《from earth to abyss》 1.Destruction and rebirth Earth, a planet with a population of 8 billion, ¡ª six years ago. Under the yellowish sky, amidst the rolling hills and fields, stood a steel tower. Several broken wires hung from the top of the tower, swaying in the wind like willow branches. A few tattered and faded plastic bags were caught on the large bolts protruding from the base of the tower. Next to them was a small moss-covered hut built inside the tower, about five or six meters above the ground. Mushrooms had started to grow on the outermost wooden beams. A man with a scruffy beard climbed down the rope ladder on the outside of the hut. He picked up a black plastic bag piled at the base of the tower and walked towards his field. The field was not far, just less than a hundred meters from the tower. To ensure he could eat fresh vegetables in the coming winter, the man had covered the field with a layer of discolored plastic film. Although the film had many holes, it was better than nothing. The man worked in the field until dusk. Nightfall meant danger in the wild, and with his experience, he always returned to his hut before dark. The so-called dangers in the wild included an increasing number of wild animals, both mutated and non-mutated. Some were friendly, while others were aggressive. If he had enough food, the man didn¡¯t mind sharing some vegetables with the friendly ones, but it was late autumn, and without stored food, he wouldn¡¯t survive the winter. Living alone and relying on farming was extremely difficult. The man had to fight against the weather, against the land, and against various animals and plants. In other words, nature was not always kind. The fields needed fertilizing and loosening, wild animals and insects always tried to steal the crops before him, and the weeds blown in by the wind always grew faster and more vigorously than the crops he planted. The man thought that he would probably continue like this until the day he could no longer work. He might die in the field or be eaten by wild animals. Fatigue, loneliness, and the beautiful memories in his mind constantly tormented him. Living to old age in this state? It was a dream! the man thought. When he first started this life, the man often thought about ending it all, but the occasional voices from the radio always gave him a glimmer of hope. Over a year ago, the radio had gone silent, but the man had gradually gotten used to this life. Am I the last person on this planet? Probably not, the man thought. There must be others like me surviving in many places. He used to be a forest fire lookout. Because of this, he survived the first, second, third¡­ and countless subsequent nuclear strikes in a remote location. Thanks to his job, the supplies stored in the lookout and the rich biological resources in the forest helped him survive the famine that year. Then came the bacteria and the mutated plants and animals caused by biochemical weapons and nuclear radiation. It was as if he was favored by the heavens, immune to airborne biochemical weapons. With his long-term experience in the forest, he never got injured in battles with mutated creatures. The man had thought about returning to the city to find his parents or searching for more survivors along the roads. But he was thousands of miles away from his hometown, and the warnings from the radio made him fear leaving the wild to search for humans. The radio said that humans had mutated too. The man had no choice but to wander in the wild. As the number of wild animals in the forest increased, he had to move out of the forest to the open fields and hills. Living on the power transmission tower was also a last resort. In his area, wild and mutated bears and tigers, and other animals of unknown origin, were excellent climbers. Living on the ground or even in trees was not safe; only the man-made steel tower provided security. Three years ago, during a thunderstorm, lightning struck the tower. Fortunately, the builders had considered this possibility, and the lightning was safely conducted into the ground as designed. The man, living in the tower, was unharmed, which strengthened his resolve to stay there. That night, the man heard the howling wind as he returned to his hut. In the faint twilight, he looked out the window and saw clouds rolling overhead. ¡°It looks like it¡¯s going to rain heavily tonight.¡± The man had experienced such weather many times. He skillfully closed the windows, placed heavy objects against the door, and hugged the human-shaped doll on his bed, falling into a deep sleep. ¡°Good night, dear. Good night, kids.¡± That night marked the end of the man¡¯s six years of good luck. As he had thought, surviving alone in such a post-apocalyptic wasteland until old age was almost impossible. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. What the man didn¡¯t know was that a massive funnel cloud was forming above him. The probability of a tornado forming in the hilly area was low, but not zero. However, the chance of a tornado forming right above him, without giving him any time to react, was almost laughable. Now, the Grim Reaper was raising his scythe from the sky, signaling an unavoidable fate. In the last ten seconds before losing consciousness, the man was first awakened by the sound of the roof being torn off by the wind. He didn¡¯t have time to grab anything before being swept into the air. His vision went black, the roar of the wind filled his ears, and the high-speed spinning of his body threw all thoughts out of his mind like water being spun out of a washing machine, leaving only one last thought: How can we humans die so pathetically!! . . . . . . He didn¡¯t know how long it had been, or if it was just a moment. The man¡¯s consciousness returned, and he immediately opened his eyes, seeing sand just one centimeter away. The sound of waves crashing against the shore reached his ears. A slight pain in his finger made him look at his hand, where he found a small dark green crab. Am I by the sea? The man sat up and looked behind him, seeing an endless expanse of ocean. A few white clouds floated in the distant sky, and countless seabirds dove into the water. The strong sunlight made his body feel hot, so he stood up and walked towards the nearest tree. Where is this place? The man looked around while checking his body. There were no wounds, but according to his memory, he should have been swept up by a powerful wind¡ªlikely a tornado¡ªand then ended up here. The temperature was high, and the man, wearing only long-sleeved pajamas, felt hot. The dense green forest behind him indicated that he was in the south. This stark contrast made the man feel like he had traveled a great distance, considering the previous weather was cool autumn in the north. This is too strange. What happened? With this question in mind, the man began to walk along the beach. In an unknown situation, walking along the beach was safer than heading inland. It was also easier to spot people or be spotted by others¡ªif there were still people in this world. The man thought sadly, but a faint hope arose in his heart due to the strange circumstances: if such a bizarre thing could happen, could even stranger things occur? However, after walking for about half an hour, nothing strange happened. The beach seemed to stretch infinitely forward and backward, always curving at a distant point, hiding its end and any signs of life. Yes, there were