The merchant ship returned to its original position, they were swung around, and they faced Xiaobai again.
The helmsman was thrown out by inertia and almost kissed a face. He screamed in agony and rolled back.
"Everyone! Get down!" shouted the command from the captain, standing on the tie-rope.
The white wind was so violent that he couldn't open his eyes at all.
After shouting, he was dragged, and a large number of crew members jumped into the cabin well-trained.
A large number of people fled in a hurry, but they did not retreat but advanced.
He took a few steps in the direction of the white wind wall, as if he wanted to see something...
"Don't look! Don't die?!" The first officer roared again in Chinese and yanked him: "Come down!"
In the blink of an eye, the decks of the three merchant ships were emptied, and everyone got into the cabin.
The crew immediately closed the trapdoor, and sat down on the stairs while pulling the rope on the door, their faces bloodless.
The first mate leaned against the rope for a while, panting for a while, and was just stunned.
"What is that?" he asked. "I was so anxious and chaotic just now that I didn't see it clearly, and was just trying to push people down."
Di Li hung on the same rope as him, and said angrily, "Your angel, come see him off."
Chief Mate: "… "
He finally began to doubt the authenticity of the legend, and called out angrily: "Captain—"
The captain had just roared out of oxygen and was now fanning while clutching a hat. He also looked shocked by Xiaobai's face, not very happy.
"What's wrong?" the captain asked.
The first officer said, "Where did you hear the legend, is there a big gap between it and reality?"
The captain snorted, his face pale: "If the legend can be verified, is it still a legend?"
Di Li couldn't understand bird language, but he could get a general idea based on his expression.
He thoughtfully asked the first mate, "Can I ask your captain, what else was mentioned in the legend? Is there anything more detailed?"
He knew very well in his heart that the clues in the hands of NPCs must not be the most direct, and he likes to use the guise of legends, notes, maps, and last words.
It doesn't matter if there is a little error, as long as there is enough information.
Di Li holds a little hope.
The first officer asked a few more questions, then turned his head and explained in Chinese: "I asked, nothing more. Those legends are from a long time ago, and the content is vague, just a few over and over again, and the captain said everything was told to you. "
Di Li let out a breath, scratching his hair in worry.
The mate said, "I'm really sorry for making you happy for nothing."
Not only the candidates, but also the crew members.
They thought they could leave this deserted island, but they didn't expect to be beaten back to their original shape by a stick at a critical moment.
There was a layer of low air pressure in the cabin, and a gloomy cloud covered the top.
Di Li counted in disbelief with his fingers crossed: "Three of the returning merchant ships have been repaired."
"The most precious goods, we have followed the inventory and confirmed that there is no shortage."
"The food is directly tied to the boat, and it can regenerate itself. The three boats can eat as long as they sail."
"As for the fuel for heating, I have enough fuel, and it can be used for a long time if you save a little."
"… What else is missing? There is no shortage."
Wu Li's white coat was really thin, and she was leaning against Shu Xue to keep warm.
She sat on the steps and rubbed her arms for a while, then took a voice recorder from her pocket.
"You still carry this with you?" Shu Xue was a little surprised.
"There are many meetings and work needs." Wu Li fiddled with the recorder and released a recording.
[In 1957, three Dutch merchant ships were trapped by the frozen sea while passing through Russia, and temporarily docked on an unnamed desert island, waiting for the long winter to pass. This is the 8th month of their life here, and there are 15 days until the end of the winter when the sea surface melts. All groups of candidates are invited to help all members of the merchant fleet return to the voyage smoothly. 】
Everyone was stunned.
This is the original title played by the system on the day I first entered the cave.
It sounds a little strange to them now.
Human memory is amazing, and always subconsciously grasps a key point. The key point they seized is "sending the merchant fleet back."
Other foreshadowings and modifiers are treated as sidelines and automatically ignored.
Listening to it again now, Brother Li was troubled by occupational diseases, and immediately said: "I'll pick a word, all the personnel of the Merchant Marine..."
He put emphasis on the word "all."
Di Li removed his neck from the rope: "That's right... That's right! All! The crew here can't be called all of them in a strict sense, and 8 dead ones have to be added!"
As soon as they got excited, the little white faces outside seemed to get excited too.
The wind made the cabin rattle.
Everyone shrank their necks and lowered their voices again.
"How do you say that?"
"Stay here for a while, wait for the angel to disperse before going out. Take the crew with you."
Before, they were afraid of the late night on the desert island, because every night someone would be served an octopus for dinner.
Now that the octopus is a meal on its own, the threat is gone, and it doesn't hurt to stay an extra night.
