Chapter 107 – The Sea
Before leaving, Chi Yongge gave Bruno one last check.
Bruno’s infection characteristics had decreased.
But, after all, he was only one individual. More samples were needed to prove the safety of inhibitors and whether they could change the lives of mole people – even if they could not be cured, they would be more “human”.
This required a long period of research, experimentation, and observation, and Chi Yongge couldn’t stay and keep an eye on his state. After weighing up the two sides, they decided to let Bruno follow them to the Alliance.
They would return in the early morning.
Di Wen took the mole people and sent them to the ground. When the aircraft took off, Shi Yuan leaned in front of the window and watched the mole people wave goodbye to them.
“Have a safe trip!” they said.
The war robot “Blazing Sun” stood in the rain with a tall figure. This time, it was no longer for war and killing, but to guard mankind. The aircraft passed by it, passing the palace and the Sunrise Square where the former king died, as well as the lion flag of the Empire.
Then, with the past of the princess, Elton disappeared in the wind and rain.
The journey back was generally smooth.
Several people took turns on duty to fly the aircraft. The weather was gloomy and colder, which was most suitable for sleeping. The cold of the rain seeped in through the window, Shi Yuan was wrapped in a quilt on the bed, concentrating on taking care of his tail scales, and fell asleep while taking care of it.
Lu Tinghan would often communicate with the main city, or wear an optical brain and command through holographic images. Sometimes, he was busy until late, Shi Yuan was already asleep and he’d go to bed lightly, and Shi Yuan would always roll into his arms with warmth.
Delta Abyss had been restless, and the scope of influence was getting bigger and bigger. Their speed was very slow, but fortunately, they didn’t have to explore other cities anymore.
Shi Yuan’s Sudoku game had been done page after page, he actually mastered the trick and became more and more proficient.
Lu Tinghan was reading materials at the table, and Shi Yuan was writing sudoku by his side, occasionally studying playing cards, and occasionally probing to see what Lu Tinghan was looking at.
——Every time, it was information related to “Deep Dive”.
Shi Yuan remembered Professor Guan saying that the Alliance needed Lu Tinghan to go to the bottom of the abyss.
Shi Yuan couldn’t imagine how dangerous it was, but he remembered that Professor Guan wiped his reading glasses and told him hesitantly that it was likely to be a journey without a return.
Shi Yuan propped his head and studied the information for a while. The winding words and formulas were too dazzling, he gave up.
Lu Tinghan didn’t mention “Deep Dive” to him, and he didn’t take the initiative to ask. They hugged each other and slept at night, inside the room was warm and comfortable, while outside the window was a thunderstorm.
On the 24th day of leaving Elton, an accident happened.
They arrived at an ancient battlefield again. More than a hundred years ago, the Alliance and the Empire fought here, and the land buried an unknown number of bones, metals, and dreams.
Maybe it was because there were too many who died here, the bones of the soldiers were infected by the abyss, or maybe it was for other reasons. The aircraft detected a large number of infected creatures ahead – they were hidden deep in the thunderclouds, flitting about as if they were a group of wandering ghosts.
Lu Tinghan concluded that it might not be safe to rush forward.
So the aircraft hovered.
This stop lasted for two days. They were in the middle of the ancient battlefield, surrounded by surging black clouds and monsters. To make matters worse, the instrument was affected in turbulence and thunder, and the signal was intermittent and unclear.
They couldn’t find a way out.
On the second day of being forced to stay, Shi Yuan was exhausted by Lu Tinghan before going to bed and was sleeping soundly when he suddenly sat up.
“What’s the matter?” Lu Tinghan asked in a low voice, “Is the thunder too loud?”
“No.” Shi Yuan listened, “Can’t you hear it?”
“Hear what?”
“Someone… someone is calling me.”
This was not the first time Shi Yuan had said this.
On the way to Elton, he said the same thing.
Lu Tinghan asked, “What kind of voice is it?”
“I can’t tell.” Shi Yuan thought for a while, “I just know that they are calling me.”
Soon, those voices disappeared, overwhelmed by lightning and rumbling thunder.
Shi Yuan heard the voice again the next morning
For the next two days, the voice called him intermittently, and only he could hear it.
On the fifth day they were trapped in the ancient battlefield, Adjutant Bing was a little worried: “When is this gonna end? We have been stuck here for a while now.”
“It is estimated that too many people have died here.” Chi Yongge speculated, “If you have a lot of resentment, you will easily attract monsters.”
“What kind of theory is that?” Adjutant Bing said, “I thought you were materialistic. If you really want an explanation for it, it should be that there’s an abyss nearby or the bones attracted the monsters.”
Chi Yongge shrugged and said quietly, “It’s possible. But sometimes there are such mysterious and supernatural things. Otherwise, how do you explain that school of fish in the air that followed us all the way to Elton without attacking us? How do you explain the forest deer and jellyfish? Monsters aren’t supposed to have sanity.”
Adjutant Bing couldn’t explain it, and the topic was dropped.
They still couldn’t leave.
Shi Yuan stood in front of the window, the world in front of him was pitch black.
He curled the tip of his tail in confusion.
Lu Tinghan asked him, “Did you hear the voices again?”
