Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 608: Reason

Charles let out a soft sigh. He thought they had a chance to interact with the Foundation but considering their current circumstances, that opportunity seemed completely out of reach now.

"Captain, should we still ascend further?" Audric asked with a slight caution in his voice.

Charles shook his head slightly. "We'll wait for all the mice to return, and we'll leave. We can reassess the situation when the main fleet has arrived."

Charles' decision had all the crew collectively let out a sigh of relief. The prolonged period of exploration had pushed them to their limits. They were exhausted; after all, they were not made of iron.

The last mouse soon returned and confirmed their suspicions—there were no monsters on this island. Even the previous one they had encountered was one that had come from the Foundation's own aircraft.

"Let's go. We'll retreat for now," Charles said as he picked up the diary from the ground.

However, as he turned to the latest page of the journal, his pupils contracted to the size of a needle's tip. A new entry had appeared; it was still written in Chinese.

Perched on Charles' shoulder, Lily couldn't understand why the former suddenly froze. She asked curiously, "Mr. Charles, what's wrong? Aren't we going back down?"

Charles shook his head slightly, his next words stopping the crew in their tracks. "I'm afraid we can't leave just yet."

June 10, Year 808

I died. It happened so suddenly. Just as I was leading the crew to leave, a crescent moon-like beam fell from the sky, slicing us into pieces.

Is this the end for me? I cannot accept this. Why did it all have to end now? Anna, I'm sorry.

The latest entry was written from Charles' perspective but after his death.

The crew gathered around the diary once more. And after hearing Charles' explanation, they finally understood the situation.

Now, they found themselves in a dilemma. Charles wasn't sure if they should leave the island. If they left, would they really die?

"Maybe it's a bluff? Maybe someone is trying to scare us into staying on this island," Dipp broke the silence.

"That's... unlikely... It doesn't explain... why that person... matched the captain's... writing and tone... perfectly," Bandages countered Dipp's theory.

"I agree with the First Mate. All of you saw it. None of us touched this diary. It can't be that the diary is writing that entry itself," another added.

The crew exchanged theories about the strange phenomena, but eventually, they turned their eyes onto Charles.

The decision of where to stay or go, how should they proceed, all of that rested entirely on Charles. Their lives were in Charles' hands, and one wrong move could spell disaster for everyone.

Charles wondered if he was overreacting when suddenly, he saw the eye of the gutted and dead tuna in his hand move!

He immediately jumped to his feet and scanned his surroundings with heightened alert. Am I seeing things? Or have we been affected by something? Or am I going crazy again?

"Mr. Charles, what's wrong?" Lily asked, the hint of concern undeniable in her voice.

Charles shook his head, but his eyes darted around the crew members before eventually settling on Audric. The vampire was still scratching himself all over.

Charles dashed over, his prosthetic limb instantly transforming into a chainsaw that slashed toward Audric.

"Captain!"

"Audric! Quick, run!"

The next moment, everyone froze in shock. The rapidly spinning chainsaw struck Audric, but his clothes remained intact.

"Are your clothes a relic?" Charles asked.

"No, they are just regular clothing. Why?"

"Stop talking and quickly take it off! Everyone, strip!" Charles' voice suddenly turned deadly serious.

As soon as his words fell, he started to tear off his own clothes.

Audric seemed startled by Charles' instructions but sensing the underlying urgency, he began to unfasten his cloak and unbutton his shirt. Just as he finished undoing the buttons and tried to take it off, he froze. "My clothes... seem to be stuck."

Now topless, Charles wasted no time and lunged at Audric. Grabbing Audric's collar with both hands, he yanked it backward with a fierce pull. A loud ripping sound resonated through the air, and a spray of blood followed right after as Audric screamed in pain.

The skin and flesh on his back had been torn away along with the fabric.

Charles turned to everyone. His voice was filled with urgency as he commanded, "Don't just stand there! Strip everything! Now!"

"Captain, what's going on?" Dipp asked as he hurriedly stripped off his own clothes.

"What? Can't you see? Everything on us is turning into relics! My diary, Audric's clothes, everything!"

Earlier, Charles was still puzzled as to why the Foundation members donned such heavy spacesuits and what they were protecting themselves against. Now, he finally knew the reason behind it.