Huansheng and Xiao Lei and I followed closely behind Team Cao, and with the help of the flashing lights in the passage, we searched in the cabin.

From the cabin where Ding Jian once stayed, to the intricate passages of the bottom cabin, to the warehouse full of batteries, to the platform where the electromagnetic transmitter was placed, and the places where we could find them, almost all of them walked through, but there was still no shadow of Ding Jian, and we gradually lost the last confidence in finding Ding Jian.

When we reached the bow deck, the sound of the "death horn" sounded again, but this time, the sound was a little poignant, and short-lived, only two times later, and then it stopped abruptly, and then, as if on the sea, there was a low, muffled sound like the whistle of a giant ship, which made the ship tremble a little, and drew our attention to it instantly.

Our bow was already less than a kilometer away from the purple mist, and we could see the center of the fog, and in the bright spot of light, a distinct black shadow appeared. Like the dark shadow in the previous mirage, the huge hull, the towering bridge and the distinctive tower crane, this is all too familiar to us to be the Eastern Star.

It's just that at this time, the Eastern Star is not a phantom floating in mid-air, but it is breaking through the waves on the sea, and you can even see the splash stirred up by the bow of the ship. Behind the fog, the towering wall of waves is clearly visible, at most only a few hundred meters away from the fog, at this time it can already be distinguished, the wall of waves is not straight up and down, but forms a huge arc, which seems to be slowly rotating around the center of the circle, if you look down from the sky, it should be a huge whirlpool.

We should be at the bottom of the whirlpool, and it seems that the wall of waves is getting closer and higher, but in fact we are sinking deeper and deeper into the whirlpool.

"It's the body of the Dongxing, Wei Zhihua's experiment seems to have been successful, it's really a hell of a thing, such a big ship can actually be lured out. Team Cao ascended to the top of the bow deck and looked at it with a stern face.

Lu Binglin's guess was right, Wei Zhihua's helicopter did not go to the supply ship, he was in the sky above the East Star. Huansheng said, pointing to a not-so-clear spot of light above the dense fog. Before he could finish speaking, the research ship under our feet shook violently, and we hurriedly held on to the railing on the side of the ship, and then the lights on the entire ship were extinguished. The research ship slowly stopped, and it must have been Captain Jiang who stopped the engine and was ready to make a last stand.

After the lights went out, the East Star became clearer and clearer out of the dense fog, and from the direction of its bow, the East Star was not heading towards us, but about a dozen degrees to the north. And the fog shrouded in the entire hull is no longer lilac, but has a layer of pale yellow halo that seems to be absent. But it was clear that this halo was not fog, it always maintained the outer contour of the Eastern Star, and did not change as the hull of the ship sailed away from the fog.

"Uncle Chang, the halo outside the Dongxing is very similar to the light on Zhou's body when Ding Jian was unconscious in the cabin. Little Ray whispered beside me.

"Lao Chang, it seems that Ding Jian can't be found, what should we do next, just wait here? I don't know if the little electricity left by Lao Jiang is enough for us to rush out?" Team Cao hurriedly came down from the deck and walked to my side.

"If I'm not mistaken, Professor Lu should also be thinking about his next move, and I estimate that he will let the dinghy go down and board the East Star. Receiving Wei Zhihua is secondary, the main thing is that he can't resist the temptation to enter the center of the mirage and solve all the mysteries, and the tonnage of the Dongxing is much larger than that of the scientific research ship, and the chance of carrying this whirlpool is much greater. ”

"Now, there are two paths in front of us, stick to the scientific research ship, wait for Captain Jiang to drive the power system with the last electric power, take a gamble, and rush through the huge wave area. The other way is to board the East Star with Lu Binglin and see what is happening on it. I looked at my companions around me, Team Cao's expression was grim, but there was a kind of expectation between Huansheng's eyebrows, and Xiao Lei was expressionless, looking at the boat in a daze.

"Chang, Wei Zhihua is right about one thing just now, in fact, I have the right to veto the entire action plan, when the first communication system fails, I can stop the operation, but Wei Zhihua pulled me to talk for a long time, making me hesitate, after all, Wei Zhihua has been running around for six years with their mirage plan, and the country's investment in this project is already an astronomical amount, but success or failure is in our thoughts, I can't make up my mind. Now that this is the case, my opinion is that I will take Xiao Lei and Lu Binglin to the East Star, it is best to find Wei Zhihua, and if we can't find it, we will find a way to pass on the situation on the East Star back to you. “

"Lao Chang, you and Huansheng stayed on the scientific research ship, Captain Jiang launched the scientific research ship, he is the captain, five continents and four oceans, all kinds of wind and waves have been experienced, his decision, I still believe it. He can take you out. “

Huansheng on the side laughed twice, "Lao Cao, you have confidence in Captain Jiang, but I have confidence in Lu Binglin." Anyway, I have been a mirage chaser for more than a year, and I had some misunderstandings about Lao Lu back then, and I broke up halfway, but the destiny is like this, and I met again after so many years, and this time I plan to stick to it. “

Seeing that everyone turned their eyes to me, I could only spread my hands, "Team Cao, how many times have I told you, the matter of Xuanmen back then had nothing to do with you, this is all our own choice." It's the same today, you don't know me yet, it's not difficult for us to make difficulties, do you think I will choose to be trapped on the research ship?"

