NABC Page 35
Page 35
She turned around and looked at Liu Jiu and Olvia for help.
Olvia had already stood up, her face deathly pale, her hands gripping the gunwale tightly, her knuckles white from the force. Her body trembled slightly, her eyes staring blankly at the empty sea, her lips quivering but unable to utter a sound.
Although she had a premonition, and although Liu Jiu had already told her about the cruel ending.
But to see her birthplace, the island that held all her beliefs and memories, along with all her companions and all her knowledge... simply wiped off the face of the earth, leaving not a trace behind...
This dual impact, both visual and emotional, was like the sharpest knife, piercing her instantly!
She could even imagine the Omniscient Tree burning and collapsing amidst the gunfire at the moment of destruction, the scholars crying out in despair, and all the streets, houses, and ports she knew so well turning to dust under the absolute power and sinking into the cold seabed.
Doctors... Dr. Kuroba... and those civilians who may have also tried to escape, but were devoured by the relentless gunfire...
Ohara... really... has been erased...
Overwhelmed by immense grief and helplessness, she nearly collapsed to the ground.
Liu Jiu reached out in time, supported her arm, and steadied her swaying body.
His movements were steady, and his eyes remained calm, but deep within that calmness, there seemed to be a very faint, almost imperceptible ripple.
He looked at the empty sea ahead, then at Olvia in his arms who was almost collapsing, and finally, his gaze fell on Robin at the bow of the ship, who was completely stunned, his little face filled with helplessness and panic.
Robin couldn't fully grasp the meaning of "erasure," but she knew the island was gone. The Tree of Knowledge was gone. The Doctors... were gone too.
That "home" where she could read in peace, ask questions, and temporarily forget the troubles of the outside world... is gone.
A huge, empty fear gripped her young heart.
She hugged the cloth bag, slowly squatted down, buried her face in her knees, and her small shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably.
She didn't cry out loud.
But that silent trembling is more heartbreaking than a loud wail.
The sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy smell, gently rocked the small boat.
On the ship, there was utter silence.
Only the crashing waves against the hull sounded like a silent elegy for the vanished island.
Liu Jiu supported Olvia, looked at Robin who was trembling and squatting at the bow of the ship, and then looked at the sea that had swallowed everything.
His face remained expressionless.
He simply tightened his grip on the helm slightly.
Ohara has disappeared from the map.
Just as he had anticipated.
And they are the only remaining witnesses and survivors in this destruction.
The days passed slowly amidst the deathly silence of the voyage and the oppressive sorrow.
The small boat did not stray far from the sea that had swallowed O'Hara, but instead drifted like a stray duckweed on the vast, unsettling sea.
At first, there was utter bewilderment and deathly silence.
Robin no longer clutched her cloth bag; she simply curled up at the bow of the boat, staring blankly at the empty sea, her eyes vacant. She no longer asked questions, no longer read, as if all her spirit and strength had sunk with the island.
Olvia, on the other hand, seemed to have lost her soul. She spent most of her time sitting against the ship's railing, staring blankly into the distance, neither eating nor drinking, nor speaking a word. Occasionally, her body would tremble uncontrollably, followed by an even longer, suffocating silence.
Liu Jiu remained silent, steering the small boat and preparing the simplest food, offering no comfort to anyone. Some wounds need time to heal; words are powerless in this moment.
Until the afternoon of the third day.
The sunlight was a bit dazzling, and the sea surface shimmered.
As Liu Jiu maneuvered the small boat slowly across a stretch of sea, his keen eyes spotted some unusual shadows beneath the surface.
They weren't rocks, nor schools of fish. They were... regular shapes.
He adjusted the direction to bring the small boat closer.
As they drew closer, the shadows became clearer—they were enormous wooden bookshelves sunk to the bottom of the sea! Though soaked in seawater and somewhat damaged and deformed by the explosion, their original outlines were still faintly discernible. Between the bookshelves, a large number of scattered books and scrolls, swollen and white from being soaked in seawater, could be vaguely seen, like a silent graveyard on the seabed.
It's the remains of the Omniscient Tree Library in Ohara!
They weren't completely blown to pieces; instead, along with parts of the bookshelves, they sank to the bottom of the sea, which wasn't too deep.
Liu Jiu stopped the small boat.
His actions caught the attention of Olvia and Robin.
The two women followed his gaze, and when they saw the desolate yet still recognizable graveyard of books on the seabed, they both froze.
Chapter 37 Salvage and Repair
Robin lunged to the side of the boat, her little hands gripping the gunwale tightly. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the books on the seabed that she had once known so well and treasured, now being mercilessly soaked by the seawater like trash.
Olvia was struck dumb!
