Chapter 418 – Running Wildly in the Fog
Chapter 418 – Running Wild in the Fog
In the small mirror she carried with her, Martha appeared out of a dark fog, her voice breaking into Lawrence’s ears, “See the lights in the distance?”
“I see it,” Lawrence nodded, while looking up at the incredible sight in front of him – a large, dark, ink-like phantom floated on the surface of the sea, vaguely resembling the silhouette of the city-state, but no details of it could be seen, while under the surface of the water there was a reflection of the brightly-lit The White Oak was gradually approaching the light and shadow of the anti-phase without anyone controlling it, and countless shadowy ships were floating on the sea in the distance, as if they were caught in a fierce battle, and he even felt that even he was illusory in the confused vision of light and shadow, reality and reality, “It’s really an inconceivable sight! …… It turns out that observing the world from the side of the mirror image is actually this appearance ……”
“The light and shadows are inverted in your field of vision, but in my eyes it’s a normal landscape – but soon it will all be inverted again,” Martha said with a hint of a smile on her face, “Go and get ready, I’ll be docking shortly , the location is an abandoned trestle in the southern corner of the East Harbor Marina, I’ll get the boat as close as I can to one of the sewer access ports, take your mirror with you and I’ll guide you all the way to the second waterway.”
“And then …… the other fakes will react, right?” Lawrence still can’t help but bring worry, “If you really can’t beat them, you’ll take the White Oak and Black Oak together and retreat first, with our current speed, those fakes definitely can’t stop them.”
Masha rolled her eyes, “Of course, I’m not stupid – my mission was just to send you guys here and then delay a little bit, I don’t intend to rely on two twin ghost ships to take out the entire Mirror Frost’s fleet, they can’t be killed cleanly.”
Lawrence nodded and turned to look behind himself.
Anomaly 077 was crouching on the deck, fiddling with a rope he’d found somewhere, and every now and then he raised his head, observing the White Oak’s smokestacks and flagpole, and looking quite troubled.
“Is it no longer fashionable in your time to hang errant sailors from the mast?” The dryad muttered suspiciously.
“Still thinking about your noose?” Lawrence raised his eyebrows at once, and said in a tone of displeasure, “Drop the rope, and go to the first mate for a cutlass and guns and ammunition; we are ready to go ashore.”
“Previously to a set on the neck I slept over ah, how does not work it ……” Anomaly 077 was still there muttering in confusion, before suddenly reacting, “Ah? Go ashore? You still want to take me with you this time?”
“It’s fitting that the evil anomaly goes to deal with the evil city-state,” Laurence had a serious look on his face, “We’re going to enter the depths of the Frost through the second waterway – don’t waste any time, go and claim your weapon. ”
The sailor was stunned for a moment, then reacted immediately and rose, “Aye, Captain!”
The White Oak gradually approached the darkness that was the opposite of reality, close to the lights that were reflected in the sea, while an elite and strong land battle team had assembled behind Lawrence.
First Mate Gus, however, was not in the team, but was arranged by Lawrence to stay on board.
The old captain made the arrangement with a serious face, “There will be a vicious battle after that, all the fake warships near the harbor will react and attack the White Oak and Black Oak, you have to stay on the ship and direct the battle – drag it out as long as possible, and when you can’t drag it out, retreat with Martha. ”
“I understand,” Gus nodded, but glanced a little uneasily at the Sailor, who was fiddling with his newly acquired weapon behind Lawrence, “but . . is he really reliable?”
Lawrence glanced back, Anomaly 077-Sailor also happened to look up, this dry body was carrying a machete on his waist, but he threw the rifle and the pouch of bullets in his hand onto the barrel on the side, muttering, “I’ll just bring the machete, I won’t use this thing.”
“Feel free, if you think a machete will be enough to get you through the second waterway of the Mirror City-State,” Lawrence said casually, “It really only backfires when someone who can’t use a gun gets one.”
The sailor thought about it, but still didn’t touch the rifle, instead he went to one of the crates where the weapons were stored and took another machete from it and hung it on his belt.
Lawrence said nothing, only lowered his head and glanced at his palm.
He slowly exerted himself, clenching and opening his fists as he adjusted his breathing, rustily conjuring up in his mind the vision of a ship burning with spectral flames, the sails of the auroras aloft, and recalling the sensation of the flames burning his body and his torso transforming in the flames.
It was a long time before he saw a ghostly green color emerge from his palm lines, tiny embers of fire slowly flowing through those lines.
A slight vibration came from the deck beneath his feet, and the White Oak began to brake, the hazy darkness beyond the ship’s side was close at hand, while in the little mirror on his chest came Martha’s voice-
“Attention, the ship will soon dock, after which I will invert the phase again and deactivate the twin projections, you will jump onto the dock from the left side and go straight ahead, I will show you the way.”
