Three days later.

Sinbadi rides a hanging basket and slowly rises from the sea.

"How does it feel?" As soon as she took off her heavy helmet, Mu Li greeted her excitedly, "Is the underwater world interesting?"

It's not much better than the desert, and although there are many strange animals and plants living there, it's not as relaxing as nothing. Every time I sink into the sea, there is always a feeling of being swallowed, and the pervasive pressure is simply difficult to walk, and even breathing is a little difficult - Sinbadi thought so, but seeing Mu Li's expectant eyes, he swallowed the words that came to his mouth again, "What do you say...... The view is quite beautiful. ”

"That's nice...... If only I could go down and have a look. Mu Li sighed.

Looking at her big light brown eyes, Sinbadi suddenly remembered that a year and a half ago, when her people set out from the blue water harbor to the southern end of the desert, she had the same look on the stone boat—she could still find the spirit to comfort herself in the uncertain road and unfamiliar circumstances, and she was like an outlier in a crowd of panicked people.

For some reason, a trace of uneasiness rose in his heart.

"Well done, I was amazed at how well you performed. Then it was Rex who was hoisted out of the water, and he stepped off the basket with applause, "Balance, breath volume, composure, sense of direction - all the qualities required for diving are so good, is this an innate talent of the sandfolk, or are you good at it?" I don't mean to offend, as Miss Murray mentioned during her conversation that you are not a formidable warrior in the clan. ”

Murray stuck out her tongue at Sinbadi and turned to chat with her assistant.

"There's a waterhole in the oasis where the Fishbone Clan lives, and when I was a kid, everyone liked to dive deeper than anyone else, so I can't be considered inexperienced...... right," Simbadi said helplessly, "but she's right, even if I do, I'm not the best in the clan - if I let Calion try it, maybe one day will be enough." ”

"Carloen?

"The strongest young generation in the clan, whether it is hunting or fighting, is not inferior to the peers of the big clan. However, he has only participated in the dispatch team once, so he should be in charge of what kind of work he is doing in Bishui Harbor now...... Even if you try to find him, it's too late. ”

"yes," Rex shrugged, "I don't think so. ”

"Not necessarily?"

"He's better than you. Little by little, the fjord man took off his diving outfit, "If you want to go deep into the sea, technology is not the first thing." The first thing to have is an open heart. ”

"Open ...... Heart?" Sinbadi said.

"Accepting the unknown and overcoming the self is also the gap between the waterhole and the sea. He looked in the direction of Daqing Harbor, "Incredible changes are taking place here, but the Karloen you mentioned is only willing to come here once, and in this alone, he is far worse than you." If I were looking for him, I guess I wouldn't have been able to convince him to put on a diving suit and go into the water. ”

Simbadi gave him an angry look, "If it weren't for Mu Li saying that he wanted to try it himself, I wouldn't have agreed to you." ”

I wanted to take them to the water hole and take ten golden dragons and leave, as for the gang to toss as much as they wanted, but they didn't expect that Mu Li had already become interested in that strange device. When she learned that she needed a helper for the salvage work, she raised her hand almost immediately.

In desperation, Sinbadi agreed to help the Strange Creatures to the end, and followed Rex into the water cave himself - he was not at all at risk for Muli to risk himself without verifying the safety of the diving suit, let alone staying with a fjordman. Although I knew that she would still be in the water one day, at least the risk was much less.

"Hahaha," Rex said with a disapproving smile, "but you've finally crossed that line and taken a step into a new realm, haven't you?"

"Wait, you...... What do you say?"

"Why, didn't you notice?" he said, spreading his hands, "and when that girl talked to me, your name didn't appear very often. She said that when you were a child, you were obviously not very brave, and you were often beaten and cried, but your curiosity was not small, but when you grew up, you have restrained a lot and become a lot more silent. ”

Sinbadi twitched the corners of her mouth, "She's really ...... I'll tell you everything. ”

"I guess it's easier for outsiders to talk about it," Rex grinned, "I don't really understand the customs of the sandfolk—maybe personal force is important, but you may have been underestimating yourself." ”

"You don't understand anything," Sinbadi snorted lowly.

Although he said this, he didn't have much disgust in his heart - in fact, even he thought it was incredible that in just a few days, he would become so familiar with a fjord man, and at first it was clear that he was reluctant to stay and help because the other party contacted Mu Li alone.

Thinking about it, Sinbadi found that there was no trace of contempt in the other party's speech and demeanor, and there was an unexpected sense of ease with which he got along, which was quite unusual compared to those northern nobles or fjord merchants who thought highly of themselves. Probably because of this reason, Mu Li would run to the camp of the Curious Things Society whenever she was free.

After a moment of hesitation, he posed the question to Rex.

"Why...... you ask," the latter thought for a moment, "there is no particular reason, because we have tasted enough of discrimination and contempt." ”

Taste ...... Enough? Sinbadi couldn't help but be stunned, being able to promise a reward of thirty golden dragons in one go, no matter how you look at it, you have a lot of net worth, right? Where does the contempt come from? Just before he could continue to ask, an assistant had already walked over, "Teacher, the equipment has been fully debugged, and the official dive can start at any time." ”

"How's that?" Rex looked at him, "Diving isn't new to you, right?"

He had no choice but to suppress the doubts in his heart, "As long as there are no problems with these things you make." ”

"Of course, I've been researching for almost ten years, and in order to make sure it's safe, I've invested almost all my belongings in it......"

"What?"

"Ahem-ahem-no, nothing, don't care," Rex pouted, "In that case, I'm announcing that I'm going to enter the water hole after noon and start my first expedition!"

......

The reason for choosing noon is simple: since the tubing can meet the depth requirements, ensuring a good view is the top priority for diving. At this time, the sun is just at the top of the cliff, almost directly hitting the sea, and the seabed is more than 50 meters deep, not to mention the water hole located halfway up the rock wall.

If you wait until the tide is low in the evening to move, you can easily get lost.

"I'll wait for you at the entrance," Rex gave a thumbs up after putting on his helmet and sank into the sea in a gondola.

After about a quarter of an hour, the assistant nodded at Sinbadi with an eyepatch, "It's your turn." ”

Sinbadi took a deep breath and put the heavy helmet on top of his head, Mu Li stepped forward to help him tighten the interface, and then leaned against the helmet and said loudly, "Come on, I'm here waiting for you to come back!"

He gave her a deep look and turned to the basket.

With the roar of the steam engine, Sinbadi slid down little by little, and the turquoise sea with the waves was getting closer and closer to him, gradually occupying the entire field of vision. For a moment, he had the illusion that it was not himself who was falling, but that the sea was actively facing him and wanted to swallow him in one bite.

A familiar sense of dread returned.

But it lasted less than a breath before he adjusted.

"Accept the unknown and overcome the self. 」

In addition to Mu Li's sparkling eyes, there were also Rex's words.

Sinbadi sighed and accepted the embrace of the sea.

In an instant, the whole world turned a clear blue, and the sunlight shone overhead, like countless swimming golden snakes.

After slowly sinking twenty meters, the gondola stopped moving.

A deep cavern that seemed to be surging with a cold current appeared in front of him.