Alien Relic Hunter

"I don't believe that pie will fall from the sky." Ke Lan said.

"Miss Soma did mention additional conditions," Yui said, "but it has nothing to do with this commission. She will tell you the specific content of this condition in person after you finish your trip to Leviathan."

"Are you planning to ask me to leave a blank check for her? If she asks me to spit out all the proceeds, do I have to do the same?" Ke Lan twitched the corner of her mouth, this "additional condition" There are so many things that can be included that no one with a little bit of brains would be able to agree - it would be like selling themselves out.

"Miss Soma said that this condition is not mandatory. You can agree or refuse...but she also said that it is impossible for you to refuse."

"It's not mandatory? Then how does she know that I won't refuse? To be honest, I am not only greedy, but also lazy. I can tell you clearly right now, no matter what the conditions are, I will refuse."

"Ahem..." At this time, Lao Gou suddenly glared at Ke Lan, "Don't talk too much. What if they want you to be their son-in-law? You refuse too?"

"Ha, if this is really the condition, then I can't ask for it." Ke Lan laughed out loud, "Old dog, are you staying up late and reading novels recently? You are also reading the kind of novels that girls from all walks of life are obsessed with. Is this a cool novel that you post to the protagonist?"

"Tch! That's all I'm going to say today. This girl is definitely attracted to you. Don't you believe we should take a gamble?" The old dog stepped on the accelerator with some anger.

"How much bet?"

"Five thousand!" the old dog said through gritted teeth.

"How is that enough? At least this number." Ke Lan stretched out five fingers.

"Fifty thousand? Are you ruthless enough?"

"What 50,000? It's 500,000. Anyway, I'm sure to win this round. If I wasn't afraid of hurting feelings between the two brothers, I would even want to shout 5 million." Ke Lan said lightly.

"Fifty million is half a million. I'm afraid you won't be able to cry in the end."

"Tsk... If you are really right in your bet, I will fall into the lap of a rich woman. I am still short of half a million?"

"Fuck...it seems like this is really true? I won't lose even if you win or lose...ahem..." The old dog who had just taken a sip of water suddenly choked and coughed.

"Okay, okay, just think about this kind of thing in your dreams." Ke Lan knew very well in his heart, not to mention whether the other party would like him or not, just the class and status between the two is a fundamental link. An impossible chasm to cross.

Speaking of Zofia Soma's true intention, I'm afraid she wants to win over herself and make herself a confidant... Although Ke Lan has not personally experienced the power struggle between the upper classes, this kind of plot is simply too common in history. It is very common, like in ancient times, wealthy families raised dead servants in order to have these people work for them one day. But in this era, although the big chaebols and big families seem to be calm on the surface, secretly they The struggle has never stopped - Zofia wants to change from "one of the heirs of the Soma Consortium" to "the master of the Soma Consortium", which is obviously not an easy task.

Ke Lan still remembers the news last year that the first heir to a large conglomerate died suddenly of a heart attack. The guy was less than forty years old, and with Ark’s current medical standards and the medical conditions that the aristocracy can enjoy, the heart disease Sudden death from illness is simply impossible - but it happened, and it happened at this critical time when the former chairman of the consortium announced his resignation. It is difficult not to think of some dark things.

But there are some things, as long as they are done cleanly enough, even if everyone knows the inside story, as long as there is no evidence, it is as if the incident never happened - that large consortium only has two heirs, one of whom is dead. Even if he knew that the person who killed his brother was his younger brother, as long as the younger brother did not openly admit it, the father and chairman of the consortium would only hand over the family property to his younger brother in the end.

Not only because of the blood relationship, but also because of the extremely cruel "survival of the fittest"... The place where the law of the jungle applies is not limited to the jungle.

"If this is really the case... I'd better refuse it then." Ke Lan thought silently. Whether he was working as a bodyguard for the eldest lady or an assassin at that time, it seemed that it was a job with a narrow escape from death. It was really not cost-effective.

…

…

After this matter came to an end, the rest of the journey was relatively smooth. Occasionally, the indigenous creatures attracted by the sound of the engine were swept into pieces by the large-caliber cannon... As for Threats like lava beetles or exiles have never been encountered again.

In the early morning of the seventh day, the remains of Leviathan, which could be described as "majestic", finally appeared above the horizon.

People who see Leviathan's corpse at first sight will never associate this mountain range stretching across the wilderness with a giant beast - Leviathan's corpse has evolved into a relatively independent There are not only rocks and sand, but also forests and mountain streams. There is even a Tianchi with an area of ​​nearly ten square kilometers between the fourth and fifth vertebrae.

There are more than 2,000 species of indigenous creatures living on the Leviathan's bones.

"Good guy, I feel like this is an island, an island standing on the desert." The old dog held the steering wheel tightly with both hands and looked at the Leviathan's corpse in the distance with some trance.

"This is an island, an isolated island." Ke Lan said with emotion, "On Earth, there is a phenomenon called whale fall. Have you heard of it?"

The old dog shook his head: "I do know about whales. What is a whale fall?"

"Whale fall is the process in which a whale's body falls and sinks to the bottom of the sea after it dies... During this process, the whale's body will be gradually eaten away by various creatures, until eventually even the lipids in the bones are gone. Decomposition by bacteria... may sound cruel, but to biologists, this phenomenon perfectly embodies the greatness and romance of nature."

"Great? Romantic? Isn't it just a dead whale? What's so romantic about this?" The old dog couldn't understand.

At this time, Ivan couldn't sit still: "Old dog, have you ever seen the deep sea on the earth?"

"You are just talking nonsense. I was born on the Ark. How could I have seen the deep sea on the earth? Is there any person alive today who has seen the earth with his own eyes?"

"I'm referring to the deep sea in the image data preserved from the old era."

"Isn't the bottom of the sea all the same, a black mess?"

"Then do you understand the ecology of the seabed?"

"I don't know." The old dog answered honestly.

"The depths of the Earth's oceans are actually an extremely barren and barren land just like the desert on Planet Alpha... And a whale that falls to the bottom of the sea will establish an ecosystem on the bottom of the sea that can last for hundreds of years. It is like an oasis in the desert, an isolated island in the deep sea, a small world of its own..."

Ivan continued: "The whale's flesh, tissue, and internal organs... are enough to support tens of thousands of seabed creatures. Until its skeleton turns into a reef on the seafloor, it can still provide a living environment for those species living on the dark and cold seabed. A livable place. In that world where the sun cannot shine, the material and energy that this whale can provide are of immeasurable value to that world... I remember someone once used this sentence to describe this Phenomenon: When a whale falls, all things arise.”

"This Leviathan is actually like a whale that sank to the bottom of the sea." Ke Lan exhaled a long breath and said, "And the species that live on its remains, including us humans, are Those undersea creatures that feed on whale carcasses.”

Ke Lan raised his head and glanced at the lead-gray sky through the skylight. If Leviathan is really the "behemoth that rules the sky", then the Leviathan that fell from the sky to the ground will be the same as the one that fell to the ground. What is the essential difference between giant whales in the deep sea?

…