Shrouded Seascape

I need a ship and sufficient logistical support, Lily thought. Her destination was in distant, unknown waters, after all. She was extremely powerful, and it could be said that she was at the peak of what humans could achieve, but she still dared not throw caution to the wind in the face of the boundless, bizarre seascape.

It wasn't feasible for her to fly over a thousand kilometers by herself. It could technically be done, but she would die at even the slightest mishap along the way.

I can't die for now. Mr. Charles needs my help, Lily thought.

"I need a ship, an exploration vessel like Mr. Charles' Narwhale," Lily said to Mithila. If nothing else, Sottom surely had a usable ship or two. It was a ship-cum-island, after all.

Mithila had no reason to refuse. Once the King's orders were passed down, someone quickly appeared before them.

He was a bald, burly man with a scruffy beard. Overall, he looked slovenly and unkempt, but to make matters worse, he took a big swig of the bottle of liquor in his hand before brazenly sizing up Lily.

The bald, burly man was emanating a sour stench that made Lily wrinkle her brows, even though she was several meters away from him. Clearly, the bald fellow hadn't bathed in many days.

"His name is Klaus, and he's a qualified Explorer with lots of experience. Luck seems to be on his side as well, as he had survived so many expeditions," 134 said to Lily.

After the introduction, 134 turned to Klaus and said, "She's your employer. This is going to be an exploration mission, and she will accompany you the entire way."

Upon hearing that, Klaus instantly frowned. "A woman won't do, especially such a beautiful one. A woman as beautiful as her on the ship is like carrying a ticking time bomb."

A young woman on board a crowded ship would most likely make the strapping men restless. In other words, her presence would inevitably lead to issues. Thus, some ships would rather bring an ewe than a woman on board.

Klaus had been an Explorer for so long that he had heard some news about how an exploration ship had sunk because of just one single woman.

"Was I asking for your opinion? I gave you my orders! And you better not forget who gave you your brand-new ship. Take your crew and follow her. She's going to explore a vast unknown region," 134 said sternly.

"Besides, do you really think that you can lay a hand on her with those useless crew members of yours? Heh, I'd actually love to see you do that," 134 added. Then, she turned around and left without waiting for Klaus' reply.

Lily and Klaus were left alone in the spacious hall. They turned toward each other, and their gaze met in midair.

Lily found his gaze to be repulsive, but she was willing to hold out for the sake of the journey up ahead. With that in mind, Lily politely nodded to Klaus and said, "I'll be in your care."

Once again, Klaus sized up Lily from head to toe. Moments later, Klaus' head abruptly transformed into a snake's head. His snake mouth opened slightly, and two streams of venom burst out of his sharp fangs, rushing toward Lily.

Lily frowned slightly and flicked the foul-smelling venom onto the wall.

Klaus nodded in satisfaction at the sight and staggered toward the door.

"Hmph, I guess you're not just some silly girl who's read too many novels. It's fine as long as you can fend for yourself. I don't want to bring a burden on board. The ship is at Pier Three. We can set off today."

Lily was quiet. She was staring in surprise at the yarn doll with buttons for eyes in Klaus' back pocket. She had seen Klaus at the Colossal Hole Fortress before, and as far as she could remember, he was part of the exploration teams on the surface.

"Are you coming or not? If not, tell the King to cancel this mission," Klaus said. He was standing at the door with a bottle of liquor in hand.

"I'm coming," Lily said and followed after him.

Since they were both in a hurry, they made quick work of every pre-departure task. On the afternoon of the same day, Captain Klaus and the First Mate charted the course, and they finally got ready to set sail.

Standing on the pier, Lily gripped the straps of her backpack with both hands. After taking a deep breath of the salty, damp sea breeze, she walked toward the pitch-black exploration ship marred with scars.

Hooonk!

The steam whistle sounded, and black smoke billowed from the smokestack. Just like that, the ship—Maiden's Love—finally set sail.

134 and the others quietly watched as the ship left the pier.

Mithila kicked the wheelchair of the chubby man next to her and said, "Send some sentries to keep an eye on them. If they somehow make it back alive, I need to know exactly what happened to them."

The chubby man's triple chin quivered as he nodded. The next moment, three large pustules on his belly burst open, and winged insects squeezed their way out of the green, rotting pus.

The insects then flew toward Maiden's Love.

134 hugged the Tobba doll and silently watched as the ship vanished into the darkness.

"What do you think? Will that little girl succeed?" 134 asked, looking down at the Tobba doll.

The crew members on Maiden's Love were in stark contrast to the ship's name—they were vulgar and like savages. In fact, all of them seemed to be suffering from some kind of mental issue.

When the pure and lovely Lily boarded their ship, they all revealed the same smile. Their minds were also filled with thoughts more disgusting than the cesspit of a communal latrine.

In no time, an unfortunate fellow attempted to sneak into Lily's room, but Lily hurled him into the sea. He was rescued only to get stabbed three times by Klaus in the belly.

Klaus' ruthlessness and Lily's decisive actions instantly cooled down the crew members' heads.

Upon entering an unknown region, their impure desires were completely suppressed by the dread creeping up their hearts.

To avoid provoking the crew members into doing something unwise, Lily had been spending most of her time in her cabin. She would only come out for some fresh air once the crew were asleep.

Lily stood quietly at the stern with her eyes closed. She was listening to the waves while basking in the familiar rocking of the ship. At this moment, Lily felt as if she had returned to the Narwhale.

She couldn't help but start missing those emotions from back then. She really missed going on adventures with everyone. At the time, she was still a mouse, but everyone doted on her, and Mr. Charles was always by her side.

Those days were truly wonderful.

When she was reminded about what was going on behind the scenes, Lily sighed softly and opened her eyes. If she could choose, she would love to go back to Narwhale with everyone and continue exploring the seascape.

Unfortunately, her wish was destined to remain as a mere wish. Time always brought about changes, and it affected everything, including herself.

Just then, a faint band of light appeared on the sea up ahead.

The band of light was both colorful and beautiful, prompting Lily to take a closer look. It turned out that the light was coming from a large patch of luminous jellyfish. Their light had pervaded a big chunk of the sea.

"How beautiful. I had no idea that there was such a lovely sight at sea," Lily remarked, admiring the wondrous scene with a smile. Soon, however, her smile froze; she saw some shadows hidden behind the glaring light of the jellyfish.

The shadows were three colossal humanoid figures; there were rocks all over their heads and feet as they swam across the sea. Lily had no idea what they looked like, as the jellyfish's light could barely illuminate their calves.

A violent tremor ran across Lily as fear enveloped her entire being. Despite being a crew member of an exploration ship for such a long time, she had actually forgotten the iron-clad rule of the seascape—see no evil, hear no evil, think no evil.

Lily flew to her cabin at top speed. She then picked up a novel and began reading it intently. Time seemed to have crawled to a snail's pace, and as the seconds went by, Lily had no idea whether those things were still around or not.

Perhaps they had left, or perhaps… they had already surrounded the ship. Lily knew nothing except for the fact that the ship beneath her was still moving forward.