After returning to the room, Tirian ordered his men to leave, but his mood did not calm down as the room became quiet.
The long conversation with his "father" was still lingering in his mind. Memories of the Abyss Project seemed to be entangled in his heart uncontrollably. From time to time, fragments of those half a century ago flashed before his eyes - the rough diving equipment, the sea cliffs where cold rain was always falling, the silent platform guards, the priests' low prayers in the rainy night, the coastal laboratory that was brightly lit but always gave people a gloomy feeling, and the Frost Queen's eyes that always looked out to the sea and buried all the secrets.
Tirian shook his head. For some reason, he suddenly thought of the doll that called itself "Alice"—the anomaly 023 that had completely escaped the seal and was able to move freely in the world.
A "controlled" anomaly, a puppet that can think and communicate like a human being, and even has its own emotions... …
She was so much like the Frost Queen, but she was definitely not the Queen herself - although her existence and appearance in the world made it easy for people to associate her with some kind of "return" of the Queen, but Tirian could feel that there was no will of Lenora in that doll...
If he had to say, Tirian felt that the "Alice" was more like a "replica" that was perfectly restored in appearance but completely distorted in essence.
Just like those “No. 3 Submersibles” that surfaced one after another.
Tirian's eyes suddenly changed slightly, and he felt a little hot because of the association that emerged in his mind.
I sat in the room and poured myself a glass of strong liquor, relying on the power of alcohol to cool my hot mind and soothe my restless heart. After a while, I felt a little better, so I raised my head and looked at the suitcase next to the bed.
After a little determination, he took the box to the table, opened the lid, and activated the simple lenses and the crystal in the center of the lens group.
"He could basically find out about that part from the public information of the Explorers' Association, but there was one detail...
There is no record in the information, but you may be interested.
As he spoke, he suddenly stopped, as if he had thought of something. His expression suddenly changed, and then he looked at the crystal ball in the distance with flickering eyes.
He paused for a few seconds and said, "At that time... he was indeed in the area where the incident occurred, but the ship that initially salvaged the ship was not the Brilliant Star, but a coastal fishing vessel named 'Charvin'.
To be specific, when he received the distress signal from the Charvin and found the out-of-control fishing boat, this was not the first scene, so it is not certain what the scene was like when 023 was first salvaged - I can only tell you what it was like on the Charvin at that time. "
"But it looks like he hit the wall with his head," Tirian frowned. "It takes a two-hundred-meter run and a determined headbutt to fall like this. He was attacked."
After a long while, he finally saw the figure of Lucrecia vaguely emerging among the flickering lights, and the other party's vague voice. After a few minutes, the sound and image were barely clear, and his sister's voice came into his ears: "Can you hear it?"
"It's normal now," Tirian nodded. "Why is the interference here greater than before... What is this around him? Is it sunlight? It looks a bit weird..."
"He was there when Normal 023 was first discovered," Tirian looked at his sister, "I want to get the truth from him. You know, his fleet and mine never approached the Frost, and we missed the scene."
"He has shown an interest in some of Frost's past," Tirian said casually. "But don't worry about that. He came to me to ask about something else - Normal 023, you should know, right?"
"This information is also very unexpected," Lucrecia said softly, her eyes seemed to be shining slightly under the inexplicable golden glow, "You mean, my father... was released from the coffin, and normal 023 was released, so that this
The one is safe and normal and can move freely outside, while the latter is willing to follow his father
Can you even talk to him?"
"A quick bell..." Lucrecia's voice came from the crystal ball, "I heard a short bell. If I remember correctly, it was the bell for the 'Famous King's Tomb'?!"
Tirian knew that his sister often went to the border, where some strange phenomena often occurred. Most of the time it was safe, but Lucrecia could always escape danger - but he still couldn't help but worry.
"He said we couldn't abandon the box because it was alive and moving around the ship, and we couldn't destroy it because it was so strong and so strong that the sailors with weapons of self-defense would have no chance of dealing with it...
"Who attacked you?" Lucrecia ignored Tirian's interruption. Her expression was very serious. "I am in the city-state of Plande. You don't have any enemies here. The city-state authorities will not sit idly by and watch their guests being attacked... Ah, you just denied that you were attacked and said you just fell down..."
