Thick fog rolled across the lake, and the boat's silhouette appeared and disappeared in the fog, almost indistinct, like a scene from a dream or a picture book.
Now everyone knows that when it's foggy, the lake surface opens up a spatial passage, and passing through the thick fog will take you to the other end of the Ramla Ant Nest. In such a space, it's impossible to judge how far away the boat is, and with the added effect of the fog, even its exact shape and size are hard to discern.
Everyone was wondering where this ship came from.
Alice said, "Could it be a ship from Earth? Could it be a United Nations rescue team that discovered this Ant Nest and is coming to take us back?"
No one answered her, because everyone knew that the possibility was too small.
The boat bobbed up and down, seemingly encountering a storm, appearing and disappearing in the thick fog. It was as if people were watching an old black-and-white film, with an old man steering his fishing boat, battling against the storm.
However, Petru's expression grew increasingly serious. His eyes were fixed on the lake, and his brows were furrowed.
Even the usually easygoing Boris seemed a bit odd. He couldn't help but say, "Why does it look like a warship to me?"
Boris's words were like a bomb dropped into people's previously calm hearts. An ominous premonition began to hang over them like a dark cloud.
Alice said, "Why must it be a warship? We can't even see what it looks like!"
Ivan explained, "Intuition! The intuition a qualified naval soldier should have! Detecting the enemy and distinguishing friend from foe in harsh environments are basic qualities of a soldier."
Alice fell silent and looked at Anderson.
Anderson gently put his arm around Alice's shoulder, but his expression wasn't relaxed. He said, "I don't know if it's a warship, but it's clearly not here to fish."
Su Huilan said, "Could it be a ship belonging to a savage tribe?"
"If that's the case, then this tribe can't be called savages!" Petru said. "I'm sure Boris is right, it was a warship! Maybe the same one that attacked your research vessel, it must have been carrying your lifeboats into Ramla! That's incredibly persistent, how much do you owe it? Even pirates don't go this far!"
Although Qingmu couldn't identify what kind of ship it was from such a blurry silhouette like they could, his intuition told him that Petru was right.
He looked at Situ and said, "Should we change locations? This lakeshore should be the preferred landing point for other dimensions to enter; it's too conspicuous!"
Situ seemed to have been waiting for something, and after a long silence, he said, "When the fog clears, it means we've lost a chance to go back. You know, every chance means time—an immeasurable amount of time!"
Qingmu imagined the atomic clock in Situ's mind ticking away, and that time on Earth was perhaps passing by rapidly.
The fog thickened, and the ship seemed closer, but its shadow became even more blurred.
"What are we going to do? Just wait like this? If it fires a missile at us before it reaches the shore, we're all doomed!" Petru said.
Situ finally sighed and said, "Alright, let's go behind the mountain to take shelter for a while and see how things develop."
He and Qingmu each led their respective tribes to tidy up the traces on the lake shore, and then climbed over the hillside.
"Let's set up camp here for now. We'll decide which way to go after the ship docks. Qingmu, we'll each send a group to patrol the back. We must avoid being attacked from both sides. Although the island's savages generally don't come out to attack when it's foggy, we still have to be careful," Situ said.
Qingmu had already considered this and communicated with Kubota in his mind. Kubota then personally led a group of people to patrol the back mountain.
After waiting for a while at the campsite behind the mountain, the fog on the island had thickened to the thickness of clouds. At this point, there was no need to check if the ship had docked, as it was impossible to see it. Everyone could only find a small clearing in the woods, sit in a small circle, and barely be able to see each other by sitting almost touching.
The limited view created an awkward and tense atmosphere. No one spoke, as if everyone around them had vanished. Everyone strained their ears to listen to any sounds coming from the distant lake; if such a large ship were to dock, the noise would certainly be considerable.
After waiting for a long time, the fog did not dissipate, and no unusual sounds came from the lake.
Qingmu tried to spread his Mental Power to a distance using the ebony staff, but in such thick fog, the Mental Power Field on the island became very unstable, sometimes like a howling gale, sometimes like a rushing torrent, making his head spin.
He heard Situ say, "When it's foggy, all of Ramla's Mental Power Field interfere with each other, like radio interference. It's best not to use the radio at this time."
Qingmu withdrew his Mental Power, feeling somewhat better, and said, "Then we can only wait."
Situ said, "Let's wait. Isn't most of life spent waiting?"
Alice said, "I feel much better to hear your voices. This fog is so thick, it's terrifying!"
Anderson said, "Don't worry, I'm here."
Alice hummed in agreement and nestled in Anderson's arm.
"Hey, Petru, I heard you took down an Indian carrier strike group, is that true?" Boris shouted through the thick fog.
"I'm not stupid. If it were a carrier strike group, I would have run away long ago!" Petru said. "It's just two escort groups, a few old destroyers and frigates!"
"Oh, that's quite a feat! Tell me, how did you do it? As far as I know, Somalia pirate ships can't even withstand mortar fire."
"I bought two submarines, built during the time of your idol, Comrade Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin. They're old enough, but their torpedo tubes are still good enough to blast the Indians in the backside!"
"Oh, of course! The submarines produced during the Soviet Union era were world-class!" Boris said with no small amount of pride.
They chatted idly about war, pirates, and stories from the Cold War era, from the gun that killed Kennedy to Stalin's pipe. Though the conversation was pointless, it did ease the atmosphere. People, whether willingly or unwillingly, heard many interesting stories that only soldiers or pirates would know, and quietly waited for the fog to dissipate.
However, the fog just wouldn't stop, showing no sign of dissipating, and without the Sun's guidance, time became uncertain.
"When will this damn fog finally clear up?" Boris complained after some time. "I still prefer Sun days."
"But that thing in the sky isn't actually the Sun, is it? It's just a star whose name we don't know!" Alice said.
"Oh, scientists are so rigid! That's your idea; to me, that's the Sun!" Boris said nonchalantly.
"But the Sun specifically refers to the central celestial body of the star system in which Earth is located, and every star should have its own name!" Alice insisted.
"Then tell me its name. If you can tell me, I'll admit you're right," Boris said.
Alice was momentarily speechless, because she truly did not know the names of the stars here.
"Its name is Cheva!" Mrs. Larry suddenly said.