Tirian's story finally came to an end, but in Duncan's opinion, this strange story ended too hastily.
"Is everything over? Is it really over?" He couldn't help but look at the big pirate opposite through the mirror, with doubt in his tone, "A submersible, carrying a warehouse of explosives, went to a thousand How can the deteriorating "out-of-control paranormal phenomenon" be solved at a depth of 1,000 meters? Let's not discuss how powerful those explosives can be released at a depth of 1,000 meters - only from the perspective of the supernatural field, what kind of explosions can there be? Is it possible to destroy a... supernatural phenomenon?"
"We can only think so," Tirian was obviously not surprised by his father's doubts. "In fact, no one knows what happened under a thousand meters of water at that time, and no one knows where the No. 4 submersible saw it. What, the only connection between us and the deep water is the partial perception shared by the priest through spiritual echo... A scream, a roar, and a roar. There is not much truth that can be pieced together from these tiny fragments. .
"In fact, after the explosion of Submersible No. 4, there was indeed no copy of Submersible No. 3 floating up from the deep sea, so we can only think that... the matter has been resolved."
"The matter is resolved..." Duncan frowned and shook his head, "Okay, let's assume that the matter is resolved, then the Qianyuan Plan..."
"The Abyss Plan is not over, and that's what's wrong the most," Tirian said bluntly. "Such a thing happened, and a huge price was paid. We finally solved the strange crisis of the No. 3 submersible. It stands to reason that we should indeed re-examine the submersible plan and stop this dangerous project in time. However, Her Majesty Leigh Nora defied all the opinions and not only announced that she would restart the plan and start construction of the No. 5 submersible, she would even... The priority of the Qianyuan Project has been raised to the highest level, and extraordinary manpower and material resources have been used for this purpose.”
Duncan's eyes suddenly became profound, and he vaguely realized that the real "out of control" part of this matter may have started from here. The "crime" of the Frost Queen and the rebellion half a century ago all Derived from this.
He looked into Tirian's eyes: "It sounds like you didn't support your queen at the time."
"I had a dispute with her, a very fierce dispute, which is why I said that I would no longer directly participate in the 'Abyss Project' after reaching the depth of 'one thousand meters' - because after that, I felt that things were going right. Sliding in a dangerous direction," Tirian said slowly, with a low voice, "But now that I think about it, I should have tried my best to stop the Frost Queen instead of avoiding her... I trusted her too much, so that Not realizing that she is actually fallible."
"You think the Frost Queen did make a mistake?"
"The Abyss Plan caused a series of crises in Frost and gave opponents an opportunity to take advantage of it. This increasingly extreme exploration operation eventually even cost the life of Her Majesty Leigh Nora. At least from this point of view, this Of course it was a mistake."
"…What else happened after Le Nora insisted on implementing the Diving Abyss Plan?"
"After that, I stopped being directly involved in this project. I don't know much about it, but from what I heard occasionally, it seems that the plan is not going smoothly, and... there are more and more weird and terrifying things. "It's getting more and more serious," Tirian said calmly. "The No. 5 submersible was completed. It used the most advanced engineering technology and tough materials at the time, but its dives were always accompanied by various accidents. , as if there is something in the dark that is preventing humans from continuing to dive into the sea...
"Some of the people participating in the project began to go crazy, some were injured inexplicably, some suddenly disappeared, and appeared in the city-state in a confused way. The explorers who went down in the submersible became suspicious and irritable, and no longer looked like rigorous and respectable scholars and soldiers. , and are becoming more and more like eerie fanatics, and even... It is said that even the "No. 5 Submersible" itself has undergone some incomprehensible changes during the dives, and its internal operations have become more and more complex. It looks more and more like some kind of...'living creature'.
"And the most bizarre thing is that even after this series of changes, even if the atmosphere of the entire project becomes more and more terrifying, the Qianyuan Project still advances without hesitation. Those involved in the project, those who are accompanied by madness and accidents all day long Even among those who have begun to encounter frequent traumas, none of them are timid to quit, and no one has any doubts or resistance to the instructions from above. It feels like..."
Tirian was a bit stuck and couldn't seem to find the right words to describe the atmosphere that year.
