“Can you tell me everything about this device now?” the doctor asked, his voice low.

  Charles nodded and stepped aside to let him in. “Please, come in.”

  Facing the doctor, Charles slowly began to explain everything he knew about the phone. The doctor listened in silence, rubbing the surface of the device with his good hand.

  “This thing allows communication, entertainment, and work. On the surface, I can’t live a day without it…”

  As he spoke, Charles felt as if he was transported back to a peaceful environment. He hadn’t realized how beautiful his previous life was until he arrived in this chaotic sea of turmoil.

  “So, this device is used for communication, right? Like a telegraph?” the doctor asked.

  “That’s one way to think about it.”

  After a pause, the doctor said, “Actually, I used to have something like that.”

  Charles nearly choked on his drink at this unexpected revelation. He had guessed correctly—this man really did have a phone!

  The doctor pulled aside his filthy white coat, which was so dirty it was almost unrecognizable, and produced a square object wrapped in cloth.

  When Charles saw what was inside, he stood up in shock. It was a black device resembling a tablet. The back cover was open, exposing a green circuit board.

  Seeing this object that looked completely out of place in the sea world, he hurriedly asked, “Is this yours? Are you also from the surface? When did you come down?”

  Charles’s first reaction was that this man had fallen like he did.

  “This isn’t mine; it belonged to my great-grandfather,” the doctor replied, gazing at the tablet with a look of nostalgia on his ugly face. “I know nothing about him. He died when I was young, and all he left me was this.”

  “My father told me to take good care of it, but he never explained what it was. It’s been a mystery to me; I’ve asked many people, but no one knows.”

  “Could it be that his great-grandfather came through like I did?” Charles quickly dismissed that thought. The doctor was old, and his great-grandfather must be even older. The invention of tablets and phones was relatively recent; it was impossible for them to have arrived at the same time.

  With that in mind, Charles took the tablet and examined it closely. He soon noticed the differences: compared to modern devices, this tablet was clearly bulky and heavy.

  Weighing two pounds, Charles could tell this device was definitely not from the surface. Any manufacturer that produced such a tablet would go bankrupt in no time.

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  “Can you fix this?” the doctor asked, his gaze fixed on the tablet. “I doubt I’ll have descendants to pass it on to. I just want to know what my great-grandfather wanted his descendants to keep safe.”

  “Sorry, I can’t help you with that,” Charles replied. He had no expertise in repairing electronic devices.

  “You said that as long as it has power, this black mirror can light up. Does that mean if we give it power, it will work?”

  “While I don’t know the voltage used on Coral Island, I can guarantee it won’t match your tablet. A reckless attempt could easily damage it.”

  The doctor’s face showed a hint of frustration.

  At this moment, Charles was thinking even deeper. If this device wasn’t from the surface, it was evidently created by humans from the sea. If their past technology could produce tablets, why was the current technology in the sea still at an 18th-19th century level? It didn’t add up.

  This thought led him to recall the island with the third laboratory. If anyone in the sea had the capability to create tablets, it would be the people from the third laboratory, especially since they had even implemented fingerprint recognition.

  Could the doctor’s great-grandfather have been a worker at that laboratory?

  But then the same question loomed over Charles: those humans possessed advanced technology and numerous powerful relics. Where had they all gone? The mysteries in Charles's mind multiplied.

  “Regardless, I must thank you. I finally understand what my great-grandfather left behind. I will try to make it light up. Our agreement still stands,” the doctor said, taking the tablet and heading for the door.

  As the doctor opened the door, he startled Margaret, who had been eavesdropping. She quickly ran behind Charles, peeking out timidly.

  The doctor turned back to Charles. “Do you want me to make her forget what she just heard? I can do that.”

  “Forget it; it doesn’t matter.”

  Charles had shared his story about coming from the surface with everyone he met, but no one believed him. When he saw that the Sun God’s followers imagined the sun as a triangle, he understood completely: unless he presented the facts, they would never believe him. Humans could be incredibly foolish; they only believed what they wanted to believe.

  The doctor turned and limped down the dim corridor toward the stairs.

  Margaret, looking a bit uneasy, said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop; I thought it was my father coming.”

  “Not yet. Your belongings and your letter have been sent to the right place. They won’t arrive for at least half a month.”

  After hesitating for a moment, Margaret lowered her head and tapped her toes against the floor. “Sir, can I stay in this room? It’s so dark in the other one, and I’m a bit scared…”

  “Do as you wish, but stay quiet,” Charles replied, pulling out his journal to begin writing his sailing diary.

  Watching the young man write, Margaret’s face gradually flushed.

  Compared to his return to the island, Charles preferred life at sea. Although it was dangerous and tough, he felt he was making progress toward his goals. Staying on the island felt like wasting time.

  Now that he had the sea chart and a ship, he still couldn’t leave. First, his injuries hadn’t fully healed, and second, he needed Sonny’s head and the 500,000 echoes.

  In the following days, Margaret spent a brief time with Charles. She lived next door, and any attempt to escape would be reported by the mice.

  However, the girl didn’t try to escape. Instead, as time passed, she began to enjoy this life and subtly sought to stay by Charles’s side.

  Yet, this peaceful time wouldn’t last long. One morning, when Charles saw the governor’s patrol ship driving fishing boats away from the sea, he knew something was about to happen.

  The gates between the port area and the inner city rarely opened, but today, a luxurious convoy emerged.

  With his keen eyesight, Charles recognized the exceptionally flamboyantly made-up man inside one of the carriages. He had seen that face in the newspapers; it was Governor Nico of Coral Island.