dognovel Chapter 60 Beyond the Sea
Chapter 60 Beyond the Sea
After a 12-day voyage aboard the New World, Olina Christophe discovered that the fleet had arrived at a peculiar sea. She looked up at the sky, where the gray clouds seemed never to clear, and sunlight dappled through them, making the whole world appear as if it were shrouded in a black and white sketch.
"Turn on the lights!"
With a click, the lights turned on, and most likely the magic lamp emitted a visible beam of light, which was obscured by the particles floating in the air within 100 meters.
"Cough cough—cough cough cough!"
"what happened to you?"
"Damn it... this air feels poisonous."
The winds became turbulent and unpredictable after they entered the area, so the captain immediately ordered the steam engines to be started. The engine room took two hours to get the steam engines up and running, belching black smoke as they propelled the propellers forward.
"Lower the sail."
"Air pressure normal, engine normal!"
"Forward three!"
Black smoke rose from the "New World," and the two black ships sailed westward. About two hours later, the lookout on the mast suddenly pointed ahead and shouted, "Land!"
"land!"
Olina Kristoff picked up her binoculars and soon spotted a dark shape on the horizon in the distance—undoubtedly, it was a vast expanse of land.
"land!"
Scholars rushed over, some using sextants to calculate, but since the sun was completely out of sight, they couldn't determine their latitude and longitude. Upon seeing this, one scholar immediately picked up a slide rule and began calculating on the nautical chart—by simply obtaining the ship's speed and the time it had traveled, they could roughly estimate its location.
Some people began packing their bags. The land was getting closer and closer, but Olina Kristoff had a bad feeling—the clouds in the sky were a dark gray, which was almost an ominous sign, but there was no indication that a storm was coming.
She looked down—the seawater was also grayish-black. She turned to find the vice-captain—this grayish-black color was abnormal for the ocean. She even saw some bubbles floating on the surface, reflecting colorful light in the dim light.
"Damn it... Everyone, be careful! Don't touch the seawater!"
As the fleet drew closer to land, Olina Christoff observed through her binoculars that the land was devoid of any greenery; everything appeared gray and black, and she saw features that seemed almost unnatural.
Boom! ! ! !
A loud explosion shattered the eerie atmosphere from afar. The captain immediately rang the navigation bell, and the crew sprang into action. The lookout pointed into the distance, unable to utter a word.
"Level One Combat Readiness!!!"
The lookout finally shouted out what he had seen—"Explosion!!!"
The only two 75mm cannons were uncovered, Minié rifles were distributed to the sailors, and Olina Kristoff received a naval revolver. She looked at the land, which was getting closer and closer, but the view that was coming made her shudder.
"I can't see! I can't see!"
The lookout shouted, but all he could see was darkness. He gripped the railing tightly, and after a moment his grip loosened. He quickly climbed down the mast, but in the last few steps, perhaps because he was too nervous or because he really couldn't see, he lost his footing and fell to the ground.
"What exactly did you see?"
The lookout, his face filled with terror, pointed in the direction the fleet had gone. His eyes could finally see again; he pointed to the land—"I see it! The sun on the ground… Is that an explosion or the sun? My God… it's so bright…!"
"Medical officer!"
"Yes! Captain!"
"Let him go and rest!"
Olina Kristoff remained serious for a moment, then finally lowered the binoculars from her eyes; she had seen enough.
"I'm not sure whether I should go ashore or not..."
"What's wrong, Ms. Olina?"
"This new continent...you shall see for yourself."
The captain took the binoculars and looked at the land—he could see it all clearly—the land was covered with dark, twisted structures, most of which had an almost tomb-like gloom, devoid of vegetation, only cold, dark metal and piles of scattered stones. But as the ship gradually approached the shore, they could see man-made structures where the sea met the land.
"The cement embankment... is similar in material to the dry docks of the Hilla Naval Shipyard..."
The New World is not new. At least from this perspective, it is an area that has long been explored. The twisted structures on the land and the piles of dark stones are clearly collapsed buildings.
Looking up, lightning flashes constantly in the clouds; looking down, the earth is gray and lifeless.
"That looks like a shipyard?"
"It seems so, there looks like a wrecked ship there..."
The pre-prepared landing craft were completely useless. The New World had left them an artificial dock. The New World and the Great Discovery communicated with lights and flag signals for a while, and the two ships docked at the concrete pier. Olina Kristoff was the first to set foot on the land of the New World.
She gazed at their new discovery upon setting foot on land—a ship, without sails or a smokestack. She picked up a stone and threw it at the wreckage—making a metallic clanging sound.
"Iron ship..."
Its streamlined exterior is covered in dust, and it lies half-submerged in the water, the thick layer of dust on its surface telling tales of unknown days and nights.
The sailors assembled and disembarked. The marine captain looked at Olina Kristoff, who was squatting in front of a pavilion, searching for something. The sailors planted the national flag on a metal block on the shore that had been preserved for who knows how many years, and the tricolor flag fluttered in the wind.
"Ms. Olina! What are you looking for?"
A scholar approached Olina Kristoff, who did not answer. She stood up and stepped aside—in the pavilion before her lay a skeleton, completely reduced to bones, wrapped in a dark blue garment.
"These words, these things... these people..."
Olina Christophe held a small card in her hand. After picking it up, she brushed away the dust covering it, and after countless years, the man-made object once again revealed its true form.
She stared at the words in disbelief. She could read the letters perfectly, but the way the words were put together was so unbelievable, as if she had stepped into a satirical play.
"Earth United Nations - Aimelanxi Planet Computing Terminal Third Functional Area Marine Terminal Operator, Name: Lavirania?"
She looked back at the tricolor flag—it appeared incredibly dim at that moment.