“I’m ready.” Lawrence exhaled softly and slowly made his way to the side of the boat.
“I’m ready too!” Anomaly 077 also followed closely behind the captain, his hoarse, dark voice actually carried a hint of excitement and anticipation, “Go ashore! Battle! The pirates are coming!”
“We’re not pirates,” Lawrence looked back at the dryad, “We’re honorary seamen.”
“Dock,” Martha’s voice came through the mirror almost simultaneously, “three, two, one …… reverse phase!”
Instantly, light and shadow changed, and reality and reality swapped.
Everything around Lawrence seemed to flicker violently for a moment, followed by the rising of the reflection in the sea, the reversal of the darkness before him, as in an instant through an unseen mirror, and the frosty wharf and trestle appeared before him, and the damp chilliness that always lingered, as if it had been drenched in seawater, instantly dissipated into oblivion! In the next instant he saw again a black shadow suddenly emerge from the sea beside the White Oak, and the silhouette of the Black Oak darted out of it.
After the reversal of light and shadow, the Black Oak simultaneously lifted its state of being a reflection of each other with the White Oak, and instead appeared on the surface of the sea as a twin battleship, ready to fight in concert with its sister ship.
In an instant, a lamppost appeared on the pier, sirens blared in the distant streets and alleys, chaotic winds whimpered and whistled in the harbor, and even more sounds of battleships firing their guns in haste rang out from the distance like a chaotic thunderclap.
The reaction came so quickly?
Lawrence was shocked in his heart, but his reaction was not slow at all, he kicked down the rope ladder and was the first to rush out, “Depart!”
The land team consisting of a dozen or so elite sailors rushed onto the pier, rushing along the route Martha had hinted at to the far intersection, with Lawrence in the lead.
The cold wind whistled beside his ears, the distant sirens and gunfire carried an intermittent and distorted quality, and in the chaotic and dim light of the sky, Lawrence clutched his revolver in one hand and carried his rapier in the other, furiously rushing through this mirrored and distorted phantom city-state, while Masha’s voice continued to come in –
“Junction ahead, turn left, go around the post …… straight ahead, take the alley on the right, the entrance is at the end ……”
Behind them, there are the hurried and chaotic steps of the sailors, in their hands, there are trustworthy weapons, and beside their ears, there are the voices of their beloveds who are in perfect cooperation.
Lawrence ran faster and faster, in a trance, he seemed to feel that the decades of accumulated old age and fatigue are far away from this body, he felt that his heart as a young man like beating, veins rushing with the same blood as when he was rich and strong – that wantonly exuberant years returned to his mind.
It was back, all of it.
He stepped forward, swinging his arms, and ghostly green flames appeared behind him like a phantom, and beside him, behind him, green flames began to appear on each of the sailors, and each flesh and blood body was reflected in the flames with a ghostly quality.
Abnormality 077 ghostly voice sounded from the side: “Captain! I’m afraid!”
“If you’re afraid, close ranks!” Lawrence grinned, an inexplicable pleasantness in his voice, “This city can’t stop us!”
Anomaly 077 continued to ghostly wail as he followed Lawrence forward furiously, “It’s you guys I’m afraid of!”
“Then try to fit in – I’m not retiring, and neither are you!”
Lawrence exclaimed cheerfully, not caring that his voice would give away the group’s whereabouts, and not worrying that the city-state’s “guards” would be attracted to this big, bold act of running wildly through the streets.
For this could not have been an “infiltration” in the first place – the living city had reacted the moment the uninvited guests stepped into the Mirror City.
Fog slowly filled the streets, and something shadowy emerged from the eerily dim mist.
“The streets are fogging up!” He exclaimed, “Martha, is this normal?”
“Fog is a sign of critical mass, and mirrors in fog are the hardest to discern from reality – keep moving forward, pay no attention to this fog that permeates from the real world, it’s just up ahead.”
“Good!”
Lawrence responded in a loud voice, leading the sailors to rush towards the mist, while in the fog, one shaky and twisted figure after another stood up, with misshapen bodies and the wrong number of eyes, they hissed and murmured as they staggered through the fog.
Lawrence raised the muzzle of his gun in his hand, yet before he and the sailors could fire, a series of dense shots rang out again from the other end of the fog.
A spider-like steam walker appeared abruptly in the fog, heavily armed soldiers of the City State Guards built a barricade around the walker, rifles in the hands of the soldiers and gun towers placed on the top of the steam walker spewed out fiery flames, instantly tearing the monsters in the fog into pieces.
Lawrence ran past the edge of this engagement area, he looked at those suddenly appearing City State Guards in dismay, however, in the next second, those soldiers and the steam walker disappeared into the thick fog again, leaving only a pile of messy rubble in its place.
“Here it is, the sewer entrance – there’s a lift at the end of the walk down there that leads straight to the second waterway!”
