C59 Forward or Back

"So we spent 15 minutes on a single trip yesterday … When I first came in, it only took me 10 minutes. Now, it only needs less than 9 minutes? " I swallowed.

Sayaka nodded.

Junior physics tells us that distance = time × speed.

There are only two possibilities for shortening time: our speed is getting faster, or the distance of the road is shortening.

But the road couldn't possibly be shorter. Yesterday, when they came here for sightseeing, the guide had told them that this cave had been like this for hundreds of millions of years. Until now, it hadn't changed at all.

Did our speed increase?

"It could also be that the cave is getting smaller." Darwin said.

"How …" How is that possible? "

"We've all learned the theory of the universe explosion. The Big Bang is caused by the expansion of the universe — assuming that the universe continues to expand, then everything in the world, including us, will also grow in proportion, but because there is no reference material, we will not be aware of ourselves growing in size. "

"But if there is a reference object around us that does not expand, we will find that the previous laws of physics are not working."

"... You don't mean to say that this cave is our reference? " I was sweating.

If we are constantly expanding and only this cave remains unchanged, then it is actually shrinking for us.

As we walk through a relatively small cave, the road becomes shorter and shorter for us.

The cave itself did not change, but we were getting bigger.

I wrapped up the clothes on my body and leaned on Sayaka. "Then what should we do now?"

"The first thing we should do now," Darwin suddenly said to us seriously.

"I'm mocking your intelligence quotient..."

"— The distance between close friends and galaxies affected by the expansion of the universe. I was just joking with you guys to believe it."

"..."

"... Should go to Sting. "

Sayaka and I were both petrified.

As long as you are happy.

We'll just quietly watch and see how you act.

And so, just like that …

He watched silently.

He finally knew why Darwin didn't have any friends left.

In this case, the person who entered the extreme posturing mode,

I should go back to Mars.

"Hey, you guys come over here and take a look. Is the Lost Sea in the high tide?" DickPound didn't listen to us, but continued to squat on the pier.

DickPound, do you have any general knowledge of geography? The tides are formed by the gravitational force of the moon, "I rolled my eyes," Isn't the Sea of Lost? It's an underground freshwater lake, so even if there was a tide, it would be impossible to observe it with the naked eye.

"I'm not lying to you. It's really getting hot. I was standing by the shore and didn't move at all. Just your conversation alone hasn't reached my back in the past few minutes." DickPound pointed at his feet innocently.

Lost Sea was indeed surging.

We didn't notice it before because there was no reference in the ground.

Floating quays and sightseeing boats made of foam plates would rise according to the sea, and the cave itself was dark, so it was hard to see how the water level changed.

"15 minus 9 is 6, which means that the tide has flooded the road for six minutes, so the M could go on for another six minutes." Dick snapped his fingers. "But where can she go?"

I lifted the searchlight. Deep in the Lost Sea, there were many natural caves.

"Get on the boat!" Darwin was the first to jump onto the boat and start the engine.

The ship was moving at a tortoise's pace across the dark sea.

I didn't feel anything when I was sightseeing, and at this rate I can't wait to get down and walk.

"General, can we drive faster?" Dick rolled his eyes at the turtle hair boat.

"It's at full speed now. The waves from the high tide have increased the resistance. After all, this is an energy-saving motor, not a speedboat." Darwin said helplessly.

"Look …" Sayaka turned on the flashlight and shone it into the water.

Yesterday, when we were sightseeing, there were a lot of rainbow trout swimming around us, but now there weren't any.

"Sayaka! What are you doing! " I saw Sayaka stick half her body out of the boat and reach into the water.

She frowned at me.

I pulled up my sleeves and put my hand in the water --

The water temperature had changed.

Yesterday, when we came here, Sayaka and I wanted to play so we secretly reached our hands into the water to feel the rainbow trout that floated up.

The water was freezing cold.

The guide also explained to us that the water temperature here is always about five degrees Celsius — the temperature of the Lost Sea is almost constant because the ground water cannot absorb the heat directly from the surface because it is blocked by a thick layer of ground.

But today, when he touched it again, there was a hint of warmth.

