Belazov has completed his inspection of Dagger Island and supervision of research work. Now, it is time for the military representative to leave.
Near the pier at the port of Dagger Island Bay, Professor Myerson, who came to see him off in person, raised his head and looked at the "Petrel" which was preparing for departure.
The sailors are boarding the ship, and the port management personnel are checking the procedures. The priests wearing robes and carrying incense burners are walking near the cables, gently shaking the incense in their hands, and praying for the mechanical parts of the ship.
.
The weather is sunny today, a good day to set sail.
Belazov stood on the dock, watching groups of sailors return to the Petrel. He turned back to Professor Myerson and said: "Professor, I am deeply impressed by your research work, but I still need to remind you -
—The project on Dagger Island is progressing slowly, and some people in the city-state are already unable to sit still."
"The order I received is to understand the various properties of the submersible under the premise of safety, try to decipher its material composition, and try to understand the principle of its appearance in the next stage," the old professor said in a very calm tone, "Now we
It is progressing according to the plan. If the big shots at the Government Affairs Department really have an idea, they can try to find out the blueprints left by the Frost Queen to build the No. 4 or even No. 5 submersible - and directly send someone there.
It’s much more convenient than scraping samples every day in the laboratory.”
"They won't like your reply - but I'll be happy to convey it to you," General Belazov laughed. "They won't have the guts to build a submersible, which will make their expressions even more...
Wonderful."
Professor Myerson shrugged, then was silent for a moment, and said in a complicated tone: "Although it's such a joke, to be honest, I am also quite worried about the progress of this matter."
Belazov did not speak, but calmly looked at the old professor who had experienced the "Queen's Period".
"Scraping samples day after day and analyzing physical and chemical properties is certainly an essential part of the formal research process, but you have also seen that what we can analyze from those samples is really limited," the old professor sighed,
"Even if the hatch is really opened one day, I'm afraid we won't get any more secrets from the submersible - the real secrets are not here, General, you know what I mean."
"...Below a thousand meters, Professor, your idea is a bit dangerous."
Myerson sighed: "I thought a soldier like you would be more inclined to those dangerous ideas than a scholar like me."
"My duty is to protect the security of the city-state. This mission makes me more inclined to adopt a cautious and conservative approach," Belazov said lightly, "So, you actually intend to restart...those 'diving equipment'?"
"Actually, you would rather say 'restart the Qianyuan Project'?" The old professor smiled and shook his head, "Don't worry, I haven't been so reckless yet, but there is an unavoidable fact here -
-The key to the whole thing lies under deep water, and a replica of a diving bell placed in a laboratory cannot solve any puzzles. Perhaps we should really consider a 'reserve plan' - not necessarily an active dive.
, but if the ninth or even tenth replica does surface, we should at least have some means of dealing with it."
"...I will convey your suggestions to the Government Affairs Office," Belazov pondered for a moment and exhaled softly, "and until a clear order is issued, the project in the secret room will proceed as usual."
The old professor nodded: "Thank you."
The Haiyan left.
The steam-powered speedboat split the gentle waves, leaving a beautiful wake that spreads out on the boundless sea. The steep and winding coast of Dagger Island slowly faded away from the field of vision, and gradually disappeared into the depths of the mist common in the northern seas.
.
Belazov on the deck retracted his gaze towards the island, turned around and walked towards the captain's cabin.
Although Dagger Island is not far from Hanshuang Island, it is still a few hours' flight away. During this boring journey, he had to sort out his thoughts and think about how to report to the city-state managers about No. 3.
The matter of the submersible—and how to bring up Professor Myerson's final advice.
The Abyss Project... This old case half a century ago left such a profound and terrifying impact that it gradually became an unthinking taboo. But now that new replicas have begun to surface from the deep sea, I am afraid that it is really
We should take a more proactive response.
A sailor was waiting near the captain's cabin, nodding to the general and reporting: "The steam core is operating normally, and we will arrive at Frostbite Port 1 in four hours."
Belazov glanced at this unfamiliar sailor and nodded gently: "I need to rest for a while. Don't disturb me if you have nothing to do."
"Yes, General."
