120: Chapter 120 Half-Up Broken Bridge

The Left Third Nail review code was pressed into the evidence bag.

Just as the bag was sealed, the three white dots on the Outer Signature Bridge sank by an inch simultaneously.

Kahn lay prone on the rudder box, his face pressed against the wooden board.

"The bridge is searching for the breaking point."

Nami turned the nautical chart toward him.

"Left Third Nail for review, Central Nail for shell patching, and Right Nail for External Audit. If any one is broken incorrectly, all three lines will scatter."

Sweat broke out on Jona's palms.

"Then which one should we break?"

"We won't break any of them completely."

Rake looked up.

"Half-break?"

Nami nodded.

"Make the bridge think it has old damage, so it suspends the audit."

Kahn touched the No. 7 rudder blade.

"You want to use ship damage to trick the bridge into reporting damage."

"Correct."

"I like this job."

He pried off a piece of waste fish-scale repair patch.

The back of the patch still had bite marks from blue-and-white medicinal frost, and its edges were stained with Grey Gull Old Seal powder and Kahn's ship-repair wax.

Nami took the Half-bridge fee return signature and imprinted it onto the patch, then pressed a corner of the Left Third Nail review code onto it.

Jona watched in alarm.

"You're tearing the review code too?"

"Just imprinting the corner, not tearing the original."

"Then I'm relieved."

The three white rods of the Sign-Guarding Ship drooped lower.

Black characters flashed on the board again:

[Broken Bridge Audit, the one dragging the bridge signs first.]

Nami tossed the waste fish-scale patch into the water.

The fish-scale patch did not float toward the Sign-Guarding Ship; instead, it sank along the white ring, slowly approaching the space between the Left Third Nail and the Central Nail.

Kahn reported the numbers in a low voice.

"Another half a foot."

Rake pressed the tail of the fish-scale patch with a soft rope.

Night Ember's Black Flag shadow pressed down on the water surface to the right, preventing the External Audit shadow from taking the opportunity to cover them.

The white rods of the Sign-Guarding Ship jolted suddenly.

It recognized the ship damage on the fish-scale patch.

A Short Code surfaced:

[Bridge Damage?]

Nami immediately handed the corner of the ship-repair list to Jona.

"Write."

Jona wrote quickly:

Half-bridge old damage, awaiting Shipwright inspection.

Upon seeing the words "Shipwright," Kahn perked up entirely.

"Let me inspect it?"

"You are the most expensive."

"Reasonable."

The corner of the list entered the water.

The white hand of the Sign-Guarding Ship reached out, attempting to grab the list.

Kahn beat it to the punch and threw his old hammer to the edge of the white ring.

The old hammer had a cracked handle, and the head was engraved with the temporary mark of The Calamity's stern rudder.

The white hand of the Sign-Guarding Ship grabbed the hammer first.

The Short Code lit up:

[Shipwright inspection tool.]

Kahn said in a deep voice, "Acknowledged."

Nami said, "Inspect the bridge."

Rake pulled the soft rope.

The fish-scale patch jammed between the Left Third Nail and the Central Nail.

It was not like a knife; it did not cut the line, but merely propped open the white light between the two nails slightly.

The Outer Signature Bridge emitted a faint sound.

Half of the white light remained connected to the Left Third Nail.

The other half of the white light connected to the Central Nail.

A grey line appeared in the middle.

Half-break.

Wooden Tablet Three immediately knocked once long and twice short.

Noel was under the Left Third Nail and was not taken away.

Knocking codes also came from within the shell seam.

Shell Recognition Position Two was still under the Central Nail.

The External Audit copper buckle clicked three times.

The Right Nail was still connected to the External Audit Ship.

The three lines had not scattered.

Nor had they entered the well.

Nami gripped her charcoal pencil tightly.

"Half-break successful."

The black characters on the Sign-Guarding Ship's board jumped chaotically.

[Bridge damage awaiting inspection.]

[Broken Bridge Audit suspended.]

[External Audit awaiting supplementary evidence.]

Kahn snatched back his old hammer.

"It even wanted to confiscate my hammer."

Jona was very serious.

"Should we record the hammer fee too?"

"Of course."

The Sign-Guarding Ship did not retreat.

