Cloud-sea thinned, dawn mist shredded by upward currents.
The "Orange Mothership" hung high, twelve Ender engines roaring like twelve whales spouting in the sky. Leon stood in the command tower, the purple counter on his right hand ticking: 67:00:00.Nami pressed the Log Pose to the "Cloud-Sea Magnetic Chart," finger tracing a scarlet line: "Ahead is Reverse Mountain; the current flows straight upward. Our aerial route must synchronise with the surface current or we'll be dragged into the vortex."Leon nodded and opened the system interface, pushing "Creative Domain" to Lv2:[Authority Upgraded: allow realisation of redstone mechanics ≤200×200×200]He spawned a "Current-Sync Radar"—a huge purple telescope, pixel waves floating inside the tube. The screen showed: upward current speed 38 knots, vertical drop 2 km, sync window only 90 seconds."Ninety seconds," Leon murmured, "enough to dive—enough to be torn apart."
Nami's grin was excitement itself: "Ninety seconds—enough for me to break every sailing record!"Count-down 66:30:00—the mothership began descent, Ender engine nozzles swivelling downward like four purple pillars propping the sky. Cloud-sea was ripped open by air pressure, revealing the roaring upward waterfall below—sea water rushing straight upward like a galaxy hanging inverted from the heavens.Synchronisation began.
The mothership dropped vertically at 40 knots; the radar screen flashed green:[Current Match 97%, Sync Successful]But the next second a huge red dot appeared on the radar edge—a biological signal over five hundred metres in diameter.
Nami's pupils contracted: "It's Laboon! He's twice the size on record!"The giant whale Laboon burst from the base of the upward waterfall, his body covered in glowing blue circuit-like lines—pixel traces on a circuit board. He opened his massive mouth and emitted a synthetic electronic voice:
"Unknown flying object detected… source-code connection requested…"Leon's eardrums rang; the system interface auto-popped:[Detection: Source-Code Lifeform]
[Connect data stream? Y/N]He pressed Y without hesitation.
In an instant the world froze—cloud-sea, waterfall, mothership all turned grey-white models; only the blue lines inside Laboon flowed like a huge data river.Leon's consciousness was pulled into a pure white space where a pixel-block whale calf floated before him:
"I am 'Source-Code·Laboon', Backup Zero. Your fruit authority meets access conditions. Please upload 'coordinate-seed' backup or complete formatting will occur in seventy hours."Leon's heart shook—this was the exact end of his countdown!
He looked up at the pixel whale. "If I upload the seed, what do I get?"
The whale answered: "Full access to source-code and coordinates of the 'Uranus' fragment."Leon was silent for three seconds, then smiled. "Deal—but I upload only half the seed. The other half waits until I find 'Uranus'."
The whale tilted its head, seemed to calculate, then nodded. "Protocol approved. Count-down extended to one hundred twenty hours."White light dispersed; colour returned to the world.
Laboon let out a joyful whale-song, the blue circuits on his body dimming. He turned and swam toward the base of the upward waterfall, leaving a glowing wake.A system prompt popped quietly:[Source-Code Protocol Established]
[Coordinate-Seed Upload 50%]
[Count-down Extended to: 120:00:00]
[Uranus Fragment Coordinates Unlocked: Fish-Man Island·Sea Forest]Nami looked at Leon, eyes complex. "You just... talked to that whale?"
Leon nodded, gazing at the end of the waterfall. "It gave us fifty extra hours—and the next map."The mothership passed through the upward waterfall, entering the vertical current like a spaceship flying in reverse, rushing toward the sky's end.Count-down 120 hours—begins.