Sea of Dust

By LiuTianyi

Description：
Liu Tianyi's collection of sci-fi short stories includes six pieces. The author excels at world-building, interpreting themes of family, courage, and the future from various angles within a shared grand backdrop, creating vibrant characters. The content is rich and rewarding to read.

What would happen if people colonized the rings of a planet and relied heavily on a gravity control system for their lives? A "pure" girl, untouched by any modifications, and a power-hungry mad artist are staging a cosmic sand painting performance, using planets as their children and galaxies as their sandbox!
Author Biography：
Liu Tianyi: A sci-fi writer born in the 1990s. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in acoustics and a student of the Jinling Qin School. Skilled in world-building, with a strong sense of wonder and meticulous details, his works feature a solid hard sci-fi foundation alongside intense conflicts, showcasing new morals and humanity. Notable works include "Breath of the Wasteland" and "Fireflies Across the Sea."

• Language: English
• Publisher: EWAYBOOK
• Release date: Oct 15, 2024
• ISBN: 4069828800724

Book preview

English Edition - First published by EWAYBOOK 2024

Copyright © 2023 by LIU TIANYI

English translation © EWAYBOOK, 2024. All rights reserved.

Originally published in Chinese by BOFENG CULTURE, 2023.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

First edition

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Where is the NEXT hope of Chinese science fiction?

Han Song

Chinese science fiction is at a crucial turning point. On one hand, it is attracting increasing attention from various sectors in China and internationally; on the other hand, it also faces urgent issues on how to carry on the past, innovate, and bring forth new works.

Science fiction is a branch in the vast garden of literature. However, it is concerning to see that many annual book recommendation lists do not include science fiction, including lists of excellent books in various genres, at least not the core science fiction works that we consider outstanding. This inconsistency with the popularity of science fiction may make people wonder if creativity is lacking to some extent. Although plagiarism in science fiction writing is rare, it has also sounded the alarm.

A large number of science fiction books are emerging, with the quantity increasing year by year, but some publishing houses are reporting poor sales. I have come into contact with some readers and found that their knowledge of science fiction is still limited to The Three-Body Problem. This makes people realize that science fiction is still a niche market. With the expansion of WeChat, short videos, and the gaming market, more audiences will be further divided.

The number of science fiction activities in the country is increasing and becoming more lively and splendid. There are already over a dozen science fiction awards, with the highest prize reaching one million RMB, but there are still few high-quality works expected. Ten years after the release of The Three-Body Problem, there has not been another work that has created such a sensation. Is this a kind of normalization that can be accepted? After all, there has not been a Three-Body phenomenon on a global scale. But this still cannot stop us from pursuing high-quality works. I see a reader's message to me: I dare to say, although there are more and more science fiction works, I still feel that there are not enough works that are amazing and have a magnificent worldview.

In addition to domestic creations, the increase in translated works in recent years has also been very rapid. Our science fiction, from its inception to its development, has always been influenced by foreign countries, especially with a lot of inspiration coming from the United States, the science fiction capital. I think Chinese science fiction still needs to earnestly learn from the world. However, the quality of some of the translated works is still in need of improvement. In addition, changes in the international environment have also had an impact on the introduction of works.

Science fiction movies that are highly anticipated have been striving continuously since The Wandering Earth, but there is still a significant gap from the audience's desires. Practice may be proving that making science fiction movies is ultimately the most difficult thing to do. It is almost impossible to succeed by rushing to catch the trend for quick profits.

Many places are industrializing science fiction, with a lot of capital flowing into the science fiction circle. However, from thunder to rain, to how to make even bigger rain, it is still being explored. How to build a science fiction industrial park? Is science fiction really a necessity for people's lives? How can investment in the science fiction industry create more benefits? All of these questions still need to be answered with facts.

Chinese science fiction has been born since the late Qing Dynasty and has developed for more than one hundred years. Its origins still lie in literary creation, in the writers' pursuit of excellence in writing.

It is at this time that the Future Affairs Administration has partnered with Bo Feng Culture to launch the NEXT series of collections by individual science fiction writers. NEXT stands for Next Generation. As the name suggests, it selects works from over ten young contracted science fiction authors of the Future Affairs Administration. These authors have strong personal styles and characteristics, and to a certain extent, reflect the future efforts of Chinese science fiction creation, aiming to carry on the past, open up new possibilities.

