89: Chapter 89 Poseidon, the Sea King? No, it's the Dragon Kingdom's Frogman Team.

"Going fishing in the sea? Hahaha! Commander Lin, what you're saying... Old Li here has shot down planes and driven tanks in his life, but I've never fired a cannon in a ten-thousand-meter deep sea before!"

General Li Yunlong's hearty and booming laughter echoed through the entire fleet via the communicator. His weathered face was now filled with excitement and fervor, as if he had returned to those war-torn, passionate years.

"Let alone fishing, if you told Old Li to go and pull out that big guy's 'dragon tendon' right now, I wouldn't hesitate!"

"Good!" Lin Yun wanted precisely this kind of spirit.

He looked at the super soldiers' faces, flushed with excitement, on the screen and gave a solemn order.

"I order General Li Yunlong to serve as the chief instructor, to select one thousand warriors with the strongest will and richest combat experience from all super soldiers in the army, and form the first 'Dragon Whale' Deep-Sea Special Operations Unit!"

"All selected personnel are to immediately parachute to the dinghai-class warship and undergo 'Dragon Whale' genetic modification!"

"Three hours from now, I want you to become the first true deep-sea dominators on this planet!"

With this order, the entire Dragon Country army erupted in excitement.

Being selected for the "Dragon Whale" to execute humanity's first ten-thousand-meter deep-sea combat mission was the highest honor for any super soldier!

Three hours later.

The spacious aft deck of the dinghai-class warship had been transformed into a temporary genetic modification center.

One thousand super soldiers, handpicked from Dragon Country's most elite forces, stood in neat rows, wearing specialized biological combat suits. Their eyes were sharper than the keenest blades, and the iron-blooded killing intent emanating from them almost solidified the surrounding air.

General Li Yunlong, as the first 'seed candidate' to undergo modification, strode confidently into the modification chamber filled with blue nutrient solution.

"Brothers, Old Li will go in and scout ahead!"

"If I'm not out in an hour, then... wait another hour!"

As the hatch closed, the blue 'Dragon Whale' modification fluid was slowly injected.

Everyone watched the changes occurring inside the chamber with tension through the external medical monitoring screens.

General Li Yunlong's originally bronzed skin, upon contact with the modification fluid, had all its pores open up, as if greedily absorbing the energy within.

Immediately after, from behind his ears to both sides of his neck, his skin began to slightly bulge, and fine, gill-like folds grew and formed at a visible speed.

At the same time, his entire body's muscle fibers, guided by nanobots, began undergoing higher-density restructuring and strengthening. His bones were infused with the pressure-resistant properties of some deep-sea creature at the genetic level, becoming tougher. On his retinal surface, a new layer of photosensitive cells capable of capturing faint light was forming...

The entire process was full of science fiction and mystery, yet it followed the most rigorous principles of life science.

Half an hour later.

"Bang!"

The modification chamber's hatch was kicked open.

A brand new Li Yunlong appeared before everyone.

His appearance hadn't changed much, but his eyes had become deeper, and his breathing was long and steady. Yet everyone knew that profound changes had occurred within the old general's body.

He walked to the edge of the deck, glanced at the bottomless black sea below, and a heroic smile spread across his lips.

Then, to everyone's shock, he leaped into the sea without even bringing diving equipment, like a cannonball fired from a barrel!

He caused no significant splash; his body seemed to merge with the seawater.

The large screen in the command center immediately switched to footage captured by a miniature submersible following him.

General Li Yunlong, in the water, didn't need to surface for air at all. The newly grown Biological Gills on both sides of his neck opened and closed rhythmically, efficiently separating oxygen from the seawater.

His movements were more agile than the most nimble dolphin and swifter than the fiercest shark.

His descent speed in the water even surpassed most submarines!

Depth five hundred meters... one thousand meters... three thousand meters... five thousand meters...

When the depth gauge's number jumped to eight thousand meters—ten times the extreme depth for human submarines.

He even effortlessly performed a set of military calisthenics on the seabed!

"Awesome! This is so damn awesome!"

General Li Yunlong's excited roar came back clearly through the specialized bone-conduction communicator. "It's like the swimming pool in our backyard down here! No pressure! Absolutely no pressure at all!"

This scene completely ignited the enthusiasm of all the super soldiers on deck.

"Report! Request immediate modification!"

"Report! We are ready!"

Over the next few hours, miracles continuously unfolded on the deck of the dinghai-class warship.

One thousand of Dragon Country's top warriors, under the effect of the 'Dragon Whale' modification fluid, completed the ultimate evolution from land overlords to deep-sea dominators.

As night fell.

Above the Mariana Trench, nine Luan Bird motherships floated silently like nine black moons, completely sealing off this sea area.

On the sea surface, the dinghai-class warship was brightly lit.

Lin Yun stood at the bow, beside him were the one thousand 'Dragon Whale' team members who had just completed their modifications and donned sleek, jet-black 'Dragon Scale' Deep-Sea Combat Suits.

This combat suit was hastily produced by Lin Yun using the Luan Bird production line. It not only provided basic protection and power assistance but also integrated miniature plasma weapons, quantum communication units, and a 'Nuwa' sub-AI for tactical assistance.

"Brothers!"