When they were happy, Wandering did not participate.
He borrowed a pocket watch from the captain and was looking at the portrait inside.
This pocket watch was actually brought back by him.
He found it in the cabin where the octopus was eating. Seeing that the pattern was similar to what the crew members often used, he gave it to the first mate. Unexpectedly, it turned around and fell into the captain's hands.
But what he cared about was not these, but the people in the portrait.
It was a half-profile portrait of a long-haired man with deep eyebrows and a high nose, with the corners of his mouth pulled down slightly, looking a little serious.
What is more special is that this man has a small mole above his lips and in the middle of his body, as well as one in his left eyebrow.
No matter how lifelike portraits are, there will be some discrepancies in the appearance of reality, but these two moles will not.
You Huo thought of a person the moment he saw him.
No, exactly, a face—
The first face he saw under the ice when he toured the island with Qin Jiu.
The pale face looked up at him for a long time, and he clearly remembered the exact same mole above his lips and in his eyebrows. It also looks like this portrait, and it is probably the same person.
Youyou asked the captain, "Who is this?"
The captain's usual gleeful expression vanished, and he lowered his eyes to take the watch, rubbing his thumb over the edge of the portrait.
After a moment he raised his eyes and returned to his usual relaxed expression: "M 'n vader."
Confused: "… "
He turned around and called the chief mate over.
The mate's translator said: "This is the captain's father, and he was also the captain of the merchant fleet."
His words caught the students' attention.
After he finished speaking, everyone realized that there have been many captains in the merchant fleet in the past hundred years, and Barents' father is one of them.
He joined the fleet at the age of 18. Because of his excellent ability and rigorous work, he became the captain of the merchant fleet at the age of 23. He has been in the wind and waves for many years and successfully delivered countless goods.
At the age of 29, he and his fleet encountered a storm and died at sea.
At that time, the current Captain Barents had just turned 4 years old.
Barents has the blood of sailors in his bones and is destined to join this fleet.
The year he became captain, he happened to be 23 years old, just like his father.
Over the years, he has occasionally fantasized that maybe one day, he can find the traces left by his father in the sea.
But he never found it, until today, until just now...
When boarding the ship, he saw iron boxes and pocket watches piled up in the sundries, exactly the same as in his childhood memories.
Thirty years later, it's actually been fulfilled.
***
Although they knew that they were only part of the question, the candidates were still a little emotional.
They digested it for a while, and suddenly realized a problem.
"So those little—" Di Li gave himself a mouthful, and changed his words: "Those outside... are all the crew members who died here? Are they all from this merchant fleet?"
"should be… "
"Those bones in the broken cabin??"
Everyone looked at each other.
"There should be both crew members and candidates."
Over the years, groups of crew members have strayed into this deserted island.
Those three octopuses caught candidates when they had candidates, and caught the crew if they didn't. They would never treat themselves badly. Day after day, bones piled up like mountains in that dilapidated cabin.
No wonder the white faces are so angry when they see the octopus...
Life is sent there.
If they were alive, they would be someone's parents, someone's child, someone's lover, someone's home...
***
You confused swept around.
There was one less person in the cabin, which actually made him not used to it.
Taking advantage of the chaos of the crowd, he opened the trapdoor.
The wind entangled with human faces contains damp water vapor, like a large misty cloud, shrouded in the prow of the merchant ship with a whistling gesture.
In front of them stood the people who were wandering about.
The trapdoor creaked.
Qin Qiu turned his head and looked over.
"You didn't enter the cabin?" You Huo rolled over onto the deck.
Qin Qiu was stunned for a moment and then narrowed his eyes: "Come out to find me?"
"No." You Huo walked to the bow and said, "I suddenly thought of something, to confirm."
"What's up?"
"Confirm their aggressiveness." You Huo pointed at the white faces.
Since the little white faces are all former crew members and candidates, maybe... they don't hold any ill will towards them.
According to legend, they will appear when the ice melts, maybe just to remind those who set sail not to forget them, not to leave them here...
Youhuo originally planned to come up to confirm, but he didn't expect Qin Research to take the lead.
However, Mr. 001 did not hear the "little white face's story".
He said: "I was just curious how much they could hurt me if I hit them hard, so I stayed for a while."
You Huo was speechless, and felt no surprise.
Qin Qiu raised his left hand, and there was a bloodstain on his palm, long but not deep.
"It was fierce at first, but now it's honest."
"why?"
"I can almost guess, so tell them when to stop and when to take them away."
