Shrouded Seascape

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"No! I'm so close to home! I cannot die here!" Charles roared. In his bat form, he opened his monstrous mouth, and ear-piercing sonar waves rippled through the icy depths.

A trace of pain appeared on "King's" face. His fat, stubby hands reached out, trying to tear Charles' jaws apart. At this moment, Charles reverted to his human form, and the bugs from King instantly lost their grip on him.

The next moment, "King's" bloated stomach exploded, and a torrent of bizarrely deformed parasites surged through the sinking chunks of meat toward Charles. Charles was thrown into a perilous situation once again.

Cornered, Charles once again returned to his bat form and released another round of sonar attacks. The worms in the water trembled under the sonic attack and froze in place.

My chance! Charles switched back to his human form and dived downward in an attempt to escape.

But as he dived, a massive mouth was already waiting for him beneath. It was "King". His mouth had stretched to an abnormal size beyond that of a human. He looked more like a hideous caricature of a ghost.

This time, Charles didn't run. The excessive blood loss had fogged his mind, and he was also out of strength.

With a kick of his legs, Charles plunged directly into "King's" mouth. At the same time, he triggered the tentacle ring to prop open "King's" jaw.

"Die!" A vigorous stream of bubbles emerged from Charles' mouth. He lifted the Dark Blade in his hand and did a circular slash.

The blade pierced through the thick layer of fat and out of the skin, and Charles slashed along the grain with a swift moment. "King's" head was cleaved off.

Charles watched as the bloated body sank into the abyss of the deep sea. His vision blacked out as he felt his strength seeping away. His injuries were too severe.

Suddenly, a shadow darted through the waters. It was a shark that was lured over by the scent of blood!

The shark opened its ferocious jaws, and its rows of jagged teeth clamped down on Charles. Charles was dragged deeper into the waters by the shark's jaws.

"Captain! Captain!" Dipp shouted in distress. He paced anxiously on the deck as he looked at the blood-stained sea.

However, the sea offered no response and only silence. A few seconds later, a few dead bugs rose to the water's surface. Unable to wait any longer, Dipp took off his top and placed a dagger between his teeth, ready to plunge into the waters.

Bandages, who had been silent all this while beside him, stopped him. He reached for a bag on the deck and opened it to reveal several humans with various expressions of confusion and fear. Their mouths were stuffed with gauze, and regardless of their gender, they were all skin and bones dressed in tattered and worn rags.

After doing a headcount, Bandages pulled out a dagger and pointed it at his chest. The blade slowly pierced into his flesh, and crimson blood soon stained the bandages on his body.

The other crew members watched in silence. They seemed to have a vague idea what the First Mate was planning to do, but no one dared to stop him.

A trace of disgust surfaced on Laesto's hideous face. He took a swig of liquor from an iron kettle and turned his back to the scene.

Tap, tap, tap!

Suddenly, a series of knocks jolted everyone out of their daze. Second Mate Conor rushed to the side of the ship and stuck his neck out to look downward. A look of elation appeared on his face.

"It's Captain! Captain's back!! Doctor, quick! He's gravely injured!"

The crew hurriedly pulled Charles out of the waters. The timid Lily was so frightened by the sight that she burst into tears.

There wasn't a single part of Charles' body left untouched. His body was covered in gruesome wounds, the epidermis skin layer around his wounds had been washed clean by the sea and was now pale and turned outwards. She could even catch glimpses of his internal organs through the deep gash on his abdomen.

With trembling hands, Dipp tried to remove the Clown Mask from Charles' face. However, Charles' twisted arm halted the young lad's movement.

"Don't... take it... off... I won't... make it... Get out first..." Charles stuttered.

Overwhelmed by his anxiety, Conor nodded frantically and dashed toward the helm.

Ignoring the voices of concern around him, Charles stared at Lily, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Lily... My diary..." Charles called out.

By the time Lily the mouse appeared before Charles once more with his diary in her grasp, Charles was already lying on Laesto's surgery table. freewe(b)novel.c(o)m

Fishing out his pen, Charles exerted every last ounce of strength that he had to carefully transfer the nautical chart in his memory onto the pages. The moment he put down his pen, his consciousness went out.

When Charles came around once more, he found himself being bandaged like a mummy and lying on his own bed. His previously deaf ears could faintly register sounds again.

When he noticed the diary on the bedside table, a faint smile appeared on Charles' face.

Now that I've found the nautical chart. I just need to find that island with the stairway to return home.

"Yeah! That was tough! I almost died over a few lines on a piece of paper!" A voice of ridicule sounded in his head.

A chilling sensation instantly shot up Charles' spine. Trembling, his hands reached for his face and realized that he wasn't wearing the Clown Mask. He remained silent, and the room was also eerily quiet.

"Why are you not gone?" Charles could barely force out the words.

Immediately, his lips parted again, but this time, his voice held a different tone.

"Hey! How coincidental! I was thinking about that too!"

Creak!

At this moment, Laesto pushed the door open and entered the room. Looking at the old man, Charles hurriedly asked, "How long have I been wearing the mask?"

"The whole surgery. It works quite well. Wearing it, your blood loss is significantly reduced."

A trace of pain appeared on Charle's face beneath the bandages. Despite his precautions, he had failed to prevent the worst. The dreaded 096 had created another personality within his mind. 096 was really a dangerous item.

"Bro! You gotta thank me, ya know! If I hadn't taken off your mask while you were unconscious, there would be enough of us to have a game of mahjong or maybe even enough players for a full-on basketball game."

"So, having one additional personality instead of multiple in my body is a blessing now?"

"Hey, what do you mean 'your' body? We might have different personalities, but we are both still Gao Zhiming."

Laesto's face was etched with confusion as he watched the captain argue with himself.

Is there something wrong with his brain? Wasn't his injuries only physical?

Just as the two were getting heated up in an argument, Laesto jabbed a metallic syringe into Charles' arm.

"Old man, what's in this?" Charles asked.

"A sedative. Let's get your physical injuries healed first. We can deal with your brain issues later."

The next moment, Charles' eyes closed, and both personalities in his mind lost consciousness together.

When Charles came around once more, he had no idea how much time had passed. His wounds were beginning to itch, which was a sign of healing.

Charles took a deep breath, and after a few seconds of silence, he communicated to the alter ego in his brain.

"Hey, let's have a talk."

"You call me 'Hey'! That's not my name. That's not my name."

"When will you stop this nonsense!"

"Ah, I'm just joking~Why are you so worked up for? Come, let's have a heart-to-heart talk."