seabirds and crabs from the sea, but the further inland he looked, the fewer animals he saw. The forest was eerily quiet, as if all the birds had flown to the sea. The feeling of loneliness and desolation began to spread, and the warm weather couldn¡¯t stop the man¡¯s heart from growing cold. Honestly, the man hadn¡¯t seen another person in almost five years. The last time he saw a human was five years ago when he encountered a female survivor outside a seed store in the countryside. She fled like she had seen a ghost, and the man didn¡¯t even get a chance to speak to her. In this situation, hoping to meet someone was too much to ask. The man thought: God, if I can¡¯t meet a person, at least let me see a dog or a cat. Nothing, there was nothing. After making a mark, the man tried walking into the forest. Strangely, he saw a path made of sand. A path meant there had been people, but there were large pieces of glass on the path. The man examined the glass closely and found that it was made from the sand on the ground, and it had been there for a long time. The edges of the glass pieces were no longer sharp. This phenomenon was puzzling, and the man couldn¡¯t help but wonder what had happened here. As he pondered why these glass pieces hadn¡¯t been moved for so long, he noticed another detail he had overlooked while walking: there were many fallen trees along the path. But these trees had been down for more than a year. Most of them were decayed, with new trees growing around them. The lush grass and shrubs covered most of their presence. If it weren¡¯t for a row of red mushrooms that stood out from the surrounding environment, the man would have had a hard time noticing the fallen trees. The man first noticed one fallen tree, and as he paid more attention to the fallen logs on the ground, he quickly found more. The more he walked, the more he found, to the point where it became strange. Something strange had indeed happened, but it was like an unsolvable puzzle. If humans had cut them down, these trees wouldn¡¯t have been left lying there. Moreover, the breaks were not clean; the trees seemed to have been violently snapped, like in a super typhoon. But the problem was that the trees had fallen in different directions, which ruled out the possibility of a super typhoon. Could it be giant mutated animals? the man wondered. He had seen many mutated animals, most of them ugly and deformed, but hardly any that had grown to such a size. This explanation seemed far-fetched. The man¡¯s confusion grew, and he could only keep walking forward, trying to find something to answer his questions and figure out where he was. It was already past noon when the man remembered to measure the latitude. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t exactly noon, so he couldn¡¯t get an accurate measurement. He picked up a relatively straight stick and stood it in the ground, estimating the latitude by comparing the length of the shadow to the length of the stick, assuming it was noon. Seeing that the shadow and the stick were about the same length, the man knew he was roughly at 45¡ã latitude, north or south. Whether he was in the southern or northern hemisphere was still unknown. As the man pondered his next move, an unusual sound gradually came from the distant sky. He held his breath and listened carefully. The sound was growing louder¡ªit was a whistling noise, moving quickly, like a jet plane flying overhead. There must be something flying in the sky! A feeling he couldn¡¯t describe spread through his heart. He hadn¡¯t felt this way in a long time! It¡¯s people! It must be people! He looked up at the sky, straining his eyes to find the source of the sound, but he couldn¡¯t see the plane. Then he remembered: planes fly so fast that by the time the sound reaches the ground, the plane has already flown a long distance away from where the sound was made. So now, the plane must be further ahead in the direction the sound came from! After estimating the direction, the man ran towards it. He had never been so happy because he finally knew he was not alone. There were others like him in this world! There were people! There were people!! ¡°Ahhhhh¡ª¡± the man shouted, crying with joy as he ran wildly, almost swinging from tree branches like Tarzan. He quickly reached the end of the path in that direction¡ªa beach he had passed earlier. Through the trees, without the leaves blocking his view, he finally saw what he had been dreaming of. In the distant sky, two fighter jets were flying in formation! 2.ice attack What excited the man even more was that several ships had appeared on the previously empty sea. These ships had uniform gray paint, were of the same size, and looked like they were all of the same model. ¡°Are they from the navy?¡± The man was overjoyed and shouted loudly, ¡°Oh¡ªhey¡ªthere¡¯s someone here¡ªI¡¯m here¡ª¡± But the current situation was that the man was too far from those ships, visually estimated to be at least a few kilometers away. No matter how loudly he shouted, they couldn¡¯t hear him. Thinking of this, the man became anxious. His first thought was to start a fire and use the smoke to signal for help. But after searching his entire body, he couldn¡¯t find anything to start a fire with. Looking around, there was nothing suitable either. It seemed that starting a fire was impossible. Now he could only try his luck by drawing a huge SOS sign on the beach, hoping that the aircraft in the sky would see it. With this in mind, the man immediately took action. He ran into the woods, found a branch, and began to draw vigorously on the beach. While the man was busy sweating for help, the ships on the sea did not stop their actions. ¡°Commander, Aifat reports that they have detected the sonar of an enemy reconnaissance boat! Located in the E7K8 sea area, depth 35 meters!¡± On one of the ships, the communications officer was reporting to their fleet commander. The commander glanced at the sea chart to confirm the enemy¡¯s position, then issued an order: ¡°Report the enemy boat¡¯s position, then order Aifat to keep its distance from the enemy boat but block its path to the deep sea! Additionally, Longhai, Fugas, Jenny, and Yunying will maneuver to the west of the enemy boat to block its left flank; Mojadu, Mufasa, Yudanching, and Jinding will maneuver to the east of the enemy boat to block its right flank! The remaining ships will maneuver to the outer perimeter of the enemy boat based on their positions!¡± ¡°Yes, Commander!¡± Soon, the man drawing the SOS on the beach heard an unusual sound. The sound was extremely muffled, like the rumble of an earthquake or landslide, but the ground did not actually shake. Moreover, the sound was not continuous but rather very short and irregular pulses. The man couldn¡¯t help but look up, trying to find the source of the sound. He quickly locked onto the target; the sound was coming from the direction of the fleet of ships on the sea. ¡°Report to the captain, our wire-guided ice torpedoes have been damaged!¡± On the Aifat, the mine officer reported to the captain with grief. ¡°Commander! Aifat has no means to attack the enemy boat, requesting permission to retreat!