I took out the Japanese flashlight Sayaka gave me and opened the thermometer on the back. I put the thermometer in the water.

"14 degrees!"

"No wonder those fish were abnormal. They could feel the change in the temperature of the water!" I thought of how the fish scattered and desperately stuck to the cold cave wall.

Goo.

A gloomy voice came from the depths of the Sea of Lost.

Gurgle gurgle.

Two bubbles emerged from the bottom of the sea.

It was as if something was lurking in the darkness ahead of us, waiting for us.

Logically speaking, the sea in front of him was sealed off.

But we heard a faint sound.

It sounded like the wind, but also like the cries of some kind of creature, coming from the depths of the cave.

"..." "Did you hear that …" Dick swallowed.

Turn back, or continue forward.

I tried to recall every detail of my journey from the tent to the present day, hoping to find even the tiniest bit of evidence that M. would not be in the Sea of Lost Things. I wanted to convince myself that it would be better to turn back.

Amidst the darkness, fear quickly spread through the ship.

Maybe if we went any further, we wouldn't find M.

Maybe M didn't break the glass door outside.

Maybe she went somewhere else.

Maybe something had happened to her.

"..."

In the midst of her silence, Sayaka spoke up with hesitation, "I … We... "I want to say …"

Sayaka has always been the most timid of us all.

I thought of that day in the dean's office when she didn't even dare to say what she wanted.

Even when they were recruited by the association, they were forced to join by the DickPound, yet they didn't dare to reject it.

Her voice was trembling now, and her face was pale with fright — though I wasn't much better off than she was.

"Sayaka..." Just as I opened my mouth, Darwin looked at me and interrupted me.

"Let her finish."

"Everyone... "I …" Sayaka took a deep breath.

"I... When she was young in Japan, there was a classmate called Tsuruko. One day, she disappeared, and after that, everyone went to find her … He searched every nook and cranny around the school, but he couldn't find any of them … A month later, the police found her at the bottom of the bridge at the sewer. She was dead, and we had an ominous rumor about the bridge, so no one went there to look for her … "Everyone is very afraid of where to go …"

Every time Sayaka tensed up, she would lose the key point when she spoke.

"But Crane, she … She's a good friend of mine... I really regret it. If only I had been a bit braver back then, even a bit braver … The crane may not die... "Please, everyone, don't leave M..."

Sayaka covered her face and cried softly.

"Please, everyone …"

"Sayaka..." I never thought that Sayaka mustered her courage to continue walking.

"Hey, don't cry anymore, how could there be any ghosts in this world?" Darwin was obviously unable to calm the girls down, and was actually a little helpless. "How many times have I told you all that you need to believe in science …"

"Lieutenant, advance at full speed!" Dick pulled the motor again.

The sightseeing boat moved slowly into the darkness, heading for the place where the sound had come from.

Gulp.

Another bubble popped up.

We aimed all the light sources in our hands at the spot where the bubbles were coming from.

One minute passed, two minutes passed.

Nothing happened.

Darwin suddenly reached his hand into the water.

After two seconds, he let out a long breath. "This is the source of the rising water temperature."

I immediately inserted the thermometer. The water temperature was as high as 45 degrees Celsius.

"The change in the temperature of the water in the Lost Sea was caused by the crack in the ground. Do you remember yesterday, the guide said that this area of water was made from living water, but you couldn't find the source? Maybe the source of this water is not from the surface rivers at all, but from underground — "Darwin glanced at us.

"The density of the karst cave's rocks is not high. Perhaps because the ground is cracked, the lower layer of groundwater is flowing up. Theoretically speaking, the deeper the underground water is, the closer it is to the crust, and the higher the water temperature is."

"Yeah, I remember the geography class saying that every 300 feet (100 meters) below the ground level increases the temperature by 3 degrees Celsius..." Sayaka nodded her head in acknowledgement, "Right now, we are measuring a temperature of 45 degrees celsius, excluding the temperature of the water in the lake, the hot water under this crevice must have come from at least 1300 meters underground or more."

"Could it be that there's a volcano down there?" I thought of hot springs in Japan.

Sayaka shook her head. "Tennessee doesn't belong to the Volcano Zone."