Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 686: Pattern

After a brief moment of pondering, Charles summoned the first mate and the second mate to his quarters so that they could discuss their next move.

They were not in danger at the moment, but they were in a dilemma. It was hard to guarantee where the white sphere would appear next if they were to leave it alone. What if it engulfed the entire Narwhale the next time it appeared?

The three soon reached a decision—they had to explore the white sphere, and this time, they'd send real people rather than mice. They believed that since the mice managed to return unharmed, humans would remain unharmed as well.

The candidates were quickly selected, as the Narwhale only had a few crew members capable of flight. Ultimately, the two vampire crew of the Narwhale were selected to do the task.

"Take a good look and see whether there's something noteworthy inside of it or not," Charles said to Audric.

Audric nodded and said, "Don't worry, Captain. We'll definitely help you figure out what that thing is."

And just like that, the two bats made their way swiftly toward the distant white sphere...

Staring at their distant figures, Charles pondered briefly over something before saying, "Move us a bit closer to them, and make sure the turbines are at full power so we can move away as soon as possible."

As the Narwhale moved closer and closer to the white "ping-pong sphere," it steadily grew in size until it became as huge as four moons combined.

Soon, the Narwhale was close enough to the white sphere that Charles could clearly see the holes of varying sizes in it. From this angle, the interconnected holes eerily resembled a howling skull.

Linda nervously gulped a mouthful of her saliva. Her clenched hands were trembling slightly; she was clearly worried about her husband.

Grace was standing next to Linda, and this was her first time in such a nerve-wracking situation, so she couldn't help but feel anxious as she glanced alternatingly between the white sphere and the faces of the crew members.

Meanwhile, the crew members seemed unfazed. They had long grown accustomed to something like this. Thirty minutes went by in a flash, and there was still no sign of the two vampires.

Everyone was waiting quietly for the two vampires' return, but the sphere seemed to have run out of patience as it began transforming. At first, Charles thought that his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he quickly realized that the sphere was becoming larger in his eyes, so he immediately ordered a swift retreat.

Fortunately, the Narwhale wasn't that close to the white sphere, so they had ample time to avoid it. The white sphere also wasn't chasing after the Narwhale.

The Narwhale easily avoided a head-on collision with the enlarged white sphere, but the two vampire crew never emerged from it.

"Keep an eye on the ship! I'll go and bring them back!" Charles exclaimed and kicked off of the gunwale with his right foot. His figure morphed into a bat monster in mid-air, and then he made a beeline for the two.

Seeing the winding and twisted cracks in the white sphere's surface as well as its slightly yellowed color beneath its moonlight, Charles finally understood why the mice had taken a bite of it. The entire thing truly looked like a bone.

A massive invisible tentacle burst out of the white sphere's surface and wrapped around the two men before tossing them in Charles's direction. Charles caught them with his talons and returned to the Narwhale.

The two vampires sprawled out on the Narwhale's deck with faces twisted in pain.

The crew members converged on them with worried looks.

"Don't touch them! Stand back! Let me handle this!" Linda exclaimed. She was wearing a pair of gloves, and she immediately crouched down to examine them.

"Dipp, don't just stand there and move us away from here! We can't stay here for too long! We have to leave this place as soon as possible!!" Charles shouted. He then crouched down and watched as Linda examined the two men.

The two men had taken on bizarre and pained faces. Saliva was dripping constantly from their mouths, and their eyeballs were jumping around as if they were electrified. To make matters worse, they looked absolutely terrified.

"What's wrong with them?!" Charles asked.

"I don't know! They have no external injuries!" Linda exclaimed. She then shoved her hand into the two men and skillfully felt their organs. "There's no problem with their insides as well. This seems to be a psychological issue."

"Audric, it's me!! Respond to me if you can hear me!" Linda exclaimed.

And that was when Audric gasped; his jumping eyeballs returned to their normal positions. He had come to his senses, but his expression still depicted abject fear as he exclaimed, "Captain! There are too many of them! I-I don't want it! B-but... they wouldn't stop shoving more of it in! I-I just can't take it anymore!!"

Audric opened his mouth and bit his own arm. His sharp fangs reduced his arm into a bloody mess in just a few moments.

Charles moved quickly and restrained Audric with his invisible tentacles.

"Calm down!" Charles raised his prosthetic hand and slapped Audric in the face. "What exactly did you see back there?!"