Deep Sea Embers

In the Frost Eastern Port military management area, many people have been up all night.

It has been more than twenty-four hours since the Haiyan lost contact, and even if the harbor church sent a psychic call to the ship's pastor on the Haiyan, there was no response.

The only clues or traces are pointing to bad possibilities.

In the harbor office, a middle-aged man with thinning hair wearing the uniform of a Frost Navy commander was sitting behind a desk with a gloomy face, and several other commanders were sitting on other chairs in the room, not counting The atmosphere in the large room was gloomy and oppressive, as if a storm was brewing.

"We haven't found any trace of the Haiyan yet. We have searched three times in the direction of Frost Island from the last signal sent by the Haiyan, but there is nothing on the sea." A civilian officer with short light brown hair shook his head. Said.

"The most optimistic estimate is that the Haiyan's communication system failed, and the chaplain on board had another accident, and the ship drifted out of control—but to be honest, this is too optimistic," another officer sighed. "For such a large ship, even if it drifts out of control, it is impossible to drift out of the search range in such a short period of time. It is more likely that the Haiyan has suffered a serious accident and has sunk... I heard a report from an offshore patrol boat before. If you hear a faint explosion sound and see a distant flash in the night, it may be the Haiyan.”

"Sinking such a big ship will take several hours, right? We dispatched the search force immediately after the Haiyan lost contact," the civilian officer with short light brown hair frowned. Oil polluted the sea surface, how could the traces disappear so cleanly? Could it be possible that the whole ship could sink to the bottom of the sea in an instant?"

"...We should send someone to Dagger Island to confirm the situation," another female officer said, "Perhaps the Haiyan did not sail towards the Frost Island, or maybe it was stranded near Dagger Island for some reason..."

"Dagger Island is now in a special situation. Sending people to the island requires complicated procedures..."

"It's okay to contact, the procedure is simpler, and the consul's office can give it in half an hour at the earliest..."

The discussion in the room continued non-stop until a steady voice behind the desk interrupted everyone's speech: "Procedure on the 22nd."

The room fell silent for a while, and the officers who were discussing raised their eyes and looked at the middle-aged man with thinning hair and serious face behind the desk.

"It may be that the No. 22 procedure was activated—the situation is too urgent or there is a risk of meme leaking, or the Haiyan has completely fallen under the control of others, so there is no news," the port defense commander Liszt said in a low voice. , "Although this still cannot explain why the wreck of the Haiyan disappeared so cleanly."

In the office, the officers looked at each other in blank dismay. The heavy pressure brought by the words "Procedure No. 22" instantly made the already depressing atmosphere even more dignified.

In such solemnity, the commander-in-chief Liszt paused for a moment, and then continued to speak: "I know General Duncan, if the Haiyan really encounters extraordinary pollution that is difficult to resist, he will definitely activate the twenty-two The second process, so what we have to do in the next stage is not only to continue to search for the possible traces of the Haiyan, but also to find out what attacked and polluted the ship-if there is an attacker, then It doesn't have to be tangible, which is a huge threat to Frostbite."

"The attacker..." The female officer who spoke before became serious, "If this attacker really exists, do you think it was not destroyed following the Haiyan's 'No. 22 procedure'?"

"One of the first principles in the face of extraordinary disasters—unless there is strong enough direct evidence, always assume that the enemy still exists," Liszt said slowly. It's surprisingly strong."

Several officers looked at each other in blank dismay, and one of them hesitated and said, "That side of Dagger Island..."

"I will submit an investigation application to the consul. Although the Haiyan had an accident on the way back to the island, and when it left Dagger Island, it also sent a message that the inspection work was successfully completed, but now the ship has an accident. , the situation on Dagger Island is suspicious." Liszt stood up slowly, propping up the table with both hands, "You guys next..."

Before the defense commander could finish his sentence, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded in the corridor, followed by a knock on the door, interrupting his follow-up words.

Liszt frowned: "Come in."

A secretary opened the door and gave a military salute to the officer behind the desk: "Sir, the gatekeeper, Your Excellency Agatha, is here."

"The gatekeeper?" Liszt was obviously surprised, "What is she here for?"

