Deep Sea Embers

Since the eighth "No. 3 submersible" was salvaged from the Frost Offshore and sent to Dagger Island near the city-state, that island was set as a military restricted area by the city-state authorities, and even the two adjacent routes around it were no longer open. Open to the public.

This of course caused many people to speculate, not only the locals of Frost, but also the ship owners who were forced to stay away from Dagger Island and the nearby pirates and explorers. What secrets are the Frost authorities hiding, and many of them are speculative, ranging from "researching new weapons" to "holding dangerous ceremonies"-but none of them are reliable.

Few people in this world know about the "Abyss Project".

"It is becoming more and more difficult for our people to collect information on Dagger Island," Aiden said to Tirian with a serious expression on the small road on the edge of the port area. "The blockade level of that island has been adjusted recently. They Even monitoring every inch of the coast, it is no longer feasible to dive close, and the spies and internal agents we bought and controlled have recently been transferred away from key positions-it has not been exposed, but the current material delivery and personnel transfer of Dagger Island have been completely in place. A special list by the authorities is done internally, and we can't get in."

"...Has it become a military restricted area?" Tirian stopped in his tracks. "Could it be that they found something from the 'No. 3 submersible'? Or have they opened the hatch?"

"It's hard to say," Aiden shook his head, "But the last time we went to the island to inquire about information, we saw an order issued by the Frost Authority, which specifically mentioned that the hatch of the submersible should not be opened. , and any samples scraped from the shell of the submersible must be put into the incinerator after the research is over - at least from this order, it can be seen that the city-state consul is still very cautious. But this was the situation a few days ago , no one knows if anything will change now."

"...If the conclusion of the investigation cannot be obtained for a long time, and some dangerous and weird experimental accidents occur, the most sensible approach for the Frost authorities should be to directly put the submersible into the furnace, and stop doing any research, just like we did back then," mentioned Ryan frowned, "But they've still sealed off Dagger Island... which means they must want to dig some secrets out of that submersible."

"...Theoretically, Frost's high-level executives should know the plan of diving into the abyss back then, at least they should also know the dangers and horrors in the deep sea."

"Knowing is one thing, understanding is another - future generations can hear the stories of their ancestors from books and dictation, but unless they experience it again, it is difficult for them to imagine the feeling of fear and powerlessness," mentions Ryan shook his head, "In the face of extraordinary loss of control, the greatest advantage of human beings is that they can 'forget', and the same is true for the greatest disadvantage."

Aiden looked at his captain, and finally spoke after being silent for more than ten seconds: "Captain, do we want to take some more... proactive actions?"

"A more proactive action?"

"Contact with the Frost authorities and warn them, or more simply... the fleet raided Dagger Island and snatched the 'No. 3 Submersible'," Aiden said bluntly, "Based on the current defense force of Dagger Island, it should be It can't withstand a round of strong attacks from the Sea Fog Fleet."

Speaking of this, he paused, and added: "Otherwise, let those guys who don't know anything beat a distorted replica floating up from the deep sea, I really don't know when they will make a big mess, too It's worrying."

Tirian was lost in thought for a moment.

After a while, he shook his head: "Even if we successfully raided Dagger Island, can you be sure that we can find the whereabouts of the No. 3 submersible before the main force of Frost reacts? That island is not small... Once used If we search for too long, we will face several times the city-state navy. No matter how strong the Sea Mist is, it is not invincible, let alone..."

He stopped, but the face of the Frost Queen appeared in his mind.

In the next second, Tirian stopped thinking about it just in time—fortunately, another face exactly like the Frost Queen didn't appear.

"It's nothing," he shook his head, "I still need to think about it."

"Then you need to make a decision earlier," Aiden nodded, and at this moment, a bell suddenly sounded from the direction of the port square, and the first officer immediately raised his head to look in the direction of the sound, "Ah, it's late at night...Captain, why don't you go to the square to have fun? Adjusting your mood may also be beneficial to your next decision."

"I won't go," Tirian shook his head subconsciously, "I'm not interested."

