Only after his parents were sound asleep did Liu Hui quietly slip out of the window. He was intimately familiar with the surveillance systems inside the Star Group, so he easily evaded the patrols of company security personnel and the watch of the cameras. He arrived at the seaside by the Star Group and began to summon Xiao Hei.

Upon receiving Liu Hui's command, Xiao Hei immediately swam toward the designated direction. It had just awakened and was still unaccustomed to controlling the growth of power within its body, causing it to swim somewhat erratically in the ocean. However, by the time Xiao Hei reached Liu Hui, it had fully mastered its newly acquired formidable strength.

Liu Hui instructed Xiao Hei to stop about twenty meters from the shore; Xiao Hei’s current enormous body could no longer venture into the shallow waters. He was also wary that movement in the shallows might leave traces that a keen observer might notice. He jumped into the sea, quickly swimming to Xiao Hei's side. He climbed onto its back and urged it to swim rapidly toward the high seas.

Having undergone its second evolution, Xiao Hei’s body was now immense, allowing Liu Hui to stand steadily upon its back. Xiao Hei maintained a semi-submerged state, hurtling toward the open ocean like a streak of lightning.

Liu Hui immediately felt the astonishing increase in Xiao Hei's travel speed; its speed underwater was actually faster than the cruising speed of a standard passenger jet. The rapid movement generated fierce sea winds that blasted into Liu Hui's face, making it impossible to keep his eyes open. Liu Hui injected Ling Qi into his Hongguang Armor and activated its protective barrier. Instantly, the violent sea winds were deflected by the red glow and could no longer affect him.

Under Liu Hui's control, Xiao Hei maintained full speed southward. After swimming for half an hour, Liu Hui finally had Xiao Hei find an uninhabited islet to stop. He jumped off Xiao Hei's back and stood on the island, looking at the creature before him with a surge of excitement.

Xiao Hei's massive body was entirely surfaced. Liu Hui could see clearly in the darkness, allowing him to inspect Xiao Hei's form thoroughly. After the second evolution, its external appearance hadn't changed; it remained snake-like, similar to a Wushao snake. However, the change in size was monumental. By Liu Hui’s estimation, Xiao Hei’s body was now at least two hundred meters long, and the thickest part of its body had a diameter of nearly eight meters—no wonder he had been able to stand so steadily on its back.

Liu Hui commanded Xiao Hei to stand erect. Only when Xiao Hei reared its body up like a cobra did Liu Hui fully grasp its immensity and his own insignificance. When erect, Xiao Hei exceeded one hundred meters in height—to put it plainly, it towered above a thirty-story building. Combined with a body diameter exceeding eight meters, Liu Hui appeared as small as an ant before it.

Xiao Hei extended its head toward Liu Hui. Its enormous forked tongue flickered out continuously as its two expressionless eyes stared coldly at Liu Hui, radiating a fierce aura. Looking at Xiao Hei’s head, which was larger than a bedroom, its eyes comparable to round tables, and its mouth, which opened into a bottomless black abyss, Liu Hui felt a chill run down his spine. Yet, this feeling quickly turned to elation. The more powerful Xiao Hei became, the greater its assistance; as for fear, that was something his enemies should contemplate.

Liu Hui then stood on the islet, controlling Xiao Hei to swim south at full speed, intending to test its swimming velocity and control radius. He was currently in the South China Sea within Huaxia territory; the islet he stood on belonged to the Dongsha Islands, but due to its extremely small area, no military contingent was stationed there.

Under Liu Hui's control, Xiao Hei moved south at maximum speed. Liu Hui started a stopwatch to record relevant data. After the second evolution, Xiao Hei was exceptionally clear in Liu Hui's perception; its precise location and distance from him were perfectly known. Liu Hui only needed to check the time to calculate its swimming speed.

Xiao Hei proceeded in a straight line through the pitch-black seabed. Liu Hui manipulated its body, slowly attuning to Xiao Hei's condition. Gradually, a strange sensation began to surface in Liu Hui's mind: he constantly felt as if Xiao Hei knew everything happening within a certain range around its body; nothing occurring within that perimeter could escape Xiao Hei's sensing.

A thought sparked in Liu Hui's mind. He suddenly recalled when the Zerg from the insect race discussed Xiao Hei’s potential, mentioning that the modified Xiao Hei would possess a sensing ability, though its maximum range was only five kilometers. After its first evolution, this sensing capability had not manifested, so Liu Hui had dismissed the idea. Could this unusual sensation around Xiao Hei now be that rumored sensing ability?

