Chapter 1080

Rain and salty sea, the temperature at night is plummeting, and men feel wet and cold. This is the summer in the northern hemisphere. The North Atlantic warm current passes through the water that brings warmth to the equator, but the sailors on the sea have only bitter cold to accompany.

The two men and women were still chattering. The sampan moved slowly in the undulating waves. The bow tilted up and fell gently. The tide of the sea gave the people on board a great cradle and endless dreams. Everything was hazy in the thick darkness. The kerosene lamp hanging from the bow swung and swung. Buck DeWitt stared at the kerosene lamp, Also overlooking the sea fog, a magnificent outline of the fat lighthouse can be seen faintly.

He turned his head and looked in the direction he had always been. He saw no shadow of the coast and land, looked around, and saw no ship.

Only their sampans sailed quietly on a noisy rainy night. The destination was clearly visible, but the way and remote path disappeared into the dark, leaving him only one choice. Booker's heart was filled with confusion and anxiety.

Time passed slowly. Booker didn't know how long he had been on the ship. His hands and feet were completely numb. At this time, the thick clouds were faintly shining and the day was about to dawn.

"Excuse me! How long will it take to get there? "

The woman in raincoat sitting on the partition in front turned and handed over a thin wooden box. On the brass nameplate on the front of the box is engraved the following words: This is owned by Booker DeWitt, the seventh regiment, wounded knee river

Mr. Booker DeWitt had no impression of the box, but it did look like an old object. Open the lock and pull up the box cover. There are two pieces of paper on the inner wall of the cover, one is the puzzle of the treasure map, and the other is the postcard of Columbia Memorial island. The contents of the box are very simple, a Mauser c96 pistol, a picture of a girl named Elizabeth, a key, some coins, and a card printed with the coordinates of New York.

"I don't understand." Booker turned the picture of the girl over and wrote on the back: "take her back to New York unharmed." who is this girl? " He picked up his kerosene lamp and carefully observed the girl in the black-and-white photo. This is a side photo. It doesn't look like a correct photo after being allowed. She looked at a girl in her teens, wearing a butterfly shaped hair belt, with a beautiful side face and symmetrical body. She seemed to be a healthy girl.

No one answered him. The man was complaining about his hard work, and the woman was happily bickering with him. They enjoyed it, and the lighthouse wharf was near.

Until buck got ashore, he didn't know what he was coming about. The two strange people rowed away.

The sky was dark, but the sun did rise. At this time, Mr. DeWitt was only melancholy. He stood on the cold old wharf.

Strangely, a strong sense of mission filled Booker's anxious and frightened heart. At the moment, he didn't remember his intention at all, but when he looked at the girl's photo again, he had no doubt about his task.

Find this girl and take her back to New York... Mr. Booker thought: my wealth is enough to support such a girl. It's good. Everything is perfect. As long as I get this girl.

Sometimes, people in middle age can also be the prince who saves the princess. Booker is a decent man. He can be polite. I hope the road ahead will open up to a lucky thief like him.

Walking along the wharf, we came to the lighthouse. The lighthouse stood on the miserable and narrow reef island. There were no redundant buildings here. The waves washed away. He reluctantly carried the kerosene lamp, holding the box, and walked slowly on the creaking wooden board of the wharf. Under the dim lights of the pier street lights, the fisherman's boat stranded on the reef beach cast a silent short shadow on the bright stone wall.

The girl named Booker may not be a lighthouse keeper, no matter how she looks. She doesn't look as strong as she is. The watchers of the lighthouse are often old single men. Their heavy and depressed temperament is the same as that of the reef - Booker rises up the steps and looks up at the top of the gate. The Fresnel lens on the top of the tower casts cold white light into the miserable atmosphere.

The clouds are so thick, maybe the heavy rain will turn into thunderstorm. The cold light column of the lighthouse swept through the oppressive, dull and humid atmosphere again and again. The land in the distance was always missing in such a sad morning. The sea fog was very great. Although the sky was constantly brightening, Booker only felt that the sea was getting narrower and narrower, all sides were going to disappear, and the beacons floating on the sea were gradually disappearing in the depths of the fog. Finally, after he meditated for half an hour, the first thunderbolt came from the sky.

The electric light flickered in the distance, and the thunder rolled in. He turned and looked. On the folds of the terrible waves, the white delicate foam was dazzling by the thunder. With a grunt, Booker finally pushed open the gate of the lighthouse. He noticed a bloody note on the door that said, "DeWitt - give that girl to us and your debt will be written off. This is your last chance."

Rich Mr. Booker didn't know who he owed. There were many people who owed him money, and he never used such a terrible threat - a bloody note - to intimidate the debtor. His wealth allowed him to be generous, but it was obvious that the person who wrote this note was not as kind as him.

After entering the door, a sign was posted on the central bearing column on the first floor of the Lighthouse: I want to wash your sins.

On the table under the sign was a washbasin and a pile of folded white towels.

Mr. Booker, an omniscient, wanted to stop talking about such a scene. He looked around. The hall on the first floor was stacked with barrels, cables and fishing cages. The manager of the lighthouse seemed to be a professional fisherman.

There was the sound of a record player on the second floor.

After careful observation, he followed the iron stairs - a notice board was also hung at the entrance of the stairs and wrote: I will lead you out of Sodom (the land of sin) - up to the second floor, which is the private space of the lighthouse keeper. The bedroom, study, kitchen and living room are crowded here, and all the furniture is piled against the wall.

