My childhood friend is in her mature, sophisticated form again today. - Chapter 73

“Zhao Yuanshan”.

How did you get here?

Zhao Yuanshan was silent for a few seconds. “I was the duty officer at the deep-sea station. When Tiangong Division was evacuated, I missed the evacuation notice. The hatch was locked, and the external control system was also shut down. I survived for more than ten days on the emergency supplies in the cabin.”

“You’ve been here alone for over ten days?”

“Eleven days.” Zhao Yuanshan’s voice was low, as if he were talking about something not worth mentioning. “The water seeped in slowly. At first it only reached my ankles, then it reached my waist. I knew the seal probably wouldn’t last long.”

Lin Jiqiu glanced at the water in the cabin. “How long can this cabin hold out?”

“I don’t know. Maybe a few days, maybe a few hours.” Zhao Yuanshan looked at him. “Are you from the Heavenly Palace Bureau?”

“no.”

“Then how did you find this place?”

Lin Jiqiu did not answer the question. “Let’s go outside first and talk about it.”

The two men stepped out of the cabin and into the passageway outside. The water in the passageway was deeper than in the cabin, reaching chest level. The beam of their flashlights swept across the water, casting a dim yellow halo that illuminated the mottled rust and peeling coating on the metal walls on either side. Lin Jiqiu, who was walking in front, untied a spare rope from his waist, secured one end to a valve handle on the side of the passageway, and handed the other end to Zhao Yuanshan. “Hold on to the rope and follow me. Don’t let go.”

Zhao Yuanshan took the rope, his fingers tightening slightly on its surface, as if grasping something he had never held before, something whose reliability he was unsure of. The two walked forward along the passage; the water grew deeper, slowly rising from their chests to their shoulders. At the end of the passage was a ladder leading upwards to a circular hatch. The hatch was covered, with a sealing strip around the edge, but the strip had cracked, revealing several gaps through which water was seeping in.

Lin Jiqiu climbed the ladder and tried to push the hatch open with his shoulder, but it didn’t budge. He tried again, this time using his core strength, and finally the hatch opened a crack. Salty seawater seeped out from the gap, carrying a smell of rust and mud. He stepped aside to let Zhao Yuanshan go up first, then crawled out of the hatch himself and closed it again. When he surfaced, the morning light was so bright that he squinted. The ship was not far away; Cheng Ran on the deck had already stood up, and Brother Liu was slowly bringing the ship closer.

The two were pulled onto the deck. Lin Jiqiu removed his mask and sat on the deck, breathing in the sea breeze. Zhao Yuanshan huddled by the cabin door, head bowed, shoulders trembling slightly. Cheng Ran handed him a blanket, which he draped over himself, sitting for a while before straightening up. Cheng Ran looked at Lin Jiqiu, then at Zhao Yuanshan. “Who is he?”

“The duty officer at the deep-sea station is named Zhao Yuanshan. He was locked inside when the Tiangong Division was evacuated.”

Cheng Ran didn’t immediately press the matter. He turned and went into the cabin, bringing out a cup of hot water, which he handed to Zhao Yuanshan. Zhao Yuanshan’s fingers were still trembling as he took it, the water in the cup sloshing around with his movements. He took a sip, as if burned, but didn’t put the cup down, taking another sip.

Lin Jiqiu changed out of his soaking wet diving suit and sat down opposite Zhao Yuanshan. “Why did the Tiangong Division withdraw the deep-sea survey station?”

“The order from above,” Zhao Yuanshan’s voice was a little steadyer than before. “It says all deep-sea operations are to be moved elsewhere. I haven’t seen the specifics, I’ve only heard that the ‘base’ is going to be relocated.”

Where to relocate?

Zhao Yuanshan shook his head. “I don’t know. I was just a duty officer, not a core member. But before we left, I heard two engineers saying, ‘The new base is much deeper than here, and the operation will be much more difficult.’” He paused for a moment. “They mentioned a coordinate, but I didn’t remember it. I only remember them saying that place was much deeper in the East China Sea, more than a hundred nautical miles away from here.”

“It’s more than a hundred nautical miles further away than here. That’s where the Heavenly Palace Division’s new base is.”

“possible.”

Cheng Ran entered a series of coordinates on the tablet. “Near the original coordinates of the deep-sea station, there is indeed an underwater mountain range that extends to about 150 nautical miles to the southeast. If the new base is built there, it should be on the ridge, and the water depth may exceed 1,500 meters.”

Zhao Yuanshan looked up at Cheng Ran, then lowered his head again. “Who exactly are you people?”

“The people investigating the Heavenly Palace Bureau,” Lin Jiqiu said.

Zhao Yuanshan was silent for a moment. “The Heavenly Palace Division is not someone I can afford to offend. You came to me not to save me, but to drag me into your affairs as well.” He put the cup on the deck and stopped looking at Lin Jiqiu. “If you want to continue investigating, then don’t take me with you. I just want to go back to shore.”

