Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 776 Leaving, going far away

Nina came to the deck and raised her right hand to the sky - a blazing flame suddenly burst out from her palm, turning into an arc of light that could penetrate the thick fog. This ray of sunlight flickered over the Lost Home, towards the other timeline. Those who went to the deceased conveyed greetings and tributes.

Have you seen Sea Song? Do they in another timeline know what is happening at this moment? Are they on their way to death or on their way back? In this brief moment when the lights flickered and the two timelines intersected, did they understand their destiny?

The window period for time to meet gradually ended, and the figure of the ship began to quickly become dim and blurred, and became abstracted into messy lines and shadows again. It briefly surfaced, and then gradually sank into the endless dark "deep sea" again. middle.

On the bridge, Anomaly 077's rickety and shriveled body seemed to be trembling slightly in the wind. He held on to the steering wheel of the Lost Home and kept looking at the direction of the Sea Song. For a moment, he opened his mouth and seemed to want to shout. , but all the words dissipated in his broken and shrunken throat.

Then he raised his hand, wanting to pay tribute to the ship he had served on and his former comrades - in these days, he had relearned the salute gesture, which was taught to him by Vanna, and he only needed to raise his hand. The undulating trajectory of the waves was drawn on his chest, representing the protection of the storm and the blessing of peace. But just for a moment, he pressed his hand on the dark steering wheel again as if he had been shocked by an electric shock, and held on tightly.

Outside the side of the Lost Home, dangerous and chaotic ripples briefly appeared in the uniform gray-white "inner wall", but then dissipated and calmed down in the blink of an eye.

He can't let go - he's at the helm.

The window period is over, and the last shadow of the Sea Song disappears from everyone's sight - in all possible branches of time, this is the last time it appears in the world's sight.

Until the end, the "Mariner" did not let go of the dark steering wheel of the Lost Home.

Slightly heavy footsteps came from the side. The sailor turned his head sluggishly and saw a tall figure coming to the bridge, looking at him calmly from the side.

He was startled for a moment, and subconsciously wanted to stand up straight: "Captain..."

Duncan reached out and pressed the bony shoulder of the mummy: "Are you okay?"

"...Look, I'm holding on tight," the wrinkles on the mummy's face trembled slightly, looking down at the steering wheel in his hand, "I just let go of my hand a little bit...the ship didn't yaw...and then I started again Didn’t let go… didn’t let go…”

Duncan didn't say anything, he just put his hand on the mummy's shoulder and pressed it hard.

Then he took back his hand and was about to turn around and leave, but at this moment, he heard the voice of Anomaly 077. The sailor muttered quietly, as if talking to himself: "Will it make sense?"

Duncan stopped and looked at his helmsman quietly.

"Will all this make sense?" The sailor seemed to have finally plucked up the courage. He raised his head and looked into Duncan's eyes. His eyes didn't seem to be asking for an answer, but more like he wanted to grab a stick in the storm. The life-saving cable, "Sea Song, those on the border, the sheriffs and guards in the city-state who are still trying to maintain order, and... us, will all this make sense?"

Duncan was silent for a few seconds and nodded calmly: "...Yes."

He turned around and walked towards the deck. Just when he was about to leave the bridge, the sailor's voice came from behind him: "The first rule of the crew rules of the Lost Home, right?"

Duncan didn't answer any more, just waved his hand gently and left the bridge.

He walked through the stairs to the quiet aft deck and called in his heart: "Lucy."

The Sea Witch's response came immediately: "Yes, I'm here."

Duncan hesitated for two seconds before speaking softly in a calm tone: "I remember you mentioned something - you accidentally sailed across the six nautical mile critical line and got lost deep in the eternal curtain. At that time, you were watching After arriving at the phantom of the Lost Home, we followed it safely back to the inner waters.”

Lucretia's side suddenly became quiet, and it took a long time before she broke the silence: "Yes, I... always thought it was the phantom of the Homeless Ship that briefly ascended from subspace..."

Duncan said nothing more. From the tone of Lucretia's response, he knew that the smart "witch" also thought of the same thing as he just thought.

Just now, the appearance of the "Sea Song" suddenly and strongly reminded Duncan of a fact that although he knew before, he had not thought deeply about it——

Six nautical miles away from the border, time is discontinuous and non-directional, and the cause and effect of things are in a state of change at any time. A ship that has returned long ago can still sail in the past time here, and in Lucretia In her memory, her "Bright Star" was lost six nautical miles away. In the desperate situation, it was the phantom of the Lost Home that suddenly appeared and brought her back to the real dimension.