Belazov returned to the captain's cabin, sat down at the desk, listened to the slow mechanical sound coming from deep in the floor beneath his feet, and breathed a sigh of relief.
We will be able to return to the main island soon.
He calmed down, opened the desk drawer, and took out the notes that had been placed in the secret compartment of the drawer.
There was nothing unusual about this trip to Dagger Island, and the return journey went smoothly, but some procedural matters still cannot be omitted. This is an order and a responsibility.
After opening the note, the first sentence above came into view:
"Even if everything is normal, you must confirm your rationality and judgment. Even if there is nothing suspicious around you, you must verify the following content."
Belazov turned the pages of the book and performed a series of operations very skillfully.
The sound of turning the pages of a book kept ringing in the room——
"You are left-handed, now confirm this..."
"Recall a color and then turn to the next page...it should be blue or black."
"Keywords, dagger, imagine, confirm whether the picture in your mind matches the picture on the next page."
"Your name, Belazov, try to spell it in the space on the next page."
"For this departure, the entourage has been streamlined. There are only thirty-two people on the ship - including yourself. If there are obvious deviations in the personnel, a roll call will be carried out immediately."
"The deputy brought here is Benjamin Yodon. He has a burn scar near his right eye."
Belazov turned the pages of the book and performed simple memory confirmation or subconscious repetition, but suddenly, his movements stopped.
His eyes fell on the last sentence of the note on this page.
"There is a burn scar near the right eye..." Belazov repeated this sentence silently, an inexplicable doubt floating in his mind.
Right eye?
He slowly closed the note, put it back into the secret compartment, stood up with a calm expression, and opened the door to the captain's cabin.
"Benjamin!" he called the adjutant's name.
A middle-aged officer soon opened the door from a nearby room and came to Belazov.
"General?"
Belazov looked at Benjamin's face.
In the center of the face is his eye, and there is only one.
A vague sense of violation was beating in his heart. Belazov's reason told him that there seemed to be something wrong with what he saw. However, a hazy curtain seemed to cover his thinking, and he didn't know what went wrong.
, and I think everything is very reasonable.
This slight deviation in consciousness gradually made the general more and more vigilant. He stared at Benjamin for a long time, trying hard to find the source of the sense of disobedience in his heart, until the adjutant's voice came into his ears again: "General?
What happened?"
"...Benjamin, how many eyes should a person have?" Belazov suddenly asked.
The adjutant suddenly froze, as if his mind was blank before this question. Seeing this, Belazov immediately said: "Forget this question, just asking casually - you go back to the room to rest first, I will go downstairs."
have a look."
The adjutant blinked. Although he was confused, he nodded: "Yes, General."
The one-eyed human named Benjamin returned to the room, and there seemed to be nothing unusual. Belazov looked at the other person's back, first heaved a sigh of relief, then turned around and walked quickly towards the end of the corridor.
He knew that he had been a little reckless just now - he should not have asked such a weird question to a person who seemed to be a little off when he had already developed suspicion, even if the other person was one of his most trusted lieutenants.
But without the inquiry just now, he could not confirm whether the strangeness he vaguely noticed really existed.
Now, he confirmed it.
Something's not right on the ship, there's something... lurking dangerous on board.
He quickly walked through the corridor and came to the sailors' mess hall.
The mess hall was full of sailors, and the soldiers looked at the general who suddenly appeared with some surprise and nervousness.
Belazov glanced at everyone here, then waved to them and quickly headed to the bridge.
There are people here too.
There were also many people on the deck.
The crew of the Haiyan was streamlined this time, with only thirty-two people at the time of departure.
The number of people is wrong, very, very wrong.
However, the thought of "everything is normal" still kept jumping in my mind, as if fighting against the contradictory facts that had been laid out in the open.
Belazov stood on the stairs leading to the mechanical cabin, staring at the downward slope with a calm expression.
The torn consciousness was fighting, but he no longer needed to care about the detailed differences between the two consciousnesses.
There are still more than two hours before arriving at Frost Island.
This ship is sailing straight towards the city-state.
He took a deep breath and walked toward the deepest mechanical cabin of the ship.