“Yes,” Shi Yuan said, “They have been waiting for me.”
Lu Tinghan stood side by side with him, looking into the dark distance and endless rain. He said, “Do you want to take a look?”
Shi Yuan was taken aback for a moment: “Go outside?”
“Well, it’s also good to explore the way,” Lu Tinghan said, “The aircraft is still here, so it’s best not to go too far.”
Shi Yuan’s eyes lit up: “Then, can I leave now?”
“I’ll go with you,” Lu Tinghan said.
Lu Tinghan talked to the others and took the communicator to keep in touch at all times. Then he and Shi Yuan put on raincoats and walked into the battlefield.
As soon as they left the aircraft, the violent wind blew them back and forth, hitting on their faces like a whip, causing pain.
Shi Yuan had his tail to maintain his balance, but he still couldn’t stand firmly, but fortunately, Lu Tinghan hugged him. The two of them each took a very bright flashlight and moved forward steadily.
The sound of calling was faint, the wind was hunting in his ears, and the rain was even more noisy and deafening.
The two heads were next to each other, and Lu Tinghan had to speak at the top of his voice: “How far is that voice?”
“I don’t know—” Shi Yuan replied with the same voice, “I don’t know—”
He slipped and nearly fell, but was grabbed by Lu Tinghan. Looking back, he saw the remains of the war robots sinking into the soil, half of the robotic arm was exposed, causing him to stumble.
Shi Yuan also called it broken copper and rotten iron.
Just walking forward drenched and heavy, they also saw a few battle flags.
Whether the xuejina flag or the lion flag, they were all faded, as rotten as a rag, and could only be identified by the faint background color.
The battlefield seemed boundless.
Shi Yuan saw strange things under his feet, such as machine fragments and gears, such as a heavy machine gun, such as half of a suspected human bone, or a large metal plate. Lu Tinghan told him that this was probably the wreckage of a tank.
Going further, something “cracked” and hit the top of his head.
“Hail—” Lu Tinghan said loudly in his ear, “It’s hail—”
Shi Yuan saw hail for the first time.
Before he could study it, he got a “pa!” on his forehead. He received a blow on his forehead.
Shi Yuan: “Ah!!”
He touched his forehead and felt a few ice crumbs.
Lu Tinghan seemed to be laughing, and laughing quite happily.
Shi Yuan gave him a look of “you have low quality” at him, and Lu Tinghan asked in his ear: “You still want to continue?”
“Of course,” Shi Yuan said, “I won’t—ah!”
He received another blow.
The rain was mixed with hail.
Fortunately, the hailstone was very small, and it didn’t hurt too much to be hit, so Lu Tinghan didn’t have to worry about Shi Yuan being hit to stupidity. When Shi Yuan heard the sound of them hitting the raincoat, he found it quite novel. He thought, so the hail was like this, the documentary didn’t lie to him.
Walking forward, after an unknown period of time, there was a sound of “sshhh” and “sshhhaa” from a distance.
Shi Yuan did not have time to identify it…
He heard Lu Tinghan say: “Be careful!”
Shi Yuan: ?!
The surroundings were too dark, and Shi Yuan didn’t see the slope clearly. He stepped on the wet slope and lost his balance. Lu Tinghan was dragged down together in order to hold him!
The two of them bumped and rolled down the slope, Lu Tinghan protected Shi Yuan’s head, and the two of them were covered with splashes of water. While the sky was spinning, Lu Tinghan suddenly stretched out his hand and held on to something.——
He held on to a mechanical arm that was stuck on the slope.
The tumbling stopped.
The mechanical arm was badly rusted and got stuck in the crevice of the rock. Shi Yuan was dizzy, he shook his head before reacting, he said in Lu Tinghan’s arms, “It’s so dangerous…”
“It’s going to break,” Lu Tinghan said.
Shi Yuan: ?
Shi Yuan asked, “Eh?”
Lu Tinghan replied: “Hmm.”
Shi Yuan: “Ah.”
As soon as the voice fell, the mechanical arm broke in response! They hugged each other and rolled down again.
This time, they didn’t know how long they had rolled in a mess before they stopped at the bottom of the slope.
“…are you okay?” Lu Tinghan asked.
“I’m okay.” Shi Yuan wiped the water from his face and sat up dizzily, “I just got dizzy…”
The “shhhh—” sound in their ears became louder, there was a salty and moist smell in the wind, and their fingers and faces were stained with sand.
Delicate sand.
“Wow wow—”
“Wow wow—”
Lu Tinghan looked into the distance and said, “Shi Yuan, look.”
Shi Yuan followed his gaze.
The sky in the northeast was dimly lit, and the sunrise in the clouds was distant and hazy, casting a pale light.
He saw the sea.
The dark sea, the magnificent waves in the rain, pieces of broken snow-white ice floes.
The black and white were distinct, boundless, as it had been for millions of years. The waves crashing against the rocks and sand, dilapidated huts, abandoned fishing boats, and a lighthouse stood alone on the shore, like an ancient picture scroll.
“…” Shi Yuan’s eyes widened, “The sea.”
“Yes,” Lu Tinghan said, his gray-blue eyes equally unblinking, “It’s the sea.”
The sea 🌊🌊🌊🌊