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Chapter 2: Monster
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”Do as I say! I know my ship”
After shouting at the engine room, Charles looked down at his first mate on the ground and said, "John! Go unload half of the cargo on the ship!"
He knew that the crucial moment was not the time to hesitate, that being alive was more important than anything else
"Aye!" the chubby old man kicked open the cockpit door and rushed out.
As he heard the sound of the cargo splashing into the water, Charles felt a sense of anguish and sorrow in his heart.
Fortunately, the series of measures taken proved effective. After a few more collisions, the Rat, who was agile and nimble, began to accelerate and gradually left the pursuer behind.
When he saw the actual navigational marker appear before the bow of the ship, Charles, who was sweating profusely, finally relaxed his grip on the ship's helm.
The teenager who had been crouching on the ground trembled as he crawled up to Charles' feet and clung tightly to his thigh.
"Captain... Captain, I just... I just saw -"
Charles immediately clasped the teenager's cheeks with his hand, preventing him from continuing to speak.
"What's the third rule I told you before we boarded the ship?"
"The sea monsters in the water should not be seen or thought of, and even if we see them, we should not speak of them unless they come close to our ship."
"Very well. Stand up and go anchor the ship first, then notify everyone on board to gather on the deck. I need to take a headcount," said Charles.
After Charles finished speaking, he released his grip and walked out of the wheelhouse. The deck was in disarray with water everywhere, and the ropes that had been used to tie down the cargo were floating on the surface of the sea and swaying back and forth.
Charles waded through the water that reached up to his calves and made his way to the stern of the ship. The spindle-shaped stern looked like it had been hit by a giant hammer, with a large piece of it caved in and covered in some kind of unknown black goo that emitted a continuous stench.
Looking at the damage or the ship, it was very easy to imagine the size of the monster that hit the ship earlier. But eight years of sailing had worn away Charles' curiosity, and at this point, he was thinking about other issues.
"Repairing this thing will cost me a lot of money..." Charles said with some frustration, feeling like he was one step further away from his dream.
Just at that moment, the murmurs in his ears resounded again, as if spreading out from the darkness around him.
“ph……nglui mglw……nafh……”
"Damn it!" Charles furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his fist, repeatedly hitting his forehead with the back of his hand. The pain helped to ease the restlessness brought on by the murmurs in his head.
When Charles saw the other crew members starting to gather on the deck, he lowered his hand and walked over.
Upon seeing their captain approaching, several men of varying heights quickly lined up in a row. Regardless of their appearances, their faces were as frighteningly pale as Charles'.
"John, first mate; assist the captain and organize the work plan, responsible for the cargo loading plan, and also a helmsman from 12 to 24." The first to speak was the chubby old man.
Standing next to Old John was a tall, muscular man with blue clothes covered in engine oil. After the first mate finished speaking, he quickly added: "James, second engineer; responsible for maintaining the normal working order of the turbines, as well as maintaining the propulsion devices, auxiliary equipment, boilers, lubrication, cooling, and fuel."
Next to the tall and muscular man was a thin man who was as tall and skinny as a utility pole."Freyr, chef; responsible for the crew's meals."
Following the chef was Deep, who looked terrified. His body was a bit unsteady, and he seemed to have not yet recovered from the fear. "Deep, sailor; esponsible for deck cleaning, anchor, cable, loading, and unloading equipment maintenance and repair work."
Quickly scanning the four people in front of him, Charles immediately noticed that one person was missing. "Where is the boatswain?" he asked, his voice becoming cold.
The four of them looked at each other but no one answered.
"Ah!" Suddenly, a scream of despair came from below the deck.
"Something boarded the ship! Grab your weapons!" Charles exclaimed as he quickly rushed towards the source of the scream, followed by the others.
As they arrived at the dimly-lit crew's quarters, everyone immediately felt a chill running down their spines.
