Madeline pushed her hair away from her forehead and looked relieved.
"So you really care about this?" Hitzfeld frowned. "Aren't you afraid that I'll tell her about it? That she'll say you're meddling in other people's business?"
"This is also for the good of the director." Madeline said seriously, "I always feel that she is a little... too obsessed. This is unlike the director Imaer I know. You'd better find a way to assign some work to her."
"You guys are really giving me problems."
"I can't help it. You are Aisun Hitzfeld... Even His Majesty admires your wisdom. It was only after I met you that I realized that your appearance is not inferior to your intelligence..."
"Don't say compliments, and don't use honorifics when we're together in private." Hitzfeld turned his head to the window again, looking at the school of fish outside, and suddenly changed the subject: "Can you tell me about your family?"
"I?"
"Yes."
"There's nothing good to say about my family..." Madeline scratched her hair in distress, "Well...my parents are both teachers. They work in a middle school sponsored by the nobility and have a good salary compared to ordinary people."
"But that's it - they are all very conservative people. They especially don't like me to go near the ocean. They always say that ships are the most dangerous means of transportation in the world... You may not believe this, but I had a few opportunities to ride a ship when I was a child, but they would rather spend several times the price to buy airship tickets to keep me away from the ocean."
"So your family is all here?" Hitzfeld discovered the key point. "...I heard from Imaar that there are very few people like this who would...choose to work in the Security Bureau."
Before the establishment of the new audit department, the Department of Homeland Security was the closest institution to King Sara. The unique nature of the work made the selection of personnel extremely demanding and strict, and one of the most important criteria was that they had to have hatred for the enemies of humanity.
Xia Yibing once told her about an incident in which an outstanding lower-level agency agent wanted to be promoted to a black officer, but after investigating his background, it was determined that he "logically did not have enough motivation to resent others" and his promotion request was rejected.
This man's family was well-off, so he used his connections to find the then security chief and wanted to ask him why - why were those people who were far less capable than him allowed in, but he was turned away?
The director at that time wrote him a long letter, in which he stated that Shadow Lion was not the secret police in people's eyes, but was far more than that. Before pursuing outstanding business capabilities, the most important thing was always loyalty, and loyalty was the ability that was least likely to be tested.
"People cannot stand the test." Xia Yibing said at the time, "We can list a bunch of psychological traps to test them, but I don't believe we can get an accurate result in that case. We firmly believe that before we really encounter a dilemma that requires a choice, all the assumptions we make in advance are inaccurate, especially when it comes to 'loyalty'... Who is willing to admit that they are a coward?"
"But the fact is that we are afraid, we are terrified, we get hurt, we bleed, we feel pain, we suffer... We are just flesh and blood, and there is no difference between extraordinary people and ordinary people."
"You mean torture?" Hitzfeld asked her at the time, and she immediately associated the description with the idea that when a Shadow Lion agent fell into the hands of the enemy, he might suffer a lot of torture.
"That's what Mr. Roshedolov wrote in his letter." Xia Yibing nodded. "He told that man that he didn't believe that a person who had no grudge against evil could survive those tortures."
"Endless pain...both physical and mental. We don't believe anyone can persevere through the torture. This is not something that can be achieved with natural willpower. Perhaps such people exist, but we cannot expect everyone who comes to take the test to be one of them."
"So there's just... hatred."
"When you are lying on a bed studded with iron nails, your skin is cut open and bleeding, your nails are pulled out, needles are stuck into the tips of your fingers, your eyes are gouged out, your face is scratched, the flesh on your legs is cut off and only the skeleton is left... and your enemies are simultaneously teasing you and tempting you, telling you that if you tell them the secret, all this will stop immediately and you will regain a complete body and even enjoy endless wealth and glory. We think it is difficult for 'a person who has no hatred for them' to withstand this offensive."
“But if there is hatred, then it’s different.”
"As for me, Aisuen... Even if all these tortures are inflicted on me, I swear that what I will think about at that time must be my nightmare... I will think of my family, my brothers and sisters, how they died in a conspiracy, and why all this happened. At that time, my blood must be boiling hot, because it is constantly being burned by anger... Surrender? Even if I only have teeth left, I will try to bite them to death!"
"'Those without hatred should not enter this door' - this is the explanation Mr. Rosedolov gave him in his last letter. I agree with this and I believe it is good for both sides."
Hitzfeld was deeply impressed by the story because she couldn't help but put herself in the story.
Would her life be completely different if there were no evil spirit?
She couldn't tell.
She had hatred. Coldis's death certainly had his own reasons - he did need to atone for his past actions, but as a blood relative, Hitzfeld would inevitably think that something had misled him.
But if there were no evil spirits and pressure from these things, her mother would not have gone to Earth with the family, and 'Hitzfell' would not have become a family of secret keepers, which means that Coldis, who was born on Earth, would have no chance to meet his mother at all.
If this premise is not true, would she still exist?
For some complicated reasons, it is difficult for her to do things simply for herself - to look for misfortune in herself and turn it into motivation for revenge.
Her hatred came more from empathy, from the lady, from Ethan, Darent, Xia and others...
