Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women! - Chapter 18: Opportunity and Power

Deep below the earth's surface, a mystifying subterranean seascape lurks, an archipelago bathed in inky blackness where suspense and horror hold court. Here lie strange islands and even stranger monsters, far beyond the realms of human imagination. In this domain, mankind is far from dominant; instead, madness and death rule supreme.

Pleading for mercy from the unknown creatures of the deep only leads to a slow, tortured existence. The trapped survivors gradually distort, losing what made them human, both physically and mentally, to the gloom as they remain trapped in this eternal obscurity. Their only hope? A perilous expedition into uncharted sea territories.

Fueled by determination, Charles embark on this daunting voyage aboard his steamship, aiming to reclaim humanity's past glory. Together with his crew, they sought a way out of this hidden sea world, a path back to the sunlit world above, where humans once stood tall.

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I read a few comments from Chinese readers that compared this novel with Lord of Mysteries because of similar elements: Lovecraftian, western fantasy, first industrial revolution, and steampunk. However, I have yet to finish reading Lord of Mysteries to do any actual comparison, but I do think those who have enjoyed that novel would enjoy this as well. Also, the author of LotM, Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, also did a shout-out for this novel, so I guess he approves of it too?

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An alien race invaded the Earth on June 6, 2128. At the midst of this war, many nations allied with the alien threat and the war nearly wiped out the rebelling humans of the planet. At the edge of mankind's survival, the United Nations Army launched its forces to eliminate the immediate stellar threats that loomed over Earth.

General Seeker Carlean, commander and leader of the mission, risked and gave his life to destroy the immediate stellar threat. The battle was won though Earth lay in ruins. Perhaps mankind will live to see a few years of peace before the alien threat returns to wipe out their existence.

At the immediate aftermath of the stellar battle, the fallen Seeker Carlean awakens and finds himself at aged 17, living the peaceful life he lived 16 years before he died.

So begins a new game in the battle for humanity's survival.

When natural disasters ran rampant, with extreme cold and storms spreading endlessly…When the world mutated, zombies surged like tides, and eerie horrors emerged…When the apocalypse descended, massive Devouring Abysses hundreds of kilometers in diameter began appearing around the globe…When people looked up at the atmospheric cloud layers and saw the slowly emerging corpse of a colossal evil god…From that day, people began to notice that daylight was arriving later and later, until the sun no longer rose, plunging the world into an unending polar night.For survival, on that day, the Apocalypse Radio made its final broadcast to the world:“Everyone, flee eastward—escape to dawn!”…Lin Xian awakened the [Mechanical Heart] ability. He could devour machinery to gain various mysterious skills, scan machines to obtain blueprints for manufacturing, and even use his thoughts to achieve unified control of different machines.Thus, he found a 200-ton heavy gas-powered locomotive, towing specially modified storage, planting, production, medical, and living carriages, and embarked on a 320,000-kilometer journey along the planetary orbital rail—charging eastward toward the dawn!

The Mayan ceremonial dagger had an inscription in the ancient language that read: “Offer thy heart”. It's obviously an instruction left by the past inhabitants of this forgotten place, but who would be stupid enough to stab himself in the heart with a rusty old knife found inside a tombstone?After activating my battery pack the dagger shimmers brightly in a cyan light, the creatures are coming, I can hear their steps.