137: Chapter 137 Bridge Chain Delivery

The fourth chain did not fall.

It hung behind the black edge, swaying slowly.

With every sway, the white rod of the Sign-Guarding Ship moved an inch closer to the Rescue Outer Boundary Line.

Jona held his recording board tightly.

"It is waiting for us to admit who the line belongs to."

Nami rearranged the six incomplete item tablets.

"The line does not belong to any person."

Kahn placed the old hammer beside the half key iron box.

"Nor does it belong to the key."

The Station Master put the medicine spoon into the medicine box.

"It does not belong to the medicine."

Rake pushed the soft rope evidence bag to the edge of the nautical chart.

"The rope is merely hanging evidence."

Black Code floated up to the surface of the water.

[Rescue Outer Boundary Line, needs acknowledgment.]

Nami wrote:

Outer boundary line awaiting inspection.

The white rod bit onto "awaiting inspection" and turned.

[Inspector?]

Jona whispered: "It is looking for someone again."

Nami slapped down the Grey Gull blank receipt.

Outer line has not arrived.

The white rod turned toward the News Ship Short Code, failed to bite any name, then turned toward the Grey Gull Port Short Code, and also failed to bite any name.

The Sain Line Short Code was pressed down by the white rod.

A sound of old copper buckles came from the right.

One.

Two.

One.

The Station Master looked up.

"The Right Second Grid also heard the acknowledgment."

Nami pressed the Right Second Grid awaiting inspection onto the Sain Line Short Code.

"Grid position is awaiting inspection, not acting as an inspector."

The white rod stopped.

The first bridge chain pressed toward the Left Line.

[Left Line signs for injury owner.]

Wooden Tablet Three immediately knocked one long and two short.

The chipped corner of the fake injury tablet flashed underwater.

The Station Master grabbed the medicine spoon.

"It wants Noel to claim the injury."

Nami pressed the active injury non-exchange onto the Left Line.

"The injury owner has not claimed it."

The Black Code continued to close in.

[Outer Grid has heat.]

The Station Master held the medicine spoon close to the Left Anchor.

The bottom of the spoon fogged up.

He did not send the medicine over.

"Having heat does not equal claiming medicine."

Nami added:

Heat only inspects the living, does not sign for the injury owner.

The sound of the first bridge chain lowered a bit.

The second one pressed toward the Middle Line.

[Middle Line signs for Old Seal.]

The Central Nail, White Mud Tooth, probed out.

Shell Recognition Position Two knocked one short, three short, one short.

E-19 immediately covered the edge of the chalk board.

"He says, do not let the Old Seal fall."

Kahn pressed the Old Seal back-ash evidence bag on top.

"The Old Seal is borrowed; inspect the back-ash first."

Nami wrote:

Old Seal back-ash not inspected, cannot add name.

White Mud Tooth could not bite this sentence, so it turned toward Jona's recording board.

Jona had already stuck the "character fee unpaid" note on the corner of the board.

"I will owe it for today."

Kahn glanced at him.

"Great improvement."

Jona made a bitter face.

"I no longer have dignity, only debts."

The third bridge chain pressed toward the Right Line.

[Right Line signs for escort.]

The cracked bottle vibrated violently.

A white line probed out from under the Right Nail and bit onto the bottle mouth.

Nami lined up the three tablets: "mis-thrown bottle", "non-living item", and "postponed board uninspected".

"The escorted item is a bottle, not a person."

The Black Code changed its tune.

[Escorted item signs for bridge.]

Kahn frowned.

"It wants to sign the bottle to under the bridge, and drag the board along with it?"

"Correct."

Nami pressed the "bridge parking fee old account" onto the bottle mouth.

"The bridge has unpaid fees; the escorted item cannot enter the bridge."

The Right Line stopped.

The fourth chain finally fell a little.

The Black Code pressed toward the middle of the three lines.

[Total signature.]

The shadow of Night Ember's Black Flag sank slightly.

Nami immediately raised her hand.

"Don't touch it."

Night Ember held back.

The fourth chain did not press onto him, but turned toward the space between the white tooth iron box and the half key iron box.

[Side item merges with Outer Grid item.]

Kahn pressed his hand on both iron boxes.

"Trying to merge again."

Nami pressed the "White Tooth side item" and "half key Outer Grid item" tablets to the left and right respectively.

Placing in the middle:

Cannot sign together.

The fourth chain bit onto "sign together".

The surface of the tablet turned white.

Nami scattered the half key ownership powder.

The powder revealed two account paths.

Left path: White Tooth.

Right path: half key.

A narrow gap was left between the two paths.

The fourth chain landed exactly on the empty gap.

[Empty gap can be signed.]

Jona's face turned pale.

"It even signs empty spaces?"

Nami pressed that previous small tablet on top.

Rescue line not formed.

The fourth chain paused.

The Black Code bit back.

[Line formed.]

Nami added four characters:

Only formed the outer boundary.

The sound of the fourth chain was stuck on "outer boundary".

It could not write "outer boundary" as "inner warehouse".

Nor could it write "route" as "person".

The three bridge chains sounded again.

This time, the sound dispersed.

The first one retreated half an inch.

The second one retreated half an inch.

The third one also retreated half an inch.

The Outer Boundary Line floated up a bit from the nautical chart.

The Station Master whispered: "It hasn't loosened, it just isn't pressing anymore."

Nami nodded.

"Acknowledgment failed."

Just as Jona was about to write "failed", Nami pressed down on the recording board.

"Don't write it too definitively."

Jona immediately changed his wording.

"Then what should I write?"

"Write 'not formed'."

Nami divided the bridge chain signature powder into three portions.

One portion stuck to the white tooth iron box.

One portion stuck to the half key iron box.

One portion stuck to the Rescue Outer Boundary Line sealing wax.

"Since it signed the empty gap, it means it admits there is space between the three items. If it tries to force a merger later, we will use these three portions of powder to push back."

Kahn rubbed his chin.

"Can empty space also serve as evidence?"

"Yes."

Nami pressed the tip of her pen on the empty gap.

"In their accounts, even if a signature isn't completed, it still counts as a trace."

The Station Master looked toward the Left Line.

"What about Noel's side?"

"Do nothing."

Nami put away the three portions of powder.

"The acknowledgment didn't succeed, so the Left Line cannot be opened in the chaos. If we open it, it will say we tacitly accepted the line."

The white rod did not retreat.

It left a circle of white marks on the nautical chart.

Kahn scraped a little off with the back of his knife.

Short Code floated up:

[bridge chain signature powder.]

Jona copied it down.

"Can it be used in reverse?"

Nami sealed the bag.

"Next time it pursues the acknowledgment, we will use this powder to prove it signed the empty gap."

A drop of white water dripped from the crack in the Right Bottle again.

This drop of water was heavier than the previous round.

The Station Master probed a silver needle inside.

The tip of the needle turned black and did not immediately turn white again.

"Right Second Grid pressure water has become heavier."

Nami covered the cracked bottle.

"Next round, we deal with the slow movement of the Right Second Grid."

The fourth chain behind the black edge was still hanging.

It did not sign the line.

But it pressed the water under the Outer Signature Bridge down by an inch.