Chen Hao's fingers were still on the start button, sweat stains remaining on the metal surface. A breeze blew in from the sea, carrying a salty taste and a slight chill. Nana's voice was soft, but everyone heard it.
"System synchronization complete."
He didn't look up or move, just stared at the sea ahead. The sunlight reflected off the water, dazzlingly bright. Susan stood to the right, gripping the railing, her knuckles slightly white. Carl, crouching by the hatch, had just finished checking the piping one last time and patted his trousers as he stood up.
The engine started.
It started with a low hum, like a sound coming from underground, followed by a slight rocking of the ship. The propulsion system below deck began to operate, the thrusters churning the seawater with a muffled thud. The harbor mooring lines were released one by one, and the last gangplank was tucked into a storage compartment at the stern by Karl.
The ship started moving.
Slowly, steadily, they moved away from the shore. The base receded into the distance, becoming a blurry outline on the horizon. No one spoke. The flight path on the navigation screen was already set; the red dot was still flashing, indicating they were still a long way from there.
Chen Hao finally lowered his hand and wiped the sweat from his palms. He turned to look at the three of them.
“We’re not going there to fight,” he said, “but we can’t back down either.”
Susan took a breath and put on her headphones. The audio playing was the recording she'd made—a lakeside scene at dawn, birdsong, and the wind rustling through the leaves. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, her gaze was more steady.
Karl walked back to the cockpit and casually placed the toolbox on the rack. He glanced at the pressure gauge, then at the depth gauge, confirming everything was normal. Nana sat at the control panel, her finger swiping across the screen to bring up the data stream from the dual-frequency detection module.
"Magnetic field readings are normal, and the course is stable," she said. "We expect to enter the deep ocean in seven hours."
Chen Hao nodded and walked to the center of the deck. The sea breeze had picked up, making his clothes stick to his body. He gazed at the distant sea, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind.
"If this thing actually came to life, wouldn't it think we're pretty noisy?"
Susan paused, then couldn't help but laugh. "You mean we'd sail over there in a rumbling boat, like setting off firecrackers in the middle of the night?"
"Pretty much." Chen Hao grinned. "They're probably sleeping right now. Let's bang on the door."
Carl poked his head out of the cabin: "So, do you want it to wake up or not?"
“Being awake is better than not knowing,” Chen Hao said. “What we fear most is that it keeps watching us, but we don’t know anything about it.”
Nana suddenly spoke up: "The signal frequency is fluctuating slightly."
All three people turned to her at the same time.
“It’s not that the pulses are getting faster or slower.” She stared at the screen. “It’s that the waveform has a slight distortion, like a precursor to resonance.”
Chen Hao leaned closer to take a look. The graph was jumping, not by much, but it was definitely different from before.
"Is it due to ocean currents?" Susan asked.
“Low probability.” Nana shook her head. “The water flow in this area is currently stable, and the temperature difference is within the normal range. This kind of distortion is closer to… some kind of feedback.”
“Feedback?” Carl frowned. “Does it mean it knows we’re approaching?”
"It cannot be determined," she said, "but the direction of the interference source is offset by 15 degrees from the flight path, so it is recommended to adjust the course to avoid it."
Chen Hao paused for two seconds, then ordered: "Change course, veer ten degrees to the right, maintain speed."
The ship slowly turned. The sea remained calm, the sky a clear blue, and nothing seemed amiss. Yet everyone knew that something was changing.
Susan turned on the recorder and began writing in the flight log. The first line read: "At 9:17 AM, 'Explorer One' officially set sail, heading southeast, target unknown signal source. Initial status is good."
She paused, then added, "Psychological assessment of all staff: tense, but manageable."
Carl circled the ship for inspection, focusing on the sealed compartments and emergency power supply. He casually tightened a loose screw, and when he returned, he found Chen Hao leaning against the railing, munching on compressed biscuits.
“You seem quite at ease,” he said.
"The more nervous you are, the more you need to eat." Chen Hao's mouth was stuffed full. "Doing important things on an empty stomach can easily lead to low blood sugar."
"You really think this is a picnic?"
"We can't afford to lose our composure." Chen Hao swallowed his food. "Look at Nana, even robots can get anxious about inaccurate data. If we humans panic first, this ship will really have to be sailed back by her alone."
Nana heard this, turned around and said, "I can't drive the boat. I'm just here to remind you not to hit things you shouldn't."