"Besides, I have a relationship with Ding Jian, I don't believe that he jumped into the sea and disappeared silently, what Xiao Lei said just now is right, the yellow light on Ding Jian's body is very similar to the fog outside the East Star now, this is not accidental, it is likely to be caused by high-energy radiation. Perhaps only by boarding the Eastern Star can he unlock the secrets on his body. “

At this time, the hull of the scientific research ship was jolting up and down again, and the purple mist, to be precise, the mirage core had extended to the bow of the ship, like a curtain slowly opening, but no one knew what was behind the curtain and what kind of play was going to be staged.

As it turned out, our inference about Lu Binglin was extremely correct, and when we returned to the experimental center, Lu Binglin had already given the work at hand to Wei Zhihua's deputy, and also persuaded Captain Jiang to lower a speedboat from the deck on one side. Seeing that several of us insisted on going to the East Star with him, there was not much opposition, but the speedboat could only seat a dozen or so people, and he was busy redeploying the personnel.

Before getting on the speedboat, Lu Binglin arranged for someone to bring radiation protective suits from the bilge and asked us to put them all on. The suit was thick and heavy, with an oxygen cylinder attached to it, weighing about thirty kilograms, and the most troublesome thing was that because the infinite communication system failed, once the mask was closed, they could not communicate with each other verbally, only relying on movements and expressions. I still have a tacit understanding with Team Cao, Xiao Lei, and Huansheng, but with Lu Binglin and other boarding personnel, this communication is a problem.

The speedboat left the research ship and headed for the Eastern Star. But to my surprise, Lu Binglin did not discuss with us to unify some gestures to facilitate communication with each other, but instead pulled down the mask and said to everyone in a deep voice: "I have been to the core area of Devil City back then, and when I first entered, the eardrum would be very uncomfortable, as if something was stabbing it, and then, the load on the heart would increase instantly, it was a feeling that the heart was about to stop, a little bit slower, a little bit weaker, so there would be a sense of fear, a very strong sense of fear, someone would faint in an instant. ”

"So you must take a deep breath, it is best to concentrate, count your breaths, overcome the fear in your heart, and after ten seconds, you will slowly get used to it. ”

It is not the feeling of turning, but the rapid decline of people's ability to judge their surroundings, the loss of their sense of space, their sense of direction, their sense of distance, and even their sense of existence. It's a feeling of nothingness, a feeling of extreme unreality, a feeling that makes people feel fear in their bones, an urge to go crazy. In short, entering that dense fog is a huge challenge for us, and we must carry it by ourselves. ”

Lu Binglin said very solemnly, although the roar of the motor often drowned out Lu Binglin's voice, but every word he said deeply shocked our hearts. Especially when the dark shadow of the Eastern Star became clearer and clearer, and the fog around it became more and more eerie. Team Cao glanced at me with a complicated expression, and I could easily read his thoughts from his eyes: the Devil's City that Lu Binglin entered and the mirage he was about to enter were incomparably similar to the Xuanmen underground in Beijing more than thirty years ago, at least the inner feelings of each person who entered.

I silently nodded to Team Cao and smiled. Team Cao also seemed to take a deep breath, and a layer of mist appeared on the mask.

The engine of the speedboat is full of power, and the distance between us and the East Star is gradually narrowing, 500 meters, 300 meters, 100 meters, 50 meters, the rust around the East Star is clearly displayed in front of us, the bow of the original light gray ship paint is mottled, a large number of coral sea shells parasitize on it, no matter how you look like a ship that has been missing for a year.

There was another low whistle, hoarse and desolate, and the speedboat engine struggled twice, but it still stopped weakly. At that moment, the people on our boat seemed to have hit an invisible wall, and their bodies were clinging to their seats.

(The painter does not dare to be easy to round the image, and if he is easy to do it, he will be to blame.) The carver does not dare to insult the puppet, and if he insults him, he will be in trouble. It was made in me, and it is to be honored by me, and it is a true evil to me. Therefore, those who set up the machine are used for the machine, those who set up the danger die in danger, those who make meritorious contributions are humiliated, and the legislators are afraid of the law. If you move one poor, you will meet with the poor, and if you do one thing, everything will be harmful, so the opportunity is more expensive, the danger is more expensive, the merit is more valuable, and the law is more expensive than nothing. Those who can engrave books can be called elephants. --"The Book of Transformation")