Never expected it.
The micro submarine of the New Water Fleet has already located the sea cave where Lugia resides!
Baimu was so shocked by the scene in front of him that he couldn't speak.
Liu Yuan, who had always maintained a calm demeanor, also frowned, crossing his hands under his nose in a thoughtful pose.
However.
As the micro submarine advanced for a while, it soon reached the boundary of the water area. Beyond was flat land, and when illuminated with its onboard light, only darkness was visible, as if the light was being swallowed by the darkness.
Yet when the light shone on the ground, there were no traces of Lugia's movement.
Did Lugia fly in?
This question lingered not only for Porygon but also for Baimu and Liu Yuan.
But without a doubt, the micro submarine lacked the capability to cruise on land, unable to leave the water's surface to continue exploration on land, so Porygon circled twice. After confirming no other paths existed, it could only descend.
After descending.
Porygon searched for other entrances at the seabed, but unfortunately found none.
It began to retrace its route.
Liu Yuan quickly paused upon seeing this, and after exiting, a series of numbers and strange characters flashed on the black screen.
Noticing Baimu's bewilderment, he explained, "These are remote operation commands for the micro submarine. The initial description indicates it was in cruise mode, which switched to follow mode upon detecting Lugia."
"Follow mode?"
"Yes, used to pursue designated Water-type Pokémon, which of course includes Lugia."
"So when the micro submarine detected Lugia, those outside were aware?"
"Yes, the imaging data from the micro submarine is always transmitted online to the outside world. This black box stores not only the imaging data but also various internal mechanical parameters."
Liu Yuan seemed to understand Baimu's curiosity and tapped the keyboard twice. "However, once entering the sea cave, the data connection was forced to disconnect due to unstable signals, evidently because some force in the cave affected the signal transmission."
"Affecting signal transmission..."
"Yes, when encountering various powerful Pokémon, you'll face similar situations. Their mere presence releases a force field, which, when close, affects many aspects."
Huh?
Is it a sense of oppression?
When Liu Yuan mentioned the so-called force field, Baimu instinctively thought of the Trait 'Pressure,' associated with many Legendary Pokémon, yet seemingly useless.
Of course, this thought quickly passed, as it wasn't the focus of the current discussion.
Liu Yuan resumed the video.
Combining the data on the side revealed that after Porygon couldn't enter the sea cave to continue tracking Lugia, it reported this finding to the large ship on the sea surface and transmitted the recorded video.
And the ship on the surface gave the command for the micro submarine to ascend.
Thus.
The micro submarine promptly surfaced.
As soon as it emerged from the water, the camera captured a group of excited New Water Fleet members gathering around the micro submarine, their faces filled with joy.
"Captain Aquan was right after all!"
"There really is a Lugia... why is it here?"
"Who knows, you should first find out if it's native to Hoenn before saying anything like that."
"Hey! Less talking, more working!"
Under someone's urging, the camera was turned off, indicating it had entered a maintenance phase.
But these few words make it clear that one significant goal of this micro submarine's dive test was to pursue the Lugia residing at the seabed.
What will the New Water Fleet do next?
And after so many days, could the New Water Fleet, in possession of substantial visual data, have already captured Lugia?
Baimu didn't believe the New Water Fleet's technology couldn't capture Lugia.
In the animated series, humans possessed Black Technology that surpassed many Legendary Pokémon. Even Giratina had instances of having 99% of its powers absorbed when captured.
Liu Yuan saw him frown and said, "Don't worry, we have been monitoring their actions, including the micro submarine test. We just don't know what they saw."
He tapped the keyboard, looking at the data. "If I remember correctly, they haven't revisited this area."
"Haven't revisited?"
Baimu was puzzled, "Why?"
"You'll have to see the next footage," Liu Yuan pointed at the screen.
He opened the last video, showcasing the suspected final dive of the micro submarine.
Soon.
Baimu discovered the reason why the New Water Fleet hadn't revisited that sea area—
The sea cave vanished.
Indeed.
It was as if everything seen earlier was a dream, at the original location, in the same deep-sea trench, the original sea cave had disappeared without a trace.
One could even say it had never existed.
Apparently, the Porygon controlling the micro submarine was skeptical and managed to get a drill from somewhere, attempting to dig a cave at the designated spot.
Nonetheless, no matter how much it drilled, only rocks filled the inside, with no sign of the sea cave.
The strange situation caused the micro submarine to ponder.
Soon.
It began to explore other directions and discovered human traces that hadn't been noticed before when leaving the trench— numerous seabed pipelines.
Following the pipelines, the micro submarine discovered a whole new world.
An abandoned underwater energy excavation facility.
Just as it prepared to enter this facility for exploration, a horde of Sharpedo suddenly rushed out from within, ramming into the surface of the micro submarine in groups, forcing it to quickly ascend.
After surfacing, a new world unfolded on the sea.
A giant sea platform appeared before them, like a small island, with its rear half submerged and the upper deck floating above water.
"What's this..." Baimu recognized it and, although it appeared different from the game, had a good idea of what it was.
"Sea Mauville."
Liu Yuan assumed he wasn't clear and answered, "A technological artifact left by a once powerful company in Hoenn. After bankruptcy, it couldn't be dealt with and was abandoned, remaining ever since. It's probably a paradise for Wild Pokémon now, much like the abandoned Cactus ship."
The Cactus ship was where Guang Hai resided.
Had the abandoned ship and Sea Mauville come to coexist? Because the sea was larger and broader than in the game?
However.
The question remained as to why the sea cave disappeared. Was it because it was created using Secret Power?