Half a century after the end of the Abyss Project, Tirian finally felt the chill of the project once again.
Those "Submersibles No. 3" that surfaced one after another seemed to reappear before his eyes, along with those cautious soldiers, the solemn priest, and the cold and silent Frost Queen. He seemed to see the hatches of those submersibles open again, and see the mad explorers, specious humans, swollen and deformed monsters, spiraling and deformed pieces of flesh, dead and eerie mud, dry and suspicious black fibers walking out, and... the empty cockpit of the seventh "Submersible No. 3".
"The platform was heavily guarded, with a large number of priests and guards on duty," Tirian frowned, recalling the past, "but... I must admit that your question is a bit scary."
Duncan didn't say anything, but after a few seconds he suddenly asked, "What did you do with those 'Submersible No. 3'?"
"Except for the first 'authentic' one that floated up, the other six copies were thrown into the furnace, melted into ingots in the sacred fire, and poured into the sea - although it was a large amount of metal resources, no one dared to leave those things behind," Tirian said, with some hesitation in his tone, "but if, as you said, even the first one is not the 'authentic', then the situation will be...
"First one, where to put it?"
"If you're asking about its current whereabouts, I don't know," Tirian shook his head. "The rebels should have destroyed everything related to the Abyss Project, but who knows how we destroyed these materials? Maybe we just dismantled them for recycling
"But you must be referring to the period after the rebellion... Submersible No. 3 has been stored in a warehouse in the port area since its commissioning."
Duncan was silent for a few seconds, and finally exhaled heavily: "I understand... Tirian, thank you for telling me so much. Anyway, the information has greatly satisfied my curiosity.
Tirian seemed to be worried. Looking back and analyzing the "Abyss Plan" again after many years, I really noticed too many chilling details from it. Although this plan itself is full of weirdness, the uneasiness that penetrates into my bones when I look back is more stressful than being in it at that time, especially the doubts raised by my father about the last order of the Frost Queen, which made me feel vaguely... The old case that started half a century ago seems to have no real meaning at all.
The father's voice came from the mirror next to him: "Go in, you will be taken to the cathedral. I think you should not tell others what happened here."
"It is said that the first time Normal 023 appeared was not in the Frigid Sea, but far away from the sea where the Frost Queen was executed and fell into the sea," Duncan's voice sounded from the mirror. "You believe the same as him, but the Frost Queen herself can't explain her origins. As you said just now... There are too many things in the deep sea that we can't understand."
"Oh, I won't think about that for now," Alice scratched her head, then smiled and looked at Duncan in the mirror, "Anyway, if there is anything you need me to do or cooperate with, just tell me what to do."
"Go back through the side door." Tirian seemed to be thinking about something. After a moment's silence, he suddenly said, "It seems that this puppet hates being around you."
My father had no intention of keeping me here.
Then he turned around and stepped into the flaming door with determination.
His mind is now full of thoughts related to the "Abyss Project".
But suddenly stopped when catching Ryan.
Tirian stared at the sailor with a serious look in his eyes and said word by word: "He fell on the road."
“It was really delivered…”
He was too embarrassed to tell his men one by one that it was the result of "trauma" - not to mention that it wasn't even done by their father himself, the other party was just a little girl whose height barely reached his chest.
Silence returned to the warehouse.
"Will he understand this?"
Even if it happened today, it would be enough to make him extremely alert, and he might even be tempted to issue a warning to the city-state and the church.
But at this moment, he had no intention of "telling" the church.
"And 023..." He muttered softly as if talking to himself, "They are so similar..."
"Um!"
The sailors looked at each other, but finally nodded and obeyed the captain's decision.
"That's enough. I don't want to discuss that for now," Tirian sighed and walked towards the church door. "Go back first. I need to rest well today, and then I should set off back to the north."
Another sailor saw the strangeness of Ryan and was shocked: "Captain, the wound on your face... and why is your head swollen so big?!"
Tirian looked at his father's expression in the mirror with some surprise, then looked at "Alice", who looked exactly like the Frost Queen but was nothing like her except her appearance. After a moment, he suddenly laughed.
These were the sailors he had sent back earlier.
A moment later, before the sailors came to Tirian, one of them said, "You are back at last! The sun is setting. Where have you been?"
A flash of fire flashed across the dark alley, and a moment later, groggy Tirion walked out of the alley and saw the tall gates of Plunder Cathedral not far away.
"Of course, he was never a snitch."
The big pirate grunted something and raised his hand to tap his dizzy head, but he accidentally touched the swollen area and gasped in pain.
He stood firm in front of the main entrance of the Cathedral of the Storm and touched the swollen areas on his face and head.
“… I fell on the road.”
"I will."
"Fell down?" The sailor who spoke first looked at his boss suspiciously, "You fell a little too... too far, it was like you hit the wall and the ground of Plande with your head..."
Ryan knew that he could not hide his miserable appearance. He did not expect to rely on the healing ability that exceeds that of special people to recover before returning to the cathedral. But the fact was that although the method of this strange boy using the ghost demon was questionable, the wound caused by the ghost demon was still very troublesome. It had been most of the day and his head was still swollen.
Tirian walked towards the Cathedral of Storms, and after taking a few steps, he saw several figures appear at the door of the cathedral and run towards that direction.
His father was indeed splitting up a team. At least from what he could see so far, he hadn't yet taken control of the normal 023. He also had a powerful, weird boy who could summon ghosts and demons working for him, but that was obviously not all.
That time, Duncan did not come up with an excuse to fool the puppet. Instead, he thought about it seriously before speaking in a deep voice:
"It may be related."
Duncan said calmly, "At first he was pestering you to stay, but later he found that you could still be of some use."
But no matter what, today's conversation has begun.
"Return to the North? Are they going to stay there for a few more days? I had planned to..."
Alice looked in the direction where the flame disappeared, then turned her head to look at the mirror next to her. After a long while, she suddenly blurted out, "Captain, why was I smiling at them just now?"
Alice said "oh" vaguely, thought for a while, and then blurted out: "What you were discussing just now was the Queen and Qianyuan and so on... Does it have anything to do with me?"
Alice's answer was much more complicated. I laughed sadly and nodded while saying, "You are with the captain, he is very powerful!
Tirian answered, then looked at the flaming door, seemed a little hesitant, but finally made up his mind and stepped forward - but after he was about to step through the door, he stopped again, and couldn't help but look back at the Gothic doll standing quietly next to the mirror.
After holding it in for a long time, I caught Rui
An could only give a lame excuse.
The words "Abyss Plan" came to his mind again. Tirian waved his hand and said, "That's enough. It's time to go back. There are still things to do in the Frigid Sea.
The sailor was startled and immediately realized: "Oh, yes, yes, you obviously fell accidentally. I will apply medicine to you when we get back..."
…
A sound of flapping wings suddenly came from the side. Tirian looked and saw a bird shadow wrapped in dark green flames flashing in the air. Then, a blazing green fire suddenly rose into the sky where the shadow flashed. The flames rose and swirled, and in the blink of an eye, they turned into a vortex door.
Recalling the origin of the wound on his head, Tirian couldn't help but gasp in his heart, and while he was gasping, he couldn't help but feel a little curious.
Duncan casually replied: "How would I know?"
The strength of this little boy is a little too scary... This is a ghost demon that is heavier than two adults tied together!
The captain left a few words and disappeared for a whole day, which obviously did not make his subordinates feel uneasy.
This is a kind of depression that comes from the heart.
“It shouldn’t be difficult”