Nemo felt a little uneasy because the people who were supposed to finish their patrol and return to the base were still not back.
"Let's go together," Duncan said. He also wanted to take a walk around this abandoned and mysterious "Second Waterway" to see if there were any secrets hidden in the ancient legacy left by the Frost Queen. "More people means more care."
Nemo looked at the "legendary captain" in front of him with some surprise. He was a burly man who brought heavy pressure to people from time to time.
Frankly speaking, he still had a sense of uncertainty until now - he had indeed heard about the legendary "Captain Duncan" returning from the warp. After all, the Sea Mist had recently made a "long journey" specifically for this matter. But Captain Duncan standing directly in front of him would be another level of horror, at the level that if he ran to the cemetery and told his deceased grandfather about it, the old man would jump out of his coffin to tell him to shut up - but it really happened.
However, after such a brief contact, he found that this "Captain Duncan" was not as scary as the legend said.
He is rational, able to talk, and polite—and he is accompanied by several "assistants", and none of these assistants look like puppets controlled by some evil magic.
Now, he even offered to help.
This made Nemo a little bit at a loss for a moment, but he nodded quickly - instead of analyzing the temper of his boss's father, the crow that had not returned yet was the thing that could not be delayed.
"I'll follow you too," the old ghost's voice came over at this moment. The old man came to the nearby storage rack and rummaged through the pile of "junk" to find a safety oil lamp and a crowbar that could be hung on his chest. He also found a rope from another rack and hung it on his body. Then he walked towards the door. "No one knows the route below better than me. If that kid really got lost at a fork in the road, you will need the wisdom of the elderly."
Obviously, this old man who was sometimes confused and sometimes clear-headed is now in better condition.
Duncan said nothing, but motioned for Nemo to lead the way, so the group left the administrator's cabin, crossed the spacious "intersection" before, and began to look for Nemo's subordinate who had not returned along a sewer branch extending north.
After crossing the intersection and gradually going deeper into the "Second Waterway", Duncan became more and more aware of how huge this project was - and how powerful the city-state under the rule of the Frost Queen fifty years ago was.
Everywhere you look, you can see solid walls and tall corridors. The so-called "sewer" is almost like a magnificent underground palace. The criss-crossing structures are obviously not just used for drainage, but may also be used for military, refuge, and even underground factory construction. Above those wide corridors, you can see criss-crossing pipeline facilities. Although many of them are severely rusted or even broken or fallen off due to long-term abandonment, it still reminds people how magnificent the scale was when it was first built.
On both sides of the corridor, one can occasionally see the openings of huge pipes and rusty grilles, and the ground drains on both sides have long been dry - since the entire underground waterway has been used for a very short time and has been abandoned for many years, there is no unbearable smell except for some stale and musty smell.
Walking in such an incredible underground facility, even the knowledgeable Morris couldn't help but marvel in admiration. But after admiring it, the old scholar suddenly had some doubts.
"Even if it's for the consideration of the city-state's development a hundred years later... building such a huge underground facility is a bit exaggerated, isn't it?" He couldn't help but say, "Prandel's sewer system is already considered advanced, but it's still far inferior to this one - not to mention that this was built fifty years ago. Did Frost really need such a huge 'Second Waterway' back then?"
"The queen has her own considerations, and her judgment is always correct," the old ghost walking in front heard Morris's question and immediately said, "Your Majesty is a natural psychic. She can always see things that ordinary people can't see, and can even see the future of the city-state. She relies on this judgment to make Frost strong. We also believe that the things she plans will always come in handy."
Duncan's brows suddenly frowned. "A natural born psyker?" He looked at the old man carrying a rope and a crowbar. "You mean, the Frost Queen can predict the future to a certain extent?"
"She said she couldn't, but we all believed she could. Otherwise, how can we explain those incredible judgments she made?" The old man turned his head and said with certainty, "Anyway, it is certain that the queen has extraordinary perception. We all knew this at that time."
Duncan looked at Morris who was standing beside him. The latter also had a thoughtful look on his face. He lowered his voice and said, "There are not many records about the Frost Queen in history, because most of the information was lost during the rebellion or was deliberately hidden or tampered with. But as far as I know, there is no record of 'the queen is a natural psychic' or 'the queen has the ability to predict'. The information only says that she is extremely intelligent and has flexible political skills."
Duncan listened and silently glanced at Alice who was following him obediently.
Not smart at all, and has no idea what political tactics are—she hasn't even learned to spell the word.
Alice noticed the captain's gaze and immediately turned her head away, with her eyes curved with a smile.
"... Data records sometimes have omissions, especially when the rebels will definitely conceal many things on purpose. I would like to believe that the Frost Queen back then did have some special features," Duncan retracted his gaze, erasing Alice's silly smile in his mind and said casually, "But this huge 'Second Waterway' in front of us... What was her purpose in building such an incredible thing..."
No one could answer Duncan's question, and at this moment, Vanna suddenly noticed something strange in the distance.
"There's someone lying on the ground over there!" she warned, pointing into the distance.
Everyone looked in the direction of her finger, and sure enough, they saw a figure in a blue jacket lying on the ground.
A group of people ran over quickly. Nemo reached out and turned the person lying on the ground over. A pale face came into everyone's sight.
"... ..It's a crow," Nemo's expression suddenly became very ugly, and then he punched the ground next to him, "Damn it!"
Vanna squatted down beside the dead young man. She seemed to find something wrong with the body. After checking it, she suddenly frowned and asked, "Did he drown?"
"... Drowned?" Morris was shocked when he heard this, and then he noticed the wet coat of the corpse and the abnormal swelling and water-soaked skin. However, when he looked around, he only saw dry ground nearby - the only water mark was under the body of "Crow".
Vanna moved closer, examined it carefully for a moment, then raised her head: "The smell of sea water - he must have drowned in the sea."
"There is no sea water here. Even the underground river nearby is fresh water," the old ghost followed from behind. After seeing the dead crow, the wrinkles on his face became even more twisted. "Poor boy, he must have been captured by the rebels, drowned and dumped here..."
"It's not certain whether they are rebels or not, but it's possible that they dumped bodies," Morris said with a serious expression, "This is obviously not a crime scene... huh?"
He seemed to have discovered something suddenly, so he reached into the coat pocket of "Crow" and took out a piece of paper that was also completely soaked in water - a small corner of the paper was exposed, which caught his attention.
Everyone's eyes were instantly focused on the paper.
Morris held the paper, which was particularly fragile due to being soaked in water, and unfolded it carefully.
There were words on the paper - although they were blurred by the water, they had not completely disappeared.
With the extra illumination of the oil lamp brought by the old ghost, Duncan read the information on the paper, but the content was confusing. It was a series of paragraphs without a beginning or an end.
"... The meetings of the Forsaken Kings were held again and again, and the initial plan was set. Most of the people in the ashes were sheltered and would stand up in the light and heat... ..
"...But the kings had another dispute.
They saw a clan hiding in the shadows... .
"The flesh and blood of those who were abandoned would melt in the light, and they would not be able to receive the blessings of the new world. The king of this clan came to the meeting of the Forsaken Kings and asked for the same protection. However, what they wanted was extremely harmful to the others in the ashes, so the Forsaken Kings could not agree to it, and they were abandoned.
"They went to the shadows, imprisoned themselves in the darkness, but could not die completely. They cried out, desperately seeking the shelter of their homeland, but could not find it, so they fled further into the darkness - they did not like darkness, but only darkness could prevent them from being poisoned by the world, so they lived in darkness for a long, long time..."