night

A girl in a pure black yukata stood on the pier of the town guard Gelst, the early autumn evening breeze mixed with coolness, a little bit swept over her expressionless face, the long hem of the dress was messy in the wind, and the group of ghosts and ukiyo-e depicted with an ink pen on it looked particularly cold and bleak in the moonlight, like a real hell, with countless resentful spirits inside, they opened their mouths and waved their hands, and the dark white souls floated out of their skulls, telling of their loneliness and helplessness.

The girl raised her eyes slightly, looking at this land that did not have a glimmer of light in the dark night, and her ink-colored eyes reflected the darkness. The undulating tide under the wooden pier was constantly lapping, mixed with the whistling wail of the wind.

She walked slowly, with small steps, and under her bare feet were clogs made of double cherry blossom wood, and the thickened wooden mats made a crunch on the planks like silver bells ringing in the wind. The girl slowly approached the familiar and unfamiliar town guard in front of her, she remembered that the last time she came here, she had come with an unstoppable army of the deep sea, but this time, there was only emptiness and silence to greet the princess from the deep sea. She frowned slightly, and in the moonlight approached the scene that had appeared in her dreams, the real and the unreal were confused at this moment, giving her the illusion that the man was behind the door, and when she pushed it open, she could see his stubborn and tenacious face and hear him repeat the vicious words.

She raised her hand, her white, almost transparent arms sliding out of her slender sleeves, and her slender palms slammed open the locked wooden door in front of her, revealing neatly arranged couches and long tables with emptied bookcases on the side, which seemed to be the office of the human admiral, where important decisions were made.

The girl twitched her nose, and a reassuring smell entered from the tip of her nose, like a fragrance that refreshed people's hearts and lungs. The room in front of me was small, and the cold light shone through the open window on the opposite side, giving the room a last bit of light. The girl stepped on the moonlight that streamed on the wooden floor, and approached the wooden chair with the familiar admiral's uniform behind the long table, the slightly yellowed navy uniform hung neatly on the back of the chair, the two long sleeves empty, and the medal pinned to the chest shone in the light.

Atago remembered that it was the clothes worn by the man who had fought for his life at the time, and there were even marks on it that had been cut by his own sword and the scarlet of stars. Stunned, she reached out her hand across the long table, and through the soft fabric, Atago seemed to feel the smell and smell coming from him. She lifted the abandoned admiral's uniform with a flat neckline, and then draped it over her body like a puppet with stiff movements, and instantly a warm feeling enveloped her cold body, like the rising sun surrounding her. She clenched the collar on her chest in a daze, not knowing why she was wearing human clothes, obviously she was the deep sea that terrified them, and she was also the king who regarded these ants as nothing, but at this moment she put on their coats and felt the breath that remained on them. Atago looked up at the sky and whispered a mental justification, as if telling himself that he was doing it just because it was cold. But she could clearly feel that the heat that burst from her chest, like ink spreading in water, was transmitted to her whole body through the delicate blood vessels.

This is a feeling she has never felt in the deep sea, with the coolness of a little ice powder and the sweetness of juice, as well as the soft touch and warmth like the winter sun, it seems that all the feelings in the world converge in her heart, making her feel kindness and care from afar.

This must be the love he was talking about, Atago blushed slightly and buried himself in the yellowed Admiral's coat, and he could even clearly smell the peculiar smell of that man.

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Atago stood on the soft sand, soaked gravel under the clogs, and not far away was the silvery sea, the vastness of which could not be seen.

The girl hung her head, and in her palm she held the medal taken from the admiral's uniform, with an embroidered iron anchor pattern in the center of the navy blue and a spiral wave stripe around it. She searched the entire town guard's mansion, and there was nothing left but the coat she wore on her, like a well-prepared migration, and all that was left on the ground was useless. But she regarded this dress as the most precious existence, and from the moment she put it on, she had no intention of taking it off.

She didn't know why she was like this, why she cherished a dress full of scars and bloodstains, obviously in that steel castle in the deep sea, in the wardrobe of her own room, there were countless gorgeous and exquisite yukata robes and kimonos, as well as long skirts and shorts, but her definition of them was only non-necessities that could be thrown away at any time, and for this yellowed admiral suit, she had an incomprehensible obsession from the bottom of her heart, as if this was the only connection between her and him, Just like the kite and the girl below, the only thin thread that connects them is a trembling wind, and once broken, it can never be recovered.

She quietly stretched out her hand to rub the medal in her palm, and the uneven touch was conveyed through her fingertips, as if his stubborn face refused to admit defeat. Atago grinned silently in the evening breeze.

