Mysterious Zone 15 was a medium-sized fishing boat.
It had originally been fishing in the North Sea Fishing Grounds when the disaster struck, suddenly trapping it deep inside a Mysterious Zone in the Atlantic Ocean.
Unfortunately, the fishing boat "might" have struck an unknown hard object, and water had flooded in through its hull.
Just before the boat sank, the fishermen spotted an island and hurried toward it.
More unfortunately still, the island was home to a large number of mutated plants, and there might also have been hallucinogenic pollen.
In just one week, three of the twenty-odd people had gone mad and run into the jungle of their own accord. The remaining crew members' mental states were also deteriorating.
The situation in Mysterious Zone 6 was even more hopeless. It had originally been a large offshore oil platform, with over a hundred oil workers stationed aboard.
But now, the platform was slowly sinking. It was expected to disappear beneath the sea completely within half a month.
According to the images in the mirage, the drilling platform had suffered no damage. Instead, the seawater was inexplicably rising, as though the entire world intended to swallow those trapped people whole.
"Incomprehensible supernatural phenomena inspire greater despair than physical disasters."
"That's the general picture." After finishing his briefing, Li Xianfeng tapped the tabletop lightly with a finger. "Feel free to add anything. Speak your minds; no need to hold back."
"In this supernatural age, past experience is no longer reliable. Imagination matters most instead."
Soon, an expert wearing glasses, named Wang Yuheng, got the discussion started. "We can currently confirm that Mysterious Zone 16, where Zhang Ming is located, can receive satellite broadcasts, while the other fifteen Mysterious Zones cannot. That's actually rather strange."
"Yes, it is strange. Perhaps its geographical location is special." Li Xianfeng nodded. "But we have no way of investigating that. There are too many unsolved mysteries now."
Wang Yuheng asked, "Zhang Ming asked us how to make coconut dishes on the beach. He was probably testing whether the satellites could observe his movements. Should we send him the relevant information?"
After pondering for a moment, Li Xianfeng frowned and said, "We can mix instructions for making coconut dishes into information about various other foods and send it all together."
"But we mustn't make it too obvious that the mirages in the outside world allow us to see some of his movements."
Why?
Because something like that would place far too much psychological pressure on him.
If an ordinary person knew that countless people were watching his every move, and that even his survival was tied to his country's fate, the psychological pressure would be terrifying.
Considering that Zhang Ming had always been someone who kept a low profile, there was little need to tell him the whole truth.
Even if he knew, what good would it do?
It would only make Zhang Ming deliberately avoid the beach, reducing the information humanity could observe.
If he encountered danger, knowing would not save him from death.
Of course, that did not mean concealing everything.
They at least needed to let Zhang Ming know that humanity's home base could "just barely" keep track of his situation and provide more useful information. Establishing that unspoken understanding would be enough.
"From now on, if he discovers anything new, he can write it on the beach."
"And we'll send the information he needs through the broadcasts. That way, we can communicate directly."
After they had discussed this for a while and settled on the content of the next broadcast, Li Xianfeng nodded slightly and let out a relieved breath. "There's another important matter. Are preparations for exploring the Mysterious Zones and carrying out rescue operations complete?"
"It's difficult. Earthquakes are still frequent, and the wind and waves at sea are too strong for ships to travel normally. Only submarines can barely manage it." A military expert of about fifty shook his head and explained, "But the Mysterious Zones are too dangerous. Sending a submarine there would probably be a one-way trip."
"As for unmanned submarines... as far as I know, the Americans have already sent some out, but contact with the machines was lost the moment they entered a Mysterious Zone."
"Only Mysterious Zone 16 is special enough to receive satellite broadcasts."
"But where... is Mysterious Zone 16?"
Li Xianfeng considered this for a moment, then tapped the table. "There are always more solutions than problems. Since we lose contact with electronic equipment, tether it with a long rope. Once contact is lost, haul it back and analyze the data inside. It's a crude approach, but it's still better than doing nothing."
"What can we possibly figure out by sitting in an office day after day?"
"We can't keep waiting around like this. Someone has to investigate on-site!"
The experts shook their heads with worried expressions, suddenly feeling an enormous weight on their shoulders.
Their superior had assigned them a task, but they knew their own capabilities all too well. Funding was limited, and they would be held responsible if anyone died. What were they supposed to do?
There had been no major earthquakes in recent days, and the waves at sea had indeed subsided somewhat. But all anyone knew about the Mysterious Zones came from the mirages. With supernatural phenomena emerging one after another, no amount of preparation could guarantee complete safety.
Just as the discussion was growing more animated, Li Xianfeng suddenly noticed his communicator vibrate.
He quickly opened the message.
His pupils contracted, and he gave a soft cough, signaling everyone to quiet down.
"Everyone, something has happened in Zone 15!"
The experts in the room stopped talking, every pair of eyes turning toward the large screen.
The atmosphere in the room slowly grew strange.
"For a moment, I thought he said Zone 16. I nearly had a heart attack."
"Fifteen and sixteen are only one digit apart, after all. Both show islands, too."
A major change had occurred in the scene displayed by the mirage of Zone 15!
The dozen or so fishermen trapped on the island, whose mental states had already been poor, had lined up one after another. Facing the mirage, they waved their arms and moved their feet in grotesquely contorted motions.
Amid the lead-gray clouds, their movements looked stiff, like those of puppets on strings.
The mirage's low resolution made it difficult to discern the expressions on the fishermen's faces.
But no matter how one looked at it, the fishermen seemed to be... gesturing at the sky?
"Have they... have they gone mad?"
Li Xianfeng said nothing. Those movements filled him with an uncanny dread. They did not look like anything a human could perform, but rather something a robot-or a puppet-might do.
As the dancing continued, an eerie sound slowly crept into their minds like crawling ants.
"Hee-hee... hee..."
Li Xianfeng abruptly froze and rubbed his ears. The sound of "hee-
hee" grew louder and louder. He felt his blood slowly turning cold.
Even though he knew that many supernatural phenomena beyond scientific understanding had appeared in this world, this was his first encounter with anything so strange.
Or rather, it was the first for all of human civilization.
That laughter had actually come through the mirage!?
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