Deep Sea Embers

After the eighth "Submersible No. 3" was salvaged off the coast of Frost and sent to Dagger Island near the city-state, that island was set up as a military restricted area by the city-state authorities, and the two surrounding shipping routes were no longer accessible. Open to the public.

This of course caused many people to speculate, not only the locals of Frost, but also the ship owners who were forced to stay away from Dagger Island and the nearby pirates and explorers. They were curious about what happened on that island, and they were curious about Han Frost. What secrets are the Frost authorities hiding, and many of the speculations are quite plausible, ranging from "researching new weapons" to "performing dangerous rituals" - but none of them are reliable.

Very few people in this world still know about the "Qianyuan Project".

"It is becoming more and more difficult for our people to collect intelligence on Dagger Island," Aiden said to Tirian with a serious expression on the path on the edge of the port area. "The blockade level of that island has been adjusted recently. They We even monitor every inch of the coast. Diving close is no longer feasible, and the spies and spies we bribed and controlled have recently been moved away from key positions. They have not been exposed, but the current material transportation and personnel mobilization of Dagger Island have been completely controlled by the authorities. A special list is done internally and we can’t get involved.”

"...Has it become a completely military restricted area?" Tirian stopped. "Did they find something on the No. 3 submersible? Or have they opened the hatch?"

"It's hard to say," Aiden shook his head, "but the last time we inquired about information on the island, we saw an order issued by the Frost Authority. The order specifically mentioned that the hatch of the submersible should not be opened. , and any samples scraped from the submersible shell must be put into the incinerator after the research is completed - at least from this order, it can be seen that the city-state governor is still very cautious, but this was the situation a few days ago. , no one knows if there will be any changes now.”

“…if it is not available for a long time

The investigation concluded that if there are some dangerous and weird experimental accidents, the wisest thing for the Frost authorities to do is to put the submersible directly into the furnace and not continue any research, just like we did back then," Tirian frowned, "But They are still blocking Dagger Island... This shows that they must want to dig out some secrets from the submersible. "

"...Theoretically, Frost's senior management should know about the plan to dive into the abyss back then, or at least be aware of the dangers and horrors in the deep sea."

"Knowing is one thing, understanding is another - future generations can hear the stories of their ancestors from books and oral accounts, but unless they experience it again in person, it is difficult for them to imagine the fear and powerlessness," mentioned Ryan shook his head, "In the face of extraordinary loss of control, the greatest advantage of human beings is that they can 'forget', and the same is true for the greatest shortcomings."

Aiden looked at his captain, and after being silent for more than ten seconds, he finally spoke: "Captain, should we take some more...proactive actions?"

"More proactive actions?"

"Contact the Frost authorities and warn them, or more simply... the fleet raided Dagger Island and snatched the No. 3 submersible," Aiden said bluntly, "With the current defense strength of Dagger Island, it should be It can’t withstand a strong attack from the Haiwu fleet.”

Having said this, he paused and added: "Otherwise, if those guys who don't know anything are allowed to bang on a twisted copy floating up from the deep sea, I really don't know when they will cause a big mess, too It’s unsettling.”

Tirian fell into a brief thought.

After a moment, he shook his head: "Even if we successfully raided Dagger Island, are you sure we can find the whereabouts of Submersible No. 3 before the main force of Frost reacts? That island is not small... Once used If we search for too long, we will face several times the city-state navy. No matter how powerful the Sea Mist is, it is not invincible, let alone..."

He stopped, but the face of the Frost Queen appeared in his mind.

In the next second, Tirian stopped thinking in time - another face exactly like the Frost Queen barely appeared.

"It's nothing," he shook his head, "I still need to think about it."

"Then you need to make a decision early," Aiden nodded, and then

At this moment, a burst of bells suddenly came from the direction of the port square. The first officer immediately raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound, "Ah, it's late at night... Captain, why don't you go to the square to have fun too?" Lively? It might be good for you to adjust your mood."

"I won't go," Tirian shook his head subconsciously, "I'm not interested."