It was messy here. It seemed that there had been a burglary. The sensitive detective Mr. Booker smelled the uneasy atmosphere in the air. He was on guard against such a thunderstorm and a lighthouse full of religious significance. Now he wondered whether the administrator here was crazy or that the man was a cult.

A map of the United States is hung on the wall, and there is a circle of nails and red ties. From Arizona in the southwest to Maine in the northeast, Booker is full of inquiry about this map. A sign is nailed on the map: get ready, he is already on the road, you must stop him - C. The signer left only one letter, but the handwriting of the whole note made Booker feel familiar, at least similar to the handwriting behind Elizabeth's photo.

There is also a sign at the stairway from the second floor to the third floor: I will lead you to the promised land.

There were fights in the lighthouse, maybe people died, blood stains on the dumped table, and blood fingerprints on the wall of the stairs. All the way to the third floor, this should be a tool room and drying room, but it has become a torture room and a trial center. Booker noticed a large amount of blood on the ground and cracks caused by impact on the glass. The most conspicuous body was the body blindfolded and tied to the chair under the light.

The deceased was a male, dressed as a worker, wearing a gray knitted sweater, olive green suspender pants and a pair of brown leather shoes. He should be the manager of the lighthouse. There was no doubt that he had been abused and tortured before his death. The cause of death was shooting on his forehead. After he was put in a bag, the killer fired, and there was a blood note nailed to the dead's chest: "don't let us down."

Booker felt very cold. The murder in the lighthouse seemed to be a performance, and the audience was Mr. Booker. He was surprised and more nervous. Unknown enemies were watching him in the dark, and he knew nothing about them. Maybe it was a group of heretics, or a group of traffickers pretending to be heretics. Anyway, Booker doesn't intend to give the girl to the so-called "us". He doesn't owe any debt. What he wants is... Booker forgets his intention, but he still has good wishes.

The stairway from the third floor to the fourth floor is still a notice: I will put you in the soil of New Eden.

The person who wrote these words is definitely a religious madman and thinks he is a Messiah madman. However, it is such madmen who can attract foolish believers. Booker has always kept them at a distance and is never willing to deal with such dangerous sources of disaster.

The fourth floor may be the lighthouse control room. The cabin door is closed and cannot be opened. He continues to go up to the top floor. The Fresnel lens rotates quietly behind the glass cabin, and the hot light makes the water vapor steaming here. When the lamp cap turned around, Booker turned his back in time to avoid being blinded by the strong light.

The lighthouse has no more space to explore, and the glass cabin with Fresnel lens seems to be the destination. The door is locked with a code, and the code is in the wooden box previously handed over by the woman to Booker. Scroll once, key twice and long sword twice. This pattern corresponds to the bell on the password lock. Knock it in sequence.

Booker struck the bell with an uneasy and expectant mood. Then, a huge whistle came from the tower, and red lights were cast behind the clouds, such as the shadow of heaven, clouds, sea and atmosphere. Booker watched with surprise. In the grand flute, the world became miserably red. The flute sounded regularly, and the bright red lights on the sky dimmed with the rhythm of the low whistle.

As if the end had come. As the end comes.

Booker has an absurd idea of screwing up everything. One should not destroy the world just by solving the lighthouse puzzle, and the changes in front of him may also be achieved by means of human industry, just as a miracle.

The Fresnel lens rises, the door of the glass cabin opens, and a comfortable red skin chair is lifted out under the mechanical floor of the room.

A strong sense of ritual emerged in his heart to guide Booker. In fact, he also found that he had no choice. I had to sit in an armchair.

It's really soft and comfortable. There are handrails and treads.

The only problem was that the chair locked Booker's hands and feet.

Suddenly, he was silent and kept his dignity. The countdown came from the room radio. A hard and distorted woman's voice warned: Pilgrims, get ready. Those things are to ensure your safety.

The chair is spinning. Booker was dizzy.

There is a spaceship hidden on the top of the lighthouse. The bulkheads rising around are closed like flower buds. In a twinkling of an eye, Booker is now in an aircraft. The bottom of the cabin overturns and takes out his kerosene lamp and Mauser gun like garbage. He can clearly see the four transmitter nozzles under the aircraft. If there is a second person standing here, It will definitely fall into the hot nozzle flame. The ship carries one person.

As the countdown was over, the cabin bottom closed, the rocket engine started, and Booker DeWitt was suddenly launched. Through the porthole, Booker saw the scene outside - the rapid rise of the sea level, the rapid regression of the sea level, the sky getting closer and closer, the clouds getting closer and closer, and he even saw thunder flashing not far above his head. The strong pressure brought by acceleration and the terrible doomsday atmosphere have finally reached the peak. The decent Mr. Booker screamed like a woman“ Five thousand feet... Ten thousand feet... Fifteen thousand feet... Twenty thousand feet "mother Booker looked at the cloud outside the window. His reflection on the window was whiter than the cloud. He shouted and struggled. The aircraft dashed through the clouds. For a moment, the sun was shining. The world is transparent and bright. Holy sun, quiet and gentle atmosphere, and beautiful human cities floating in the air and clouds“ Hallelujah. " The woman said so. Welcome to Colombia, the floating city, the promised land of God, the new garden of Eden.