Chapter 15 Beach History 1
After continuing to chat with the mixed-haired loli for a while, Hitzfeld roughly determined that she had mental problems.
Sixus obviously has not "recovered" from the adventure of the Dragon Kingdom. Everything she saw, heard and experienced in the west is still affecting her, and the most serious impact is Russell's death.
Well, it might also include Hitzfeld herself... including the sacrificial choice she made at the beginning... This is also a kind of "victim complex". She guessed that Sixus was too mentally exhausted, so he came up with the idea of "I can only rely on myself" and "only by doing this can it end."
"Send her to rest." Hitzfeld glanced at the woman with the ponytail, "No matter what we plan to do next, she must at least get some sleep first."
"What do you want to do?" Seeing Xia Yibing approaching him with a dark face, Xixus stared and kept backing away. He was soon forced to the end and curled up against the wall.
"I'm the director, Connie~" Xia Yibing happily admired her expression, "I also think you should take a rest... That empty bed over there, do you want to lie down by yourself or should I help you?"
"I just haven't slept for more than 30 hours!...You call this needing rest?" Sixus waved his fist at her angrily, "So what if you are the director! I am in charge here! It's me!"
"Bang!" Xia Yibing punched her on the top of her head. She shook her head and hesitated for a while, then she stuck out her tongue and lay down.
"I never thought I would have to be a babysitter for a child..."
After picking her up and putting her on the bed, Xia Yibing turned around and asked with emotion: "What should we do next? Wait for her to wake up? Or should we go make incense first?"
At this point she slapped her forehead - she forgot to ask Sixus where the materials sent by Prins were hidden!
This won't work... After being with Hitzfeld for so long, I seem to have developed a habit of not using my brain. I'm not just a thug... I'll be looked down upon if I do this.
"Dreyerman must know. Just ask her directly later."
Hitzfeld was not worried about this. She walked to the bed, helped Sixus to adjust his sleeping position and fix his hair, and looked at the baby face with some emotion.
People who are used to seeing sacrifice will become determined. Even if they themselves are not aware of it, even if they always give the impression of being strong to outsiders, in fact, their inner world is exhausted, and death can even be said to be a relief for them.
After all, people are such fragile creatures... No matter how strong they appear on the surface, you never know when they will suddenly collapse and how they will collapse.
But even if she was given a thousand or ten thousand chances, she would not think it was weakness.
On the contrary, she had never felt that Sixus was so "human-like". She also always believed that this was a difference in expression, and there was no difference between the two.
"Get some rest," he whispered, "When you wake up, I promise things will progress."
Someone was guarding here, and Hitzfeld asked Xia Yibing to go to the door to call the nun, and told the nun to go back to the room to notify others to come over.
Soon, Knight Blue, Ms. Feti, and Nurse Lushil arrived at the spacious ward one after another.
Two of the three were already used to seeing "mummies", and only Ms. Feti seemed a little frightened at first, but she recovered a little after being comforted.
Hitzfeld asked Luciel to take care of the sleeping doctor, and he took the main seat and described the information that Sixus had just revealed.
The story of Sixus's mimicry was skipped, and it was only said that she accidentally discovered the "echo", and it was also pointed out that she wanted to use the soul-calling incense to start the "fishing plan".
"This is too dangerous!" As expected, Knight Blue was the first to object. "Dr. Conte has been helping us a lot these days... She often stays up all night reading and writing letters, and also investigates the causes of illness for those patients... I should be the bait!"
This is a foolish statement that fits your personality very well.
Hitzfeld secretly evaluated her and questioned in a serious tone: "So you think you can do better? You don't think the power of the Golden Rank can still work in a dream, do you, Knight Blue?"
"That's not the case..." Dailin Blue sat down angrily.
It was only after she volunteered that she remembered that flint powder and power armor could not be used in the dream world, and her strength was almost useless.
She can really deal with extraordinary people, but if she escapes into the dream world, she will have no advantage except for her stronger willpower.
She really doesn't care about her face...
Knight Blue is the master here. Logically, outsiders like them should be under her control and arrangements, and even if they want to help, they should discuss it with her.
But she didn't react at all and became so cowardly after being questioned.
After this test, Hitzfeld finally confirmed that this Knight Blue, the patron saint in the hearts of the people of Bartlett, had no idea of the dominant power she held.
This is undoubtedly a good thing. The morals and character of the gold-rank knights are trustworthy. If even their personalities are so easy to grasp, Hitzfeld can devote most of his energy to the case instead of using it to intrigue with his allies.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but straighten her expression and tone: "Dalin Blue, can I trust you?"
"...You always can!"
The female knight, who seemed a little listless in the last second, was stunned at first, then stood up straight as if she had been injected with chicken blood, and patted the armor on her chest hard.
