Every day is one step closer to reality

Someone was hurrying on the stairwell.

At the door of the dormitory building, people rushed out one after another.

At this time, he no longer cared about whether his clothes were neat or tidy, buttons were wrongly buttoned, shoelaces were tied crookedly, and one person just wore pajamas and casually threw on a coat and ran out.

Xiao Jia, who was already asleep, opened his eyes alertly, listened carefully to the movements around him, then opened the curtains, looked downstairs, and saw several familiar figures.

It's definitely not a small matter for these big guys to react so violently at two o'clock in the morning. Are there changes in the sea?

"Tsk, what exactly did the boss do?"

Feng Yi didn't tell him in detail last night. He only knew that Feng Yi went for a walk on the seabed. What he did in the process was not yet known.

But what is certain is that no one has yet contacted them about what Feng Yi did. Otherwise, the entire dormitory building would have been surrounded long ago.

As long as Feng Yi is not discovered and his true colors are not exposed, everything else is a trivial matter.

With this thought in mind, Xiao Jia lay down and continued to sleep, seizing the time to regain his energy.

Since you have chosen this career, you must always be prepared to have enough energy to run away if Feng Yi's true identity is exposed.

In the next room, Feng Yi was already asleep.

The marked route is not short. This is the first time I have tried this marking method. It consumes a lot of money. I am now in a state of rest and energy replenishment. As long as there is no loud shouting or negative emotional information coming from outside, he will continue to rest in this state.

There were no incoming calls on the phone, but there were a few new message reminders. The movement was not big, and it did not wake Feng Yi up.

That night, Feng Yi dreamed of a snake swimming in the sea...

In an office building not far away.

The people who came from the dormitory didn't bother to rest, panting, their eyes already fixed on several computers.

"Quick! Bring me the data!"

"Is this the newly received statistical chart of starfish biomass?!"

The data graph displayed on one of the computers shows the number of starfish individuals in the unit space at different times.

In some areas, the number of starfish individuals per unit space increased rapidly, while in other areas it decreased sharply.

This is unusual! !

Because of this, the unmanned underwater vehicle interrupts its mission and uploads data in advance.

The first reaction of the personnel on duty when they saw the data was—the submersible was malfunctioning? Urgent error report?

But as more and more data were received, and more detailed video files came in, it was proven that it was not a misjudgment!

Something really abnormal happened!

"Impossible! It shouldn't be!"

"The number of starfish in the area near the coast is increasing rapidly... but the number of starfish in the distant sea is decreasing..."

"Only starfish have experienced this change? No, not only starfish, but also fewer fish?"

"There are indeed fewer fish. In addition, there are other conditions."

An expert walked in from outside, still holding a mobile phone in his hand, and had just finished making a call.

"When I came here, I asked a fishing friend. He said that a few of them went fishing at night. From last night to now, they didn't catch a few fish, especially in the second half of the night. They couldn't catch anything. They brought portable cables. The remote-controlled robot took pictures of the underwater situation. I just asked them for the video."

While talking, the man projected the screen of his mobile phone to the monitor next to him.

"It's not that there are no fish at all under the water, but the fish don't eat the bait! They don't eat the ones spilled into the water! This didn't happen at the same time yesterday."

A researcher who was staring closely at the computer screen almost knitted his eyebrows when he saw this, "However, the monitoring of the water environment shows that it is still within the normal range, and the data sent by each monitoring station is not abnormal."

"Is this the latest sampling and analysis of seawater?"

"Um."

"Test again! Wait, take a sample of the seawater and take it back to the laboratory on the top floor for testing! The new instruments there are more accurate!"

An older professor was slower. After he came in, he came in front of the computer that recorded the latest data. He looked at the screen with great effort and reached out to take off the reading glasses worn by the colleague next to him. Forgot to bring it."

For a time, in the small room, various voices were mixed together, including people arguing, talking to themselves, printing documents, and typing on the keyboard.

Suddenly someone shouted: "The latest video of the bottom of the sea in the core area of ​​the situation has been transmitted!"

All the mixed sounds pressed the pause button at this moment, everything at hand was put on hold for the time being, and their eyes were glued to the screen in front of them——

In the dark seabed, under the light of the submarine, the severed arms and legs remained there quietly, which was extremely strange.

As the camera moves forward, everything in the picture is in a similar situation.

Like a silent undersea horror movie.

Seeing the broken wrists all over the screen, everyone felt a chill running down their backs.

These marine organisms are extremely sensitive to environmental changes, and their behavior will be very different if certain changes are imperceptible to humans.

Yesterday, we saw that starfish were still coming in force, and everyone was worried about how to deal with this wave of attacks. Is it like this now?

What happened there in such a short period of time to stimulate these starfish to commit suicide collectively?

What's the secret behind this?

People like Professor Li who are pessimistic think of "climate anomalies" at the first moment.

Because I have experienced an abnormal climate period and know the horror of that period, when encountering such a sudden and unexplainable event, the first thing that pops up in my mind is that the "climate abnormal period" is coming back!