Inside the dimly-lit cabin, there were only two people - one was standing, who was the Rat's boatswain, looking terrified.
The other person was lying face down, and it was difficult to recognize who he was because his skin had been stripped off, leaving his body exposed to the ground. Every time his body touched the floor, it caused him immense pain and he shuddered in agony.
The man was lying on the ground in a blurred state, screaming in pain and struggling in despair, his breath becoming weaker and weaker.
"Jim! Ask him for his identity!" Charles quickly pulled out his revolver from his waist.
The boatswain crawled over with fear on his face and leaned in to listen to the disfigured head in front of him.
After a few seconds, he turned around in panic and pointed at Charles, saying, "Captain... he says he is you!"
"Me?"
Hearing the panicked footsteps of the crew behind him, Charles decisively pointed the gun at the boatswain.
"Charles, captain, responsible for the safe transportation, production, and administrative management of the ship, ensuring the safety of the ship and crew to the greatest extent possible, handle all matters decisively and prudently in case of emergency, and helmsman from 0 to 12. Boatswain, now report your duties!"
"You guys, hurry up and kill him!! He's no longer your captain!" The boatswain pointed fearfully at Charles.
"Bang!" As Charles pulled the trigger, a bullet hole appeared in the boatswain's forehead. Instead of blood, semi-solid dark yellow liquid flowed out from it.
As the disguise was exposed, the wounded boatswain's body began to twist and change. His mouth split open to the back of his head, and his limbs quickly swelled up. With a strange howling sound, he rushed towards Charles.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Bullets rained down on the boatswain's body, tearing apart his skin like a torn sack, exposing the black, rotten, and twisted body underneath, resembling that of a toad shedding its skin.
All six bullets were fired, but the monster still didn't die. It opened its limbs and pounced toward the human in front of it.
Charles seemed to have experienced this many times before, his face showed no signs of panic. He rolled his body to the side and dodged the monster's attack.
While dodging, his hands didn't stop either. The revolver was already loaded again, and with a flip of his hand, he fired six shots directly.
Under the attack of twelve bullets, the monster's backward-jointed legs went weak, and it collapsed to the ground.
Charles, panting heavily, took a glance at the corpse in front of him that made humans feel instinctively nauseous, then turned his head to look at the terrified sailors behind him.
"Don't just stand there, throw this damn thing off the ship," Charles said and walked towards the motionless bloody corpse.
Ignoring the overwhelming smell of blood, he used his hands to turn the head of the corpse around. When he saw that one of the front teeth was missing, Charles knew that this was his boatswain. .
A look of pain flashed across Charles's face, but he quickly regained his composure, reloaded his gun with bullets, and began to patrol his ship, searching for any other hidden enemies.
Carrying the corpse together with first mate John with difficulty, Deep said to his companion, "The captain is actually so skilled." His voice had a tinge of surprise, and he seemed to have recovered from the fear.
"Haha, of course. Otherwise, why would he be the captain while you are just a sailor? Actually, he was just like you when he boarded his first ship," John replied.
"Really? What was Captain Charles like when he boarded his first ship?" Deep asked curiously.
"Well, it's a long story. It's been almost seven or eight years. I was still the third mate on another ship when Charles drifted over from the sea. When I first met him, he couldn't even speak," John replied.
"Really? How did he become the captain then?" Deep asked again.
"The old captain took pity on him and let him follow from behind the ship. When we arrived at the dock and found out he wasn't a monster, he stayed on our ship. He learned to speak and to be a sailor. Not long after he learned to speak, he announced that he wanted a ship of his own to lead all of humanity back to the land of light. We all laughed at him and thought he was crazy back then," John continued.
"What happened afterwards?" Deep asked.
"Afterwards, he worked his way up from a sailor to a third mate, and then became a second mate. We all thought he would become a first mate next, but he surprised us all by saving up enough money to buy a second-hand cargo ship. And that's how we ended up on this ship, the Rat," John said.
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