The more Liu Hui considered it, the more certain he became. He concentrated his spirit, controlling Xiao Hei to sense its surroundings. Indeed, everything happening within a certain range was immediately known to Xiao Hei, as if those events were unfolding within its own mind; Xiao Hei could know them instantly if it wished. Liu Hui then conceived of a test: he made Xiao Hei move close to the seabed and focused his spirit to sense again. Sure enough, Xiao Hei could detect certain materials deep within the earth’s crust below the seafloor. Although he didn't know precisely what those substances were, he clearly registered their presence, stored just beneath the surface. This sensing was marvelous and utterly novel to him.

Unconsciously, Xiao Hei had swum south for twenty minutes. Liu Hui immediately received data in his mind: Xiao Hei was now a full three hundred and eighty kilometers away, directly to his south. Calculating this distance against the time elapsed, Liu Hui arrived at a staggering speed: Xiao Hei's current speed was 1,140 kilometers per hour, reaching the speed of sound. Furthermore, even at a distance of three hundred and eighty kilometers, Liu Hui’s control over Xiao Hei remained effortless; the creature executed his commands without hesitation.

Airplanes traveling through the air experience less resistance and can easily reach or exceed the speed of sound. However, ships navigating the ocean face immense drag, with the fastest rarely exceeding 200 kilometers per hour. It was estimated that no living creature in the sea could surpass 200 kilometers per hour. Therefore, Xiao Hei’s current speed far exceeded the limits of both artificial machinery and biological life in the ocean. If this was true, no weapon in the sea could possibly catch up to Xiao Hei.

Liu Hui had kept Xiao Hei diving deep throughout their test. In one area, the depth reached a remarkable six thousand meters. Even at this depth, Xiao Hei moved with complete ease; the tremendous water pressure caused it no impediment or discomfort whatsoever. Thus, Liu Hui was now confident that in its current state, Xiao Hei was invincible in the ocean, impervious to any weapon. With the protection Xiao Hei provided beneath the waves, the "Star City Project," which he had been planning for so long, could finally be implemented without reservation.

Xiao Hei continued swimming south. An hour later, it still retained abundant energy, its speed showing no sign of slowing. At this point, Liu Hui registered the distance between them as one thousand one hundred and forty kilometers—precisely the distance sound travels in one hour.

Liu Hui was overjoyed. His tests confirmed that Xiao Hei could maintain its speed at Mach 1 for an extended period, and maintain precise control even at a distance of 1,140 kilometers. This greatly expanded his operational space and provided significant strategic flexibility; Xiao Hei had thoroughly evolved into his ultimate trump card.

Liu Hui took out a map from his storage space to study it. Since he couldn't pinpoint his exact location, he couldn't be certain where Xiao Hei had arrived. He vaguely felt they were somewhere near the Nansha Islands, possibly close to the Philippines. Xiao Hei had signaled that the seafloor was beginning to rise, suggesting they had left areas long associated with land. In that direction, only the Philippines lay as a major nation.

Xiao Hei continued swimming south and soon encountered an offshore drilling platform involved in extracting subsea petroleum at a depth of five hundred meters. Liu Hui controlled Xiao Hei to quietly surface. Since it was still dark and Xiao Hei was entirely black, the personnel on the platform never detected it. Xiao Hei’s eyes, however, were miraculous; they could see perfectly in the dark deep sea, meaning the black night offered no concealment for its observation. When Liu Hui clearly made out the insignia on the platform, he felt a wave of disappointment. The mark indicated that the platform belonged to a European company, likely operating under a petroleum extraction agreement with the Philippine government.

The nation of Huaxia had long disputed sovereignty over this maritime region, asserting complete ownership over these undersea oil wells. However, the Philippine government largely ignored these claims, proceeding to transfer drilling rights and reap vast economic benefits. The Huaxia government, constrained by distance and wary of international opinion, could only voice strong protests without taking substantial action. After several iterations, the Philippine government seemed to grasp Huaxia's bottom line and acted with even less restraint regarding other disputed oil wells.

When he was a passionate youth, Liu Hui had been fiercely indignant reading reports in the papers about foreign entities drilling for oil in Huaxia's South China Sea. He once told Mei Peng that if Huaxia went to war with those South China Sea nations, he would gladly fight on the front lines to protect his homeland’s resources from foreign occupation. However, after entering society and understanding more of the world's mechanisms, that fervor to fight for national resources slowly faded. As an older colleague had once explained, even if Huaxia reclaimed the South China Sea oil, it would merely be handed over to the domestic "Three Barrels of Oil" conglomerates to exploit. Prices would rise regardless, as those oil monopolies would never pass up an opportunity to fleece domestic consumers. Therefore, if a war truly broke out in the South China Sea, everyone should just continue their lives; regardless of victory or defeat, the outcome would hold no relevance for the common people, who could only brace themselves for being fleeced. Although Liu Hui didn't entirely agree with his colleague's cynical view, he subsequently lost interest in tracking developments in the South China Sea.

