Chapter 344 “Returning to the sea”

Chapter 344 “Returning to Sail”

In the Frost Eastern Harbor Military Administration Area, many people had been up all night.

It had been over twenty-four hours since the Haiyan had lost contact, and even when the harbor church had sent out a psychic call to the chaplain accompanying the Haiyan, they had received no response.

The only clues or traces were pointing to bad possibilities.

Inside the harbor office, a middle-aged man in a Frost Navy commander’s uniform with thinning hair was sitting grimly behind his desk, with several other commanders sitting in several other chairs in the room, and the atmosphere in the not-so-large room was somber and depressing, as if a storm was brewing.

“There is still no sign of the Seagull, we have searched three times in the direction of Frostbourne Island from the bearing of the Seagull’s last returned signal, and there is nothing on the sea.” A civilian officer with short light brown hair said, shaking his head.

“The most optimistic estimate is that the Seagull’s communications system failed, and the chaplain accompanying the ship had an accident, and the ship drifted off course out of control – but seriously, that’s overly optimistic,” another officer sighed, “A ship that A large ship, even if it drifted out of control could not have drifted beyond the search range in such a short period of time, the greater likelihood is that the Haiyan has suffered a vicious accident and has sunk …… Earlier there was a report from a patrol skiff offshore of a faint explosion heard, and a distant flash of light was seen in the night, and that may have been the Haiyan. ”

“So big a ship, sinking also have to sink a few hours, right? We were the first to send out search forces after the Haiyan was lost,” the civilian officer with short light brown hair frowned, “Not to mention that there was also oil contaminating the sea surface, how could the traces disappear so cleanly? Is it hard to believe that the entire ship could still sink to the bottom of the sea instantly?”

“…… We should send someone to Dagger Island to confirm the situation,” said another female officer, “Perhaps the Sea Petrel isn’t sailing towards Frostbite Island, or perhaps it’s stranded near Dagger Island for some reason ……”

“Dagger Island is in a unique situation right now, sending someone to the island would require complicated procedures ……”

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

The discussion in the room continued unceasingly until a calm voice from behind the desk interrupted everyone: “Process number twenty-two.”

The room quieted down for a moment, and the officers who were discussing raised their sights to look at the middle-aged man behind the desk with thinning hair and a serious face.

“It could be that process twenty-two was activated – the situation was too urgent or there was a risk of a modal leak, or that the Sea Petrel had fallen completely under someone else’s control – and that’s why no word came through,” the chief commander of port defense, Lister, said in a low voice. “Though that doesn’t explain why the wreckage of the Petrel disappeared so cleanly.”

Inside the office, the officers looked at each other in disbelief, the heavy pressure brought by the words “Process 22” instantly made the already oppressive atmosphere even more gloomy.

In the midst of such gravity, Chief Commander Lester paused for a moment and then continued to speak, “I know Admiral Duncan, if the Haiyan had really encountered an irresistible transcendental contamination, he would definitely activate Process 22 without hesitation, so what we need to do in the next phase is not only to continue searching for possible traces of the Haiyan, but we should also figure out what attacked and contaminated that ship – the next stage is to find out the reason for the attack and contamination. and contaminated that ship – if an attacker does exist, it doesn’t have to be tangible, and that’s a huge threat to Frost.”

“An attacker ……” the female officer who had spoken before looked progressively more grave, “If this attacker does exist, do you think it didn’t go along with the Sea Petrel’s ‘Process XXII ‘ and destroyed?”

“One of the first principles when facing transcendental disasters – unless there is strong enough direct evidence, always assume that the enemy still exists,” Liszt said slowly, “Regardless of whether it’s a transcendental item or a transcendental phenomenon, their ‘life force’ is always surprisingly strong.”

Several officers looked at each other for a moment, and one of them spoke hesitantly, “Then the Dagger Island side ……”

“I will submit a request for an investigation to the consul, although the Petrel was involved in an incident on its way back to the home island, and a message was sent when it left Dagger Island that the inspection was successfully completed, but now that that ship has been involved in an incident, there are doubts about the situation on Dagger Island,” Liszt slowly stood up, his hands propped up on the table, and “What’s next for you guys ……”

Before this defense commander could finish his words, a slightly hurried footstep suddenly sounded in the corridor, and a knock on the door that came immediately after interrupted his subsequent words.

