All channels were silent.
The Deep Diving Ship had completely vanished beyond the broadcast range of every relay station. The communications antennas had automatically increased their power to maximum, but the only response from the control center was silence. The communicators displayed no-signal warning icons, while another recording device showed the data packets received from the Deep Diving Ship. The final packet had failed to transmit, but ninety percent of the data had arrived intact.
The hall was unnaturally quiet. Many eyes were focused on us. I knew they were waiting for orders, but Sandora beside me remained silent, so I could only step forward myself. "Organize the data from this deep dive. Collect everything, including the tracking records of the Deep Diving Ship's condition and the patterns of change in the Abyss Gate. Upload these final data packets to the main network and use its computing power to analyze the Discontinuity Belt as quickly as possible. Tawell, analyze this accident based on the Deep Diving Ship's tracking records... no matter what, give us a conclusion."
That was all I could assign. Anything more specialized was beyond my understanding.
Only then did Sandora take a deep breath, her expression as calm as ever. "Until the final conclusion is reached, treat this as an accident. Tawell, accelerate the construction of a new Deep Diving Ship. This time, account for the new variables displayed by the Discontinuity Belt."
"Yes, as you wish." Tawell's true body appeared before us and solemnly bowed. Her gaze behind her plain glasses was calm as water, but a closer look revealed what seemed to be a flame burning deep in her eyes. As the chief person in charge of this scientific project, she instinctively felt frustration, self-blame, and blazing motivation after such a severe accident.
"That will