Deep Sea Embers

Belazov has completed his inspection of Dagger Island and supervision of research work. Now, it is time for the military representative to leave.

Near the pier at the port of Dagger Island Bay, Professor Myerson, who came to see him off in person, raised his head and looked at the "Petrel" which was preparing for departure.

Sailors are boarding the ship, port managers are checking the procedures, and priests wearing robes and carrying incense burners are walking near the cables, gently shaking the incense in their hands while praying for the mechanical parts of the ship. .

Today is a nice sunny day.

Belazov stood on the dock, watching groups of sailors returning to the Petrel. He turned back to Professor Myerson and said: "Professor, I am deeply impressed by your research work, but I still need to remind you - —The project on Dagger Island is progressing slowly, and some people in the city-state are already restless.”

"The order I received is to understand the various properties of the submersible under the premise of safety, try to decipher its material composition, and try to understand the principle of its appearance in the next stage," the old professor said calmly, "Now we It's progressing according to the plan. If the big shots at the Government Affairs Department really have an idea, I can try to find out the blueprints on the Frost Queen to build the No. 4 or even No. 5 submersible - just send someone there. It’s much more convenient for us to scrape samples every day in the laboratory.”

"They won't like your reply - but I'll be happy to convey it to you," General Belazov laughed. "They won't have the guts to build a submersible, which will make their expressions even more... dull."

Professor Benjamin shrugged, then was silent for a moment, and said in a complicated tone: "Although it's such a joke, to be honest, I am also quite worried about the progress of this matter."

Razov did not speak, but looked calmly at the old professor who had experienced the "Queen's Period".

"Scraping samples and analyzing physical and chemical properties day after day is certainly an essential part of the formal research process, but I have also seen that what you can analyze from these samples is really limited," the old professor sighed, "Even if this hatch is really opened one day, I'm afraid we won't get any more secrets from the submersible - the real secrets are not here, General, you know what I mean."

Belazov glanced at the somewhat familiar sailor and nodded gently: "I need to rest for a while. Don't disturb me if you have nothing to do."

He knew that he had been a little reckless just now - he shouldn't have asked such a weird question to a person who seemed to have something wrong without trusting him, even if the other person was one of his most trusted lieutenants.

The one-eyed human named Belazov returned to the room, and there seemed to be nothing unusual. Belazov looked at the other person's back, first heaving a sigh of relief, then turned around and walked slowly towards the end of the corridor.

"Even if everything is normal, you must confirm your rationality and judgment. Even if there is nothing suspicious around you, you must verify the following content."

There was nothing unusual about this trip to Dagger Island, and the return journey went smoothly, but some procedural matters still cannot be omitted. This is an order and a responsibility.

There were many people on deck too.

Left eye?

"Recall a color and then turn to the next page...it should be blue or white."

After opening the note, the first sentence above came into view: The steam-powered clipper split the gentle waves, leaving a beautiful wake that continued to spread on the boundless sea. The steep and winding coast of Dagger Island slowly faded away from the field of vision. , and gradually disappeared into the depths of the mist common in the northern seas.

He calmed down, opened the desk drawer, and took out the notes that had been placed in the secret compartment of the drawer.

"General?"

Now, he confirmed it. Belazov returned to the captain's cabin, sat down behind the desk, listened to the slow mechanical sound coming from deep in the floor beneath his feet, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The numbers are wrong, very, very wrong.

"He is left-handed, now confirm it..."

The sound of turning pages echoed in the room.

Something's not right on the ship, there's something... lurking dangerous on board.

The adjutant blinked, and although he was confused, he nodded: Yes, General. "

This ship is sailing straight towards the city-state.

He took a deep breath and walked toward the deepest mechanical cabin of the ship.

Belazov turned the pages of the book and performed simple memory confirmation or subconscious repetition, but suddenly, his movements stopped.

The crew of the Haiyan was streamlined this time, with only 87 people at the time of departure.

