Deep Sea Embers

A signal!

The bridge fell silent for an instant, and even Lucretia, who usually seemed cold and calm, opened her eyes slightly - a "beyond the border" that had crossed the six-nautical-mile critical line appeared. "Signal", I'm afraid it will be difficult for anyone to remain calm, let alone in such a situation where they are already lost!

How come there is a signal from this place? Who sent the signal? Is that a real "event", or is this dense fog another sinister trap created for uninvited guests?

"Be well protected!" Lucretia said instantly, and in a flash she was at the console. At the same time, she stretched out her hand to pull a lever between the devices. Luni next to her also immediately reacted, Clockwork Man I quickly pressed a few buttons on the platform, then took a step back, grabbed the spring on my back, pulled it out slightly, and turned it three times in reverse.

With a slight clicking sound, delicate gaps suddenly opened in Luni's arms, legs, and neck. Runes gradually lit up under her skin, and her eyes began to glow. Slightly dark red. At the same time, the sound of mechanical operation was also heard from all over the bridge. Many originally hidden grids and pipe nozzles flipped out from the floor and walls. The smell of incense and strange low humming sounds surrounded everything. People around.

Shirley stared at this scene dumbfounded. She was stunned for a moment before realizing it and exclaimed: "Wow, you actually have such a powerful thing?!"

Nina couldn't help but be stunned. She stared at the clockwork doll that was in a defensive state with wide eyes: "How did you change just now?"

Luni was trembled by Nina's seemingly scorching gaze (or maybe it wasn't), and there was a sound of parts colliding inside her body: "The mistress won't let outsiders dismantle me."

"When exploring the border all year round, you must be prepared to face unexpected situations." Lucretia glanced at the Deep Demon and the Sun Shard, who seemed to have no sense of danger at all, sighed slightly and said, "Be vigilant, I want to accept Passing this signal - the other side of the radio may not necessarily be a human voice, or even a 'voice' "Forget it, you shouldn't be too afraid of this."

After the words fell, she took a breath and put her hand on the communication device and clicked it one by one.

An intermittent voice mixed with serious noise, as if separated by countless interferences and distortions, came from the loudspeaker: "Huizizi, this is the Zizi lighthouse, calling the voyagers, waiting for you to repeat it. Here is the Zizi lighthouse. Sizzling

The hoarse, monotonous call repeated over and over again like a ghost echoing in the cracks of time and space.

Everyone on the bridge was stunned, even Lucretia felt a little wrong.

"Lighthouse?" After a long time, Shirley muttered to herself, and then suddenly felt comfortable, as if remembering something, "Wait a minute,

I remember now! When we set off, the last stop

Lucretia suddenly recalled in her mind what the female pope said to them at the last border mobile port of the Church of the Deep before the fleet crossed the curtain - "Three battleships will stay near the lighthouse. Waiting for your return, this mobile port will stay here, and my incarnation will also stay here until you come back.

"The lighthouse is still there, and they are really still waiting there?!" Shirley's eyes widened. Her academic performance may not be very good, but her memory is always good. "The whole world has almost stopped! "

Lucretia did not speak. Although she recalled the situation when she set off, she still did not let her excitement affect her calmness. She first confirmed whether there were traces of distortion or tampering in the signal, and confirmed that it was not It was a collective hallucination "reflected" in the border waters due to the mental influence of everyone on the bridge. Then he confirmed the defense situation of the Brilliant Star, and then he picked up the microphone on the communication station and put it to his mouth: "Voyage" The reporter received it, this is the Brilliant Star. We are trying to return from the critical line. The navigation on the ship is invalid. Please increase the power of the lighthouse. "

She put down the phone and waited patiently.

However, there was a buzzing sound in the communication device, and what came out a few seconds later was still a monotonous repetition: "This is the Zizi Lighthouse, calling the voyagers Zizi."

Lucretia's brows gradually furrowed. She tried to contact her again with a solemn expression, but there was still no reply from the person on the other end. Moreover, after repeating the content again, there was no sound at all, leaving only the feeling of interference. Sizzling sound.

"Can't you hear us from the other side?" Nina opened her eyes curiously, "Are you being disturbed?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure the signal did come from the 'Lighthouse'," Lucretia said with a frown, while turning to look at Luni, "Can you trace the direction of the signal?" "

"It's not strong enough, but it can track a general direction," Luni responded quickly while operating the device next to her, "Are we going in this direction?"