As a promoter of domestic science fiction culture, the Future Affairs Administration not only has long-term collaborations with the best science fiction writers in the country, but also values the cultivation of young science fiction newcomers. In the past few years of establishment and development, the Future Administration has continuously searched, selected, and guided the most promising young science fiction authors from various science fiction writing contests, platform submissions, and self-created science fiction writing workshops, helping them create science fiction works that are relevant to the times and well-received by contemporary readers. These authors have achieved numerous accomplishments in recent years, accumulating a considerable number of science fiction works, and winning multiple science fiction awards as well as praise from a wide range of readers and critics. The publication of this series of books is a summary of this phenomenon.

These authors, the oldest was born in 1982, and the youngest was born in 1995. These two time points make me feel very nostalgic. I started writing science fiction in 1982, and that year I published my first science fiction short story Panda Yu Yu in the Red Cliff Youth Newspaper. In 1995, I published a short story Journey Without Answers in Science Fiction World and won the Galaxy Award.

At that time, the creation, publication, and distribution of science fiction were still quite difficult. Like many other authors, I was driven by a deep love for science fiction. I continuously learned, dedicated myself to writing, and rarely thought about whether my works could be published. By persisting in this way, I accumulated a certain amount of works and gradually developed my own style and characteristics.

I read the works of the author of NEXT and it feels like I have seen myself in the past. I feel that they are very talented and gifted, their creations are beautiful and outstanding, and most importantly, from their words, I can feel their immense love for science fiction, and they have created unique science fiction images from it. I think that writing science fiction is about writing according to one's own feelings and ways. Only when it can be accepted by oneself, can touch oneself, and feel comfortable writing, can it possibly be a good work. In this sense, the works of these young people can be said to reflect the original intentions of science fiction.

The new era of Chinese science fiction still needs more time to settle. However, staying true to the original intention is undoubtedly one of its most important pursuits. I hope there will be more young authors who can learn more instead of following trends, who can find time to be content with marginalization, who can quietly persist in pure science fiction writing, who can let their imagination run wild without self-imposed limitations, in order to express their true feelings and serious thoughts on the universe and life. This is the hope of Chinese science fiction NEXT.

When the fantasy flows onto the page.

Liu Tianyi

Many years ago, I was still a child who loved to fantasize - I always wandered between daydreams, fascinated by imagining all kinds of bizarre and fantastical worlds. It is still the same now. Back then, I would imagine the tooth marks left on the back of my hand by a rabid dog as a mysterious emblem that would transform me into a giant mech, allowing me to fight and protect the world. I would imagine myself gallivanting on horseback in a fantasy magical world, or meditating and cultivating in a world of immortals, wandering through the clouds and transcending reality.

Many people fantasize like this during their childhood, then grow up, become adults, become more and more mature, slowly getting caught up in real life, slowly no longer fantasizing. In contrast, I am lucky. When I was still a child more than ten years ago, I suddenly realized that the strange and bizarre world that I fantasized about and the stories in this world could be written down and shared with others. So, from that time on, I tried to write, and the fantasy did not stop growing up. It was not until now, more than ten years later, that I finally managed to write several fantasy stories worth reading, published them, and presented them to you.

The short stories collected in this work were mostly created between 2018 and 2019. They were not planned in advance, but written spontaneously - whatever came to mind was written, resulting in a lack of unified themes among the short stories in this collection. In short, Rising Tide and Waiting for the Ark belong to the same worldview, but take place at different times; Ripples of the Dust Sea, Fireflies Crossing the Sea, and Breath of the Wasted Sea belong to another worldview, but take place on different planets; Tianwen is a standalone alternate history story. While creating these stories, my main focus was on sharing interesting worlds and stories that I had imagined, without pursuing literary qualities or abstract philosophical speculation. In a sense, I do not consider myself an artist or writer, but rather a storyteller - with three feet of shocking wood in hand, ten volumes of strange tales in my chest, wandering through the streets and alleys telling stories from all directions. I hope that the stories I create will allow readers to experience a certain aspect of life through the perspective of the characters in the story, witnessing characters who may be foolish or eccentric, experiencing plots that may be plain or magnificent, and enjoying a touch of sentiment.

The publication of this book, we need to thank the diligent efforts of the Future Affairs Administration and the editors of Bofeng Culture, and thank all the seniors who have guided me in story creation over the past few years, and thank my parents for their support in my creation. Finally, I need to express my sincere gratitude to every reader who is reading the book. Without your reading, these stories in the book are just lifeless blocks of characters, it is your reading that allows these texts to be reconstructed into new, lively fantasies, giving each story the meaning they exist.