"I will be your shield and blade! Please give me your orders, Detective!"
How come Bartlett has such a funny guy...
Xia Yibing's head started to hurt again. She leaned on the bed and rubbed her temples. She didn't want to see this scene.
"The fishing plan has begun." Hitzfeld nodded. "Let's not talk about whether we can make it to the last step. At least this is a clear path forward."
Others, including Ms. Feti, nodded.
Yes - at least there is hope of saving these children!
Look at these children... each one is wrapped in bandages and covered with bruises... they look so thin and haggard. Then think of the adults gathered at the chapel door and talking to each other. There is nothing wrong with her choice!
"I know where it is." The red-haired nurse, Lu Xier, raised her hand and said, "I'll send it to you later!"
"That's just one aspect." Hitzfeld pressed his hand and looked at Knight Blue. "For the next three days, I need the entire city to be under martial law. No one, no matter who it is, is allowed to approach the chapel within a hundred meters, no matter what excuse they have."
“This… is no problem!”
Knight Blue was a little embarrassed at first, but she quickly realized that this should be the preparation for making soul-guiding incense - which might also include subsequent use.
Well, this really cannot be disturbed. To put it bluntly, all creatures that cross the boundary will be shot dead without any reason.
"No nightmares can come near you within three days. On the last day, it's best if no one falls asleep, to avoid danger."
"I'll tell everyone."
The female knight nodded.
If nothing goes wrong, the soul-guiding incense will be used on the last day.
It would have been a good thing nothing happened, but if some big creature had been attracted, everyone who was snoring in the dream world at that time might have been in danger.
"Xia, just go with Ms. Feti." The girl turned to her lover who was traveling with her.
"We now know part of the reason for the curse, but we still don't know its origin or why there is such a mysterious call."
"I suspect this may be related to the geographical location and past history of Bartlett Beach, so while I am preparing to make incense, I hope you can visit more places and help me find out what ancient legends there are here..."
"Ancient legend? I know!"
Before she finished speaking, the female knight raised her hand again in excitement.
"Everyone knows the legend of Bartlett Beach - this place was originally an underwater city!"
Chapter 16 Beach History 2-in-1
Undersea city...is the legend true?
On the way here, they did learn from Ms. Feti that the prototype of the Pusen crater was an extremely ancient submarine volcano.
This is indeed supported by excavated ancient fossils. Moreover, as a coastal area... you said that a large part of its land area was submerged in the sea in ancient times - this doesn't seem to be a problem.
The only problem is... the underwater city?
Why is the term "underwater city" used? Could it be that the small town of Bartlett has existed since the Simpson Crater was still on the seabed?
After Knight Blue's subsequent explanation, everyone gradually understood this history.
"There are a lot of prehistoric fossils buried in the land around the Pusen Crater, and most of these fossils are deep-sea species..." Knight Blue recalled, "But in fact, there are more than just... more than just ordinary deep-sea species, because... how should I put it? Because this town is special, you know how poor the economic development here is... In short, not many people are willing to come here, and the few tourists are all from universities all over the place, and their purpose is mostly for archaeology, so..."
She didn't finish what she said, because it was obvious that she had communicated a lot with teachers and students majoring in archaeology, literature, history, and biology, and could talk about some academic terms.
"According to those people, the Poussin crater was not only once located in the deep sea, but it was also more than just an underwater volcano."
"They found a large amount of once-pile-up rock near the circular ridge of the crater... If I remember correctly, it was called 'Bone River Rock'..."
"'Bone rock'!" Ms. Feti exclaimed. "How is it possible... they found bone rock?"
"What is bone layer rock?" Xia Yibing looked at her.
"You should be able to guess a little from the name... It's a rock structure formed by the transformation of biomass." Ms. Feti explained to the others, "Osteostratus is just a general name. There are usually two types of it, namely terrestrial osseous rocks and marine osseous rocks. Once marine osseous rocks are discovered, it means that the nearby area must have been located in the deep sea in ancient times... It's not even an ordinary deep sea, at least it was in the abyssal plain!"
The abyssal plain refers to the deepest, deepest sea floor filled with debris particles...
Hitzfeld was suddenly startled when he thought of Ms. Feti's previous description. He felt as if he had guessed why she suddenly panicked.
Without waiting for her to ask, Ms. Feti took the initiative to speak: "Please forgive my gaffe... But you should know that marine bone layer rocks should not appear near submarine volcanoes!"
"Why not?" Xia Yibing asked thoughtfully, "If I understand correctly, the main structure of the marine skeletal rock was once the debris that covered the seafloor plains?"
"That's right!"
"Why not? Undersea volcanoes are also on the seabed. Isn't it normal for debris to fall on them?"