Xiao Hei circled the offshore platform with curiosity, then submerged again and swam forward. A sudden idea struck Liu Hui, and he directed Xiao Hei to sink to the seabed to begin sensing the materials stored beneath the ocean floor. Xiao Hei’s sensory ability penetrated the seabed silt, quickly detecting a large quantity of substance one thousand meters below the seafloor. This material was fluid, continuously being pumped up through the drilling apparatus, collected, and stored in bulk.

Liu Hui paused, instantly realizing the substance he sensed was petroleum. He quickly committed to memory the subterranean characteristics of oil, ensuring he wouldn't miss it the next time he encountered it. Under his perception, the area rich in petroleum was vast, with the oil layer extending into the earth’s crust over three thousand meters deep. Even Xiao Hei's sensing ability couldn't reach the limits of that oil deposit.

"Damn it all, such a massive oil layer, holding who knows how much oil—and it’s just being gifted to foreigners," Liu Hui muttered through clenched teeth. Yet, he only allowed himself a moment of venting. Even if he made Star Group the world's foremost corporation, he remained merely a businessman with no voice in these political matters.

Xiao Hei continued swimming south, slowing its pace to scan and sense the seabed deposits, hoping to locate another large oil layer. Liu Hui was disappointed; along the way, they found no further concentrated layers of petroleum. Because of the prior sensing experience, Xiao Hei could only identify petroleum as a specific mineral; it had no indication of what other substances lay within the crust.

Focused solely on swimming and sensing for oil, Xiao Hei inadvertently brushed against a towed sonar array suspended in the water. Xiao Hei dismissed it as a piece of driftwood and swam onward.

Above the sea area where Xiao Hei swam, several large warships were underway. The sonar system aboard one of the destroyers suddenly issued an alarm. The sonar operator recording the data immediately logged the anomaly and reported the alert to the ship's commander.

"What? You say an unidentified submarine appeared below us?" the warship commander exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, Sir. The towed sonar we deployed on the seabed just recorded its signature," the executive officer reported.

"Could it be a Huaxia submarine?" the commander asked.

"Sir, we cannot confirm yet if it is a Huaxia submarine, because the sonar characteristics of the unknown object do not match any known sonar signatures we possess," the executive officer replied.

"That is odd. Could it be a large seabed creature moving nearby that accidentally contacted our towed sonar?" the commander suggested.

"That is possible, but we cannot rule out the possibility of a newly developed submarine from Huaxia," the executive officer countered.

"Commander, our towed sonar has located the unknown object again. It is five hundred meters beneath us. We have confirmed this object is two hundred meters long, moving at thirty-five knots, and submerged at five hundred meters," more specific information arrived from the sonar room.

"Sir, an object two hundred meters long absolutely cannot be a deep-sea creature; it must be a submarine. And since our own submarines are not in this vicinity, it must belong to another nation," the executive officer analyzed.

"Your analysis is sound. I simply did not expect it to penetrate our battle group formation. If it is indeed a Huaxia submarine, it might be poised to attack us," the commander remarked.

"Sir, this is a time of high tension. Diplomatic negotiations are ongoing between Huaxia and the United States. If there's any misfire, it could lead to trouble. We should proceed with caution," the executive officer advised.

"Heh heh, you needn't worry. I just want to force it to the surface. You see, a submarine without a recognizable sonar profile like this might be a newly developed craft by Huaxia. Our intelligence agencies would be very interested in it," the commander chuckled.

The executive officer tried to interject again but was stopped by the commander, who said, "Immediately contact General Samoyed aboard the guided-missile destroyer Zhongyun and request his cooperation with our guided-missile destroyer Howard to spring a trap."

"Sir, should we inform the accompanying Filipinos?" the executive officer asked.

The commander considered for a moment. "Forget informing them. If they get involved, they might deliberately shoot and kill a few people, which would completely bind us to face Huaxia's wrath."

The executive officer accepted the order and contacted General Samoyed aboard the Zhongyun, relaying the situation discovered by the Howard and requesting their assistance to complete the operation. Soon, confirmation arrived from General Samoyed that all preparations were complete.

The commander of the Howard immediately gave the order: "Prepare to engage. Begin action."

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～ Thanks to the book friend: Yuan Qiang for the V-tip