Lucretia turned back and glanced in the direction of Morris.

After exchanging glances, the two nodded slightly at the same time.

This is the "guiding anchor" for returning home

——

-The "piece of wood" that drifted from the other side of the border.

"We will at least be back to around 1902." Lucretia said softly, as if talking to herself.

The Brilliant Star began to slowly adjust its course. After patrolling along the six-nautical-mile critical line for a long time, and increasing the sensitivity of the antenna as much as possible to determine the direction of the signal, it finally found the most likely one on that boundary line. "gap".

Then the whistle blew, and with determination to move forward, the phantom covering the Lost Home, the voyager who had been wandering at the end of the world for so long, plunged into the fog of returning home.

When they crossed the critical line, everyone had almost no "feeling". Only Lucrecia, who had been exploring the border waters all year round, could vaguely detect the "change" that was difficult to describe in words.

The expression on her face was tense, and she was sensing everything around her with great nervousness. Was she paying attention to the movement of the communication device? Back to about 1902?

Fortunately, fate did not continue to play tricks on those who returned home. Almost as soon as the crossing was completed, Luni reported happily: "Mistress, the signal has been significantly strengthened - we successfully returned to the inside of the curtain, and we received the timing signal at the same time just now. Signal, we have the right time!"

Lucretia finally breathed a sigh of relief—the last time she felt this kind of relaxation and joy that spread from the bottom of her heart was when her brother contacted her and told her that "my father has indeed regained his humanity."

The cheers of Shirley and Nina also came from the bridge, as well as the small cheers of Rabbi and the little doll Nero in the corner who finally dared to breathe.

"Continue to move closer to the signal," Lucretia ordered, then picked up the microphone of the communication device and called the lighthouse again, "This is the Brilliant Star. We have successfully crossed the critical line and are moving closer to the lighthouse. Are you in good condition?"

However, after calling twice in a row, there was still only rustling noise in the communication device - even though the signal had been strengthened to the extent that it did not affect the communication at all, there was still no response from the lighthouse.

It was as if the voice calling to return was just a dream.

Lucretia's expression became more solemn again, and the atmosphere on the bridge, which had been relaxed for a while, became serious again. Lucretia put down the phone and shook her head:

: "The situation at the lighthouse doesn't seem right. Let's go there first and talk about it later."

The "lighthouse" standing deep in the thick fog on the border, located near the critical line of six nautical miles, and capable of transmitting signals through the critical line to a certain extent, finally appeared in the sight of the Brilliant Star.

It was still lit, and the blessed light shone brightly, appearing fainter than when it started, but it still penetrated the thick fog.

When they saw the light, everyone relaxed a little - there was a signal and the light was still there, which at least meant that the lighthouse was being maintained in the near future.

But why is it so quiet?

After an extremely long voyage, the Brilliant Star finally arrived near the lighthouse. At first glance, Lucretia saw the three huge Deep Sea Church warships still docked quietly at the lighthouse. In the port of the mobile platform, the various lights on the side of the battleship were still on, obviously still operating normally - but there was no movement due to the approach of the Brilliant Star.

It was as if there were people on those ships maintaining the normal operation of the facilities, but no one responded to the return of the voyagers.

"I just seemed to see people moving on the upper level of the lighthouse," Shirley came to the deck and whispered while looking up into the distance, "There are people up there, but no one seems to be paying attention to us. Are they all watching?" Not with us? "

Could it be that all this is actually a phantom? Nina murmured a little worriedly.

Fang Yi, are we phantoms? "Shirley muttered even more horribly.

Lucretia didn't pay attention to the frightening mutterings of the two girls next to each other. She also noticed that there seemed to be someone really active in the lighthouse facility. After a brief weighing, she quickly made a decision:

‘Fanna and I went up to check the situation, while the others stayed on the ship. Don’t leave the ship until we come back, and don’t believe any voices or approaching figures that appear on the communicator. Luni, keep an eye on the ship. "

Luni immediately bent down slightly: "Yes, Mistress."

After a brief preparation, Lucretia and Vanna took the origami boat together and quietly boarded this strangely silent lighthouse.

The surroundings were quiet, and the cold wind blew through the port, enveloping it with a "cold" that seemed to penetrate the flesh and blood, gradually paralyzing the heart and blood vessels.

Lucretia and Vanna stepped onto the pier of the pier and looked around in the night and fog. There were many figures moving around in the fog.

But no one paid attention to them.