Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

Chapter 1431 - 709: Mechanical Ocean, Scorching Heatwave

"It’s really dark in here."

Walking through the narrow passage, Li Wenxi sighed.

"Does the interior of this gigantic ship not require light at all? Could it be that the extraterrestrial invaders don’t like light?"

"That’s probably not the case." Xu Xin shook his head, "The World Tree has plenty of light."

"It seems extraterrestrial invaders have the habit of turning off lights to conserve energy," Xu Ying laughed.

Although it’s dark here, all three of them have night vision, so darkness doesn’t concern them.

However...

"It’s not just dark, it’s getting hotter too," Li Wenxi wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, "Just the ambient temperature must be at least forty degrees now..."

Having just experienced extremely low temperatures, the three of them now found themselves in a very hot environment.

"Hmm, and..."

Xu Xin turned his face sideways, using his arm to shield half of his forward-facing face.

Whoosh—

A wave of heat came rushing from the end of the passage.

The temperature of the heat wave was not low, at least fifty degrees, as if scorching their faces.

"Ugh... what is this hot air, and..."

Li Wenxi hid behind Xu Xin, covering his mouth and nose, "This smell is really unpleasant."

"It’s definitely unpleasant." Xu Ying also hid behind Xu Xin, covering her mouth and nose, nodding in agreement.

"You two..."

Xu Xin looked at the two behind him with some helplessness.

Every ten seconds or so, a heat wave would rush towards them.

The heat wave mixed with a humid rusty smell, which made them a bit dizzy.

What was even more unbearable was a foul, sour, rotten smell.

It was like the smell of a piece of rotten tofu left in hot, humid weather for over a week.

Though not particularly strong, it was still nauseating.

"Whimper..."

Keke buried its head in Xu Xin’s arms.

But it felt too hot like that, so Keke only buried its head while leaving the rest of its body exposed.

The large tail was still swaying side to side.

"Let’s quicken our pace."

The three picked up their pace.

They found out that as it is, even moving fast enough to deactivate their stealth cloaks wouldn’t cause any issues.

There seemed to be no surveillance equipment here, so they weren’t worried about getting discovered.

Also, it seemed like neither this place nor the cold storage they visited before was powered.

No light, no active machinery.

Pitch black.

If it weren’t for the heat waves in the air, they might have thought this place had long been abandoned.

"Have you noticed that the direction we’re heading now aligns with the direction of the cold storage we just left?"

Li Wenxi suddenly realized something.

The entrance to this hot passage and the entrance to that beast cold storage were not on the same wall, meaning their orientations were different.

But after entering this hot passage and walking obliquely downward for several dozen meters, they suddenly changed direction towards the cold storage they were at earlier.

Considering the position, this direction should be towards the tail of the gigantic ship.

"Though it’s the direction of the cold storage, we walked down several dozen meters, so we’re likely below the cold storage." Xu Ying said.

"Oh..." Li Wenxi blinked, "Below the cold storage... there’s a ’big furnace’ blowing hot air? Wouldn’t that reduce the efficiency of the cold storage’s freezing?"

"...Is there a possibility that it’s actually the other way around?" Xu Xin suggested.

"The other way around? You’re saying..."

"One of the reasons the cold storage exists is to cool down this ’big furnace’."

Xu Xin suddenly felt a slight thrill.

On such an enormous ship, what could need extensive cooling?

As far as Xu Xin could think, there’s only one thing.

"Ah...! Could it be that up ahead is..."

Li Wenxi and Xu Ying immediately grasped Xu Xin’s implication, and their eyes lit up.

"Ahead is the engine of this gigantic ship?!"

"Very possible." Xu Xin nodded, "At least it should be part of the power system."

The ship is so massive that the power system should also occupy a considerable volume.

Given their current location in the mid-lower section of the ship, it was indeed possible they were near the power system.

"Oh... so, the alien invaders who died outside the hibernation chamber could have been responsible for protecting the ship’s engine?"

Xu Ying mused to herself.

"Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, they died mysteriously."

Indeed, it was mysterious.

They had been dead for at least seven days, and they hadn’t even taken the weapons from the hibernation chambers, dying just outside of them.

It felt as though they died while still inside the hibernation chambers.

The chambers opened, and their bodies fell out.

Then the chambers closed, creating the eerie scene Xu Xin and the others saw.

"They died, which saved us a lot of trouble!" Li Wenxi pulled Xu Xin and Xu Ying to quicken their pace, "Quick, let’s see if it’s the engine, and if it is..."

"Even if it is, we may not be able to do anything." Xu Xin reminded her.

Since it is crucial, general engines need to withstand tremendous pressure and must not be damaged.

The hardness of engines and the power system might not be any less than the outer shell of this ship.

"Oh well, let’s at least take a look first."

The three of them even started running.

Since it’s not immediately dangerous here, running could save time.