The next morning, Merlin took his assistant Hill, along with Dr. Koenzawa and Miss Vivian, on a jet organized by the Imperial, heading east from Mona Island and across the Atlantic Ocean.
After a long 13-hour flight, they paused a break in the Middle East's big city Dubai, and then went directly to Bangkok, Thailand.
After a simple Thai-style breakfast, the group changed to a large helicopter and headed to the mysterious island in the South Pacific.
The areas where the ancient Titans are located are highly confidential.
The mysterious Kong is located in Skull Island, which is not found on ordinary maps. Only by following the map within the Imperial Organization can you accurately find the location of Skull Island in the numerous archipelagos in the South Pacific.
Merlin was in the helicopter cabin at this time, carefully watching the map spread out in front of him.
In the center of this map, which is the edge of the South Pacific, there is a mark of the imperial organization, which is where Skull Island is located.
“It is far from the mainland and is also a long distance from the nearest residential island.”
Dr. Serizawa sat opposite Merlin, pointing to the sign on the map and said to Merlin:
"Just like the 'ecological island' in the concept of biology, there is an ecological system that is completely different from the outside world. We suspect that it is precisely because of this closure that the ecology of Skull Island has been stuck in ancient times, and the Kong ethnic group has escaped a long period of ecological evolution and survived."
Merlin nodded, he was concerned about another issue.
"Although this place is remote, it has not been discovered for so many years. There will always be merchant ships passing through nearby waters, so I'm very curious, after the 1973 exploration activity, how did you keep the secret of the existence of Skull Island?"
Meilin looked at Dr. Serizawa and asked:
"Are you demarcating a military restricted area? Or use other methods? And if kong is an ancient Titan like Raton, then with its size, relying on an island will be completely unconcealed."
"kong is a juvenile Titan."
Vivian Graham beside Dr. Serizawa said to Merlin:
"According to the information brought back by our members in 1973, Kong was only about 100 feet tall at that time, and with the mountain structure inside Skull Island, it was completely possible for Kong to hide and survive."
"Ancient Titans like it have an extremely long growth period. According to Dr. Serizawa's estimate, it may take more than a hundred years to truly enter the maturity stage. According to some information we have collected on Skull Island, adult kong may be more than 200 feet tall and weigh more than 20,000, or even 30,000 tons."
Vivian put a photo in front of Merlin, she said:
"Kong is different from other Titans. It has not yet become a real top predator. In fact, we built observation labs on Skull Island not just to study Kong's habits, but to protect it."
"Protect?"
Merlin picked up the photo, which was a black and white photo. In the photo, an upright gorilla covered with brown and black mane was standing between the valleys. It was no different from the gorilla that Merlin had seen before. The only thing that attracted attention was its height.
Compared with the surrounding valleys, the height of this gorilla is at least 30 meters.
It may not be as shocking as Godzilla who raised his head from the sea, but it is definitely much more powerful than Raton who is currently sleeping in a volcano.
Merlin also noticed that in this photo, the orangutan named kong had obvious scars on its left arm.
He handed the photo to Agent Hill, then looked at Vivian, he said:
"You mean, kong can be hurt or even killed now?"
"Yes."
Dr. Serizawa nodded, and he said in a heavy tone:
"The Exploration Operation in 1973 was not successful. This was a secret within the Imperial Organization and the reason why we have refused to cooperate with the military since then. In the Exploration Operation in 1973, a veteran of Vietnam War who was the protector of the team, but extremely paranoid, almost killed Kong, which is why Kong hates outsiders very much."
A trace of regret and regret flashed in Dr. Serizawa's eyes, and he said:
"Kong has his own wisdom, because of its racial nature, its intelligence and humanoid type, should be the highest of all Titans. We had the opportunity to establish a friendly contact with Kong. Because of the personal behavior of a soldier who was trapped in a devilish way, we completely lost all this."
"So, what exactly happened in 1973?"
Merlin asked:
"If Kong is really as you said, with extremely high wisdom. Then after being hurt by humans, he should have a strong sense of revenge. Your laboratory is impossible to be located on Skull Island. So, I guess, the story of 1973 should have other hidden stories besides the harm to Kong, right?"
"There are all kinds of people in this world, Dr. Merlin."
Shishiro Zen took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead while saying:
"Someone wants to hurt others, bless their pain and loss on other creatures, and show their existence with violence. There will definitely be people who treat everything well, willing to save disasters in all peaceful ways, and even risk sacrificing themselves for this."
"In the 1973 expedition, in addition to the crazy colonel, there were also our predecessors. When the colonel tried to kill Kong, they helped him and allowed Kong to successfully kill the most terrifying enemy in the early stage of his life."
"Kong remembers this help, so the lab of the Imperial Organization was established on the edge of Skull Island. But Kong also remembers that damage, so our inspectors could not go deep inland. Similar to the experiments on Raton's research, we have found little valuable information in our labs in Skull Island since 1973."
Dr. Serizawa raised his head, and the always polite Japanese looked at Merlin, and he whispered:
"We are eager to make progress in our research on kong."
"You have to understand, Merlin, if there really is a big melee between Titans in the future, then the only ancient Titans that are most likely to stand on the side of humans will be kong."
The doctor's eyes shone with a hint of expectation, and even pleading, he said to Merlin:
"In my opinion, perhaps, kong is the hope for the future of human civilization."
"So, you invited us to Skull Island, not just for inspection and evaluation, right?"
Merlin narrowed his eyes, and Agent Hill beside him also understood Dr. Serizawa's plan.
Obviously, Merlin's first move in the Mona Island Laboratory allowed Dr. Koinze to see the hope of experimental breakthroughs. He generously opened up the second project of the Imperial Organization to Merlin, and also hoped to get the help of Dr. Merlin to help them make progress in the laboratory on Skull Island.
