CH 23

"There are clues on the case. We must have overlooked the clues!" I suddenly recalled something. "Bao'er, give me the case."

Zhang Bao'er gave me the case, and we studied it in great detail. The case was made of an unknown material. Its body was pitch black, and there seemed to be empty space within it. However, the case was completely sealed, and no opening could be found.

'It probably needs a secret code or some other method to open,' I thought to myself.

We spent an entire hour studying the case to no avail. And everyone was already exhausted from the major battle with the worms in the ship. Everyone was in terrible physical condition.

"Why don't we take a short rest before leaving this mountain?" Zhang Bao'er suggested.

"No," Dodo objected. "We don't have much energy left. That explosion had also buried Mimas I deep into the ground. We can't even recharge anymore. Also, where are we going after leaving the mountain? We can't fly around blindly and waste more energy." 

Everyone checked their energy supply and confirmed that we had less than 12 hours' worth of energy left.

"I suggest we deactivate our defenses temporarily and save it for emergencies," Zhang Xingxing suggested.

"I am in agreement," said Old Du. "Dodo had already concluded that the air composition here is similar to Blue's. No destructive or poisonous substance is present in the air either. We should shut off our suits to save energy. I'll be the first one to give it a try."

Old Du was a Gliesen, so his body was of a higher quality. Dodo nodded to show its approval, so Old Du turned off the functions of his suit one by one. Slowly, he took off his helmet. Everything seemed normal.

About ten minutes later, all of us had deactivated our suits. The air of Sirius B was slightly warm. Apart from that, we didn't feel any different from when we were on Blue. In fact, the oxygen level here seemed even higher.

"How comfortable! The air here is incredible!" Zhang Bao'er started greedily inhaling the air on Sirius B.

With our energy problem dealt with, it was time to solve the puzzle that was the case.

"We have studied the diagram repeatedly. I don't think the next clue lies in the diagram," I said to Old Du.

"Will this big case only work when brought together with the smaller case we found on the escape pod?" asked Old Du.

"Too bad we left the small case behind. We don't have any way of returning now. Even if we could return, we will only be punished for insubordination," said Zhang Bao'er.

Everyone sank into silence. None of us could think of anything. I placed the case on the ground and rubbed my head as I calmed my mind and tried to think of a way to solve this puzzle.

"Coo, coo." While we were resting, Dondon stood up and started rubbing against the case on the ground.

It kept touching the case with its blue paws. We suddenly noticed that when the blue markings on Dondon's body came into contact with the case, the case would actually emanate a faint blue glow.

"Don't tell me that this little genius just activated the case's mechanism," I muttered.

We hurriedly surrounded Dondon and the case and watched. The blue glow on Dondon's body seemed to trigger the multiple flying fish on the case. The eyes of the fish started glowing, and abruptly, the entire case lit up brightly. Several blinding beams of blue light shot out from their eyes, reaching straight for the sky. Shortly after, several shrieks came from the horizon. Then, four blue flying fish flew over from afar and rapidly arrived above us.

"Dondon, you're truly a genius! You helped us big time!" I said as I rewarded Dondon with a can of space ration. The little fellow happily feasted on its reward.

Before long, the giant flying fish approached us. After circling the air above us, they landed near us.

"Canyue, the prophecy has been fulfilled," Zhang Xingxing exclaimed in excitement.

"Yes, I know. The prophet has never been wrong thus far. All his predictions have come true," I replied. "However, I'm afraid that these newcomers aren't necessarily friendly."

As we spoke, the flying fish communicated with each other before the leader started approaching me. A realization hit me that this was the same blue fish that had saved us from the flame demon. It was approaching me slowly. And from such a close distance, for the very first time, I got a clear look at the flying fish.

The fish was covered in blue scales. The thick scales looked more like armor, providing it with excellent protection. It had a pair of big purple eyes, which gave it a regal appearance. Spreading out from the two sides of its body were wings similar to a dragonfly's. Nevertheless, these wings looked much more durable and powerful than actual dragonfly wings. 

The most impressive part of the fish's appearance was the gigantic pair of legs, which had incredibly sharp claws. Its feet were as big as half its body and were the very same weapons it had relied on to prevail over the flame demon and rescue us from our doom.

As the blue fish approached, it made the same cooing noise as Dondon, as though it was expressing its goodwill. I mustered my courage and reached out with my hand, intending to touch its body.