The team leader, who looked relatively calm, thought for a moment and said: "The data we have received now is limited, and the fact that the data is literally like this does not prove that this is the case. After all, the submarine we use has limited functions and insufficient intelligence. The quantity released is small, and the data measured in the sea are very limited. In any case, we can’t draw any conclusions yet. Increase the number of submarines! If you don’t have them, borrow them! I’ll apply for a manned submarine and see for myself!”

For the investigation team and experts in related fields, this is destined to be a sleepless night, and they will not even sleep well in the next few days.

In the morning, the sun peeked out from the clouds.

When Feng Yi woke up, there seemed to be a snake's tail swinging in the sea in his mind.

Yawning, I stood up, took my phone and looked through it.

When I clicked on the chat app, my eyelids twitched for a moment, and my somewhat dazed consciousness suddenly woke up.

Several work-related chat groups were almost crowded with messages. Feng Yi did not immediately go through the group messages. He first read the private messages sent to him by others.

It's not about privacy, it's mainly about telling what happened and today's action arrangements.

This information is summarized as follows:

Early this morning, the unmanned submarine deployed on a mission in the waters of Mocheng discovered an abnormal situation in the sea. The team's original mission arrangement was temporarily changed. Feng Yi had no assigned tasks and could move freely.

Feng Yi continued to browse the group chat messages, his eyebrows raised.

Have changes in the sea been discovered?

It’s just that there isn’t much useful information in the group, and there are mostly speculations. People who are familiar with the latest situation will not talk about it in the chat group. Several core leaders in the team disappeared after saying a few words, or they may be too busy to watch the group.

Feng Yi stood up quickly. He planned to go out and take a look. He didn't know if the army of starfish in the sea had dispersed now.

"Boss, do you have any plans for today?" Xiao Jia asked.

"Not yet." After thinking about it, Feng Yi added, "Don't go fishing today. Pay attention to any changes nearby."

"From the sea?"

"On land. For example, did the local residents notice any movement, and the reactions of small animals."

I don't know if the markers in the sea will affect the people of Mocheng. It stands to reason that the marked route is some distance from Mocheng, and those marking substances should have dispersed with the flow of sea water now.

After leaving the dormitory, Feng Yi did not go to the dock immediately.

Eat first, I'm hungry.

I saw several students in the cafeteria, all of whom were led by their instructors to follow up on the starfish outbreak. Feng Yi had borrowed course materials and notes from them before.

Focusing on his meal, Feng Yi did not participate in their discussion. After eating, he went to the dock with them.

On the way to the dock, Feng Yi listened to them talking about "magical events under the sea."

Feng Yi's acting skills started up, he was shocked, confused, and curious, and he responded with a few words from time to time:

"They escaped...evacuated?"

"Really? All withdrawn?"

"Oh...that's it...I didn't even know!"

Facing Feng Yi's extremely deceptive face and his aura as an Internet celebrity expert, several students felt particularly accomplished and shared the information they knew and their own analyses.

Student: "A large group of starfish cut themselves off collectively. Many of them cut off two arms and legs. I don't know what stimulated them to cut themselves like this."

Feng Yi: "What do you think?"

Student: "There are only a few reasons. First of all, there are no large numbers of natural enemies in the sea. Let's rule out natural enemies first."

Feng Yi: "...Hmm!"

Student: "The most likely cause is the oppression of the external environment. Collective self-inflicted suicide. This has not happened before, but this time the situation is too strange. Now, firstly, no seawater pollution has been found, and secondly, no sudden change in temperature has been detected. There are no abnormal reports in other items, it’s just... quite sudden. The unknown is what makes people uneasy and full of doubts!"

The pier is still busy.

People fishing for starfish were busy pouring them out of the nets, and vendors looking to buy starfish also lined up.

Oyster and clam farmers gathered together, wondering if they had received the latest news. The sadness on their faces was greatly reduced, and their voices were raised by one degree.

Several students saw this and whispered:

"Sure enough, we caught more starfish than yesterday."

"Inshore starfish are gathering towards the coast. What's strange is that today's temperature is about the same as yesterday, but they have become less active in hunting."

"The nearshore area is gathering, but the starfish are retreating further away, and this wave cannot explode. I heard from my instructor that there is a strange 'vacuum zone' in the sea. There are very few fish there, and only the starfish are left. Cut off the fallen arms and legs. It's like a barrier. On this side of the barrier, starfish gather toward the coast, and on the other side of the barrier, the gathered starfish disperse."

"It's like the circle drawn by Sun Wukong. The demons and monsters outside the circle can't get in. It's a bit like a barrier... I suspect there is some special power..."

"What nonsense are you talking about! My teacher and the others are currently sampling in that area, and the data is still being collected. I don't know the specific situation, so don't make random guesses, and don't tell anyone about anything! Also, don't let the media hear it, you They can say a hundred, and they may not know how to compile it. Hey, a ship is coming!"

Feng Yi looked over and saw a scientific research ship docking, and saw Professor Ding and others.

Seeing Feng Yi, Professor Ding came over. Probably because I didn't sleep well at night, my eyes are blue and black, and I look tired, but not sleepy, and my mental state is okay.

