Deep Sea Embers

That is the "captain" of the Obsidian, Christo Barberi—a mass of disordered matter that can hardly be reminiscent of a "human body", a bunch of...fakes that floated up from the deep sea.

He doesn't seem to know anything about his condition, and... there seems to be something wrong with his thinking.

He doesn't know the passage of time, and he can't perceive the distortion of his own flesh and blood. With the loss of all vision, most of the sense of touch, and being unable to move, he seems too calm, as if... stuck in a strange state of insensitivity .

The group of slightly wriggling, expanding and contracting biological tissue was still making a hoarse and low voice, "Christo Barberi" greeted the people who entered the room, asked about the current status of the Obsidian, and asked what happened .

Seeing this weird and terrifying scene, Nina exclaimed in a low voice, but quickly held back, covered her mouth with one hand, and subconsciously took two steps back.

This scene is somewhat too exciting for her who is only seventeen years old.

"There was an accident on the Obsidian, but we still don't know the cause of the accident," Duncan answered while thinking about what to do when faced with the inquiry from "Captain Crystal" in front of him, "We are just passing by."

"Ah, it's too bad... I've been stuck here, and I don't know what's going on on the ship," the group of biological tissues stuck to the door panel sighed regretfully, "Is everything else okay? Crew and passengers What? Have you found them?"

"...No, but no corpse was found either. They may have fled," Duncan said casually. "Only the door of this room is locked, and we heard your knocking."

"I've been knocking on this door, and it's the only thing I can touch in the dark," said Captain Crystal. "Goddess of Storms, Gamona, bless you, everyone else is safe..."

The northern city-states are the domain of Bartok, the god of death, but on the boundless sea, the authority of the goddess of storm is undoubtedly the first—no matter what the origin or belief of the captains, they will pray to the goddess of storm when they go to sea.

While listening to the other party's prayer, Fan Na and Morris frowned at the same time.

This clump...which is obviously a twisted product, can actually say the name of the gods correctly, and even pray consciously?

Duncan obviously noticed this too, and he remembered what he learned about the Abyss Project from the other party when he talked with Tirian before——

During the out-of-control period of the diving plan, the replicas drilled out of the "No. 3 submersible" that came up one after another from the deep sea had no sense at all, and no communication ability.

Even the original replica, even the "fake" that looked the closest to humans, only made a few indistinct whispers!

This was a very important piece of information from the very beginning, and Tirian made a judgment based on it. The out-of-control supernatural phenomenon in the frosty deep sea can only reproduce a fake without reason and soul. Although there seems to be some problems in thinking and cognition, he obviously has normal reason and memory, and can even communicate with people fluently.

What went wrong?

Is it because the Obsidian is not a replica of the "No. 3 Submersible" as initially speculated? Is it because of another reason for the distortion on this ship? Or is it because the out-of-control extraordinary vision of the frosty deep sea has undergone new changes half a century later, and now the replicas it has produced have begun to have intelligence?

or……

Duncan quietly glanced at "Captain Crystal" attached to the door panel.

In other words, this mass of biological tissue was really the captain's consciousness—for some reason, his soul was stuffed into this twisted copy.

The more Duncan thought about it, the more he felt that this was the most likely explanation.

"Are you still there?" Perhaps Duncan was silent for too long, and Christo's voice came from the mass of biological tissue again, "Can you guys help me leave this place? Or... my current Is the situation really bad? Is it... serious nerve damage?"

Duncan sighed.

He knew he had to tell the other person the truth—even if it was a cruel thing.

There have always been countless cruel things on the boundless sea.

But just when he was about to speak, Fan Na's voice suddenly sounded from the side, interrupting his movement: "Mr. Crystal, your condition is indeed not good, we can't move you now, you may need to Stay here for a while—after we complete the search in other areas, we will find a way to help you."

Duncan conveyed his doubts to Fanna with his eyes, and the latter raised his hand and pointed to the wall opposite the room.

There was a huge hollow in the wall, and opposite the opening was a sloping passage leading to nowhere, dark and eerie.

Duncan immediately understood what Fan Na meant.

There are still too many unexplored areas on this ship-until we figure out what happened to the Obsidian, we cannot fully determine the status and origin of this "Captain Crystal".

