Deep Sea Embers

Tirian's story finally came to an end, but in Duncan's opinion, this strange story ended too hastily.

"Is everything over? Is it really over?" He couldn't help but look at the big pirate opposite through the mirror, with doubt in his tone, "A submersible, carrying a warehouse of explosives, went to a thousand Meters deep underwater, it solves the deteriorating phenomenon of out-of-control extraordinary phenomena. Let's not discuss how powerful those explosives can be released under a thousand meters of water - only analyzing from the extraordinary field, that kind of explosion has Is it possible to destroy a... supernatural phenomenon?"

"We can only think so," Tirian was obviously not surprised by his father's doubts. "In fact, no one knows what happened under a thousand meters of water at that time, and no one knows where the No. 4 submersible saw it. What, the only connection we have with the deep water is the partial perception shared by the priest through spiritual echo... A scream, a roar, and a roar. There is not much truth that can be pieced together from these tiny fragments. .

"In fact, after the explosion of Submersible No. 4, there was indeed no copy of Submersible No. 3 floating up from the deep sea, so we can only think that... the matter has been resolved." "

"The matter is resolved..." Duncan frowned and shook his head, "Okay, let's assume that the matter is resolved, then the Qianyuan Plan..."

"The Abyss Plan is not over, and that's what's wrong the most," Tirian said bluntly. "Such a thing happened, and a huge price was paid. They finally solved the strange crisis of the No. 3 submersible. It stands to reason that they should indeed re-examine the Submersible Abyss Plan and stop the project in time. However, Her Majesty Leigh Nora defied all the opinions and not only announced that she would restart the plan and start construction of the No. 4 submersible, she would even... The priority of the plan has been raised to the highest level, and extraordinary manpower and material resources have been used for this purpose.”

Duncan's eyes suddenly became profound. He vaguely realized that the real "out of control" part of this matter may have ended here. The "crime" of the Frost Queen and the rebellion half a century ago were all Derived from this.

He looked into Tirian's eyes: "It sounds like you didn't support him at the time."

"He had a dispute with you, a very inexplicable dispute. This is why you said that you would no longer directly participate in the "Abyss Project" after reaching the depth of 'one thousand meters' - because after that, you felt that things were right. Sliding in a dangerous direction," Tirian said slowly, with a low voice, "But now that I think about it, he should have tried his best to stop His Majesty instead of avoiding you... He trusted you too much, so much that he was unconscious In fact, you will make mistakes. "

"Do you think His Majesty did make a mistake?"

"oh?"

"Not in this case, the rumors...in fact, they can't be considered rumors anymore. The rumors ended and spread everywhere. People just said that His Majesty was doing some suspicious research, but soon, the statement became that His Majesty was doing research on Asia. Space, and further on, His Majesty is colluding with the subspace, and has reached cooperation with the big boss in the subspace - Captain Duncan..."

"And the most bizarre thing is that even after this series of changes, even if the atmosphere of the entire project becomes more and more terrifying, the Qianyuan Project still advances without hesitation. Those involved in the project, those who are accompanied by madness and accidents all day long Even among these people who have experienced frequent trauma, none of them are timid to quit, and no one has any belief or resistance to the instructions from above. It feels like..."

"The merchant ships continued to observe reflections that were exactly the same as their own ships, appearing far away on the sea. Thick fog frequently descended on the east. In the fog, there were shadows that looked like ships and giant beasts. Some began to appear in the city-state... 'Inexplicable, very, very many familiar people gathered near the facilities related to the Qianyuan Project, all claiming to be participants in the plan, and the number of these familiar people even exceeded the actual number of participants in the Qianyuan Project.

Tirian breathed out softly and spread his hands: "You will know what happened next, the great rebellion that shocked the north."

Duncan was noncommittal, and after a short while he said: "If you look at it this way, the outbreak of this great rebellion is really a tragedy. The abyss plan that Ray Nora insists on pursuing is too dangerous, and

Judging from your description...his mental state at the time was really not quite right. "

"This is exactly what he wanted to say," Tirian said suddenly. "I know that all signs indicate that His Majesty's actions at that time were inexplicably irrational. He was acting like a madman who was seduced by something, but I Know, I...have always been clear, very clear, very sane, and know exactly what I'm doing."

