Chapter 761: Underwater transport tunnel and a submersible

The hovertrain quickly travelled through the underwater transport tunnel while the group continued to marvel at the sight of the ocean outside.

Occasionally, they passed members of the Syngnathidae race swimming through the ocean, their tails propelling them quickly through the water.

“Their tails really do look like those from seahorses,” Emma commented with wide eyes.

At other times, they saw them riding on large sea creatures.

At one point, the group spotted two similar-looking enormous sea creatures locked in a tense battle while a third watched from a short distance away.

“A fight for the right to mate?” Aphrodite asked.

“Looks like it,” Lorelie nodded.

“Is it a fight to the death, or until one of the males retreats?” Adam asked.

“Why do you assume it’s the males fighting, babe?” Lorelie asked with a wink.

Adam’s eyes widened in surprise before asking, “Wait, it’s the females fighting over the male?”

“Yup,” Lorelie said with a smile. “Normally one of them will eventually retreat, but occasionally the fight does go on until one of them dies.”

“Why does it seem like everything to do with mating on this planet is backwards?” Adam asked.

“Indeed,” Emma said in agreement. “First, female Syngnathidae impregnate males, and now it's females who are fighting over the right to mate with a male.”

“You can’t expect everything in the universe to be the same from planet to planet,” Rowena remarked. “The universe is a big place and many things that may seem normal to you both on one planet might be the complete opposite on another.”

“Take Tephe’s homeworld of Devatov Seven, for example,” Revi stated. “That planet actually has landmasses that float in the sky.”

“Seriously?” Adam and Emma asked simultaneously.

“Uh-huh,” Tephe nodded happily. “My home is even situated on one of them.”

“Then there is the home of the Dryads, Elowen. That’s not so much a planet but a planet-sized tree which floats in space,” Elemence added.

Eytelis giggled as Adam and Emma gaped at her before saying, “It’s true. Elowen, the mother tree, is so massive that it’s even formed its own gravitational field and atmosphere.”

“Incredible,” Emma marvelled.

“I’ve got to see that in the future,” Adam stated excitedly.

“I’d be happy to take you; it’s been a long time since I returned home,” Eytelis stated happily.

“What I’m trying to tell you both is that you both need to throw away your ideas of normal, as they’re too narrow-minded,” Revi explained. “You're from a primitive world that hasn’t even started exploring your own galaxy yet, let alone the universe, so as you explore more of the universe, you're both going to see things you never thought possible.”

The pair nodded in understanding before Adam glanced out the window again and asked, “Then how is it so bright out there when there is no light reaching us from the surface?”

“Pay close attention to the plant life on the seabed,” Lorelie instructed.

As the pair did as instructed, they realised that much of the plant life seemed to occasionally pulse with light.

“Some of them do it as a means to lure in prey to devour, while others do it as a means for reproduction,” Lorelie explained.

This text was taken from NovelPhoenix. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The pair nodded and continued to stare out the window when it suddenly turned dark.

“Looks like we’re here,” Elemence said with a smile as she stood up.

A moment later, light returned to the windows and did indeed show that the train was pulling into a station.

“Already?” Emma asked in disappointment.

Elemence chuckled before saying, “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get to see plenty more of it while we’re here.”

As they disembarked the hovertrain and left the platform, they found themselves in another station, albeit one far smaller than the one which was part of the orbital elevator.

“Delphnas City Underwater Transport Station,” Tephe stated as she read the name of the station.

“And Muriel’s second home is here?” Stacey asked as she looked around at the Syngnathidae and a few other races who were moving to and fro in the station.

“That’s right,” Lorelie replied. “Apparently it’s supposed to be rather special.”

“Special how?” Stacey asked.

“No idea; she wouldn’t tell me.” Lorelie shrugged. “Just that it was a surprise.”

“Hmm,” Stacey replied. “So which way?”

Just as she finished asking, a female Syngnathidae wearing an excited expression approached them and asked in a low voice, “Excuse me, but are you Diva Lorelie’s party?”

“How did she know?” Tephe asked in surprise.