¡± The captain of the Aifat immediately reported to the fleet commander. On the beach, the muffled, short sounds continued intermittently. As he heard it more often, the man could distinguish it more clearly. The sound had nothing to do with earthquakes or landslides because each sound was very short. It must be a huge object colliding with another huge object, and it should be underwater, which is why it was so muffled. At this point, the man had finished drawing the SOS sign. Now he could only leave it to fate. More than his own rescue, the man began to pay more attention to the actions of the fleet on the sea. He wanted to know what they were doing. ¡°Have the two aircraft in the sky responded to our request?¡± ¡°Report, Commander, they said their ice missiles cannot attack underwater targets yet. We need to force the enemy boat to the surface first.¡± ¡°Damn! It seems we have no choice. Order Aifat to block the enemy boat and not retreat. Clear their deck and prepare for impact. Additionally, the left flank ships, fire torpedoes at the enemy boat; the right flank ships, approach the enemy boat and deploy entanglement nets at the predicted position, each ship deploy five units! The remaining ships maintain their current distance.¡± ¡°Yes, Commander!¡± On the beach, the man watched for a long time but couldn¡¯t understand. He shaded his eyes with one hand and squinted, only roughly understanding that the fleet of ships had formed at least four columns, moving at high speed to encircle a certain sea area, and were throwing something into the sea, as if they were fishing. But do fishing boats need to be equipped with cannons? The man clearly saw that each ship had at least two cannons mounted at the front and rear. Moreover, the overall design of these ships was like warships, with an outward-leaning bow and a towering bridge, completely unlike any fishing boat. ¡°Commander, the enemy boat is surfacing! 50m, 35m, 15m, it¡¯s coming up!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the position?¡± The commander couldn¡¯t wait for the report and rushed to the observation deck on the bridge to look around. A huge black ¡°shark¡± burst out of the sea. It was at least 30 meters long, with sharp dorsal fins, a pointed head, wide triangular pectoral fins, and a ring of black tubes around its tail, similar to aircraft engine ducts. A large amount of seawater was thrown into the sky as it emerged. This scene was naturally also seen by the man observing from a distance. When he first saw the ¡°shark¡± burst out of the sea, he couldn¡¯t help but exclaim: ¡°Oh my god, how can there be such a big shark in the world?¡± But upon closer inspection, he found something wrong. Why did this guy have a big black cylinder on its tail? Real sharks don¡¯t have such things, and sharks swim by wagging their tails. This one¡¯s tail didn¡¯t wag at all, but it could still move forward, with a large amount of seawater being sprayed from the front of the black cylinder to the back. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°This guy shouldn¡¯t be a real shark, it¡¯s a machine? Man-made?¡± The man observed and thought quickly. The huge black ¡°shark,¡± which the people on the ships called the enemy boat, rushed towards the Aifat, which was closest to it, as soon as it surfaced. To execute the interception mission, Aifat was less than a hundred meters away from it. Even with the captain¡¯s order to evade quickly, it couldn¡¯t avoid the enemy boat within the seven seconds it took to rush over. The sharp head of the ¡°shark¡± pierced deeply into the hull of the Aifat like a finger into a cake. ¡°Oh damn!¡± The man on the beach and the fleet commander shouted simultaneously from different places. The fleet commander waved his hands at his subordinates and shouted, ¡°All units, fire! Close in! Close in! Quickly deploy the nets, don¡¯t let it escape! Where are the aircraft? They should have seen it by now, tell them to attack immediately!¡± On the beach, the man worried for the ship that had been pierced from the side: This is bad, the impact point is right near the waterline. I hope the damage control team on that ship can handle the situation, otherwise, it might sink soon. What exactly is this black shark-like thing? ¡°Received your instructions, we see it, preparing to drop bombs!¡± At this moment, the aircraft squadron that had been circling nearby finally began to fly towards the ships. The pilot reported to the fleet commander in a very calm tone. The ¡°shark¡± did not stop after inserting its head into the hull of the Aifat. Torrents of seawater gushed from the black cylinder at its tail towards its head, indicating that it was trying to pull its head out with all its might. But the crew of the Aifat reacted faster. After the collision, they quickly threw two sturdy entanglement nets at the ¡°shark,¡± with the other ends still tied to the ship. At the same time, the two turrets at the bow and stern of the Aifat began to spray supercooled water at the ¡°shark¡± at close range. The entanglement nets gradually became covered with more and more ice, making it harder for the ¡°shark¡± to escape. Now, even if the ¡°shark¡± wanted to sink back to the bottom, it would have to drag the Aifat down with it. But this was clearly not something that could be done in a short time, because the Aifat was a littoral combat ship as long as the ¡°shark.¡± ¡°Prepare to drop bombs, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,¡± the pilot pressed the button on the control stick, ¡°high-intensity cooling bombs deployed, subsequent attacks are up to you.¡± Six 800-kilogram cooling bombs dropped from the diving aircraft¡¯s pylons, with a sharp whistling sound, plummeting from 500 meters high, landing precisely around the Aifat and the ¡°shark.¡± From a distance, the man saw an increasingly dense white mist rising from the center of the sea area surrounded by the ships, accompanied by churning seawater. The white mist did not float higher into the sky but gradually spread to the surrounding sea area. What are they doing?? The man was puzzled: Why aren¡¯t these ships firing? Shoot it, quickly, can¡¯t you see the ¡°shark¡± is trapped?! However, what happened next confused the man even more. He saw that instead of the cannons on the ships firing as they should, they were spraying curved streams of water, circling around the ¡°shark¡± and the ship it had pierced, as if they were urinating in circles. ¡°Are those¡­ high-pressure water guns? Wait, that ¡®shark¡¯ pierced one of your ships, and you¡¯re only using high-pressure water guns? Don¡¯t you have any offensive weapons? Machine guns? I can¡¯t even hear the sound of machine guns firing!¡± The man, completely unable to understand the situation, stomped his feet anxiously on the beach, like a gaming expert watching a novice play. Meanwhile, the fleet commander watched as the ¡°shark¡± gradually stopped spraying seawater in reverse, and more ice formed on its body. Although he felt more at ease, he still didn¡¯t dare to relax. ¡°All ships close to the target, stay alert, keep the decks clear, and gradually withdraw from the central sea area. Use the entanglement nets to drag it to the shallow waters. Order Yunying to approach from the other side to rescue the crew on Aifat.¡± Following the command, Yunying quickly moved to the other side of Aifat, throwing a large number of ropes at a distance of less than 10 meters, as if preparing for a boarding action. The medical personnel on Yunying climbed the ropes hand over hand to reach Aifat, as they needed to rescue the injured crew members immediately. At this moment, the ¡°shark,¡± which had been almost quiet and seemed to have given up struggling, suddenly started to rampage again. It appeared to activate a full reverse mode, with large amounts of sea ice being crushed and sprayed forward from the black cylinder, forming a deadly stream of ice shards that instantly injured all the personnel on Aifat¡¯s deck who were preparing to evacuate, and even some of Yunying¡¯s crew were not spared. ¡°Damn it, deploy the shields!