The No. 1 Hunfen King in the Entire Server [Interstellar] Chapter 32

Once the submarine exited the kelp forest, the sonar system finally activated. A small red dot representing their position appeared on the display screen, along with deeper sea regions and a reef forest detected nearby.

They were now slowly moving south.

Outside, the world was transitioning from the Silurian to the Devonian period, but the flow of time in the ocean had no impact on those inside the submarine.

Black Jacket smirked smugly. “See? We did it.”

He clapped his hands, stood up effortlessly, and yawned. “Let’s just let it float here for now. I’m exhausted. Time to sleep.”

Ke Lingxuan rubbed her temples wearily. “Alright then. See you all tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

The group exchanged their farewells.

Tomorrow marked the rise of the Age of Fish, and the underwater scenery was bound to undergo a drastic transformation.

Xu Wanzhi left first, while Lin Jing lingered in the control room a little longer.

He stared at the display screen, deep in thought, recalling the eerie silence it had shown when they were still inside the kelp forest.

A submarine typically has detection and alarm systems. Even if this game’s setting was vague about time and environment, the screen should have at least displayed basic readings like depth and water pressure.

Yet back in the kelp forest, even when the submarine was in motion, the screen had remained black.

Black Jacket had claimed it was just a system delay, but Lin Jing preferred another explanation—

The “kelp forest” was an undefined space within this simulation.

An undefined space meant it was separate from the game’s world—a safe zone.

And now they had piloted the submarine into the perilous Paleozoic ocean.

Was that really the right choice?

“Lin, you’re still here?”

Someone else remained in the control room.

Elena.

Bathed in the dim red glow of the cabin lights, she smiled brightly at him.

Lin Jing regarded her with an indifferent expression.

Elena, however, was already used to his cold demeanor. Hugging the codex in her arms, she stepped to the round window, gazing outside in silence before smiling faintly. “You see, the starry sky and the deep sea are the most romantic and magnificent wonders of this world.”

Lin Jing replied flatly, “Maybe.”

The submarine remained neutrally buoyant, quietly suspended in the water.

Through the small window, the vast ocean unfolded before them—gentle waves rippled, and a faint aurora shimmered in the distance.

Elena breathed a warm puff of air onto the glass, then curved her fingers to trace a single letter: “A.”

“This reminds me of something,” she said suddenly. “Remember how I mentioned Aurora last time? We never finished that conversation.”

Lin Jing said nothing, unable to understand why she was so persistent about chatting with him.

Elena’s gaze fixed on a distant reef, her tone carrying a hint of nostalgia as she smiled. “Aurora is actually the name of a space probe. It literally means ‘dawn.'”

“And it truly was humanity’s dawn,” she continued slowly. “The Empire’s top-secret project, researched for centuries. The finest scientists devoted their lives to it, and it drained a third of the national treasury. If it had succeeded, humanity would have taken another great leap toward exploring the universe.”

“Aurora could reach the sixth cosmic velocity, allowing it to carry people across the 200-million-light-year diameter of our local supercluster.”

“How amazing is that? We left Earth, left the solar system, left the Milky Way, even left our local galaxy group. We were finally on the verge of stepping beyond our local supercluster and touching the vast, true universe. But…”

Elena wiped away the “A” on the window, her voice turning wistful. “But it failed.”

“That day, every media outlet, television station, and live-streaming platform broadcasted Aurora’s launch in real time. People watched it soar into the timeless cosmos, passing the crimson Rose Nebula, the blue-green Crab Nebula… yet it never even left the Milky Way.”

“At the galaxy’s edge, it suddenly stopped. And then…” She traced an invisible shape on the glass—perhaps a tiny mushroom cloud—and whispered, “It exploded.”

“Shattered completely, like a white firework blooming in the depths of space.”

“A cosmic firework,” Elena mused with a soft smile, her eyes still on the ocean. “Afterward, all related news was erased by the Empire, but I managed to keep one photo. It was breathtaking. Truly, the universe and the deep sea are the most beautiful, mysterious places in existence.”

Lin Jing raised an eyebrow slightly, watching her in silence. “Why are you telling me this?”

Elena shrugged innocently. “Just felt inspired by the deep-sea scenery.” Then, flashing a playful smile, she added, “If you’re interested in the photo, you can add me after we get out.”

Lin Jing replied coolly, “No thanks.”

Elena chuckled. “You’re really not much fun, are you?”

Lin Jing voiced the question on his mind, bluntly: “Why are you still here?”

Elena pouted playfully, but her eyes carried a hint of deeper meaning. “I can’t sleep alone.”

Lin Jing: “……” Understood. Excuse me.

Elena twirled a strand of her long hair between her fingers, then smirked. “Hey, you’re quite an odd one. You don’t seem to care about your boyfriend at all.”

Lin Jing closed his codex, glancing at her with mild confusion.

Elena’s words always carried strong implications. Last time, before mentioning Aurora, she had casually remarked, “Xu Wanzhi is very dangerous.” Now, by revealing the full story, she was blatantly setting a trap, baiting him to ask about Xu Wanzhi and the explosion’s connection.

But honestly, what was there to ask…

Lin Jing sighed inwardly.

From his conversations with Xu Wanzhi these past few days, he had already gathered that Xu’s childhood had not been a happy one.

If the Aurora explosion was tied to his past, then it was likely a painful memory.

Digging into someone else’s wounds—what was the point?

Lin Jing sincerely said, “If you put this kind of effort into the game, you’d probably be in the top ten on the leaderboard.”

Elena: “…….”

Elena: “?” She could only maintain a stiff smile.

Lin Jing left the control room before Elena. On his way back, he glanced at the timeline in the corridor—390 million years ago… By the time they left, it would probably be the late Devonian period.

