Underground in Nangang, the submersible control hall is brightly lit.
The light from the gas lamps and electric lights made the entire hall as bright as day. The huge oval diving equipment was suspended on the top of the slide leading to the sea by steel cables. Undead engineers were busy everywhere, preparing the submersible to enter the water. Doing final inspections and adjustments.
Next to the steel platform that fixed the submersible, Duncan was sitting on a chair and watching all this calmly, waiting for Tirian's men to prepare everything. Those undead that looked weird and ugly, almost terrifying People looked enthusiastic, even faintly filled with joy and excitement. A bald man with a nervous and apprehensive face walked over from a short distance away and bent down uncomfortably in front of Duncan: "Um...Old man Chuan Chang, nice to meet you."
Duncan raised his head and glanced at this strong man wearing a sailor's shirt, with a shiny head and a complexion as pale as a dead man. He compared the information he had learned before in his mind and nodded lightly: "You are Aiden. You are missing." He followed Tirian during the township fleet period."
"Is it me?" Aiden suddenly grinned. "Do you still remember me?"
"I don't remember," Duncan shook his head, "Sorry, I don't remember most of the things. The subspace damaged my memory. I heard about you and the other first-term sailors of the Sea Mist Fleet from others.
"Don't apologize, don't apologize." Aiden suddenly looked even more embarrassed and shook his head as he said, "It would be great if you... can come back. Everyone misses you."
"You must be quite scared, right?" Duncan smiled and glanced around the hall, and there were many eyes that unconsciously dodge in fear as he scanned.
"Fortunately, I am only using an incarnation now. If the real body comes here, I am afraid that most sailors will not be able to work peacefully,"
"Most of the people here are from the second period, and they are really afraid of you," Aiden awkwardly grabbed the buttons of his shirt.
"After all, their first contact with you..."
"I know, the frost encounter half a century ago..." Duncan exhaled softly and said casually, and as he finished speaking, Tirian walked over quickly.
"The submersible is ready father."
"Oh, it looks like it's time to set off."
A smile suddenly appeared on Duncan's face. He stood up from the chair and walked with Tirian to the platform used to fix the submersible. The diving equipment that embodies the wisdom and hard work of countless people was already waiting quietly. The circular hatch on its side has been opened. Opposite the thick water-proof cabin, the light illuminates the structure inside the sphere. The inside does not look spacious, except for the many dazzling pipes, valves and control consoles for people to use. The activity space seems to be able to accommodate at most three or four people.
Duncan observed the situation of the submersible. He took a step forward, but the next second he suddenly stopped and looked in a certain direction as if he sensed something. A swirling gray wind suddenly swept into the hall and quickly circled to the submersible platform. , condensed and formed in front of Duncan, Tirian and others.
Agasa's figure stepped out of the gray wind - still dressed as a blind nun in a black skirt and disheveled hair.
"I want to go with you." She didn't talk nonsense and spoke directly after coming to Duncan.
"You want to dive too?" Duncan looked at Agatha in surprise.
"Why?"
"Because I want to see with my own eyes what is under the frost." Agatha said calmly and firmly.
"As the protector of this city, I can't stay in the safety of the cathedral and wait for your results, and..." She stopped suddenly, and after a few seconds of silence, she raised her head and looked through the thick Black Bu looked into Duncan's eyes, "Furthermore, this is the city of the Frostmen. It's the Frostmen's business. There must be at least one Frostman in the submersible we build. Just... let me explain. Let’s go down and take a look at the Archon of Stone and the previous Archons of Frost.
"Reasonable reasons, and you should already know the risks of doing so. Since you are aware, I will not persuade you any more," Duncan nodded, then turned to look at Tirian.
The latter reacted quickly and said: "The submersible is designed to accommodate up to four people. Of course it is no problem for two people to go in, but..."
"It doesn't matter, I don't need to breathe," Agatha said softly, interrupting Tirian.
Tirian was stunned for a moment and stepped back: "Okay, then there will be no problem,"
Duncan laughed. He stepped to the submersible's hatch, turned around and stretched out his hand to Agatha: "Very good, let's go."
He and Agatha got into the submersible, and the heavy circular hatch slowly closed. Two strong undead sailors stepped onto the platform and tightened the locking structure of the hatch from the outside. The thick steel sealed the submersible. The inside and outside are separated, and the narrow crew cabin becomes quiet. Only the occasional hum from some machines and pipes can be heard. There is no place to sit in the crew cabin, so Duncan and Agatha stand on the control console. In front of them, holding on to the iron pipe that served as a guardrail next to II, and through the extremely thick and solid glass portholes inlaid on the side bulkhead, they could see the undead sailors around the platform loosening the steel cables used to secure the submersible. , and release the safety pin on the steel frame II side.