It is best to stabilize this weird "replica" first, and then consider how to arrange it after completing the search and investigation of the entire ship.

Duncan nodded slightly.

A professional is a professional, and from this point of view, it is the professional acumen that has been dealt with all kinds of heresy and evil.

"Okay... I understand," Christo's voice sounded, with some regret and anxiety, "I will wait here. But how long are you going to leave?"

"It may take a few hours, but we will return as soon as possible," Fan Na said, "Please rest assured, we will not give up on you, and although your condition is not good, there will be no problems in a short time, keep still, Just calm down and wait a little longer."

"Then... OK, you guys go and come back quickly."

The mass of squirming, expanding and contracting biological tissue quieted down.

He seemed to be quite anxious about his state, but after Fan Na expressed his attitude, he was quite cooperative, and his calmness was unbelievable.

Is this "captain" by nature? Or is this also the result of his thinking and cognition being distorted? Duncan didn't know.

All attention was now on the large hole in the wall at the far end of the room.

Of course, there would not be such a hole in a normal room, let alone a crooked ramp hidden in the hole-this hole is obviously also the result of the distortion of the obsidian's internal structure.

It looks deep and long, where will it lead?

Duncan walked through the upside-down rooms and came to the big cave. He probed inside and took a look inside. He only saw the deep and dark interior of the cave. A passageway that seemed to be made up of a cabin corridor and several twisted staircases extended downwards obliquely. There is occasional airflow blowing inside, and it seems that there are more channels or larger spaces at the bottom.

He stepped in, and the others followed.

Pigeon Ai, who was burning with the flames of the spirit body, once again became the searchlight for the team to advance, and under the light of the flames of the spirit body, this already dark and gloomy corridor seemed even more strange.

"The distorted and chaotic situation below seems to be more serious than above..."

Morris raised his head, glanced at the top of the passage, which was vaguely shadowed in the interlacing of light and shadow, and said thoughtfully.

Above the passage, one can vaguely recognize the chaotic overlapping structures: the handrail of the stairs, the hatch from nowhere, the mechanical structure, the pipes and wires, and even the furniture of tables and chairs.

If some shadows of normal structures can still be seen in the upper cabin, then the ramp leading to the depths of the Obsidian is simply a pile of debris that can only be formed after crushing and gluing everything together, like a chaotic and intertwined Like a nightmare, it continued to extend into the viscera of this giant steel beast.

"It seems that the closer to the center of the 'replica', the lower the accuracy of the replica," Fan Na said, and then added, "If this ship is really a replica of the 'No. 3 Submersible' if."

"I'll talk to Tirian later," Duncan said casually in front, "he might be interested in what happened to the Obsidian."

"But I think he will be scared to death by you first," Fan Na couldn't help muttering, "I've talked to him, and I feel that he has a lot of psychological shadow."

Duncan slowed down and looked back at Fan Na.

Fan Na suddenly felt awkward: "Did I say something wrong?"

"No," Duncan laughed. "It's just a sigh that you can finally communicate with me normally-this feels right."

Fanna opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something more, but at this moment, the fire light from Ai in front suddenly dimmed, and then everyone's vision widened.

The passage has come to an end.

There is indeed an open space below.

"Is it the cargo compartment?" Morris frowned, looking at the open and dark place in front of him, he saw that the space in front of him was flat and open, compared with the chaotic ramp before, it was unbelievably "tidy", but It is completely impossible to see the original purpose of this space.

"Could it be that the deepest part of this ghost ship is a cavity?" Nina looked around and muttered nervously, "Everything is piled up on the upper two floors?"

No one could answer her question.

Alice looked around curiously, and took two steps forward.

"Why?"

Miss Doll stopped suddenly, let out a short exclamation, and then rubbed the soles of her shoes back and forth while looking at the ground under her feet in astonishment.

"I seem to have stepped on something!" She turned her head and said to Duncan innocently, "It's sticky, a little disgusting..."

"Slimy?" Duncan frowned, and walked quickly to Alice's side, looking at the ground that the other party stepped on just now.

He saw a dark, silt-like substance, and Alice's shoe prints could still be vaguely seen in the middle of the dark, viscous substance.

But that shoe print is fast disappearing.

This group of "silt" is wriggling!

it is alive!