She didn't feel it so deeply a few years ago, but if you ask her now, she would say that if she was tortured, she would definitely be able to hold on.
By contrast, Madeleine's case is unusual.
"I don't know either." Madeline shrugged. "I heard that the review in this area has become more relaxed. As long as they can confirm that my family background is clean and I'm not a spy planted by the enemy, they are willing to take me in... But it's true that they never send me to work outside Wayne. Maybe that's the reason. They're afraid that I'll be caught and think that I'll reveal everything I know."
"Did your love for sailing come from Malpakinsa?"
"Yes, at first I was just curious about the fact that the seafaring hero had the same last name as me, but after learning about his story I became addicted to it, and fantasized about being like him one day."
"Then you must have read a lot of books on navigation and know a lot about the times of Marpa Gymnasium."
"I can't say I understand... Is there anything you want to ask?"
"I am indeed quite curious about the gray fog."
Gray fog - Hitzfeld's current understanding of this thing is that it may be able to confuse the concept of space and connect the world at sea with another more dangerous world.
Ships will not be 100% guaranteed to be lost when entering the gray fog area. There have always been examples of successful passage through the gray fog area, but the frequency of accidents is extremely high, and no one can explain why they disappeared.
Did they encounter a storm? A sea monster? Or were they simply swept into the gray fog?
There have always been many legends about the Gray Fog. Many people have tried to solve the mystery of the Gray Fog. The reward for information about the Gray Fog and missing ships has been posted at the door of the church for more than a hundred years. At the beginning, there were people who took the offer, but as time went by, all assumptions and speculations were overturned, and the Gray Fog gradually became a taboo.
"I have heard a theory...about gray fog. There is a scholar, a biologist, who proposed that gray fog might not be fog, but a kind of tiny organism that is difficult to see with the naked eye."
Hitzfeld raised his index finger and gestured in the air. "He thinks that when the missing ships entered the gray fog, it was like they were entering the stomach of a giant monster. They were being digested and broken down without knowing it. Do you think this makes sense?"
She is inducing.
Madeline was a little hesitant, she had to induce her to completely treat her as a companion.
“No matter who he is, he’s talking nonsense!” The curly-haired woman was fooled and said angrily, “If that’s the case, then how can he explain that some people can return safely? Simply entering the gray fog and coming out will basically be fine. I am more inclined to think that they entered a different space, which is equivalent to the God Lord Secret Realm. Such things may be everywhere in the gray fog area!”
Madeline regretted it as soon as she said this. She immediately covered her mouth and saw that the girl was smiling at her.
"Some of your methods are indeed... very suitable for the identity of a private detective." The woman gritted her teeth.
"But I told you in advance what I wanted to know. I can apologize, but I want you to tell me everything you know."
Madeleine Bakinsa, Xia Yibing had already informed the girl in advance about this person's background.
Hitzfeld probably didn't know that she was a descendant of Marpa Kinsa, and Madeline and Tenize might be the only ones left on the ship. Then of course she had to think about why Xia Yibing suggested that she include this woman in the list.
"If you are interested in mysticism... you should know that there is a legend about the gray fog, which is that it connects to the world of evil gods."
After hesitating for a while, Madeline lowered her voice and spoke to her.
She certainly didn't know that this was no longer a legend, but something that had been confirmed by Hitzfeld.
"I've read a lot of Marr's accounts, from biographies to profiles from various perspectives... and the people who followed in his footsteps to go out to sea because of his success in opening up the shipping route. Most of them died, but some did come back... I've read the logbooks left by those people."
"How did you see those things?"
"I asked someone to buy it... Just tell me whether you want to listen or not."
"Please say."
"Before I describe it, Ms. Hitzfeld, do you know what the Gray Fog Area is like? And do you know what is called 'channel opening'? How is this opening done?"
"I don't know, but I thought about it... Is it because of the artifact?"
"Using a divine weapon to clear the way? That's not so extravagant. Think about it again. If we have something that we can take with us to the sea to dispel the gray fog and open up a channel, then the gray fog area will not be scary at all."
"That's what happened."
"I can tell you now that the gray fog area is not coherent."
"……How to say?"
"It has gaps - the channel already exists. Many people think that the gray fog area is a large area of impenetrable fog, but in fact it is more like a sea maze formed by fog."
"Is there a passage in the middle? But it is irregular. You don't know where a certain road leads to, nor do you know whether it is a lifeway or a dead end?"
"That's it, that's it!" Madeline was a little excited when she said this, and her face was reminiscing: "There are very few such passages. If you sail around the gray fog wall, you may not find an open entrance even after three days and three nights."
"But the gray fog area is not static. Its range and concentration will change over time. Maybe the gray fog wall you passed by last night will have a gap today, forming a crack in it... Although this gap is small and there are few passages, the ocean is too big! In fact, they add up to a lot, which is why I call it a maze... Do you understand?"
"Okay." Hitzfeld narrowed his eyes, "But there's a problem."
"You said."
"Since the waterways already exist, we are not actually creating them but discovering them."
“Very accurate!”
