Ashes Of Deep Sea-Chapter 315 - 319 Hidden Shadows

Chapter 315: Chapter 319 Hidden Shadows

Chapter 315 -319 Hidden Shadows

Belazov had completed his inspection of Dagger Island and his supervision of the research work, and now, it was time for the military representative to leave.

Near the pier in the bay area of Dagger Island, Professor Melson, who had personally come to see him off, looked up at the “Sea Swallow” that was making preparations to depart.

Sailors were boarding the ship, port officials were checking the paperwork, and clergy in long robes, carrying censers, were walking near the ropes, gently shaking the censers and praying for the mechanical parts of the ship.

The weather was clear today, making it a good day to set sail.

Belazov stood on the dock, watching groups of sailors return to the Sea Swallow, and turned to Professor Melson, saying, “Professor, I’m impressed by your research work, but I feel obliged to remind you—the project on Dagger Island is progressing slowly, and some people in the City-State are getting restless.”

“My orders were to understand the various properties of that submersible under safe conditions, try to decode its material composition, and in the next phase, try to understand the principles behind its appearance,” the old professor spoke calmly, “Right now, we are advancing according to the schedule. If the bigwigs at the ministry really have any ideas, they might try to find those blueprints left by the Frost Queen and build a fourth or even a fifth submersible—it would be more convenient for someone to go down there rather than us scraping samples in the laboratory every day.”

“They won’t like that response—but I would be happy to relay it for you,” General Belazov smiled, “They won’t have the courage to build a submersible, which will make their expressions even more interesting.”

Professor Melson shrugged, then fell silent for a moment, speaking with a mixed tone, “Though it’s a joke, to be honest, I’m quite worried about the progress of this matter.”

Belazov didn’t speak, just calmly watched the old professor who had lived through the “Queen’s Era.”

“Day after day, scraping samples and analyzing physical and chemical properties is an essential part of the standard research process, but you see, the things we can analyze from those samples are really limited,” the old professor sighed, “Even if one day we truly open that hatch, I’m afraid we won’t uncover more secrets from the submersible—the real secrets are not here, General, you understand what I mean.”

“…Below a kilometre, Professor, your thoughts are somewhat dangerous.”

Melson sighed, “I thought you, a military man, would be more inclined towards dangerous ideas than a scholar like me.”

“My duty is to protect the safety of the City-State, this mission makes me prefer a cautious and conservative course of action,” Belazov spoke faintly, “That said, are you actually considering restarting… those ‘diving devices’?”

“You actually mean ‘restarting the Deep Abyss Project’ don’t you?” the old professor smiled and shook his head, “Don’t worry, I am not reckless to that extent, but there’s an unavoidable truth before us—the key to the whole matter lies in the deep waters, and a replica diving bell in the laboratory won’t solve any mysteries. We really should consider a ‘backup plan’—not necessarily initiating a dive, but in case a ninth or even tenth replica surfaces, we should at least have some measures in place.”

“…I will convey your suggestion to the ministry,” Belazov paused thoughtfully, exhaling softly, “And until explicit orders are given, the project on this side of the secret chamber will proceed as usual.”

The old professor nodded, “Thank you.”

The Sea Swallow departed.

The steam-powered fast ship cut through the calm waves, leaving behind a beautifully spreading wake on the Endless Sea, while the steep, winding coast of Dagger Island slowly receded from view, gradually vanishing into the thin fog common in the northern waters.

On the deck, Belazov withdrew his gaze from the island and turned towards the direction of the captain’s quarters.

Although Dagger Island was not far from Frost Island, it still had a few hours journey. During this boring trip, he needed to organize his thoughts and contemplate how to report to the managers of the City-State about the third submersible—and how to bring up Professor Melson’s recommendations given at the end.

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The Deep Abyss Project… This case from half a century ago had left such a profound and terrifying impact that it gradually became an unthinking taboo, but now that new replicas had begun to surface from the deep sea, it was probably time to adopt a more proactive approach.

A sailor waited near the captain’s quarters and nodded to the general, reporting, “The steam core is operating normally; we will reach Frost No.1 Port in four hours.”

Belazov glanced at the somewhat unfamiliar sailor, nodded slightly, “I need to rest for a while, do not disturb me unless necessary.”

