The two waited for about half an hour, after which the gate of the military base opened again. The naval chief walked out, and Nellie immediately greeted him. She came with huge expectations, but the naval chief only disappointed her greatly with his reply.
“I told your story to my superiors, but it was so absurd that he found it hard to believe.”
“What about the photo? Did you show him the photos?”
“Of course,” the naval chief nodded. “Those were shocking photos, but they only prove that the underwater ruins near Yonaguni Island are real. And this is something that the archaeological community should be worrying about. We also don’t know if these photos are fake or real.”
When Nellie heard the naval chief’s reply, her heart sank. After that, she heard the chief continue.
“Nevertheless, we have just queried the hotel, airport, diving shop, and the boat that took you back, and we learned that you did have a companion who failed to make it back with you. In the spirit of humanity, the Self-Defense Forces has agreed to deploy some personnel to help you to search the nearby waters.”
Those words rekindled Nellie’s hopes.
“How many of them?” she asked.
“Two patrol boats. Including me, there will be 25 members of the Naval Self-Defense Force.”
“That’s not enough,” Nellie shook her head. “With such a number, it will be impossible for us to defeat all those underwater monsters.”
“Unfortunately, this is the maximum number of personnel we can deploy to conduct the search for your friend,” the naval chief said. After a pause, he continued, “We will bring some weapons. This is the most I can do for you within my authority.”
Nellie realized that this was as much help as they were ever going to get.
Perhaps only after seeing the underwater palace, these Self-Defense Forces soldiers would change their minds. Just when Nellie was about to express her gratitude to the naval chief, she suddenly heard Han Lu asking in English, “Where is the camera?”
“It’s with the man behind me. I will return the camera to you after we get on the boat.” Without waiting for Nellie’s translation, the naval chief replied in English and looked at Han Lu. “Any other questions?”
Although Han Lu still felt something amiss, she could only shake her head. Perhaps, as Nellie had said, those soldiers would start believing them after seeing the undersea tunnel and the monsters.
“Saving lives is like fighting a fire. Let’s depart now,” the naval chief said.
…
They arrived at the navy’s dedicated pier and were greeted by the endless expanse of the sea. Nellie could not help but feel a sense of nostalgia. After the traumatizing event she had endured, she was never the same anymore. She found it hard to love the sea anymore. She even had to shake her head vigorously to drive the fear out of her mind.
The two Self-Defense Forces’ patrol boats, filled with soldiers, were on the ready. Other than the regular navy sailors, some frogmen with diving equipment were sitting in the patrol boats.
Nellie was relieved when she saw their determined faces. The chief led the two of them onto one of the patrol boats and arranged for them to sit in the cockpit to lead the way. Han Lu then asked again, “Can you return the camera to us now?”
“Of course,” the naval chief replied. He then made a gesture, asking a soldier to get Nellie’s underwater camera and return it. However, Han Lu’s expression changed soon after she took the camera.
“Where is the SD card?”
“We took the SD card. As I said before, we need to verify the authenticity of the photos,” the chief attempted to explain. “We will return the card to you after we complete our verification. If you need it, I can return it to you first, but it will be a blank card.”
“Why not copy the photos to your computer and return the card to us?” Han Lu asked.
The naval chief heard what she said and glared at her. However, he did not answer her question.
In the end, Nellie stepped up to calm everyone down.
“It’s okay. Anyway, the Self-Defense Forces have sent someone to take care of the situation. We can take the card back later. We all have the same goal here, which is to solve this crisis as soon as possible.”
Han Lu glared at the soldiers outside the cockpit who were armed to the teeth and said nothing.
The speedboat hurriedly arrived at the diving spot in question. After that, Nellie and Han Lu also found the reef where Zhang Heng dropped them. Before the frogmen dived, they could already see that there was no underwater tunnel.
In fact, there is basically a reef beach. Other than the reefs exposed out of the water, the seabed was filled with reefs. Let’s not talk about a sperm whale entering and exiting the tunnel. From what they saw, even a dolphin would be stuck in it.
Nellie’s eyes widened, “This… how is this possible?! We obviously escaped from here in the afternoon!”
“Are you sure you remember correctly?” The naval chief asked.
“Yes, I remember that rock. It looks like… a saddle, and the rock next to it looks like an onion,” Nellie insisted.
“It’s here,” Han Lu confirmed in English. “I will never forget this place.”
“But where is that underwater palace you were talking about?” the naval chief quizzed.
“We should be able to see it after passing through that huge undersea tunnel. And underneath of it is that mysterious and terrifying undersea palace.” When Nellie thought about what happened earlier, she could not help but shiver.
The naval chief shook his head. “When you first told me that story, I honestly didn’t believe it. Let’s not even start with the strange things you told me. We should talk about the underwater tunnel and the palace you mentioned. You are a diving guide here. You should know that this area has always been a trendy diving spot. We welcome a lot of divers here during the peak season. If there is really an underwater tunnel and palace, don’t you think someone would’ve found it by now?”
“About that…” Nellie was taken aback. She had to admit that what the chief just said made perfect sense. But she did indeed escape from here just a few hours ago.
Now, it seemed as though she had been hallucinating all along.
Could the red tide have affected her? But she could not explain how she shared the same hallucination with Han Lu. And where did Zhang Heng go after that? Was that part of her hallucination as well?
Nellie looked around blankly. She could not tell which part of it was reality or hallucination.
The naval chief was very patient. He then said in English, “The reason why I still brought my men here although I knew you were lying was that I found out that your companion is missing. But if you keep telling me about monsters or undersea palaces, believe me; it won’t help you find your companion.”
He looked into Nellie’s eyes. “I really want to help you, but first, you have to tell me what happened underwater.”
Nellie opened her mouth, but she could not say a word.
