Chapter 35: Unburdened, Ready for Battle

Based on the current achievements of human research, Lin Qiu believed that if one were to proceed step by step, it would be impossible for him to create memory metal within his lifetime. Yet, more than two hundred million years ago, in the early Triassic period, memory metal had already been invented. And that was just one example. This illustrates the brilliance of technology in the eras surrounding the Triassic: Cambrian, Cretaceous, Jurassic—each a testament to a dazzling civilization. Perhaps it would not be long before the former rulers of Water Blue Star would descend upon the world once more.

“What nonsense am I thinking? Am I already showing signs of senility at such a young age?” Lin Qiu shook his head, banishing these stray thoughts, then smiled gently at the Prime Minister Turtle. “Since you’re unharmed…” His tone paused, his brows rising with a hint of sharpness. “Go clean the toilet now!” he roared, veins bulging on his forehead. He hadn’t forgotten this old creature’s earlier demeanor. Trials and tribulations? A future overlord? Those he could tolerate. But the constant address of ‘little darling’—that, he could not abide. Now, the pent-up irritation burst forth, frightening the Prime Minister Turtle into trembling.

This young man before him could very well be the descendant of the old city master. Now he was the city master, the sole sovereign of the ancient city. The fate of all creatures within its walls was no longer in his own hands, but in those of the new ruler. As he had said, when the flower blooms on the other shore, the king reigns supreme. Here, Lin Qiu was the highest authority. With a single thought, he could control the city’s core and use countless strange methods to eliminate them all.

“What am I thinking now? Am I truly getting old?” “The city master seems ill-tempered. Will he disdain my aged limbs?” More chaotic thoughts swirled in the Prime Minister Turtle’s mind. Eventually, another notion surfaced: “To be able to clean the city master’s toilet is truly a boundless future!” “Not every merfolk has the chance to be so near to the master’s golden aura!” He grinned and waggled his eyebrows, making Lin Qiu’s scalp tingle. Was this old turtle short-circuiting?

“Master, I’ll go clean it right away!” “Wait!” Just as the Prime Minister Turtle was preparing to leave, Lin Qiu stopped him. “Master, I’m here!” The turtle’s face was ingratiating, his smile ambiguous and his gaze fixed on his lord. “That look…” Lin Qiu felt a chill in his heart, nearly retching, but managed to hold it in.

“From today, you are the Prime Minister Turtle of the city lord’s residence. You are to manage the entire ancient city’s order when I am absent,” Lin Qiu declared. “Let the citizens settle here, and through their hands and wisdom, create a civilization on the other shore. As for taxes, they are exempt for three years!” “Master, brilliant!” The turtle dropped to his knees and kowtowed. “Master, I will manage everything well in your absence. My lineage has served as Prime Minister Turtle for generations.” “Don’t try to fool me!” Lin Qiu glared, and the turtle shrank his head and limbs, retreating into his shell. His shameless appearance made Lin Qiu both annoyed and amused.

He shook his head. “Among the dolphins, there is one called Lin Lin—she is my sister. Settle her clan in the city lord’s residence and treat Lin Lin as a little princess.” “Yes, yes!” The turtle nodded rapidly. “Your words are the path I must tread all my life, without deviation.” “Flatterer, get lost!” Lin Qiu waved him away, his figure vanishing on the spot. The Prime Minister Turtle was unfazed; with inherited memories, he knew that in the ancient city, the master was like a god. The technological civilization stored in distant memories had already achieved a god-like status. If not for the civilization’s destruction by an extraterrestrial meteorite, technology would have long surpassed all boundaries.

“Meteorite!” Lin Qiu stood before the ancient city monument in the city lord’s residence, studying the patterns etched upon it. Each pattern recorded every event that had occurred. Only the city master could access the images and records left on this monument through the ages.

Whenever a civilization reached its limit, a meteorite would descend. The mystery lay precisely here. This was the puzzle he could not solve. With the technological prowess of that era, what meteorite could possibly not be intercepted? Why was every flourishing civilization destroyed by such celestial stones?

“Strange, everything about this is odd. Perhaps when that day arrives in the future, its secrets will be revealed.” Lin Qiu ceased his wild speculations and vanished from the ancient city. No one saw that, deep beneath the sea, a grand ancient city had stood since time immemorial. A figure appeared outside its walls, then began to transform, becoming a dolphin less than a meter long.

“Yah!” A cute cry echoed silently through the waters. “That annoying sound!” The dolphin—Lin Qiu—wore a look of frustration. After all this time, he had not yet regained his former imposing stature. Within the ancient city, he was the lord of the other shore, reigning supreme. But outside its boundaries, without the city’s technological shield, he was merely an underdeveloped little dolphin.

Lin Qiu swished his tail, his fins rippling gently in the water. He turned, glanced at the ancient city, and murmured softly, “Stay here quietly, and provide a safe home for more aquatic folk.” Finished with his prayer, he flicked his tail and swiftly floated toward the surface.

He did not take the ancient city with him. After becoming its master, he could shrink it and carry it at will. But he chose not to. The system had warned him: if he brought the city, knowing nothing could breach its defenses and standing invincible, he would gradually lose his combat experience. In time, he would become utterly useless. After careful consideration, he decided to leave it behind.

He would set out lightly, growing stronger through his own efforts. With the system as a cheat, if he still couldn’t grow quickly, he might as well sink and drown now. As he reached the surface and broke through the water, he couldn’t help but curse, “Damn it!”