"Look everyone, this is a map of the previous exploration, as well as the dangerous creatures and anomalies they encountered."
Charles, who was sitting behind the desk, handed the information in his hand to the four captains behind the desk.
They were all captains of the exploration ships that surfaced together. No matter where they came from, they were now under Charles' jurisdiction.
"In the past two months, the exploration ship that had been exploring the path has already discovered the floating island where T met, but they did not go up. From the photos taken from there, it seems that the Foundation has already cleaned up everything on it."
"So our mission this time is very simple. After arriving on the island, we will contact the foundation and make our next plan based on their response."
"Cooperate, don't cooperate, or just don't come. We have already thought of a solution at the previous Earthsea meeting."
After passing them around for a while, the captains put the things back into the document bags.
"We have no objection. We'll follow your advice." said a one-eyed old man with white hair.
"That's it, we will reach the agreed floating island in three days at most. During this time, everyone should make good use of the intercom and report the situation on the ship on time."
On the deck of the Narwhal, the helicopter's propellers started turning rapidly, carrying the four captains towards their own ship.
Just as Charles watched them arrive safely on the deck, Lily ran over, raised her furry head and tugged at his trouser leg. "Mr. Charles, the chef said the meal is ready."
"Little Lily, are there any problems with the mouse spies?" Charles grabbed her in his hand and carried her into the cabin.
"There is no problem at all. Everyone's eyes are now on every corner of the ship. If any abnormality is found, they will immediately call the police." Lily said proudly.
"That's good. If it's convenient, it would be best if the two monitoring mice have their viewpoints intersecting. This way the error rate will be lower."
"Hmm... But there won't be enough mice. I'll think of a solution."
While they were talking, they had already arrived at the cafeteria. It was very lively here, with the crew members talking animatedly while swallowing their food.
When they saw Charles come in, their voices suddenly became quieter.
Today's food is grilled mushrooms, kelp soup, canned pork, and the staple food is five palm-sized square biscuits.
Charles dug out his spider eyes, threw them on a piece of raw meat on the table, and then began to enjoy his steaming hot lunch.
Just when he was halfway through his meal, Charles felt a thoughtful gaze coming from his right.
He suddenly raised his head and looked over there, and found that the gaze came from Grace who was sitting next to Linda.
Seeing Charles's eyes sweeping over, Grace hurriedly lowered her head and drank the soup with an iron spoon in big gulps, but she choked because she drank too quickly.
Lily, who was standing on the table and chewing a biscuit, raised her head and looked over there when she heard the girl cough.
"Mr. Charles, can I go play with her?" There was desire in her voice.
It was obvious that Lily didn't have many good friends on the Narwhal. She used to have Dipper to amuse her, but ever since Dipper got married, he only acted like an adult in front of Lily.
This made Lily very unhappy, since there was not much difference in their ages.
"It's up to you. My advice is don't go." Charles said after swallowing the pork in his mouth.
That girl is just a bait after all and will die in the end. The better Lily's relationship with her is, the sadder she will be in the end. In this case, it would be better for her not to have any contact with her from the beginning.
"Mr. Charles, is she really going to die? That's too pitiful. I've died once, and I know how bad it feels."
"Mr. Charles, how about this? Next time when she makes a move, you throw me over. Didn't you say that I have the power of God in my body? In this case—"
Lily was halfway through her words when she was rejected by Charles.
"No, you are different from her. What worked last time may not work next time. Bait is just a preparation after all. No one knows whether it can be put to use. This is also an experiment."
Just as Charles said this, he suddenly heard the shrill whistle of the Narwhal.
He immediately stood up, stomped his feet hard on the ground, and rushed towards the ceiling.
The moment his body touched the ceiling, his body instantly passed from the cafeteria into the cockpit.
"What's going on?" Charles asked Nico who was at the helm, trying hard to suppress his nausea.
"There's a problem with the airship on the port side. The stipulated time for reporting is half an hour, but the intercom has no power." Nico pointed with his fingernail-polished finger.
Charles pushed the door open and walked out, his body quickly transformed into a bat monster and flew over there. "I'll go over and take a look. Notify all the lookout sailors on the airships to watch the battle through telescopes."
Soon the deck of the ship was lit up with white arcs of light.
Time passed by little by little. The dark world was not safe. The sky was countless times busier than the ground. There were always things approaching the airship.
Fortunately, human strength has improved a lot during this period of time. After losing three lives, they arrived at their destination.
The five airships stopped on the right side of the agreed floating island and illuminated the island in front of them with bright searchlights.
This looked neither like the previous 1189-1 "egg" nor like a floating island, but more like a meteorite with irregular holes and pits. There were also some rubble scattered around.
Just when Charles was considering whether to go up, the bandaged man next to him tapped his shoulder. "What's wrong? Do you feel something is wrong?"
Bandage raised his right hand without saying a word, and then a black tumor grew out from the back of his hand.
He pulled off the tree knot with his left hand, threw it lightly, caught it again, and then threw it lightly again.
Charles' pupils shrank. He reached out and grabbed the wooden knob and tossed it gently. He immediately felt that the wooden knob was falling slower because the gravity had changed.
He walked to the edge of the boat, looked at the dark sky and then looked down at the dark below. "How many meters is this? We shouldn't be out of the atmosphere yet? Why is gravity disappearing?"
He closed his eyes and took a breath, but didn't feel the oxygen was thinning.
"After we return this time, we need to form a surveying team. Otherwise, we won't know when we can fly out of the Earth."
But that is something to be considered later. Charles has more important things to do now.
The first mice to explore the way were quickly released, and they quickly surrounded the island.
The island was not big, only a few kilometers wide. After a while, the mice came back and squeaked around Lily.
"Mr. Charles, they say there is no danger on that island, but there is an iron table, and someone has placed a little box on it."
132-1+1=132
(End of this chapter)