"Canyue, careful," Zhang Bao'er exclaimed in alarm.

I gestured at Zhang Bao'er to keep silent. Then, I carefully placed my hand on the creature's claw. It did not react, allowing me to touch its claw. The claw was cold and sleek, and it felt as though I was touching polished steel.

Suddenly, the flying fish lowered its head. I mustered more courage and rubbed it beneath its jaw. It seemed to enjoy that greatly, and it lay down on the ground with a pleased look in its eyes. After the exchange, the flying fish lowered its body and invited me to climb onto it with its eyes.

'Is it asking me to get on its back?' I wondered.

The fish continued to look at me with a gentle gaze. After a minute of hesitation, I climbed onto its back.

Beside me, Zhang Bao'er, Old Du, and Zhang Xingxing were completely stupefied. They did not dare to make a single sound as I interacted with the giant fish.

After putting in some effort, I managed to get on the fish's back. I saw a slight recess on its back, one that was perfectly suitable for a single passenger. There were even two protruding scales at the sides of the recess, perfect for the passenger to hold on to while riding the flying fish.

"My god. Don't tell me this fellow is a natural-born mount," I exclaimed in astonishment.

Just as my imagination ran wild, the flying fish shrieked and abruptly soared, shooting straight into the sky. I heard Zhang Bao'er and the others screaming in alarm, and I became extremely nervous as well. The rapid speed at which we were ascending caused my heartbeat to quicken, eventually forcing me to scream to relieve myself of my fear.

As the blue fish soared rapidly, I could hear the shrill whistle of the wind as we sliced through the air. Soon, the mountain peak, Zhang Xingxing, and the others became tiny dots in the landscape. High in the sky, I was able to see many tiny translucent life forms that we couldn't see on the ground. All of them hovered leisurely in the sky like dandelions, absorbing their nutrients from the air. The entire upper layer of this world was akin to an entirely new realm.

Suddenly, the flying fish turned around and shot back down to the ground. It moved at an incredibly fast speed, and the massive force gave me a momentary sensation of weightlessness. At the same time, I felt as though my heart was about to jump out of my mouth.

Zhang Xingxing and the others became nearer and nearer, and when we were about to crash into the ground, the fish raised its head and landed smoothly. With a thud, I fell onto the ground. My head was light, and my heart was beating wildly. It was a good thing I wasn't also frothing from my mouth.

Zhang Xingxing and the others rushed over and asked with concern, "Canyue, Canyue, are you fine?"

"I feel sick in my stomach. That feels awful. My heart was pumping so fast," I replied.

Looking at the sorry state I was in, Zhang Bao'er had a smug expression as he bragged, "Canyue, be sure to exercise more. Look at me, look at my healthy body. I will be fine no matter how high I fly."

"Don't be too happy now. I'll be sure to take care of you after I recover," I cursed.

The blue fish seemed pleased with my performance. After all, I had managed to remain on its back throughout the flight. It ambled toward me, lowered its body, and gazed at me silently with its purple eyes. It was as though the fish was praising me for my performance and also showing its concern for my current condition.

I felt myself recover after a short rest. The several flying fish started calling out at us. I understood that they were going to take us away now. I nodded to the fish, firmed my heart, and stood up. Once again, I climbed onto its back. 

It seemed to greatly approve of my actions and nodded to me as well. It then shrieked at its three companions. The three other fish understood the command and stepped forth, each heading toward the master it had picked. Dondon, who was well fed and rested, jumped onto the back of the fish I was on. After crawling into my bag, it fell asleep.

'This little fellow sure knows how to pick a nice seat,' I mused.

Meanwhile, a chubby fish had selected Zhang Bao'er, with Dodo being arranged to share Zhang Bao'er's mount. As Zhang Bao'er himself was rather chubby, he complained incessantly when forced to squeeze with another individual.

"Kid, I told you to exercise more. Look at how fat you are. Look at me and my slim waist," I said.

And thus, I had my perfect revenge on the kid. He continued grumbling for a while longer. I looked at Zhang Xingxing and saw that she had climbed onto a graceful-looking fish. For some reason, that fish gave off the impression that it was female.

Old Du was the last to get onto his fish. He packed up all the random items everyone had left on the ground, not leaving anything of value behind. He then jumped onto the back of a sturdy blue fish. Then, the leading fish nodded at the other fish, shrieked, and soared into the sky. With us on their backs, they flew into the horizon.

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