She always thought it was the Homeless Ship returning from subspace, or the "projection" cast by the Homeless Ship from subspace to the real dimension.

But... now this question has new possibilities.

Duncan strolled to the edge of the deck, holding on to the railing and looking at the uniform gray outside the ship's side. His eyes seemed to penetrate this "inner wall" and look beyond the route to the boundless chaos and fog in a chaotic state of time and space.

Deep in the mist, the Homeless Ship driven by Duncan Abnomar may still be sailing away - he may have just set off, or he may be returning, he may have just learned some truth about the world, or he may have just learned some truth about the world, or possible……

He had just hung a lamp at the end of the world, at the door of a sleeping homeless man.

…

"Chi-", the sound of a match being lit broke the silence in the living room, and a small flame came close to the oil lamp on the table. The light of the fire brightened, covering the room in a light that was not too bright but still warm.

Heidi bent down and lit the oil lamp on the table, looked up and checked every corner of the living room, and then came to her mother's side.

Of course, the light of the oil lamp is not as bright as that of the electric lamp, but due to the failure of a group of generators in the eastern city, the Government Affairs Office has just issued an order to regulate power. Now the supply of the entire city-state power grid is very tight, and the power load must first meet important factories, shelters, and Containment and sealing institutions naturally have to use "traditional methods" that are more energy-saving for lighting at home.

"I don't know when the power will be restored..." Heidi muttered softly.

"That depends on the repair status of the generator." My mother's voice was still as calm and calm as usual, as if no matter what happened, the old woman could not be confused. "Did the notice mention the damage to the generator? "

"The specific damage was not mentioned, but I heard that the fault has nothing to do with the evil in the machine. It should be just an ordinary operation problem," Heidi said. "It will take about a few days to repair. According to past experience, it may be as fast as two or three days, and at the end it will be repaired." It’s only a week…tsk.”

The psychiatrist lady clicked her tongue, obviously not in a good mood.

"The gas lamp and oil lamp can still be used. The situation is not bad, is it?" The mother smiled, then picked up a piece of paper on the table and handed it to Heidi, "This was just delivered this morning. "Izvestia," please read it to me, I'm dazzled and can't see clearly."

Heidi reached out and took the "newspaper" handed over by her mother.

It is now a long night, and ordinary "reading" behavior has been classified as a dangerous activity. Libraries and book markets everywhere have been closed long ago. Even most newspapers have suspended publication during the night - but even so, People also have a basic need to obtain information, so under the supervision of the city hall, this thing called "Izvestia" appeared in the city-state.

It is a simplified version of a newspaper. The paper itself has been exorcized and blessed by the cathedral. The content of the newspaper has been carefully processed to control the length and reading depth to avoid accidents of knowledge pollution. At the same time, the newspaper also has many sacred inscriptions printed on it. Decorated with prayers and runes to protect the reader's mental safety.

While having so many protective measures, these newspapers also strictly control the scope of "distribution" - they are not sold publicly, but are sent directly to people with reading qualifications through specific channels, and these people must have a basic sense of mystery. It takes learning knowledge and skills to deal with "little troubles".

This set of procedures and regulations is troublesome, but no matter what, modern city-states are built on the basis of modern civilization - information must be transmitted in the city-state, read by qualified people, and then disseminated to those who are not qualified but are still An ordinary member of the city-state, Heidi is not a formal member of the city hall, but she has been dealing with the managers of the city. She can more or less understand what those who manage the city are thinking.

The nights are long and difficulties are inevitable - but they must delay the decline of "people" in the night as much as possible to avoid... "the degradation of civilization."

Heidi opened the paper, calmed down, and read the content for her mother:

“…The generator fault has been located and repair work is proceeding rapidly, with engineers expecting to complete the replacement and repair of all equipment within two days…

"The problem of poor food rationing in the northern urban area has been solved, and the city-state now has sufficient food reserves... The lighting system is operating normally, and the production of the three-dimensional farm has not been affected... The production of fungi has increased...

"There is a confrontation in the northern seas. The Cold Harbor and Port Murphys navies have assembled near a 'sun fragment'. The Death Church fleet has intervened. The situation has not yet escalated..."

Heidi read the short messages one by one, pausing occasionally to softly pray and recite the name of Lachem, the god of wisdom. Suddenly, she stopped.

"Any special news?"

Mother's gentle voice came from the side.

Heidi was stunned, her eyes still staring at the message at the end of the newspaper. After a few seconds, she breathed out softly.

"... Briefing from the Church of the Deep Sea, the Border Exploration Fleet once again carried out the 'cross-border' operation. The Lost Home and the Brilliant Star have crossed the six-nautical-mile border..."