"It's good to show up once in a while," Aiden suggested enthusiastically, "You can't see Bardica dancers all the time—their dancing posture is more beautiful and agile than the black-tailed chaffinch passing through the storm. ..."

"That's what I'm not interested in," Tirian spread his hands helplessly, "And to be honest, if I, the captain, really appeared at the party, can the sailors really mess around as much as they want?"

"Yes, why not," Aiden said casually, "It's not like you don't know the skins of those guys, they are hard and thick and can regenerate..."

Tirian: "..."

But in the end, Aiden finally failed to convince the stubborn captain, but went to the port square alone to participate in the party tonight.

After midnight, the pirate island was still noisy.

The sleepless undead have infinite energy, and there is no curfew on this island transformed and shrouded by extraordinary power. Their celebration parties can last a whole day, from sunrise to sunset, and from sunset to sun Lift.

The high platform on one side of the square has been transformed into a stage.

The temporarily installed wooden walls blocked the cold wind from the coast, and the flaming braziers around the stage more or less resisted the cold of winter nights—the undead people had no fear of the cold and heat, but the "human guests" who visited the pirate island tonight still needed more time. Carefully guarded.

Young girls from Cold Harbor dance enthusiastically between the campfire and the cold wind.

Skirts are fluttering, dancers are spinning, bonfires are bursting and jumping in the night, the sound of waves in the distance is endless, terrifying undead are clamoring in the audience, and the fog-shrouded pirate island has a noisy night that is rare in this world.

Tirian stopped at an inconspicuous corner next to the square, and looked up towards the stage.

He didn't come to the party, but was going back to his residence, just passing the square.

The weekly gathering of sailors was a "custom" in the Frost Navy back then, and even after leaving Frost, this habit has remained in the Sea Fog Fleet.

In half a century, many things have changed, but many things have not changed.

Looking at the noisy appearance of those old subordinates in the square, Tirian gradually smiled, but suddenly, his smile restrained.

He looked at the stage not far away, looked at the dancers on the stage, and saw that they were dancing enthusiastically, jumping like a fright, but their eyes were a little dull and numb.

They should have drank a potion that was mixed and refined with a variety of herbs and a little supernatural catalyst in advance—not a rare thing.

The power of the medicine can help them resist the cold to a certain extent, but it also affects their cognition and thinking at the same time.

This keeps them from fear, leaving their minds with only the dance instinct for a while.

Obviously, the masters of these dancers don't want their tools to destroy the peaceful relationship between themselves and the Lengliehai pirate leader because of fear.

Tyrian snapped his tongue.

This is actually very common. The "Leng Lie Hai big men" who dare to do business among pirates and even send people to pirate islands have similar methods. After all, neither the church nor the authorities will interfere with their gray business, so ordinary people Of course, I can only think of some "remedies" to fight against the shadows and horrors of the boundless sea. The lives of pirates and "risk speculators" have never been as romantic as they are written in adventure stories.

In a sense, pouring the potion is also a protection for the dancers.

Tirian just felt a little disappointed—he thought that "Scimitar Martin" would improve after so many years, but he didn't expect that the other party was still using the old tricks of ten years ago to run his "Leng Lie Hai Entertainment Industry".

He shook his head, ready to turn and leave.

But just as he was about to leave, a slight crackling sound of flames suddenly reached his ears.

The strange yet somewhat familiar sound of flames made Tirian's heart tense for an instant, and he almost lost his footing. Then, he stared at the direction where the sound came from.

A faint green flame is jumping on the frozen wall next to it, and with the spread of light and shadow, the center of the ice surface is instantly dark like night, and a tall and majestic figure steps out of it.

"Good evening, Tirian," the figure began, "I hope I haven't disturbed your rest."

Tirian stared at the figure that emerged from the ice, and held back for a long time before trying to maintain a normal expression to respond to the other party's greeting: "Good evening, father. Why did you suddenly..."

"I have some things to discuss with you, and by the way, let's see how you are doing recently," Duncan said casually, "What are you doing?"

While talking, he raised his head, looked over Tirian's shoulder, and saw the stage in the distance.

And the young girls who are still wearing only thin dresses in the cold wind.

"...6."

"It's not what you think!"