Chapter 9: Deep Sea Fantasy

Illusions about the ocean are rooted in human genes. Since ancient times, the ocean has been a source of illusion.

Its abundance is good, and its abundance becomes evil.

Whether in the East or the West, in the south or in the north, human emotions for the sea have become gods and demons: whether it is Mazu or Poseidon, Kraken or Horned Beluga, all of these are born out of fear, and it is the worship of great things by human beings.

Over time, this sentiment changed after the Industrial Revolution.

The feudal customs of the Age of Sail began to diminish with the practicality of the steam engine, and were replaced by a discipline of steel. The more we know about the ocean, the less we fear it. With the publication of various naturalist magazines, mankind began to understand the ocean gradually.

Since then, humanity's illusions about the ocean have shifted dramatically. Catastrophes, mutations, prehistoric civilizations, and Captain Nemo.

All in all, it is a symbol of humanity's 'conquest' of the sea. They no longer see the ocean as inviolable, and even if they encounter great dangers and weirdness, they only think that they are not well understood and need to be further explored.

Although to this day, human understanding of the ocean is still limited, but it is precisely this spirit that has led to the creation of theme parks like Lemu.

Well, probably.

"By the way, Klut, have you heard of the undersea immigration program?"

"What?"

"It's the undersea migration program. I remember a long time ago that many countries promoted this kind of plan, and if you lived in a city like that, would it be like staying in Lemu every day?"

Is that a city?

Alice's sudden question brings back memories for Clut.

When it comes to the topic of 'underwater city', we have to mention Kluet's young age. At that time, the topic of 'colony' was very hot. Whether it's building a giant space city at the gravitational equilibrium point, or exploring marine resources to build an underwater city. At that time, humanity was keen to expand the scope of its existence—perhaps because of the great fear of the brutality of World War III, and that desire for the environment lasted for a long time, resulting in some of the 'experimental products' that are still famous today.

Several rail elevators built in the equatorial region, an underwater sphere laboratory off the coast of Japan, oh yes, Klut suddenly remembered that the real owner of Lemu, the Rabili Pharmaceutical Bureau, had also been involved in the madness of that time.

Although it is still unclear why a German-Japanese joint venture would be interested in this area. But at that time, the company did come up with the theory of a 'perfect ecosystem' and came up with a plan for the construction of an undersea city.

Energy comes from ocean currents, submarine volcanoes, and nuclear reactors. The urban shell is made of double-layer pressure-resistant material.

Food sources, disease prevention, transportation methods – all the problems can be solved, but the cost is too great. Not only the cost of construction, but also the cost of maintaining the city is staggeringly high.

It's so high that it's impossible to cover itself.

So that project was a matter of course.

Only a small part of the construction was forcibly halted and the Japanese government announced the termination of the contract.

So, could it be here...... The former site of the underwater city'

Thinking of this, Kluet's train of thought suddenly became clear.

Although the memory of his youth has long been blurred, the general outline can still be remembered.

Klute then wondered why the Rabili Pharmaceutical Bureau probably didn't build Lemu because it wanted to build a marine paradise here, but because it used the 'legacy' of the past to build the facility.

Although why it is an amusement park is not clear.

But what if you think backwards?

If it wasn't 'a research institute under the amusement park', it was 'an amusement park built on top of the research institute'. Wouldn't that be a little easier to understand?

What is that purpose.

“……”

Kluutter stopped thinking.

Although there are still many doubts, this kind of thing has nothing to do with Kluet. The old man didn't want to think about it anymore.

He didn't want to know exactly what the institute was studying, as long as it didn't get in touch with him and cause trouble.

Thinking of this, Klute shoved the hot dog into his mouth. He munched on it and savored the 'food' recommended by Sora.

The hot dog sausages smeared with wasabi burst open in his mouth, and the overflowing juice burst out with a rich aroma that slammed into every taste bud.

The spicy taste runs down the nasal passages and goes straight to the brain. Kluet's eyes narrowed in satisfaction, and he couldn't help but exclaim.

"That's a good one. ”

"Oh, oh, oh, if you like it. ”

The master in charge of making hot dogs let out a hearty laugh. He was probably a little younger than Kluter, but his slightly rickety figure looked older than Kluter.

He picked up a towel and wiped the sweat from his neck. Then take advantage of the absence of tourists to continue to talk to this giant-like brother.

"You're here with your granddaughter?"

"Brother, your vision—"

"No, we're daughters. ”

Klut was about to say something, but Alice pushed Klut (didn't push) and answered with a smile.

The hot dog shop owner was in awe of this answer, and he greeted Krud as he added another sausage to the hot iron plate.

"Brother, you're amazing. ”

I'm not, I'm not.

Klut wanted to say something, but what could he say?

He just smiled wryly and took the second hot dog, which was filled with double sausages thanks to the owner's special treat.

"Oh awe! This one is even better than the one just now!"

"Haha, I think you'll like this - it's a pity that alcohol is not allowed here, otherwise a big glass of cold beer would be better. ”

"You know a lot, brother!"

Krut laughed and patted the shopkeeper on the shoulder. Although he deliberately controlled the power, the big hand still made the shopkeeper grin.

"Brother, you are light, you have a lot of hands. ”

"Okay, good, one more, one more mustard. ”

"Okay—I didn't blow it to you, I've been practicing the art of roasting hot dogs for decades. ”

"So long?"

"yes, I did it when I was in high school. At that time, the shop where our class was out of the school festival, I knew from the moment I roasted my first hot dog - I was in this line of my life!"

"Awesome, brother, I really envy you. ”

"Dude, what are you doing?

"No, no, it's a soldier. ”

"Oh, I used to want to join the army and fight—remember when we were young? At that time, the large armor suits were all said to be like Gundam, and they all wanted to be soldiers and have fun. As a result, I was dismounted, which is a pity. ”

"Oh, I remember, it's the old one, right? MMA-2? haha, let me tell you, I have that thing. ”

"Really!?"

"Test machine, envy or not? Let's add a friend in a while, and come to play with me when we have time. ”

"Oh, thank you. ”

The topic between the old men instantly became hot, which made the girl group on the side a little confused.

Fortunately, Klut has a sense of time, and after eating the last hot dog, the old man happily greeted his brother and stopped the conversation.

After all, the person who came to play was Alice, and there was no reason for Kluet's own chatting and leaving this eldest lady alone.

But just as the group was about to move on and wander around, a muffled sound came from above their heads, accompanied by a slight tremor of the floor.

"What hit it?"

The owner of the hot dog shop muttered to himself, straightening his hat.

In his opinion, it could be some kind of sea creature that hit Lemu's pressure-resistant shell. Hence the sound.

But Klute doesn't think so.

He looked up at the dome with a cold gaze.

He knew it wasn't just an ordinary collision. For an underwater structure of Lemu's size, to achieve the level of vibration just now, a blue whale would have to crash into this direction at full speed.

Or rather...... It's blasting.

"I don't want to, but just in case it's the true nature of a mercenary......"

"Well, what did you say?"

While trying to make contact with the control room, Sora looks confused when he hears Klute talking to himself. As a service avatar in pure peace mode, she didn't know much from Kluet's language.

But it didn't matter, Klut hadn't spoken to her in the first place.

"Nothing, just a change in plans. This may be the end of today's journey?"

If the situation allows.