To the east of the Frost City-State, as far as the eye can see from the cliffs, is a rocky island that is long and narrow, curved like a thin scimitar or a dagger of strange shape, and the entire island is covered with jagged rocks and barren sand, so the Frost People named it "Dagger Island" based on this form

In the vast sea, land is the most valuable foothold resource, even the most barren and narrow island, people will try their best to make it useful, and Dagger Island is no exception.

The island has a fresh water source, but there is no arable land and a wide enough flat land to serve as a stable place to live or produce food, and there are no plants and animals to use, but the island once had a small amount of boiling gold deposits, and the Frost people established quarries and refineries on the island, and after that little bit of boiling gold was mined, it took on the role of a transit port for a while, and after the Frost Rebellion, the shipping routes around the city-state were adjusted, and the port on the island was transformed into a special storage facility, It is used to preserve those dangerous things that must be kept away from the civilized world.

As the years passed, the barren and rocky, isolated island was transformed into a secret "makeshift research base" under the control of the Frost Military, studying the strange things that had been salvaged from the depths of the sea.

The seals used to preserve the dangers and the island's tight security are a strong guarantee for this kind of research.

A mechanical clipper approached the military harbor on the hollow side of Dagger Island at midday, and the flag flying high on the mechanical clipper marked its affiliation with the Frost Navy.

After a complex and rigorous series of verification, testing and registration procedures, the clipper, known as the Petrel, was allowed to dock, and with the low roar of the steam core, it docked beside the pier and lowered the gangplank from the ship's side.

Several soldiers in blue-and-black naval uniforms stepped off the gangplank, followed by a tall, burly officer with short gray hair.

Several military personnel stationed on the island are already waiting on shore.

The burly officer with short gray hair looked at the situation near the trestle and went ashore along the gangplank, where several of the waiting responders immediately stepped forward and saluted, and one of them said, "General, you are twenty-five minutes behind the scheduled time, and this requires registration and explanations - you must go to the registration room in person."

"Well," the burly officer known as the general nodded, he didn't think it was offensive for an ordinary non-commissioned officer to say these things to his own general—this was a special research facility, and all strict approval regulations were normal and reasonable safety requirements, "We'll go now····· How's it going on the professor's side?"

"Professor Malson was in the 'vault' room, and while he was analyzing and testing a new batch of samples, he discovered that the material scraped from the surface of the thing seemed to exhibit strange properties under special test conditions," the officer said, "but the details will be discussed in detail until they enter the 'chamber'."

"Okay, take me to the registration room."

On the inner side of the bay, not far from the military port of Dagger Island, in a sturdy building made of a mixture of reinforced concrete and huge rock, research work is still going on intensely.

The so-called "Chamber of Secrets" is a nondescript building with a grey exterior and one of the most well-protected and structurally strong laboratories on the island.

The hall inside the building is brightly lit.

It was a large hexagonal room, each wall made of the strongest cement, the top of the wall carved with occult symbols and religious symbols, and a huge tape of scripture hanging from the ceiling, suspended in the gap between the light and shadow of the gas lamp, steam pipes crisscrossing the roof of the hall, some valves hissing slightly, incense devices burning silently in the corners of the hall, and sacred smoke slowly melting into the air.

Researchers in short robes were busy throughout the hall, and a metal device about five or six meters in diameter and shaped like a large bell was suspended in the center of the room by thick chains

The joint structure is enough to show its function.

This is a "diving bell".

Directly below the suspended diving bell, in the center of the hall floor is a large circular grille plate, the diameter of which is much larger than the long axis of the diving bell, through which a striking red light can be faintly seen deep underground.

A tall, thin, silver-haired, meticulous scholar stood in front of a diving bell suspended in mid-air, supervising several assistants as they carefully scraped samples from the object's surface.

A clergyman dressed in a priest's robe, who carried a brass incense burner in his hand, drifted slowly through the air with a whispering of prayers.

"Professor, General Belazov has arrived at the port," said an assistant who approached from the side, behind the tall, thin old scholar, "and after completing the necessary registration handover, he will come directly here to see you."

"Oh······ Belazov, I received the news that he was going to come in person, and it seems that the city hall is finally a little nervous," Professor Melson, who had short silver hair, said with some helplessness in his tone, "Come on...... How's the sample coming to the lab in the morning?"

"After a final round of testing, it's now certain that the thing, while it looks like rust, is anything we know of, and that its properties have changed over time," the assistant replied, "and it feels like it...... It's as if the thing is still in some kind of evolutionary process, so that it has never been able to show its properties consistently."

"Hmm."

Professor Melson nodded slightly, but his gaze remained fixed on the suspended diving bell.

The exterior of the diving bell is badly corroded, but the circular hatch structure on its side can still be clearly seen, which is now closed and has not been opened since it was entered into the "secret room".

On the other side of the bell you can see the round window, where there is a very, very thick piece of special glass, but for some reason, the inside of the round window is so dirty that it covers almost the entire side of the glass, so that you can't see inside the bell at all.

I could only faintly see a messy cavity inside, and something that looked like liquid.

What's inside a diving bell?

Professor Melson himself had had this curiosity more than once, but no matter how curious he was, he had not the slightest thought of opening the hatch.

He was sixteen years old the year the Abyss Project began.

He knows what to be curious about and what to be cautious about.

In the midst of his thoughts, the assistant's voice came from behind him, "Professor, do you think the higher authorities will order us to open that hatch?"

「…… To be sure, I don't want to receive such an order at all," Professor Melson shook his head, turning to look at his assistant, "Courage and a spirit of exploration have allowed humans to survive on the endless seas, but once they cross the line, they turn into recklessness and death."

The assistant blinked, followed by a third and fourth eye.

"But we're moving too slowly—what if it's the same as you predicted, and another submersible comes afloat?"

Melson pondered for a moment and shook his head slightly, "When the time comes, we'll probably have to do more than just open the hatch – we'll have to be ready to face the depths."

The assistant didn't seem to understand.

This assistant is still too young, but then again, half a century later, how many people can still understand the horror of the Abyss Project?

Professor Melson looked up at the figures who were busy around the diving bell.

Some of them don't seem to be the same as they were when they first arrived on the island.

Others, on the other hand, occasionally make the old professor feel a little unfamiliar.

There seem to be a lot of unrecognizable figures in this research facility.

But that's nothing

Oddly enough, it's not uncommon for people to move around in a research team, especially for such a complex special project that requires the participation of multiple experts

Everything was very reasonable.

The clergyman, with a brass incense burner in his hand, approached and nodded slightly in front of Professor Melson.

The incense burner in his hand opened his eyes slightly, and secretly looked at the appearance of the old scholar.

The wonderful smell of incense wafts through the air.

"Today's blessing has been completed,"

The clergyman whispered, "I'll be here again this time tomorrow to pray for the machines."

"Thank you, %¥&%@* pastor." The old professor smiled and nodded, and naturally addressed the other party, "If it weren't for the afternoon, there would definitely be a bunch of troubles, I should have invited you to have a drink."

"Let's receive the general first,"

The priest laughed, "That's the big man who came here on behalf of the Frost City-State to 'overseer.'"