110: Chapter 109 Preparations for Wormhole Exploration, Childhood Sweethearts Reunited, Invitation to Cooperation?

Dragon Country, Capital, a high-level training base.

Luo Yu stood at the edge of the training ground, watching the familiar figure in the center.

Su Zhiruo.

She had changed a lot in three months.

Her originally delicate face now carried a hint of heroism, and her aura had become unfathomable.

At this moment, she was training in Space Teleportation.

Hum!

The air distorted.

Su Zhiruo's figure disappeared from where she was, and the next second, she appeared fifty meters away.

Blinking again.

One hundred meters.

Two hundred meters.

Three hundred meters.

After more than a dozen consecutive teleports, her breathing remained steady.

"Not bad."

Luo Yu walked into the training ground.

Su Zhiruo turned around, and the moment she saw Luo Yu, her beautiful eyes immediately curved into crescent moons.

"Luo Yu!"

The next second, she teleported directly in front of Luo Yu and hugged him.

"I missed you to death."

"Me too."

Luo Yu patted her back.

"Hiss! (Hey, hey)"

Godzilla was lying on Luo Yu's shoulder, flicking its tail in dissatisfaction.

Su Zhiruo let go of Luo Yu and looked at the Little Lizard: "Godzilla is here too."

"Hiss! (No kidding)"

"Still so tsundere."

Su Zhiruo smiled and reached out, wanting to touch Godzilla's head.

"Hiss! (Don't touch me)"

Godzilla dodged.

"Alright, stop messing around."

Luo Yu took Godzilla off his shoulder and placed it on the ground, "Go play over there."

"Hiss! (I'm not a kid)"

Godzilla flicked its tail and walked to the corner of the training ground, lying down to sunbathe.

"I heard you're going to explore the wormhole?" Su Zhiruo asked.

"Yeah."

"I'm going too."

"I know, General Lie Huo told me." Luo Yu looked at her and asked seriously: "Are you sure you want to go? The wormhole is very dangerous."

"I'm not afraid." Su Zhiruo held Luo Yu's hand and said: "Besides, I'm an SS-rank Space-type Awakener now, I can help."

"Alright then." Luo Yu smiled: "It just so happens I don't want to go alone."

"When are we leaving?"

"In a week."

"Then we still have time to coordinate." Su Zhiruo let go of his hand and stepped back a few paces, "Come on, try my Space Teleportation."

"How do I try?"

"Just stand still."

As soon as she finished speaking.

Hum!

Luo Yu felt the space around him distort, and the next second, he had appeared at the other end of the training ground.

"Holy crap."

Luo Yu looked down at himself, completely unharmed.

"How was it?"

Su Zhiruo teleported to his side, "I can carry people during teleportation now, and the distance can reach thirty kilometers."

"Impressive."

Luo Yu was genuinely impressed.

Space-type abilities were rare to begin with, and those reaching SS-rank were even rarer.

And so, after some intimate moments between the couple, the next week was spent with Luo Yu and Su Zhiruo training together every day, mainly practicing combat coordination.

For example, when Luo Yu attacked, Su Zhiruo used Space Teleportation to help him adjust his position.

Or when facing danger, Su Zhiruo would directly teleport Luo Yu to a safe area.

Godzilla also participated in the training, but its method of participation was rather special—acting as a target.

"Hiss! (I quit)"

Godzilla lay on the ground, its tail flicking back and forth.

"Don't be like that, just one last time." Luo Yu coaxed.

"Hiss! (You say that every time)"

"This time is really the last time."

"Hiss! (Liar)"

Although it complained, Godzilla still stood up and grew to fifty meters tall.

Su Zhiruo took a deep breath and formed hand seals.

Hum!

Space distorted.

The fifty-meter-tall Godzilla disappeared from where it was, and the next second, it appeared one hundred meters away.

"Success!"

Su Zhiruo jumped up with excitement.

This was her first successful teleportation of Godzilla.

"Hiss! (Dizzy)"

Godzilla shook its head, shrank back to thirty centimeters, and lay on the ground, motionless.

"What's wrong with Godzilla?" Su Zhiruo asked worriedly.

"It's fine, it's just not used to Space Teleportation." Luo Yu walked over, picked up Godzilla, and said: "It'll be fine after a rest."

"Hiss! (Don't teleport me next time)"

"Got it, got it."

A week passed quickly.

The day before departure.

Luo Yu and Su Zhiruo arrived at the East Sea Defense Line Command Center.

General Zhankuang was already waiting for them.

"Are you ready?"

"We can leave at any time." Luo Yu replied.

"Very good."

General Zhankuang opened the tablet on the table, pulled up the real-time monitoring data of the wormhole, and said: "This is the latest situation with the wormhole, take a look."

Luo Yu and Su Zhiruo leaned in.

The screen showed that the diameter of the East Sea Wormhole had stabilized at about one kilometer, and the energy fluctuations were also tending to calm down.

"The wormhole is currently in a dormant state." General Zhankuang explained: "According to our observations, this state will last for one to two months, which is the best time for exploration."

"What is the situation on the other side of the wormhole?" Su Zhiruo asked.

"We don't know yet." General Zhankuang shook his head and said: "We sent drones in, but they were useless. The abyss energy is too strong, limiting the signal transmission distance; we can only detect up to one kilometer inside the wormhole at most."

"So we're going in blind?"

"You could say that."

General Zhankuang looked at Luo Yu, speaking in a serious tone: "That's why I said it's dangerous; you could encounter unknown threats at any time."

"I know."

Luo Yu said very calmly: "But with Godzilla here, it shouldn't be a big problem."

"Hiss! (Leave it to me)"

Godzilla lay on the shoulder of Luo Yu, flicking its tail.