Tide rises

One

The poet raised the bottle under the laurel tree, looked up, and waited.

Not a drop of fresh water slipped out of the bottle, dripping onto the tip of the tongue. The dry and hoarse thirst in the throat felt like dry and rough gravel, rubbing against the vocal cords.

She can't remember the last time she had a drink of water, maybe four days, perhaps three days.

Next!

The laurel poem threw away the bottle and handed the letter to the administrator at the entrance of the pigeon cage.

The administrator sat in front of the fishing net, with plastic bottles of various sizes filled with fresh water inserted into the holes of the net. Two hours late? He glanced at the time stamped on the log.

The client is not in the small Penglai Temple of Ship District 12 that you mentioned.

The manager took out a small bottle of fresh water, Half of the payment.

The poem under the cassia does not mention this 200ml bottle of fresh water, It was you who told me she was in Xiaopenglai--

Are you coming in or not? The person behind bumped into Gui Xiasi, causing her to stumble and fall into the pigeon cage.

Xin Chuo? The administrator flicked the mineral water bottle onto Gui Xi Shi's body and began asking the people behind him. Gui Xi Shi silently got up, picked up the mineral water bottle, and walked into the pigeon cage.

In a space of a dozen square meters in the pigeon cage, there are more than twenty messengers waiting for their tasks. The ventilation fan on the wall is turning pu pu and spreading the smell of ink and pickled fish. Two thousand milliliters! The old woman in the pigeon cage is assigning tasks to deliver letters.

The poem crowded into the corner of the crowd under the cassia tree. Two liters of fresh water, the reward for this task is very high. She looked at the small bottle of 200 milliliters in her hand, shook her head again - high reward means high difficulty, she has been half hungry and half full for more than ten days, afraid that she will not be able to accept it.

Two thousand five. The old woman's voice sounded tired, The New Year is coming soon, the tasks will become fewer and fewer.

The poem under Gui touched the person next to him and asked softly, What's the task?

I'm going to the 37th ship district, the person said.

Guixia immediately lost interest in poetry. In the past two weeks of crazy rising sea levels, the 37th boat district was just destroyed by the water monster. The investigation team only lifted the blockade a few days ago, allowing ordinary people to enter and leave the 37th boat district.

Rushing there is too risky, she cannot afford it.

Three thousand! the old woman raised her voice again, One liter of fresh water will be prepaid!

The poem shakes Geng Xia's entire body. She looks around, but no one is there to take the job.

She evaluated her own situation. If she had this liter of prepaid fresh water, she could at least survive. If she could get the remaining two liters, she would have assurance of life-saving water for the next two days.

As for district 37... It's better to die horizontally or vertically than to die of thirst on the way to deliver a message.

No one? The old woman looked disappointed as she scanned around, Then we go to the next one-

I. Gui Xia recited the poem and raised her hand, hoarsely yelling. She moistened her throat with a little saliva, letting her voice become clear and loud: I'm going.

Two

Keixia Left Poetry cautiously entered Zone 37 of the ship.

The morning light is pouring down from the east. The seven high towers in Shanghai cast very long shadows on the sea surface, cutting through the crowded floating docks between the high towers.

Floating platforms are connected by ropes and chains on both sides, gathering together in patches, floating on the sea surface. Green algae hanging on the base of the floating platform, clusters of blood-red seaweed floating, drifting between the floating platforms. Most of the floating platforms are built on three plastic barrels with wooden boards on top; more luxurious ones will tie a circle of plastic barrels to provide buoyancy, set up a row of legs, then stack two or three layers of floorboards, forming a floating building.

In this era where the sea level has risen to three thousand meters, most of the lower-class population in Shanghai reside in the floating raft districts. The middle and upper class people, on the other hand, live in the high towers of the ancient civilization remnants - the higher the status, the higher they live, farther from the sea, and less worried about the rising sea level and the humanoid monster lurking in the sea.

The poem climbed up a floating tower with imbalanced buoyancy and leaned to one side, reaching the second floor.

The 37th ship area is right next to the tallest tower in Shanghai, Hongshan. As the New Year approaches, people in other ship areas have already hung bunches of red pampas grass as lanterns on the canopy, while the 37th ship area is silent, with floating rafts overturned everywhere, no sign of people, no lanterns in sight. In the distance, a row of iron cages is slanting half submerged in the sea, with scattered seaweed tangled on the iron cage frames. This is the seaweed farm at the center of the ship area, already damaged, with most of the seaweed scattered and sinking into the sea.

