The winch rotates, the steel cables tighten, the metal "cage" creaks and rattles as it runs downward, the darkness pervades the outside of the cage, and the dim gas lamps are embedded in the side walls of the shaft, dispelling the darkness deep in the mine and providing a limited and necessary sense of security.

Agatha stood on the edge of the lift, her "gaze" looking through the guardrail at the downward-stretching shaft, her eyes obscured by a night-like black cloth, and most of her expression changed, making it almost impossible to guess what she was thinking now.

"It's so deep here......" A voice suddenly broke the silence in the elevator, and Alice stood nervously behind Duncan, looking up at the gas lights rising from the walls of the wells on both sides, and said a little scared, "I feel like we're all about to fall into the sea through the city-state......"

"The continuous descent is the illusion," Morris's voice came from the corner of the cage, and the old scholar said without looking back as he curiously observed the inner workings of the large lift, "in fact we should have only descended two or three hundred meters by now. ”

"Oh-" Alice elongated her voice, not knowing if she could understand the depth of the concept of "two or three hundred meters", but the doll had a "this sounds amazing" expression on her face.

Duncan didn't care about the conversation between Alice and Morris, he stepped forward to Agatha, who was standing silently on the edge of the car, and turned his head to look at the "gatekeeper": "You seem to be preoccupied. ”

“…… It's just that many thoughts can't help but come to me from the moment I got down the mine," Agatha was silent for two seconds, and said in a complicated tone, "It is said that ...... 'other me' was standing in this position at that time, leading the members of the exploration force from this shaft into the depths of the boiling gold mine......"

Her voice was hoarse, with a hint of hesitation.

"'She' was ...... She seemed to have sensed the truth about herself, and according to the details described by the guards who went down the well with her at the time, she had a strange and resolute attitude at that time, but no one knew why......

"If that 'fake' really restores most of your thoughts and memories, then it's not inconceivable that she can perceive herself as she really is," Duncan said lightly, "Even a clone can have a strong will and a noble heart. ”

Agatha didn't speak for a while, as if she was immersed in a lot of heavy thoughts, and after a long time, she suddenly broke her silence: "I'm just thinking...... What was she thinking and recalling at that time...... Did she ever fear or regret it? She has my memories, but only a few days of real life, about it all...... Will she hold a grudge? ”

Duncan turned his head and looked at Agatha quietly.

After staring at him for a moment, he slowly spoke: "If it were you, would you be resentful, or would you regret your decision?" ”

"No, it won't."

"Obviously, neither will she."

"But......" said Agatha then, "but...... I think I will still have some regrets, when I die in the dark, I will think of the city-state in the sun, of the familiar people and things in the city, and if I am a replica, I will regret that I can't get past the gate of Bartók, because I don't know if I have a soul, I ......"

She paused and took a soft breath, with a hint of sadness in her tone: "Yes, if it were me, I would be sorry." ”

Duncan looked at her, and after a long time, he withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the rising dim and dim lights around him: "So, she will too." ”

Agatha was silent for a moment, as if she were talking to herself, as if she was asking softly, "What will we see down there......"

"I don't know, so it's necessary for us to come down and check the situation." Duncan said, glancing back at the figures in the car—Alice, Maurice, and Vanna, who was standing in the middle of the elevator with her arms folded and her eyes closed, and there was no one else here except the three of them, plus Agatha and himself.

"You didn't bring any of your subordinates, you just called us, out of prudence?"

"I don't know what's going to happen down there, it could be the pollution left behind by the old gods, it could be the 'truth' that will spread, and in a state of uncertainty, bringing ordinary guardians and priests is just adding to the uncontrollability," Agatha said calmly, "You and your followers are obviously not afraid of this. ”

Duncan listened, just smiled and didn't say anything.

At this moment, the car's descent began to slow down rapidly, and with the creak of the automatic mechanism and the final clatter of the "iron cage" bottoming out, the elevator finally reached the bottom of the mine.

"We're here," Agatha looked up, glanced outside, and took the lead in opening the fence gate and walking out, subconsciously reminding the people behind her as she went, "Be careful, this is only a preliminary clean-up - emergency personnel evacuated a few hours ago, and what we are going to next is the real 'unknown depth'." ”

As she spoke, she suddenly stopped again, turned her head to Duncan with some embarrassment, and said, "Of course, these reminders may be a little redundant to you......"

Duncan waved his hand to show that he didn't care, and at the same time glanced at the depths of the alleyway - only a few gas lamps released a dim glow in the darkness, making the alleyway ahead more and more shadowy, and the suspicious accumulation was everywhere, and the unsettling and eerie atmosphere was haunting, which was really not a reassuring scene.

