I’m Trapped in a Cube - Chapter 208

It was under this understanding that sand ships came into being.

This was a long, strip-shaped transportation tool wrapped in alloy.

Similar to a kind of metal airship.

Compared to normal ships, sand ships were more like submarines, completely sealed to protect the humans inside.

Their shape was also very different from normal “vessels,” because what sand ships had to do wasn’t float on water surfaces, but travel through sand waves.

Of course, sand ships also had the same facilities as normal ships, since they had to carry people after all.

Sand ships required no power whatsoever. The only thing they had to do was protect people from harm while in the sand waves.

There were all kinds of creatures in the sand waves, and these creatures would hunt for food within the sand waves.

They would accept anything, devouring all objects swept into the sand waves.

Sand ships were naturally within their hunting range as well.

However, as the crystallization of human exploration of the Abyss, sand ships borrowed the power of certain Relics and were made with the most solid materials. Those creatures in the sand waves simply couldn’t harm sand ships.

The only thing that needed to be ensured was that sand ships successfully sank into the sand sea, merged with the sand waves, and rushed into the ocean.

Different ports corresponded to different locations in the Abyss Third Layer. The position reached after taking a sand ship to the third layer was uncertain.

So every time a port opened, an advance team had to be organized, composed of powerful Hunters, to reach the third layer, confirm the location, mark it, and establish contact with monitoring stations on the third layer.

This also made it convenient for future people to establish transfer points at this location. Of course, this was no longer the advance team’s responsibility.

Once this was done, all sand ships from this port would reach the same location.

Li Luo looked at the registration form, somewhat surprised, “This is all it takes?”

“This is the advance team’s registration form. I happen to be in charge of this matter. Just fill it out, consider it your ship ticket,” the glasses-wearing man said, operating his electronic screen a few times to bring up an interface, then handing the electronic screen to Li Luo.

“How about it? Not bad, right? But joining the advance team also means certain risks. If you need tickets for other mature ports, I can also help apply, but I can’t say how long that would take,” the glasses-wearing man inquired.

The glasses-wearing man nodded, “Take a look at the advance team duties above. Pretty relaxed, since it’s all very mature technology.”

Simply put, it was finding a team to scout the way.

Even after reaching the Abyss Third Layer, they could move freely as long as safety was ensured, though everyone had to report to monitoring stations in the end and submit their itineraries.

Li Luo’s document also contained progress on Oasis City’s port opening.

The sand ship belonging to Oasis City had already been transported into the city and was currently stored intact in a warehouse. When the port opened, specialized personnel would transport it to the designated location.

“So that’s why I thought the ship ticket you mentioned was for Oasis City.”

At this point, the glasses-wearing man continued, “That Spiral Turtle’s behavior seems to have made Oasis City’s sand waves more turbulent. Taking this opportunity, in a few days, an advance fleet will depart from Oasis City to test the route.”

“After the crisis ended, we immediately checked the sand ship, it wasn’t damaged at all,” the glasses-wearing man said.

Li Luo nodded, “I see.”

Hearing this, Li Luo began looking through the clauses on the registration form.

The clauses clearly explained the reason for this exploration:

Other clauses were mostly about following commands, obeying arrangements, and compensation, just as the glasses-wearing man had said, very relaxed.

“No need, I’ll join,” Li Luo said after carefully reading through the clauses several more times, then began seriously filling out the form.

Soon, Li Luo finished filling out the form and returned the electronic screen.

The glasses-wearing man just glanced at it briefly, helped Li Luo submit it, then switched to another interface and directly approved the application.

His efficiency was still so high.

“Alright, pay attention and wait for news. They’ll tell you where to gather when the time comes. I’ll mention it to the advance team captain to take extra care of you. Just treat it as an ordinary sand ship voyage.”

“If there are no accidents, we’ll depart in three or four days,” the glasses-wearing man stood up and shook hands with Li Luo.

Li Luo hadn’t expected this matter to be resolved so quickly and obviously hadn’t recovered yet.

Just a few minutes ago she was still worrying about ship tickets, and now her itinerary was already confirmed.

Li Luo was still in a daze when Li Xiangyi had already taken her hand, “Are you leaving so soon? Won’t you stay in Oasis City a bit longer?”

“No, I need to get to the bottom of the Abyss as quickly as possible,” Li Luo said seriously.

“Why?” Li Xiangyi looked puzzled, “Isn’t it very dark there?”

“Have you been there?” Hearing Li Xiangyi’s words, Li Luo was very confused.

“No,” Li Xiangyi shook her head matter-of-factly.

“Then how do you know it’s very dark?”

Li Xiangyi scratched her head, “If it’s too deep, wouldn’t it be very dark?”

Li Luo fell silent. Li Xiangyi’s thought processes were always incomprehensible.

“Do you have to go?” Li Xiangyi still didn’t understand.

Hearing Li Xiangyi’s question, Li Luo rarely lowered her head, as if recalling something, “Yes, I have to go.”

“Then do your best,” Li Xiangyi didn’t ask why, just smiled and encouraged her. “Although I can’t tell directions, that place must be very far, right?”

“Yes, very far.”

“It’s okay. No matter how far a place is, as long as you keep walking, you’ll definitely reach it…”

…

Over the next few days, Li Luo wandered around Oasis City with Li Xiangyi, and Li Xiangyi’s guiding silk threads gradually covered the entire Oasis City.

However, some hidden corners could only wait for her to slowly explore on her own. At least normal living wasn’t a problem now.

The two also visited Old Xu again.

“Advance team?” Old Xu was very surprised after hearing Li Luo had joined the advance team, “Isn’t that very dangerous? Our advance teams in the past were all suicide squads, basically none came back alive.”

“The technology is all mature. It’s just that the arrival location is uncertain,” Li Luo quickly explained.

“Uncertain location is the biggest danger!” Old Xu was still very worried, “You haven’t been there so of course you don’t know. It’s all ocean over there, and the creatures are strange beyond belief. What if you fall into the sea?”

Finding an opening, Old Xu began talking about his adventure experiences again.

“The seas over there are all different from Earth’s seas, they all have various strange properties!”

“Some ocean regions will reject all bone-based materials. After humans accidentally enter those seas, they’ll first get osteoporosis, then after a while they’ll directly lose their bones and become a pile of minced meat.”

“You’ve eaten boneless chicken feet, right? Soft, aren’t they?”

“There are other places that look like islands but are actually organs used by some creature for fishing. Once you step on that island, you’ll instantly be compressed into a ball by high pressure, with blood and meat mixed together, becoming nourishment for that creature.”

“Meatballs, the very bouncy kind.”

While speaking, Old Xu made a ball shape with his hands and bounced it on the table, bouncing higher and higher.

“What would you do if you fell directly into places like that? It’s all water with nowhere to run.”

“I’ve also seen ocean regions that automatically heat up, even reaching boiling point at night.”

“No matter what creature it is, they all become stewed meat!”

Old Xu spoke with great emotion and a reverent expression.

Li Luo listened with shock, involuntarily swallowing her saliva.