Deep Sea Embers

It was rough, resembling a rocky disc, growing at a visible rate and encompassing the entire underground portion of the Pland City-State. Gradually, it began to reveal more bizarre and intricate details—layers of sediment from thousands of years, tiny spike-like growths, and strange protrusions winding between the layers.

It looked like the coarse skin of an echinoderm or the grotesque outer layer left by a rock corroded in strong acid.

Finally, the growth process ceased.

The bottom of the “model” representing the Pland City-State now included an additional disc-like base.

However, what came next caused Zhou Ming to frown.

He could sense that his consciousness spreading within the Pland City-State didn’t stop. Instead, it continued to extend “downward.”

In darkness and cold, beyond the reach of normal senses, he felt his spirit seep and flow downward like mercury sinking into the soil. He distinctly felt his “gaze” passing through thick concrete, soil, and rocks, through an extremely dense but non-metallic, non-stone “shell,” sinking into the icy seawater and continuing downward, ever downward!

How much further did it extend? A hundred meters? Two hundred meters?

Zhou Ming couldn’t be certain. All he knew was that his perception continued to spread downward, even though he was already beyond the boundaries of the Pland City-State, and no new structures appeared on the “collection” in his hand. His thoughts still flowed along an invisible “medium.”

His initial reaction was anxiety, and he subconsciously wanted to control this thought of “falling” into the deep sea. However, the continuous “fall” suddenly halted before he could react.

It was as if he had abruptly hit an invisible “limit” or reached the end of the “medium.” His perception finally settled at a certain depth in the deep water below the city-state and stabilized there.

Zhou Ming felt his heart pounding, experiencing the ups and downs of a sudden fall, only to be abruptly halted by a rope halfway down. It took him nearly half a minute to calm down and regain control of his breathing and heartbeat.

After steadying his mind, he slowly picked up the Pland model in front of him, observing the thick “rock stratum” extending from its base.

The rough and grotesque structure was overall quite orderly. The bottom was a jagged fracture surface, giving the impression that it had been forcibly broken off from somewhere or that it had been disturbed during the “generational” process from top to bottom, resulting in an ugly fracture.

As for the structure inside the disc, it was utterly chaotic, difficult to perceive, and impossible to probe.

Zhou Ming’s attention was not drawn to the disc-shaped base; instead, he focused on the space beneath it.

A part of his “consciousness” extended and hovered in that position.

Zhou Ming gently closed his eyes again and was hit with an intensified perception.

He felt as though he was submerged in the dark, frigid depths of the ocean, with immeasurable seawater surrounding and compressing him layer by layer. The sensation of pressure was so vivid that it seemed as though even his consciousness was constrained and confined. He attempted to open his “eyes” in the darkness but only saw an infinite void.

Gradually, however, it appeared that tiny specks of light emerged within the emptiness.

Could they be deep-sea plankton? Bioluminescent fish? Or something else entirely?

Zhou Ming endeavored to identify them for a while before realizing… it was the base of Pland.

He was “looking up” at Pland and observed the underside of the rough disc-shaped base adorned with minuscule, glowing structures amid the profound darkness.

Yet, he couldn’t decipher what it was… his pure conscious perception, separated by such an immense distance and dense seawater, delivered information that was simply too indistinct.

Then, Zhou Ming gradually adapted, attempting to shift his focus to another direction: deeper into the ocean floor.

All he felt was an infinite void and darkness.

In the deep sea… there seemed to be nothing.

But after some time, he suddenly sensed something indistinct.

Something immensely vast, lifeless, and possibly as large as Pland itself, lay dormant within that boundless darkness.

Zhou Ming couldn’t see or hear it. The extreme darkness and silence concealed every aspect of that massive entity, but he was certain that something was there, quiet and hidden, as though it had existed since the dawn of time.

After an indeterminate period, Zhou Ming returned, having failed to achieve his goal.

Ultimately, he couldn’t “see” what lay in the deep sea directly beneath Pland.

However, he had a suspicion—

The enormous structure concealed right below the city-state likely motivated Queen Ray Nora of the Frostbite Kingdom to initiate the Abyss Plan half a century earlier!

It was beneath Frost, Pland, and probably other city-states too!

Zhou Ming inhaled deeply, stood up, picked up the Pland city-state model, and slowly walked to the shelf at the room’s far end.

