Deep Sea Embers

The winch rotates, the steel cable is tight, and the metal "iron cage" makes creaking noises as it runs downwards. Darkness pervades the outside of the iron cage, and there are dim yellow gas lamps embedded on the side wall of the shaft. , dispelling the darkness deep in the mine, bringing a limited and necessary sense of peace of mind.

Agatha stood on the edge of the elevator, looking through the guardrail at the continuously extending shaft. The night-like black cloth covered her eyes and most of her expression changes. It was almost impossible to guess what she was thinking now.

"It's so deep here..." A voice suddenly broke the silence in the elevator, and Alice stood nervously behind Duncan, looking up at the gas lights constantly rising from the walls of the well on both sides, and said a little scared, "I feel like we're about to fall through the city-state and into the sea..."

"The continuous descent will bring this illusion," Morris' voice came from a corner of the iron cage. The old scholar was curiously observing the internal structure of this large elevator and said without turning his head. "In fact, we should only have descended two or three hundred meters now."

"Oh——" Alice elongated her voice, and she didn't know if she could understand how deep the concept of "two or three hundred meters" was. Anyway, the expression of "this sounds really powerful" appeared on the face of the puppet.

Duncan didn't pay attention to the conversation between Alice and Morris. He stepped forward and came to Agatha who was standing silently on the edge of the car. He turned his head and glanced at the "gatekeeper": "Look Going up with a lot of worries."

"...It's just that I can't help but have a lot of thoughts since I went down the well," Agatha was silent for two seconds, and said in a complicated tone, "It is said...the 'other me' was standing in this position at that time, leading the exploration team From this shaft, the members of the Boiling Gold Mine entered the depths..."

Her voice was hoarse, with a hint of hesitation.

"'She' seemed to have realized the truth about herself at that time. According to the details described by the guards who went down the well together at that time, she had a strange and decisive attitude at that time, but no one knew why... ..."

"If that 'fake' really restores most of your thinking and memory, then it is not unimaginable for her to be able to perceive her real situation," Duncan said lightly, "Even a duplicate body can also have toughness. a pure will and a pure heart."

Agatha didn't speak for a while, as if she was immersed in complicated and heavy thoughts. After a long time, she suddenly broke the silence: "I was just thinking... what was she thinking at that time, and what was she recalling?" What... has she ever been afraid, or regretted it? She has my memory, but only a few days of real life, for all of this... will she feel resentment?"

Duncan turned his head and watched Agatha quietly.

After staring for a while, he slowly opened his mouth: "If it were you, would you harbor resentment or regret your decision?"

"Won't."

"Obviously, she won't either."

"But..." Agatha continued, "But... I think I still have some regrets. When I die in the dark, I will think of the city-state under the sun, and the familiar people and things in the city. , if I were a copy, I would still regret that I couldn't pass through Bartok's gate, because I don't know if I have a soul, I..."

She stopped, took a light breath, and there seemed to be a hint of sadness in her tone: "Yes, if it were me, I would feel sorry."

Duncan looked at her, and after a long time, he retracted his gaze, turned his head to look at the rising darkness around him and the lights in the dimness: "So, she will too."

Agatha was silent for a while, as if she was talking to herself, or as if she was asking softly: "What will we see down there..."

"I don't know, that's why we need to come down to confirm the situation." Duncan said, looking back at the figures in the car—Alice, Morris, and the one standing in the middle of the elevator with their arms folded and their eyes closed. Fanna, the god of nourishment, besides the three of them, plus Agatha and himself, there is no one else here.

"You didn't bring any subordinates, you only called us, out of caution?"

"I don't know what will happen next. It may be the pollution left by the ancient gods, or it may be the 'truth' that will spread. In an unknown state, bringing ordinary guards and priests will only increase the uncontrollability," Agatha said frankly, "You and your followers are obviously not afraid of this."

Duncan listened, just smiled and said nothing.

At this moment, the descending speed of the car began to slow down rapidly. With the creaking sound of the automatic mechanism running and the clanging sound of the "iron cage" finally reaching the bottom, the elevator finally reached the bottom of the mine.

"We're here," Agatha raised her head, glanced at the situation outside, opened the fence door first and walked out, subconsciously reminding the people behind her as she walked, "Be careful, only preliminary cleaning has been carried out here—emergency The disposal personnel evacuated a few hours ago, and what we are going to go next is the real 'unknown dark'."

As she spoke, she stopped suddenly, turned her head and said to Duncan with some embarrassment: "Of course, these reminders may be a bit redundant for you..."

Duncan waved his hand to show that he didn't care, and at the same time, he glanced at the situation in the depths of the alleyway—only a few gas lamps were emitting dim light in the darkness, making the alleyway ahead more and more shadowy, with suspicious accumulations everywhere It can be seen that there is an unsettling and treacherous atmosphere lingering, and this is really not a reassuring scene.

"Nina shouldn't be allowed to go back to the boat so early," he said casually, "It's just right for her to come here in such a dark place."