She carefully observed her surroundings, alert to any potential dangers, especially the trace of the Water Beast. This aquatic creature preys on humans, and once bitten, the Water Beast injects Ren Worm eggs into the wound, causing death.

The task given to her by the pigeon cage was to find a person named Li Ji at House 113 by the Taishan Waterway. It is said that Li Ji is the Abyss Investigator of the investigation team, looking for someone to assist in carrying out a dangerous mission - Gui Xiushi thought very simply, if she can help, she will do it, but if it's too dangerous, she will give up.

Anyway, as long as she finds Liji, she can receive the pre-paid liter of fresh water.

She climbed to the top of the leaning floating building, there should be a rainwater collecting shed on the rooftop, maybe it could supplement some fresh water.

Next to the top rain shelter, a boy of about the same age is standing, collecting fresh water.

Hello. Kei Xiaoshi glanced at the Rain Collection Pond and saw a dead seagull floating in it.

Who? The boy turned around abruptly.

The water is dirty, don't drink it.

Do you want to steal my water? The boy hesitated for a moment, then suddenly pulled out a dagger and shouted, No - leave your fresh water!

Is he crazy? Robbing people on sight? Gui Xia was taken aback. The boy was stronger than her and had no holes in his clothes, unlike the people in the floating shanty town. Did you escape from the tower?

Usually, the sea level rises at a rate of one meter per month. However, in the past two weeks, the sea has risen exceptionally rapidly, rising more than two hundred meters. Many residents at the bottom of seven high towers have been forced to evacuate because of flooding, and are now living on floating platforms.

You mind your own business! The boy walked up to Gui Xiaoshi and said, Water! Give it to me!

The poem from Kui Xia pulled out the diving knife from beside his leg and said, Impossible.

You are robbing again! Suddenly, a voice of an old man came from the iron ladder beside. Guixia turned his head to look, the old man coming up had white hair, was shirtless, wearing a red one-piece garment tied around the waist with both sleeves, and carrying an iron pot on his waist.

You, old man again- The boy reluctanly put away the dagger.

I want to survive, but I can't steal from others. The old man walked to the middle of the poem and the boy under the cassia tree.

My little sister is dying of thirst! the boy said.

The old person said, You can go work in the pigeon cage.

The messenger's pay is simply not enough, I have tried- The boy glared at the old man, then hummed, Forget it!

The boy turned around and walked away.

The sea breeze gently blows over the floating tower, the tilted floating tower swaying back and forth against the waves. The poem under the osmanthus tree is put away, the knife is sheathed, looking at the old man.

Why are you here? The old man coughed twice, The monsters around here haven't been killed yet, it's very dangerous.

Tai Shan Channel 113, do you know? - I am the messenger.

The old man carefully examined the poem under the cassia tree, Are you here to look for Li Ji?

You are Li Ji? Gui Xia asked with a poem.

You come with me.

The poem under the cassia tree followed the old man downstairs and walked along a corridor by the river. The scavenging vulture flew overhead, searching for floating corpses in the ship area. The old man picked up a harpoon from the riverbank and carried it on his shoulder. The harpoon was wrapped in a circle of iron chain, and it seemed to be tethering a prey - a big fish - in the sea beside him.

The old man came to a floating platform with a bunch of poems under his arm. On the platform stood a small house, with two clusters of bright red pampas grass hanging under the eaves. Beside the wall at the base, there were four or five scuba tanks leaning against a wooden rack, with speckled color rings on the tanks indicating the gas composition inside: high-pressure air, high-oxygen air, or a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and helium.

There are four thick wooden poles standing by the house, with pointed tops. Hanging on two of the wooden poles are two long, black giant beasts - Gouzu.

This— Gui Xiaoshi trembled, and after a few seconds, she confirmed that the two Gui beasts were dead.

The old man pulled out his spear, pulled up the iron chain, and at the end of the iron chain was the slender body of a decaying beast. He hung the body on a wooden pillar and took a breath. I am Li Ji. Have you had breakfast? If not, let's eat together with Uncle Bao.

Three

The Gui Xia poetry sits on the edge of the floating platform, looking towards the high tower of Rainbow Mountain.

The Rainbow Mountain rises to the sky, standing over 6,000 meters above the sea level. At the base of the Rainbow Mountain, a kilometer-long circular iron ship that is still under construction shades the sunlight shining down on the floating platform. The ship is named Ark, and it is said to be a giant ecological floating island. When the ocean floods the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and submerges all the high towers in a hundred years, this ark may be the last homeland for humanity.