The rise of fish had a massive impact on the following hundreds of millions of years on Earth. After this era, only vertebrates would stand at the top of the food chain.

The next day, everyone woke up but didn’t rush to leave the submarine. After breakfast in the conference room, they followed Black Jacket to the control room.

The window next to the control room seemed like a natural photography spot. Just by looking out from this small area, they could witness the unprecedented prosperity of fish life. In fact, the ocean now looked much more familiar to them.

Schools of fish swam in formation above, while small, scaled, and finned creatures thrived among the corals.

The water was deep blue, clear and pristine.

Black Jacket maneuvered the submarine into a hidden spot and said, “Let’s head out first and photograph some smaller creatures. We’ll return after that.”

No one objected. Karl finally had the chance to brag. “The Devonian explosion of life isn’t any less impressive than the Cambrian. There were all sorts of massive fish—we could even rank them by how terrifying they are.”

Ke Lingxuan rubbed her forehead. “If it’s not absolutely necessary, I’d rather not run into them.”

However, in this place, avoiding them wasn’t really an option.

The first large fish they encountered was a Cladoselache, an early shark. It was about two meters long and had a distinctive dorsal fin on its back. Though it was one of the earliest sharks, its massive mouth and razor-sharp teeth already hinted at the fierce predators sharks would become. The group only dared to take out their cameras once it had safely swum past them.

Collecting small creature records was a tedious and monotonous task. After spending most of the day on it, they finally regrouped and decided to return to the submarine. Once they went back inside, they wouldn’t be able to leave again for the remainder of the Devonian period, meaning all future photography would have to be done from within the submarine.

So far, Lin Jing hadn’t felt much immersion in this game.

Partly because Xu Wanzhi was by his side acting like a walking encyclopedia, and partly because he had a sharp memory and keen observation skills. The process of collecting records had been incredibly smooth—completely different from his last playthrough, where he had to worry about everything. It was like shifting from an adventure mode to a leisurely mode, and the contrast was striking.

Back in the submarine, Black Jacket steered toward the shallow sea.

Compared to the deep sea, the shallow waters were much more resource-rich, and many large fish species thrived there.

They followed the Cladoselache from earlier and easily found a good angle to snap a photo of it.

The moment the camera flash went off, the Cladoselache instantly became agitated. Its tail lashed out violently, and its massive mouth opened, revealing sharp fangs as it lunged at the submarine. But since this vessel was a product of the interstellar age, its reinforced exterior was far beyond what the Cladoselache’s bite could damage.

The shark thrashed around the submarine for a long time, ultimately realizing it was powerless against it and swimming away.

“It worked!” Ke Lingxuan exclaimed in delight.

So the submarine could be used as a tool after all. The group exchanged glances, seeing excitement reflected in each other’s eyes.

Ke Lingxuan never held back praise for her teammates and turned to Elena. “Oh my god, Elena, if we clear this level successfully, you’ll have contributed so much!”

Elena laughed modestly. “No, no, it was a team effort.”

With the submarine providing protection, they were now fearless in their photography.

They easily recorded previously intimidating creatures like the nautiloids, sea scorpions, coelacanths, and placoderms. Even the famous Tiktaalik, the transitional species between fish and land vertebrates, was effortlessly added to their collection. As the submarine navigated the deep sea, they searched for the biggest and most renowned predator of the era—the Dunkleosteus.

Finally, behind the shadow of an extinct undersea volcano, a Dunkleosteus slowly emerged from the pitch-black waters, swimming directly toward them. Even from inside the submarine, they could feel the sheer terror of facing such a creature.

This ancient sea was shrouded in darkness, and the Dunkleosteus stood like a towering mountain before them.

Its front half was encased in thick, heavy armor. Instead of teeth, its mouth was lined with razor-sharp bony plates that functioned like blades. It had likely just finished feeding—the water around it was faintly tinged with red, exuding an aura of brutal savagery.

The short-haired girl swallowed nervously. “D*mn… Good thing we’re not outside. Even looking at it from inside the sub gives me the creeps.”

Karl, on the other hand, was filled with excitement. Boys seemed to have an instinctive fascination with strange and mysterious creatures. “So this is what it really looks like!” He raised his camera and murmured, “I have to get the perfect shot.”

Sitting beside Lin Jing, Xu Wanzhi suddenly leaned in close to his ear and whispered with a faint chuckle, “Do you think it’s cute?”

Lin Jing was taken aback. “Who? The Dunkleosteus?”

Xu Wanzhi didn’t answer—just smiled.

Lin Jing silently looked at the colossal beast outside, then replied, “…If this thing counts as cute, then nothing in the world could be considered scary.”

A cool presence naturally emanated from Xu Wanzhi as he leaned in. With an inscrutable expression, he asked, “Take a guess—what’s the bite force of a Dunkleosteus?”

Lin Jing, puzzled by the seemingly random question, glanced at him with brown eyes full of confusion. “Uh… a thousand kilograms?”

He vaguely remembered that the crocodile, which had the strongest known bite force in the modern world, had around that level.

Xu Wanzhi remained silent, watching as Karl snapped a picture. When the camera flash went off, he finally smiled and said, “Approximately… 150 megapascals.”

Lin Jing: “?”

150 megapascals? Wait, what unit was Pascal again? Oh, right, it measured pressure—Newtons per square meter.

Lin Jing: “!!!”

150 million Newtons per square meter???

---

Can’t wait until next week to see more? Want to show your support? Come to my Patreon where you can get 5 or more chapters of The No. 1 Hunfen King in the Entire Server [Interstellar] right away ! Or go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! :)

---