Shrouded Seascape

Charles cast an indifferent gaze at Sniffler, who was standing before him in the Captain's Quarters of the Narwhale.

Vampire Sniffler seemed particularly restrained and was sitting ramrod straight. Neither of the two spoke as they sat quietly, seemingly waiting for someone.

A few minutes later, a massive bat with a wingspan of one meter flew in through the window. The bat folded its wings and transformed into Audric's figure. "Captain, I heard you were looking for me."

"He's from the Dark Crystal Island. Come here and check him out," Charles said, tapping his steel fingers on the table.

Audric was stunned. Moments later, his nose twitched, and he cast his eyes, which were hidden behind his sunglasses, at Sniffler sitting on the side. "Who was the elder who bestowed upon you the Embrace?"

Sniffler glanced at Audric, but he did not want to talk to the latter. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blood-red crystal ball.

"Captain, you do not have to be doubtful of my intentions. I'm just a messenger, and I'm here to tell you that the Mother has decided to talk to you personally," Sniffler said. He squeezed the blood-red crystal ball, causing it to shatter.

A thick, coagulated blood mist rushed out of the crystal ball, and it pervaded the room in the blink of an eye. The nauseating stench of blood filled the entire cabin as well.

The blood mist transformed into red threads that interweaved, gradually transforming into a gorgeous lady before Charles' eyes. The remaining bits and pieces transformed into a red cloth that covered the lady's figure.

Lilith had a gorgeous and petite figure. It would be easy to misunderstand her for a young woman who had just reached her twenties. However, Charles knew that Lilith was several centuries older than himself.

When Lilith appeared, Audric and Sniffler immediately lowered their heads, and their eyes became filled with respect.

"Governor Charles, I still remember the first time you visited my island years ago. It is truly a surprise to see that you've developed your own island into such a powerhouse in just a few years. What a truly impressive feat." Lilith's soft voice sounded pleasant to the ears.

Charles crossed his arms and leaned back slightly in his chair. "We have no time to waste, so go straight to the point. What do you want from me?"

Lilith covered her mouth and let out a charming chuckle. "How straightforward you are, child. Anyway, I've come here to help you."

Charles remained silent as he waited for Lilith's explanation.

"Dark Crystal Island is the home of my children and descendants. I can order them to help you search for the darkness."

"Sure, you're welcome to join us," Charles responded. He certainly wouldn't refuse additional help, especially from the vampires, who were capable of flight. They'd certainly be a great asset in their exploration of the bizarre surface world.

Identities no longer mattered in the search for the darkness. After all, the tragedy that would unfold if the darkness wasn't found in time was going to affect everyone throughout the Subterranean Sea.

"But... we can't help you for nothing; we have one demand."

"A demand?" Charles smiled disdainfully and asked, "Do you even have a choice? The rising sea level is affecting your island as well."

Lilith's blood-red figure trembled as she furrowed her brows. "Can you wait until I'm done speaking? It is very rude to interrupt others in the middle of their speech."

Charles didn't reply. Upon seeing that Charles had offered no resistance, Lilith paced around the cabin on her blood-red high heels. Thin wisps of red mist drifted from her blood-red figure as she walked around the cabin.

"Charles, you're now considered the overlord of the Northern Seas. I want you to bestow upon a legal status on the members of the Blood Clan, which would allow them to live in a human society."

Charles was taken aback to hear such a request from the Vampire Mother herself. It seemed that the vampires, who had been isolating themselves all this while, were planning on taking advantage of this opportunity to rejoin human society.

"I need to discuss this with the others," Charles said. He had decided to remain ambiguous for now.

However, Lilith wasn't satisfied with such an ambiguous answer; she stood right in front of Charles and faced the latter with her stunning facial features.

"Governor Charles, I hope you know that this is a win-win situation for both of us. Allow us to live in human society, and we will never forget your kindness.

"From then on, the Blood Clan will become Hope Island's closest ally. Strength is important in this world, but it is not the most important. I believe that knowing how to win over people's hearts is the most important skill in this world."

Lilith stretched a finger toward Charles' prosthetic arm, and she stroked his arm slowly, leaving behind a red line across Charles' steel arm.

"The problem here is the fact that you're vampires, which are monsters that feed on human blood. What's going to happen once you've obtained legal status? I can't even imagine just how many vampires would exist throughout the Subterranean Sea after just a hundred years since obtaining legal status."

"Governor Charles, your worries are misplaced. It is true that the Blood Clan feeds on human blood, but what are we going to eat if there are no longer humans around? We're more concerned about this matter than you.

"In addition, the sunlight shining down on Hope Island is our bane. We absolutely will never approach such a hellish place. I think that rather than worrying about something in the far future, you should worry about the near future first.

"After all, we're all going to die if the darkness isn't found soon."

Charles pondered for a while before saying, "All right, but I have my own demand. I want you to tell me everything about the past, including the time before the Foundation captured you."

Charles wanted to know more about the past, and what would be a more reliable source of information than the living fossil before him?

"Someone invited me to come down here; they said that there's no sunlight here, so I came here."

Charles stared into Lilith's eyes and enunciated each world clearly as he said, "Don't lie to me. I explored the island where the Foundation imprisoned you. O—Type 3 Sideroblastic Anemia Porphyria Patient: Lilith. Is that right?"

A trace of panic fleeted across Lilith's eyes, and she suppressed it in the blink of an eye before turning to her two descendants standing behind her. "You two are dismissed."

The two vampires had been standing ramrod straight all this while; they did not hesitate and left upon hearing Lilith's command.

Lilith sat on the table and asked, "What else do you know about me? Are you from the Foundation?"

Charles shook his head and said, "I'm not interested in you. I'm interested in what happened on the surface long ago."

The two turned to look outside the window, staring at the hazy purple mist outside.

Gazing at the purple mist, bewilderment fleeted across Lilith's face. She then walked up to the window and slowly said, "I have no idea what happened to the surface.

"I think the ship that the Foundation had used to send me down here must've been Noah's Ark. They must've known that a catastrophe was coming, and it was going to annihilate mankind, so they decided to relocate to the Subterranean Sea before it happened."

Charles had considered that possibility long ago, but even though there was a high chance that it was true, it was still speculation rather than the truth.

"What year was it when you were brought down here?"

"It was 1991. The Foundation took me from an orphanage, and they injected me with some kind of serum that transformed me into a vampire.

"The Foundation was doing an experiment to optimize human genes using vampires at the time. Vampires have a superior genetic constitution compared to humans, after all."

"And they actually got really close to succeeding. The vampires of my generation could already barely eat human food at the time."

Charles was stunned at the revelation. It turned out that his assumption was wrong. The Foundation hadn't captured Lilith but had created her instead.

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