In the wilderness outside Chijing City, there stood an observation station.
Ever since the city had been submerged and turned into an inland saltwater lake, the Investigation Bureau headquarters had established this station.
Equipped with various instruments, the station monitored the waters twenty-four hours a day.
On this day, a set of data on the control console suddenly spiked, triggering a faint alarm.
An observation officer stared at the screen, his eyes wide.
The water level of the sea that had swallowed Chijing City had suddenly dropped significantly.
The officer immediately reported the anomaly.
...
Meanwhile, in the deepest part of the Phantom Sea.
This was an abyss labeled as an absolute forbidden zone by humanity, a place where sunlight could never reach.
Yet, within this dark and silent void, a colossal structure loomed.
It was a palace, majestic and towering, appearing as if it had been naturally formed by the movement of tectonic plates on the ocean floor.
A masterpiece of nature’s craftsmanship, it was both beautiful and overwhelmingly oppressive.
There was no light in the deep sea, but the water surrounding the palace emitted a cold, ghostly glow.
It resembled the phosphorescence of countless gathered souls, illuminating the palace with haunting clarity.
The waters enveloped in this light were terrifyingly silent.
There were no schools of fish, no seaweed, and not even the smallest microorganisms existed here.
At one moment, the water in front of the palace was violently disturbed, and a vortex formed out of thin air.
A dragon emerged from the center of the vortex.
The dragon seemed to be composed entirely of water and energy, possessing a majestic presence.
Subsequently, the vortex spat out several more figures.
A giant Old Turtle, a girl with pink crab claws, and several deep-sea supernatural creatures of peculiar forms.
Among this assortment of sea creatures, there was only one incongruous human.
It was a long-haired man who appeared to be stone-dead.
He was held in the front claw of the dragon, his body bound by coils of ethereal blue light.
The vortex quickly dissipated, and the palace gates slid open just a crack.
Clutching the human male, the dragon was the first to enter the palace.
The crowd of deep-sea creatures followed close behind.
The space inside the palace was far more vast and complex than it appeared from the outside.
“Whew, finally I can breathe easy.”
“On land, there was so little water; it was so cramped to move around.”
“And we had to constantly watch out for those annoying humans. It was suffocating,” the crab-claw girl complained.
As soon as she entered the palace, she became lively, happily clicking her large claws together.
A giant starfish beside her made a gurgling sound in full agreement.
Life on land was indeed uncomfortable, even if there was seawater available.
The starfish didn't forget to harass the silent octopus behind it. Seeing the octopus ignore it, the starfish persisted until the octopus was provoked, nearly starting a fight.
“All right, quiet down.”
“The Dragon King has important matters to attend to. Everyone, return to your posts and guard the Dragon Palace. No shouting allowed.”
The Old Turtle spoke slowly, its voice deep and solemn.
Its words seemed to carry great authority, as the deep-sea creatures immediately fell silent and dispersed to various parts of the palace.
The dragon continued to swim toward the depths of the palace with the long-haired man.
Only the Old Turtle and the crab-claw girl followed.
After passing through several barriers, they arrived at the core area of the Dragon Palace.
This place felt like another dimension—a vast, profound, and ultimate deep sea.
In the center of this sea, a dragon lay quietly coiled in slumber.
This was a true dragon.
It possessed a physical body and radiated a majestic aura that commanded all the seas.
The ethereal blue light dragon swam up to the physical dragon and transformed into a stream of pure energy, merging into the true dragon’s body.
The next moment, the true dragon opened its eyes.
It extended a claw, gently taking the prey brought back by its clone and inspecting it closely.
“Sea God, is this the thing you were looking for on land?” the crab-claw girl asked.
The Old Turtle gave her a gentle swat from the side.
“Mind your manners. Don’t call him Sea God; call him the Dragon King!”
The crab-claw girl was defiant. “I won’t~. Sea God sounds much better.”
“So, what exactly is this person?”
“An Authority,” the dragon replied.
The crab-claw girl froze.
“He looks like just a human no matter how you see it?”
The dragon explained, “He is a fully activated Authority.”
“He possesses all the external characteristics, consciousness, and even the emotions of a sentient being.”
“But in essence, there are still subtle differences between him and a human naturally bred by nature.”
Hearing this, the crab-claw girl looked him over carefully, scanning him from head to toe several times before finally shaking her head.
“I don’t see any difference.”
In her eyes, all humans looked more or less the same.
The dragon slightly adjusted the angle of its claw and said, “A true human body, no matter how perfect it looks on the outside, has subtle asymmetries.”
“That is the manifestation of life’s randomness and uniqueness.”
“But look closely at this individual. From the central axis of his face to every bone and muscle in his body, the left and right sides are in a state of absolute mirror symmetry.”
“Even the density of his hair distribution and the positions of the pores on his skin follow this absolute symmetry.”
“Oh, so that’s how it is.”
“I never would have noticed if you hadn't said anything.”
The crab-claw girl didn't see it at all, but she still played along with an enlightened expression, snapping her claws shut.
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