"Yes."
Dr. Serizawa nodded and said to Merlin:
"Compared with the volcanic Titans on Mona Island, Dr. Merlin, I believe you will find more on Skull Island. The ecological environment there is still the same as it was hundreds of thousands of years ago. In addition to kong, there are many strange creatures there, and the food chain there is completely different from the outside world. For an excellent alien researcher like you, it is definitely a paradise!"
“I can authorize the sharing of the lab on Skull Island with your research team.”
Dr. Serizawa said in a deep voice:
"We can help each other! As long as you keep the secrets about Skull Island and Kong."
Merlin was not angry, in fact, he was not angry at all, and the result was expected. There is no doubt that the Imperial Organization is using him.
But this is also what Merlin hopes to see.
He needed to issue an accurate assessment report and he had to enter the imperial organization. Now he did it.
As Dr. Serizawa said, this is a relationship of mutual help.
And in the adult world, isn’t it normal to be exploited?
If you don’t want to be used, then you will become a waste. No one will pay attention to waste.
"I have to go to Skull Island first."
Merlin showed the rigor that researchers should have, he did not guarantee, he said:
"I can help you, I will only know after a field investigation."
"We will arrive at Skull Island in 50 minutes."
Vivian looked down at the watch on her wrist and said to Merlin and Hill:
"When you are approaching Skull Island later, it may be a little bumpy. I'll confirm in advance that both of you should not be seasick, right?"
"Um?"
Vivian's question made Merlin and Hill a little confused. They are flying now, so what does this have to do with seasickness?
This doubt lasted until 40 minutes later, on the edge of the endless South Pacific Ocean, on the sea several kilometers ahead of the helicopter, something attracted the attention of Merlin and Hill.
"Shet!"
Hill looked at such a thing, and the always calm female agent couldn't help but whisper a little cursing at this moment.
Beside her, Merlin's expression was not very good-looking.
He finally knew how the Imperial Organization hid the existence of Skull Island.
It's very simple, they don't need to hide
Nature may particularly love these Titans, so it gave Skull Island and Kong a perfect disguise.
On the sea ahead, a giant tornado that reached the sky from the sea was coiled there. Among the terrifying hurricanes that could easily destroy a city, there were clouds similar to flames, and the thick lightning that kept lit up in the clouds. The light of lightning illuminated the giant tornado from the inside, making it look like the entrance to hell.
The surrounding sea water can easily swell up to several meters of huge waves under the push of hurricanes. In such a vortex, no ship can get close to it.
Any sensible captain will avoid this storm, which is why Skull Island has not been known to the outside world since it was discovered.
“No one knows when this storm happened.”
Dr. Serizawa stood up and grabbed the bulkhead of the helicopter with his hands. On the increasingly bumpy plane, he said to Merlin:
"From the first time we discovered Skull Island through military satellites in 1973, the storm has never stopped. It is like a unique weather phenomenon of Skull Island, never increasing or weakening."
"This is not normal!"
Merlin pushed the glasses on his nose and said to Dr. Serizawa:
"Even if I don't know anything about meteorology, I know that there must be something weird on that island that is maintaining this year-round storm you have studied there for decades, but nothing has been discovered?"
“We can’t go deep inland.”
Dr. Serizawa looked at the terrifying hurricane that was getting older and closer in front of him, and he said:
"But some of my friends who have studied geology suspect that there is a passage to the hollow underground world of the earth's mantle layer somewhere on Skull Island. They believe that Skull Island is one of the channels for air flow in the underground world and the ground world. It is precisely because of the air flow generated by those deep underground channels that this hurricane does not dissipate all year round."
"But we have no evidence."
"Yeah, interesting."
A ray of light flashed in Merlin's eyes, and he said:
"If this is really the entrance to the underground world, we have to take a real field investigation."
The helicopter is getting closer and closer to the hurricane regiment in front of him, and Agent Hill's breathing is getting faster and faster. This is normal. Any normal person will feel subconsciously fear when he sees a super-large hurricane regiment that is enough to destroy a city.
Not to mention, they now have to ride a helicopter swaying in the wind and enter the eye of the storm.
This is simply seeking death.
"Sit down!"
The pilot on the helicopter shouted to the rear:
"I hope we won't be hit by lightning, friends."
The next moment, the helicopter that accelerated speed rushed into the hurricane.
But unexpectedly, the strong wind that should have been raging wildly in the storm did not exist. Although the wind in the storm looked terrifying, it was not extremely destructive, and it could even be called mild.
Merlin, who was ready to face the impact, suddenly opened his eyes. He looked at the wonder of the fog in front of him. He could feel the helicopter's shell being blown, but he could still maintain direction in the wind.
This group of "hurricanes" that look destructive on the outside are actually just a scary thing.
The plane was bumpy, like the feeling of drifting, and it was so shaking that it was almost impossible to maintain the standing posture. No wonder Vivian asked Merlin and Hill just now if they were seasick.
The feeling now is similar to sitting on a boat and passing through a storm. The continuous vibrations make people feel pain in their heads.
Merlin could still hold on, but Hill beside her was already pale and shaking. Merlin reached out to hold Hill's body and leaned her tightly against him. Hill also subconsciously hugged his commander tightly.
In this bumpy storm, Merlin's body sat very steadily, just like a pillar.
After a few unbearable minutes, accompanied by the pilot's cheer, the helicopter rushed from the hurricane group into the calm wind's eyes with a slight mess.
Meilin opened her eyes and a peaceful and beautiful scenery came into her eyes. The sun shone on this isolated island, and the golden light reflected in it made people unable to help but hold their breath.
"Skull Island."
Merlin looked at the lush mountains and lakes that flashed under the plane and whispered:
Chapter completed!