The current situation was something she hadn't expected before she came, the other party seemed to have left for some reason, and she wanted to follow her footsteps to find it, but there was no whereabouts or destination left here, and it seemed that she had no intention of coming back. She closed her palms, the sharp edges and corners tingling her delicate skin, giving her the illusion that she still existed. She opened her mouth slightly, whistled like a silver bell in the wind, and her soft voice drifted along the wind to the invisible deep sea.

As if the king sounded the order to assemble, countless Deadpools who were dormant at the bottom of the sea instantly rioted at this moment, and the streamlined black shell cut through the water and advanced towards the place where the sound came from. They gather like wolves under the horn of the wolf king, and let out a breathtaking roar in the moonlight.

No one can stop such ferocious wolves, just as no one can escape their pursuit.

The girl raised her hand lightly, her slender fingers dancing in the moonlight, and she spoke slowly, her voice small but incomparably firm. "My people, find him, find him at all costs, tell me where he is." The king gave the order, and the courtiers who showed their heads respectfully stepped back and slowly dived to the bottom of the sea.

The gathered wolves disappeared into the silvery sea, cruising rapidly in a dark world without a single light, they could feel the subtle vibrations in the water, they could also feel the roar of the propellers in the distance, they began to whine and roar, telling the king in infrasound waves that could not be heard by humans, where the man was, where the cruise ship had arrived.

The girl closed her eyes and heard echoes from afar in the darkness. She chuckled, and a laugh full of cherry blossom flavor came out of her small mouth. She opened her eyes abruptly and looked into the distance, her eyes flashing with longing and determination.

She spoke slowly, uttering the craziest decision she'd ever made in her life. At this moment, Atago has long forgotten Yamato's warning, she is not the lord of the deep sea, just a little girl who longs for love. There was only one voice in that beating heart that kept shouting, and that was: "I will definitely meet you again, no matter how cloudy or rainy, no matter how windy or rainy, no matter where you are, I will meet you again." She whispered, as if she had signed the most terrible oath in the world, as if it were a war that would never stop.

She stepped on the sea with steps as light as jade lotus, stepping on the waves of cherry tree clogs, and the sea around her was like a kneeling knight's guard, and the waves jumped under her feet.

At this moment, she is the greatest king in the world, everything in front of her can only be submitted, and the owner of this admiral's uniform is no exception, she opens her palms, as if holding the whole world.

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The giant cruise ship slowed down, and the roaring engines stopped running completely at this moment, as the cruise ship reached its destination, and in front of it was a steel-built dock, and the swaying beams of light from the towering lighthouse locked the large ship that arrived at the scheduled time from a distance of kilometers, monitoring its successful landing.

Huge chains churned, and heavy iron anchors slowly dropped in the bow of the ship, and were thrown into the cold, dark waters, deep in the silt of the ocean floor, holding the steel behemoth firmly to the shore.

Wake up Jiqi stood at the bow of the ship, behind him yawning Wales and Saratoga, Lexington seemed to be ready, standing in the lighthouse light with a spirit on his face, and the otaku girl Noah's Ark was firmly holding Jiqi's left hand, leaning on his body, the corners of his mouth slightly open, and the sound of steady breathing erupted from Joan's nose. It's like you didn't wake up at all! Ji Qi reluctantly put the cute short-haired girl on her back, her soft arms tightly around her Admiral's neck, and her face lay on Ji Qi's shoulders sideways.

It was four o'clock in the morning, and after ten hours of sailing, the ship had safely reached the dock in the new town of Shoufu. The steel-made pier shimmered chill in the moonlight, and from the window of the cabin, one could see the bright lights of the distant islands, like a waving flashlight, illuminating the surrounding sea.

This is a completely different scene from the original Gelst, where you can see the bustling town behind the lighthouse still flashing neon and lights, just like the city that never sleeps described in the book, there is no concept of sleep, only endless splendor.

"That's our destination this time – Troy, the name of the bustling town in Greek mythology." Paccar stood at the bow of the boat, waiting for the gangway to be lowered, the lighthouse light shining on his face as cold as ice. "The Secretary-General sent a car to meet him, and it should be not far from the dock." He held out his hand and pointed to the shadows in the light.

Ji Qi squinted slightly, and through the bright beam, he could vaguely see several black cars parked on the beach, and a blonde girl standing on the pier, slender and long, she was wearing a red pleated dress, and the gorgeous skirt swayed in the wind, like a burning beautiful butterfly dancing in the dark night. She waved her hand, her bowler hat swaying in the darkness, as if to say hello to her new Admiral.