Professor Ding stopped Feng Yi and said, "Our sea snake mission is about to start, but there is an emergency here. I discussed it with Lao Li this morning and stayed here for a few more days. It will be very difficult here next." I'm busy and you can't get involved. If you have no other arrangements, you can leave Mo City first."

Feng Yi responded.

But I thought: I'm not in a hurry to leave. I also want to see more here to see what they can find out.

After walking around again, Feng Yi saw the figures of the volunteers salvaging marine garbage.

Feng Yi asked the people next to him: "Why are they here? Didn't they say they salvage once a week? I just saw them two days ago, why are they here again today?"

A student next to me explained: "There is something abnormal here. My teacher asked them to come over to help with sampling. They have a small manned submersible. I heard that this volunteer organization is supported by a big boss and is very rich."

As he spoke, he glanced at the submersible with envy.

They also want to see the mysterious "boundary" under the sea.

But Feng Yi's focus was not on this. He saw something familiar.

After marking the route last night, he felt obviously tired. Moreover, he stayed in the sea for a little longer. In order to avoid exposure risks, he went back first.

The "metal garbage" with its tail cut off, the broken part was thrown away, but the remaining part was not dug out.

At this time, in the area where the volunteers salvaged garbage, there was a small piece of "metal garbage" placed on one of the shelves.

Feng Yi walked over: "This thing..."

A volunteer in charge of garbage sorting was busy with the work at hand and did not pay attention to Feng Yi's appearance. When he heard the sound, he raised his head and quickly glanced at the position he was pointing at. "Ah, this is very useful. It cannot be put together with other garbage."

Feng Yi looked serious, "Could it be some kind of spy device?"

The volunteer laughed and said: "No! During the abnormal climate period, we spent a lot of money to install a batch of seabed monitors here, and paid a lot of money to hire people to install them. Later, when the abnormal climate period ended, the equipment was upgraded and replaced, and most of the old equipment was recycled , but there are still a few that cannot be fully recycled due to some reasons and the technical limitations of the time. This is it!"

Feng Yi understood. It turned out to be a monitor that had been deactivated.

But I still don’t understand: “Whoever installed it can dismantle it, why is it still left on the seabed?”

The other party said helplessly: "The installation company has been canceled a long time ago, and the employees can't be found. The company's technology back then was very good, and its underwater installation capabilities simply exceeded the limits of the human body! It may also be that they are rich enough and have sophisticated equipment."

"The cutting-edge equipment from twenty or thirty years ago is nothing now, and no one has the technical ability to recycle it?" Feng Yi asked.

The man spread his hands and said, "Ah, we have the technical capabilities, but due to some accidents, part of the database was damaged. The detailed monitor distribution map has disappeared. After deactivation, it is impossible to locate it, and it is impossible to know the general area. The situation on the seabed is complicated. , some monitors are installed in secret locations, and the garbage on the seabed has also caused a certain degree of interference, making it difficult to find. Today I was commissioned to check the seabed. Who knew I would find this. Unfortunately, it is only a small part. "

"What's the use of keeping this? Sell it for money?" Feng Yi asked.

"It's not very valuable. If I really want to sell it, I might just sell it for...a few thousand."

"A few thousand dollars is a lot!" Feng Yi was surprised.

For ordinary people, a few thousand dollars is a huge amount of money. I can’t tell that this little thing is quite valuable.

The volunteer sighed and shook his head, "If it were complete, it would cost over a million! There is a collector who collects this. Alas, I don't know how it was broken. What a pity!"

Feng Yi: "..."

As soon as I moved my tail, millions turned into thousands.

Thousands of dollars went into someone else's hands with just a throw.

If you didn’t throw it away, you can take it back to the boat and say you caught it!

Anyway, fishermen don’t take the air route, and they don’t use the air force. It’s not unusual to bring back anything but fish!

The volunteer continued to sort out the marine garbage, and said: "I hope I have better luck today. I can also fish out the remaining parts and put them together to sell more."

Feng Yi left silently.

If they follow the marked route, they might actually be able to find the remaining parts of the monitor.

He didn't worry too much about this matter, but it reminded Feng Yi.

Just because some objects look like junk doesn't mean they aren't valuable!

Don’t rely solely on conjecture!

Especially those hidden under the sea.

Putting these aside, Feng Yi looked at the scientific research ship that was setting off again.

Generally speaking, the current situation is roughly what he expected...

It just marks a line temporarily. The chemical markers will not just stay in one place. Over time, they will disperse and deteriorate. Soon this "enchantment" will disappear and everything will return to normal.

The Starfish army has withdrawn, and there is little chance of regrouping in the short term.

In this way, this incident will be over.

However, there is no rush to leave Mo City and stay for two more days to observe. Watch what the starfish do and see what conclusions the experts can draw.

Thinking this, Feng Yi looked up when he heard the movement in the sky.

In the sky, three cold black helicopters flew in from a distance, getting closer and closer. Judging from the model and the logo printed on them -

People from the Special Investigation Team of the Federal Security Bureau.

The prefix "Special" specializes in investigating ecologically related cases and situations with special social impact.

Feng Yi: "..."

Grass.

what! to! At! this! ah!

Is it too late to run away now?

See you tomorrow.