160: Chapter 160 First Attempt to Recruit People Fails

The soft rope pulled taut into a straight line.

Rake did not exert force immediately.

He wound the rope end around the outside of the Triple Lines, past the Outer Bridge Skin Crack Seal, and then past the Half-Breath Load Limit Seal.

Finally, it stopped in front of the Triple Lines Transposition Seal.

"I will only pull the Outer Line."

Nami pressed the Triple Lines Sequence Seal beside the rope end.

"Pull in order."

Black Code emerged from beneath the rope end.

[Triple Lines pull together.]

Jona pressed the Same-Certificate Arrears on top.

"It's on credit."

The general signature chain hung down an inch.

The chain hook aimed at the gap between the Triple Lines.

Night Ember placed his hand on the edge of the table, not touching the sea chart.

"I will only press the chain."

Nami did not look at him.

"Press for a half-breath."

She pushed the Half-Breath Load Limit Seal in front of Night Ember's hand.

The edge of the seal did not touch his bleeding wound, only pressed against the tabletop.

Jona stared at the distance.

"It's one finger short."

"That one finger must always be there."

Nami also pushed the Blood-Does-Not-Enter-Chart over.

"After a half-breath, you withdraw it yourself."

Night Ember lowered his eyes.

"What if I can't withdraw it?"

Kahn's old hammer pressed down beside his wrist; it didn't press on him, only pinned the vibration patterns on the tabletop.

"The hammer helps you stop the vibrations, it doesn't help you press the chart."

The Station Master placed dry gauze on the back of the chair.

"Blood falls on the chair back, not on the sea chart."

Rake said in a low voice, "If you understand, don't push yourself."

Night Ember's smile was faint, but he did not raise his hand.

"Pull."

The Black Flag shadow sank beneath the mast.

The general signature chain slowed for an instant.

Just an instant.

Rake seized that gap and first gently pulled the outside of the Left Line.

The fake injury tablet moved a fraction.

Wooden Tablet Three tapped one long and two short.

Stop.

One short.

Nami immediately pressed down on the Outer Grid Initial Rescue Seal.

"The Left Line only moves the tablet."

But the Right Bottle swayed along with it.

A white groove lifted from the bottom of the bottle, attempting to attach to the soft rope.

Black Code jumped out:

[Left pull brings Right.]

Nami pressed the Do-Not-Pass Board in front of the Right Line.

"The Right Line does not get brought along."

The Station Master held the bottle neck.

The second intake was pressed very low.

"The Right Line is being dragged by water."

Rake reduced force.

The soft rope still brought up a grain of Sound Return Ash.

Short Code floated up:

[Brings Sound Return Ash.]

Jona sealed the bag.

The Middle Line suddenly sounded one short.

The Deducted Sound Return Code was shaken by the soft rope and slid one line toward the Left Line.

White Mud Tooth immediately probed out.

[Sound follows Left Line, can supplement name.]

E-19 pressed the chalk board tightly against his chest.

Nami slapped the Do-Not-Supplement-Old-Name in front of White Mud Tooth.

"The Middle Line does not follow."

Rake released the first bit of force.

The soft rope sprang back.

The Left Line's fake injury tablet retracted by half a fraction.

The Right Bottle's white water fell back to the outside of the second grid.

The Middle Line's Deducted Sound Return Code collided with the Sound Return Ash, emitting a muffled sound.

The general signature chain did not fall.

But the Triple Lines were all slightly disrupted.

Kahn's old hammer pressed down on the Triple Lines Transposition Seal.

"Second breath?"

Nami nodded.

"Right."

Rake changed the angle, the rope end moving along the outside of the Right Bottle.

This time he only pulled the Right Line.

The Right Bottle's white water floated up by half a finger.

The second intake leaned toward the edge of the shift board.

The Station Master said in a low voice, "You can pull back a little."

Black Code immediately floated out:

[Right return brings deposit.]

The External Audit Ship's white line wound up along the soft rope.

Nami pressed down the Right Line Snatch-Deposit Seal and the External Audit Must-Not-Replace-Bridge side by side.

"Already snatched once, still owing."

The white line bit the Snatch-Deposit Seal.

The old crack on the Right Bottle lit up for a moment.

Rake's wrist was chafed red by the rope end.