Of course, Gui Xia's poetry clearly understood that those who could ultimately live in the ark were probably the powerful elite living at the top of the high tower.

What do you want me to help you with? she asked.

Li Ji walked up to her, holding several large salmon in his hands. Can you scuba dive?

Do you want to go down and salvage it?

Go down to a depth of 500 meters. Li Ji set up a iron pot and poured in fresh water.

Seeing the freshwater, the dryness in Guixia's throat intensified. I can dive, but I haven't formally learned.

Li Ji threw the salmon on the ground, pulled out a diving knife, scaled and gutted the fish, and then cut the meat into pieces.

The poet under the cassia tree hesitated for a moment and said, The depth is too deep, I am considering whether I should not refuse this task.

A few pelicans and seagulls flew towards Liji. Liji cut off the head and tail of the fish with a snap and threw it to the seabirds. Is it because it's too dangerous? He threw the fish meat into the pot, along with seaweed, ham, and crushed crackers.

Gui Xia nodded at the poem. She was just an ordinary messenger, not a professional diver. At five hundred meters deep, we will definitely encounter the Marine Monster, right?

A pelican sneakily stretches its head towards the fish. Li Ji flips his diving knife and lightly taps the pelican's long beak with the handle, driving it away. Yes. So, this mission is risky, you need to think carefully about it.

The poem under the Cassia tree falls silent. She tilted her head to look at the corpse of the Gui beast next to her. These Gui beasts were seven meters long, with smooth black skin, and six pairs of eyes split on both sides of their heads. Did you kill all of them?

Li Ji nodded, pointing to the spot where the Gui beast was pierced by the wooden pole. On the ground, they are easy to clean up, just stab them in the throat. It's more troublesome underwater.

The wooden pillar pierced the chest and abdomen of the beast, creating a white sunken hole, like a human belly button, probably what Liji called diphtheria.

The aroma of the fish pot wafted up with a bubbling sound, making the hunger even more intense. What should we do next?

Retrieve an item.

Aren't you the Abyss Investigator? Why do you need a newbie like me to assist? In Guixia's impression, Abyss Investigators are all experts who can independently dive to depths of 3,000 meters.

There is a valve underwater that needs two people to open. These days the sea has surged dramatically, causing chaos in Shanghai. There are no extra hands in the investigation team to help me.

What about the compensation?

Li Ji took out bowls and chopsticks, and served the fish for Gui. There are ten liters of fresh water. I can also recommend you to join the investigation team.

She is not interested in the investigation team. Gui Xiaoshi picked up the chopsticks and bowl. Those people in the investigation team are all crazies who are determined to repel the Guishou and uncover the truth of the sudden rise of the sea. If she joined the investigation team, she might die on a diving expedition within two or three years.

But ten liters of fresh water...she was a little tempted. Recently, there are too many refugees living in the floating towers, and the competition for pigeon cages is fierce. If she doesn't get another mission, she will end up like that boy, picking up trash and drinking dirty water in the dangerous area of ​​District 37.

Clams have arrived, said Li Ji.

A black figure emerged from the sea, poking its head out at the edge of the floating platform - it was a killer whale. The killer whale made a few noises at Li Ji, who took out some raw fish, dipped it in vinegar, and threw it into the killer whale's mouth.

Clams? Are those your pets? asked Gui Xiaoshi.

It is my friend, Li Ji said.

Two people, a whale, and several seabirds were having breakfast around a fish pot. Gui Xiaoshi quietly watched Li Ji use chopsticks to eat the fish. She had never eaten stewed fish before and didn't know how to use chopsticks. The best thing she had ever eaten before was stinky pickled fish – just grab and gnaw on it.

The fish soup in the bowl is floating with spring onions and oil foam, with tender white fish meat, yellow-white noodles, and red-white ham stacked together. She picked up a piece of fish meat and put it into her mouth, but her tongue was suddenly burned, causing her to spit out the fish meat. The fish meat fell into the bowl, splashing scalding hot fish soup onto her wrist. She screamed, her hand shook, the bowl slipped from her fingers, falling to the ground, spilling the fish soup everywhere, soaking the moss-covered floor, and steam rising.

Ah! Gui Xiaoshi uttered softly, Sorry...I'm sorry.

She held the chopsticks, feeling a little at a loss. There was hardly any food on the floating raft, yet she managed to spill such a large bowl of fish soup.

