Chapter 221. New Objective
The oil lamp in the Captain's cabin flickered with the waves, and the sound of the waves crashing against the Narwhale's hull proved the choppiness of the nearby waters.
Charles' brows were slightly furrowed as he stared at the paper in front of him, which had all kinds of chaotic and disorderly information written in Chinese.
041, the Foundation's Main Island, 003, God Fhtagn, Doctor K9, XK-level scenario.
His encounter with the Foundation staff, Aaron, was brief, but Charles had obtained a ton of information from the former. Charles believed he would find useful clues from the information Aaron had given to him.
"The clothes you're wearing should have been enough hint for me to realize that Doctor K9 failed in her experiment and that it must have resulted in the worst XK-level scenario."
Those were Aaron's original words. Coupled with the mantises' words about how the presence of the surface dwellers above would only bring calamity, and the existence of Project God Fhtagn, Charles felt a foreshadowing of ominousity.
"Could... Could those guys be researching God Fhtagn like how they are researching the relics? Are they dabbling in the realm of Divinities? " The Foundation's disappearance finally made sense to Charles. "XK-level scenario... it must have been an absolute nightmare of a disaster."
Just then, a terrifying thought popped up in Charles' mind.
The Foundation's connections had to be terrifying; it had to have been an extraordinary organization with support from the major powers on the surface. With that in mind, just how did they fail to overcome the Divinities?
Charles had once seen the cataclysmic might of a hydrogen bomb. Charles couldn't imagine a creature surviving such a destructive force. However, if the Divinities were capable of withstanding such power, were they perhaps truly divine?
Charles staggered; his pale demeanor briefly became visible beneath the swaying light. The appearance of God Fhtagn's statue and that ball of flesh covered in eyes fleeted across his mind.
What exactly are the Divinities? What does their existence mean to us humans?
"G—"
Charles flinched at the noise that suddenly echoed in his ears. He rose to his feet with a terrified expression and panted heavily. He listened closely and soon discovered that it was a knocking noise coming from beneath the ship. The maddening murmurs hadn't come back.
Charles set his thoughts aside. He crushed the paper in his hand and hurled it out the window.
His thoughts were nothing but wild guesses. He had to go to the Foundation's main island to uncover the truth. No matter the identity of 319, he needed it to extract the information in his brain, and everything would come to light by then.
Charles's gaze landed on the desk; Aaron's nautical chart lay quietly on the left side. The nautical chart was filled with many islands, but one island in particular was marked out in red. The island was his next destination.
The Foundation's main island is in the Northern Seas. Since their main island is there, it means the Foundation's activities were conducted primarily in the Northern Seas.
Picking up a pen and a ruler, Charles was about to etch their new route, but his hand came to a halt in mid-air. He hurriedly took out the nautical chart that he had received from the Pope and compared it with Aaron's nautical chart.
Soon, he realized that the Pope's nautical chart didn't contain the Foundation's main island. The words "main island" alone were enough evidence to prove that the island was markedly more important than the other islands, so how would it be possible that there was no information on it from Newbound City?
Was it because they truly had no idea of the main island's existence, or had the Pope deliberately refrained from giving him such information?
Charles had always been suspicious of the Pope and his motives, and now, that suspicion had grown deeper.
I can't let him know of this nautical chart, Charles thought and his heart steeled with a decision. The Pope was clearly hiding something from him, so wouldn't it be fair for him to hide something from the former as well?
Having made a decision, Charles focused on the task at hand and started etching their new route into the nautical chart as the lights flickered along with the choppy waves. With Charles' expertise as a captain and a painter, he soon finished up. He then stood and walked toward the pilot house with the nautical chart in hand.
"This is our next route. Take a look at it for me, and tell me if there's anything that needs to be addressed," Charles said to Bandages before handing over the nautical chart.
Assisting the Captain in the voyage planning was one of the First Mate's jobs.
"It's good," Bandages replied, "But...we...need...more crew...members."
"Yeah, we do need more crew members." Charles nodded in agreement and said, "We've suffered such a heavy loss this time."
There were three casualties and one deserter. To make matters worse, the deserter was his most trusted crew member.
"Captain...have you... seen Dipp?" Bandages asked without moving his hands away from the helm.
Instead of answering his First Mate, Charles returned a question, "How did you know?"
"I saw... Deep Dweller's...footprints... while patrolling... it came on board and didn't attack...it must've been him..."
"Mmhm..." Charles cast his gaze at the pitch-black waters as a certain emotion twirled quietly in his eyes.
A deafening silence enveloped the two until Bandages shattered the ice by asking, "Should we... take him... back...?"
"Take him back? How? He's no longer human. And have you forgotten what he did?"
"He did it...for... your sake."
"For my sake? He tried to change me into a disgusting monster for my sake? I watched him grow up, and now that he's gotten a bit older, he actually dares to make decisions for me? It's that brat's fault that three of our crew members died!"
The thought of Dipp's betrayal suffused Charles' face with fury, but he quickly suppressed it. He soon continued in a low voice. "I don't think those Deep Dwellers are willing to help others unconditionally. Now that he's a Deep Dweller, there's a possibility that his personality might have changed as well."
In this seascape, aside from fish, there had never been anything good beneath the surface of the sea.
"So...should we go back...and go on to recruit another boatswain? Or...wait...?" Bandages asked.
Hesitation flashed briefly in Charles' eyes upon recalling the recent few times when Dipp had lent him a hand. He pondered briefly before saying, "Let's go back and see if there's a way to turn him back.
"If we manage to turn him back and get rid of the two personas in his head, perhaps we'll be able to get him back."
Charles was furious at the betrayal, but Dipp had been with him for so many years to the extent that the latter had become like a son to him.
The chances were slim, but he wanted to give it a try.
Moreover, they were in the seascape, where everything seemed possible. Charles also thought that perhaps Anna had a way or two to turn Dipp back to human.
Bandages nodded and asked, "How's...your mental condition... holding up?"
"I'm doing fine. I haven't experienced any auditory hallucinations recently, and I've been having the best sleep these days, so I should be fine."
"That's... great."
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