Before setting off on this trip, Jania had heard about Essetev's changeable spring climate. It is not surprising that wind and rain come at any time, and that the sun and the cold always take turns. But she had never heard anything about fog, nor had she seen fog on the sea with her own eyes.
The fog came up quickly. At first it was just a thin layer, through which one could still see the bright sea level illuminated by the moon. But when Zhannia looked around for a while, it had already condensed thickly and heavily, like large groups of gray clouds piled on the sea. The small wooden boat was completely surrounded by fog, making Zhannia completely confused about its direction. She wanted to look up at the moon to know if they were still walking away from the coast, but there was fog even above her. These amorphous gray walls trapped the ship from all sides, damp and cold. The penetrating moonlight makes them show subtle changes in light and dark, as if they not only have entities, but also have fresh life.
No one on the ship spoke anymore. Chi Labin concentrated on rowing, while Zhou Wenxing looked at the sky. Jania wondered if he was discerning the direction of the stars. She knew very little about astronomy, and there was not much she could see in the thick fog. At this time, Jania really hopes that Hannah is here, because Hannah's family has an astronomical telescope. She must know a lot about the stars. However, even if she couldn't tell the stars clearly, she also noticed that Zhou Wenxing and Chirabin never talked about the navigation direction. Zhou Wenxing's hands were in his pockets, and he did not signal to Chirabin.
A weird atmosphere enveloped the small wooden boat. In this silence, Zhannia thought about the strange things she had encountered in the past two days, feeling as if she had followed the rabbit with the pocket watch and jumped into a bottomless pit. In order to break the atmosphere, she asked Akira Bin: "Can you see clearly in the distance?"
"In the distance? Are you asking now? Of course not, no. Look how big the fog is. I can't even see the tip of our ship's bow clearly."
"Aren't you worried that we are in danger?"
Akarahama's voice didn't sound worried at all. "I don't know, sir." He said in a asking tone, "What kind of danger will we encounter?"
Jania couldn't tell. She also didn't know what dangers a small wooden boat relying solely on manpower would encounter in the sea fog. Will there be reefs here? Or ferocious fish that can capsize the boat? These are things she has only seen in story books. She doesn’t know if there are reefs and big fish everywhere in the real sea - but go His, aren't they already looking for sea monsters? She never thought that she would go out to sea in a small wooden boat with two strangers to look for monsters. Hannah would never believe it.
"We might get lost," she said, "and have no way back. We might die of thirst and starvation here."
"That's no need to worry, we won't get lost."
Jania looked at him confused. Akarahama winked at her happily as he rowed.
"I bet you feel a little baffled by what happened these days," he said. "You must have encountered a lot of things that are difficult to explain in your life, right? Have you ever lost anything? I've lost several. Times. A key or some important document was missing when I thought it was where it should be. I turned the house upside down and couldn't find a trace of it. I was so pissed off. , I can’t believe that I lost it myself. No, the things seemed to have run away on their own. There was an invisible spirit playing a prank on me, stealing my things and hiding them when I wasn’t paying attention. .Have you ever felt this way?”
"I lost an amulet that my father's grandmother gave to him," Jania said. "I lost it in the woods."
"Did you get it back?"
"No. I often go there to look around, but I never find it."
"What a pity. Maybe someone picked it up. If you accidentally hang it on a branch, some birds will pick it up and build their nests."
"Yes, it is possible...but I remember hanging it around my neck with a very thick rope. It was always hanging close to my body."
Akira Bin shook his head in interest: "Do you remember how you lost it?"
Jania shook her head. She only remembered that she had been lost in the woods once, but the specific details had been forgotten. This was a little strange, because she remembered how much she had loved the pine and amber amulet.
"Strange things happen," Akurabin said. "All the things we lose, after all, they don't just disappear. We know it's always there somewhere, and there's a perfect explanation for it." Why is it there? It was not stolen by goblins in the cave, but hidden in the blind spots of our thinking and imagination. If we could see the complete process of the thing, it would definitely be a very interesting story. We might We laugh out loud at our own stupidity or misfortune - but unfortunately, in most cases this situation remains unanswered, so it becomes mysterious to us."
"I don't quite understand what you mean," Jania said. "What do you want to tell me?"
"If you feel that inexplicable things are happening around you, there is always a reasonable explanation behind it." Chira said happily, "Those mysterious fragments-I mean, what you have experienced All kinds of seemingly unrelated weird things, maybe they are connected and part of the same story. That would be very interesting, wouldn’t it?”