"This is totally impossible, at least not in large quantities!" Ms. Feti was very sure. "Many people think that submarine volcanoes are forbidden areas for life... But according to what I have learned, this is not the case... There is life there, and there are countless life forms there, with a much higher density than in other waters! They will not waste 'marine snow' and give it a chance to transform into bone rock!"
The official name of the debris is marine snow.
Hitzfeld took note of it silently and felt that it was a good decision to bring Ms. Feti with him.
If she were to take over, she would have definitely been studying the legend of the underwater city that Knight Blue mentioned earlier. It is impossible for her to see something strange in an academic term right away.
"So what does this mean?" Xia Yibing frowned slightly, "You said that there should be a large number of life forms that feed on marine snow near the submarine volcano..."
“We don’t necessarily feed entirely on marine snow, but we do feed on it, and every meal there is hard-earned!”
"Well, let's just assume that's the case. But if the bone layer rock theory is true, can we conclude that the Pousen crater was not necessarily an 'undersea volcano' in ancient times?"
"It is indeed possible." Feiti nodded. "To be honest, I also doubted it because this place is too big... As a crater, it is difficult to imagine its true form and how huge its original body was in ancient times."
"What if it's true?" Hitzfeld asked suddenly.
"That means... it had already fallen into a long period of dormancy before being lifted to this position by the movement of the earth's crust." Fati thought for a moment. "This speculation is actually controversial, because the strata in an environment where there can be an eruption of earth veins are usually relatively fragile. If it is squeezed up by the plates due to earthquakes, displacement, etc., the outline and shape of the 'volcano' will change greatly, and it is impossible to remain so intact."
Hitzfeld and Xia Yibing could both guess her underlying meaning - if the ridgeline of the Pusen crater was regarded as the peak and gap of an ancient seamount, then the part floating on land was at most only half of the total.
This half! It can be called a crater, and it just surrounds the entire town of Bartlett in the middle. The other half of the ridgeline is submerged in the sea, buried deep under the blue.
This is why this place is called "Beach" - its overall terrain is inclined, the higher it is towards the northwest peak of the crater, and the lower it is towards the southeast sea. This unique environment has no obstacles to block the sea water, and the Bartlett people have long been accustomed to following the rise and fall of the sea water.
This point was also mentioned in the file Alfred gave me before: the people of Bartlett had to dismantle the dock every year and act according to the coastline. The reason why the economy of this place has never developed is almost entirely due to the geographical environment.
Because don't forget, there is a circle of ridges on the other side of the sea.
They didn't disappear, they were just covered by the sea. You can't see any difference under the water from the surface, but once a deep-draft cargo ship wants to come in and it happens to be low tide, the crater ridge at the bottom of the sea may become a huge, deadly reef killer.
In that case, perhaps there are more secrets buried beneath the town?
Hitzfeld pondered secretly.
A dormant volcano... Assuming it was pushed up by plate movement after becoming dormant, how many years did it remain dormant on the seafloor?
Those scholars discovered "large amounts of squeezed" bone rock nearby. Could it be that it was because it had been dormant for a long time, and the drastic changes in the volcanic environment caused the surrounding biological communities to dissipate, resulting in less demand for marine snow debris, which could gradually accumulate and bury the volcano... or even completely fill it up and turn it into part of the submarine plain?
After thinking for a while, she heard Xia Yibing asking another question: "Let's talk about the things behind the bone layer rock."
Yes.
Hitzfeld responded.
No matter how thrilling this history of biological and environmental changes was, it had nothing to do with her or the case she was currently handling.
The real connection is not the seabed but the underwater city, and she can't wait to know where this legend came from.
"There are ancient ruins in Bartlett."
As a result, Knight Blue's first words startled her and she turned to look at the woman with the ponytail.
Xia Yibing shook her head slightly at her, indicating that she had never known about this.
This is very strange - how could there be no records of ancient relics once they were discovered?
Unless the ruins are so simple that one can tell at a glance that they are worthless.
In fact, this was indeed the case. As Knight Blue's description deepened, they gradually learned that those things were not so much ruins as nests built by unknown creatures.
"Those are densely packed holes." The female knight said, "I... uh, I've seen some ancient files, hand-painted, left by the old people in the town. Those holes in the pictures are as dense as a honeycomb. To be honest... it's a bit disgusting."
"If possible, can I take a look at the information later?" Hitzfeld requested.
"Of course, I won't stop you." The female knight said with a frown, "But those things have never been taken seriously before... I'm not sure if they still exist."
"Why, shouldn't something this important be kept in a library or collection?"
"There is no library here..." The female knight bared her teeth. "You still know too little about Bartlett, Miss Hitzfeld. There is no library here - no library at all. People who want to read books go directly to the school. There is a public and free library reading room there, with about 1600 books, which almost includes half of the books in the entire town."
"Free and open to the public...are those materials stored there as well?"
