Deep Sea Embers

From Frost City to the east, at the end of the sea cliff as far as the eye can see, you can see a rocky island - it is narrow and curved, shaped like a thin machete or a strangely shaped dagger, covering the entire island It is covered with jagged rocks and barren sand, so the Frost people directly named it "Dagger Island" based on this shape.

On the vast sea, land is the most precious foothold resource. No matter how barren and narrow an island is, people will try their best to make it useful, and Dagger Island is no exception.

The island has a source of fresh water, but no arable land and a sufficiently wide and flat area for it to be a stable settlement or a food-producing area, and there are no usable plants and animals, but the island once had a small amount of boiling water. Gold deposits, the Frost people established mining sites and refineries on the island, and after the little bit of boiling gold was mined, it took on the role of a transit port for a period of time. After the Frost Rebellion, the sea routes around the city-state Adjustments, the port on the island has been transformed into a special storage facility for storing dangerous things that must be kept away from the civilized world.

As time goes by and the world is ups and downs, this barren island full of strange rocks has changed one set of management agencies after another. Now it is controlled by the Frost Army and has become a secret "temporary research base" for Study that weird thing that was salvaged from the deep sea.

Those sealed devices used to preserve dangerous things and the tight security measures on the island are strong guarantees for this kind of research.

A mechanical speedboat sailed from Frost at noon and approached the military port on the sunken side of Dagger Island. The flag flying high on the mechanical speedboat indicated that it belonged to the Frost Navy.

After going through a series of complicated and strict verification, testing, and registration procedures, the clipper ship named "Haiyan" was allowed to dock. With the gradually low roar of the steam core, it docked beside the trestle bridge, and from the side of the ship, Put down the springboard.

Several soldiers in blue and black navy uniforms stepped off the diving board first, followed by a tall and burly officer with short gray hair.

Several military personnel stationed on the island are already waiting on the shore.

The burly officer with short gray hair looked at the situation near the trestle bridge, and then walked ashore along the springboard. Several responders who were waiting here immediately stepped forward to give a military salute, and one of them said: "General, you are late for the scheduled time. It took twenty-five minutes, and it required registration and instructions—you had to go to the registration room in person."

"Well," the burly officer known as the general nodded. He didn't think it was offensive for an ordinary non-commissioned officer to say these words to his general—this is a special research facility, and all strict approval regulations are normal and Reasonable security request, "Let's go now...how is the professor's situation?"

"Professor Myerson is in the 'secret room'. When he was analyzing and testing a new batch of samples, he discovered that the substances scraped from the surface of the thing seemed to exhibit miraculous properties under special experimental conditions," the responder said. , "But the specific situation will not be discussed in detail until after entering the 'secret room'."

"Okay, take me to the registration room."

...

On the inner side of the bay not far from the military port of Dagger Island, in a solid building made of reinforced concrete and huge rocks, the research work is still going on intensely and busily.

This inconspicuous building with a dusty appearance is the so-called "secret room", and it is also one of the laboratories with the most rigorous protection measures and the highest structural strength on the island.

The hall inside the building is brightly lit.

This is a huge hexagonal prism-shaped room. Each wall is made of the strongest cement. Hanging, hanging interlaced in the light and shadow gaps of the gas lamps, steam pipes staggered through the roof of the hall, some valves were making a slight hissing sound, and the incense device was quietly burning in the corner of the hall, and the sacred smoke slowly melted into the air middle.

Researchers in short robes were busy in the hall. A metal device with a diameter of about five or six meters and a shape like a big bell was suspended in the center of the room by a thick chain. The surface of the metal device was mottled and old, as if it had been It has been immersed in seawater for a long time, and the complex valves and connection structure on its top are enough to show its function.

This is a "diving bell".

And directly below the suspended diving bell, there is a huge circular grill plate inlaid in the center of the hall floor. The diameter of the grill plate is much larger than the long axis of the diving bell. On the grid, you can vaguely see the eye-catching red light deep underground.

A tall, thin, meticulous old scholar with silver hair was standing in front of the diving bell suspended in mid-air, supervising several assistants carefully scraping samples from the surface of the thing.

A clergyman wearing a pastor's robe walked slowly behind those assistants. The pastor held a brass incense burner in his hand, and a faint incense smoke rose from the furnace accompanied by soft, whispering prayers. Floating slowly in the air.

"Professor, General Berazov has arrived at the port," an assistant walked over and said behind the tall and thin old scholar, "After completing the necessary registration and handover, he will come here to meet you directly. "

"Oh...Berazov, I received the news that he is going to visit in person. It seems that the city hall is finally getting a little nervous," Professor Myerson, with short silver hair and meticulous tone, said helplessly, "Come on Come on...how is the sample sent to the laboratory this morning?"

"The last round of testing has been carried out, and it is now confirmed that although the thing looks like rust, it is by no means any substance we know, and its properties have been changing over time. ," the assistant replied, "It gives people the feeling... as if that thing is still in a process of evolution, so that it can't show its own attributes stably."

"Um."

Professor Myerson nodded slightly, but his gaze remained on the suspended diving bell.

The appearance of the diving bell was severely corroded, but the circular hatch structure on its side could still be clearly seen. The hatch was now tightly closed, and it had not been opened since it was sent into this "secret chamber".

On the other side of the diving bell, you can see a round window, which is inlaid with a very, very thick special glass, but for some reason, the inside of the round window is full of dirt, and the black thing almost covers the entire glass, and As for not being able to see the situation in the diving bell at all.

I can only vaguely see a messy cavity inside, and something that looks like liquid.

What's inside a diving bell?

Professor Myerson himself had this kind of curiosity more than once, but no matter how curious he was, he never had the slightest thought of opening the hatch.

He was sixteen years old when the Abyss Project started.

He knew there was something to be curious about, and something to be cautious about.

While thinking, the assistant's voice came from behind again: "Professor, do you think the higher-ups will order us to open that hatch?"

"...In all fairness, I don't want to receive such an order at all," Professor Myerson shook his head and turned to look at his assistant, "Courage and the spirit of exploration have kept humans alive in the boundless sea, but this When the two traits cross the line, they become reckless and dead."

The assistant blinked, then the third and fourth eyes.

"But our current progress is too slow-what if another submersible comes up as you predicted?"

Myerson pondered for a moment, then shook his head lightly: "When the time comes, I'm afraid we have to do more than just open the cabin door—we have to be prepared to face the deep sea."

The assistant seemed to understand.

This assistant is still too young—but then again, after half a century, how many people can still understand the horror of the Abyss Project?

Professor Myerson raised his head and looked at the figures who were busy around the diving bell.

Some of them seem to be different from when they first came to the island.

And some other figures occasionally made the old professor feel a little strange.

It seems that there are many unknown figures in this research facility without knowing it.

But that’s not surprising, it’s normal for research teams to move around, especially for such complex special projects that require the participation of multiple specialists—everything makes perfect sense.

The clergyman with a brass incense burner in his hand came over and nodded slightly in front of Professor Myerson.

The incense burner in his hand slightly opened his eyes, secretly looking at the appearance of the old scholar.

The wonderful scent of incense wafts through the air.

"Today's blessing has been completed," the priest said softly, "I will come here to pray for the machines again at this time tomorrow."

"Thank you, Pastor %￥\u0026% @*." The old professor nodded with a smile, and addressed him naturally, "If it wasn't for this afternoon, there must be a lot of trouble. I should buy you a drink."

"Let's receive the general first," the pastor laughed. "That's a big man representing Frost City to 'oversee' here."