Tirian's voice came from a small device in the corner of the submersible's console: "Father, Ms. Agatha, can you hear me?"
Duncan came to the console: "Okay, it's clear."
"Okay, I won't say much about the control of the submersible. Its function is actually very simple. You should not be mistaken. Now let me talk about what happens after entering the water."
"The power of the submersible is provided by a small steam core and a generator connected to the steam core. Theoretically, it is enough to complete all deep diving tasks. However, if there is a problem with the steam core or generator, there will be a problem in the bilge. Two batteries can allow the submersible to continue operating for about two hours..."
"The external lighting has three sets of high-power searchlights, but their effect is limited in deep-sea environments, so please be careful in controlling them. In addition, the resistance on the seabed is very large, and the power of the propulsion system can only make the submersible move slowly, which also needs to be noted. "
The effective distance of the submersible's communication device is only three hundred meters, so after the depth exceeds three hundred meters, we will no longer be able to talk like this, but your power or the psychic resonance of Agatha should not be affected.
"In addition... although I may be worried too much, even you, please pay attention to the dangers in the deep sea. If something goes wrong, please float up immediately. The lever in the upper left corner of the console is for emergency floatation. Pulling it will Throw away the ballast structure at the bottom of the submersible and deploy the buoyancy ball on the side of the hull II... In the worst case scenario, just abandon the submersible. It is also possible to teleport back directly with Ms. Agatha using your own power. , the machine can be recreated..."
Duncan listened carefully to these reminders from Tirian. To be honest, this "former pirate of the Cold Sea" was indeed a bit verbose. Many of his instructions were unnecessary in Duncan's opinion, but Duncan still listened patiently. Finished every word of Tirian.
It wasn't until the other party finished speaking that he said in a deep voice: "I understand, let's get started."
Outside the submersible, on the command seat at the end of the hall, Tirian took a gentle breath, and then nodded to the subordinates beside him.
"Open the sea valve!"
"Fire the channel with water!"
"Disconnect the submersible's external cable and prepare to release the hook!"
A low roar penetrated the steel shell of the submersible, echoing faintly in the spherical cabin. A slight vibration came from under the feet, accompanied by a creaking and friction sound outside the hull. The sea valve was opened, and the bottom of the facility was directly connected to the sea. In the tunnel, the sea water was rising rapidly and gradually reached the predetermined water level. The last II steel cables above the submersible began to creak and were released downwards little by little.
Duncan and Agatha first felt shaking, and then sank. After a brief weightlessness, the submersible entered the water. They began to sink along the inclined corridor, and were guided by a series of slides quickly toward the outside of South Port. A seaport on the edge moved, and outside the porthole, the sea water rose up, and then gradually fell into darkness. In the darkness, only occasional flashes of light could be seen. Those lights flashed faster and faster, and the vibrations of the submersible became more intense.
In the end, all the vibrations calmed down, and outside the portholes, there was only an endless dark blue that was gradually dimming. Sunlight shone through the sea water above, casting continuously moving light pillars of light and dark outside the window, gradually darkening. In the sea water, bubbles floated up from the outside of the boat hull.
With the reflection of the afterglow of the sun, it looks like some kind of sea creature lingering in psychedelic colors.
Agatha seemed to be attracted by the "scenery" outside the porthole window. She slowly left the bridge, holding the handrail and came to the porthole window. She leaned over curiously, and saw that through the thick black cloth, it had turned into an empty space. His eyes were staring at the deep blue that was rapidly sinking into darkness.
"What can you see?" Duncan turned around and asked casually while getting familiar with the levers and buttons on the console that were not complex.
"Light, all kinds of shimmers." Agatha said softly, as if talking to herself, and as if she was intoxicated in ecstasy.
"They flow like rivers, making up a huge, complex yet well-ordered flow... But it's actually dark outside now, isn't it?"
"There is still a little bit of sunlight left, but it will be completely dark soon." Duncan controlled the submersible to slowly turn an angle.
"What now?"
"An extremely huge screen of light was faint, but filled my entire field of vision." Agatha said, with a sense of shock in her tone.
"what is that?"
"It's frost." Duncan said calmly, looking through the porthole. Under the increasingly faint sunlight and the high-power searchlight of the submersible, an extremely wide and rough and mottled "cliff" was standing quietly in the sea water. In, "is the base of the city-state."
