Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 499. Surface World

"Report!! The reconnaissance team has returned. The target island is all clear, with no temporal or spatial anomalies as described by the Governor. No threats have been detected. We have also found five freshwater sources. It's a habitable island!"

Standing under the canopy, Commodore Ralph looked upward at the hovering airship above. Both Charles and Anna were observing from within it.

His brows furrowed as he contemplated for a moment before he commanded his adjutant, "Prepare to land! We proceed with Plan 3: deploy engineers to construct a base and a dock!"

Without the presence of 010's temporal bubble to maintain the various structures on the island, the Foundation's buildings that had been left behind had turned incredibly fragile, crumbling into dust at the slightest touch.

The same vulnerability extended beyond the buildings and affected the cars along the road, the searchlights that once illuminated the exit to the surface, and the narrow elevator shaft

Though the metal constructions had vanished, the flat foundations they had been on remained and were a convenient base for the engineers to establish their outpost.

Watching the team diligently working all over the island like ants, Anna then turned to Charles and asked, "Not bad. With 010 gone, you've now gained another island."

Charles gripped the railing tightly in response to Anna's words. His brows furrowed together as he looked up toward the gaping hole above.

"Islands have no value now," Charles commented. "The entire seascape is now full of unclaimed islands."

Staring at the island beneath them, Anna pondered over Charles' words for a moment and declared, "Fine. This settles it then. This island will be named Annarles Island."

Charles turned to look at Anna. "Alright. You have the final say. Let's go. We should head to the surface now.

Despite the feigned calmness in Charles' voice, his trembling hands had betrayed his inner turmoil.

"Why the rush? Can't we wait until the island base has been constructed?" Anna kicked off against the metal deck with her fair legs and leaped onto Charles' back.

Ignoring the questions, Charles piggy-backed Anna and moved toward the interior of the airship.

Soon enough, under his command, the airship powered by massive air balloons slowly ascended toward the vast black cavern overhead.

As they passed through the massive metal door, the warm and deathly sun rays gradually faded, and darkness enveloped the airship once again.

Everyone on the airships let out a collective sigh of relief as they moved to remove the black cloth covering the windows. Compared to the warm sunlight, they very much preferred the darkness; at least, the darkness wouldn't kill them.

"It's alright. The seascape is definitely far from the surface world. The distance between could span over several kilometers. It makes sense that the sun's rays from above don't reach down here" Charles explained to Anna.

In response, Anna gently grabbed Charles' trembling right hand and flashed an amused smile. "Why are you explaining this? I didn't even ask."

Charles returned her a forced smile before he turned to gaze out into the dark expanse beyond the glass window.

The airships' bright searchlights illuminated the surrounding gray metallic walls; bizarre and incomprehensible inscriptions flickered into visibility before vanishing again as the airships passed by them.

Seconds ticked by, and Charles had never felt that time was moving so slowly. He finally understood what it meant by "time hangs heavy."

Having been through countless trials and hardships, he suddenly felt that a prolonged wait was the most torturous.

Meanwhile, Anna started to softly hum a familiar lullaby. Her volume was so low that only Charles, who was next to her could hear it.

Charles proceeded to lay down on his side and rested his head on Anna's thigh. As he listened to the lullaby, memories from the past fourteen years flashed by in his mind.

Only he knew the pain, the despair, and the fear he experienced. As each scene replayed in his mind, indescribable emotions surged within him.

A sudden fear gripped him. He was fearful that the world above might not be the same one he came from. He had always found various reasons to convince others that it was the same world, but he couldn't convince himself and his doubts.

The various anomalies of the Subterranean Seas were too different from what he had learned about the subterranean space when he was on the surface world. It was highly plausible that the world above was not the modern society that he knew of.

The lullaby came to an end, and Anna looked down at the scarred face on her lap. She tucked her cascading hair behind her ear before leaning down and planting a kiss on Charles' lips.

"Don't worry. This time will be different. No matter what's up there, I'll be by your side."

As Charles tasted Anna's soft lips and interlocked his tongue with hers, a wave of drowsiness overwhelmed him. He soon fell asleep.

A hint of helplessness surfaced in Anna's eyes as she watched Charles. She lightly traced her fingers over the scars on his face and finally stopped beside his ear.

A black scaly tentacle emerged from Charles' earhole and gently coiled itself around Anna's finger.

In his slumber, Charles had a blissful dream. Though his vision was fuzzy, he felt immensely joyful and comfortable, as though he had submerged himself into a tub of warm water.

After an unknown amount of time, the gentle sound of Anna's voice woke Charles from his sleep.

"Charles, Charles, wake up. We've arrived."

He stared at his beloved in a daze. Anna had to reiterate her words before realization dawned upon him. They had reached the surface.

"Let's go!" Charles exclaimed as he pulled Anna toward the airship's hatch. For the first time in many years, a truly radiant smile broke across his face; he was brimming with deep-seated happiness.

However, as soon as he stepped onto the stairs leading to the ground, his smile was frozen in place.

Purple—that was his first impression of the surface world. In the sky above, there was no sun, no moon, nor stars, but just an endless expanse of purple mist.

It was also snowing. Gray snowflakes fell slowly and settled on Charles' hair and the trembling corners of his eyes.

"Where are we?" Charles murmured as he scanned the barren surroundings.

Judging from the desolate state, they seemed to be in some sort of a desert, but Charles clearly meant more than just the geographical setting.

"Where are we?!" Charles' volume raised a notch higher as he repeated his question.

Neither the purple mist nor the gray snow resembled anything from the Earth he knew.

Charles stumbled down the steps and stepping onto the ground, he looked around in bewilderment at the strange landscape surrounding him.

Anna caught up soon enough. Wrapping her arms around Charles, a grave expression painted her visage as she instructed, "Gao Zhiming, look at me. Look into my eyes.

Taking in a deep breath, made his way back to the stairs and sank onto the bottom step. His face was etched with a look of distress as he gazed at the ground blanketed in thick, gray snow.

"I'm fine, really. I can't take it. I just need a moment alone...." Charles remarked as he lowered his head into his hands.

With her eyebrows slightly furrowed, Anna then ascended the stairs and returned to the airship. She then swiftly gave orders, and the fleet sprang into action.

As the humming of propellers filled the air, a squadron of helicopters dispersed in all directions. It wouldn't take long for them to carry out a reconnaissance mission and come back with news of the surrounding landscape.

Anna returned back to Charles' side and settled herself in the seat next to him.

"This doesn't make sense!" Charles lamented the moment Anna returned. "You know as well as I do; the Foundation's documents clearly state that their surface headquarters is in Boston! Their members just needed to go through a thorough approval process, and they could return to the surface!"

A mix of confusion and disbelief marked Charles' face. He couldn't understand the scene before them. It would have been somewhat more comprehensible if he had seen Divinities wandering around in this place.

"Let's wait for the helicopters to return from their reconnaissance. We'll then know if this is truly the surface that we know of," Anna said, trying to offer some solace.