"Oh, right."

General Zhankuang took two wristbands out of a drawer and smiled: "These are newly developed communication devices that can be used inside the wormhole, with a signal transmission distance of up to fifty kilometers."

"Really?"

Luo Yu and Su Zhiruo each put on a wristband.

"Finally..." General Zhankuang stood up, walked over to Luo Yu, patted his shoulder, and said: "You're leaving tomorrow, be careful and come back alive."

"Don't worry."

Luo Yu and Su Zhiruo looked at each other and smiled.

...

Eagle Country, Asgala State, temporary base at the entrance to the Hollow Earth World.

The huge cave entrance was over five hundred meters in diameter, and the pitch-black abyss had no visible bottom.

A large amount of military equipment was deployed around it: searchlights, mechas, and armed helicopters.

In the base command room.

"Have the bodies of the fourth exploration team been found?"

The Minister of National Defense of Eagle Country stood in front of the big screen, his face ashen.

"Found..."

The technician pulled up the footage.

The screen showed a scene of bloody, mangled wreckage.

Twelve S-rank Awakeners, three fifth-generation mechas, all wiped out.

"Has the cause of death been determined?"

"According to the analysis of the scene..." The technician swallowed, saying: "They were likely torn apart by some kind of giant creature."

"A giant creature?"

"Yes, and judging from the wounds, the creature's size is at least over two hundred meters, and its strength is extremely terrifying."

The Minister of National Defense clenched his fists.

A giant creature over two hundred meters—that was already the standard for a Fifth-Order Abyssal Giant Beast.

"What exactly is in the Hollow Earth World?"

"Not clear." The technician shook his head: "The drones we sent in could only detect up to three thousand meters underground; any deeper and the signal would be cut off."

"Three thousand meters..."

The Minister of National Defense stared at the cave entrance on the screen.

This cave was discovered a month ago. At the time, the high-level officials of Eagle Country were incredibly excited, thinking they had found a trump card to counter Dragon Country.

But now...

Four exploration teams, fifty-six S-rank Awakeners, nineteen fifth-generation mechas, all lost inside.

No,

except for the ace Mecha Pilot - Aivie Stirling.

But... now Aivie Stirling was also injured and currently undergoing treatment.

"Should we continue sending people down?" The technician asked cautiously.

"Send my ass."

The Minister of National Defense turned and left the command room.

He had to go back to The Hundred Palaces to report this extremely terrible news to the President.

...

The Hundred Palaces, President's Office.

"Another failure?"

After hearing the report, the President's face looked terrible.

"Yes." The Minister of National Defense lowered his head, "The fourth exploration team was wiped out, and according to the traces at the scene, there is at least one Fifth-Order Hollow Earth Giant Beast in the Hollow Earth World."

"Fifth-Order..."

The President closed his eyes.

A Fifth-Order Abyssal Giant Beast was already hard enough to deal with, and now there was a Fifth-Order Hollow Earth Giant Beast?

Was the Abyss Era really targeting Eagle Country?

"Can our mecha technology be improved?"

"Not in the short term." The Minister of National Defense shook his head and said: "The fifth-generation mecha is already our technological limit. To break through to the sixth generation, it will take at least a year."

"A year..."

The President opened his eyes, revealing a gloomy expression.

In a year, everything would be over.

"Mr. President." The Minister of National Defense hesitated but spoke up, "I still have the same suggestion: please ask Dragon Country for help."

Hearing this,

the President turned around, stared fixedly at the Minister of National Defense, and said: "Not considering it for now."

"..."

The Minister of National Defense opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.

He knew the President's character; once a decision was made, even ten oxen couldn't pull him back.

"You may leave."

"Yes."

The Minister of National Defense turned and left.

Only the President remained in the office.

He walked to the window and looked at the night view outside.

The image of Luo Yu receiving his medal kept appearing in his mind.

An eighteen-year-old General.

And that Godzilla that could insta-kill a sixth-order giant beast.

"Damn it..."

The President clenched his fists.

He was unwilling to accept this.

As the former world's number one power, could Eagle Country not even handle a small Hollow Earth World?

"Do I really have to ask Dragon Country for help?"

The President muttered to himself.

Just then,

the office door was pushed open.

The Secretary of State walked in.

"Mr. President, I have something to say."

"What is it?"

"Regarding the exploration of the Hollow Earth World." The Secretary of State walked up to the President: "I suggest inviting Luo Yu and Godzilla from Dragon Country."

"Are you here to persuade me too?"

"It's not persuasion." The Secretary of State shook his head, "It's stating a fact. The whole world knows that only Godzilla can deal with high-order giant beasts. If we want to explore the Hollow Earth World, we must utilize the power of Dragon Country."

"Doesn't that equal admitting once again that Eagle Country is inferior to Dragon Country?"

"It's not like we haven't admitted it before; what's the harm in admitting it again?" The Secretary of State countered: "Mr. President, this is not the time to be stubborn. The Hollow Earth World might hold secrets that could change the world's landscape and help deal with Abyssal Giant Beasts. If we give up exploration because of face, that would be the real failure."

The President fell silent.

He knew the Secretary of State was right.

But he really couldn't bring himself to bow to Dragon Country.

"Besides..."

The Secretary of State continued: "We can phrase it differently; not a request for help, but an invitation to cooperate."

"Cooperate?"

"Yes." The Secretary of State said with a smile: "We can say that the Hollow Earth World of the Abyss Era is the wealth of all mankind, and Eagle Country is willing to explore it together with Dragon Country and share the results."

"Phrased like that..."

The President's expression relaxed.

If it was phrased like that, his face would still be saved.

Fine!

Then invite them,

the two countries would share the secrets of the Hollow Earth World.