Duncan saw this and spoke softly: "It's as if the deep sea is calling them."
"Yes, it's like the deep sea is calling them," Tirian was startled, then nodded immediately, and then looked at Duncan with a strange look, "A very...accurate description."
"Don't think too much, just keep talking."
Tirian withdrew his gaze and sorted out his thoughts: "That's it. The whole plan seems to be called and pushed by some force. It even seems that the 'plan' itself has some kind of will, and it is marching towards the deep sea persistently. And those members who participated in the project have become cells in this huge will.
"And in such an atmosphere, the No. 5 submersible has unknowingly crossed a depth of one thousand meters. I don't know how deep it finally dived. I only heard that... that is an astonishing number, very It’s very astonishing. From an engineering point of view, from a material science point of view, and from the technical level of the year... it is a number that is simply impossible to achieve.
"The deep sea embraced the Abyss Project, and the deep sea accepted the No. 5 submersible. The increasingly weird machine and its increasingly weird crew traveled through the dark abyss thousands of meters deep as if they were going home. , and in the waters surrounding the Qianyuan Project... strange incidents are gradually increasing.
"Merchant ships began to continuously observe 'reflections' that were exactly the same as their own ships appearing near the sea surface. Thick fog frequently descended on the eastern part of the frost. There were shadows that looked like ships and giant beasts floating in the fog. Some began to appear in the city-state... ...'Strangers', very, very many strangers, they gathered near the facilities related to the Qianyu Project, and they all claimed to be participants in the project, and the number of these strangers even exceeded the actual number of participants in the Qianyu Project.
"It was under such circumstances that the rumors... were actually no longer considered rumors. Rumors began to spread everywhere. At first, people just said that Queen Frost was doing some suspicious research, but soon, the statement became that Frost Queen was doing some suspicious research. The Queen is studying the subspace, and later on, it becomes the Frost Queen who is colluding with the subspace, and has reached cooperation with the big boss in the subspace - Captain Duncan..."
Tirian breathed out softly and spread his hands: "You will know what happened next, the Great Frost Rebellion that shocked the north."
The small warehouse filled with "antiques" fell into silence for a while. After an unknown amount of time, Duncan's voice came out from the mirror slowly: "It's understandable that people associate this matter with subspace. , but it’s really too imaginative to think of the Lost Home.”
"Actually, this is a very normal association. This association process is even related to me." Tirian smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Who makes me your son? And I happen to be loyal to the Frost Queen and participated in the early stage. This horrific project. You should know that conspiracy theorists’ imaginations are always the strongest.”
Duncan was noncommittal, and after a brief thought, he said: "If you look at it this way, there is actually no regrets about the outbreak of the great rebellion. The submerged plan that Le Nora insisted on pursuing was too dangerous, and judging from your description... she was at that time His mental state is really not right."
"This is exactly what I want to mention a few more words," Tirian said suddenly. "I know that all signs indicate that the Frost Queen's behavior at that time had lost her mind. She was acting like a madman who was seduced by something. , but I know that she...has always been awake, very awake, very rational, and knew exactly what she was doing."
"oh?"
"I had a dispute with her, but I am still her trusted general. I can get close to her - in fact, other senior officials of the city-state can, too. They all know that the queen has never been crazy and has no desires. Conspiracies that destroy city-states or threaten the world, yes, they know...but they are afraid, hesitant, and some are bribed and bewitched. They are not as firm as me.
"But I know that maybe other participants in the Qianyuan Project are gradually being affected by something, but she...has obviously withstood this influence and is using it in reverse."
"What you're saying is that the Frost Queen actually had a clear and 'safe' plan, and she was sure of completing it, but she didn't tell anyone—not even explain it to you," Duncan mused. Looking at Tirian, "And you still trust her unconditionally? Because you believe that even if there is something under the deep sea that threatens the city-state, everything is under Le Nora's control?"
"In your opinion, this trust must be too blind."
"It's your business to be blind or not," Duncan shook his head, "I just want to say that the Frost Queen didn't seem to really have 'everything under control' - she died in the hands of the rebels in the end. The plan was completely buried and things didn’t go as she planned.”
"...I really can't argue with that."
Tirian sighed helplessly.
(End of chapter)
