The Trieste was sealed off from the outside world by heavy alloy bulkhead doors, becoming a world of its own. The enormous mechanical arms in the dock began to move, guiding the heavy Deep-sea Submersible down the slanted rails toward the launch shaft at the bottom of the dock, already filled with seawater.
Erii stood quietly in that secluded corner, her unblinking eyes following the steel behemoth's path. She watched as the machinery lowered it into the dark entrance beneath the water, watched as the surging seawater washed over its hull—
At last, that small red outline was completely swallowed by the deep-blue seawater and vanished, leaving only a few strings of bubbling air rising to the surface before they, too, quickly faded into silence.
She did not know exactly what Lu Mingfei was going to face. She did not know how deep the Trench was, nor did she know what kind of terror God represented. She only knew that the boy who played games with her, took her to watch the sunrise, and drew ugly smiling faces in her notebook had entered that iron can and was heading somewhere incredibly dangerous to do something he might never return from.
At last, a faint ripple stirred in the depths of her tranquil eyes.
Soft footsteps came from the passage behind her. Minamoto Chisaki walked to her side, first glancing at the water's surface before turning to Erii.
Erii's expression surprised Minamoto Chisaki. He had cared for her for years and knew how indifferent her emotions were, how distant she remained from the outside world. This was the first time she had so vividly and clearly shown concern for someone else.
Erii took the little notebook she always carried from the wide sleeve of her shrine maiden robes, then pulled out