Half a century after the end of the Abyss Project, Tirian finally felt the chill of the project once again.

Those "Submersible No. 3" that surfaced one after another seemed to appear before his eyes again, along with those cautious soldiers, the solemn priest, and the cold-faced and silent Frost Queen. He seemed to see the hatches of those submersibles open again, and see the mad explorers, the seemingly real humans, the swollen and deformed monsters, the wriggling and deformed pieces of flesh, the dead and eerie mud, the dry and suspicious black fibers walking out, and... the empty cabin of the seventh "Submersible No. 3".

"The platform was heavily guarded at the time, with a large number of priests and guards on duty," Tirian frowned, recalling the past, "but... I must admit that your question is a little scary."

Duncan didn't say anything, but after a few seconds he suddenly asked, "What did you do with those 'Submersible No. 3'?"

"Except for the first 'authentic' one that floated up, the other six copies were thrown into the furnace, melted into ingots in the sacred fire, and poured into the sea. Although it was a large amount of metal resources, no one dared to leave those things behind," Tirian said, with some hesitation in his tone, "But if, as you said, even the first one is not the 'authentic', then the situation will be..."

"First one, where to put it?"

"If you're asking about its current whereabouts, I don't know," Tirian shook his head. "The rebels should have destroyed everything related to the Abyss Project, but no one knows how they destroyed those materials. Maybe they just dismantled them and recycled them?

"But if you mean the period before the rebellion... Submersible No. 3 has been sitting in a warehouse in the port area since it was decommissioned."

Duncan was silent for a few seconds, and finally exhaled softly: "I understand... Tirian, thank you for telling me so much. In any case, this information has greatly satisfied my curiosity."

Tirian seemed to be worried. After many years, he looked back and analyzed the "Abyss Plan" again. He really noticed too many chilling details in it. Although the plan itself was full of weirdness, the uneasiness that came from looking back was more stressful than being in it at the time. Especially the doubts raised by his father about the last order of the Frost Queen just now made him feel vaguely... This old case that was closed half a century ago seemed to have never really ended.

But no matter what, today's conversation is over.

My father had no intention of keeping me here.

A sound of flapping wings suddenly came from the side. Tirian looked in the direction of the sound and saw a bird shadow wrapped in dark green flames flashing in the air. Then, where the shadow flashed, a blazing green fire suddenly rose into the air. The flames rose and swirled, and in the blink of an eye, they turned into a vortex door.

The father's voice came from the mirror next to him: "Go in, you will be taken to the vicinity of the cathedral - I think you should not tell others what happened here."

"Of course, I've never been a snitch."

Tirian answered, then looked towards the flaming door, looking a little hesitant, but finally made up his mind and stepped forward - but before he was about to step through the door, he stopped again, and couldn't help but look back at the Gothic doll standing quietly next to the mirror.

"Anomaly 099..." He muttered softly as if talking to himself, "It's so similar..."

"It is said that Anomaly 099 first appeared on the Frigid Sea, near the area where the Frost Queen was executed and fell into the sea," Duncan's voice sounded from the mirror. "I have the same suspicion as you, but even Alice herself can't explain her origins. As you just said... there are too many things in the deep sea that we cannot understand."

Tirian was thoughtful. After a moment's silence, he suddenly said, "It seems that this puppet likes to be with you."

Duncan said calmly, "I kept her there at first because I was clinging to her, but then I found she could be of some use."

Alice's answer was much simpler. She laughed happily, nodded and said, "I like being around the Captain. He's so great!"

Tirian looked at his expressionless father in the mirror with some surprise, then looked at "Alice", who looked exactly like the Frost Queen but was nothing like her except her appearance. After a moment, he suddenly laughed.

It was a kind of relaxation and happiness that came from the bottom of my heart.

Then he turned around and stepped into the flaming door without hesitation.

Silence returned to the warehouse.

Alice looked in the direction where the flame disappeared, then turned her head to look at the mirror next to her. After a long while, she suddenly blurted out, "Captain, why was he smiling at us just now?"

Duncan casually replied: "How would I know?"

Alice said "oh" in confusion, thought for a while, and then blurted out: "What you were discussing just now was frost and the abyss...Does it have anything to do with me?"

This time, Duncan didn't just come up with an excuse to fool the puppet. Instead, he thought about it seriously before speaking in a deep voice, "Maybe it's related."

"Can I understand that?"

“It should be difficult.”

"Oh, then I won't think about it for now." Alice scratched her head, then smiled and looked at Duncan in the mirror. "Anyway, if there is anything you need me to do or cooperate with, just tell me what to do."

"I will."

"Um!"

※※※

A flash of fire flashed in the dark alley. A moment later, drowsy Tirion walked out of the alley and saw the towering gate of Plunder Cathedral not far away.

"It was really delivered nearby..."

The big pirate muttered something and raised his hand to tap his head which was feeling a little dizzy due to pigeon dizziness, but he accidentally touched the swollen area and gasped in pain.

The strength of that little girl is a bit too scary... That's a dark demon that is heavier than two or three adults tied together!

Recalling the origin of the wound on his head, Tirian couldn't help but murmur in his heart, and while muttering, he couldn't help but feel curious.

His father was indeed trying to assemble a team again. At least from what he could see so far, he had already taken control of Anomaly 099, and there was also a powerful and strange girl who could summon dark demons to work for him, but this was obviously not all.

Even if it happened yesterday, this would have been enough to make him extremely alert, and he might even want to issue a warning to the city-state and the church - but at this moment, he had no intention of "telling" the church.

His mind is now full of thoughts related to the "Abyss Project".

Tirian walked towards the Cathedral of Storms, and after taking a few steps, he saw several figures appear at the door of the cathedral and jog towards him.

Those were the sailors he had sent back earlier.

The captain left a few words and then disappeared for a whole day, which obviously made his subordinates feel uneasy.

In a moment, several sailors came to Tirion. One of them said without waiting for him to stop: "You are back at last! The sun is setting. Where have you been?"

Another sailor noticed the abnormality of Tirian and was shocked: "Captain, the wound on your face... and why is there such a big swelling on your head?!"

Tirian knew that he could not hide his miserable appearance, and he had hoped to rely on his healing ability that exceeded that of ordinary people to recover before returning to the cathedral. However, it turned out that although the strange girl's method of using the Deep Demon was questionable, the wounds caused by the Deep Demon were still very troublesome. It had been half a day, and his head was still swollen.

"…I fell on the road."

After holding it in for a long time, Tirian could only make up a lame excuse.

He was too embarrassed to admit in front of his men that this was the result of "being beaten by his father" - not to mention that it wasn't even his father who did it, the other party was just a little girl whose height barely reached his chest.

"Fell down?" The sailor who spoke first looked at his boss in confusion, "You fell a little too hard...too far. It was like you hit the wall and the ground of Plande with your head..."

Tirian stared at the sailor with a serious look in his eyes and said word by word: "He fell on the road."

The sailor was startled and immediately realized: "Oh, oh, yes, you obviously fell accidentally. I will apply medicine to you when we get back..."

"That's enough. I don't want to discuss this for now," Tirian sighed and walked towards the church door. "Go back first. I need to rest well today, and then I should set off back to the north."

"Return to the north? Why don't we stay here for a few more days? You were planning to..."

The words "Abyss Plan" came to his mind again. Tirian waved his hand and said, "That's enough. It's time to go back. There are still things to do in the Frigid Sea."

The sailors looked at each other, and finally nodded and obeyed the captain's decision.

Tirian suddenly stopped.

He hesitated in front of the main entrance of the Cathedral of the Storm, touching the swollen areas on his face and head.

"Go back through the side door."