The model now had an additional “base,” but it could still fit into the storage slot on the shelf—as if from the outset, the model and slot had allowed for ample space.

But before inserting the model, Zhou Ming’s gaze fell once more on the space below the base, and a trace of uncertainty arose in his mind.

His consciousness could spread within the city-state, but in the deep sea, it had clearly surpassed the physical limits of this city-state model… its bottom structure ended abruptly at 850 meters, yet beyond that, his consciousness had extended another one to two hundred meters downward… How did it stretch that extra one to two hundred meters? What was that unseen medium?

Zhou Ming slowly returned the model to the shelf with more questions than answers.

……

As usual, the sun once again ascended into the sky.

In Pland’s lower district, in the small open area in front of the antique shop, Duncan observed Nina joyfully riding her bicycle in circles, then up and down the street, before coming to a steady halt in front of him.

“Uncle! I’ve become really skilled!”

Nina had one foot on the ground, her face beaming with excitement and pride.

Duncan’s face revealed a faint smile, “Not bad, you’re indeed riding quite adeptly—but your bike is resting on my foot.”

Nina glanced down quickly and hastily moved the wheel away, “Ah! Sorry!”

“It’s alright.” Duncan smiled and waved his hand, then took a deep breath and looked up at the sunlit street.

The city-state remained the same.

Beneath the sunlit streets, the deep darkness and immense shadows felt like elements from another realm, not impacting people’s daily lives in the slightest.

However, since completing his exploration of Pland’s “underneath,” he couldn’t help but think about the cold, dark depths of the ocean and the enormous structure he had sensed there.

It caused him to lose focus occasionally.

He even wondered if the Frost Queen from fifty years prior had experienced similar feelings. Had she also caught a glimpse of the deep-sea secrets through some means… or perhaps discovered even more than he had?

“Uncle, you’re daydreaming again?”

Nina’s voice suddenly intruded, interrupting Duncan’s wild thoughts.

“Are you okay? You’ve been daydreaming since this morning.”

“I’m fine,” Duncan quickly waved his hand and then looked toward the end of the street as though trying to change the subject, “But on that note, Alice hasn’t returned yet.”

“She hasn’t been gone for very long,” Nina casually remarked, “And you don’t need to worry so much. She’s just purchasing a newspaper; it’s not like she’s traversing half the city. She shouldn’t get lost, right?”

“I really can’t be certain,” Duncan sighed, “This is her first time venturing out alone in the true sense—even if it’s just to the newsstand on the corner.”

“I think it’s okay,” Nina pondered for a moment and confidently stated, “I rehearsed with her multiple times before she left, including how to communicate what she wants to buy, how to give change, and expressing gratitude after receiving the item… She’s learned it all.”

“Ah, hopefully,” Duncan sighed, “It’s just that when she initially started in the ship’s kitchen, even fetching a plate would result in a collision with a frying pan.”

Nina stared blankly, “I don’t think these two situations can be compared…”

While they conversed, Alice’s figure came into view.

The doll-like girl clutched a newspaper in her arms, her face displaying a bright smile as she ran toward them with her head held high, calling out while running, “Mr. Duncan! I got the newspaper!”

Nina chuckled, “See, I told you Miss Alice would be alright!”

On the other hand, Duncan was alarmed by Alice’s running action and immediately rushed forward to intercept her, yelling loudly, “Don’t run! Slow down!”

As if to confirm their concerns, while they spoke, he watched in disbelief as Alice stumbled and fell headfirst less than five meters in front of him, crashing to the ground.

However, in the next instant, the doll-like girl rose as if nothing had occurred, dusted off her skirt, picked up the newspaper that had fallen to the ground, and approached Duncan with a grin, “Newspaper!”

Rather than immediately accepting the newspaper, Duncan gazed at the unscathed doll-girl with a disbelieving expression. After a moment, he managed to ask, “…How did your head not fall off after a tumble like that?”

Alice maintained her confident stance, neck held high and face adorned with a bright smile, “I discovered an excellent method to reinforce it!”

Duncan examined the doll skeptically, “An excellent method?”

Alice: “I used glue!”

Duncan: “…?!”

Taken aback for a few seconds, he couldn’t help but inquire, “Who taught you that?”

“Shirley!”