Its three white rods suddenly merged together, pointing at the grey line.

The grey line was exactly the half-break point propped open by the fish-scale patch.

Nami's expression changed.

"It wants to sign the half-break as our intentional bridge-breaking."

Night Ember's Black Flag shadow pressed over.

The white rods did not retreat; instead, they climbed up along the black shadow.

For the first time, the Sign-Guarding Ship was not afraid of the Black Flag; it was using the Broken Bridge Audit to investigate the origin of the Black Flag.

A thin cut split open on Night Ember's palm.

The Station Master immediately shouted, "Retract the flag!"

Night Ember retracted the flagpole.

The Black Flag shadow retreated to the side of the ship.

Nami tossed the prepared empty wooden tablet into the grey line.

The front of the wooden tablet had no words.

The back was written:

Old damage, unclaimed.

The Sign-Guarding Ship's white rods chased after the Black Flag but hit the empty wooden tablet first.

The white rods washed away the two characters "unclaimed," leaving only "old damage" and "claimed."

Jona's heart tightened as he watched.

"It's washing away the empty name again."

Nami pressed the empty wooden tablet under the water.

"That's why the old damage is unclaimed."

The white rods jammed.

It wanted to find the bridge-breaker but encountered an empty wooden tablet with its name washed away.

It could not sign an anonymous entry, yet it could not bypass the bridge damage audit.

The Short Code paused in mid-air.

[Bridge-breaker: Empty.]

Rake lifted the rope.

The grey line stabilized.

The Left Third Nail, Central Nail, and Right Nail each retreated by half an inch.

The Outer Signature Bridge stopped at the half-rise, half-break position.

The Station Master opened the medicine chest.

"Three-line response."

E-19 pressed down on the wooden board.

Wooden Tablet Three knocked first.

Once long, twice short.

Once short.

E-19 said, "Noel is under the Left Third Nail, on the outside of the under-bridge hold."

Shell Recognition Position Two knocked in response.

Once short, three times short, once short.

Twice short.

"Shell Recognition Position Two is at the Central Nail shell-patching port; the shell seam hasn't closed yet."

The External Audit copper buckle clicked in the fog.

After three clicks, it paused for a long time.

Then one more click.

Nami finished for him.

"Right Nail, Right Pressure Position of the External Audit Ship."

The three rescue preparation coordinates were ready.

Jona wrote the three points on the real chart and covered the names with a blank sheet of paper.

"How should I write the public version?"

"Left Third Nail injury line, Central Nail shell line, Right Nail External Audit line."

"Don't write the names."

"Don't."

The Sign-Guarding Ship finally retreated by half a ship's length.

It had not failed too much.

It preserved the Outer Signature Bridge and forced The Calamity to surrender the Bridge Damage Audit.

But it did not let the three lines enter the well.

Nami sealed the Half-bridge diagram into the evidence bag.

"This round is over."

Kahn looked at the No. 7 rudder blade.

"Can the No. 7 blade hold?"

"It will hold until before the next round."

"I hate the next round."

Jona looked up.

"I hate owing debts too."

The whole ship looked at him.

Jona lowered his head silently.

"Forget I said that."

Night Ember wrapped the cut on his palm.

The Station Master glanced at him.

"If you use the Black Flag to force it again, I will shove you into the infirmary cabin too."

Night Ember said, "I won't."

Nami closed the nautical chart.

"The next step is not to chase the Sign-Guarding Ship."

Rake asked, "Then what are we chasing?"

"The under-bridge hold."

She used the charcoal pencil to dot a small black square under the Left Third Nail.

"Noel is there."

Then she dotted a square next to the Central Nail.

"Shell Recognition Position Two is there."

Finally, she drew a short white line on the outside of the Right Nail.

"Right Pressure Position of the External Audit Ship, the Sain Line is there."

Night Ember looked at the three points.

"Rescue all three places at once."

"No," Nami put down the pen, "Break all three places at once."

Underwater, the Sign-Guarding Ship slowly retreated into the depths of the white ring.

The board left only the last line of Black Code.

[R-1 Outer edge, under-bridge hold audit begins.]

Jona finished copying it, his fingers cold.

"It has set a door for us."

Nami sealed that line of Black Code.

"It also gave us an entrance."