As she gazed at the sunken bookshelves and the pages swaying on the seabed, countless images flashed through her mind—
Did Dr. Kuroba and the other scholars, in the final moments before the bombardment began, not flee in panic, but instead do everything in their power to try and move these books, which carry human wisdom and historical truth, to a relatively safe place? Or did they know it was futile, yet still use their bodies to protect these fragile pages, ultimately sinking to the bottom of the sea with them?
Either way, it was like a red-hot iron, searing her heart!
So... so the doctor and his team didn't give up until the very last moment!
What they are protecting is not only their own beliefs, but also the innocent and precious knowledge itself!
And what about herself?
She chose a different path, watching helplessly as her companions and all their hard work vanished...
"what--!!!!"
A heart-wrenching cry, suppressed for days, finally burst from Olvia's throat!
She could no longer hold on and collapsed onto the deck, her hands gripping the rough planks so tightly that her fingernails split and bled, but she was oblivious to it. Tears streamed down her face like a burst dam, a torrent of regret, grief, and deep guilt toward her companions.
The cries were shrill and desperate, carrying far across the sea.
Robin was startled by her sudden breakdown. Looking at Olvia crying uncontrollably, and seeing her body curled up and trembling from extreme pain, the tears she had been holding back finally burst forth.
She started crying along with them.
Liu Jiu stood at the stern, watching the mother and daughter weeping, and gazing at the silent graveyard of books on the seabed.
He neither stopped them nor offered any comfort.
He simply picked up the spare ropes and hooks on the ship and began trying to salvage the books that were not yet completely damaged.
One book, two books...
He moved very gently, trying not to damage the already fragile pages.
Most of the books that were salvaged were soggy from being soaked in seawater that the writing was blurred, the covers were damaged, and they smelled of the salty seawater and the rotting paper.
But occasionally, you can find some that are relatively well-preserved, or only have damaged edges.
He carefully spread the salvaged books out on the deck of the boat, letting them air dry in the sunlight and sea breeze.
This silent action seemed to be a signal.
After crying for an unknown amount of time, until her voice was hoarse and she was exhausted, Olvia slowly raised her head.
She saw Liu Jiu's back as he salvaged and dried the books, and she also saw the knowledge carriers on the ship's deck that, though damaged, still stubbornly survived.
The despair and collapse in her eyes were gradually replaced by something deeper and more complex.
She struggled to sit up, forcefully wiping away her tears and snot with her sleeve, and joined the search and rescue efforts.
Her movements were slow, trembling from exhaustion, but her eyes were unusually firm.
Seeing this, Robin stopped crying and, like them, used her little hands to help tidy up the soaked pages of the book.
The sea breeze rustled the water-stained pages of the books spread out on the deck.
None of the three people spoke.
They silently cast ropes into the sea again and again, retrieval fragments of sunken civilizations, and then carefully unfold and dry them.
It was like a silent memorial service.
It's also like using this method to comfort the souls of those who sleep alongside the books.
O'Hara is dead.
But there are always some things that cannot be completely erased by gunfire.
For example, the continuation of knowledge.
For example, the fragmented memories that were salvaged.
Six months is enough time to change a lot of things.
The small boat that once carried three people adrift has long been obsolete. In its place is a larger, more robust medium-sized sailboat.
After Liu Jiu's simple modifications, the largest cabin of the ship was emptied, not to load cargo, but to house the tattered books salvaged from the seabed of Ohara.
Inside the ship's cabin, rows of waterproof wooden crates and specially made shelves were neatly arranged (or rather, as neatly as possible). Inside, books, scrolls, and scraps of paper, after initial cleaning and airing, were stored in categorized order. The air was perpetually filled with the salty smell of the sea, the musty odor of damp paper, and the aroma of herbs used for preservation and insect repellent.
This ship became a mobile, makeshift "Ohara Library wreckage restoration workshop".
The repair work is tedious and lengthy, requiring great patience and meticulousness.
Initially, progress was slow.
Although Olvia was very knowledgeable, she was not good at delicate work such as book restoration, and was more driven by a strong sense of dedication.
Liu Jiu was responsible for providing supplies, maintaining the safety of the ships, and using his frighteningly steady hands to perform some auxiliary tasks that required strength, such as flattening severely curled parchment.
The real turning point came with Robin.
Her "Flower-Flower Fruit" ability proved incredibly effective in the restoration work.
When she needed to hold together multiple loose and fragile pages of paper, she didn't need to touch them with her hands. With just a thought, several or even dozens of tiny hands identical to her own would silently grow from the walls, ceiling, and even the air in the cabin.
These tiny hands move with precision and stability, like the most skillful craftsmen. They can simultaneously pick up different repair tools—soft brushes, special glue for bonding, thin stone slabs for flattening…
One hand carefully brushed away the dirt and sand from the pages, while the other gently wiped away the stains with a soft cloth dampened with water; several little hands worked together to carefully align the edges of the torn pages; and even more little hands were responsible for applying glue and pressing it evenly with a slate...
Its efficiency far exceeds what human power can achieve.