He laughed loudly. During the burst of unprovoked laughter, Jania was confused and a little annoyed. She vaguely felt something from Chirabin's words, as if this red-skinned man was hinting something to her. But what is it? The biggest mystery in her life, the only mystery that can be connected to this moment, is her brother who ran away to Africa. Thinking of this, she turned around and looked at Zhou Wenxing. The introverted young man was still looking at the sky. There was a cold, unobtrusive smile on his face.
"If this is all connected," Jania said, staring at him, "I'll always see it."
"Oh, that's not necessarily the case, end. I'm not looking down on you, but this is not a simple puzzle. There are many things that you may have never encountered or even thought about. This has to do with personal ability. It doesn't matter. Just speaking for myself, I have always suspected that the documents I lost were picked up by some animal, but since I don't know the animal, I can't make many useful assumptions. You can The hypothesis is within your imagination, you have to admit this, right?"
"Whatever I can think of will suffice."
"are you sure?"
When Chi Labin asked her this, Zhannia noticed Zhou Wenxing's head hanging down, and looked at Chi Labin first, and then looked at her, as if this question attracted his attention more than the sky. Discovering this made Zhannia hesitate, but she still said: "Yes, I think I can think of answers to everything I encounter."
"What about the amulet?"
"It was picked up. Or it was used by birds to build nests."
Both men in the boat looked at her with interest. Akarabin cleared his throat and said pretendingly: "Then let's do a more difficult question, Tsutomu. You said you have an older brother."
"right."
"Where did he go?"
"Africa."
When Zhaniya answered here, she seemed to already know what kind of question Akurabin would give her. Sure enough, she heard Akurabin say immediately: "Why does your brother want to go to Africa?"
"……I have no idea."
"Why don't we take a guess?" Akurahama suggested, "Why do you think your brother went to Africa?"
"Maybe he's having a bad relationship."
"It's an answer, but it's a bit cliché. Use your imagination. Come on, there isn't much market for stories about running away for love these days."
"He discovered that there is a great treasure in Africa." Jania said a little dryly. But Akurabin was not satisfied with this answer, thinking it was also very cliché - Zhannia thought to herself, this is really damn good, why did she have to use her imagination on her brother's running away? But she had nothing else to do. On this lonely boat surrounded by fog, it actually felt good to be able to talk to Akarahama. She lowered her head and thought for a moment, encouraging herself to make up the most bizarre and absurd story.
"He's an agent," she said almost casually. "He worked for...well, for the Bokens, but he was discovered by the government—"
"Wait a minute, where is Poken?"
"A kingdom of sky people."
"I didn't know there was such a person!"
"This is the top secret of governments." Jania said. Of course she wouldn't tell Akira Bin that this secret was revealed to her in a children's picture book.
Akira Bin touched it and nodded in agreement: "It makes sense to me. Zhou, what do you think?"
Zhou Wenxing smiled slightly and said nothing.
"Okay." Chirabin said, "No one raised any objections. So, now we all agree that your brother is an agent sent by the Boken people to lurk on the ground. This is a very dangerous job, and he was also The earthly government found out. What happened next?”
"The next thing," Jania said, "he, well, he was captured and put in jail. His friends were trying to get him out."
"Is his friend also a Boken agent? Or is he a Skyman?"
"No, probably not. His friend is...a man who came out of the sea. He works for people under the sea, so he also knows who the Boken agents are. He rescued my brother, but he couldn't continue Staying in his hometown. He can only lie and claim that he went to Africa. In fact, he has been picked up by the Boken people and has been living in Sky City."
Jania made up the story quickly. She feels that her ability to observe and think is pretty good, but she is not very good at telling stories. She couldn't bear to sit at the table for too long, and she really didn't have much talent for writing. However, I don't know why, Akarabin laughed so hard after hearing this story.
"Oh my god, what a mess!" He gasped while laughing, "You are very talented, very talented!"
"Don't make fun of me," Jania said a little annoyed.
"I'm telling the truth, end. But if it offends you, I won't mention it again. Zhou, what do you think of this story?"
Zhou Wenxing still said nothing. He lowered his head and thought about it, then smiled and said, "Sky people are more interesting than insects."
"I can't agree with this," Akarahama said. "Insects are very charming species. If you study them carefully. Their structure is very efficient, never wasteful or emotional. The reason why we fear them is It’s because they are completely different from us.”
Zhou Wenxing seemed to have no intention of arguing. He suddenly put his hand into his pocket, making Zhaniya nervous for a moment. Then he took out a small object from his pocket. By the candlelight, Zhannia saw that it seemed to be a glass marble with golden-red cracks.