¡± The fleet commander and Yunying¡¯s captain ordered simultaneously. This situation was completely unexpected, but fortunately, all the ships were equipped with magical shield generators. These shields could create significant resistance to objects passing through them during their activation, designed specifically to counter low-speed aerial attacks. However, the shields didn¡¯t last long, and continuous use could barely sustain them for a minute. Understanding this, the crew of Aifat and Yunying, despite their injuries, quickly got up from the deck and continued to evacuate. The lightly injured helped the severely injured, while the uninjured continued to rescue the deeper crew members on Aifat. At the same time, the fleet commander immediately directed Fugas and Jinding to continue spraying supercooled water at the ¡°shark¡± from the side where Aifat had been hit, to suppress its engine operation. They knew that the enemy boat¡¯s engine couldn¡¯t ignore the presence of ice, and forcing it to start would inevitably cause damage soon. Sure enough, the suppression spray lasted only a few seconds before the ¡°shark¡¯s¡± engine stopped again. ¡°Our current weapons are still not enough to deal with this reconnaissance boat. We need weapons that can effectively destroy its engine¡­¡± The fleet commander muttered, clenching his fists. After the aircraft dropped the cooling bombs on the ¡°shark,¡± the dense cold mist made it difficult for the man on the beach to see what was happening on the ships. But one thing was very clear to him: the fleet had never fired any shots that would make a loud noise. From their actions, it seemed they wanted to capture the ¡°shark¡± alive. Completely unable to understand this kind of combat operation, the man¡¯s confusion grew, making him wonder if he was in a bizarre dream, a dream without any logic. He squatted on the beach, staring blankly at the sky. ¡°Hey Mary, what¡¯s that?¡± In the sky, a pilot called out to his wingman while still circling on standby. ¡°What? Which direction?¡± ¡°At our three o¡¯clock, on the beach of Spice Island, there are some strange patterns.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ yes, I see it too. What should we do? Should we go check it out?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The two aircraft turned towards the man, and the man and the pilots noticed each other simultaneously, even greeting each other at a low altitude of two hundred meters. ¡°Is that a person¡­?¡± ¡°Is he one of our crew¡­?¡± ¡°No, look at his outfit, he¡¯s not one of our navy personnel.¡± ¡°He¡¯s dressed so raggedly¡­ my god, could he be a resident of Spice Island!?¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, someone is going to be held accountable.¡± ¡°My god, how did he survive? Wasn¡¯t there a massacre on Spice Island, and all the residents were killed?¡± ¡°Apparently not, there are still survivors on the island, and our search and rescue team completely missed them¡­¡± Of course, the man on the beach couldn¡¯t hear the conversation between the two pilots, but to survive, he still waved his hands high to get their attention. In fact, the man didn¡¯t know if this was the right thing to do. He didn¡¯t even know if these people would be friendly to him, but in his current situation, he had no choice. The man had been away from human society for too long. Now, he just wanted to return to the embrace of his kind. 3.Rescue and inspection ¡°Fleet, fleet, this is Sky Eye. We¡¯ve spotted a, uh¡­ suspected survivor from the island. He¡¯s on the western shore of Spice Island, roughly southeast of your position. He appears to need assistance. Over.¡± ¡°What? A survivor?¡± The word from the communications officer made the fleet commander think he had misheard. ¡°A survivor from the island? There are still people on that island?¡± questioned the captain of the flagship, Pioneer. ¡°Take a look with the binoculars. It¡¯s not far; you should be able to see him,¡± ordered the commander. The captain of the Pioneer complied, stepping outside and raising his binoculars. Within ten seconds, he spotted the small figure waving on the beach. ¡°There really is someone¡­ Could it be one of our crew members who fell overboard?¡± But as soon as he said it, the captain dismissed the idea himself. If it were a crew member who had fallen overboard, they would have reported it long ago, rather than waiting until they swam to the beach. Moreover, the pilot had confirmed with his own eyes that it was a suspected island survivor. Back in the command room, the captain of the Pioneer reported to the commander, ¡°I did see someone on the beach. I think we should send a boat to rescue him, but¡­¡± The commander and the captain exchanged a glance and simultaneously said, ¡°¡­but we need to wait until the battle is over.¡± They nodded in agreement, confirming the decision. On the sea, with the continuous spray of supercooled water, large chunks of ice had completely encased the ¡°Shark,¡± raising its draft line by more than half a meter. Even if the ¡°Shark¡± restarted its engines, it wouldn¡¯t be able to draw in much water. About ten minutes later, the commander received reports from various boats that their supercooled water reserves were depleted. Throughout the spraying, the ¡°Shark¡± hadn¡¯t stopped struggling, continuously releasing heat in an attempt to melt the ice. The heat release caused steam to rise from the sea, creating a thick fog where hot steam and cold mist intertwined, covering the Aifat and Yunying with a thin layer of frost. When the supercooled water was being sprayed, the cold mist dominated. Now that the spraying had stopped, the hot steam increased. The question was whether the fleet could drag the ¡°Shark¡± to the shallows before the ice melted, or if the ¡°Shark¡± would melt the ice and escape. The latter seemed less likely. The ¡°Shark¡± needed too many conditions to escape, and it would take too long. Ultimately, it was dragged without suspense to the shallows 1.3 km from the man¡¯s beach. The man watched the entire process. He understood the fleet¡¯s tactics and objectives, but he was concerned that to drag the ¡°Shark¡± to the shallows, the ships had to move closer, and their draft wasn¡¯t much shallower than the ¡°Shark¡¯s.¡± How would they avoid running aground themselves? The result amazed him. The lead ship dragging the ¡°Shark¡± dropped two anchor chains from its stern as it approached the shallows, then seemed to go full throttle, raising a high white wave behind it. The force was much greater than the ¡°Shark¡¯s¡± previous struggles, and it surged onto the beach, with the man even seeing their flat bottoms. Then, the anchor chains tightened, and the two beaching ships pulled themselves back into the sea with brute force. This violent maneuver was almost like an amphibious hovercraft! The man deduced from their flat bottoms that these ships were specially designed for such operations. However, he couldn¡¯t recall any country developing such ships in his somewhat hazy memory of the past few years. The enemy, like the ¡°Shark,¡± was also a mystery. After completing these maneuvers, the man noticed one of the fleet¡¯s ships breaking formation and heading towards him, likely informed by the plane above. With tears in his eyes, the man waved at the plane circling above, which responded by tilting its wings before flying away. ¡°Bye¡ª¡± the man shouted his thanks to his departing benefactor, then turned back to patiently await rescue. The man thought the battle was over, but it wasn¡¯t. The beached ¡°Shark,¡± under everyone¡¯s watchful eyes, slowly turned from non-luminous to dark red, then orange-red, and finally almost bright white before exploding with a ¡°boom.