"It's about the Haiyan, the situation is urgent."

"Invite her in..." Liszt said immediately, but before he finished his words, a gust of gray wind had already rolled up in the corridor outside the door, and then the gray wind that seemed to be mixed with pale smoke poured into the room, The office quickly circled, and the figure of Agatha stepped out of the gray wind—she held the tin cane that the priests of the god of death always had around her in one hand, and her eyes revealed seriousness and a little apology from between the bandages.

"Sorry, Colonel Lister, the situation is urgent. I came in right after I heard your response," Agatha nodded. "I want to know how far you have come in your current investigation on the whereabouts of the Haiyan?"

Liszt did not express dissatisfaction with Agatha's behavior of breaking into the office directly. Qualified soldiers know the priorities, and the "gatekeeper" of the city-state already has many privileges in emergency situations. It is obvious that this lady appeared in such a hurry. The situation has become so urgent that there is no time for politeness.

"We haven't found any traces or wreckage of the Haiyan yet. At present, we initially suspect that General Duncan activated the 'No. 22 procedure', and the Haiyan may have sunk," he said with a solemn expression. "Next, we need to expand the search area. Look out for traces of the attackers, and prepare to investigate the situation on Dagger Island."

"The 22nd process is speculative and correct. The Haiyan was indeed invaded and polluted by extraordinary forces. That ship has been honorably loyal, but don't rush to investigate Dagger Island," Agatha said quickly, "That island may have been completely destroyed. out of control."

"Dagger Island is out of control?" The muscles on Liszt's face trembled visibly, "What information do you have?"

"...The source of the information is inconvenient to disclose," Agatha hesitated, "but the reliability is very high. I haven't had time to report the situation to the cathedral and the city hall, because it may delay time. Colonel Lister, I hope Now you immediately block all the shipping routes around Dagger Island, prohibit any ships from approaching, and do not allow anything to leave that island—let alone allow them to land on Frost Island.”

"Ms. Agatha, I must remind you—this is not in line with the procedure," Liszt said in a serious tone, "I am willing to trust your judgment as the gatekeeper, but you should know that every rule is summed up with human life ——It is not a trivial matter to dispatch the navy to block the dagger island, I need clearer orders and explanations."

"At least this won't make the situation worse," Agatha stepped forward. "I have sent someone to the cathedral, and follow-up orders will come soon."

Liszt opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something more, but at this moment, a sudden sound of a bell in the corner of the room interrupted what he wanted to say.

The port defense commander glanced at Agatha, then turned around and walked quickly to the small table next to him, and pressed the button on the table.

A moment later, there was a hiss of airflow and a rapid clicking sound from far to near from the copper pipe fixed on the wall next to the table, followed by a crisp metal impact, the copper pipe shook, and the end of the pipe snapped. There is a little white air coming from the buckle mechanism.

Liszt opened the buckle, flipped the cover, took out the capsule compartment from the pipe, took out the note inside and glanced at it quickly, his expression changed instantly.

"What is it?" Agatha asked curiously.

"A ship appeared in the offshore area and issued a signal to apply for entry into the port." Liszt slowly raised his head with a solemn expression, "It's the Haiyan."

The room quickly fell silent.

The officers looked at each other, Agatha's eyes instantly became solemn, and Liszt suddenly said after a few seconds of silence: "Go to the pier."

The Haiyan appeared, and after being missing for more than 24 hours, it reappeared in the eyes of the Frost people, and sailed straight to the military pier in Donggang.

Standing on the observation deck of Donggang Wharf, you can already see the silhouette of the steam clipper—it gradually enlarges on the horizon, with clouds of steam rising above it.

"Silhouette and bow flag identification...is Haiyan."

A junior officer put down the binoculars in his hand and said in a complicated tone.

But Liszt still stared at the approaching black figure on the sea without moving, without saying a word for a long time.

The faint whistle sound came over, accompanied by a special pause rhythm.

"Second round of signals, Haiyan applies for port entry," the junior officer turned his head and looked at Liszt, "Sir..."

"Sink it." Agatha, who had been silent since just now, finally broke the silence.