Guding had only studied virology for one semester. When the professor suddenly resigned and the military academy couldn't find a second virology teacher, the course was discontinued.
Later, Guding also heard some rumors about that professor. It was said that the seemingly unremarkable old man once had a significant reputation in the Cosmic Sea. Guding always took such rumors lightly and never believed them.
To him, the old man's identity wasn't important. What mattered was that he, originally uninterested in virology, developed a keen interest in it after attending the old man's classes. Even after the academy stopped the course, Guding would occasionally visit the library to look up virology-related information.
Virology is a branch of pharmacology, so Guding didn't mind the idea of becoming a pharmacist.
Upon hearing Guding's perspective, the Sea Emperor was silent for a moment, "I also suspected that, but my database doesn't contain information on this virus. The closest type, coded as X, was used as a biological weapon in an ancient civilization. It significantly enhanced the power of the virus host and evolved by devouring genetic fragments, containing all DNA and RNA viruses, but they wouldn't attack each other. However, looking at these fishes, they seem to want to devour all life they see, even their kind."
"Some scientists from the ancient civilization believed that viruses inherently possess a survival and expansion consciousness. So for hosts of the same virus, there's usually no mutual conflict. But with these fishes in the sea devouring one another like this, it undoubtedly cuts off the virus's large-scale expansion potential and even its survival itself. So, initially, I didn't think they were infected with a virus," the Sea Emperor explained further, "But this crazy behavior has no other explanation than viral infection. No matter what, this planet surely isn't a safe landing point. You'd better put on the armor—it will be a bit safer."
Guding summoned the armor, wrapping himself tightly; in such unknown circumstances, even with his usual carefree demeanor, he knew he needed to be cautious now.
A moment later, the Sea Emperor's voice returned, this time with a hint of excitement, "I've just received good news."
"Could it be that the interstellar storm has stopped?" Guding conjectured uncertainly.
"No, there's no way it's stopped that quickly; you're overthinking it," the Sea Emperor chuckled, "Although external communication was blocked, I just tried connecting to this planet's internal network, and it actually connected."
"You must be mistaken. This Grey Star Domain has been abandoned for more than fifty years, being next to the Tianhe Star Domain. In other words, there have been no humans on this planet for at least fifty years. How could there still be a network?"
"If the planet's technology was advanced enough and its use of light energy reached a sufficient level, not just fifty years—even five hundred years might be sustainable," the Sea Emperor felt Guding underestimated the power of technology, "Plus, there's a bit of luck, in that among the machines still operating, one is a science laboratory's mainframe. It not only contains numerous past research data but also all surveillance records over the years of these virus-infected creatures on this planet."
"What I'm more curious about is whether there's a functioning ship on this planet," Guding was also thinking, that if there was a working spaceship here, he wouldn't have to wait for the Federation Government's rescue. After all, he's an interstellar pirate now, even though he doesn't even have a half Star Coin bounty on him.
Thinking about the bounty, Guding felt a bit frustrated; it had only been a few days since he left Sea Blue Star and he'd ended up in such a desolate place. Forget about doing something dramatic enough to shock the Federation Government; he didn't even know when he'd be able to leave.
"There's a shipyard near the harbor. However, urgently, you must reach land quickly. According to the surveillance records, there are extremely terrifying things in the sea with combat power at least on par with a Fifth-Order Gene Body, possibly even close to a Sixth Rank Gene Body martial artist," the Sea Emperor seemed not overly worried, "But that thing fears light, so it won't likely come out during the day, but once night falls, your situation will be quite dangerous."
"How long until night?" Guding knew his circumstances too; even with the boost from his Extreme Body Technique and armor, he only matched a Second Rank Gene Body martial artist. Facing a Third Rank Gene Body, he basically stood no chance, and for Fourth Rank and above, he'd likely be killed instantly. No matter what kind of monsters were in the sea, as long as they had combat power comparable to a Fifth-Order Gene Body, his survival chances would approach zero.
"This planet's rotation period is about 70 hours, with 40 hours of daylight; around 35 hours remain until dark," the Sea Emperor had almost fully grasped this planet's information. "The nearest coast to you is southeast, roughly 2,000 kilometers away. Luckily, the escape pod's energy is just enough to get you to the sea surface. It would take about ten hours of sailing to reach the shore."
Guding looked around, realizing that he couldn't tell directions on this planet and scratched his head, "It's up to you then; by the way, is this planet's rotation direction also from west to east?"
"Yes, so the constant star appears in the east every morning," the Sea Emperor knew Guding was asking because he completely lost his sense of direction. He controlled the escape pod, speeding southeastward, carving a long white line on the sea surface.
The ten hours felt excruciatingly long for Guding. The escape pod's internal volume was limited, confining him to lie down without moving. In high-speed travel, if his body wasn't secured, he'd likely be thrown out.
Apart from the bottom, the escape pod was transparent on other sides, and Guding saw various fish along the way, mostly in a state of madness and ferocity. Many were even larger than the escape pod, frantically chasing it until they were left behind and gave up the pursuit.
Finally enduring the ten hours, Guding heard the Sea Emperor's voice again, "We've reached the shore."
Opening the hatch, Guding sat up and let out a long breath, "We finally made it."
"All energy in the escape pod has been depleted; you'll have to cover the remaining distance on foot," the Sea Emperor had more bad news.
"How far is the shipyard from here?" Guding knew it was time to test his physical fitness.
"About 600 kilometers," the Sea Emperor estimated, "I've seen your physical test results, 100 kilometers in five hours, needing at least a half-hour rest to recover. Considering various situations you might encounter on the way, it'll probably take you at least two days to get there."
Stowing food and water into the Storage Space, Guding began sprinting in the direction the Sea Emperor indicated.
(Though there's mention of viruses, rest assured it won't turn into an apocalypse narrative.)