Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 217 The Almost Forgotten Box
"Two hundred and seventy yards!"

The sailors shouted loudly and then pulled the measuring rope back from the sea.

This is the sea area where Castel was originally located. Several ships are parked not far away. The sailors on the ships tied stones with ropes and threw them from the ships to measure the depth of the sea where they are.

This method was proposed by Ken. The "Prince" went to the Rhine to receive the Queen's enthronement, and the investigation of Castel was handed over to the butler Youan, who came to this sea area under the leadership of Jeremiah and others.

Two hundred and seventy yards. This is approximately two hundred and forty meters. Ken converted it briefly in his mind and wrote it down in his notebook.

The measurement units used by Castel are somewhat different from those outside. Hughes seems to be particularly fond of units such as meters, kilograms, and liters, and all industrial things are measured in them.

Naturally, everyone has no objection. Although this measurement system is a bit old, it does not affect its use.

But once you leave the island, you will often encounter situations where you need to convert money.

"How about it?"

Ken heard the voice and looked back. Jeremiah was striding towards him. Without waiting for his answer, he looked directly at the notebook in his hand.

After this period of study, Jeremiah has already learned to read and even learned a lot of mechanical knowledge. Ken estimates that he is almost able to graduate from the advanced class.

Advanced class. I don't know where the people on Castel are now, and whether they are okay.

"Two hundred and seventy. Two hundred and sixty-five. Two hundred and eighty-one. Is this a flat surface underneath?"

"Yes!" Ken nodded. "The surrounding area is all deep sea. Only here is there a rock protrusion, and the area is about the same as Castel. This should be where the island originally was. The entire island of Castel seems to have been dug away, leaving only the empty foundation underneath."

It's like a tall tower whose top has been dug away, but the tower body below is still there. It's so weird.

"Can you dive down and take a look?"

Ken said hesitantly.

"Impossible," Jeremiah shook his head. "No one can dive to this depth."

If it was a Banshee, it should be possible, but they have been hanging around here for so long, if there was a Banshee here, she should have discovered their fleet long ago.

Others were unaware of the existence of the Banshees, but these engineers, who had graduated from the advanced class, were all aware of them. However, no Banshees had appeared until now.
Ken shuddered inexplicably and felt a chill on his back.

"Yuan brought a trawl net to salvage things. Let's wait and see if there is any catch." Jeremiah turned to look at the other boat.

"Will it work?"

"It's difficult, the waters are too deep, but it's better than nothing."

"."

The two fell silent again.

The investigation into Castel hit a deadlock right from the start. No matter how you looked at it, it was just an ordinary sea surface, with sunny days and no abnormalities. It was just that the island that was originally here had disappeared.

Later, the salvage results came out. Youan's ship had salvaged more than a dozen times, each time in a different location, and there was basically nothing valuable.

No strange items were found, and no one was attacked. It was so normal that it was a little weird.

As the sky darkened, Youan led the fleet back to Blood Harbor, which was not far away. Jeremiah decided to keep watch there with the Black Pearl. The refugees on the ship were settled in Blood Harbor by the "Prince". They had plenty of food and fresh water, and after dropping anchor, the ship became quiet.

There were not many sailors left on the ship. Most of the engineers stayed in the port. Josh did not stay on the ship, but took them to deal with the affairs of the Chamber of Commerce.

So many people need to eat and sleep every day. The hope of finding Castel is slim. They can't starve to death. After all, they have to leave a way out for themselves. Ken doesn't blame him.

"Mr. Jeremiah, do you think we can find Castel?"

Lying in the hammock, Ken looked at the stars outside the window in confusion.

On a calm night, the boat swayed gently with the waves. Ken had been on this boat for a long time and had become accustomed to the slight rocking feeling.

Jeremiah glanced at him and said nothing.

After a while, Ken whispered again, "What do you think of the 'Prince'?"

Without waiting for Jeremiah to answer, Ken continued to speak to himself:
"I think he's a very kind person. You might laugh at me for being naive, but he really gives me that feeling. He helped us investigate Castel and lent a helping hand to Nora. I can sense that it was kindness from the bottom of his heart, not out of personal gain. He's very kind, unlike other nobles."

"Do you know how many people were killed by his kindness?"

"Yes, he, he betrayed his followers and the Tis people." Ken's voice trailed off. "Perhaps it's because he didn't want to see the war spread?"

He didn't believe this reason himself.

If the "Prince" really loved peace, he could have disbanded his subordinates, but he chose to side with the Queen and sent his loyal followers to the guillotine with his own hands.

Ken stopped talking. This person was too contradictory for him to understand.

"I actually think he's a smart man," Jeremiah sneered. "He's now become a role model for the empire, having gone from being a prince of a fallen nation to being the lord of Tisland. Not only does nobody dare to touch him, the royal family even has to protect him."

There was a hint of confusion in Ken's eyes. Could the "Prince" be such a person?

"You'd better stop thinking about it and find out what happened to Castel as soon as possible. It will be better for us all."

Jeremiah's tone was very irritable, and his eyes were now bloodshot.

He had slept very little in recent days, and every time he slept a little deeper, he would dream that he was slowly falling to the bottom of the sea.

He didn't know what was under the sea, but he subconsciously felt depressed and fearful, and often woke himself up at night.

He had a vague premonition that falling asleep in the dream of the deep sea was not a good thing. Perhaps he would never wake up again, just like the tattooed man.

Ken also felt depressed. Thinking of his sister and father, his heart felt like it was being pricked by needles, and he no longer had the mood to think about anything else.

Castel disappeared inexplicably. They searched for him many times but found nothing.
Ok?
Ken suddenly felt that he seemed to have forgotten something, something very important.

He frowned and thought carefully. He came to Castel and found that the island was gone. He then went to the Martha Islands and found that it was gone there as well.

Then they prepared to go to Blood Harbor, but Jeremiah was unwilling to believe it and went to Castel again, but found nothing except a wooden box.

Ken suddenly sat up from the hammock!
Wooden box!

(End of this chapter)