Lister frowned, “Enter.”

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

“Gatekeeper?” Surprise was evident on Lister’s face, “What is she doing here?”

“Says it’s about the Sea Petrel, the situation is urgent.”

“Ask her to enter ……,” Lister said immediately, but before his words had fallen, a gray wind had already swept up in the corridor outside the door, and immediately after that the gray wind that seemed to be mixed with pale soot surged into the room, circling rapidly inside the office, while Agatha’s figure stepped out of the The figure of Agatha stepped out of the gray wind – she carried the pewter cane in one hand, which was always around the death magi, and her eyes, which showed through the bandages, had a serious and slightly apologetic look in them.

“My apologies, Colonel Lister, the urgency of the situation was such that I came straight in when I heard your response,” Agatha nodded, “I would like to know where you are at in your current investigations into the whereabouts of the Sea Petrel?” Lister didn’t show any dissatisfaction with Agatha’s behavior of directly entering the office, qualified soldiers know the priorities, and the “gatekeeper” of the city-state already has many privileges in case of emergencies, if this lady appeared in such a hurry, the situation was obviously so urgent that she didn’t have time to be polite.

“We still haven’t found any trace or wreckage of the Haiyan, at present, we initially suspect that General Duncan has activated ‘Process 22’, and the Haiyan may have been sunk,” he said with a grave expression, “Next, we need to expand our search scope , looking for signs of the attackers in the outer sea, and prepare to investigate the situation on Dagger Island.”

“Process Twenty-Two is correct in surmising that the Seagull was indeed contaminated by an invasion of transcendent forces, and that ship has done its duty honorably, but don’t rush into investigating Dagger Island,” Agatha spluttered, “that island may be completely out of control.”

“Dagger Island is out of control?” The muscles in Lister’s face visibly twitched, “What information do you have?”

“…… The source of the intelligence is not at liberty to disclose at this time,” Agatha hesitated, “but the reliability is very high, and I haven’t yet had time to inform the Cathedral and City Hall of the situation, as it may be delayed. Colonel Lister, I would like you to immediately block all shipping lanes around Dagger Island now, forbidding any ships from approaching, and not allowing anything to leave that island – much less land on Frostbourne.”

“Lady Agatha, I must remind you – this is not in line with the process,” Liszt’s tone became serious, “I am willing to trust your judgment as a Gatekeeper, but you should know that every rule is summarized with human lives s – sending out a navy to blockade Dagger Island is no small matter, and I need clearer orders and explanations.”

“At least this won’t make it worse,” Agatha took a half step forward, “I’ve sent someone to the cathedral, and follow-up orders will be coming down soon.”

Lister opened his mouth as if to say something more, but just then a sudden sharp ringing of a bell in the corner of the room interrupted what he was about to say.

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

A few moments later, there was a hissing of airflow and a rapid clicking sound from far away in the copper pipe fixed on the wall next to the table, followed by a crisp metallic clang, the pipe shook and a slight white stream of air emerged from the snap mechanism at the end of the pipe.

Lister opened the carabiner, flipped the cover, took out the capsule compartment from the pipe, took out the note inside and glanced at it quickly, his face changed instantly.

“What is it?” Agatha asked curiously.

“A ship has appeared in the offshore area and signaled a request to enter the harbor,” Lister slowly raised his head, his face grave, “It’s the Petrel.”

There was a quick silence in the room.

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

The Petrel appeared, and after being missing for more than twenty-four hours, it reappeared in the eyes of the Frost People and headed straight for the military dock in East Harbor.

Standing on the lookout at the East Harbor pier, the silhouette of the steam express could already be seen – it was zooming in on the sea horizon, clouds of steamy smoke rising above it.

“The silhouette and the flag on the bow identify …… as the Haiyan.”

A junior officer lowered the binoculars in his hand and said in a complex tone.

Lister, however, remained motionless as he gazed at the dark silhouette on the sea that was gradually approaching, and did not say a word for a long time.

The faint sound of a steam whistle came, accompanied by a peculiar halting rhythm.

“Second signal, Petrel applying for harbor,” the junior officer turned his head and looked at Lister, “sir ……”

“Sink it.” Agatha, who had been silent since a moment ago, finally broke the silence.

(End of chapter)