Deep Sea Embers

Agatha held the small cluster of flames in her hands, took another step, and walked deeper into the second waterway.

In fact, she has lost the judgment of time, and even her perception of everything around her has become blurred. She can't remember how long she has trekked in this damp and cold place, and how many monsters she has solved , and how many wounds were added in the process—for a certain period of time, she even forgot her name and why she appeared in this sewer.

But when the green flame is jumping in the palm of her hand, she will always find her own reason, and firmly remember the only and ultimate mission——

Take the tinder and send it to the lairs of heretics.

A cold wind blew from the dark corridor in front, and it seemed that there were layers of murmurs and roars wrapped in the wind. Agatha's body shook. She sensed the presence of malice from the wind, and carefully held the flame in her hand. The ground is hidden in the inner layer of the already tattered black clothes.

Keep it hidden from the heretics.

She raised her head, looked into the depths of the darkness, and saw countless shadows of indeterminate shapes rising and falling in the wind, and the gas lamp on the corridor wall had been dimmed to the point where only the tiny glimmer of fireflies remained, and the dirty black mud Bits oozed from the surrounding roof and duct grating, wriggling, coalescing, forming, murmuring sickly.

Agatha lifted up the cane that was covered with scars like her own. For some reason, she felt that she was full of strength again, and the annoying tiredness had quietly disappeared.

She slammed her cane on the ground, staring at the profane and filthy things surging in the darkness, and the tip of the stick hit the ground, making a roar like the ringing of a bell——

"Boom—"

The elevator creaked, and the car sank into the depths of the mine. The guard warrior who was guarding the edge of the elevator car suddenly raised his head, and asked his comrades beside him with some doubts: "Did you hear anything just now?" ?”

"It's like a bang," said another guard in surprise, but then he subconsciously turned his head and glanced at the gatekeeper standing in the middle of the car, "It's like... like..."

Like the sound of His Excellency the Gatekeeper sounding the "death knell" with his cane before the purge of heresy began—he wanted to say it, but didn't say it.

Because the gatekeeper is here, she is resting with her eyes closed.

As if she heard the conversation of her subordinates, Agatha opened her eyes. She glanced around, silently came to the edge of the car surrounded by guardrails, and looked down.

"Gatekeeper," the guard who spoke before came over and said hesitantly, "It seems that there was a sound coming from below just now. Could it be that someone else is also operating in the mine?"

"We are the only ones here," Agatha said without turning her head, "don't worry about the voice just now."

The subordinates retreated temporarily, but Agatha still looked at the boundless and hazy darkness below.

This is the Boiling Gold Mine, the largest vertical passage leading to the lower excavation area, and even in the depths of this mountain, fog... is still everywhere.

Of course, it is impossible for the fog under normal conditions to permeate such a place, but these weird fogs are obviously the effect of supernatural power. They seem to permeate everywhere consciously, and in areas with dim lights and deep underground, the fog is even more out of thin air. Appears as full.

The mine elevator creaked and descended in this hazy mist, and occasionally dim lights could be seen moving upward around it-the gas lamps and electric lamps set in the shaft, they looked so weak that they could not be seen. As for looking through the mist, it was as tiny as the shimmer of a firefly.

But in any case, the equipment in the mine is obviously still functioning - the ventilation system, the power pipeline, the lighting system, the hoisting device... all functioning normally.

Of course, you must be careful when using machinery and equipment at this time. Agatha decided to use this elevator after she specially sent the priest to check the condition of the elevator—a safer choice is to use the steps and ramps in the emergency passage. Going down the well, but that would take too much time and energy.

"I hope this thing doesn't break when it goes up," a young Guardian warrior whispered, "The cargo car and track that crashed out of control on the hillside before were impressive."

"Can't you say something nice at a time like this?" Another older guard frowned suddenly, "Everyone is on the lift—if you are really nervous, just jump down, when you are in free fall Definitely nothing wrong."

"No, no, I just said it casually. This thing looks solid and stable at first glance, and there will definitely be no problems..."

At this moment, another nun with ear-length short hair heard the conversation between the two soldiers, leaned over and said, "But I heard that there is a female judge in the city-state of Pland in the distance, and she can jump directly from the cliff to the rock. Tan killed the 'children', she will be fine if she jumps from here..."

