Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe-Chapter 53 - 51: S-Class Sea Beast "Leviathan" Investigation Report
It was noon by the time he woke up. After a good rest, Shi Ming was back in peak condition.
He put on his nautical suit and stepped out of the captain’s quarters. He saw the crew hard at work; there had been no more sea beast incursions in the meantime. After inspecting the deck and cabin areas and eating a special lunch prepared by Old Yang, Shi Ming returned to his quarters.
He was going to study the treasures of the Yellowstone.
The beverage machine, Dome Crystal extraction equipment, and numerous firearms could wait. All these devices were damaged and could only be repaired after upgrading the Brain of Creation. Shi Ming only had one upgrade remaining for the day, so there was no point in using it on non-urgent matters.
Besides, he had already checked the materials required to upgrade this equipment. They were all basic resources like High-Level Sea Crystal Stones and iron ore—nothing too complex.
What interested him most right now were the safes.
’I wonder what kind of surprises are hidden inside.’
The three safes were arranged in a row in an empty space in Shi Ming’s room.
The air in the captain’s quarters was filled with the faint smell of rust.
After some work, he had cleaned off the coral fragments and the hard, crusty shell formed by salt corrosion, revealing the safes’ dull metallic luster once more.
Shi Ming prepared to break them open one by one.
As a precaution, he put on a rubber suit and a pair of cut-resistant gloves.
He carefully observed every side of the safe before him. It was a mechanical safe with a combination dial. Its nameplate had been completely corroded and had fallen off.
He took a deep breath, and his various experiences with safe-cracking surfaced in his mind.
He used a probe to gently touch the rust in the keyhole, picking at the corroded precision instrument in front of him as if moving the hands of a clock.
Once, twice...
Reddish-brown rust flaked away bit by bit.
The whole process was long and complicated.
Shi Ming wasn’t impatient. The probe in his hand was like a surgeon’s scalpel, exploring the inside of the lock. He worked until he heard a faint CLICK, and the dial under his right hand shifted a tiny, difficult fraction.
He flexed his fingers, concentrating all his awareness at their tips and marshalling all his senses.
He didn’t know how long he’d been working when, with a loud CLICK, the resistance in his hand vanished. The rough dial turned stiffly in his grasp, followed by the SNAP of the bolt retracting. A dark crack suddenly appeared in the door of the once-seamless safe.
BANG!
"Black Tortoise Shield!"
Forced by the pressure difference, the safe door shot open with a bang, just like a champagne cork.
Shi Ming was prepared. The Black Tortoise Shield activated just in time to face the blow head-on.
Decompression is a crucial step when handling sealed containers salvaged from the deep sea. However, Shi Ming lacked the proper tools and could only choose to endure the force with his own body.
’As expected, opening a safe is not only a technical job but a dangerous one. If I hadn’t been prepared, I would have been sent flying nine times out of ten.’
’Fortunately, the contents are very sturdy and weren’t damaged.’
A musty, long-sealed odor filled the air. Inside the safe, Shi Ming saw a bottle large enough to occupy two-thirds of the space. It was made of a unique material, having survived the explosive decompression completely unscathed.
The bottle was completely transparent, made of a glass-like material. Inside was a large amount of pale yellow liquid and a strange severed limb.
The severed limb didn’t look human; it looked more like it belonged to a sea beast.
Its surface was covered with scales and crystalline structures, and its flesh had small, ring-shaped protrusions.
’Is this a specimen?’
A specimen important enough to be locked in a safe was surely no ordinary sample.
And at the bottom of the transparent bottle, there was a document.
Shi Ming left the bottle with the specimen untouched and picked up the document with his gloved hand.
S-Class Sea Beast "Leviathan" Investigation Report.
His eyes sharpened.
’Leviathan? An S-Class sea beast?’
’Then could the contents of this bottle be a partial limb of the S-Class sea beast, Leviathan? Was this report researched on the Yellowstone, or was the Yellowstone just on a mission to escort the report and the specimen?’
Shi Ming was more inclined towards the second possibility.
He felt that even though the Yellowstone was the strongest Golden Ship, it lacked the capability to research the Sea Beast Flesh and Blood of an S-Class creature.
He opened the report to the first page.
The report, like the title on its cover, was written in English.
TOP SECRET FILE: No. DT-2821-002
DEEP SEA LEVIATHAN
THREAT LEVEL: S
S-CLASS AWAKENED SKILL: TOP 25, ABYSS OF DEVOURING
BIOLOGICAL TRAIT ANALYSIS: The Deep Sea Leviathan measures 380 meters in length. It resembles a hybrid of a colossal oarfish and a crystallized-spot fish. Its exterior is covered in rough, heavy bio-armor. The head is featureless, save for a gigantic maw composed of crystallized mantle material...
...
...
...
BEHAVIORAL LOGIC: Patrols and hunts along the former Pacific Ring of Fire and the Mid-Ocean Ridge. Active in the hadalpelagic zone...
TERMINATION METHODS: Underwater nuclear strike (theoretically feasible)...
APPENDIX 1: Summary of Key Sighting Records.
APPENDIX 2: Research Summary on a Partial Leviathan Carcass.
APPENDIX 3: S-Class Awakened Skill Ranking List (Known).
’So it’s true.’
’This claw-like fragment really is a part of the Leviathan’s body. And the report’s author actually studied it in detail, then devised several methods for hunting the creature.’
’As expected, to humans, S-Class sea beasts are nothing but resources.’
He was reminded of his experience on Turtle Island.
If the Black Tortoise were ever discovered by the factions on those King-level Wandering Ships, they would likely stop at nothing to hunt it.
However, the Black Tortoise was dormant, its activity level near zero. In the Endless Ocean, humanity’s reach was minuscule. Even during the age of technology, it had been impossible to probe every corner of the ocean, let alone now, in this declining Wandering Era.
It was perfectly normal for it not to have been discovered.
And the once-powerful Wokoku didn’t even have a single S-Class Awakened, which showed how rare they were.
’This piece of Leviathan tissue... who knows if it’s still useful after all these years. In any case, I’ll put it away for now.’
Comparatively, the intelligence in his hands was far more valuable.
The intelligence had been locked in a safe, and the Yellowstone had crashed in the Lost Sea. This meant that the Lighthouse had never received the report, and all their hard-won research had gone to waste.
As for the appended S-Class Awakened Skill Ranking List.
Shi Ming was also very interested in this.
He wasn’t just interested in the contents of the list, but more so in who had compiled it.
Only a person or creature who had seen all the S-class skills could possibly create such a list.
’Does such a person even exist in the Wandering Era?’
He found the corresponding appendix at the end of the document. It was just a thin page, and on it was recorded—
7. "Black Hole" — ???
19. "Infinite Matriarch" — ???
25. Abyss of Devouring — Deep Sea Leviathan
34. "Heat Death" — ???
67. Tide of Confusion — Tide-Calling Whale
98. Eye of Dream Weaving — Sea Jade
99. "Fatal Ground" — ???