A middle-aged officer soon pushed the door out of the nearby room and came to Belazov.

This deviation in consciousness of domestic work gradually made the general more and more wary. He stared at Bellazzo for a long time, trying hard to find the source of this sense of dissonance in his heart, until the adjutant's voice came into his ears again: "General? What happened?"

"The deputy brought here is Belazzo Yodon. He has a burn scar near his left eye."

The old professor nodded: "Thank you."

The Petrel departed.

The adjutant was suddenly stunned, as if his mind was blank before this question. Seeing that situation, Belazov immediately said: "Forget this question, just asking casually - you go back to the room to rest first, I will go nbsp ; He slowly closed the note, put it back into the secret compartment, stood up with a calm expression, and pushed open the door to the captain's cabin.

"...I will convey your suggestions to the Government Affairs Office," Belazov pondered for a moment and exhaled softly, "and after the clear order is issued, the project in the secret room proceeds as usual."

"For this departure, the entourage has been streamlined. There are only eighty-seven people on the ship - including himself. If there are obvious deviations in the personnel, a roll call will be carried out immediately."

We will be able to return to the main island soon.

The Abyss Project... That old case half a century ago left such a profound and terrifying impact that it gradually became an unthinking taboo. But now that new replicas have surfaced from the deep sea, I'm afraid it's really It's time to take a more proactive response.

A vague sense of violation was beating in his heart. Belazov's reason told him that there seemed to be something wrong with what he saw. However, a hazy curtain seemed to cover his thinking, and he didn't know what went wrong. , and I think everything makes sense.

Belazov on the deck retracted his gaze towards the island, turned around and walked towards the captain's cabin.

The torn consciousness was fighting, but he didn't need to care that there were no detailed differences between the two consciousnesses.

Benjamin sighed: "I thought a soldier like you would be more inclined to the idea of ​​these domestic chores than a scholar like me."

However, the thought of "everything is abnormal" still kept jumping in my mind, as if fighting against the clearly contradictory facts of this business.

The mess hall was full of sailors, and the soldiers looked at the sudden appearance of the general with some surprise and nervousness.

"Keyword, dagger, imagine it, make sure the picture in your mind matches the picture on the next page."

He walked slowly down the corridor to the sailors' mess.

There are still more than two hours before arriving at Frost Island.

"...Below a thousand meters, professor, your idea is a bit dangerous."

"My duty is to protect the security of the city-state. This mission makes me more inclined to adopt a cautious and conservative approach," Belazov said lightly, "So, you actually intend to restart... these'diving equipment,?"

A sailor was waiting near the captain's cabin, nodding to the general and reporting: "The steam core is operating normally. We will arrive at Frostbite Port 1 in four hours."

Belazov looked at Belazov's face.

Belazov glanced at everyone here, then waved to them, and slowly headed to the bridge.

There are people here too.

Although Dagger Island is not far from Frostbite Island, it is still a few hours' flight away.

During this boring journey, he had to sort out his thoughts and think about how to report to the city-state administrators about the No. 3 submersible - and how to mention what Professor Benjamin gave at the end. of

these suggestions.

"There is a burn scar near the left eye..." Belazov repeated this sentence silently, an inexplicable doubt floating in his mind.

In the center of the face is his eye, and there is only one.

"Actually, I would rather say 'Restart the Qianyuan Project, right?'" The old professor smiled and shook his head, "Fake work, you haven't gone to this level of recklessness, but there is an unavoidable fact here. The key to the whole thing lies under deep water, and a replica of a diving bell placed in a laboratory cannot solve any puzzles. Maybe we should really consider a reserve plan - not necessarily an active dive, but If a fourth or even fifth replica does surface, we should at least have some means of dealing with it."

His eyes fell on the last sentence of the note on this page.

But without the inquiry just now, he couldn't confirm whether the strangeness he vaguely noticed really existed.

"His name, Belazov, try spelling it in the margins on the next page."

"Belazzo!" he called the adjutant's name.