Tirian withdrew his gaze and sorted out his thoughts: "In this way, the whole plan seems to be called and pushed by some force. It even seems that this plan itself has generated some kind of will, and is marching towards the deep sea persistently, and These members who participated in the project have become cells in that huge will.

"In your opinion, that trust must be too blind."

The large warehouse filled with "antiques" fell into silence for a while. After an unknown amount of time, Duncan's voice came out from the mirror leisurely: "People can still associate this matter with subspace. I understand, but it’s really too imaginative to think of the Lost Home.”

Duncan saw this and spoke softly: "It's like the deep sea is calling us.

"…What else happened after Le Nora insisted on implementing the Diving Abyss Plan?"

"Don't think too much, just keep talking."

Tirian was a bit stuck and couldn't seem to find the right words to describe the atmosphere that year.

"Instead of being in such an atmosphere, the No. 3 submersible unknowingly crossed a depth of one thousand meters. I don't know how deep it finally dived. I only heard... This is an astonishing number. It’s very, very amazing. From an engineering point of view, from a material science point of view, and from the technical level of the year... it’s a number that is simply impossible to achieve.

"Some of the people participating in the project began to go crazy, some were injured inexplicably, some suddenly disappeared, and appeared in the city-state in a confused manner. The explorers who went down in the submersible became suspicious and irritable, and no longer looked like rigorous and respectable people. Scholars and soldiers, and more and more like eerie fanatics, and even... It is said that even the No. 3 submersible itself has undergone some incomprehensible changes during its dives. The internal operation is becoming more and more like some kind of... "living thing".

"Yes, it's like the deep sea is calling us," Tirian was startled, then nodded immediately, and then looked at Duncan with a strange look, "A very...accurate description."

"But I know that maybe other participants in the Qianyuan Project are gradually being affected by something, but I...have obviously withstood that influence and are using that influence in reverse."

"He had a dispute with you, but you are still his trusted general. He can get close to you - in fact, other senior officials of the city-state can too. They all know that His Majesty has never been crazy and has no desires. Conspiracies that destroy city-states or threaten the world, yes, they know...but they are afraid, hesitant, and some are bribed and confused. They are not as firm as me.

"It's your business to be blind or not," Duncan shook his head, "I just want to say that His Majesty didn't seem to be able to really control everything - he died in the hands of the rebels in the end, and the Qianyuan Plan was also destroyed. Totally buried, things didn’t go as he planned.”

"I mean, His Majesty actually had a murky and blind plan, and he was not sure of completing it, but he didn't tell anyone—not even explain it to you," Duncan looked thoughtfully. Looking at Tirian, "And he still trusts you unconditionally? Because you firmly believe that even if there is something under the deep sea that threatens the city-state, everything is under the control of Ray Nora?"

Tirian sighed helplessly. "The Qianyuan Project caused a series of crises and gave those who approved of it

Taking advantage of the opportunity, this increasingly extreme exploration operation eventually even cost Her Majesty Leigh Nora her life. At least from this point of view, it was certainly a mistake. "

"Actually, this is a very normal association. This association process is even related to him," Tirian smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Who made me your son? And I happened to be loyal to His Majesty and participated in this early stage. Horrible project. You should know that conspiracy theorists have the best imagination."

"Before this

After that, I no longer directly participated in this project. I didn’t know much about the situation, but from what I heard, the plan was not going smoothly, and... there were more and more weird and terrifying things, and they became more and more serious. ," Tirian said calmly, "The No. 4 submersible is completed, using the most advanced engineering technology and tough materials at the time, but its dives are always accompanied by various accidents, just like the mysterious There is something inside that is preventing humans from continuing to dive into the sea...

"The deep sea embraced the Submersible Project, and the deep sea accepted the No. 4 submersible. This increasingly weird machine and its increasingly weird crew traveled through the dark ocean thousands of meters deep as if they were home," And in the waters surrounding the Qianyuan Project... strange incidents are gradually increasing.

"...I really can't argue with that."