¡± A thick ring of black and yellow smoke, mixed with some flames, spread into the sky. Self-destruction? The man speculated. Has it given up struggling, knowing it has no chance? Shortly after the ¡°Shark¡± self-destructed, the surrounding ships resumed spraying water at it. From such a distance, the man soon smelled a pungent odor, like that from a coal-burning stove, clearly released by the self-destructed ¡°Shark.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Sulfur dioxide? This stuff is toxic; I can¡¯t inhale too much. The man scooped up some wet sand with his hands and covered his nose and mouth, hoping to filter the sulfur dioxide from the air. Soon, the sand lost its filtering effect, so he buried his face in the sand. After a short while. Hoo¡ª A long whistle sounded from the sea. The man looked up to see a ship approaching him, one of the fleet. Ignoring the pungent smell in the air, the man got up and waved vigorously to indicate he was okay and needed help quickly. The ship didn¡¯t disappoint him. It stopped not far from the beach and lowered a small boat that looked like an inflatable raft. Three people on the boat sped towards him. ¡°Hey! You finally came. Thank heavens, I¡¯m saved, hahaha!¡± The man ran forward with open arms but stopped three meters away from the people getting off the boat, noticing the leader was a woman. Even if it were a man, he shouldn¡¯t just hug them. Besides the leader, there were two men, dressed differently, whom the man had never seen before. ¡°What?¡± Borda, the leader, asked with a puzzled expression. She didn¡¯t understand what the man was saying. However, the man could see her confusion. He realized that perhaps his long separation from civilization had severely altered his accent, making him hard to understand. The man coughed, cleared his throat, and pointed to himself, saying, ¡°I, Legen, am very glad to see you. Thank you for rescuing me. Can you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡± Borda listened carefully to the man¡¯s words but confirmed that his language was beyond her knowledge. She turned to the other two, ¡°Do you understand what he¡¯s saying?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°No idea.¡± Both shook their heads. Oh no, language barrier? Legen quickly recalled all the languages he had learned, but none matched. Fortunately, he could still understand the meaning of their head shakes. Borda mimicked Legen¡¯s gesture, pointing to herself, ¡°Borda, doctor, do you understand?¡± ¡°Borda Doctor? Your name is Borda Doctor?¡± Legen accurately repeated her words.£¨Please understand the limitations of using a single written language to represent the language barrier between bilingual individuals.In the language used in Borda, the word for ¡®doctor¡¯ is obviously not pronounced as ¡®doctor,¡¯ so Legen couldn¡¯t recognize it.£© ¡°Yes, yes, Borda. I¡¯m a doctor. I need to examine you. Please don¡¯t be afraid, okay?¡± Borda was delighted, thinking the man understood her language. In fact, Legen was confused by Borda¡¯s long sentence. He had only mimicked her words without understanding their meaning. After at least two minutes of gesturing on the beach, they finally realized the language barrier was real. ¡°He¡¯s an islander from Spice Island. I guess he doesn¡¯t speak Republic language, and we don¡¯t speak Islander language. Let¡¯s not rely on verbal communication,¡± said Lain, the apprentice sailor holding a logbook. ¡°So what do we do now? Can we take him back?¡± Borda, just a ship¡¯s doctor, would normally conduct the first contact and examination if communication were possible, but now it wasn¡¯t. ¡°The captain instructed us to bring him back as long as he¡¯s safe,¡± answered Dardacri, the sailor. ¡°Then you two, keep watch.¡± Borda took out a small yellow bottle with a label from her pocket, unscrewed the cap, poured a tiny amount of liquid onto her hand, and inhaled deeply. After demonstrating, she handed the bottle to Legen, gesturing for him to do the same. Legen understood but didn¡¯t know the purpose. Thinking it couldn¡¯t be harmful since she demonstrated, he followed suit. The inhaled gas was cool and non-irritating, feeling quite pleasant. Seeing Legen¡¯s casual compliance after a brief hesitation, Borda smiled. This showed he was cooperative, easing her concerns despite the language barrier. ¡°Good job. This will prevent seasickness. Here¡¯s your reward.¡± Though knowing he wouldn¡¯t understand, Borda muttered, taking out a thumb-sized, oil-paper-wrapped item from her pocket. She unwrapped it and handed it to Legen. Legen saw an olive-shaped, orange, semi-transparent crystal, seemingly a candy. He looked at Borda uncertainly, pointing to the candy and then to himself. Borda nodded with a smile, opening her mouth and pointing to it, indicating he should eat it. Legen hesitated. Smelling was fine, but eating it worried him. Could it be a drug or something addictive? Though he couldn¡¯t figure out her motive, he was concerned. ¡°Do you think he¡¯ll eat the deworming candy?¡± Lain asked Dardacri with a chuckle. ¡°He¡¯s hesitating, so he¡¯s not starving. If he were, he¡¯d eat anything. But if he¡¯s not hungry, it¡¯s hard to say. The language barrier makes trust difficult,¡± Dardacri analyzed, spinning a gun-like object from his waist. Legen saw Dardacri¡¯s action as a threat, making his expression tense. Borda noticed Legen¡¯s change in expression. Realizing his hesitation, she knew she needed to act to ease his wariness. Sighing, Borda snapped the candy in half with her fingers, ate one half, and looked at Legen, signaling it was his turn. Borda¡¯s sincerity made Legen feel a bit embarrassed. He quickly swallowed the other half, though the hard candy was uncomfortable in his throat. At least he wouldn¡¯t see that helpless look on her face again. Borda then gave Legen two more items to consume, following the same process¡ª¡ªhe behind she. Though unnecessary for her, she took the parasite-killing medicines to demonstrate. ¡°Rescue team, what¡¯s your status?¡± Suddenly, the captain¡¯s voice came through Dardacri¡¯s communicator. ¡°Everything¡¯s going smoothly, Captain. The subject is very cooperative with Borda¡¯s examination. However, we have a language barrier.¡± ¡°Language barrier? And he¡¯s still cooperative?¡± ¡°Yes, Captain. He seems very polite.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good¡­ Return as soon as possible. The fleet is about to finish dismantling and head back.¡± ¡°Understood, Captain.¡± Legen watched the entire conversation but understood nothing. He noticed the unfamiliar communicator and the emblem above it¡ªtwo yellow rectangles crossing off-center, resembling a simplified butterfly. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Borda. Everything¡¯s done here. We¡¯ll handle the rest on the ship,¡± Dardacri said after Legen took the last pill. ¡°Right. Come with me, okay?