"It's also possible that she was startled by something in the dark, and a sneeze at several thousand degrees blew up the entire mine tunnel," Morris couldn't help muttering, "I don't recommend that you take Nina with you. Any activity in a dark, cramped space—she's still small and easily startled."

Duncan shrugged. "Kids have to grow up. She's almost finished high school."

The expression on Morris's face froze for a moment, and the corners of his mouth trembled a few times before he opened his mouth while considering his words: "Captain, under normal circumstances, children who graduate from high school will choose to celebrate their adulthood with a party or a trip instead of A 'graduation' adventure in a mine corrupted by an ancient god..."

Duncan laughed happily, then seemed to think of something, and suddenly turned his head to ask Fan Na: "How did you spend your seventeenth coming-of-age ceremony?"

He just asked casually, hoping to use it as a reference for Nina or Shirley when they celebrated their coming-of-age ceremony.

Fan Na didn't expect that the focus of the topic would suddenly fall on herself. The beautiful girl and strong man was startled for a moment, a little embarrassment quickly appeared on her face, and then she walked forward and whispered: "... I am preparing for the make-up exam for the postponed school year. ..."

Duncan: "..."

The atmosphere seemed a bit awkward, Duncan could only helplessly spread his hands, but Agatha, who was walking in front, suddenly turned around, and seemed to be casting an incredible "gaze".

"What's wrong?" Duncan asked casually.

"...No matter how many times I watch it, I feel that the way you get along with your followers is really amazing. You who have regained your humanity are really the opposite of the legendary you in the past century-I think I One can somewhat understand why Captain Lawrence of the White Oak and his men are such an interesting bunch."

Duncan didn't respond to the other party's previous words, but his expression immediately became subtle when he heard the latter, and he said as soon as Agatha finished speaking: "I emphasize again, although all the members of the White Oak are my subordinates. , but I'm really not familiar with them..."

Agatha nodded: "Yes, you are not familiar with them—you have emphasized it before."

Duncan couldn't hear any seriousness from the other party's tone, so he could only sigh helplessly: "How did you solve it in the end? I mean Lawrence's 'cargo list'."

"Frost needs supplies now, and we will never violate the contract—since the goods have arrived, the follow-up is of course to pay the bill," Agatha said, but shook her head again, "but only part of the payment can be made."

"oh?"

"The most critical 'cargo', abnormality 077, is out of control and cannot be delivered," Agatha explained, "The contract requires the White Oak to deliver the sealed 'sailor' to the Frost Relic Hall, not a A alive and kicking mummy...

"But then again, the mummy seemed to be hoping to be 'delivered'. When he heard that he was included in the list of goods handed over to Frost, he almost cried out of joy——unfortunately, We don't know what to do with an anomaly that has been out of control for a long time and cannot be sealed again, or it is better to hand him over to you to handle it yourself."

"An abnormality that has been out of control for a long time..."

Duncan muttered subconsciously, and turned his head to glance at his side.

Alice also turned her head, and found that the captain was looking at her, and a look of joy appeared on the face of the puppet lady: "Hey..."

Duncan sighed: "Well, I do have some experience."

Agatha also looked at Alice subconsciously, with a somewhat complicated expression on her face.

Today, she has learned the true identity of this "Miss Doll" from Duncan, and as a native Frost person, she certainly knows that it is a big deal for "Anomaly 099" to be so swaggeringly active in Frost City. What a special thing.

She had countless questions to ask, strong curiosity and unreasonable uneasiness agitated in her already cooled chest—but facing Captain Duncan who seemed not to care much about everything, she never found a chance to speak.

"I think……"

Agatha seemed to have finally made up her mind, she broke the silence, but just when she was about to ask some questions about Alice, a sudden palpitation made her stop suddenly.

Almost at the same time, everyone in the team stopped.

Agatha turned her head and looked at the deepest part of this long and deep alleyway. Under the thick black cloth, her vision sublimated in the flames was shaking, trembling, and twisting, as if there were invisible winds one after another. It was blowing head-on, and there were countless and chaotic sounds mixed in the invisible wind, impacting her perception.

She felt that her mind was being disturbed, some kind of huge existence deep in the alley... No, strictly speaking, it should be the reverberation left by some kind of huge existence, resonating with her reason, she couldn't "see" clearly What the hell was there, but she could feel...a faint echo among the chaotic reverberations.

The faint echo was calling her softly.

"What...is there?"

The blind priestess asked, and she subconsciously stretched out her hand, as if trying to stabilize her shaking body.

A slightly broad hand stretched out from the side, but could clearly feel the feminine lines—Vanna stretched out her hand to support Agatha, and looked up at the huge darkness at the end of the alleyway.

"It seems like a hollow," Fanna whispered, with a little nervousness in her tone, "a huge... hollow."

(Time to push the book, from Hama's new book "Riding the Dragon Immortal Son-in-Law", classic fairy tales, old soup and old taste, the seedlings are very young, take a sip of milk, and sacrifice to the sky.)