Deep Sea Embers - Chapter 346

[Chapter 344 “Returning”]

In the military management area of the Frost Eastern Port, many people have been up all night.

It has been more than twenty-four hours since the Haiyan lost contact, and even if the harbor church sent a psychic call to the ship’s pastor on the Haiyan, there was no response.

The only clues or traces are pointing to bad possibilities.

In the harbor office, a middle-aged man with thinning hair wearing the uniform of a Frost Navy commander was sitting behind a desk with a gloomy face, and several other commanders were sitting on other chairs in the room, not counting The atmosphere in the large room was gloomy and oppressive, as if a storm was brewing.

“We haven’t found any trace of the Haiyan yet. We have searched three times in the direction of Frost Island from the last signal sent by the Haiyan, but there is nothing on the sea.” A civilian officer with short light brown hair shook his head. Said.

“The most optimistic estimate is that the Haiyan’s communication system failed, and the chaplain on board had another accident, and the ship drifted out of control—but to be honest, this is too optimistic,” another officer sighed. “For such a large ship, even if it drifts out of control, it is impossible to drift out of the search range in such a short period of time. It is more likely that the Haiyan has suffered a serious accident and has sunk… I heard a report from an offshore patrol boat before. Hearing the faint sound of the explosion, and seeing a distant flash in the night, it may be the Haiyan.”

“Such a big ship, it will take several hours to sink? We are the first ship after the Haiyan lost contact. The search force was dispatched at once,” the civilian officer with short light brown hair frowned, “not to mention the fact that there is still oil polluting the sea surface, how could the traces disappear so cleanly? Could it be that the whole ship could sink to the bottom of the sea in an instant?”

“…We should send someone to Dagger Island to confirm the situation,” another female officer said, “Perhaps the Haiyan did not sail towards the Frost Island, or it was stranded near Dagger Island for some reason…” “The current situation on Dagger

Island Special, sending people to the island requires complicated procedures…”

“It’s okay to contact, this procedure is simpler, and the consul’s office can give it in half an hour at the earliest…”

The discussion in the room continued non-stop until a steady voice behind the desk interrupted everyone’s speech: “Procedure on the 22nd.” The

room fell silent for a while, and the officers who were discussing raised their eyes and looked at The middle-aged man with thinning hair and serious face behind the desk.

“It may be that the No. 22 procedure was activated—the situation is too urgent or there is a risk of meme leaking, or the Haiyan has completely fallen under the control of others, so there is no news,” the port defense commander Liszt said in a low voice. , “Although this still can’t explain why the wreck of the Haiyan disappeared so clean.”

In the office, the officers looked at each other, and the heavy pressure brought by the words “No. more dignified.

In such solemnity, the commander-in-chief Liszt paused for a moment, and then continued to speak: “I know General Duncan, if the Haiyan really encounters extraordinary pollution that is difficult to resist, he will definitely activate the twenty-two The second process, so what we have to do in the next stage is not only to continue to search for the possible traces of the Haiyan, but also to find out what attacked and polluted the ship-if there is an attacker, then It doesn’t have to be tangible, it’s a huge threat to Frost.”

“The attacker…” The female officer who spoke before became serious, “If this attacker really exists, do you think it didn’t follow Haiyan? “No. 22 procedure”?”

“One of the first principles in the face of extraordinary disasters—unless there is strong enough direct evidence, always assume that the enemy still exists,” Liszt said slowly, ” Whether it’s supernatural items or supernatural phenomena, their ‘life force’ is always amazing.”

Several officers looked at each other, and one of them hesitated to say: “That side of Dagger Island…”

“I will report to the consul The person who submitted the investigation application, although the Haiyan had an accident on the way back to the island, and also sent a message that the inspection work was successfully completed when it left Dagger Island, but now that the ship has an accident, the situation on Dagger Island So there are doubts,” Liszt stood up slowly, supporting the table with both hands, “You guys next…”

Before the defense commander could finish his sentence, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded in the corridor, followed by a knock on the door, interrupting his follow-up words.

Liszt frowned: “Come in.”

A secretary pushed the door in and gave a military salute to the officer behind the desk: “Sir, the gatekeeper, Her Excellency Agatha, has come.” “

The gatekeeper?” Liszt’s face was obvious. Surprised, “What is she here for?”

