185: Chapter 185 Bottom of the Abyss

"What's so special about it?" Zhang Sheng asked, puzzled.

"The volume of water in this river is simply too massive, yet we've walked along the bank for so long without discovering any other tributaries," Su Xiaobai said solemnly.

Zhang Sheng's pupils constricted. Previously, he had only marveled at the river's size without considering the source of such a vast volume of water.

Under normal circumstances, it is actually the large rivers and great streams that tend to have many tributaries.

Water from other areas flows through tributaries and eventually merges into the main channel.

Only the convergence of countless tributary sources can form a river of sufficient size.

"There are two possibilities," Su Xiaobai analyzed. "First, this great river is so long that the stretch we've covered just happens to have no tributaries."

"Another possibility is that this river has no tributaries, but the volume of water at its source is terrifyingly vast, enough to sustain the flow of such a massive river."

Speaking of this, Su Xiaobai frowned. "Let's call this river the Yuan River from now on. Constantly calling it 'the big river' feels too awkward."

"Good! The name Yuan River is excellent!" Zhang Sheng gave a thumbs up, then ordered, "The Yuan River is worth exploring. The hundred men of the First Squad, pack your gear and prepare to head down into the river."

"Yes, Captain!" Da Zhuang responded loudly.

Currently, Da Zhuang was the Company Commander of the First Squad, and both his rank and position in the military had seen significant promotions.

"First Squad, fall in!"

"In three minutes, we will head down to explore the Yuan River. Once in the water, do not get separated! Remember to keep your Mental Barriers open at all times!" Da Zhuang ordered loudly.

Mental Energy can manipulate objects, so a Mental Barrier formed from it can not only block soul invasions from ghosts but is also waterproof, dustproof, and shell-proof, possessing strong physical defensive capabilities.

Splash, splash... One hundred soldiers entered the water one after another.

There was no need to worry about not knowing how to swim; with Mental Energy, it was just like flying underwater.

Su Xiaobai watched as the hundred soldiers jumped into the Yuan River one by one, his eyes filled with worry.

The reason he named it the Yuan River was that unless you scooped the water up with your hands, it appeared as black as ink on the surface.

Su Xiaobai had once used his Mental Energy to draw out some water from the Yuan River and found that it was actually very clear.

An old saying goes: When the water is deep, it becomes an abyss!

With the entire Yuan River appearing black, one could only imagine how deep the water must be!

"Xiao Wu, report on the status of the communication module!" Zhang Sheng suddenly said as he watched the hundred soldiers enter the water.

"Communications are all normal." Xiao Wu of the Tenth Company glanced at the portable communication module he was carrying on his back.

Although communication signals couldn't travel from the Spatial Rift to the Soul Realm, what if they only communicated with each other within the Soul Realm?

Once this idea was proposed, it was adopted by Su Fan.

He ordered the exploration team to carry two portable communication modules to serve as relay hosts.

He wanted the exploration team to see if they could establish a local area network for communication.

As it turned out, the idea was feasible, though because the portable communication modules were so small, their functions were relatively limited, only allowing for voice calls.

Currently, the communication modules of everyone's exoskeleton armor were connected to the communication module on Xiao Wu's back.

There was another communication module on the back of another soldier, kept as a backup.

"Da Zhuang, Da Zhuang, can you hear me?" Zhang Sheng turned on the communicator of his exoskeleton armor, found Da Zhuang's communication ID, and dialed.

"I hear you!" Da Zhuang's voice came through.

"Is the riverbed safe?" Zhang Sheng continued to ask.

"Safe for now. The river is very, very deep; we are descending rapidly. So far, we haven't found any fish or other life forms on the riverbed," Da Zhuang briefly reported the situation underwater.

"Good. Maintain communication and stay safe!" Zhang Sheng said seriously.

"Yes, sir!"

...

Time passed slowly as Da Zhuang periodically reported the underwater situation to Zhang Sheng.

This river was clean, surprisingly clean. After more than half an hour, Da Zhuang and the others had not found any life forms underwater.

They even used instruments to test the water quality and found that there weren't even any microorganisms in it!

This discovery shocked everyone on the shore. Zhang Sheng immediately collected soil for analysis and found that there were no microorganisms in the soil either!

The air was also sampled and analyzed again, and no microorganisms were found there either!

"This Soul Realm... if you say it's unclean, it's actually very clean; but if you say it's clean, it's full of ghosts," Zhang Sheng remarked with a sigh.

Su Xiaobai nodded thoughtfully, his gaze quietly fixed on the Yuan River.

Another half hour passed, and Da Zhuang's shocked shout came through the communicator.

"Spaceships! Spaceships! There are so many spaceships at the bottom of the river!"

Zhang Sheng was startled and immediately followed up, "Is there any danger? Is it dangerous?"

His first thought was the safety of his teammates.

"No danger for now. It's very quiet at the bottom, but there are just too many spaceship wrecks!"

"Not just spaceship wrecks, but also many broken swords, spears, and other weapons."

Da Zhuang's voice was full of disbelief; clearly, he had probably thought of something.

"Wait a moment, we're coming down immediately!" Zhang Sheng's tone was grave.

"Alright!" Da Zhuang replied solemnly.

"Ninth and Tenth Companies, stay behind and guard the area. Everyone else, follow me into the river!" Zhang Sheng ordered, then said to Su Xiaobai in a consultative tone, "Second Young Master, would you mind staying on the bank as well?"

Su Xiaobai shook his head and said seriously, "I'm going down with you."

"But... your safety..." Before Zhang Sheng could finish, Su Xiaobai interrupted him with a smile.

"Captain Zhang, you don't need to worry about that. Don't forget that my strength is the highest in our team."

"Well... alright then... stay close to me in a moment, and be careful!" Zhang Sheng had no choice but to agree helplessly.

In truth, he couldn't have stopped him even if he hadn't agreed. Su Xiaobai had his own legs and was powerful; no one in the entire team could hold him back!

Splash, splash, splash...

Seven hundred people entered the water one after another.

Just as Da Zhuang had reported, the Yuan River was indeed very, very clean; aside from the water, there was nothing!

After more than an hour of diving, Su Xiaobai and the others successfully reached the riverbed.

"So many spaceship wrecks!" Su Xiaobai was shaken to his core.

"Da Zhuang is three kilometers ahead to the left. Let's head over and regroup with him first." Zhang Sheng was also shocked by the spaceship wrecks on the riverbed, but the immediate priority was to reunite the team to better handle any potential danger.

Su Xiaobai and the others traveled another three kilometers or so and finally successfully regrouped with Da Zhuang and his men.

"There are so many spaceship wrecks; it feels like the entire riverbed is covered in them!" Su Xiaobai said solemnly.

"Along the way, I've noticed many different types of insignias on these wrecks. It shouldn't have been a battle between just three or five factions, because I've already spotted more than a dozen distinct insignias!"

Zhang Sheng nodded in agreement and took over the conversation.

"Second Young Master, and these weapons... they should be weapons from a cultivation civilization."

"A war between a technological civilization and a cultivation civilization?" Da Zhuang said in a low voice.

...