¡± Borda gestured for Legen to follow. Legen took a tentative step forward, receiving a nod of approval. Though it was odd to be given things to eat before rescue, there was no hostility. With that, Legen followed the three onto the small boat. The man with the logbook even helped him up, earning a grateful smile from Legen. The four returned to the ship in a subtly harmonious atmosphere. 4.Pity or concern？ When Legen first boarded the ship, he noticed that everyone who passed by looked at him with a strange emotion. It wasn''t dislike, curiosity, or joy¡ªnone of the emotions that one might expect. What was even stranger was that almost everyone looked at him with the same expression. Legen couldn''t understand what that emotion was, which made him feel a bit uneasy. From the moment he boarded the ship, Legen followed the woman who had given him a lot of food. She first took him to a place that looked like a cafeteria and had him sit down to wait. She even brought him a bowl of ice cream before leaving. Legen enjoyed the ice cream, which he hadn''t tasted in a long time. He noticed that many people deliberately passed by the door to look at him, but no one came in to disturb him. After a while, the woman returned and continued to lead Legen around the ship. Since he hadn''t finished the ice cream, she handed him the bowl to carry along. They went below deck, and the woman pointed to a single room that showed no signs of being lived in, indicating for him to enter. Legen noticed that the room even had a private shower, which made him realize that this was not a place for just anyone¡ªhe was enjoying a special privilege. Due to the language barrier, Legen found it difficult to refuse, so he just nodded and smiled foolishly, then walked in and sat on the bare iron bed. It seemed that arrangements had already been made, as within a minute, two young men in sailor uniforms came in carrying a mattress and bedding. They made the bed for Legen without letting him lift a finger, and then smiled at him before leaving. This feeling of being taken care of was wonderful! Tears streamed down Legen''s face and dripped onto his beard, making him feel a bit embarrassed. But what touched him even more came later. After some time, two women in white aprons came in, one carrying a flower vase and the other a large bag of red fruits, which they placed on his bedside table. Legen received two more smiles in his surprised gaze. Now Legen finally understood the emotion in the eyes of those who had been watching him since he boarded the ship¡ªit was a caring concern tinged with a bit of pity. The woman who had first brought him on board, after settling him in, made several attempts to communicate with him. They finally managed to exchange names. This was Ms. Borda. After conducting a series of examinations that Legen couldn''t understand, she left the single room. It seemed that this place was really for him to stay. God, had he arrived in heaven? How had things suddenly become so good? After that, no one disturbed him until dinner time, when Borda knocked on his door and led him to the cafeteria, formally teaching him how to use the tray to get food. Legen was very happy. The cafeteria was crowded and noisy, which moved him to the point of almost crying again. However, he was also a bit embarrassed because the server gave him an extra sausage. This special treatment made him feel overwhelmed. He even worried that others might resent or get angry with him because of it. But it turned out he was overthinking it. People far away didn''t look at him much, and those nearby just waved and said something he couldn''t understand, but judging by their smiles, Legen thought they were greeting him. After dinner, Borda brought him a stack of new clothes, identical to those worn by the sailors on the ship. Legen understood that these were for him to change into, so he took a comfortable bath. To his surprise, Borda took away his patched-up, ragged clothes after he finished bathing. Legen felt he had received too much kindness and thought he shouldn''t trouble others with washing his clothes. He tried to stop Borda to get his dirty clothes back, but he was quickly persuaded¡ªBorda''s actions indicated that his clothes were to be thrown away. Well, these ragged old things did need to be replaced. Legen reluctantly looked at the clothes that had accompanied him for years, then resolutely handed them over to Borda. That night, Legen had the most peaceful sleep he had had in six years. Despite the ship rocking 15 degrees to the left and right on the sea, Legen slept soundly. Early the next morning, Dr. Borda, who hadn''t slept all night, had already conducted half a day''s observation and needed to quickly write a report about the rescued islander to the fleet commander. Dr. Borda worked quickly. Before the fleet commander got up, her report was already on his desk. After prioritizing the major fleet-related matters, the commander picked up the report written and summarized by Dr. Borda, which also included the observations of other crew members on the Jenny. "...Language barrier... but limited communication is possible. This indicates rationality." "...Very intelligent, able to adapt to many things on the ship at first sight... whether it''s getting food in the cafeteria or using the shower facilities, he seemed to have seen them before. But how could an islander have seen these things?" "...Emotionally stable, seemingly without any mental illness. It appears he has overcome the psychological trauma." "...Very cooperative, no difficult conflicts with anyone, not even minor unpleasantness. He is easy to get along with... He doesn''t seem to lack the ability to communicate with others, just limited by the language barrier. This is good news. Maybe we can learn from him what happened on Spice Island, though it will probably be a tragic story, sigh¡ª" Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The fleet commander finished reading the report and slowly put it down, contemplating the next steps. In fact, he didn''t need to think too much, as Dr. Borda had already made her suggestions in the report: try to find a translator who knows the language of the Spice Island islanders to fully communicate with the survivor, helping him integrate into the Federation society as soon as possible. Until a translator is found, let him stay on the Jenny, as he knows everyone there. Sending him ashore immediately after docking might make him feel uncomfortable in a new environment again. Dr. Borda''s suggestions were humane enough, but as the fleet commander, he also had to consider other factors, such as operational risks and the potential intelligence the survivor might hold. Based on these considerations, agreeing to let the survivor stay on the Jenny was not a very prudent suggestion. However, setting aside the differences, the fleet commander agreed with part of Dr. Borda''s suggestion about finding a translator. So, he sent a telegram to the Exwindic Ocean Southern Operations Coordination Headquarters, specifically mentioning this matter. Originally, finding a survivor was not a big deal, not enough to warrant a special telegram from a fleet commander to the operations coordination headquarters. In the early stages of the six-year-long war against the demons, many survivors were found and rescued every day. But as the war dragged on, and with the efforts of