"But you just said that the range and density of the gray fog area are constantly changing?" The girl raised her eyebrows. "If it changes, what's the point of the routes that have been discovered and opened up? They will be covered up after a while, right?"
"This is one of the most important mysteries of the Gray Mist District." Madeline raised her index finger. "Most gaps and passages are like this, but there are some passages that can remain unchanged no matter how turbulent the Gray Mist District is."
"They are called 'anchor channels' - they are the most precious resource on the sea. The discovery of each 'anchor channel' requires huge sacrifices, and my dream was to open such a channel myself."
"once?"
"I thought I would be sailing on the sea this time."
The woman's shoulders slumped.
"I didn't expect His Majesty to come up with a submarine..."
She lowered her brows, her sadness and disappointment visible to the naked eye.
Hitzfeld wanted to laugh, but she tried her best to restrain herself.
“Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing.”
"how to say?"
Madeline looked up, looking at her with a hint of doubt in her eyes.
"You described the basic structure of the Gray Fog, but that doesn't explain why ships are disappearing in it."
"That explains it - they either reached a dead end or encountered a change in the fog while navigating the passage, and were trapped in it and probably couldn't get out - isn't it that simple?"
"No, there is no specific reason why."
Hitzfeld still shook his head.
Madeline frowned at her, feeling that she was planning something that was difficult to tell others.
"If the gray fog area leads to the evil god's world, will there be an ocean in that world?"
"Varied……"
"Is it possible that for those missing ships, when they overcame difficulties and passed through the thick fog, they thought they were out of danger, but found themselves in another world, which was filled with dangers a hundred or a thousand times more than their hometown?"
"..."
Madeline looked at her with her mouth open, her head exploding and goose bumps all over her body.
But Hitzfeld isn't done yet: "Or there is another possibility... After all, humans have rarely explored the underwater world, especially the deep sea, for so many years."
"If there is an ocean over there, and there are animals in the ocean."
"What if they suddenly jump out of the sea at the moment when the fog node changes."
"The next moment, when they fell back into the water."
“Is the ocean they are in still the same?”
Chapter 37 Captain Eshun Hitzfeld
These words had a great impact on Madeleine.
The situation in the Gray Fog Area was her inference based on all the records and legends she could find so far. She originally thought that these things were secrets known only to a very small number of people, and she fantasized that she would be able to amaze the young female detective after she told them out loud.
After all, she still remembered how the other party had tricked her. For this girl who was smart and beautiful but had "bad conduct" and "too cunning", Madeline felt that it was her responsibility to teach her a lesson.
Unexpectedly, instead of teaching the lesson a lesson, I was the one who was shocked.
Hitzfeld easily accepted her entire theory, and quickly innovated on that basis, making a hypothesis: if there is also an ocean on the other side of the gray fog, then this can not only explain why the ships disappeared in the fog, but it is also a prophecy - a prophecy that the ocean they are in now may actually hide many new species from other worlds.
She couldn't help but outline the logic in her mind: the gray fog area is constantly changing, and except for the anchored channel, the outline of the fog is always wandering. Some ships thought they had found an anchored channel at the beginning and sailed along the channel firmly. As a result, the fog walls on both sides of the channel collapsed halfway through, and the thick fog gradually obscured their vision. They immediately fell into an extremely dangerous situation.
Hypothetically, the gray fog area at this time has a greater probability of being connected to another world, and there may be space passages everywhere in the dense fog. But because those things are invisible, the sailors can only continue to sail in it like headless flies.
At this time, it is not as simple as sailing in a "maze", it is actually sailing in a sea full of mines, and all the mines cannot be detected with the naked eye.
Then, whether or not you can pass through and whether or not you can return becomes a matter of low probability. This can also explain why the farther a ship sails, the harder it is to return, and why the closer a ship is to the coast, for example, the experimental operation of breaking into the fog wall from the coast, making a small circle and then circling back out, often succeeds.
The range is different, the area of the gray fog is different, the number of "mines" inside is different, and the probability is naturally different.
But what is really chilling is the prophecy - let's use native species as an example. Madeline is thinking of the beluga whale here. The beluga whale is a very active whale, small in size, and carnivorous. Some oceanographers have analyzed that the beluga whale is a very ferocious deep-sea hunter. They once found bite marks consistent with the teeth of the beluga whale on the skeleton of a giant whale that is 6 times larger than an adult beluga whale. It is speculated that this type of whale will rarely fight in groups when hunting - that is, cooperate.
In a way, this is a sign of intelligence. Although beluga whales clearly have not evolved any inclination toward intelligence, they are capable of experiencing a far richer range of emotions than other species.
This makes them different from most species in the sea. They can feel simple emotions such as sadness and joy, and on this basis they are more playful.
Otherwise, it is impossible to explain why they would jump out of the sea for no reason. It is true in this regard - many marine creatures will jump out of the sea, but most of them have reasons, either for courtship or for hunting, but only beluga whales have no reason, they simply just think it's fun.
This is the species that Madeline fantasized about... She imagined herself from the perspective of a beluga whale, playing in the shallow sea, jumping out and falling in without restraint, splashing water, and admiring the panicked escape of seabirds and fish.