"Nina shouldn't have been allowed to come back to the ship so early," he said casually, "and it's just right for her to come over in such a dark place." ”

"Or maybe she's startled by something in the dark, and a sneezing of thousands of degrees blows up the entire tunnel," Morris couldn't help but mutter, "I don't recommend that you take Nina around any dark and narrow space—she's still small and prone to startles." ”

Duncan shrugged: "The child has to grow up, and she's almost out of high school." ”

The expression on Morris's face stiffened for a moment, and the corners of his mouth twitched several times before he spoke while considering his words: "Captain, under normal circumstances, a child who has graduated from high school would choose to celebrate his coming of age with a party or a trip, rather than exploring a mine that has been corrupted by the ancient gods as a 'graduation ceremony'......"

Duncan laughed happily, and then, as if remembering something, suddenly turned his head and asked Vana again, "How did you spend your seventeen years of coming-of-age?" ”

He just asked casually, hoping to serve as a reference when he would one day celebrate the coming-of-age ceremony for Nina or Shirley.

Vanna didn't expect the focus of the topic to suddenly fall on her, the beautiful girl was stunned for a moment, and a little embarrassment quickly appeared on her face, and then she muttered while stepping forward: "...... In preparation for the make-up examination for the deferred school year......"

Duncan: "......"

The atmosphere seemed to be a little awkward, Duncan could only spread his hands helplessly, but Agatha, who was walking in front, suddenly turned her head and seemed to be casting an incredible "gaze".

"What's wrong?" Duncan asked casually.

“…… No matter how many times you watch it, it feels like the way you get along with your followers is truly amazing, and the way you reclaim your humanity is the opposite of what you have been said about over the past century—I think I can understand why the Captain Lawrence and his men on the White Oak are such an interesting bunch. ”

Listening to the other party's first few words, Duncan didn't react, but when he heard the latter his expression, he immediately became subtle, and as soon as Agatha's words fell, he spoke: "Again, although all the members of the White Oak are my subordinates, I really don't know them well......"

Agatha nodded, "Yes, you don't know them well - you've stressed it before." ”

Duncan didn't hear any seriousness from the other party's tone, and could only sigh helplessly: "How did it solve it in the end?" I mean Lawrence's 'manifest of goods'. ”

"Frost needs supplies now, and we're never going to break the contract - now that the goods have arrived, the bill will be paid," Agatha said, shaking her head again, "but only partially." ”

"Oh?"

"The most critical 'cargo', Anomaly 077, is out of control and cannot be delivered," Agatha explained, "and the contract requires the White Oak to deliver the sealed 'sailor' to the Frost Reliquary, not a living corpse......

"But then again, the corpse itself looks like he'd like to be 'delivered', and he almost cried out with joy when he heard that he was included in the list of goods handed over to Frost - unfortunately, we don't know what to do with an anomaly that has been out of control for a long time and can't be sealed again, or it is better to leave it to you to deal with it yourself."

"An anomaly that has been out of control for a long time......"

Duncan muttered subconsciously and turned his head to look to the side.

Alice also turned her head and found that the captain was looking at her, and a happy look immediately appeared on the face of the puppet lady: "Hehe......"

Duncan sighed, "Well, I do have some experience. ”

Agatha also subconsciously looked at Alice, and there seemed to be a somewhat complicated expression on her face.

By now, she had learned the true identity of the "Doll Lady" from Duncan, and as a native of Frost, she certainly knew how special it was for "Anomaly 099" to be so swaggering in Frost City.

She had a myriad of questions to ask, intense curiosity and unwarranted apprehension resting in her already cooled chest - and yet she never found a chance to speak up in the face of Captain Duncan, who didn't seem to care much about everything.

"I want to ......"

Agatha seemed to have finally made up her mind, and she broke her silence, but just as she was about to ask some questions about Alice, a sudden palpitation stopped her.

Almost at the same time, everyone in the team stopped.

Agatha turned her head to look into the deepest part of the long, deep alleyway, and under the thick black cloth, her vision, which had been sublimated in flames, was shaking, trembling, and distorting, as if an invisible wind was blowing in front of her, and countless chaotic sounds mixed with the invisible wind, impacting her perception.

She felt her mind being disturbed, some kind of massive presence deep in the alleyway...... No, it must be technically the aftermath of some massive presence that was resonating with her sanity, she couldn't "see" what was there, but she could feel it...... There was a faint echo in the incomparable reverberation.

The faint echo was whispering to her.

"Over there...... What's there? ”

The blind goddess asked, and she subconsciously stretched out her hand, as if trying to stabilize her somewhat shaky body.

A slightly wide hand with a palpable feminine line reached out from the side - Vana reached for Agatha and looked up at the vast darkness at the end of the alleyway.

"It seems like a hollow," Vanna whispered, with a hint of nervousness in her tone, "huge...... Empty. ”

(Push the book time, the new book "Chenglong Immortal Son-in-law" from the toad, classical Xianxia, old soup and old taste, the seedlings are very young, a mouthful of milk, and a sacrifice to the sky.) ）

(End of chapter)