"It's okay to show up once in a while,"

Aiden encouraged him rather enthusiastically, "You can't see the Badika dancers all the time - their dancing is more beautiful and agile than the black-tailed rock sparrows flying through the storm. "That's what I said about not being interested," Tirian spread his hands helplessly, "And to be honest, if I, the captain, really show up at the party, can the sailors really still have fun? "

"Yes, why can't this be done?"

Aiden said casually, "It's not like you don't know how shameless those guys are. They are hard, thick and can regenerate..."

Tirian: "..."

But in the end, Aiden finally failed to persuade the stubborn captain, but went to the harbor square alone to attend tonight's party.

After midnight, the pirate island was still bustling with excitement.

The sleepless immortals have unlimited energy. There are no curfews on this island that has been transformed and shrouded by extraordinary powers. Their celebrations can last all day long, from sunrise to sunset, and from sunset to sunrise. Lift. The high platform on one side of the square has been transformed into a stage.

The temporarily installed wooden walls blocked the cold wind from the coast, and the blazing fire pots around the stage withstood the cold winter nights to some extent - the undead people were no longer afraid of the cold and heat, but the "human guests" who visited the Pirate Island tonight still needed to Carefully guarded.

The young girls from Cold Harbor danced enthusiastically between the bonfire and the cold wind.

Skirts are flying, dancers are spinning, bonfires are popping and jumping in the night, the sound of distant waves is endless, and the terrifying undead are making noises in the audience. The fog-shrouded pirate island has a noisy night that is rare in this world.

Tirian stopped at a less eye-catching corner next to the square and looked up near the stage.

He was not here to attend a party, but was returning to his residence, passing through the square.

The weekly gathering of sailors was a "custom" that existed in the Frost Navy. Now, even after leaving the Frost Navy, this habit has remained in the Sea Fog Fleet.

In half a century, many things have changed, and many things have remained the same.

Tirian looked at the old subordinates making trouble in the square, and gradually smiled on his face, but suddenly, his smile faded.

He looked at the stage not far away, at the dancers on the stage, and saw that they were dancing enthusiastically, jumping like a giant, but their eyes were slightly dull and numb.

They must have drank a potion that was mixed with a variety of herbs and a few extraordinary catalysts in advance—not a rare thing.

The power of the potion can protect them from the cold to a certain extent, but it also affects their cognition and thinking.

This prevents them from fear and leaves them with only the instinct to dance in their minds for the time being.

Obviously, the owners of these dancers do not want their tools to destroy the peaceful relationship between themselves and the pirate leaders of the Lenglie Sea because of fear.

Tirian clicked his tongue.

This is actually very common. The "big men of the cold sea" who dare to do business among pirates and even send people to pirate islands have similar methods. After all, neither the church nor the authorities will get involved in their gray business. So ordinary people Of course, we can only think of some "home remedies" to combat the shadows and terror on the boundless sea. The lives of pirates and "risk speculators" have never been as thrilling and romantic as those written in adventure stories.

In a sense, drinking the potion also protects the dancers.

Tirian just felt a little disappointed - he thought "Machete Martin" would make some progress after so many years, but he didn't expect that the other party was still using the same old tricks from ten years ago to operate his "Leng Liehai Entertainment Industry".

He shook his head and prepared to turn around and leave.

But just when he was about to leave, a

A slight crackle of fire suddenly reached his ears.

This strange yet familiar sound of flames instantly made Tirian's heart tighten, and he almost stopped steady. Then, he stared in the direction of the sound.

A faint green fire was jumping on the frozen wall nearby, and as the light and shadow spread, the center of the ice surface instantly became dark like night, and a tall and majestic figure stepped out of it.

"Good evening, Tirian," the figure said, "I hope I didn't disturb your rest."

Tirian stared at the figure emerging from the ice. He held it in for a long time before trying to maintain a normal expression and respond to the other party's greeting: "Good evening... Good evening, father. Why did you suddenly..."

"I have something to discuss with you. I also came to see how you are doing recently," Duncan said casually, "What are you doing?"

As he spoke, he raised his head and looked over Tirian's shoulder to see the stage in the distance. And young girls still wearing only thin dresses in the cold wind.

"..."

"It's not what you think!"