Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 256
Today, half a century after the end of the Abyss Project, Tirian finally once again felt the... chill of this project that has lasted until now.

Those "No. [-] submersibles" that surfaced one after another seemed to appear in front of his eyes again, and those cautious soldiers, serious priests, and the Frost Queen with cold faces and silent words also came to mind. It was as if I saw the hatches of those submersibles open again, and I saw crazy explorers coming out of them, specious humans coming out, swollen and deformed monsters, wriggling and deformed pieces of meat, dead and strange mud, dry and suspicious black fibers, and ...see the empty cockpit of the seventh Submersible III.

"At that time, the platform was extremely well protected, and there were a large number of priests and guards guarding the scene," Tirian frowned, recalling, "But... I must admit, your question is a bit scary."

Duncan didn't say anything, but asked suddenly after a few seconds: "Those 'No. [-] submersibles', what did you do with them in the end?"

"Except for the first 'genuine product' that surfaced, the remaining six replicas were thrown into the furnace, melted into ingots in the sacred flame, and poured into the sea-even though it was a large amount of metal resources, but no one dares to keep those things," said Tirian, with some hesitation in his tone, "but if, as you said, even the first one is not 'authentic', then the situation will be..."

"The first one, where do you put it?"

"If you're asking about its current whereabouts, then I don't know," Tirian shook his head, "The rebels should have destroyed everything related to the Abyss Project, but no one knows how they destroyed those materials. Possibly just dismantled and recycled?
"But if you're talking about the period before the rebellion...the No. [-] submersible has been in storage in the port area since it was decommissioned."

Duncan was silent for a few seconds, and finally exhaled softly: "I understand... Tirian, thank you for being willing to tell me so much. Anyway, this information has greatly satisfied my curiosity."

However, Tirian seemed to be preoccupied. After many years, he looked back and analyzed the original "Abyss Project". The unease that penetrated the bone marrow brought about by spying on the secrets brought more pressure than being in it at the time, especially the doubts raised by his father just now about the Frost Queen's last order, which made him feel vaguely... Old cases that ended half a century ago don't seem to have really ended at all.

But anyway, today's conversation is over.

Father didn't mean to keep himself.

A sound of flapping wings suddenly came from the side, and Tirian followed the sound, only to see a phantom of a bird wrapped in dark green flames flashing in the air, followed by the place where the phantom flashed. Suddenly, raging green flames rose into the sky, and the flames rose and circled, turning into a vortex door in the blink of an eye.

The father's voice came from the mirror next to him: "Go in, and you will be sent to the cathedral—I don't think you will tell others what happened here."

"Of course, I was never a whistleblower."

Tirian replied, and then looked at the door of flames, hesitantly, but finally made up his mind and walked forward—but before he was about to step through the door, he stopped again, unable to bear it. Zhu turned his head and looked at the gothic doll standing quietly beside the mirror.

"Anomaly 099..." He murmured softly as if talking to himself, "It's so similar..."

"It is said that anomaly 099 first appeared on the Cold Sea, near the sea area where the Frost Queen was executed and fell into the sea," Duncan's voice sounded from the mirror, "I have the same suspicion as you, but Even Alice herself can't tell her own origin, just like what you said just now...there are too many things in the deep sea that we can't understand."

Tirian was thoughtful, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "It seems that this puppet likes being by your side."

Duncan said lightly: "At first, she was stalked and stayed, but later I found that she can still be useful."

Alice's answer was much simpler. She laughed happily, nodded and said, "I like being around the captain, he is amazing!"

Tirian looked at his expressionless father in the mirror with some surprise, and then looked at "Alice" who was obviously the same as the Frost Queen but looked nothing like the Frost Queen except for her appearance, and suddenly smiled after a while stand up.

It was a kind of relaxation and happiness from the heart.

Then he turned around and stepped into the flame door without hesitation.

Quiet was restored in the warehouse.

Alice looked at the direction where the flame disappeared, and then turned her head to look at the mirror next to her. After a long time of reaction, she suddenly said, "Captain, why did he look at us and smile just now?"

Duncan replied casually: "I don't know."

Alice groaned in a daze, thought for a while, and came up with another sentence: "Just now you were discussing frost and abyss...does it have something to do with me?"

This time, Duncan didn't just find a way to fool the puppet, but thought about it seriously before saying in a deep voice, "It might be related."

"Then can I understand?"

"It should be difficult."

"Oh, then I won't think about it for now." Alice scratched her head, then smiled, and looked at Duncan in the mirror, "Anyway, if there is anything that I need to do or cooperate with, just tell me what to do." Just do what you want."

"I will."

"Ok!"

……

A flash of fire flashed across the dark alley, and a moment later, a drowsy Tirian walked out of the alley, and saw the majestic gate of Purand Cathedral not far away.

"It's really delivered nearby..."

The big pirate grunted, raised his hand and wanted to beat his drowsy head due to pigeon sickness, but accidentally touched the swollen place, and suddenly took a breath of cold air in pain.

That little girl's strength is also a bit too scary... That is a dark demon that is heavier than two or three adults tied together!
Recalling the origin of the wound on his head, Tirian couldn't help muttering, and while muttering, he couldn't help being a little curious.

My father is indeed reassembling a team. At least from what can be seen so far, he has controlled Anomaly 099, and there is also a powerful weird girl who can summon deep demons to serve him, but this is obviously not the whole story .

Even yesterday, this situation was enough to make him extremely vigilant, and he couldn't help but issue an early warning to the city-state and the church—but at this moment, he had no intention of "informing" the church.

His mind is now full of thoughts related to the "Abyss Project".

Tirian walked towards the Cathedral of Storms, and just a few steps away, he saw several figures appearing at the door of the cathedral, trotting towards this side.

Those were the sailors he had sent back before.

The captain himself disappeared for a whole day after leaving a word, which obviously made his subordinates feel uneasy.

In a short while, several sailors had already arrived in front of Tirian, and one of them muttered without waiting to stop: "You are back! The sun is almost setting, where are you going?"

Another sailor saw Tirian's abnormality at a glance, and couldn't help but be shocked: "Captain, the wound on your face... and why is your head swollen so big?!"

Tirian knew that he couldn't hide his embarrassment. He had hoped that he could rely on the healing ability of ordinary people to recover before returning to the cathedral. However, the wound made by Youyou Demon is still very troublesome. It has been a long time, and his head is still swollen.

"...I fell on the road."

After holding back for a long time, Tirian still could only use a lame reason to perfunctory.

He was really embarrassed to admit in front of his subordinates that this was the result of "father's injury" - not to mention that this was not even done by his father himself, the other party was just a little girl whose height almost reached his chest.

"Did you fall?" The sailor who spoke at first looked at his boss suspiciously, "Then you fell a little too... ahead of your time, it's like hitting the city wall and the ground of Puland violently with your head..."

Tirian stared at the sailor deeply, and said every word: "I fell on the road."

The sailor was shocked, and immediately realized: "Oh, oh, yes, you obviously fell down by accident, and I will help you with medicine when you go back..."

"That's enough, I don't want to discuss this issue for the time being." Tirian sighed and walked towards the door of the church. "Go back first. I need a good rest today, and then it's time to head back to the north."

"Return to the north? We won't stay here for a few more days? You were planning to..."

The words "Diving Abyss Project" came to mind again, and Tirian waved his hand: "That's enough, it's time to go back, there is still something to do on the Lengliehai side."

The sailors looked at each other, finally nodded and obeyed the captain's decision.

Tirian stopped suddenly.

He hesitated before the main entrance of the Cathedral of Storms, feeling the swelling on his face and head.

"Go back through the side door."

(End of this chapter)