Is it too hot? Li Ji scooped out another bowl and handed it to her, Be careful.

Holding the bowl of soup, tears suddenly swirled in her eyes under the osmanthus tree. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten a warm bowl of soup, probably when she was four or five years old. Back then, her mother took her to live on the bottom floor of the Rainbow Mountain Tower, and the sea water was about to flood the floor they were on. On New Year's Eve, her mother cooked a bowl of fish soup, slowly blowing it cool spoon by spoon, feeding it to her...

Why aren't you eating? Li Ji suddenly asked.

Under the cassia tree, the poet was stunned. She lowered her head, sniffed, and said, I accept this task.

Four

After Li Ji and Lu Yi quickly learned the basic knowledge of diving and underwater hand signals, Gui Xiaoshi followed him into the deep sea.

All around was darkness, only the diving lights of her and Li Ji projected beams of light, illuminating the way ahead. In the darkness, occasional brief flashes of blue light could be seen, possibly from bioluminescent organisms.

She turned her wrist and glanced at the dive computer: depth of two hundred meters.

Two weeks ago, this depth was still the sea surface.

The tall tower of Hongshan was just a few meters away from them. The light column passed through, and Gui Xiaoshi saw the densely packed iron cabins inside the tower - the living quarters of the people on the lower floors. Because the sea level was rising rapidly, people evacuated in a panic, leaving the cabins in disarray. She saw floating beddings in the cabin, swollen and decaying bodies, octopuses entwined around bedposts, and several meters wide crabs with seaweed on their backs.

They descended at a constant speed. Guixia recited poems to herself to equalize the pressure in her ears, and also added air to the buoyancy compensator of her diving vest to prevent loss of buoyancy after compression. She carefully illuminated her surroundings with a light ring, alert for various dangers: sea creatures, strong currents, or sudden temperature changes in the water layers.

There, we passed by, OK? Li Ji waved a circle of lights to remind Gui Xiashi to pay attention, then reached out in the light column to signal Gui Xia Shi to pass.

OK. Gui recited a poem and waved the diving light. The location pointed by Li Ji was a platform on the outer wall of a tall tower, with a temple built on the platform, surrounded by a jungle of seaweed outside the temple.

She remembers this temple. When she was young, the temple was just submerged by the sea. During the New Year, people in the floating village would gather above the temple, worshiping the Buddha statue in the main hall from afar across the water.

She looked at the tall tower near the temple, which still faintly resembled the way it looked when she was a child.

Suddenly, Li Ji made a gesture, but she didn't understand it.

What? She made a gesture indicating she didn't understand.

Li Ji hit it again, but she still didn't understand. This was a gesture that Li Ji hadn't confirmed with her beforehand.

Neutral buoyancy, maintain balance. Li Ji made a gesture. Then he took out a record board from his waist, wrote on the board, and then placed the board in the light for her to see.

Done, I don't know how to read. Gui was puzzled by the poem below. What did Li Ji want to say exactly?

OK? Li Ji folded up the board and started walking towards the temple.

What? Gui Xiaoshi frenziedly waved his hand, but Li Ji did not see it.

She clenched her second-stage regulator tightly, exhaling bubbles to shrink her lung cavity, allowing herself to sink with negative buoyancy, then kicked her flippers and swam towards the temple.

Outside the temple, dark green kelp flips and rolls with the currents, with white spots dotted on its one-arm wide leaves. She followed Li Ji as they swam through the kelp forest and approached the outer wall of the tall tower.

Suddenly, her left leg tightened, tangled by something.

Is it kelp? She relaxed her left leg, hooked her right foot with the instep, stopped her body with the resistance of the fins on her feet, carefully paddled backwards, trying to untangle the entanglement.

Suddenly tightened up!

What was wrapped around her was not seaweed, but some kind of organism. The spines of this organism pierced through her wetsuit, allowing the near-freezing water from the deep sea to flood in, squeezing out the air used for insulation.

The sudden cold water made Gui Xia shiver, she quickly inflated her buoyancy compensator to counteract the buoyancy loss, then pulled out her diving knife and tapped on the tank on her back to make a sound - she needed Li Ji's help.

Five

Relax and maintain depth. Li Ji gestured, stopping in front of the poem written by Gui Xia.

The sea water is piercingly cold to the bone, with the poem under her arm tightly wrapped around her body, shivering. Her body's heat is quickly dissipating, and in no time, she will die of hypothermia.

Li Ji floated behind her and used a knife to deal with the