The woman smiled and said, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Silly girl, you gave it away,” Revi teased.

“But she already guessed it,“ Tephe retorted defensively.

“She asked, meaning she didn’t know for certain,” Revi explained.

“Ohhh,” Tephe replied.

The woman laughed before saying, “It wasn’t hard to guess. Diva Lorelie is known to be travelling with White Dragon Tephe after all.”

“Hehe,” Tephe laughed.

The woman then turned to Revi with a surprised expression. “Though I admit that I wasn’t expecting to meet Phoenix Empress Revi.”

“It sounds like you were waiting for us,” Revi remarked.

“Oh yes, my apologies. I was hired by Lady Muriel to act as your driver. My name is Cora,” Cora explained. “I’m to drive you all to Lady Muriel’s house.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cora,” Lorelie said with a smile.

“The pleasure’s all mine, Diva Lorelie,” Cora said excitedly.

“It’s great that Muriel arranged all this for us, but she could have done a better job relaying it,” Stacey grumbled.

“I guess her little incident freaked her out more than we realised,” Aphrodite said with a chuckle.

“Incident?” Cora asked in confusion.

“Don’t worry about it,” Rowena stated. “Please lead the way.”

“Oh, of course, Diva Rowena. This way, please,” Cora replied before she led them towards one of the elevators in the station.

Elemence slid up next to Emma before asking in a low whisper, “How did she recognise them? Why isn’t that Clark Kent effect thing working?”

“Probably because she knows to look out for them?” Emma explained. “Up on the orbital station, no one was specifically looking out for Lorelie or the others, so they went by unnoticed. This Cora, however, was informed about our arrival by Muriel and was specifically looking out for us.”

“Also, there's the whole deal that she recognised Tephe and put two and two together,” Adam added, as he had been close enough to overhear their conversation.

“Ohh,” Elemence replied as she nodded in understanding.

“That’s because I’m such a popular dragon,” Tephe bragged happily as she clung to Adam’s arm.

As they entered the elevator and it descended, they eventually came to what was obviously some kind of car park.

However, instead of cars parked on tarmac, there were futuristic-looking vehicles parked at docks on the surface of the water.

Cora led the way to an impressive-looking submersible vehicle, which Adam and Emma thought was shaped similarly to that of a whale, except it was far smaller and didn't contain any fins.

The body of the submersible was mostly made up of see-through windows, while the hinges were a dark silver-blue colour.

“Please climb aboard,” Cora instructed after she had opened the vehicle's door.

The group nodded and climbed in one by one while Cora stowed their luggage in a compartment at the back of the submersible before climbing in herself and taking the driver's seat.

Cora pressed a few buttons on the submersible's control panel before it hummed to life and the door began to close.

Once it was sealed shut, the submersible began to submerge itself in the water before it slowly moved away from the dock.

As Adam looked out the windows, he saw underwater lights and occasional holographic signs indicating the way to the exit.

Cora controlled the submersible and had it move towards the station's exit before turning it in a particular direction and gunning the throttle.

As the submersible accelerated, Adam looked back and saw the outer dome of Delphnas City, causing him to ask, “Why did we leave the city?”

“Lady Muriel’s home is a short distance from the city,” Cora said, turning her head back to say. “Apparently, we will be returning there later for dinner.”

“Oh?” Revi remarked. “Has she booked us a table at a restaurant or something?”

“Not just any restaurant, she’s booked you all a table at Primus Depths.”

“Seriously?” Aphrodite asked in surprise while Rowena let out a low whistle.

Revi gave an impressed look as she said, “Impressive, I’ve always wanted to eat there.”

“Unfortunately, even you have to book six months in advance to eat there,” Elemence replied.

“Is this restaurant famous?” Emma asked.

Lorelie nodded as she said, “It’s probably the most famous restaurant in the Reef Galaxy and one of the most famous seafood restaurants in the universe.”

“How does it compare to Metgar’s?” Adam asked.

“Difficult to say, as I’ve never eaten at Primus Depths; ask me again after we’ve eaten there,” Lorelie said with a smile.