In the military administration area of the eastern port of the frost, many people have stayed up all night.

It's been more than twenty-four hours since the Petrel lost contact, and even the harbor church's psionic call to the ship's chaplain has not received any response.

The only clues, or traces, point to a bad possibility.

In the harbor office, a middle-aged man with thinning hair in the uniform of a frosty naval commander was sitting behind a desk with a gloomy face, and several other commanders were sitting in a few other chairs in the room, and the atmosphere in the small room was gloomy and oppressive, as if a storm was brewing.

"So far, we have not found any trace of the Petrel, and we have searched three times in the direction of Frost Island from the location where the Petrel last sent back the signal, and there is nothing on the surface." A civilian officer with short light brown hair shook his head.

"The most optimistic estimate is that the Petrel's communication system failed, the ship's chaplain had another accident, and the ship drifted out of control - but seriously, that's too optimistic," another officer sighed, "It's impossible for such a large ship to drift out of the search range in such a short period of time, even if it drifts out of control, and it's more likely that the Petrel has suffered a vicious accident and has sunk······ I have reported hearing a faint explosion in an offshore patrol boat, and I have seen a distant flash in the night, and it may be the Haiyan."

"Such a big ship, it would have to sink for hours, right? We dispatched a search force as soon as the Petrel went missing," the civilian officer with short light brown hair frowned, "Not to mention that the sea has not been polluted by oil, how can the traces disappear so cleanly?" Is it possible that the whole ship can sink to the bottom of the sea in an instant?"

「…… You should send someone to Dagger Island to confirm the situation," said another male officer, "Maybe the Haiyan didn't sail towards Frost Island, or maybe it was stranded near Dagger Island for some reason......

"The current situation on Dagger Island, sending people to land on the island requires complicated procedures......

"It's okay to get in touch, this procedure is more complicated, and the Archon's Office can give you a ······ in half an hour at the earliest."

Several officers looked at each other for a moment, and one of them spoke, "That dagger island is ······."

"We have not found any trace or wreckage of the Petrel, and it is tentatively believed that the General has activated the '22nd process, and the Petrel may have sunk," he said with a solemn expression, "Next, we will expand the search area, look for the traces of the attackers in the open sea, and prepare to investigate the situation on Dagger Island."

"It may be that Process 22 was activated - the situation is too urgent or there is a risk of meme leakage, or the Haiyan is completely under the control of someone else, so there is no news coming," Xia Yanhui, the chief commander of the port defense, said in a deep voice, "although this does not explain why the wreckage of the Haiyan disappeared so cleanly."

"Raider ......" The female officer who had spoken earlier gradually became solemn, "If this raider really exists, do you think it was not destroyed with the Petrel's 'Twenty-Two' process?"

In this solemnity, the commander-in-chief Liszt paused for a moment and then continued: "I understand the general, if the Petrel really encounters an extraordinary pollution that is difficult to resist, he will definitely activate the Twenty-two process without hesitation, so what we need to do in the next stage is not only to continue to search for possible traces of the Petrel, but also to find out what attacked and contaminated the ship - if there is an attacker, it is not necessarily tangible, which is a great threat to the frost."

"Procedure 22 is incorrect, the Petrel has indeed been contaminated by the invasion of supernatural forces, this ship has been honorably loyal, but it is necessary to rashly investigate Dagger Island," the gatekeeper said calmly, "This island may be completely out of control."

"One of the first principles when confronted with a transcendent calamity – always assume that the enemy still exists unless there is sufficiently strong direct evidence," Liszt said slowly, "whether it is an extraordinary object or an extraordinary phenomenon, their 'vitality' is always surprisingly strong."

The discussion in the room continued until a calm voice from behind the desk interrupted everyone's speech: "Procedure Twenty-Two."

The room fell silent for a moment, and the officers who were discussing looked up

line, looking at the middle-aged man with dense hair and a serious face behind the desk.

In the office, the officers looked at each other, and the pressure brought by the words "Procedure 22" instantly made the already oppressive atmosphere even more solemn.

