Abyss

In February 1995, the Heiwei No. 2 hydrometeorological ship was secretly launched in Dalian Port to continue investigating the "Kuroshio Phenomenon", and the operation was signed - the end of the Kuroshio.In addition to several well-known oceanographers, meteorologists, biologists and other professionals who went to sea with the ship, there were also a medical team, several naval soldiers and some scholars in other fields.

Lin Qiubai, who was one of the youngest and most insightful professors of geology at that time, was naturally also in this ranks.

Lin Qiubai originally didn't want to participate in this investigation mission. Although he has always regarded geological investigations as more important than life, but now that his wife is about to give birth and is waiting in the hospital, it is really not the time for him to leave; As for the small number of people, if he leaves, who will take care of his wife who is about to give birth?

Moreover, he always had an indescribable feeling, as if this inspection mission was not ordinary. Although the people who came to him were holding red-headed documents in their hands, whenever he asked how long it would take to come back, But they hesitated and couldn't give a letter of approval.

Later, I learned from my old friend Jiang Chao that this is a research mission that has been carried out secretly since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Outsiders who have not joined the party participated in this investigation.

The meaning inside and outside the words is that being invited is trust and luck.

Lin Qiu is in a dilemma: go, I feel sorry for my small family; don't go, I may miss the only chance in my short life to be famous in history.

Fortunately, his wife, Han Mei, is a virtuous and sensible person. She couldn't see her husband being in such a difficult situation, so she gently stroked her upside-down washbasin-sized belly and said to Lin Qiubai: You can just go at ease, our baby is here I'm living securely in this stomach, you, I'll come back in time.

Lin Qiubai felt that his wife, Han Mei, was a first-class and virtuous woman in the world, and that his son would definitely be a talented person in the future.And what I have to do is to put down the things in my hands after returning from this scientific examination, teach a book in the university steadily, stay with my wife and son, and be a good husband and father.

With such longings in mind, Lin Qiubai boarded the research ship with a small amount of luggage.

Lin Qiubai is a man of learning, extreme rigor and prudence are his consistent style of conduct, especially his perception of the changes around him is difficult for many people to come close to.When the research ship left the port, Lin Qiubai realized that there was something different about this ship.

The first domestic exploration of the Kuroshio was five years ago. It was a Sino-Japanese cooperation. The most advanced research ship at that time, Xiangyanghong 09, was responsible for the investigation mission. Xiangyanghong 09 was fine in terms of displacement and horsepower. Said to be second to none in the country.

But the "Black Tail" that Lin Qiubai boarded was obviously specially refitted. Although it looked ordinary in appearance, even a bit like a civilian ship, Lin Qiubai's intuition told him that compared with Xiangyanghong 09, this ship The performance of the ship is even better.

It's just that the moment he boarded the boat, even though the Black Tail was still floating steadily on the sea, Lin Qiubai himself was already completely overwhelmed by his curiosity and thirst for knowledge about the underwater world.Although he boarded the ship in a hurry, Lin Qiubai didn't even read the real documents, and only heard from the leader that this time he was studying the Kuroshio phenomenon, but he still maintained a very high enthusiasm for the task in hand.For three or four days, Lin Qiubai was immersed in this excitement. Apart from constantly measuring, calculating and drawing, Lin Qiubai hardly did anything. , Even in the four days since boarding the ship, I only slept for less than twenty hours.

Lin Qiubai, who occasionally stopped to smoke a cigarette, would feel that he was crazy.

The rest of the people on this ship, except those temporarily transferred soldiers, should have been carrying out this scientific research mission, including all the scientific research personnel. They should be the old man on the Black Tail, Lin Qiubai It's normal to be excited when you're young and it's your first time boarding a ship to participate in an expedition, but why are other people so excited?Even some old people who seem to have passed their seventy-year-old age seem to have had chicken blood.In that era, such a mental state was obviously problematic.

Lin Qiubai also tried to inquire about it on the sidelines, but the people on the boat are very tight-lipped, and Lin Qiubai and Lin Qiubai do not distinguish between you and me in normal times, but when the research object is mentioned, everyone changes their expressions and keeps silent. It is only perfunctory to say that it is studying the Kuroshio.

Is it just the Kuroshio?Of course not, this is just external rhetoric.The real research object must not be so simple.

Lin Qiubai also thought about it for himself, the research object that can make them have this kind of reaction must be enough to subvert the traditional cognition of human beings.And it should have reached the final critical moment.

At the beginning, the scientific research plan was proceeding in an orderly manner. Although it was mid-winter in the middle and high latitudes of the northern hemisphere, under the cover of the Kuroshio Current, the Black Tail was like soaking in a hot spring, warm and humid.The people on the boat began to wonder whether they were in the spring, and whether the grain on land had begun to sprout.

Under such a temperature and humidity environment, it is difficult for people to insist on wearing thick winter clothes. Although our country was short of material resources at that time, these scientists were equipped with relatively good materials.These people's coats are thick and warm, and gradually become a bit unsuitable in such a temperature, so many people, including Lin Qiubai, choose to take off their coats and continue working.But these coats were "luxury goods" at the time and needed to be kept well. A group of people simply put the folded and bagged coats into the warehouse one by one, making preparations that they would not be needed for a while.

