Struggle in the Steam Age

"How did this happen?" Lawrence, who had just returned to the temporary office, had not dismounted at this time, and as a result, he heard the sound of a horn from a distance. Then he looked up and saw the red flag rising from the flagpole of the lighthouse. "Neither have I heard of any pirate activities nearby!"

"Could it be an extraordinary sea beast or a sea creature?" Saifei had done his homework beforehand, so he proposed a possibility. "If I remember correctly, this area has formed a fishing ground because of the confluence of two ocean currents, so it is very normal for monsters to be attracted."

Although there are various speculations, you still have to see the specific situation in person. So Lawrence and the others simply rode straight to the port. Then boarded a small armed steamboat patrolling the port and drove towards the lighthouse. At the same time, Nora had already taken a step forward to investigate.

"There is a sailboat approaching the port, but it did not follow the correct course to enter the port." Just as Lawrence and the others floated on the bay, Nara had already reached the lighthouse. After questioning the guards guarding the tower, she started Speaking to Lawrence through the soul connection. "Because it was worried that it would block the channel or collide with other ships after entering the channel, a warning flag was raised on the lighthouse to alert the port."

"Why didn't that ship listen to the greeting?" Lawrence asked an important question in it. "Is it caused by some kind of accident or is it because the opponent is attacking the ship in a hostile camouflage? If it is a hostile attack on the ship, we will sink the ship immediately, if it is an accident, then the tugboat on the side of the fort Just tow it away to avoid collision..."

"It's still not clear, because the other party is still some distance away from us." Nora said, "but now I find that there is no one on the deck of the ship, which is obviously abnormal. I guess they should have encountered something. . However, the specific situation can only be determined after boarding and inspection."

For safety reasons, Nora flew to the tugboat to slow them down temporarily, then boarded the sailboat and checked it. A few minutes later, Lawrence stood on the bow of the armed boat and saw that all the sails of the sailing ship had been retracted, and then the anchor of the ship fell.

Because of the closer distance between the two sides, Lawrence also saw at this time that the ship was a more common double-masted fast sailing ship in this area. This is also the smallest ship with the smallest tonnage that can travel across the ocean to the Old World. Regardless of this era, the steam engine has slowly begun to spread. But most of the ships traveling on the sea are pure sailing ships.

In particular, the popularity of steam engines on small ships of 200 to 300 tons is lower. At least Lawrence has not seen this type of steam engines on warships and some special ships other than ships, especially those commercial ships that pay attention to economic efficiency. Wouldn't buy those steam engines that are horribly high in price and cost of use.

But this situation also created some troubles. For example, Lawrence discovered that the original ship's name on the ship's side had been severely peeled off due to use, and only a few letters could be seen clearly. The ship itself is also the most popular ship type in the region. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to determine the original identity of the ship.

"The situation is a bit abnormal." At this time, Nora's voice rang through the soul link in Lawrence's mind. "There is no one on the deck or the upper cabin. I am searching for the middle cabin. I hope to find some living people. If there is no one, I hope the other party can leave me some clues. I think if there is no accident, I will wait for you to rush. I should finish inspecting the ship when it arrives, and then you can come up and take a look."

Sure enough, by the time Lawrence and his ship drew on the sailing ship ten minutes later, the doll had already checked the entire ship and determined that it was safe enough. Following the rope ladder that the little doll put down, Lawrence climbed up with Syfiel to the deck, and then successfully merged with Nora who had rushed to the bow.

"The situation on the boat is very strange." After seeing Lawrence and Syphile boarding, Nora said while taking them to tour the entire boat. "Look, we can see this from the traces on this deck. The ship was moving, and then the sailors disappeared from their posts almost at the same time."

Following the direction of Nora's fingers, Lawrence checked the work positions of the sailors on the deck one by one. Sure enough, there was no trace of struggle in these places, everything was so normal. Even Lawrence found a slightly shriveled orange on the side of a sailor's seat that had been peeled and eaten half of it.

"Is there anything wrong with this orange?" Seeing Lawrence looked at the obviously broken apple with inquisitive eyes, Syfiel also walked up. "If I'm not mistaken, this orange looks like it has been left for about a day and a half, and it has begun to rot. At best, it can only prove that the boat had an accident a day and a half ago."

"You are right, but this half of the orange also shows one thing, that is, when these people disappear, everything is very normal, and it can even be said that everything is calm." Lawrence added. "Because only in this situation these sailors manipulating the ropes have time to eat some fruit."

"To be precise, this time is for dinner." Nora said after hearing Lawrence's words, "because I found an extinguished fire and half-simmered paste in the kitchen below, and a metal plate next to it was placed. It looks like it should be fried bacon and something simmered in red wine and beans for someone who is on board."

"Have you found anything on the ship that proves the identity of the ship, such as tableware with the name of the ship printed on it?" Lawrence asked. The reason for his inquiries is simple, because in this era, when ships are launched, the shipyard will give those ships a batch of tableware engraved with the name of the ship and the shipyard.

"No, I didn't find anything." Nora said seriously at this time, "All the tableware on the boat feels messy, as if everyone is using their own tableware~www.wuxiahere.com~ and no The original tableware from the shipyard. In this case, there are only two possibilities. Either the ship may have been in the hands of many shipowners, or the ship is a smuggling ship."

"Why isn't it a pirate ship?" Saifei asked somewhat incomprehensibly. "If I remember correctly, those pirate ships will also remove all traces of the original ship to avoid being identified. Moreover, in this area, this type of brig and another type of sloop are the two most common types. Pirate ship type."

"You'll know when you look at the lower deck." Nara beckoned Lawrence and the others to follow her, and then walked down the deck together. "I found something very interesting under the deck. You can take a look. This is a relatively rare vessel. At least the internal structure should be modified. It is not a normal brig."

Sure enough, after going down to the lower deck, they discovered at first glance that this ship did not have 4-6 small artillery as defense like regular merchant ships, and it was not equipped with 12 or even 16 artillery like pirate ships. This ship didn't have a gun, and all the gun positions were placed on fake guns made of wood.

In addition, the entire ship can be used as a weapon except for the two decorative knives in the captain's room, and only a few palm-sized sailor knives. The whole ship looked as peaceful as some church ships that prohibited the carrying of any weapons.

You know, besides pirates, there are a lot of dangerous and extraordinary creatures in this world. Therefore, even the most stingy merchants will carry a large number of weapons on the ship with artillery, so that when they encounter those enemies, they can have the possibility of letting go. The complete disarmament of arms like this is obviously abnormal.