Day after day passed. Trapped in the Abyss, Old Zhang and a shipload of Macrosteel People had no idea when they would see daylight again. Every day felt like a year.
The dangers outside were slowly mounting, and the civilians inside were growing anxious as well.
Zhang Ming had even shared his Radio. Any scrap of news from outside was a precious source of spiritual sustenance for the trapped Macrosteel People... Of course, he only broadcast things of no consequence.
"With the help of the Snake People, Human Civilization and the Honggang Civilization held cordial, friendly talks."
"Experts believe that longwave communications based on high-altitude hot-air balloons are feasible. Once established, longwave communications would allow inexpensive exchanges even over great distances. However, their security is a concern, as other civilizations with ill intentions could easily intercept the information."
This news sent many Macrosteel People into raptures and sparked widespread discussion.
It was as though humans and the Macrosteel People had formed an alliance.
Old Zhang couldn't help wiping away cold sweat, worried about his new friends' mental state.
"These guys are reacting exactly like I did when I was trapped on the Deserted Island! Caring this much about grand narratives... they're going crazy!"
Every so often, Zhang Ming dove to the seabed to look for clues to an exit from the Abyss, but he never found anything...
Even dredging up precious ores no longer brought him much joy. He simply stuffed them onto the surface of the Space-Time Worm and called it a day.
Occasionally, he dredged up a few pieces of ore for the Macrosteel People.
But faced with an uncertain future, even these craftspeople who loved forging gradually lost the pleasure of obtaining ore.
They had sent out quite a few unmanned probes, which likewise yielded little.