In fact, even on the return journey, it may not be necessary. Even if it is deep winter, after all, it is still at sea, the temperature is much higher than that on land, and the time to go back will not be very long. At most, it's just a cold. For these people who have been running in extreme weather all year round, is this still a big deal?

Lin Qiubai found out very sensitively that there was only one young soldier on the boat who hadn't put away his cotton coat.

Lin Qiubai found someone to pass a cigarette to the little soldier when no one was around.On the boat, it is impossible for soldiers to bring smoke up. Unless they are scientists like Lin Qiubai, they really don't even think about carrying a needle.Cigarettes are really a good thing on board.

The little soldier pulled his dry lips and smiled plainly, then shook his head and said to Lin Qiubai, "Thank you, Professor Lin, I don't smoke."

Lin Qiubai looked at the little soldier for a while, the flush on his cheeks should be caused by the perennial sea breeze, coupled with his oyster-like accent, Lin Qiubai guessed that he must be a native of Dalian.

Lin Qiubai lit the cigarette, stuffed it into his mouth, took a deep breath to make himself look more energetic, and then asked, "Is the little brother from Dalian?"

The little soldier nodded and said, "Yes, he was from Dalian before he became a soldier."

Lin Qiubai said, "The temperature is so high, everyone has taken off their coats, why don't you take them off? It's easy to get sick if you cover them like this." Lin Qiubai said this, half out of concern for the little soldier's body, and half out of concern for the little soldier's body. Out of curiosity-could there be some hidden disease?Or do people who grew up by the sea have their own particulars?

The little soldier bowed his head slightly and smiled in embarrassment, and then his expression was a little hesitant, as if he hesitated to speak.Lin Qiubai was the most disgusting to see people like this, it made him feel more itchy than sweeping the soles of his feet with a feather, so he couldn't help asking, "What's going on? Tell me, I'll listen."

The little soldier frowned slightly, and said, "Then I told you, don't talk about it! My dad said, it's all about ghosts and snakes, you can't talk nonsense!"

Lin Qiubai just laughed, and said, "Let's talk, let's talk, it's not the time for sex, just tell me, I just don't want to talk about it outside."

The humid sea breeze was already a bit cool at night, and it blew past the ears of the two of them, adding a bit of tranquility.

The little soldier bit his lower lip, as if he had made up his mind, looked into Lin Qiubai's eyes, and then said, "Our family is a fishing village, and most people in the village take fishing as their livelihood. I heard Mr. Zhang said before—— Mr. Zhang is the oldest and most experienced fisherman in our village. He said that the sea in this area is very strange, and it is very hot when it is cold on the shore.”

Lin Qiubai was most interested in things he didn't know, and he was listening with his ears upright. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "This is so strange. People of the older generation don't understand it. It's called a warm current, a type of ocean current. We Isn’t it just to study this this time? It’s normal.”

The little soldier shook his head, "No, it's hot here. Fishermen like us have known it for generations. It's nothing. It's not surprising. What's strange is that Zhang Erye said that there was a sea god in this place. They would throw animals into the sea to pray for peace and calm, but after the founding of the People's Republic of China, these things were not allowed to be mentioned, especially in those years. Poseidon."

Lin Qiubai looked at the serious look on the little soldier's face. He obviously didn't believe it, but he couldn't bear to interrupt his seriousness, so he pretended to be curious and asked, "What happened next? Did the sea god appear? What did he look like? Yes?" Isn't it blue-faced and fang-toothed, vicious?"

The little soldier didn't hear the ridicule in Lin Qiubai's tone, and continued, "I don't know what he looks like, because Zhang Erye was blind when he came back from the sea for the last time. But he is already considered lucky, because he and Those who went to sea with him," said the little soldier's tone became a little heavy, "when they came back, they were all frozen into icicles."

"Bingliuzi" is a Northeast dialect, which refers to the cone-shaped icicles that quickly form from the snow left under the eaves in winter due to the extremely low temperature at night.Hearing this, Lin Qiubai couldn't help feeling a bit chilly, he was tall and wearing a shirt, couldn't help shivering secretly in the warm sea breeze.

"Really? It's not to scare you juniors not to go to sea rashly, is it?" Lin Qiubai tried his best to calm himself down and try to find a suitable reason for this abnormal thing.He has such a characteristic that no matter what happens to him, he always has to find a reason to convince himself first, so that he can calm down and think about the problem he is facing.

The little soldier still shook his head, but his face was not very good-looking, "How is it possible! There was no me at that time, and it is true that I did not see it with my own eyes, but my grandfather was a capable man in the village at that time. Every time there was a fishing boat out to sea, he would He was going to go with him, and he died on that voyage, and my dad, who was only ten years old, collected the corpse that year."

When Lin Qiubai realized the authenticity of this incident, his curiosity once again overcame his fear, so he asked again, "Have you found anything else on the boat?"

The little soldier said, "No, except for Zhang Erye, those who were frozen into icicles. Zhang Erye was born cold and afraid of the cold, so he didn't freeze to death because he was dressed much thicker than others, but only I took a deep breath, and my eyes were frozen blind. After that, Zhang Erye can no longer go to sea. It is because of this that I..."

Before the little soldier could finish speaking, a dark-faced man with long hair came out of the cabin, stretched his waist, and asked loudly in Mandarin with a Shandong accent, "What time is it, brother? Is it me?" This watch is broken, why is it already eight o'clock and it's still not dawn?"