“Yes, General.”

Belazov returned to the captain’s quarters, sat down at the desk, and listened to the faint mechanical sounds coming from deep below the floor, exhaling gently.

He would soon be back on the island.

He steadied himself, casually opened a drawer in his desk, and took out a journal that had been placed there beforehand.

This trip to Dagger Island was uneventful, and the return journey went smoothly, but some procedural matters still couldn’t be overlooked—it was both an order and a duty.

After opening the journal, the first sentence that caught his eye read:

“Even if everything is normal, one must still affirm one’s sanity and judgement, and even if there is nothing suspicious around, the following content must be verified.”

Belazov flipped through the pages, executing a series of operations with great proficiency.

The sound of turning pages echoed in the room—

“You are left-handed, confirm this now…”

“Recall a color, then turn to the next page… The color should be blue or black.”

“Keyword, Dagger, imagine this, confirm if the image in your mind matches the picture on the next page.”

“Your name, Belazov, try spelling it on the blank space on the next page.”

“This departure, the accompanying personnel have been streamlined, with only thirty-two on board—including yourself. If there is a noticeable deviation in personnel, conduct a roll call immediately.”

“The deputy you’ve brought along is Benjamin Yorton, who has a burn scar near his right eye.”

While flipping through the pages, Belazov was performing a simple memory check or subconsciously repeating, but suddenly, his movement stopped.

His gaze fell on the last sentence of the page in the journal.

“A burn scar near the right eye…” Belazov silently repeated the sentence, a sense of inexplicable confusion fluttering in his mind.

Right eye?

He slowly closed the journal, placed it back into the secret compartment, calmly stood up, and pushed open the door of the captain’s cabin.

“Benjamin!” he called out the name of his deputy.

A middle-aged military officer quickly emerged from a nearby room and came to Belazov.

“General?”

Belazov looked at Benjamin’s face.

Right in the center of his face were his eyes, and there was only one.

A faint sense of dissonance pulsed in his heart, and Belazov’s reason told him that something he was seeing seemed off. However, a hazy veil seemed to cloud his thoughts, and he couldn’t pinpoint the problem, yet everything seemed to make sense.

This slight cognitive discrepancy made the general increasingly vigilant; he stared at Benjamin for a long time, trying to find the source of that subtle sense of dissonance until the deputy’s voice entered his ears again, “General? What’s the matter?”

“…Benjamin, how many eyes should a person have?” Belazov suddenly asked.

The deputy was momentarily stunned, as if his mind had gone blank at the question. Seeing this reaction, Belazov quickly spoke, “Forget the question, just something I said off-hand—go back to your room to rest, I’ll go down and check on things.”

The deputy blinked, puzzled, but still nodded, “Yes, General.”

The one-eyed man named Benjamin returned to his room, appearing unremarkable. Belazov watched his retreating figure, first breathing a sigh of relief, then swiftly turned and walked quickly towards the end of the corridor.

He knew he had been somewhat rash—having already harbored suspicions, it was not wise to ask such an odd question to someone who seemed a bit off, even if that person was one of his most trusted deputies.

But without that inquiry, he couldn’t have confirmed the strangeness he vaguely sensed.

Now, he confirmed it.

Something was not quite right on the ship, something hidden and dangerous had boarded.

He quickly moved through the corridor and arrived at the sailor’s mess.

The mess was full of sailors, the soldiers looking unexpectedly nervous as they watched the sudden appearance of the general.

Belazov’s gaze swept over each person there, then he waved his hand at them and quickly headed towards the bridge.

There were also people here.

The deck was crowded with many as well.

The Sea Swallow had streamlined its crew for this trip, with only thirty-two people on board at departure.

The numbers were very, very wrong.

Yet the thought “all is normal” continued to jump through his mind, as if combating the dissonance that was clearly evident.

Belazov stood on the stairs leading to the engine room, his expression calm as he looked down the ramp.

The tearing in his consciousness was battling, but he no longer needed to care about the details of the two conflicting thoughts.

It was more than two hours until the arrival at Frost Island.

This ship, it was heading straight towards City-State.

He took a deep breath and stepped towards the engine room, the deepest part of the ship.