Volume 9: Molten Mine Chapter 461 Secret Words
"Leave...the...bed..."
The first time Ke Lan saw this secret message was on the outer shell of the diving chamber of the Pioneer icebreaker; the second time was on that mysterious deserted island, in Sergeant Collins' mission log. Along with this sentence, there was also a stone pillar ...
The password code for the black box of the 776 Special Forces Team is also this sentence.
But why did this sentence appear on the note held in Alfonso Gonzalez Sánchez's hand?
It has been forty-eight years since Special Forces Team 776 disappeared... No, it should be forty-ninth year now, a full half century.
It is barely understandable that this sentence appears on the inside of the submersible's hull because the underwater city and the mysterious deserted island are inextricably linked. But what does this tunnel have to do with the underwater city?
The Molten Mine and the Undersea City are located at almost the two ends of Alpha Star, with a straight-line distance of more than 20,000 kilometers on the surface. Moreover, this tunnel should belong to the more advanced civilization that built "Aguna Kotor". There is no trace of the Alpha civilization left here ...
Ke Lan felt a little confused.
In addition, there was another discovery that made him even more puzzled.
"Leave the bed" He had always thought that the "bed" did not refer to the literal "bed", because in English, "bed" not only refers to a bed used for sleeping, but also has meanings such as "riverbed", "seabed", and "nursery". Even when used as a transitive verb, it can also be understood as having sexual relations and engaging in "reproductive behavior".
Ke Lan once thought that this was a warning. The bed in it referred to the "hatching ground" located in the abyss. Deep in the hatchery, there lurked a huge fusion body. If he had not encountered the group of giant nautiluses attached to the cliff, he might have already become the nourishment of the fusion body.
If this is the understanding, there seems to be no problem. The danger level of the hatchery is indeed very high. The comprehensive strength of that fusion body may have approached the level of the primitive species. With the ability of individual humans, it is impossible to compete with it.
The problem is that when the sentence becomes Spanish, this explanation becomes a little untenable.
In Spanish, "Cama" is rarely used to refer to things like "seabed" or "nursery". In addition to the most commonly used meaning of "bed", it also means "nest".
"A nest, a den, a habitat for animals... can also be used as a quantifier, such as 'a litter of cubs'..."
If the hatchery is the habitat of the fusion, this seems to be correct, but when the English word "bed" and the Spanish word "Cama" are overlapped, the only meaning that can match is "bed".
Moreover, combined with the previous clues - the 776 special forces team did not carry diving equipment, they naturally could not go deep into the seabed to get close to the abyss hatchery, let alone discover the monster lurking in the hatchery... Even if they really found the fusion, Ke Lan would not be able to find their skeletons in the cave.
Could it be that the "bed" in this code word really refers to a bed for sleeping?
"Stay away from that bed?"
What does this mean, anyway? A warning to those who have trouble getting out of bed?
No one would be so humorous as to play a joke on the world at the last moment of their life, right? And... there were more than one person who did this.
This must be a very important secret code, but unfortunately, Ke Lan couldn't understand its meaning.
"What does this sentence mean, Ke Lan?" The Hound asked, "You can't understand it either?"
"I really can't understand it. But I can translate it into English." Ke Lan said.
"What did you say? How do you translate it if you can't read it?" The hound was confused.
"Leave the bed..." Ke Lan said silently.
"What? What do you mean by leaving..." Before the Hound could react to what Ke Lan said, he heard a "clang" sound behind him. Asano Akira, who had no presence along the way, had already pulled out his sword from the scabbard.
At this time, the Hound finally came to his senses, and the expression on his face suddenly became extremely interesting: "What...what is written on this guy's note?!"
"Leave the bed, stay away from that bed. If I remember correctly, the last time it appeared was in the submersible salvaged from the Pioneer icebreaker, right?" Aya Breya came over and said seriously, "Our people didn't find these words when they first checked the submersible. After the first batch of security agents left, you and First Mate Caroline were attacked by a black skeleton in cargo hold No. 9, and found the words engraved on the inside of the submersible. According to the Soma Consortium and your confession, you think these words were engraved by the black skeleton, right?"
"Yes." Ke Lan did not deny it. The diving chamber was finally taken away by the Security Bureau. They would naturally find the words engraved on the inner wall. There was no need for him to hide it.
"But this is not the first time this sentence has appeared." Ke Lan said again.
"Has it appeared somewhere else?" Aya asked.
"From our perspective, the diving chamber is indeed the place where this sentence was first discovered. However, from the overall timeline, this sentence should have first appeared forty-nine years ago in the diary of Sergeant Collins of the 776th Special Forces Squadron."
"What?" Aya's expression changed slightly.
The diary mixed in with a pile of antique equipment had been checked by security agents planted among the crew members when Ke Lan was rescued. However, they only saw a bunch of messy lines, and found neither the stone pillar portrait nor the words "I AM SORRY" and the secret code.
(I'd like to mention here that there was a small bug in the previous chapter. The black box found in the cave was lost in the water, and the only thing brought on board was Collins' mission log. I have already fixed the bug in the previous chapter.)
"When I first looked at it, it was there, but after I recovered from my injuries and checked the diary again, I found that many pages were missing...including the page with this sentence written on it." Ke Lan replied.
"During the time when you were injured, those things were kept by our own people. Although many people have seen the diary, I can guarantee that no one has the chance to tear off the pages." The Hound said immediately.
"I know." Ke Lan nodded. "I checked the traces of the pages falling off. It doesn't look like they were torn off by someone. Those pages may have been soaked in sea water and then fell off by themselves. When I escaped from the underwater cave, the situation was very urgent and I didn't have time to put it in the waterproof pocket."
"Then why didn't you report this matter before?"
"You didn't ask... Oh, by the way, no one from your Security Bureau came to see me. The person who came to see me was Lieutenant General Maginot who represented the military, but he didn't mention the secret code engraved on the inside of the diving chamber and Collins' diary at all. I thought this information was completely unimportant to you." Ke Lan evaded.