Tirian knew what was going on when he saw her expression, and before she could speak, he shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm not there."
In the first half hour after Normal 023 was salvaged, the sailors on the Charvin heard several slight creaking sounds coming from the box, and it sounded like... something was taking shape inside. "
"A slight clicking sound..." Tirian muttered heavily with a frown, and then he seemed to want to ask something, but just as he was about to open his mouth, a sudden and slightly hurried bell ringing from outside the window interrupted what he wanted to say.
Tirian's expression was stiff.
After a moment, he shook his head helplessly: "Sometimes I really wish you were so smart."
"Ah, I found something strange at the border, but I just checked it and it's harmless," Lucrecia answered calmly, "This thing may have fallen from the sky, and it will project a very large range of light...
He is towing it back on the Brilliant Star for study."
"Subordinates?!" Lualisya was surprised, and instinctively wanted to ask how strong this subordinate was, and what weapon he used to beat the "Iron Lieutenant General" into a pig head, but then she noticed the second half of Tirian's sentence, and her eyes changed,... He came to talk to you so soon, what happened?"
"When he found the ship, there were almost no survivors on board. Eleven of the twelve crew members, including the captain, had been beheaded. Only one frightened and half-crazy sailor was left. He described to him incoherently the 'cursed wooden box' they had salvaged.
"He has seen you," Tirian exhaled, not continuing to keep the secret. "This 'doll' calls himself 'Weng Pingshan', and has not yet awakened from the coffin. He is currently serving his father. As the rumors say, this doll looks exactly like the Frost Queen, but his personality... is very unexpected."
Lucrecia frowned beautifully, and he seemed to vaguely realize something.
He looked up in surprise and heard the sound of the bell ringing in a muddy and rapid manner in the gradually darkening sky. After carefully distinguishing it for a moment, he muttered to himself uncertainly: "It's not the evening bell... It sounds like the quick bell."
"Of course I know. I also know that this thing was hijacked by the Lost Homeland. This matter spread throughout the Explorers' Association. Not long after that, the Deep Sea Church issued a notice that the name of Normal 023 changed from 'Puppet Coffin' to 'Puppet...' Many people have uneasy speculations about this."
"Really... he beat me?" Lucrecia opened her eyes wide in astonishment. "Wait, didn't he say he wasn't in the city-state? And why would he..."
“…I fell down.”
He noticed that there seemed to be streaks of pale golden light floating in the background behind Lucrecia. It looked like the dim sunset glow pouring into the room through the window. However, the texture of this light was much cooler and darker than the sunset glow, and the distribution and diffusion of the light also gave people a feeling that was not the same as sunlight.
, which makes people particularly concerned.
Lucrecia didn't say anything. After a moment's silence, she raised her head and asked, "What did he want to ask?"
Tirian raised his eyelids and looked into Lucretia's eyes solemnly. "Then do you know why its name changed from 'Doll Coffin' to 'Doll'?"
"I will be careful. You have always been very careful. It's just that there are some accidents occasionally. Accidents are inevitable in exploration." Lucrecia waved her hand, and then she seemed to suddenly realize something and stared at Tirian's face. "Brother, what happened to your face and head?"
Lucrecia paused, recalling the scenes she had seen.
"It sounds incredible, but it's true," Tirian nodded. "She can speak, think, and have emotions like humans. I even think she has a relationship with her father, but I'm not sure if it's a 'friendship' that humans can't understand. After all, one of us is a ghost returning from the warp, and the other is a 'normal thing' numbered within the hundredth digit."
Tirian frowned subconsciously. "You always pick up strange things at the border. Have you forgotten the last time you were dragged into the depths of the spirit world by a human-shaped smoke?"
"I'm not here. He's one of my subordinates now." Tirian rubbed his forehead in frustration. "He's worried. We didn't have a conflict. This injury... is just a small accident. He wanted to talk to me about something, but he was too vigilant."
The crystal ball darkened, and a large number of flickering lights appeared inside, and disturbing noises were emitted.
/
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