The three of them chuckled.
The atmosphere relaxed a bit.
The sun rose high overhead, and the sea rippled with tiny waves. The ship continued forward, venturing into deeper blue waters. Navigation indicated they had left their usual shipping lanes and entered an area rarely visited by other vessels.
Nana suddenly raised her hand, signaling for quiet.
“A weak magnetic field disturbance was detected,” she said. “It deviated from the preset flight path by 0.3 degrees.”
Chen Hao straightened up. "A natural phenomenon?"
“It doesn’t look like it.” She pulled up historical models for comparison. “No similar shifts have been recorded in this area over the past ten years. And…”
She paused for a second.
"And what?"
"The perturbation frequency is close to the radiation frequency of that crystal."
The air suddenly became quiet.
Susan put down her pen, and Carl gripped the pliers at his waist. Chen Hao stared at the screen, his heart skipping a beat.
"You mean, there's something underwater that's 'greeting' our equipment?"
"At this point, we can only confirm that the frequencies are similar," Nana said. "We cannot determine whether there is any intention to actively interact."
“That means…” Susan whispered, “that it might actually be responding to us?”
No one responded.
After a few seconds, Chen Hao tapped the control panel. "Then let it make a few more calls. Since we're already here, we won't be short of signal fees."
He turned and walked to the driver's seat. "Everyone to your positions, the shift system is now in effect. Shifts will change every two hours. When I'm not around, follow Nana's instructions."
Susan nodded and put her headphones back on. Carl checked the communication channels to confirm the backup line was working. Nana connected the probe data to the real-time monitoring system and activated the automatic warning mode.
The ship continued its journey.
The sea breeze picked up, and clouds began to gather. A gray line appeared on the horizon, suggesting a change in weather in the distance. But the flight path ahead remained clear, with a red dot flashing steadily.
Chen Hao stood in front of the control panel, watching the constantly updating coordinates. He recalled the feeling he had when he wrote the word "Departure" on the whiteboard at the base that day. Back then, he didn't know what lay ahead; he only knew he couldn't wait any longer.
They are on their way now.
Susan recorded the latest data and glanced out the window. The sea had changed color, becoming deeper and darker. She touched the recording device in her pocket and pressed play. The soft chirping of birds drowned out the noise of the machine.
Carl organized the emergency kit inside the cabin, putting the oxygen mask and first-aid syringes back in their places. He casually tested the manual control system, which was responsive. Turning around, he saw Nana staring at a set of constantly changing numbers.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
“The magnetic field disturbance continues to intensify,” she said. “Although the magnitude is still small, the trend is clear. If we maintain our current course, we will enter the core area of the disturbance in three hours.”
"Have you notified Chen Hao?"
"He already knows."
Chen Hao was standing on the deck, holding a cup of instant coffee. The steam was blown away by the wind, and when he took a sip, it burned his teeth.
"This junk is worse than cold water," he muttered, but didn't put it down.
The sea remained calm in the distance, but an unseen pressure was approaching. He knew the real test was yet to come.
But at least for now, they are all on the ship, still conscious, and willing to move forward.
He threw the empty cup into the recycling bin and walked back to the control room.
"Nana, zoom in on the flight path," he said. "I want to see where we're headed."
The screen switches, revealing deep-sea topography. The red dot hangs silently there, surrounded by a concave rift valley. The contour lines are so close together they almost overlap, indicating extreme depth.
"Has anyone been here before?" he asked.
“There are no records,” Nana replied. “The last probe was twenty years ago, when the unmanned underwater vehicle lost contact.”
So we're considered part of the first batch?
"Strictly speaking, they were the first group to arrive alive and intend to return."
Chen Hao smiled. "Then we'll have to take a few more photos."
Susan looked up. "Are you going to do a live stream?"
"We'll talk about it after we find the treasure," he said. "Here's a preview: humanity's first encounter with a mysterious underwater structure. Stay tuned."
Carl rolled his eyes. "Don't be so scared you wet your pants."
"I'm wearing a waterproof suit," Chen Hao patted his chest. "Even if I were really scared to death, you wouldn't see it."
Nana suddenly said, "A new energy fluctuation has been detected."
The three of them immediately fell silent.
"Where did it come from?" Chen Hao asked.
“Straight ahead, about twelve nautical miles away,” she said. “It’s intensifying.”
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