many, including the rescue teams, most survivors were quickly found. So, as time went on, the frequency of finding survivors decreased. Before Legen was found, there had been no new survivors discovered for a whole year and four months, leading many to believe that all survivors had already been found. What made this situation even more special was that Legen, the survivor, was found on an island. In the early stages of the war, isolated islands were the priority for rescue teams. Five years ago, the rescue team had already searched Spice Island and found that the residents had been massacred by underground demons, leaving with heavy hearts. So now, finding someone who spoke the islanders'' language was not an easy task. Two hours before the fleet was due to dock, the Exwindic Ocean Southern Operations Coordination Headquarters received a telegram from the fleet commander. The previous day''s telegram about the skirmish with enemy reconnaissance boats had already been sent, so the staff were curious about the sudden new telegram early in the morning. "A report of a non-urgent matter. Another survivor has been found, but only one person. The 3rd Coastal Combat Boat Squadron discovered a young male on Spice Island." The first staff member to read the message summarized it for the others gathered around the command platform. Hearing this, Admiral Salomon, who was in charge of operations in the southern Exwindic Ocean region, looked away from the command platform and glanced at the staff member, his eyes questioning: Finding a survivor, is it necessary to send a special telegram to headquarters? Is there more to the message? As Admiral Salomon expected, the staff member continued reading the telegram and summarized the rest: It was an islander survivor who spoke a different language. Lieutenant General Lyon, who led the team, believed that a translator was urgently needed to communicate with him and confirm if there were other survivors on Spice Island needing rescue. Admiral Salomon then realized: An islander survivor had been found, which likely meant the previous rescue work was not thorough. Lieutenant General Lyon was right; it was crucial to confirm if there were other survivors on the island. If there were, the rescue team needed to be notified immediately to correct their previous oversight. Not rescuing all the people was a matter of varying significance. Especially in the early stages of the war, it was common for rescue teams to leave some survivors behind due to various constraints. No one, including superiors, would blame them for inadequate rescue efforts. But if a survivor was found in an area previously declared devoid of life by the rescue team, especially after such a long time, the leadership might hold them accountable. Admiral Salomon began to pray silently, hoping the rescue team had only missed a few individuals. As long as the number didn''t reach 50 or 100, the leadership might not be too harsh. Incidentally, Admiral Salomon''s wife was one of the leaders of the rescue team. He had been leading a regiment of missing troops when her rescue team found them, bringing them back into the operational system for command and supply. This was how they met and eventually became a couple. Naturally, Admiral Salomon didn''t want his wife to be blamed for such an incident, even if the chances were slim. Thus, Lieutenant General Lyon''s proposal, the commander of the 3rd Coastal Combat Boat Squadron who found Legen, was quickly accepted and implemented. At 8 a.m., after a 16-hour voyage, the 3rd Coastal Combat Boat Squadron returned to port. On the Jenny, Dr. Borda woke the still-sleeping Legen, motioning with her hands for him to follow her off the ship. Although this was beyond her duties, Dr. Borda responsibly took on the task. Legen tried to freshen up, at least to brush his teeth, but Dr. Borda didn''t give him the time, hurriedly pulling him up the gangway. As soon as Legen stepped onto the deck, he noticed they were in a massive harbor with dozens of concrete docks and ships, most of which were clearly warships, with only a few lacking mounted cannons. Hmm... no, considering the previous combat methods of these vessels, the so-called cannons should be called ice water cannons. Legen didn''t have time to observe the harbor in detail as Dr. Borda kept pulling him forward, walking faster and faster until they were almost running. They jogged from the dock, passed a checkpoint manned by a single guard, and arrived at a row of identical bicycles. Dr. Borda pulled out one, sat Legen on the back seat, and pedaled away. This made Legen even more curious about where she was taking him in such a hurry. Along the way, many people, clearly military personnel by their attire, gave them strange looks. Legen could tell that some were snickering, probably at the sight of a grown man sitting on the back of a woman''s bicycle. But trusting Dr. Borda, Legen decided to keep quiet and see what would happen. His eyes began to wander, looking for interesting sights. Soon, he saw a volcano standing not far from the harbor. Legen was sure it was a volcano because it had a very distinct, irregularly shaped flat top and a nearly perfect conical shape. The summit wasn''t smoking, so it was likely a dormant or inactive volcano. Legen estimated it to be 500 to 1000 meters high and about 10 kilometers from the harbor, as he could see the clear outline of its base when Dr. Borda cycled past a street with a view of the volcano. It was strange to see a port built around a volcano. As he pondered this, Dr. Borda suddenly stopped the bicycle, causing Legen''s head to bump into her back. Legen was about to apologize, but he saw Dr. Borda jump off the bike without a care and quickly run to the back of a long queue in front of a shop, waving at him. Legen noticed that everyone leaving the queue was holding steaming paper bags. Now he understood why Dr. Borda had brought him here in such a hurry¡ªit was to buy food from the street. 5.the Propagative Federation of Human Magic The breakfast at this shop seemed quite popular. Legen and Borda had to wait in line for almost half an hour before they could get their food¡ªtwo steaming hot baozi. Without any hesitation, Borda handed Legen his portion, then picked up a baozi with her hand and took a big bite, chewing with a look of satisfaction on her face. Is it really that good? Legen looked at the baozi in the bag, trying to pick one up like Borda did, but he quickly pulled his fingers back with an "ouch" as it was too hot. Seeing this, Borda laughed and said something he couldn''t understand. Legen guessed she might be teasing him for being impatient, but he wasn''t sure. She hadn''t even swallowed the baozi in her mouth yet. This time, Legen was more careful. He pinched a baozi through the paper bag and examined it closely. The white, slightly yellowish dough, with a soft, tender corner soaked in broth, and the twisted top resembling an ice cream cone, indeed looked like an excellent baozi. He couldn''t resist anymore. After all the morning''s hustle, Legen was hungry too, so he took a big bite. Borda led Legen to a wooden table and sat down. Watching him silently enjoy the food, giving thumbs up repeatedly with a goofy look, she couldn''t help but speak freely, knowing he wouldn''t understand her anyway. "You look just like my brother now. He used to eat like you, always silent." Legen responded with an innocent, clueless look. That was all