Lin Yun turned around, his gaze sweeping over the thousand young and resolute faces before him.

"Beneath your feet, in that ten-thousand-meter abyss, slumbers an enemy attempting to destroy our homeland."

"Media worldwide have given it a name, 'Poseidon,' believing it to be a god of the ocean."

Lin Yun scoffed disdainfully.

"But today, I want you to go down and tell it."

"From now on, this sea belongs to the Dragon Country!"

"The so-called god of the ocean, in front of our Dragon Country's Frogmen, is just a big loach that needs to undergo 'political review'!"

"Depart!"

With Lin Yun's command.

"Plop! Plop! Plop!"

One thousand 'Dragon Whale' team members, like dumplings dropping into water, silently leaped into the dark seawater, without stirring a single extra ripple, instantly vanishing from the surface.

Their target was the lair of the Living Planet Engine!

And their first battle soon arrived.

When the 'Dragon Whale' squad descended to a depth of nine thousand meters, into a 'Deep-Sea Rainforest' heated by geothermal currents and covered with strange glowing corals.

An ambush appeared.

Tens of thousands of mutated creatures, altered by the energy of deep-sea behemoths, suddenly lunged out from the shadows in all directions!

There were 'Armored Emperor Crabs' over thirty meters long, with giant scythe-like claws!

There were 'Swordfish' that could shoot ultra-high-pressure water jets, instantly cutting through submarine armor!

There were even swarms of 'Deep-Sea Lanternfish' with collective telepathic abilities! They could create illusions capable of driving ordinary people insane!

This was a deep-sea army composed of monsters!

"Hey! Just in time! This new gun of mine hasn't been used yet!"

General Li Yunlong took the lead, his Plasma Rifle suddenly lit up, and a scorching blue beam instantly severed the giant claw of an attacking Armored Emperor Crab!

"All personnel, attention! Free fire!"

"Let's teach these arrogant seafoods a good lesson!"

An unprecedented ten-thousand-meter deep-sea battle instantly erupted!

Brilliant plasma beams carved paths of death in the dark deep sea.

The 'Dragon Whale' team members formed the most effective attack formations in groups of three and teams of five. Their tactical prowess and coordination were far superior to those monsters that only knew how to attack by instinct.

Their 'Dragon Scale' combat suits provided perfect protection; the monsters' attacks left not even a scratch on them.

And the plasma weapons in their hands were an absolute dimensionality reduction strike against these carbon-based creatures!

The battle was a one-sided slaughter!

However, Lin Yun, on the bridge of the dinghai-class warship, watched the spectacular battle scene with a slight frown.

He always felt that things were not that simple.

These monsters, though numerous, seemed more like... cannon fodder.

Their purpose didn't seem to be to eliminate the 'Dragon Whale' squad, but rather to... buy time?

"Nuwa, any discoveries?" Lin Yun asked in his mind.

[Commander, by analyzing the battlefield data stream, I found that the energy fluctuations within these monsters are highly synchronized with a massive energy source located one hundred kilometers behind them.]

[Moreover, after the battle began, the output power of that massive energy source did not weaken; instead, it is skyrocketing exponentially!]

[It seems to be using the deaths of this cannon fodder for some kind of... sacrifice?]

Just then, General Li Yunlong also reported a new discovery.

"Reporting, Chief Commander! We've broken through the enemy's defenses! Ahead, we've found... a giant cave!"

"That cave is full of purple light!"

Lin Yun's heart sank instantly.

He immediately switched General Li Yunlong's tactical helmet perspective to the main screen.

Before the 'Dragon Whale' squad, a massive underwater cave, like an abyssal maw, glowed with an eerie purple light.

And in the center of that cave, upon a giant altar constructed from countless bones and unknown metals.

A... 'person' stood silently.

The reason it was called a 'person' was because it had limbs and a torso similar to humans.

But its entire body was covered in strange, silver, scale-like armor, its face wore a completely sealed metal mask, and from its back extended twelve insect-like purple wings made of pure energy.

It seemed to have sensed the arrival of the 'Dragon Whale' squad and slowly turned around.

Even through the mask, everyone felt a cold and arrogant gaze, as if from ancient primordial times, fall upon them.

"What... what the hell is this thing?" General Li Yunlong was also stunned. "Poseidon himself?"

Lin Yun stared intently at the figure on the screen, his pupils contracting sharply.

Because he recognized that figure!

The silhouette of that figure, that silver armor, was identical to the figure he had glimpsed through a detector on the far side of the Moon before!

The Moon Gate's Emissary!

He had been hiding on Earth all this time! Hiding in this ten-thousand-meter deep-sea abyss!

The Silver-Armored Envoy didn't seem to intend to attack immediately; he merely raised his hand and pointed behind the altar.

The space there began to ripple like water.

A massive teleportation gate, made of pure energy, was slowly forming!

And behind that teleportation gate, faintly visible, was a dense, sky-obscuring... interstellar fleet!

"No!" Lin Yun instantly understood the enemy's plot!

This Living Planet Engine, this Silver-Armored Envoy, these monsters... everything was merely a sacrifice and cover prepared to open this teleportation gate!

Their true objective was to open an invasion channel directly to Earth's core for the Moon Gate's main fleet!

"General Li! Destroy that teleportation gate at all costs!"