So... the little white faces stopped in mid-air, turning into a large cloud that floated quietly.
***
It didn't take long for the candidates and the crew to notice this, and they all poked their heads from under the trapdoor, and then heaved a sigh of relief.
Knowing the problem is easy to fix.
They ran on the deserted island, and under the leadership of the first officer, they found the eight crew members buried under the ice, and spent another night burning part of the ice with torches, stripping the old ship full of bones.
Year after year, the bones have long been mixed together, and it is impossible to tell who is who.
But at least it's all here, not a single one is lost.
The crew threw down a long rope, and the old ship was fastened tightly behind the merchant ship.
The sky is white with fish maw, and everything is ready.
The experienced crew looked at the distance for a moment and said, "It's a rare sunny day, and we can set off at any time."
Everyone was in high spirits and climbed onto the deck one after another.
But after being happy for a while, they became depressed again...
"The system has personally said that there will be no new ice-melting period in the short term. This short-term concept is too general, who knows how long it will take..." Di Li became more and more courageous, and after complaining, he began to squirm and scold the system.
Just after scolding, Qin Qiu said, "It's not impossible to leave now."
Di Li's eyes lit up: "Huh?"
You Huo glanced at him and asked, "I don't care, are you sure you can continue to play like this? There's no place to pretend anymore."
Qin Qiu laughed and didn't care.
Di Li was at a loss when he saw them play quizzes.
After a while, You Huo and Qin Jiu untied the rope that tied the tentacles of the octopus, leaving only the part that tied the face.
Once the tentacles were freed, they danced wildly, almost hitting the sails several times, making everyone tremble with fear.
But the two bosses were very satisfied.
Then they borrowed a quill from the captain...
Di Li came over carefully, and saw You Huo casually found a clean wooden board and wrote four numbers on it:
922 154 021 078
***
On the little white boat in the invigilation office, the four invigilators suddenly received a request for help from candidates.
078 was suffocated when he saw the candidates' names.
021 is the exact opposite, but she doesn't show it.
922 looked very strange.
Only 154 said: "He actually has time to ask for help?"
078 suddenly remembered: "Oh yes, didn't you receive a system message at night? They missed the ice melting period, maybe they are worried now?"
Wandering is worrying!
This sentence made the invigilator feel happy.
078 Without a word, he set off the boat and went straight to the deserted island.
20 minutes later, the little white boat sailed to the edge of the deserted island.
There are still dozens of meters away from the island, and four invigilators are on the deck.
They straightened their coats, intending to maintain their prestige. As a result, as soon as he probed, he saw not far away, three merchant ships with countless tentacles, and they called out with their teeth and claws.
"… "
What the hell is this? !
The invigilator turned around and got into the cabin without turning his head.
078 went straight to the rudder, reached out and swung it, trying to make a sharp turn.
But no matter how fast the response is, there is still a process.
The invigilator's little white boat rushed forward for dozens of meters, wiped the shore and turned around. Wherever it went, the frozen seawater melted automatically.
On the merchant ship, the captain held the iron box and gave an order, and the helmsman shouted and hit the rudder.
The wind wall formed by the little white faces rushed in in time, and the sails were suddenly full.
The wind howled and the sea roared.
Three merchant ships chased the invigilator ship with claws and claws to peck to death.
Wherever the invigilator boat passed, they traveled unimpeded.
***
First mate You Huo and Qin Jiu went to the deck and called the captain.
"Come here? Give me an address. I don't know what you think. Anyway, I treat you as friends. If there is a chance in the future, I will write to you."
said the captain.
At that moment, he didn't look like an NPC at all, just like a living person.
A living person living in a certain city in a certain country.
You Huo took the pen, raised his hand to write an N, and was stunned again.
He has lived in many places, and none of them start with N. I do not know how to subconsciously write it out.
"What?" the chief mate asked, "it's okay if you don't want to."
You Huo shook his head, crossed out the N word, and wrote Yu Wen's address: "Send this."
The first mate handed the pen to Qin Jiu again.
Qin Qiu didn't answer.
He looked down at Youyou's handwriting and said, "I can't receive it."
Even You Huo was stunned.
Qin Qiu laughed again, pointed to You Huo and said to the first mate, "When I can collect it someday, I will ask him for your address."
The captain and first mate nodded understandingly.
…
Behind them, the wet old ship followed.
It has been stranded for many years and is dilapidated. Now loaded with skeletons, he can ride the wind and waves again.
The long-lost sun gushed out to guide this forcibly opened sea route.
The white fog surges, and the angel returns home.
Volume 4 Don't Close Your Eyes to Me