He gritted his teeth.

"It's treating the bottle as a hook."

Kahn's old hammer slammed onto the table edge.

"Release."

Rake released his hand.

The Right Bottle fell back.

It was half a fraction higher than before.

But it was still on the outside of the second grid.

Short Code wrote:

[Right pull did not exit seal.]

Nami sealed the bag.

"This proves the Right Line cannot get out even if pulled alone."

The third bit of force was the Middle Line's turn.

The Station Master first moved the medicine chest away.

"The Middle Line does not touch medicine."

Nami pushed the Left Bag and Right Bag back an inch each.

The Sound Return Ash above the Left Bag hadn't been fully sealed.

The Right-Pull-Did-Not-Exit-Seal inside the Right Bag was also turning cold.

She had Jona turn the mouths of the two bags outward.

"Failed evidence exits the stage first."

Jona complied, his fingers still trembling slightly.

"Afraid they'll bite each other?"

"Afraid they'll be written as continuous rescue."

Nami crossed out the words "continuous," leaving only the word "Separate."

Separate.

A single character pressed between the Triple Lines, harder than any explanation.

The general signature chain touched the word "Separate," and the chain hook made a very faint scraping sound.

Nami arranged the Deducted Sound Return Code, Sound Return Ash, and Old-Seal-Not-Supplemented into a short line.

"Only pull the sound."

Rake wound the soft rope even looser.

The moment the rope end touched the outside of the Middle Line, White Mud Tooth probed out.

[Pull sound to supplement shell.]

Kahn's old hammer pressed on the shell crack.

"The shell is not supplemented."

E-19 finally flipped open the chalk board.

On it was still one character: Rear.

Nami moved the board backward.

"Right, Rear."

Rake pulled gently.

The Middle Line emitted one short sound.

The Sound Return Ash jumped.

The Deducted Sound Return Code did not move.

But the Old-Seal-Not-Supplemented slid forward by half an inch.

Jona's face turned pale.

"The old name followed it out."

Nami slapped her hand down on the Old-Seal-Not-Supplemented.

"Stop."

Rake immediately released the rope.

White Mud Tooth bit into empty air, and a bit of white mud fell from the tip of its tooth.

Short Code floated up:

[Old name counter-pulls powder.]

The Station Master sealed the bag.

"The Middle Line cannot pull sound first."

Nami looked at the three pieces of new evidence.

Sound Return Ash.

Right-Pull-Did-Not-Exit-Seal.

Old-Name-Counter-Pulls-Powder.

With the three items placed together, Black Code finally changed its tune.

[Triple Lines cannot be rescued together.]

The general signature chain slowly retracted upward.

It didn't retreat completely.

It retracted to the edge of the black cloth and stopped again.

The chain shadow still hung a small hook.

The small hook was not aimed at any person.

It was aimed at the blank space between the three pieces of failed evidence.

Nami pointed the tip of her pen at the blank space.

"It still wants to wait for us to write the failure into a method."

Jona's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Then how do we write it?"

Nami turned the paper over.

The first line wrote Failure.

The second line wrote Cause.

The third line wrote Prohibit Reuse.

She wrote the four characters "Prohibit Reuse" very heavily.

Black Code touched those four characters, as if hitting cold iron.

The chain hook finally retracted another half inch.

Nami pressed the three pieces of evidence onto the back of the Triple Lines Sequence Seal.

"First failed attempt to pull a person."

Jona wrote down:

Left pull brings water.

Right pull brings deposit.

Middle pull brings old name.

Triple Lines must be rescued separately.

Night Ember's palm split, drawing a little blood.

The blood fell on his cuff, not entering the chart.

He withdrew his hand.

"Who is first next time?"

Nami pushed the Left Line Outer Grid Initial Rescue Seal to the very front.

"Left Line."

Wooden Tablet Three tapped one long and two short.

A deeper crack split open in the blue and white frost on the edge of the fake injury tablet.

Short Code floated up:

[Left Line Outer Grid can be broken.]

Kahn lifted the old hammer.

"Finally able to break the Outer Grid."

Nami sealed up the Sound Return Ash, Right-Pull-Did-Not-Exit-Seal, and Old-Name-Counter-Pulls-Powder.

"Remember the failure first."

She stared at the Left Line.

"Then break it."