Barn Ruins

The [Foam-Born Jellyfish Society], commonly known as the [Jellyfish Society], held considerable influence in [Bangxu].

Although the entrances and exits through the barrier were open to free passage, guards were still stationed there to conduct risk assessments.

Under the current circumstances, with war already underway, a stranger like Chen Miemie should have been subjected to strict questioning.

In reality, Morwen merely took out a small token and waved it in front of the guards. Without Chen Miemie saying a word, he was escorted straight inside.

The moment he passed through the barrier, Chen Miemie’s eyes widened.

“So this is the underwater city of [Bangxu]?”

The deep-blue barrier had blocked his view before, but now that nothing stood in the way, a city straight out of a dream unfolded before Chen Miemie’s eyes.

[Bangxu] was shaped like a gigantic circle. The most eye-catching feature was the enormous dome covering the entire city. It was woven from the skeletons of hundreds of thousands of giant glass sponges. The city’s protective barrier originated from this structure and drew its power from it.

The gaps in the dome’s latticework were filled with jellyfish-like gelatinous material, while luminous algae grew along the inner walls, bathing the surroundings in a soft blue-green glow.

Morwen began introducing her city to Chen Miemie.

“[Bangxu] wasn’t ‘built.’ It was ‘cultivated.’ The city itself was transformed from coral.

“Here, the main structure of every building is made from coral skeletons. They’re hard and covered in delicate patterns, with colors ranging from powder white to deep violet.

“Most of the buildings have streamlined shapes. Some have domes like sea urchins, some have spires like conch shells, and some have arcades resembling the ribs of whales.”

Each time Morwen pointed something out, Chen Miemie followed her gaze. This city submerged in water was filled with glowing jellyfish and seaweed. There were fresh wonders everywhere he looked, leaving him struggling to take them all in.

“What’s that in the center?” he asked, pointing toward a spiral-shaped tower at the very heart of the city.

“That’s the central structure, the [Tidal Temple]. It was transformed from the shell of a giant nautilus, and its interior contains a spiraling ramp.

“At the top is a massive tide clock. It senses the rise and fall of the tides to drive its gears, displaying the time, phases of the moon, and changes in ocean currents.”

“What a beautiful city. It would be even more incredible if the outer barrier were transparent, so you could see the ocean outside.”

Chen Miemie tilted his head slightly to avoid a school of small fish swimming straight toward them.

“The barrier is normally transparent. But since we’re on the verge of war, we deliberately added this color to block the view. That way, the humans outside can’t get a clear look at the city’s layout.”

“Then people inside can’t see outside either, right?”

“That’s right. But we’re on home ground and know the surrounding area well. Besides, the authority to adjust the transparency of individual sections is in our hands.”

The three of them chatted as they walked. After only a short distance, they found a carriage waiting ahead.

“Please get in. We’ll go straight to the [Jellyfish Society].”

Chen Miemie looked at the “horse” carriage before him, doing his best to keep his expression under control.

The carriage itself looked fairly normal—a simple rectangular cabin. The horses, however, were anything but normal. They were four enormous seahorses.

The three of them climbed aboard. Morwen did not enter the cabin. Instead, she sat outside and took on the role of temporary coachman.

At her command, the seahorses began to pull the carriage forward, following the route they knew by heart.

Only Chen Miemie and Nuan Yang were inside the cabin.

Riding in a carriage underwater was a strange experience.

For Chen Miemie, who had spent his entire life on land, simply sitting still was difficult. The currents and buoyancy tugged at him from all directions, making him sway helplessly.

In water, no matter how strong a person was, without solid ground beneath their feet, they couldn’t exert their strength properly.

Fortunately, tonight was Eternal Moon Night, and his strength was astonishing. He managed to steady himself. At any other time, he probably would have floated all over the cabin like an astronaut inside a space capsule.

He had barely settled in when a new problem arose.

The temperature inside the cabin began rising rapidly.

Nuan Yang smiled and explained, “Please bear with it for a moment. My ability is [Warm Current]. It raises the temperature of the water around me. The effect is slightly more pronounced in confined spaces.”

Chen Miemie: “…”

How was this merely “slightly more pronounced”? In just a short while, the water inside the cabin had already begun to bubble. It was practically boiling!

Chen Miemie had experienced firsthand the “warmth” of the Bangxu Witch.

The carriage continued onward. After roughly twenty minutes, he had spent the entire journey being boiled alive.

“We’re here,” Morwen’s voice came from outside the cabin.

Chen Miemie was the first to step out. The headquarters of the [Jellyfish Society] appeared before him.

To his surprise, the building of the [Jellyfish Society] was not shaped like a jellyfish at all. It was the skeleton of a whale.

Nuan Yang extended a hand, gesturing for him to enter.

“This is [Whalefall Garden]. The whale’s shape isn’t man-made. The skeleton of a blue whale really did sink here. Later, we chose this place as our territory.”

Chen Miemie’s visit this time was meant to be discreet. Neither he nor the [Jellyfish Society] wanted the entire city to know about it.

The farther inside they went, the more the place took on a gloomy, ominous air.

The interior of [Whalefall Garden] was practically death-gothic in style—pale and razor-sharp. The buildings were constructed from layers of whale bones, with vertebra-shaped pillars, rib-shaped archways, and domes resembling skulls.

The reception hall where Chen Miemie was to be entertained was a grand chamber made from a whale’s skull. The inside of the skull had been remodeled into a hall, while the eye sockets had become two round windows glowing with a ghastly green light.

Nuan Yang led Chen Miemie in through the whale’s mouth, stepping across its teeth.

The teeth were sharp, but moving underwater meant that they were half walking and half swimming, so there was very little weight beneath their feet. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t injure the soles of his feet.

Nuan Yang still offered a warning.

“If your body happens to be cut by the whale bones, be sure to tell me. They’re highly poisonous, but we have an antidote.”

The two of them entered the reception hall.

The hall should have been empty, yet someone had taken over the seat of honor. Even after seeing the true owner and her distinguished guest arrive, the intruder remained completely unmoved, with no intention of shifting an inch.

Nuan Yang felt a faint headache coming on. She hadn’t expected this fellow to show up in the reception hall today.

“This is the [Whale-Form Heavy Water Aggregate] left behind by Lord Third Seat.

“It’s composed entirely of a special type of ‘heavy water,’ which makes communication difficult. It appears and disappears throughout the entire base and generally doesn’t hurt people. However, if it isn’t fed a large quantity of food at regular intervals, it will grow larger and start causing trouble, throwing the entire base into chaos.”

“Then what does it want now?”

Nuan Yang helplessly spread her hands.

“When it comes here, it usually means it’s hungry.”