The two guards were silent for two seconds, and said in unison: "...Is that still a human?!"

"I just heard..."

The soldiers are talking, which will not affect their subsequent actions, but it can dilute the tension caused by the constant descent in the darkness - the guards are also human, and they also need to soothe their nerves.

Agatha turned her back to them, and neither joined them nor stopped her subordinates—she just listened quietly, with a faint smile on her face at some point.

Unlike many people's impressions, the serious and steady gatekeeper on weekdays has always been gentle and tolerant towards his subordinates.

At this moment, the tension of the steel cable and the friction sound of the brake system sounded from all around, interrupting the communication between the guards.

The elevator car began to slow down and gradually stopped in an open and cold place.

"This is the traffic point on the first level." Agatha looked around, and saw the nearest support structure, lighting system, and slightly messy mine equipment in the nearby open space—the mine staff who had evacuated in a hurry obviously I didn’t take everything away, and there are traces of the hustle and bustle everywhere, “Where is the traffic map?”

"Here," a priest immediately stepped forward and handed the traffic map brought by the Mine Affairs Bureau to the gatekeeper. "Our current location is Shaft No. 2."

Agatha took the blueprint and compared the surrounding environment according to the data while walking down the elevator. At the same time, she recalled the information obtained from the mine management personnel before going down the shaft: "The underground road vehicle leading to the excavation area has been stopped. You can only go to the excavation area on foot, follow the red line signs, and there will be a ramp leading to the mining operation 150 meters away."

She raised her head and checked the situation around her again.

"Check around first, set up a safe point, and then go deeper."

The subordinates got busy, the guards went to confirm the safety of each traffic checkpoint, and the priest and nun began to simply clean the open space around the elevator and arrange altars and holy objects.

Agatha walked around at will.

She stopped in front of an overturned transfer box that she hadn't taken away in time.

The transfer box is made of iron, and the interior is lined with tin compartments. The cover is not fastened, and it has been broken after it fell to the ground. You can see the contents inside—some ore that has been knocked into small pieces.

Those ores have a dark metallic texture, and blood vessel-like, light golden veins can be seen on the dark outer skin.

"It should be the sample that is going to be brought up with the shift change staff." A middle-aged guard came from the side and judged with experience.

Because they wanted to investigate the situation of the mine, about half of the subordinates brought by Agatha this time were guards who had been performing missions in the Boiling Gold Mine area for a long time. Although they were not professional miners, they had some experience with the situation here.

"Boiling gold ore..."

With a serious expression, Agatha fiddled with a few pieces of ore that fell on the ground with her cane, then bent down again, picked up one and examined it carefully.

After a while, she handed the ore to the middle-aged guard: "Check it out."

"It is a good-quality raw ore. It seems that it can be sent to the furnace with simple crushing and primary screening. However, I am not very good at judging the ore yield...need a professional."

Agatha frowned: "That's it? No problem?"

"I don't see the problem, it's just the ore," the guard said frankly, and then he was a little confused, "Do you have any questions?"

Agatha silently picked up a piece of boiling gold ore, looked at it for a long time, and then said softly: "Although what I'm going to say next is just a guess, it is also a secret—only the personnel involved in this operation can know, and must After going down the well."

The guard standing opposite her was slightly taken aback, but in the next second, the soldier's face was already dignified and serious.

Surprised, but not panicked, surprised, but not overwhelmed.

Because every priest who is qualified to follow the gatekeeper to perform tasks—whether it is the guard, or the nuns and priests, is already a selected person in the church. contract.

Everyone is well aware of the particularity of their own mission, and how weird and tricky the events that need to be handled by the gatekeepers will be—in these deep-dark operations, any thing may be confidential, and it was normal a second ago Things may become taboos that must be isolated from the civilized world in the next second, and even the people who participate in the operation may become part of the "secret" at any time.

After all, even if some things are just "knowledge", it will leave a eroded gap in the real world, and even if it is only an "impression" in the mind of the person involved, it will cast a shadow on the loss of control in the future.

Agatha looked up and saw that the placement of the temporary altar and relics had been completed, and the safety point had been set up.

"Everyone, assemble—I'm going to announce something."