"I will submit an investigation to the Archon, although the Petrel had an accident on the way back to the island, and when it left Dagger Island, there was also a message that the inspection work had been successfully completed, but now that the ship has an accident, the situation on Dagger Island is also suspicious," Liszt slowly stood up, his hands propped up on the table, "Let's ...... next"

A secretary pushed the door open and gave a military salute to the officer behind the desk: "Sir, Your Excellency the Gatekeeper is here."

"Gatekeeper?" Liszt's face was visibly surprised, "What is she here for?"

"It's about the Petrel, and it's urgent."

"Invite her into ······" Liszt spoke immediately, but before he could finish his sentence, a gust of gray wind swept up in the corridor outside the door, and then the gray wind that seemed to be mixed with pitch black smoke and dust poured into the room, and quickly circled in the office, and the figure of the gatekeeper stepped out of the gray wind—she carried the tin cane that the Grim Reaper officers always had by their side, and her eyes peeked through the bandages with seriousness and a little apology.

"I'm sorry, Colonel Liszt, the situation is tight, I heard your response and came straight in," Liszt nodded, "I want to know where you are in your current investigation into the whereabouts of the Petrel?"

Liszt did not express his displeasure with the gatekeeper's direct entry into the office, the qualified soldier knew the urgency, and the "gatekeeper" of the city-state already had many privileges in a tight situation, and the lady appeared in such a hurry, it was obvious that the situation was urgent to the point that there was no time to be polite.

"Dagger Island out of control?" The muscles on Liszt's face trembled visibly, "What information do you have?"

「…… The source of the information is not to be revealed for the time being," the gatekeeper firmed, "but the reliability is high, and I haven't had time to report the situation to the cathedral and the town hall yet, as it may delay time." Colonel Liszt, I want you to block all shipping lanes around Dagger Island at once, forbid any ships from approaching, and forbid anything to leave the island—much less allow them to land on Frost Island."

"Ma'am, I must warn you - this is not in accordance with the process," Liszt's tone became serious, "I would like to trust your judgment as a gatekeeper, but you should know that every rule is summed up in human life—sending out a naval blockade of Dagger Island is no small matter, and I need clearer orders and explanations."

"At least it won't make it any worse," the gatekeeper stepped forward, "I've sent someone to the cathedral, and the follow-up order will come down soon."

Moments later, there was a hissing and rapid clicks of air coming from the copper pipes fixed to the wall next to the table, followed by a crisp metal crash that shook the copper pipes, and a few white currents of air came out of the snap mechanism at the end of the pipe.

Before the Defense Commander could finish his sentence, a slightly hurried footstep suddenly sounded in the hallway, followed by a knock on the door.

Liszt frowned: "Enter."

"A ship appeared in the open sea area and signaled to apply for entry," Liszt slowly raised his head, his face solemn, "It's the Petrel."

The room quickly fell silent.

Liszt opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something more, but at that moment he was interrupted by a sudden and rapid bell in the corner of the room.

The port defense commander glanced at the gatekeeper, then turned and walked briskly to the small table next to him, and pressed the button on the table.

The officers looked at each other, the gatekeeper's eyes instantly became solemn, and Liszt was silent for a few seconds before suddenly speaking, "Go to the docks."

Standing on the lookout at the East Harbour Pier, you can already see the silhouette of the steam clipper – it zooms in on the horizon, clouds of steam smoke rising above it.

The Petrel appeared, and after more than twenty-two hours of disappearance, it reappeared in the eyes of the Frost Man, and sailed straight for the military docks in the East Harbor.

Faintly

The whistle of the covenant was heard, accompanied by a pause.

A junior officer put down the binoculars in his hand and said in a simple tone.

"Silhouette and bow flag recognition...... It's the Petrel."

Liszt, however, remained motionless and stared at the approaching dark shadow on the sea, and remained silent for a long time.

"The second round of signals, the Petrel applies to enter the port," the junior officer turned his head and looked at Liszt, "

Liszt opened the buckle, flipped the cover, took out the capsule compartment from the pipe, took out the note inside, and glanced at it quickly, his face changed instantly.

"Sink it." The gatekeeper, who had not said a word since just now, finally broke the silence.