Inside a huge tent in the Giant Pit Fortress, the explored surface map was presented in front of Charles.
There are also some photos pinned on it, which are some abnormal things taken by explorers with cameras.
With these things, Charles gained a preliminary understanding of the unfamiliar surface.
The Giant Pit Fortress is surrounded by Gobi Desert. It seems that the Giant Pit is located in the center of the Gobi Desert. In addition to the desert that Charles explored at the 11 o'clock direction, there are other landforms on the surface.
If we compare the giant pit to a clock, there is a semi-hazy black fog at the 2 o'clock direction, and this fog extends from 2 o'clock to 4 o'clock.
The black fog is not poisonous and humans can breathe in it, but the terrain inside is a muddy gray swamp with all kinds of living creatures.
The one-meter-long worm we found before was in this swamp.
Most of the creatures in the swamp are dangerous and look strange, such as a bald bird that caused great losses to Expedition 32.
It itself looks like a plucked two-meter-tall vulture bird-man, with a bird's beak hanging from its conical face.
If humans stay near it for more than half an hour, they will do whatever it takes to commit suicide.
What is hard to guard against is that this thing's ability does not differentiate between life and death, and it is still effective even on dead people.
Explorer No. 32 killed one of them and tried to bring it back in the car, but the result was the loss of seven lives.
Right next to the 4 o'clock position is a large concave basin. However, it is very difficult to tell from the photos whether it is a basin or the Gobi Desert is actually a plateau.
Two teams of explorers have already headed into the basin, but judging from the fact that none of them have returned, they are in great danger.
Charles stretched out a pen and wrote the word "danger" in the direction of the basin.
From the 6 o'clock position of the basin to the desert that Charles had explored before, it is a vast expanse of Gobi.
Other explorers also went in to explore, and they continued until they ran out of supplies. They didn't gain much except that they discovered that the soil in the Gobi Desert had become better.
More than sixty groups of explorers encountered sporadic animals and plants, and these things, like the relics, had all kinds of strange and special abilities, whether they were moving or not.
From this point, Charles could judge that his previous guess was correct. Everything on the surface was a relic, whether alive or dead.
But this information is not important to him at all now, he has not found any clues about the darkness.
Charles was not very disappointed. He knew that things were not that simple and darkness could not be found immediately.
Looking at the map in front of him, he estimated how many explorers would be needed next. The first batch of explorers alone had already lost more than ten people. If no more were added, he was afraid that there would be no one left after a few more explorations.
Just as he was thinking about this, Bud walked in with a piece of paper in his hand. "Governor, a telegram from Cat Island."
Charles knew what was written on the telegram without even looking at it. Julio must have someone in the Giant Pit Fortress who heard that he was back and wanted to contact him as soon as possible.
Charles was too lazy to choose a place and started the summoning ceremony directly in the tent.
As the sand floated in the air, Charles unexpectedly discovered that in addition to the two people, there was another person in the position that should have belonged to Futan.
The man had a wealthy face, with a monocle on his right eye and a round face with a smile that always looked as if harmony was the most important thing.
Before Charles could ask who that person was, Julio next to him asked directly: "What's the situation on the surface? Have you found any clues to the darkness?"
After listening to Charles's story, Hahod stroked his beard and said, "The surface looks dangerous, but the rewards are great. You can't find so many relics and resources in the Earthsea."
"Now is not the time to consider this aspect. The initial exploration was successful. Time is running out. All resources in the Earth Sea should be tilted towards this side, including all resources in your South Sea and West Sea."
"Not only explorers, but also airship manufacturing factories and exploration ship modification sites need people."
Harhod showed a trace of embarrassment on his face. "This is not a small matter."
"All islands must bear a portion of the expedition materials. Those that can produce fuel should provide fuel, and those that can produce food should provide food. This is a war of species extinction, and everything must be based on exploration first!" Charles' words were firm.
Julio nodded slowly with a serious expression. Although he didn't say anything, his attitude was clear.
"That's true, but once interests are involved, it's not that simple. You also know that the death ray a year ago caused us all to suffer huge losses." Hahod's voice was a little bitter.
"Although I am the representative of the Western Sea, I am different from you. There are many large and small families in the Western Sea. I can persuade them, but they may not listen to me."
Upon hearing this, before Charles could say anything, Julio's roaring voice rang out again.
"You bunch of old-fashioned people, you'd better understand the current situation. The South Sea and the North Sea have already taken action! No matter what, the West Sea must also make the same sacrifice!!"
What followed was another period of tug-of-war among the three parties. Although some time was wasted, the issue was finally resolved.
In addition to the explorers, all islands in the three seas must undertake a part of the exploration mission. Everyone in the sea must unconditionally support the exploration.
If any families in the West Sea dare to resist, the three parties present will put pressure on them at the same time.
Now no one on the islands of the Earth Sea can stop this temporary alliance.
Although they all disliked each other, all three parties now knew that it was the best time to find the darkness first in order to maximize their own interests.
After finishing his real work, Charles once again turned his attention to the man next to him. "Who is he? The representative of the East Sea Region who represents the Futan Cult?"
"I'm Jax, president of the Explorers Association. Nice to meet you, Governor Charles." Jax bowed slightly.
Hearing his words, Charles turned his gaze to Julio who was standing beside him, "You found them? You should know that this kind of meeting is not a voting system, right? It's useless to cram more people in."
"Shut up, Charles. If you don't know how to speak, don't speak. This guy brought this upon himself." After Julio said this, the sand that had condensed into his body instantly dispersed and fell to the ground.
Seeing Julio leave, Jax continued to Charles: "Please believe me, I have nothing to do with him. The Explorers Association will not favor any governor. We treat all explorers equally."
"When Swan was causing trouble for you before, why did Julio help you?"
"We have paid enough, please help Mr. Julio."
"Ding~!" Charles' pocket watch opened. He glanced at it and put it back in his pocket. "Forget it, let's not talk about this. If you have something to say, just say it quickly. Time is running out."
"Governor Charles, in the face of this disaster, our Explorers Association also needs to contribute a part of our strength. We are here to help."
(End of this chapter)