the Merfolk."