Deep Sea Embers

The White Oak is back - after a long period of communication interruption and route deviation, this advanced steamship under the name of the Explorers Association finally returned to the city-state of Pland.

Many people were waiting for the ship to return, and countless pairs of eyes were nervously watching the silhouette approaching on the sea.

Judge Fanna saw that at the same time as the whistle of the White Oak sounded, the people on the dock immediately took action:

The staff guiding the ship to dock had already arrived at the location and began to signal the White Oak with lights and flags. The church's guardians went to activate the deep-sea sacred objects that were placed at Pier 1 last night: that It is a large number of "boundary monuments" cast in bronze. The name of the storm goddess Gemonna is engraved on the base, and the grooves on the top are filled with sacred oils and spices. When these boundary monuments are activated, the White Oak docks. The area will be sealed off and become a "sacred area" under the gaze of the goddess.

Further away, there are the police officers sent by the city hall. These ordinary people are not good at dealing with extraordinary things, so their main job is to block all intersections with heavy firepower - ordinary guns and cannons are difficult to deal with the weird and invisible curse. , but if what ran out of the White Oak was a corporeal Defiler, then eight millimeters and four-pounders would be of great use.

Sometimes Vanna can't help but be grateful for the progress of science and technology. These achievements of engineering have given ordinary people who are weak and powerless to have a certain amount of power to intervene in such extraordinary events. Although the results of scientific and technological progress have been good and bad. Bad, but at least... the support of rotating machine guns and artillery has indeed greatly reduced the casualties of the church compatriots over the years.

Vanna looked across the pier and towards the sea in the distance.

The White Oak sounded its second whistle. Guided by the light signals on the shore, the ship began to slow down slowly and stopped some distance away from the dock.

A priest standing next to Vanna was slightly relieved when he saw this, and whispered: "The White Oak has carried out the order. It seems that at least the ship is still under the control of 'human beings'."

"It cannot be said for the time being. Many people affected by anomalies or visions will appear to be no different from ordinary people until they mutate." Fanna shook her head. "Send a second set of signals, send out inspection boats, and have coastal defense guns ready at any time." Be prepared to fire if there is any abnormal movement on the ship."

The order from the Inquisitor was quickly passed on. Since the White Oak's communication device had been damaged, people on the shore could only use lights and flags to communicate with the ship. After a complex set of lights and flags, the White Oak's Three lights lit up on the bow of the ship, and then the rope ladder on its side was lowered.

A speedboat was released from the dock, driven by a small steam engine, and headed quickly towards the White Oak.

On board the speedboat was an entire team of defenders, including eight combatants, a commander, and a deep-sea priest. These loyal priests lit incense on the boat and chanted the Storm Goddess's Holy Name, after they approached the White Oak, they did not board the ship immediately. Instead, they first circled the ship in a complete circle and sprinkled holy oil mixed with seaweed extract in the nearby seawater.

After the oil fell into the sea water, it immediately gave off a slight glow, and gradually connected together, eventually forming a ring that completely surrounded the White Oak.

After doing all this, the priests on the speedboat really approached the White Oak and boarded the ship along the rope ladder.

All this fell in the eyes of Fanna on the observation deck.

It is extremely dangerous to let a ship that has been lost at sea "come home", especially since it is an ocean-going ship that was once responsible for transporting abnormal objects. The White Oak cannot dock directly. It first needs to be at a safe distance. Accept boarding inspection by speedboat outside, and only after preliminary confirmation that there are no signs of evil god corruption on the ship can approach the pier of Purande, but after that, the people on the ship are still not allowed to disembark, and they still need to undergo a second round of inspection by the priests. At the same time, The entire ship will also undergo a more rigorous comprehensive search and purification. After that, all personnel on the ship will be observed in the church at the dock for at least a few days or at most a few weeks, and the entire ship will also be scented. Cleanse for at least a week.

Only when all these processes are completed and without any accidents can the civilized world dare to accept these people who have been lost at sea back home - and if there is a problem in any link, the White Oak and its crew will die. sea.

The Storm Goddess will receive these poor souls.

This cold and even cruel law does not come from anyone's malice, but is the "way of survival" that human society has explored so far.

Of course, there are also city-states that are unwilling or unable to implement these strict rules. Most of these city-states are now concentrated in the first two units of the second volume of middle school history courses, which are required content at the end of the semester.

