It was so cold that one couldn’t spread their fingers.
The Ocean Descendant’s search for pieces of the Innovation was too slow, Lila had already pointed out the location to them, but after all, they were animals, and no matter how Farosa scolded them, their response was always clueless. These Ocean Descendants were too young, neither mature nor smart.
It dragged on until 7 p.m., and the sky had completely darkened, leaving no trace of even the weakest sunlight, the world imprisoned in darkness.
They were still drifting on the sea surface, sitting on a large piece of building debris waiting in agony, with Xu Yang spending most of his time looking up at the sky. About 4 to 5 kilometers away, a number of drones were visible, forming a search net to control the ruins of the Godbinding Plan. At this distance, they looked like fireflies.
There was also a shuttle machine positioned right above the Godbinding Plan, but the visibility was too poor to see clearly. The rhythmic flashing of the sentinel lights at its corners was just barely visible, protected by other reconnaissance and attack drones, it was like the leader of the entire troop.
Too distant, Xu Yang couldn’t scan their condition or control them. They were obviously sent by Kyoto Infinity for cleanup, after causing such a big mess and so much time having passed, they would definitely come to the scene to investigate, completely seal off the Godbinding Plan and search for Yan Duo and the assailants’ whereabouts.
Lila had exhausted much of her efforts, her energy nearly depleted, oil spent and lamp extinguished, sitting on the debris hugging her knees. Xu Yang stayed close to avoid Lila falling into the water.
Now Lila’s skin was also terrifyingly cold, though made from bionic materials, at the moment it became no different from metal, wetted by the seawater.
"Not yet?" Farosa irritably looked at a foolish Ocean Descendant emerging from the sea with its sharp fangs and only minced fish paste in its mouth.
"Ga!" Another Ocean Descendant surfaced beside it, spitting out a chunk of red metal.
"Is this...is this what we’re looking for?" Farosa, thrilled, hurriedly picked it up.
Xu Yang supported Lila with one hand and examined the object with the other, his fingers icy and unable to bend, so he tried hard to adapt. After comparing it with images stored in his brain processor, he confirmed this was a metal piece from behind the Innovation’s leather seat cushion.
"It’s from the Innovation, turn it back," Xu Yang’s breath formed frost, "I’ll throw it out... and you aim."
Farosa was too cold and tired to even shiver. She kept her eyes on Xu Yang’s action, he threw the shard to the sea on one side, and Farosa quickly unleashed her Magic Power, entwining it around the red metal piece, initiating the Law of Recovery.
All the other fragments and remains of the Innovation disappeared from the seabed, centered on the shard anchored by Farosa, they were rapidly restored, bringing back all the materials, equipment, and circuit systems it had previously carried inside, from damaged to complete.
With a splash, the Innovation appeared before them in a blink, restored to its original state.
Without power, it was no different from a big iron chunk, quickly sinking to the sea bottom. Farosa was startled and refused to let her efforts go to waste. She swiftly used the Ocean’s Divine Power to drive the water to lift it up. She stretched out her hands, laboriously driving it, as if manipulating a heavy object with her invisible mental force, slowly raising the Innovation.
"Quick, quick..." Farosa urged.
Xu Yang stood up, exerting his whole body, nerves almost numb from the cold, but he made up his mind regardless. He first remotely operated the Innovation with his Digital Mind, unlocking it, then jumped into the frigid, bone-chilling water to forcefully open the diving chamber door of the Innovation, letting the seawater slowly flow in.
Farosa helped Lila into the water, controlling the seawater to push Lila toward the Innovation. Xu Yang held Lila as she got in, followed by Farosa, who had entered the water with limbs stiff from the cold, also needing Xu Yang to bring her in.
By this time, the diving chamber was half-filled with seawater. He closed the outer chamber door forcefully, locked it, activated the drainage valve to empty the water from the diving chamber, then opened the watertight door leading to the interior of the Innovation, increased engine power, and turned the heating to the maximum.
The warm air gushed in, and Farosa threw herself onto the leather seat, lying motionless. Xu Yang stood still for a while, letting the warm air thaw his stiff body, then carried Lila to the console, dried her off, and started recharging her.
Once electricity surged into Lila’s body, she immediately stood up, sat down in the seat, and proficiently began to control the whole Innovation, first checking the status of all modules in the machine, quickly inputting debug parameters to bring it to full operational status, and then swiftly dove down, sinking into the sea.
Xu Yang opened the supply cabinet, taking out a variety of food and drinks, most of the packaging bearing the label of a coiled-up cap.
Everything had been restored to its original condition by Farosa using the Law of Recovery, even the hot water in the heater was still there. He used boiling water to prepare the instant-heated food, including marinara lasagna, chicken broth, pork tenderloin strips, and braised beef which were originally sticky and rigid, turning them into a delicious meal within 10 seconds.
Farosa drank two bottles of cola to regain strength, her cheeks flushed and revitalized. Enduring the harsh ocean of eternal night was unbearable, and thinking of the very architect of all this, she couldn’t help but blame Yan Duo, for depriving them of sunlight, such a vile act.
"Yan Duo? Yan Duo." She ate a piece of chocolate, then called out for Yan Duo in her heart once more.
"Yan Duo..." It responded weakly through mental force.