Krafft's Anomaly Notes

Chapter 318: Dark Lake Lonely Boat
In the end, the monks still didn't get the priest's signal to take action.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had the courage to report to the Heavenly Father in person, the ending of the report would not look good simply because of unnecessary infighting.

What's more, in this ghost place where there is no sky and no earth, it is difficult to say where you will be sent after death.

Everyone here has been in the sewer system and the royal tombs. The various signs we have seen along the way are already close to being explicit, and we have made some guesses. Speaking out would only bring the matter to the surface.

And it suggests that that unstoppable force has been harnessed in the past and maintained relatively stably for a period of time.

Most importantly, Kraft's condition proved this point from the side. After a few simple conversations, it was easy to judge that compared with those crazy and inexplicable pagans, he did not seem to show obvious changes in personality and values, nor did he have aggressive tendencies.

Not yet.

After realizing this, they were actually worried that Green would stick to his dogma and take all uses of unnatural forces to the end.

Fortunately, the priest was more rational and flexible than expected. He did not do that, but took the lead in lowering the crossbow that was about to be fired, stepped forward and stretched out his hand, pulling the other person out of the water and holding him up to sit high at the stern.

"how did you do it?"

"Like inspiration?" Kraft pulled his wet sleeves back to his wrists. "It's like that moment when you and your swordsmanship teacher are in sync and you understand how he did a certain move."

"I haven't seen him in some years, but I'm sure that's not how he learned it back then."

"This is an analogy, just to help understanding. You can't make someone born blind understand light, and I can't exactly make someone understand an experience that is outside of normal cognition."

Greene tried to find the special experience described, but found nothing except lingering pain.

He pressed his knuckles against the sides of his head, feeling water pouring into his ears, shaking and swelling them. "It sounds like you're thinking clearly, that's good, please keep it up."

The monks continued their unfinished work. The attack they had just encountered had made them intentionally control their movements, but they were not too tense and were slightly relaxed.

The peaceful resolution of suspicion means that the team has a new force. It must be admitted that this brings a good sense of security. Before the professor suddenly develops some mental problems, there is no need to worry about how to deal with the scattered special aquatic products in the lake.

They did the best job their physical strength allowed, re-emptying the belly of the boat, emptying and reusing the water-filled barrels, and counting the current supplies, and then came to a gratifying conclusion: although most of it was wet, there was still a lot left.

With the help of flint, fuel, and a small amount of cloth and bedding hay that had been preserved because of the special tight wrapping, an open fire was lit in a makeshift basin made of a small metal shield.

Light and heat have returned here, though not much.

The gradually warming and thawing brain began to think about the current situation.

They can put aside the native or invasive aquatic species here and face a more practical question: where to go?

The ship that lost its effective reference point could not find the direction to return at all, which was more troublesome than the ship that was thrown off the route by the storm. The ship could still rely on the stars to determine the direction, but there was only darkness above their heads.

There seem to be only two choices left: either find a random direction and leave your fate to the invisible hand of God; or find an island in the middle of a lake to dock and wait for rescue.

If they have to choose, most people prefer the former.

Logically, it was unrealistic to expect rescue to find them in the lake; emotionally, no one liked Father "Theodore" from the other team, even Green, who said he was working together, still had a grudge.

Kraft decided to stay away from "Theodore". Anyone who could not stand Greene was probably someone with serious moral or behavioral flaws, or even both. So this was no longer a choice.

He randomly determined the direction by throwing arrows and began to row aimlessly.

The boat was thrown too far, and a moment of trance in the huge waves was equivalent to dozens of minutes of rowing.

The exact location cannot be determined, but based on the impression before losing consciousness, it is speculated that we may have entered deeper waters.

Changing the viewing angle only confirms that the previous reference objects do not exist around.

Since they could only rely on the outline of the giant pillar in the distance as a reference, they paddled for a long time before realizing that the direction was always different from what they expected. The lake was not as calm as it seemed on the surface, and there was an undercurrent surging under the water that had not yet subsided, constantly taking the boat off course and making any attempt to correct it require double the effort.

This discovery made the team temporarily give up the futile attempt and choose to conserve energy and hand over control to the lake itself.

When they realized that there was no point in their current efforts, their mentality became peaceful instead. The team members sat around the fire on the round shields, baking and sharing food.

These solid wheat flour baked products are suspected to be the most waterproof material here. After the surface is dried and broken open, the inside is still dry. They are eaten with pickled and dried meat protected by an oil film. They can be regarded as the pinnacle of food safety today.

The taste is not ideal, but it can be given full marks in terms of satiety and energy replenishment.

It is not recommended to worry about the nitrite issue, as it is at least much better than mold appearing inside the food.

The food was sufficient, and if it was economical, it could last for days. A palm-sized bread was stuffed into the stomach. Regardless of whether the calories were sufficient, at least the digestive tract would not want to accept any foreign matter for several hours. Some things tasted bad for a reason.

The current took over control, and perhaps it was not God who determined where they would go, but the will of the lake.

Although it is impossible to judge accurately, the speed of movement is not inferior to that of active rowing. The boat is not spinning in place, but is drifting, as if there is a hidden preset road in the water.

It is impossible to estimate time underground. Just as they finished eating and resting, Kraft felt that his speed seemed to be a little faster.

The direction is unclear, the direction of movement is a changing arc, and the frequent slight shaking means that the operation is not smooth. The underwater perception presents a chaotic and complex picture, with rapid and heavy movements intertwining and colliding with each other, forming countless vortex turbulence, but there is a direction.

They passed by another giant pillar supporting the underground world. At the foot of this magnificent wonder were scattered buildings of the kind they had seen before, which were even larger and denser, like a wheat field harvested by a sickle, ending abruptly in mid-air, with the breakpoints connected into a smooth cross-section.

The cut surface extends towards the giant pillar, leaving scars that go half way around the pillar before the head and tail can be fully seen. The stress of the rock strata is released here, cracking and squeezing to form a fang-like shape. The disturbing dislocation makes the entire structure visually no longer solid and reliable, and there is a sense of fragility that it may collapse at any time along with the dome above.

Compared with the traces here, the lake bed activity that we experienced not long ago was really just breathing in our sleep. When we fully awaken, the pain released is enough to cause irreversible damage to the geological structure that seems stable but is actually in danger.

In the face of such power, it is hard to imagine what role a few humans can play. Even if some individuals among them steal a little bit of the great power, it would be meaningless.

They just drifted with the water, staring at the huge pillar disappearing into the mist behind them again, becoming a detail-less outline. The fear emanating from the terrifying scar still made their bodies tremble slightly after it disappeared from sight.

This is definitely not on the way back, but being swept towards the center along the vortex.

This was evidenced by the clusters of prismatic reefs that emerged, where the undercurrent dropped the ship and merged it into the dangerous shoals ahead with unknown water conditions.

There was a faint flicker on the water surface, but it did not flow with it, nailed between the undulating waves. Intuition drove Kraft to look up, and the stars inlaid on the high dome were reflected in the deep lake and his eyes.