he could do. "But he''s gone to another world now. He should be with your family..." Borda''s tone was a bit sad, but Legen couldn''t tell. He hadn''t had such good food in a long time. Back when he lived in the tower, the best meal he could have was grilled meat on a stone slab with a few lettuce leaves. Fermented bread with holes was something he couldn''t make at all. He was happy, and had been since he was rescued yesterday. It wasn''t until he finished the last baozi that Legen realized Borda had long finished hers and was sitting at the table with her face in her hands, watching him. Her slight smile made him self-conscious: Was I too rude while eating the baozi? "You''re done. Let''s go." Even though she knew Legen couldn''t understand, Borda still said it. As expected, Legen stood up with her. They had developed a kind of tacit understanding. Borda even thought that if they continued communicating like this, Legen would soon learn the Republican Language and be able to talk with them. Just like on the way there, Legen sat on the back seat of the bicycle on the way back. He wanted to show some gentlemanly manners, but he didn''t know the way. He didn''t understand the traffic rules here either. There were no traffic lights at the intersections, only someone who looked like a traffic officer directing with gestures he couldn''t understand. Trying to act smart in such a situation would only make him look worse. On the way back, Dr. Borda hummed a song, looking quite happy. It seemed carrying a man was no effort at all. The morning breeze blew along with the rising sun, rustling a few leaves off the roadside trees. The vehicles on the road here never honked, and there were no exhaust pipes visible at the back. If it weren''t for the occasional roar of fighter jets in the sky, this small town outside the port area would be a place of serene happiness and tranquility. Then he spoke first, "I speak English. Does anyone here speak English?" "English!?" As soon as Legen spoke, the person standing at the back immediately responded. "Yes, yes! English! Oh my God, you can understand me, that''s great!!" Hearing his familiar language, Legen''s tears started to flow uncontrollably. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Dr. Borda and the other two exchanged glances, then quickly asked the person who responded to Legen, "What, what? What did you just say? You can understand him?" "Uh... yes, he speaks a language that has been lost, called English... I remember this English was used by people in a country in the west of the Second Continent over 600 years ago. No one speaks it now. I learned it from an old magic book in the Tower of Mages in the former Kingdom of Hammed. I never thought he would speak this language." While this person was explaining, Legen couldn''t help but shake his right hand vigorously, repeating, "That''s great, that''s great." "600 years... that''s a long time ago," Borda sighed. "Yes, I didn''t expect this language to still be in use. Maybe he''s a descendant of people from that country." As he spoke with Borda and the others, Legen finally regained his composure. He continued to ask the person, "Hello, hello, my name is Legen. What''s your name? Can you tell me where I am now? What''s the name of this country? And¡ª" "Wait, wait, don''t be in such a hurry. I''ll answer you one by one. Your name is Legen, right? Fine£¬ok£¬my name is Zhao Kangmo, Zhao¡ªKang¡ªmo¡ªgot it? You are now in Modria Port, a military port of PF. Do you have any other questions?" The young man named Zhao Kangmo gently patted Legen''s shoulder and answered clearly. Seeing that the two were communicating without any barriers, Dr. Borda turned to the other two and asked, "Do you speak that language called English?" "No, we haven''t learned it," they both shook their heads. Borda nodded and then said to Zhao Kangmo, "You two have a good chat. Legen is a good person, be patient with him. Tell him to learn the Republican Language as soon as possible to communicate with most people. We''ll leave now." Zhao Kangmo nodded, "No problem, don''t worry, I''ll handle the communication." Turning back, Zhao Kangmo explained to Legen and then suggested that Legen invite him inside to talk. Legen agreed, and after seeing Dr. Borda off, the two sat face to face on two chairs in the room, beginning their exchange of information. First, Legen asked Zhao Kangmo to explain what PF was. PF, short for PFHM, stands for the Propagative Federation of Human Magic. It is the current ruling entity that has almost unified the entire human world. Its highest leader is called the Lingshou, named Linge Hoffman. PF rose to power a little over six years ago. Under the leadership of Linge, PF successively defeated and liberated four of the five major kingdoms that had divided the continent: the Kingdom of Romance, the Kingdom of Hammed, the Kingdom of Fema, and the Kingdom of Qilan. Only the capital and a small remaining part of the last kingdom, the Kingdom of Navia, remain on the main continent and the Second Continent. Six years ago, PF gathered a large army to besiege the capital of the Kingdom of Navia, forcing it to surrender to spare the civilians from unnecessary war. At that moment, an unexpected invader appeared. The Underground Demons, seemingly aware that humanity was about to unify, took the opportunity to launch attacks on PF''s administrative centers across various regions, aiming to destroy PF''s ruling organization in one fell swoop. They almost succeeded. At that time, half of PF''s army was stationed in border areas, far from the political center. As a result, over 90% of the administrative centers, including the PF capital, lost contact after unprecedented, terrifying attacks from underground. The Underground Demons then began a horrific massacre of disorganized and defenseless humans in the early stages of the war. They were extremely cruel because they were a completely different species from humans, with no blood relation to any surface-dwelling creatures, including humans. According to incomplete statistics, at least 70 million people died within the first three months of the attacks. Countless animals and plants were also slaughtered indiscriminately. The areas they passed through were left barren, devoid of even a single blade of grass. What remained was a hellish landscape filled with sulfur and mercury, heat, and toxic gases. Fortunately, PF was not an ordinary human political entity. It had an advanced political system and high levels of magical and technological prowess! Despite the attacks, loss of contact with comrades and higher authorities, and the constant threat of slaughter, human resistance did not falter. After six years of arduous anti-demon warfare, humanity finally regained control of the surface. However, the war is far from over. Humans have only driven the Underground Demons out of their homeland, but they know nothing about the demons'' homeland and lack the power to attack it. Before reaching the demons'' homeland and completely destroying their forces, humanity will not stop the war. They know that the Underground Demons have no intention of enslaving or conquering; their goal is to exterminate the surface ecosystem. This is a life-and-death struggle! Now, humanity is intensively preparing a shipbuilding plan to seize control of the seas from the Underground Demons. Only by mastering the oceans can they launch a counterattack on the demons'' homeland.