BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

Chapter 1043  Hotter Than a Summer BBQ (1)

Erik stood at the front of the bridge. He left the pilot's cabin, since he wanted to be on the deck in case something arrived. Fifteen of the 20 Chimaeric Demons were inside the water already. Circling the ship and preventing the weaker thaids from approaching the vessel.

On either side of the ship, in the far distance, he could make out their faint silhouettes moving beneath the water's surface.

The Chimaeric Demons looked like they were fighting something—at least some of them. This was problematic, because it meant that the waters were filled with thaids. Even though they had only entered the area a short time ago, the situation was already more dangerous than they wanted.

<Master,> June's voice broke through Erik's thoughts. <We're fully in the corridor now. Our sensors aren't picking up any immediate threats the Chimaeric Demons can't take care of, but...>

<But that doesn't mean they're not there,> Erik finished for him. <I know, June. Keep us on course, but be ready to make evasive maneuvers at a moment's notice.>

June nodded, not that Erik could see it, his hands never leaving the controls. <Yes, Master. I hope those two titanic sea thaids don't notice us. Or if they do, that they're not in the mood for a ship-sized snack.>

Erik laughed. <Yeah. I share that hope.>

As they sailed deeper into the corridor, the water's heat seemed to increase.

Erik couldn't shake the feeling of unease as the temperature kept rising. Why was it so much warmer here than in other areas?

He went through multiple hypotheses, finally landing on one thought: underwater volcanoes.

"It makes sense."

The heat, the violent waves—both could be explained by volcanic activity below.

"Damn it," Erik wanted to curse. "There was no mention of it on Hin's documents."

But of course, the enemy avoided these two areas, which was, in truth, a single one shared by the two thaids, so it was likely it hadn't been fully charted, and even if they crossed this part of the sea, it wasn't like they could send someone to chart the depth below.

It wasn't possible because of the pressure, but even because of the thaids. However, if Erik had known, he might really have chosen a different route to take, or at least he would have prepared better.

<Do you see something weird?> Erik asked the Chimaeric Demons under water.

<Nothing, sir. Just some thaids trying to approach the ship, but nothing we can't take care of.>

<Right… Keep your eyes open, and be ready to use that blinding brain crystal power of yours. At the slightest problem, we get the fuck out of here.>

<Yes, master,> The Chimaeric Demons said in unison.

…

…

…

Hours went by, then a week. Nothing happened, aside from the waters becoming hotter and more raging.

The heat had become unbearable, turning the ship into a floating oven. Even the Chimaeric Demons couldn't withstand the scorching temperatures in the water and had to retreat into the air, transforming into flying thaids to continue their scout.

Erik did his best to lower the temperature by making large ice blocks everywhere to keep the ship cool enough, but the ice melted quickly, and he was forced to replace it often.

Luckily, though, it looked like even the other thaids couldn't withstand these temperatures.

On the deck, Mira, Emily, and Amber lay sprawled out in swimsuits, trying to find relief from the heat. They didn't touch the water, but their swimming suits were drenched from sweat. They looked thoroughly miserable.

As Erik arrived at the deck, he was immediately hit by a wall of heat. He glanced around, taking in the scene.

The few Chimaeric Demons still on board were at their posts, but they took off all their clothing to stay cool. Even they were struggling, despite Erik having made ice close to their positions.

However, Erik's gaze fell on the three women. <Holy…> He had seen them naked many times, but there was a different allure to them with the swimsuit.

Emily was basically clutching a block of ice. Amber was lying on a towel, while Mira was reading something. Emily and Amber were younger than Mira, and they still had some childish behavior. The latter, though, was very ladylike. Even the way she kept reading added to her allure. <Keep yourself composed, Erik.> His thoughts then went to the Chimaeric Demons, his clones. <I don't want to be in their shoes.> He caught them stealing glances at the three women from time to time. Well, they had his memories, even they knew how their naked bodies were. <Ahhhh…> Erik sighed. <Let's not think about it.>

Erik approached the three women. They were sweating and in obvious discomfort. He couldn't help but feel sorry. He was not in a different situation than theirs, but he was faring much better.

"Ladies," he said, "How are you holding up?"

Mira lifted her head. Her eyes were full of annoyance. "Oh, you know, just peachy. I always dreamed of being slow-roasted on a ship deck."

Emily managed a weak chuckle. "Yeah, Erik. This is great. Really loving the whole 'sailing through the fires of hell' experience."

"What about you?"

Amber simply groaned and threw an arm over her eyes. "I think I'm melting. Is this what it feels like to be a popsicle in the desert?"

Erik sighed, running a hand through his sweat-soaked hair. "Kind of. Even in the white desert, the heat wasn't this bad." Mira knew Erik went there, but Emily and Amber didn't. "You went to the White Desert?" Emily asked. "I did; I made a giant tree there to kill some flying thaids. I didn't have the powers I had today, so I was at a disadvantage as much as you would be."

"No kidding," Mira said, pushing herself up into a sitting position. "I remember those months. At some point, we thought you were dead. The tree was basically a giant giveaway of your situation."

"You knew about the tree?" Erik asked.

"I did, but I didn't know you made the tree for that reason. Honestly, it's appearance scared the shit out of many people. They were going to send someone to see what made it. Luckily, they didn't have a death wish, unlike you, and just ignored the matter."

"Happy to hear my home caught everyone's attention."

"Don't change the topic," Emily said. "I thought we were trying to get to Hin, not the sun's surface."

Erik laughed. "Trust me, the sun wouldn't be as dangerous as this place."

Emily sat up too, fanning herself with her hand. "So, what's the plan? Because I'm not sure how much more of this we can take."

Erik looked out over the roiling sea. "There's not much we can do, honestly. We can only push forward. We are two weeks away from the end of this sea corridor."

"Two weeks? What? I will be dead by then!" Amber said.

"Don't be dramatic! We're making progress. The corridor isn't endless. We just need to hold out a bit longer."

"Hold out? Erik, we're not just uncomfortable here. This heat is dangerous. We're risking heat stroke, dehydration... How much water have we left?" Amber asked.

"Plenty, don't worry. We're also taking precautions. The Chimaeric Demons are distributing water constantly, and we've set up more cooling stations below deck."

Mira snorted. "Cooling stations? You mean those pathetic fans blowing hot air around? We might as well try to cool ourselves by breathing on each other."

Erik couldn't argue with that. The ship's cooling systems were working overtime, but they were never designed for this kind of extreme heat. The block of ice helped, but since it was hot, they quickly turned into hot steam. Even the one Emily was clinging to was almost halved in size in less than 15 minutes. "Look, I understand your frustration. This isn't ideal for any of us."

"Understatement of the year," Mira said.

"But," Erik said, "We're safer here than we would try to go around. The heat is brutal, yes, but it's also keeping away any Hin ships that might look for us, and for sure, it's keeping the thaids away. Did you forget we didn't encounter a single one since the third day?"

Mira nodded reluctantly. "I see your point. Still doesn't make this any easier to bear."