Chapter 296. Submerge
Truthfully speaking, this voyage was not so different from the previous voyages. Weister thought that way, but he remained under pressure for another reason—the retrofitted Narwhale.
The previous test run made Weister realize what his Captain was trying to do. Charles wanted to explore the forbidden region of this bizarre seascape—the seafloor.
Weister had never gotten a whiff of a decent sleep over the past few days. He would have nightmares about the ship getting captured by bizarre sea creatures and the entire ship getting dragged into the pitch-black abyss of the deep sea.
"Captain... Are we... really going down there?" Weister asked gingerly. His trembling fingers pinched a cigarette stick.
"Of course, did you think I had the ship retrofitted to have fun?" Charles asked.
"Wh-What exactly are we looking for on the seafloor?" Weister asked.
"We're going to look for something that had fallen into an underwater chasm. I think it's around five hundred meters down below. We're just going to look for it, so I don't think it's going to be that dangerous," Charles remarked.
Weister's cigarette trembled uncontrollably. How could diving to such depths be safe?
Seeing Weister's horrified expression, Charles patted the young man's shoulder and said, "Don't be so worried all the time. Just think about who you are doing this for. Think about your family on the island."
Weister was quiet at Charles' remark. After a while, he composed himself and gave a firm nod. He knew that money didn't come easily. But he would risk it all for his mother and siblings!
Weister placed the cigarette between his lips and sucked in greedily before erupting into a fit of coughs.
Charles examined the young man before him and was reminded of his teenage self ten years ago.
The visage of a kind old woman, Weister's mother, popped up in Charles' mind. He pondered briefly before saying, "How about you just stay on the island once we're done with this voyage?"
A tinge of temptation fleeted across Weister's eyes, but it was quickly replaced with the light of a firm resolve. "No, I'm not going to stay on the island. My goal is to make my family happy through my own efforts, and I can do that here."
Charles' lips curved up slightly at the young man's determined expression and decided not to persuade him further.
"How's your mother doing these days?" Charles asked.
The fear and anxiety in Weister's eyes were assuaged when he heard Charles asking about his family. He seemed thrilled and excited to talk about his family as he spoke animatedly, "She's doing well! I actually bought her a hand-crank sewing machine using the last bit of my money. Now, she can take on some small jobs.
"As for my younger siblings, I enrolled them in school. This way, they'll be able to live decent lives even if I end up dying at sea. Ah, right, Captain. Is it true that you provide a generous death benefit?"
Weister remained afraid of death, but he seemed to have accepted the fact that he could die anytime at sea.
Just then, the cabin door opened, and the blind vampire sailor walked out.
"Oh, you're here, Captain?" Audric glanced briefly at Charles before walking over to Weister. He revealed his sharp fangs and sank them into Weister's neck.
"What are you doing?" Charles asked, sounding puzzled.
"Ah!" Weister gasped before silently enduring the pain. He then turned to Charles and explained, "I lost a card game to him last night. I lost five liters of blood. Hey, do it gently..."
"Why are the stakes that high? How much blood do you even have? Anyway, Audric, didn't you bring blood bags with you? Why are you drinking his blood?"
Audric's fangs popped out of Weister's neck. Audric cleaned his blood-stained fangs with his crimson tongue, and a look of satisfaction suffused his face.
He then turned to Charles and explained, "Captain, bagged blood cannot possibly compare to fresh blood. Don't you frequently drink blood yourself? I'm sure you can tell the difference."
Charles glanced at the two tiny holes in Weister's neck. A hint of concern tainted his voice as he asked, "He's not going to become a vampire, right?"
"Of course not. Only vampire counts and vampires of higher rank can turn humans into a vampires. Also the Mother also has strict regulations in place regarding any new conversions. New vampires have to be reported to her, so it's a hassle," Audric replied.
While Audric was speaking, Charles suddenly noticed that the burn scars on his face seemed to have slightly faded away.
"Your scars are healing?" Charles asked while gesturing with his chin.
Audric excitedly replied, "I saved up a ton of money to get two drops of a vampire duke's blood essence from Dark Crystal Island. I raised the commission through the black market on Hope Island, and I feel like I'm about to make a breakthrough!"
"There's a black market on Hope Island? Why do I not know about it?"
"Though the laws are strict on Hope Island, where there is light, there is also shadow. Black markets are practically impossible to vanquish," Audic replied.
"Keep tabs on it for me. I don't want the island to descend into chaos," Charles said, sounding grim.
"Don't worry, Captain. Both former Chief Dipp and the incumbent Chief James are aware of its existence. I actually think it's better to let those things exist right under our noses than let them thrive somewhere where we can't see them."
Charles felt at ease upon hearing Audric's confident remark. He also believed in James' ability to do his job properly.
"Will your next breakthrough heal your eyes?" Charles asked.
"Perhaps, but it's a troublesome wound. It was caused by sunlight, after all, which is basically the bane of all vampires," Audric replied.
The two chatted casually by the railings on the deck. They didn't get to talk for a long time because the Narwhale soon came to a halt.
They had finally arrived at where the Foundation's main island was located before it sank.
"Open the valves, flood the ballasts!"
The Narwhale began to transform, and icy-cold seawater slowly flooded the ballast tanks. The ship's buoyancy shifted, and the ship slowly sank toward the pitch-black waters.
The rushing seawater seemed to resonate in the hearts of every soul on board. Anxiety and terror reigned supreme, pervading the air to the fullest, but there was a tinge of excitement in everyone's hearts.
Evidently, exploring the enigmatic seafloor was an unprecedented achievement in the Subterranean Seascape's maritime history.
The crew on the deck soon saw submerged skyscrapers through the forward-slanted windows of the deck. Every submerged skyscraper constituted the scenery that resembled a row of tombs beneath the sea.
No one spoke; they all watched with bated breaths, seemingly afraid that even the faint sound of their breathing would awaken something in the sea.
"The chasm isn't here. We're slightly off course. Keep moving forward."
Charles stared at the seafloor through the thick glass panel with a calm and composed gaze. He felt not even an inkling of fear toward the seafloor anymore.
Rather than fear, he stared in rapt anticipation toward what he would discover. He had the Narwhale retrofitted all for that moment of discovery, and the moment was finally upon him.
Ping!
The sonar let out an audible reaction to something. A sailor peering at the seafloor through a periscope stammered, "C-c-captain! Something large is moving at our 6 o'clock, and it's five... five times larger than our ship."
Everyone's heart skipped a beat. The sea was vast, so none of them could deduce the identity of something that humongous.
"Stay calm. There's a high chance that it hasn't noticed us yet. Turn off the lights!"
The interior and exterior lights of the Narwhale were turned off at once upon Charles' order. The Narwhale became nothing but a lifeless floating hunk of steel in the depths.
However, the approaching blip on the sonar showed no signs of stopping. In fact, it picked up its pace and made a beeline for them.
The terrified Lily curled up into a ball in Charles' chest pocket while everyone else went beyond pallid.
Charles reached out for the lever that would unleash their torpedoes, but before he could pull it down, the blip on the sonar abruptly turned left.
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