The marbles sparkled on Zhou Wenxing's palm, looking particularly beautiful and clean. But what is the purpose of carrying such a small thing with you? Is he still planning to play with Akurahama's big marbles? When Zhannia was confused, Zhou Wenxing handed the marbles to her.
"Do you need it?" Zhou Wenxing said.
Jania sat where she was and didn't move. She stared at Zhou Wenxing, waiting for him to give her an explanation. But the other party didn't seem to think it was necessary, so she had to ask: "What is this?"
"It's just an ordinary marble. But it's very useful for hitting stationary things."
This did not resolve Jania's confusion. She continued to ask: "Why did you give it to me suddenly?"
"I think you might be suitable."
"I don't fit in," Jania said with a shrug. "I don't play marbles much."
"Do you think it's too childish?"
"No. It's just that I don't like it. I like games where I can move my legs, feet and arms. My fingers aren't that flexible."
Zhou Wenxing put the marble back into his pocket again. He didn't seem to take it to heart. He just smiled and said, "Then I'll leave it to others."
"Do you have to give it away?"
"Because I can't just return it to the original owner."
This is another mysterious answer. Jania didn't understand what the two had to do with each other. Why bring up marbles at this time? She couldn't help but think about the timing of Zhou Wenxing's bizarre behavior. After she had just made up the story about the Sky People, he took out a marble and handed it to her. What does it mean? Do you think she still has a childlike innocence?
At this moment, the small wooden boat shook suddenly, shaking Zhaniya out of her thoughts. This happened so suddenly that she almost fell into the water. But she stabilized herself in time and quickly lowered her body. A shadow flashed in the corner of her eyes. It was Zhou Wenxing who stood up on the boat.
"It's begun." She seemed to hear Zhou Wenxing say.
Jania didn't quite understand what he was talking about at first. But with a violent shaking, the goal of this trip finally flashed back to her mind. sea monster. she thought with mild horror. The sea monster they were looking for. It turned out to be true - something did hit the boat in the fog. The impact made her feel that the thing was alive and could move back and forth near the sea surface.
In order not to be shaken into the sea by the bumps, Zhaniya almost laid her whole body inside the boat. However, she couldn't help but tilt her face towards the outside of the boat, trying to see clearly what hit the small wooden boat. Is it a reef? God bless it is a reef. She didn't know how dangerous it would be for the small wooden boat to hit the reef, but she knew she didn't want to see the shark's dorsal fin.
She was so eager to see the source of the danger clearly, but the sea fog completely blocked her, making her anxious and nervous. Her nerves were so tense that it took her a few seconds to realize she heard some strange noise. It was a huge and continuous noise, almost blending with the roar of the waves. But it certainly didn't come from a body of water. Because it is sharp and urgent, like the movement of a train or plane passing by.
The song of the sea monster. Jania thought. Akurahama says that sea monsters can sing. Is this the song of the sea monster? It was indeed different from a whale, but it didn't sound like a living creature at all. She turned to look at the other two in confusion. Akira Bin was still rowing, trying hard to ensure that the small wooden boat would not be overturned in the impact. But Zhou Wenxing stood upright, looking at the water outside the boat. There was a very unforgettable smile on his face, as if he was looking at an old friend reunited after a long absence - Jania didn't know why she thought this, she just felt that the light of the full moon was radiating from his brown eyes. Is that joy? Or sadness?
Seeing this scene gave Zhaniya a courage in her heart. She had taken a big risk tonight, so she had to gain something. She couldn't let this suspicious person play tricks on her with her brother's affairs. Since Zhou Wenxing could stand firm in this bumpy situation, she at least had to see clearly what the sea monster looked like. So she raised her upper body again, climbed her arms to the side of the boat, and looked down at the water. She heard Akarabin calling her, but she was still determined to take a look. Just one look directly above the water, then quickly retracted into the boat. This way even if there was a shark hiding in the water, it would never be able to bite her.
This was a somewhat reckless and unexpected move. Jania didn't really believe what she was going to see. It was so dark and the fog was so thick that if there was something in the water, she probably wouldn't be able to see it - but she was wrong. She could see clearly.
The sea under the boat turned transparent at some point. It was so bright and shining, like a glass partition with a searchlight underneath. When Zhannia lowered her head, she could see hundreds of meters deep. From the top of this flowing glass bridge, she saw a prison under the sea. To be precise, a cell in a prison. The seven corners of the cell were filled with rags and scraps of wood. In the last remaining corner squatted a prisoner wearing an orange prison uniform. Jania glanced at the prisoner's upturned face and felt as if she had been pushed from the roof. There was no mistaking the long, thin face with the bulging eyes. That was Lenny Klein.
