Kevin and Nangong Wuyue watched curiously as Y'zaks leaped into the pit. Ignoring the pungent odor and the lingering warmth of the ashes, they strode over to the oval wreckage and tore at the egg-shaped metal shell with all their might.
The sturdy ship's alloy plates creaked and creaked under the demon's brute force. Having already endured the combined force of the crash and the intense heat, their strength had already been greatly reduced. Now, subjected to such a violent disassembly, several chunks of deformed, charred metal were instantly torn free by Y'zaks. Kevin and Nangong Wuyue exchanged a glance and hurried over. "I sense a familiar 'smell' here," Y'zaks said, his head still fixed as he busied himself among the twisted metal wreckage. The hissing sparks and lingering radiation from the spacecraft's propulsion system seemed to him to be nonexistent. "Look at this, and these pipes. There's signs of corrosion. They're not burned, but attacked by something before the crash."
Nangong Wuyue frowned, the scorching air making her feel quite uncomfortable. The siren girl made a few strange gestures in mid-air, and a pale blue, intangible shadow emanated from her. Like the shadow of a wave, it quickly filled the air, refreshing the air around the wreckage and filling it with a pleasant, light vapor.
Kevin was surprised to discover that Nangong Wuyue also had a humidifier. After Vivian installed an air conditioner, Y'zaks installed a heater, and Lily installed a security door, now someone could also install a humidifier. Kevin felt that sooner or later, he would be able to build a unique ecosystem of self-production and self-sales in his own home. "I don't see anything special," Nangong Wuyue took a deep breath, finally feeling a little better. However, she had no idea what to make of the jumble of pipes and parts within the wreckage. She was even more puzzled as to why Yzaks, an alien demon, could understand such high-tech gadgets. "Can you understand it?"
"I don't understand it either, but I can sense the remnants of a familiar power." Yzaks twisted his fingers, and a tiny bit of green demonic fire burst out from between them. The flames fell on the hull of the wrecked spacecraft, leaving behind a filthy, greenish-black stain of corrosion. "Over time, these corrosion marks will become very similar to scorch marks. But the residual magic energy it lingers in cannot be hidden. There's a scent of magic in the ship's pipes. It's from a demonic race... a Fire Demon, a Terror Demon, or perhaps a high-level demon like me."
"The carrier was shot down by a demon?" Kevin was surprised. "There are demons on this planet?! We need to report this immediately!"
"No. They're gone now." Y'zaks looked up at the sky. "Demons have a strong sense of connection. I'm sure I'm the only demon on this planet 'right now.' They'd have to be so weak that I can't even detect them, but that's unlikely. Such a weak demon wouldn't pose any threat to such sturdy equipment."
"In any case, this must be reported," the data terminal said, its tone unusually serious. "There shouldn't be any demons in this star region... And we haven't received any recent requests for demonic passage here. They're most likely sneaking in. They even attacked a civilian transport ship hired by the Empire. This is no joke... Damn, those unreliable goblins. Spaceship crashes are so commonplace to them. They probably wouldn't even realize their ship was shot down unless they were pelted head-on with missiles!"
Kevin really wanted to know what kind of cheerful creatures these magical creatures called goblins were. Why did they sound so much like those profiteers on Old Street?
Nangong Wuyue circled nearby, examining the twisted debris scattered on the ground. From time to time, she curiously lifted a piece to examine it, acting like an expert. Finally, she seemed to have spotted something that intrigued her: "Look at this dent, doesn't it look like a leg?"
She held a large metal plate, about a meter long and wide (the girl was incredibly strong), also charred black. Its most striking feature was a distinct dent in the center. The shape of the dent truly looked like a whip kick, but the way it curved was a bit bizarre. Kevin spent a long time studying it before he understood: a twisted knee.
"It's truly a demonic mark," Kevin recalled, suddenly remembering Y'zaks, who also had a twisted knee in demon form, though his leg was much larger than the dent before him. "So, are all you demons so reckless? You dare to whip kick a spaceship right in the face? And this one seems to have even kicked it sideways..."
Y'zaks said nothing, merely contemplating the mark on the metal plate with a thoughtful expression, as if trying to determine the attacker's identity. Finally, he shook his head. "Let's get down to business. Report this to the goddess. She'll find a way to investigate."
"You seem quite trusting of her," Kevin muttered, leading the way out of the pit. The trio's next stop was a mountain two hundred kilometers away. This time, running there on foot was clearly a long way off, but long-distance travel wasn't a problem for Kevin these days. He silently glanced at his data terminal: "This time, I'm going to mark the teleportation point for a mission!"
"You're just too lazy!" the data terminal grumbled, then vanished into the horizon in a streak of light. The sonic boom was deafening, and its initial speed was estimated to be over ten Mach.
The data terminal now had a teleportation function, but it needed to record the coordinates of the destination before teleporting. If Kevin had taken it on a trip, this limitation would have been a bit of a bummer. But thanks to the Empire's advanced technology, the data terminal could move around on its own, and its speed was undoubtedly faster than any other vehicle Kevin had ever seen on Earth. Within minutes, the data terminal appeared before the three of them, teleporting directly back. "Forget the mountain! Let's go directly to the seabed," the data terminal's voice sounded displeased. "The crash site on the mountain is the main part of the carrier. The damage is the most severe, and it's now evenly distributed across the mountain. The cargo hold should be at that point on the seabed."
Kevin slapped his head: Why didn't I think of sending the data terminal to explore the route?
The third crash site was even farther away, two thousand kilometers to the ocean surface as a straight line, and then we'd have to dive vertically to an unknown depth. Needless to say, it was time for Nangong Wuyue to make an appearance.
"Dive directly to the seabed..." Kevin looked at Nangong Wuyue. "Can you take someone down?"
"Yes," Nangong Wuyue smiled at Kevin. "I'll take you down. Brother Y'zaks's size is really stressful, and he's born with the fire element, so diving is definitely not for him."
"I'll help you keep an eye on your luggage from up there." Y'zaks smiled and nodded, not minding the idea. Seeing the three had already assigned their tasks, the data terminal began emitting a faint blue light: "This machine has just been to the sea, and the coordinates have been recorded. Get ready, we're teleporting... Let's go!"
A screen of light enveloped the three, and when they opened their eyes again, they were already two thousand kilometers out at sea.
Two thousand kilometers out at sea... there was no land for thousands of miles, not even an island. But Kevin's anticipated situation of being teleported directly into the water and drenched didn't occur (with a data terminal as his partner, he was already accustomed to preparing for the worst in everything). The moment the teleportation was complete, just as he felt his body falling, he heard Nangong Wuyue let out a strange sound. It sounded like a scream, but it had an eerie rhythm that almost pierced his soul. With this scream, the surrounding seawater instantly froze, turning into solid ice before Kevin and Y'zaks landed.
Falling on the ice was a bit painful, but for Kevin now, it was just a tumble, much better than being directly immersed in the sea. Nangong Wuyue didn't land on the ice. With an excited expression, she dove directly into the azure ocean. Amidst the splashing water, Kevin caught only a fleeting glimpse of a shimmering golden-red scale. Then the mermaid vanished. He waited impatiently on the iceberg until she suddenly appeared from under his nose. With a leap, she glided across the water with unbridled joy.
Kevin stared blankly at the "mermaid princess," muttering to himself, "Finally, she's on her home turf... What a huge tail."
He was probably the first person whose only comment upon seeing a mermaid was, "What a huge tail!"