Time passed little by little, and the Narwhal continued to move towards the exploration boundary as planned.
During this period, they also encountered a returning exploration ship, and the two sides separated after a brief exchange of information.
We learned from them that they had just returned from the border and obtained first-hand information from there.
After seeing two living exploration ships in a row, Charles somehow felt a little relieved.
Sure enough, with the help of the map, the explorers finally didn't have to risk their lives. Otherwise, with so many roads to travel, who knows how many people would have died.
Although explorers are not afraid of death, no one wants to die.
"It will take two days to reach the boundary of the Foundation's exploration, right? Half a month has already passed. Time flies so fast." Nico, who was holding a cigarette on the deck, said to Charles beside him.
"Well, I heard that Grace likes to run to your room recently? How is her mood?" Charles was concerned about the psychological problems of the most important crew member.
Upon hearing this, Nico immediately poured out his grievances, "Can you spare some time to take care of this little girl? She asks me questions every day with all kinds of thick books that are so thick that they can kill me. How can I know what physics and chemistry are? In order to answer her questions, I have to study with her every day."
"Except for shift work and sleeping, the rest of my time is occupied by her. Look at the wrinkles at the corners of my eyes, they can't be covered up even with makeup."
"I really didn't want to pay attention to her, but when I saw her pure eyes, my heart softened. When I was the governor of Coral Island, if I had been diligent, I would have destroyed He Fang and the British Isles and become the overlord of the North Sea."
Charles smiled slightly, but then he thought of something and sighed, "She was born in the wrong place. Maybe this is fate."
"But since she likes to stick to you, then you have to work harder and help me keep an eye on her. There are some things you can do, but it's not convenient for me to do them."
The expression on Nico's face slowly disappeared. She blew out a smoke ring and said slowly, "Captain, I can see that this child lacks love. She is trying to please everyone all the time, which means that she has always lived in an uneasy environment. This is a poor child. If possible..."
At this point, the second mate paused and said, "If possible, how about changing one?"
"How do you know? Did you learn psychotherapy from Linda?" Charles looked at him.
"Simple, because I used to be like this, and that feeling is really bad." Nico said this, with a hint of gloom on his face.
Charles thought about it and shook his head slightly. "No, changing people will require us to adapt to the exploration rhythm again. Didn't I say before that she is the strongest among this batch of weapons?"
Nico shook his head helplessly, "I knew you would say that. No wonder your wife is upset with you. You are too hard-hearted."
Charles looked down at his chest. "My heart is hard. Do your job well. Of course I hope to find the darkness happily and go back alive, but do you think it's possible?"
Nico bit his lips in a state of annoyance, and did not stop even though his lipstick was smudged. He hesitated for a moment and was about to speak again. Suddenly, his expression froze, and he and Charles looked up at the airbag above their heads.
"There's movement up there!" Charles' body instantly disappeared from the spot.
Nico threw away the cigarette in his hand and quickly climbed up by grabbing the rope like a monkey.
When he came to the top of the airbag, he saw Charles already standing there, holding something on it with his prosthetic limbs with a serious expression.
Nico walked closer and found that Charles was holding half of a blackened gear. The slight sound just now was the sound of the gear hitting the airbag.
"This place shouldn't be off the map that the Foundation has explored yet, right? Since every danger has been explored, what could they be attacked by?"
Charles shook his head. "That's not necessarily true. Living things can move."
As soon as he finished speaking, they both looked up at the same time again.
It started to rain in the sky. Scattered tiny parts, mixed with dirty water and human remains, fell like a heavy rain!
Just when these things were about to fall on the airbag, transparent tentacles stretched out from all around Charles, waving quickly with a whistling sound, knocking away everything falling from the air.
After the debris equivalent to an entire exploration ship fell, before Charles could catch his breath, Charles and Nico looked up at the sky with a trace of fear on their faces.
A huge round sphere like a mountain, with a despairing shock, rushed towards the Narwhal like a mountain pressing down on one's head! !
"Go!" Charles almost shouted until his voice broke.
The propeller at the back of the Narwhal spun rapidly, pushing the ship forward quickly.
However, this speed is acceptable under normal circumstances, but it is not enough when facing a giant white ball that is as big as a mountain.
When Charles realized that at this speed he would definitely be hit by the thing above his head, he took decisive countermeasures.
"Deflate the airbags! Hurry up!!" Charles quickly found the zipper in the corner of each small airbag, and with a gentle pull, the airbags deflated instantly.
After continuously receiving feedback from explorers, the shipyard's accessories are constantly changing.
In a situation like this, as long as the airbag is deflated, the exploration ship will drop suddenly, which is very convenient for escape.
The giant ball was falling rapidly, and the Narwhal was also falling rapidly at this time. For a moment, the two even formed a delicate balance.
Just when everyone thought this situation would continue, the giant white ball began to change. It first changed from a sphere to a hemisphere, then from a hemisphere to a white pancake, and finally disappeared completely into the darkness.
Nico, who was standing on top of the airbag, was breathing rapidly. He was really scared just now. If he was crushed by that thing, no one could withstand it. "Damn it! What the hell is that?!"
Faced with the second mate's questions, Charles had no answer. The only thing he knew now was that the thing looked alive.
Since it's not on the Foundation map, it must have come from somewhere else.
"Whatever it is, we have to get out of here now, the sooner the better."
Charles jumped down from the front airbag, rushed into the cockpit, and with a serious expression, he drew a new dot on the map.
This dot is symmetrical to the previous one.
128-1=127
(End of this chapter)