(End of chapter)
Chapter 418 – Running Wild in the Fog
In the small mirror she carried with her, Martha appeared out of a dark fog, her voice breaking into Lawrence’s ears, “See the lights in the distance?”
“I see it,” Lawrence nodded, while looking up at the incredible sight in front of him – a large, dark, ink-like phantom floated on the surface of the sea, vaguely resembling the silhouette of the city-state, but no details of it could be seen, while under the surface of the water there was a reflection of the brightly-lit The White Oak was gradually approaching the light and shadow of the anti-phase without anyone controlling it, and countless shadowy ships were floating on the sea in the distance, as if they were caught in a fierce battle, and he even felt that even he was illusory in the confused vision of light and shadow, reality and reality, “It’s really an inconceivable sight! …… It turns out that observing the world from the side of the mirror image is actually this appearance ……”
“The light and shadows are inverted in your field of vision, but in my eyes it’s a normal landscape – but soon it will all be inverted again,” Martha said with a hint of a smile on her face, “Go and get ready, I’ll be docking shortly , the location is an abandoned trestle in the southern corner of the East Harbor Marina, I’ll get the boat as close as I can to one of the sewer access ports, take your mirror with you and I’ll guide you all the way to the second waterway.”
“And then …… the other fakes will react, right?” Lawrence still can’t help but bring worry, “If you really can’t beat them, you’ll take the White Oak and Black Oak together and retreat first, with our current speed, those fakes definitely can’t stop them.”
Masha rolled her eyes, “Of course, I’m not stupid – my mission was just to send you guys here and then delay a little bit, I don’t intend to rely on two twin ghost ships to take out the entire Mirror Frost’s fleet, they can’t be killed cleanly.”
Lawrence nodded and turned to look behind himself.
Anomaly 077 was crouching on the deck, fiddling with a rope he’d found somewhere, and every now and then he raised his head, observing the White Oak’s smokestacks and flagpole, and looking quite troubled.
“Is it no longer fashionable in your time to hang errant sailors from the mast?” The dryad muttered suspiciously.
“Still thinking about your noose?” Lawrence raised his eyebrows at once, and said in a tone of displeasure, “Drop the rope, and go to the first mate for a cutlass and guns and ammunition; we are ready to go ashore.”
“Previously to a set on the neck I slept over ah, how does not work it ……” Anomaly 077 was still there muttering in confusion, before suddenly reacting, “Ah? Go ashore? You still want to take me with you this time?”
“It’s fitting that the evil anomaly goes to deal with the evil city-state,” Laurence had a serious look on his face, “We’re going to enter the depths of the Frost through the second waterway – don’t waste any time, go and claim your weapon. ”
The sailor was stunned for a moment, then reacted immediately and rose, “Aye, Captain!”
The White Oak gradually approached the darkness that was the opposite of reality, close to the lights that were reflected in the sea, while an elite and strong land battle team had assembled behind Lawrence.
First Mate Gus, however, was not in the team, but was arranged by Lawrence to stay on board.
The old captain made the arrangement with a serious face, “There will be a vicious battle after that, all the fake warships near the harbor will react and attack the White Oak and Black Oak, you have to stay on the ship and direct the battle – drag it out as long as possible, and when you can’t drag it out, retreat with Martha. ”
“I understand,” Gus nodded, but glanced a little uneasily at the Sailor, who was fiddling with his newly acquired weapon behind Lawrence, “but . . is he really reliable?”
Lawrence glanced back, Anomaly 077-Sailor also happened to look up, this dry body was carrying a machete on his waist, but he threw the rifle and the pouch of bullets in his hand onto the barrel on the side, muttering, “I’ll just bring the machete, I won’t use this thing.”
“Feel free, if you think a machete will be enough to get you through the second waterway of the Mirror City-State,” Lawrence said casually, “It really only backfires when someone who can’t use a gun gets one.”
The sailor thought about it, but still didn’t touch the rifle, instead he went to one of the crates where the weapons were stored and took another machete from it and hung it on his belt.
Lawrence said nothing, only lowered his head and glanced at his palm.
He slowly exerted himself, clenching and opening his fists as he adjusted his breathing, rustily conjuring up in his mind the vision of a ship burning with spectral flames, the sails of the auroras aloft, and recalling the sensation of the flames burning his body and his torso transforming in the flames.
It was a long time before he saw a ghostly green color emerge from his palm lines, tiny embers of fire slowly flowing through those lines.
A slight vibration came from the deck beneath his feet, and the White Oak began to brake, the hazy darkness beyond the ship’s side was close at hand, while in the little mirror on his chest came Martha’s voice-
“Attention, the ship will soon dock, after which I will invert the phase again and deactivate the twin projections, you will jump onto the dock from the left side and go straight ahead, I will show you the way.”