“It’s about the Haiyan, the situation is urgent.”

“Ask her to come in…” Liszt said immediately, but before he finished speaking, a gust of gray wind was already outside the door The corridor rolled up, and then the gray wind that seemed to be mixed with pale smoke poured into the room, circling quickly in the office, and Agatha’s figure stepped out of the gray wind—she held the god of death priests in one hand. The tin cane that is always kept by his side, the eyes peeking out from between the bandages are serious and slightly apologetic.

“Sorry, Colonel Liszt, the situation is urgent. I came in right after I heard your response,” Agatha nodded, “I want to know how far you have gone in your current investigation on the whereabouts of the Haiyan?” Liszt said nothing

. There was no dissatisfaction with Agatha’s behavior of directly breaking into the office. Qualified soldiers know the priorities, and the “gatekeeper” of the city-state already has many privileges in emergency situations. This lady appeared in such a hurry, it is obvious that the situation is already urgent. It’s getting to the point where there’s no time for politeness.

“We haven’t found any traces or wreckage of the Haiyan yet. At present, we initially suspect that General Duncan activated the ‘No. 22 procedure’, and the Haiyan may have sunk,” he said with a solemn expression. “Next, we will expand the search area. Look for traces of the attackers in the open sea, and prepare to investigate the situation of Dagger Island.” “

The 22nd process is speculative and correct. The Haiyan was indeed invaded and polluted by extraordinary forces. The ship has been honorably loyal, but don’t rush to investigate Dagger Island. ” Agatha said quickly, “That island may be completely out of control.”

“Dagger Island out of control?” The muscles on Liszt’s face trembled visibly, “What information do you have?”

“…The source of the information is inconvenient to disclose,” Agatha hesitated, “but the reliability is very high. I haven’t had time to report the situation to the cathedral and the city hall, because it may delay time. Colonel Lister, I hope Now immediately block all the shipping routes around Dagger Island, prohibit any ships from approaching, and do not allow anything to leave that island—let alone allow them to land on Frost Island.” “Ms. Agatha, I must remind you—this is

not In line with the procedure,” Liszt said in a serious tone, “I am willing to trust your judgment as a gatekeeper, but you should know that every rule is summed up with human lives—it is not a trivial matter to dispatch the navy to block Dagger Island, I need more Clear orders and explanations.”

“At least this won’t make the situation worse,” Agatha stepped forward, “I have sent people to the cathedral, follow-up orders will come down soon.”

Liszt opened his mouth, as if He still wanted to say something more, but at this moment, a sudden sound of a bell in the corner of the room interrupted what he wanted to say.

The port defense commander glanced at Agatha, then turned around and walked quickly to the small table next to him, and pressed the button on the table.

A moment later, there was a hiss of airflow and a rapid clicking sound from far to near from the copper pipe fixed on the wall next to the table, followed by a crisp metal impact, the copper pipe shook, and the end of the pipe snapped. There is a little white air coming from the buckle mechanism.

Liszt opened the buckle, flipped the cover, took out the capsule compartment from the pipe, took out the note inside and glanced at it quickly, his expression changed instantly.

“What is it?” Agatha asked curiously.

“A ship appeared in the offshore area and issued a signal to apply for entry into the port.” Liszt slowly raised his head with a solemn expression, “It’s the Haiyan.” The room quickly fell silent

.

The officers looked at each other, Agatha’s eyes instantly became solemn, Liszt suddenly said after a few seconds of silence: “Go to the pier.” The

Haiyan appeared, and after being missing for more than 24 hours, it appeared again Frostman’s eyes, and sailed straight to the military pier in Donggang.

Standing on the observation deck of Donggang Wharf, you can already see the silhouette of the steam clipper—it gradually enlarges on the horizon, with clouds of steam rising above it.

“Identified by the silhouette and the bow flag…it’s the Haiyan.”

A junior officer put down the binoculars in his hand and said in a complicated tone.

But Liszt still stared at the approaching black figure on the sea without moving, without saying a word for a long time.

The faint whistle sound came over, accompanied by a special pause rhythm.

“The second round of signals, Haiyan applies for port entry,” the junior officer turned his head and looked at Liszt, “Sir…”

“Sink it.” Agatha, who had been silent since just now, finally broke the silence .

(end of this chapter)