Time passed by minute by second, and everyone was waiting for the signal sent back by the guardian team who boarded the ship for inspection. There were only two possible signals-if everything was safe, the team would use special psychic communication to send back the signal. If the ship is contaminated, the team will fight to the last man and try to detonate the nitroglycerin on the boat before everyone is killed.

If an ocean-going ship of the size of White Oak is really deeply contaminated by subspace or something, then the few people who boarded the ship for inspection would not be able to come back alive.

Fanna crossed her arms and gently tapped the metal on the arm armor.

A bell suddenly sounded from the chapel on the pier, and the steam relief pipes on both sides of the bell tower rang three long tones.

The priest in the church received the secret message sent back by the inspection team, and the church bells and whistles informed all the teams on the dock:

The ship is safe, the White Oak applies to dock, and special circumstances are reported.

Fanna immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

The ship seems to be in good condition at least for now, which is the biggest good news.

As for reporting on special circumstances...she was not surprised.

It would be strange if there were no special circumstances to report when a mysteriously lost ship docked again.

The White Oak slowly docked. This ocean-going ship that had gone through a lot of twists and turns finally returned to the dock of the civilized world. Although the people on the ship had not yet been allowed to land, they must be able to relax a lot.

More church guards began to board the ship in an orderly manner, preparing to conduct thorough inspections and inquiries. Vanna also left the observation deck and personally led a team of priests to the pier. She walked across the long springboard and finally stepped onto the ship. The deck of the White Oak, and saw the grey-haired, burly captain on the foredeck.

The old captain looked a little haggard. He had obviously worked under high tension for too long, but after seeing the church's inquisitor approaching, the old man immediately cheered up and came to Vanna on his own initiative.

"Hello, I am Vanna, Captain Lawrence, the judge of the Deep Sea Church in the city-state of Pland." Vanna didn't like redundant etiquette, so she chose to say hello straight to the point, "Let's not introduce ourselves - first of all, I would like to say hello Sorry, I hope you and your crew can understand the strict inspections by the city-state authorities and the church."

"Of course, Your Majesty the Inquisitor," Lawrence nodded immediately. He wanted to say "Miss Inquisitor". After all, the other party looked almost the same age as his daughter, but he changed it to a more respectful title at the end of the sentence, " I had expected it, after all... we have lost contact for so long. "

Fanna nodded: "Tell me briefly what happened to the White Oak. Why did you lose contact? Why did it suddenly appear on an unreported route? What's the status of the cargo you escorted, Anomaly 099?"

As soon as these words came out, the expression on Lawrence's face was suddenly full of frustration and nervousness. He sighed, first subconsciously looked around quickly, and then slowly spoke: "You may not believe it when I tell you, we... met that person The legendary lost home ship..."

In front of him, the solemn-looking inquisitor lady suddenly froze on the spot as if she were petrified, with a strange expression on her face.

He couldn't tell what the expression meant, but it looked just like he had after being hit by the Homeless Ship a few days ago.

"Judge...Your Excellency?" Lawrence asked cautiously, "You..."

"Captain Lawrence," Vanna seemed to suddenly wake up and stared at the captain in front of her, "will you say it again?"

"You might not believe me if I tell you..."

"I'll tell you the second half."

"We encountered the legendary ship Lost Home..."

"I believe."

Lawrence was stunned: "Then..."

"You may need to stay at the dock for a few more days, Captain," Vanna said with a serious face, "This matter is very serious, very serious. You... wait, you encountered the Homeless Ship, but everyone Survive?"

The expression on Miss Inquisitor's face suddenly changed slightly, and there was a hint of doubt in her eyes. Lawrence saw this and quickly opened his hands: "We are fine, but the Homeless Ship took away Anomaly 099, which is the puppet coffin. I doubt that This ghost ship is coming for the puppet’s coffin.”

"The Lost Home took Anomaly 099 away?" Fanna frowned, then asked, "What happens after that? Does it let you go?"

"Yes...yes," Lawrence also became nervous and vaguely realized something, "Your Excellency, Judge, has the city recently been..."

"...It doesn't hurt to tell you. After all, it seems that your 'contact' may be more serious than ours." Fanna sighed and looked at the old captain in front of her. "Captain Lawrence, you may not be the only one who has lost his hometown recently." No. Let’s find a quiet place, I need to know more.”