Chapter 596: The Torrent Core
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Nasaton, the city of sirens was about to awaken from 100 years of chaos and darkness, but before that, it had to find ways to sort out the messit was facing. The palace area and the control cabin in the city center were turned into ruins during. the explosion. A large bright fire and continuous energy turbulence seemed to shine on the ruins like a moving torch. Sirens continued to emerge from buildings throughout the city. Many of them had just recovered from their deranged state and had begun to release their imprisoned compatriots. The queen and her court officials probably had to work very hard to maintain social order, but this was nothing compared to the maelstrom above the wall.
"I can still remember the moment of struggle with that monster. Some of its sporadic plans sometimes appear in my mind through the mental connection we share," said the siren queen as she looked very uncomfortably at the maelstrom. "It used a fusion of our magic skills and a mystical technology to create this huge portal. Nasaton's energy core and a whole set of extraction equipment for Earth's core energy provided it with initial power. It works like a creature, after it has grown to a certain stage, it will start to self-sustain... It will be unstoppable like inertia. Anyway, it was not designed with an emergency kill switch."
Shaqira brooded. "Once the maelstrom collapses... will it destroy Nasaton? Will it blow a hole in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and destroy the planet?"
"No, it will be worse than that," Hao Ren said as he read the scan report from the MDT. "It won't just blow up the earth; it will also blow up the entire real world. It's a bigger hole, big enough to make the real world and another universe annihilate each other. Of course, the situation could be slightly less severe. For example, the scope of the disaster could only be confined within the Milk Way..."
Sorma asked, "What's the difference?"
Hao Ren shrugged. "There is no difference. We all die anyway."
The MDT projected a hologram of the maelstrom. Next to it were complex energy charts and radial lines, which showed the energy structure around the giant portal. "The Siren Queen is right. It has become self-sustaining; cutting energy supply will only make its growth slower. This thing's joined to the city's great wall; I don't think there's any way to pry it off."
"Then cut off the energy supply first. At least it'll buy us some time," Y'zaks said sulkily.
The siren queen thought for a moment before she turned and said, "Follow me to the energy core."
Just as she swam a few meters away, she suddenly turned and spoke to the confused General Vanaessa, who had just returned from the Petrachelys. "Vanaessa, bring your people to free those aliens, and pacify them first. I will later meet with them personally, for this time we have created too huge a trouble."
Vanaessa nodded in a confused manner and looked up at Hao Ren. "I remember I was sent to a very strange place with many mechanical tentacles..."
"Vanaessa, go and get things done," the queen urged from behind. "There are more people who are more confused than you are. Please don't mention the tentacles for now... It's not a pleasant word."
The siren queen led them to the energy core of Nasaton. On the way, she met many sirens who had just regained consciousness, and they came up to her for instructions. She quickly and systematically assigned tasks along the way, which included doing head counts, releasing the captured citizens, restoring the functions of core control zones and counting their losses. She did it so skilfully that one was unable to tell that she had once been trapped in chaos for centuries. "Your Queen is a very strong person, and she looks very smart," Hao Ren said admirably.
"She's always been this way, but she's a person who's easy to get along with nonetheless." Shaqira, who was swimming beside Hao Ren looked happy. "We haven't seen each other for 100 years... It's good that everything's back to normal now."
They came to a shell-shaped building behind the palace ruins. The building had a number of columnar facilities that protruded from the ground. They looked like large, U-shaped connectors. Outside these facilities, there was a layer of alloy heads, the sides of which were arc-shaped crystal walls that could be opened. They were reminiscent of artistically designed elevators. They followed the siren queen into one of the installations before the circular floor under their feet suddenly disappeared and a brightly lit duct appeared before their eyes.
A powerful pressurized stream pushed them into the pipeline. Hao Ren found that the water was carrying him somewhere.
"This is our elevator—it's also the city's transportation system," said Shaqira with a bright smile. "This is a large transit station. The currents can take you to many places. Well, ordinary races may not be able to stand it, but it's very comfortable for the sirens."
"Umm... so far, so good," said Lily, scratching her chin. "But, I do feel like we're being flushed down the toilet."
Everyone immediately glared at the husky.
Nangong Wuyue was following closely behind the siren queen. She could not help but carefully ask, "My Queen, do you know a siren named Elssa?"
"Elssa?" The siren queen turned and knitted her brows together. "Who is she?"
"She's my mother," said Nangong Wuyue quickly. "I've asked Shaqira and Sorma. They all have no impression of the name, but my mother has to be one of the siren messengers who went ashore."
The selection of messengers to the surface in the beginning was very confusing. The siren queen had selected the messengers on a whim, and many messengers did not even register when they landed. Therefore, the messengers themselves were not quite sure who else was on the list. Shaqira and Sorma had never heard the name of the Nangong siblings' mother.
"Elssa... I remember her; a queer girl with bad temper. She was so bold that she always went to the open sea and brought back some weird human relics. She liked the Vikings very much." The queen could remember the name of this ordinary siren. "How is she now?"
"She's... missing, together with my father. A vengeful spirit attacked our secluded home and our entire home disappeared out of thin air," Nangong Wuyue voice sunk. "This is my brother. Our father is a demon hunter."
"...Looks like a lot of things happened on the surface," said the siren queen as she looked in amazement at the siblings, who were eye-catching no matter where they were. "Oh, sirens have no prejudice against demon hunters. I feel sorry for what the both of you have gone through, but I believe Elssa is still alive. As a siren, she must have been reborn somewhere."
At this time, the current in the pipeline slowed down rapidly, and a stream of water in the opposite direction rushed from under their feet. At the same time, a large number of precise and powerful little whirlpools appeared on the walls of the pipeline, holding them in position. An arc-shaped opening appeared on the side of the pipe and a light shone through the gap.
"This is the source of energy for Nasaton. We call it the Torrent Core," the siren queen said as she pointed to a ball of bright light.
There was a huge, fan-shaped hall, which resembled a shell cavity outside the pipeline. Neat vertical pipes and ridges lined the walls, while a bright but not glaring blue and white light filled the hall. This light came from the wonderful object in the center of the hall: it was a big sphere with a diameter of more than 10 m. There was a ripple-like pattern on its surface, and it was as clear as crystal internally. Around the huge crystal, more than a dozen transparent pipes passed vertically through the ceiling and the ground. Light flowed out of them like water.
This was the source of Nasaton's energy—it was incredible, as it had been running for more than 10,000 years. It was a remarkable achievement for mortals like the sirens.
"This is directly beneath the palace. There was originally a main pipe extending from this place directly into my palace." The siren queen pointed to a pipe at the front of the Torrent Core. The pipe was currently in a dim state. "I can absorb the power of the energy core there and perform a series of emergency controls on it. But now the pipeline's been blown up, so we can only use the backup system here to cut off its connection to the wall."
"You want to shut down the wall?" Shaqira was shocked.