Lin Xian felt that everything he wanted to say next turned into nonsense.
Taking the wine glass from Monicaâs hand, Lin Xian didnât speak, and Monica took a sip of wine, glanced at him, and seeing his silence, she slightly raised her brows and said
"You worry too much. Look, even if we are on a train under the deep sea, we still have to sleep when itâs time to sleep."
She walked to the porthole, and her face was reflected on the star dust glass of the pitch-black deep sea.
"In one moment, life; in another, death. Life and death may both be destined. In that case, why not try to break through the power of evolution and see where the limits of the human species lie?"
"Limits?" Lin Xian swirled the wine glass thoughtfully and said, "Can the forces of the dark side defeat darkness?"
Monica smiled faintly, looking at Lin Xian said, "Arenât you just trying to say, if the Dark Civilization wants to annihilate Blue Star, why would it give humans the power to resist? Many people have this thought. When I was fleeing on Star Orbital, I met some people. The optimists think itâs a power of assimilation, a transformation by higher civilizations, where humanity is reborn. The pessimists think itâs an experiment by the Dark Civilization, that human evolution is merely a test subject, and the dawn we pursue is nothing but a futile endeavor."
"And you, what do you think?" Lin Xian asked.
Monica shrugged, "I recognize both, or I recognize neither."
"Actually, does it really matter what the truth is? If humans donât have superpowers, they use technological weapons to resist. With superpowers, they research evolution to fight back. Itâs like a drowning person grabbing at anything that comes close, whether itâs straw or thorns, without hesitation."
After she finished, she looked at Lin Xian, her gaze profound.
"Low-level civilizations donât have the right to choose. If on Apocalypse Day the Dark Civilization annihilated Blue Star, the purpose was only to treat Blue Star as a speck of dust. Do all the thoughts, hatred, and force fields matter?"
"Eradicating you has nothing to do with you." Lin Xian replied calmly, recalling this famous line he once read in a sci-fi novel.
"Exactly." Monica stepped towards Lin Xian, "If increasing the superpower index by twofold can raise the survival rate even by just 1%, itâs worth the gamble, isnât it?"
"Youâre right." Lin Xian agreed quite a bit, exhaling deeply, "Once itâs daylight, if there arenât other disturbances, letâs prepare to try this Crystal Grid Evolution. The people from Hawk Sea Group are just here, and they can guide us."
Monica heard this and asked, "And what about the Phoenix Society? Donât you have a way to contact them?"
Lin Xian glanced at the countdown, then looked at the wine in the glass, drank it all at once, placed the glass on the table, and with a stern expression turned around heading towards the front carriages.
"Should know soon enough."
Watching Lin Xian leave, there was a hint of a smile in Monicaâs eyes. She turned to look at the light and shadows outside the porthole, murmuring, "Power is the basis of struggle, sacrifice is the stairway to victory. Our captain cares too much for us team members."
Lin Xian walked through the quiet carriages, but his heart was far from calm. Despite the apparent safety, he didnât feel the tranquility he had after fleeing crisis on the train before. Partly due to being in an underwater environment, the other was the countdown.
As the time approached, saying he wasnât nervous would be a lie. The time seemed to be just around daybreak, but Lin Xian seemingly had no choice but to wait in place, with nothing else he could do, leaving his usually prudent heart restless.
As he passed Carriage 3, Lin Xian stopped next to the Silver Dragon Ten Thousand Mistakes. This Disaster Plant with the Power of Dimension Space had saved them three times; once by the Bottomless Lake, once while crossing Star Abyss, and then during last nightâs escape from the undersea vortex. Now planted in the cultivation chamber, the dark purple flowing light within its roots became restrained and dim, and the flower that had bloomed had disappeared. It just looked like an ordinary grass flower.
"Much like a magic treasure, how can it possess such miraculous functions even though itâs just a piece of grass..."
Lin Xian studied it for a while, unable to comprehend, then raised his head towards the resting area, considered briefly before he walked over and opened Ding Junyiâs room door again. To his surprise, he found Ding Junyi already awake, quietly getting dressed.
"Youâre awake?"
"I was already awake when you first came." Ding Junyi carefully put on her clothes, donned a white research coat, wore black frame glasses, then stood steady looking at Lin Xian and said, "This was the longest release period of Dark Energy by Hell Black Chrysanthemum, it filled all carriages. Thereâs been close observation and research analysis on team membersâ experiences of a tense and risky escape previously, with factors of exhaustion, injuries, and being in a highly oxygen-rich sealed undersea environment leading to drowsiness and deep sleep states. This analysis showed that this time was more severe, marking a crucial stage of evolution, which is why Captain Chen and I let Viola handle everything without waking you up."
Upon hearing Ding Junyiâs words, Lin Xian finally felt relieved.
"I didnât expect it to absorb so much black gas, it seems more than just monster hunting." Lin Xian said.
Ding Junyi, hands in her pockets, calmly analyzed, "When we plunged down the cliff, passed close by the Giant Ocean God; this type of energy in the ocean probably isnât in a vapor state, but it indirectly indicates that the energy level contained within this world-class disaster is extremely terrifying."