The ship turned and headed towards the coast. Zhao Yuanshan remained seated in the cabin. Lin Jiqiu stood on the deck, gazing at the sea, Zhao Yuanshan’s words echoing in his mind—”The new base is much deeper than here, and the operational difficulties are far greater.” The Heavenly Palace Division’s deep-sea layout was more extensive than they had imagined. They weren’t shrinking; they were relocating. Abandoning the old facilities and concentrating them in more concealed, deeper locations. Relocation, not retreat.

“Cheng Ran, can you find the coordinates of that new base?”

“We can’t say directly. But there must have been transportation records when the deep-sea station was relocated. The ships, supplies, and equipment are all traceable.”

“Check it when you get back.”

It was already afternoon when they returned to the fishing port. As the boat docked, Brother Liu threw the mooring rope onto the pier, and Lin Jiqiu walked back to shore on the creaking wooden planks. Zhao Yuanshan followed behind, his steps unsteady, and Brother Liu reached out to help him.

A-Zuo’s car was parked outside the dock. Seeing them come out, he got out to greet them. He saw Zhao Yuanshan but didn’t ask any questions; he simply opened the back door. Zhao Yuanshan hesitated for a moment, then bent down and got in. Lin Jiqiu and Cheng Ran got into the car, and A-Zuo started the engine and drove towards the firm. Zhao Yuanshan leaned back in his seat, his eyes closed, as if he were exhausted, or as if he had finally confirmed that he was really out.

Back at the office, Ayou was already standing at the door. He glanced at Lin Jiqiu, then at Zhao Yuanshan, and without asking any questions, stepped aside. “Come in. Dinner is ready.”

Zhao Yuanshan walked into the office, looked around at the door, and then looked down at his feet—his shoes were still wet. Ayou went to the kitchen and brought out a bowl of hot soup, placing it on the coffee table. “Have some soup to warm yourself up first.” Zhao Yuanshan sat down, picked up the bowl of soup, held it with both hands, lowered his head and took a sip, then another, without saying a word.

Lin Jiqiu sat on the sofa, looking at Zhao Yuanshan. “Zhao Yuanshan, how long have you been in the Heavenly Palace Division?”

“Twenty years.” Zhao Yuanshan put down his bowl and placed his hands on his knees. “I was recruited when I first graduated from university. I studied marine engineering, and they paid me three times the market rate. I thought it was a legitimate research institution, but after working there for a few years, I realized something was wrong. The equipment, the materials, the things they salvaged from the deep sea—they weren’t the technology of this era.”

“But you stayed.”

“Where could I go if I left? I already know too much. They won’t let me go.” He paused. “If you hadn’t come this time, I probably would have died in that cabin.”

Lin Jiqiu didn’t ask any more questions. Zhao Yuanshan sat there, head down, his fingers slowly rubbing the rim of his bowl. “But I know some things. I didn’t see the relocation records of the deep-sea station, but when the equipment was being transported out, I heard the loader say something—’These things are going to the south, a bigger station has been built there.’ The south, not the east.”

“South?” Cheng Ran looked up from the tablet screen.

“Yes. They said south, not east. It could be misleading, or maybe they’re not sure themselves and are just following the address on the waybill.”

Lin Jiqiu looked out the window. It was already dark, and the streetlights were coming on one by one. He couldn’t be sure where the equipment had been taken. The “south” Zhao Yuanshan mentioned was separated from the “deeper part of the East China Sea” the engineer had previously mentioned by an entire ocean.

“A-Zuo,” Lin Jiqiu said without turning around, “arrange a safe place for Zhao Yuanshan to stay. Don’t let anyone find him.”

A-Zuo nodded and walked to Zhao Yuanshan’s side. “Let’s go. I’ll take you there.”

Zhao Yuanshan stood up and followed A Zuo to the door. He stopped and looked back. “Lin Jiqiu, if you want to continue investigating, be careful with those devices. They’re not all for exploration.”

What is that?

“I don’t know. But it’s heavier than exploration tools.” He pushed open the door and went out. The door closed, and the wind chimes rang softly.

Lin Jiqiu stood by the window, watching Azuo’s car drive out of the street and disappear into the twilight. Cheng Ran walked over to him. “He said, ‘The equipment isn’t all for exploration.’ There might be other things in the deep-penetration station, not just Originium samples.”

“The things that the Heavenly Palace Master hides in the deep sea may be more than we imagine.”

“Should we continue the investigation?”

Lin Jiqiu looked out the window. In the distance, the streetlights formed an arc, stretching out into the night. “Investigate.”

He turned and walked back to the sofa, sitting down and downing the now-cold tea in one gulp. A thin layer of tea leaves lay at the bottom of the bowl, gleaming a dark brown under the light. Zhao Yuanshan had brought back little information, but it was enough. The deep-sea survey station was being relocated; the equipment had been sent south, in boxes heavier than the exploration tools. Those things might be related to the “new base” Zhao Yuanshan had mentioned, or they might be related to something else. But the direction was only one: south, further out to sea. He put down the cup and stood up.

“Cheng Ran”.

“Um.”

“Check the freight records from the south tomorrow.”

“good.”