Shrouded Seascape

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By the time the Narwhale returned to the Coral Archipelago, a month had passed.

With new clues leading to the surface world, Charles was itching to set sail immediately to the City of Chaos, Sottom. However, his crew members were barely holding on.

A giant butterfly, the otherworldly divinity, bloodthirsty vampires. They had been through so much and the fatigue was apparent on their faces.

Charles didn't want to push them further. He knew that no one was a superhuman and they all needed a well-deserved rest. In fact, the Narwhale needed a break too.

The hastily installed turbines were pushed to their limit, and accompanied with the damages caused by the sonic attack, the Narwhale was overdue for some major repairs.

Standing aboard the battered vessel, Charles gently caressed her worn railing and muttered under his breath, "You've done well, my girl." 𝑓𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Mr. Charles. It seems like your expedition had been rather...tumultuous. What dangers did you encounter for your ship to be so heavily damaged?" A voice sounded from behind Charles. It was Woode, who had sold the Narwhale to him.

Woode was pretty surprised to see the Narwhale again. He had never anticipated that he would be able to lay his eyes on her again. After all, he thought that the ship had sailed to Davy Jones' locker.

Just then, a sudden premonition appeared in his mind. Perhaps, this young man before him truly had the potential to become the Governor of an island.

"How much are the repair costs?" Charles cut to the chase; he didn't want to waste his time engaging in small talk.

Woode hurried passed him the invoice and explained, "The total cost for replacing the turbines and refitting the entire deck adds up to 1.21 million Echo."

After signing off his name on the invoice, Charles did a rough calculation of his remaining cash reserves in his mind. Subtracting the repair costs and the crew's wages from the original 1.6 million Echo, he was left with a paltry sum of 150,000.

150,000 might sound like a significant amount, but it was dangerously low as the fund to be used for an exploration vessel's expedition. If they fail to yield any income during their next expedition, the Narwhale would be trapped in a financial quagmire.

For his next expedition, Charles was planning to head to Sottom. Since it was for a personal reason, the trip would surely yield no income. Charles found himself in a dilemma between his own goal and the crew's well-being.

He continued pondering as he walked toward the exit of the shipyard. The moment he exited the place, he spotted a familiar figure waiting by the roadside. It was Audric with his distinctive pair of sunglasses.

Charles approached Audric and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Mr. Charles," Audric's voice trembled slightly from his emotions as he bowed his head in the direction of the footsteps he heard. "Do you need additional manpower on your ship? I wish to join your crew."

"I'm sorry. My crew's at full capacity." Charles didn't hesitate for a single second and immediately turned Audric down. He walked past Audric and headed toward the distant docks. He held no discrimination against Audric for being a vampire. Rather, his dismissal was borne out of the fact that no ship would need a blind artist on board. What was he supposed to do, draw obituary portraits of the crew?

Before Charles could take a few steps, an anxious Audric caught up with him. "Captain Charles. I'm not a burden," he pleaded, his voice tinged with desperation. "I've ascended and gained new powers."

Audric's dark cloak rippled around his body and in a mere couple of seconds, he transformed into a black bat and circled Charles.

"Captain Charles, I'm now a Baron with the ability to shapeshift. When I'm in my bat form, I can navigate even without my vision."

Looking at the bat in front of him that was no larger than his forearm, Charles shook his head. With a swift flick of his right hand, his revolver appeared in his hand.

Bang!

As a gunshot rang out, the bat instantly fell to the ground and reverted into its human form. Audric winced in pain as he clutched his left shoulder.

"If you wish to live, you'd better off being an artist," Charles remarked in a cold voice as he kept his revolver away.

Hearing the fading footsteps, Audric hesitated for a brief moment before he suddenly called out, "Captain! Aren't you heading to Sottom to search for sunlight? I've been there forty years ago! I can guide you there!!"

"I don't need your help. I have my ways."

Anxiety filled Audric's face as he tried to further persuade Charles, "Mr. Charles, I can be a powerful asset to you. I may be blind but I'm still a vampire. My combat power surely far exceeds any of your crew members!"

Silence engulfed the air before Charles' voice sounded next to Audric's ears. "Aren't you afraid of sunlight? Why do you want to join me?"

A bitter smile appeared on Audric's face and he answered, "You might find this hard to believe, but your crew earn more from one expedition than what I can scrape together in several years. I'm jealous of them. I don't have any desires or lofty ambitions. I just want to have a job that can assure me a stable and peaceful life."

Staring at the vampire before him, Charles had a complex expression. This was the first time he had encountered a vampire as hapless as Audric. Also, he seemed to have a very weird concept of what a stable and peaceful life entailed.

"Captain Charles? Are you still there?" Audric's uncertain voice shattered the silence.

"You are now a sailor of the Narwhale."

"Thank you, Captain!"

August 3, 8th Year of Cross Over

My crew and I safely arrived at the Coral Archipelago three days ago.

The blind vampire, Audric, has joined the crew. He seems to be rather timid; this personality trait is something I'm not particularly fond of. However, he should manage fine as an ordinary sailor. His shapeshifting ability could prove useful if I have him work as a watchman.

Vampires also have strong regenerative powers. The previous batch of sailors have all perished. I need to find some that won't die that easily.

Next, I plan to head to Sottom to search for the sunlight contained in a box. If it is truly sunlight, then there must be a way leading to the surface.

Click.

The sound of the door being pushed open interrupted Charles' scribbling in his diary. He turned toward the direction of the sound and saw Lily entering the room with her ears dropped and a cluster of mice trailing after her.

"Where have you been?" Charles asked.

The dejected Lily clambered up the blanket on the pillow and then plopped down onto it with apparent despair.

"I'm not telling you..." Lily muttered.

Charles shook his head and closed his diary with a quiet thud. He then stood up and said, "I'm heading out for a while. Watch the place while I'm gone."

The white mouse perked her head up atop the soft pillow and asked, "Mr. Charles, where are you going?"

"It's Saturday, the day where the captains gather at the Explorers Association. I'm going there to see if I can gather some information."

"That sounds interesting! Take me with you too!" Lily squeaked in excitement.

"Stay here and guard the room," Charles replied with an icy expression and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

As she watched the door being heartlessly closed on her, Lily punched the pillow in a childish fit of fury.

"Mr. Charles is so mean!" Lily cried out and delivered a few more punches toward the pillow. She then plopped down on it. "Hmph. Since you don't want to take me along, I'll just sleep. And I'll annoy the hell out of you when you try to sleep tonight."

Time unknowingly trickled away as Lily slept. However, a sudden knock roused Lily from her slumber.

As the knocking on the door persisted, Lily grew flustered.

"Wh-Who is it! There's no one here!"

With a loud snap, the door handle was forcefully twisted downward and an unsightly, terrifying tentacle monster stood at the door. freeweb(n)ovel.com

Lily let out a piercing shriek the moment she laid eyes on the convulsing tentacles and its giant eyes filled with intense rage. The brown mice immediately surrounded Lily and bared their sharp fangs at the intruder.

Staring at the screaming white mouse, the grotesque tentacle creature underwent a rapid transformation and a sexy woman materialized in the room.

Lily's eyes widened in surprise at the beauty before her. She recognized the woman before her to be the one that the blind artist had painted.

"I see, it's just a mouse. You gave me quite a scare, little thing. I heard a woman's voice and thought Gao Zhiming was cheating on me behind my back." Anna flashed a gentle smile at the mouse.