“I’m ready.” Lawrence exhaled softly and slowly made his way to the side of the boat.
“I’m ready too!” Anomaly 077 also followed closely behind the captain, his hoarse, dark voice actually carried a hint of excitement and anticipation, “Go ashore! Battle! The pirates are coming!”
“We’re not pirates,” Lawrence looked back at the dryad, “We’re honorary seamen.”
“Dock,” Martha’s voice came through the mirror almost simultaneously, “three, two, one …… reverse phase!”
Instantly, light and shadow changed, and reality and reality swapped.
Everything around Lawrence seemed to flicker violently for a moment, followed by the rising of the reflection in the sea, the reversal of the darkness before him, as in an instant through an unseen mirror, and the frosty wharf and trestle appeared before him, and the damp chilliness that always lingered, as if it had been drenched in seawater, instantly dissipated into oblivion! In the next instant he saw again a black shadow suddenly emerge from the sea beside the White Oak, and the silhouette of the Black Oak darted out of it.
After the reversal of light and shadow, the Black Oak simultaneously lifted its state of being a reflection of each other with the White Oak, and instead appeared on the surface of the sea as a twin battleship, ready to fight in concert with its sister ship.
In an instant, a lamppost appeared on the pier, sirens blared in the distant streets and alleys, chaotic winds whimpered and whistled in the harbor, and even more sounds of battleships firing their guns in haste rang out from the distance like a chaotic thunderclap.
The reaction came so quickly?
Lawrence was shocked in his heart, but his reaction was not slow at all, he kicked down the rope ladder and was the first to rush out, “Depart!”
The land team consisting of a dozen or so elite sailors rushed onto the pier, rushing along the route Martha had hinted at to the far intersection, with Lawrence in the lead.
The cold wind whistled beside his ears, the distant sirens and gunfire carried an intermittent and distorted quality, and in the chaotic and dim light of the sky, Lawrence clutched his revolver in one hand and carried his rapier in the other, furiously rushing through this mirrored and distorted phantom city-state, while Masha’s voice continued to come in –
“Junction ahead, turn left, go around the post …… straight ahead, take the alley on the right, the entrance is at the end ……”
Behind them, there are the hurried and chaotic steps of the sailors, in their hands, there are trustworthy weapons, and beside their ears, there are the voices of their beloveds who are in perfect cooperation.
Lawrence ran faster and faster, in a trance, he seemed to feel that the decades of accumulated old age and fatigue are far away from this body, he felt that his heart as a young man like beating, veins rushing with the same blood as when he was rich and strong – that wantonly exuberant years returned to his mind.
It was back, all of it.
He stepped forward, swinging his arms, and ghostly green flames appeared behind him like a phantom, and beside him, behind him, green flames began to appear on each of the sailors, and each flesh and blood body was reflected in the flames with a ghostly quality.
Abnormality 077 ghostly voice sounded from the side: “Captain! I’m afraid!”
“If you’re afraid, close ranks!” Lawrence grinned, an inexplicable pleasantness in his voice, “This city can’t stop us!”
Anomaly 077 continued to ghostly wail as he followed Lawrence forward furiously, “It’s you guys I’m afraid of!”
“Then try to fit in – I’m not retiring, and neither are you!”
Lawrence exclaimed cheerfully, not caring that his voice would give away the group’s whereabouts, and not worrying that the city-state’s “guards” would be attracted to this big, bold act of running wildly through the streets.
For this could not have been an “infiltration” in the first place – the living city had reacted the moment the uninvited guests stepped into the Mirror City.
Fog slowly filled the streets, and something shadowy emerged from the eerily dim mist.
“The streets are fogging up!” He exclaimed, “Martha, is this normal?”
“Fog is a sign of critical mass, and mirrors in fog are the hardest to discern from reality – keep moving forward, pay no attention to this fog that permeates from the real world, it’s just up ahead.”
“Good!”
Lawrence responded in a loud voice, leading the sailors to rush towards the mist, while in the fog, one shaky and twisted figure after another stood up, with misshapen bodies and the wrong number of eyes, they hissed and murmured as they staggered through the fog.
Lawrence raised the muzzle of his gun in his hand, yet before he and the sailors could fire, a series of dense shots rang out again from the other end of the fog.
A spider-like steam walker appeared abruptly in the fog, heavily armed soldiers of the City State Guards built a barricade around the walker, rifles in the hands of the soldiers and gun towers placed on the top of the steam walker spewed out fiery flames, instantly tearing the monsters in the fog into pieces.
Lawrence ran past the edge of this engagement area, he looked at those suddenly appearing City State Guards in dismay, however, in the next second, those soldiers and the steam walker disappeared into the thick fog again, leaving only a pile of messy rubble in its place.
“Here it is, the sewer entrance – there’s a lift at the end of the walk down there that leads straight to the second waterway!”
(End of chapter)