Chapter 319. Dipp's Return
Charles looked up at the massive nautical chart in front of him. The nautical chart was extremely detailed; it depicted every single nautical chart of the Explorers Association as well as the nautical charts the Pope had bestowed upon Charles.
Every single one of those nautical charts had been seamlessly stitched together to create the huge nautical chart before Charles. It was so big and detailed that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the most detailed nautical chart of the Subterranean Sea.
Charles had no plans of setting off on a voyage soon. His First Mate was away, and the crew needed ample rest to recover. Charles was examining the nautical chart to determine his next destination.
However, he couldn't find any suitable destination for his next voyage. He no longer had any reliable intelligence to make a judgment on, so the nautical chart before him seemed chaotic and disorderly.
After a while, Charles turned to look at the three people behind him.
"Margaret wants to poach you guys?" he asked.
Monti, the middle-aged man with a pallid visage, said, "That's right, Governor. She's been in close contact with Sottom, so we felt like we need to be aware of her."
Charles' expression turned complex as he said, "There's no need to complicate things. I've returned, so you guys can just let it go. There's also quite a distance between Whereto and Hope Island, so I don't think that there will be more opportunities for the two of us to work together."
The three commodores exchanged glances. Their eyes flashed in understanding, and they tactfully remained silent.
"What was Whereto like when you left it?" Charles asked.
"It was fine. The Albion Isles' downfall and Sottom's intervention had allowed Margaret to make quick work of the riff-raffs on the island. She has completely occupied the island; the Isle of Whereto has returned to the hands of the Cavendish Family."
"I see. You three are dismissed," Charles said with a light nod.
The three men turned around to leave, leaving Charles to sigh to himself. He had sent a telegram to the Isle of Whereto, but the other party had refused to respond upon hearing of his identity and intentions.
Charles truly couldn't deduce Margaret's thoughts.
I have some free time, so why don't I just go there and get to the bottom of the matter? Charles pondered over it, but he soon dismissed the idea. Margaret's dismissive attitude meant that she might refuse to see him despite the long voyage.
Perhaps Margaret didn't want him to get involved with her any further.
Charles pressed the bell on the desk, and the butler soon came in.
"How are the designers from the Albion Isles? Are they back?" Charles asked.
"Yes, but some of them didn't return. Some of those who had returned are roaming around bars and brothels, wallowing in despair, while some seemed to be planning on building a shipyard for themselves," the butler replied.
"Take me to them," Charles said. He walked over to the balcony and waited for the butler to return with news that the car was ready. Soon, the butler returned and led Charles to the car.
The butler drove Charles to the dock, allowing the latter to enjoy the scenery outside. The scenery outside seemed to be a haphazard hodgepodge of buildings built in a variety of architectural styles; indeed, they looked chaotic, but they seemed inexplicably in harmony with each other.
Charles was astonished to see greeneries beneath dim sunlight, and it added a touch of peace to the bustling streets.
A middle-aged man with a beer belly and cigarette between his lips was in the middle of watering a tiny white flower using the watering can in his hand. Charles was stunned briefly by the sight, but he soon revealed a knowing smile.
Half an hour later, Charles finally made it to the docks. A lively sight greeted him as soon as he alighted from the car. On the leftmost part of the docks, a shipyard was gradually taking shape. Charles could see that the designers were building the shipyard themselves rather than hiring a contractor to do the job for them.
There were thick dark circles around their eyes, and their eyes were bloodshot. Clearly, they had been working tirelessly to build the shipyard. Charles looked around and found no supervisor. It seemed these people had been proactively assigning tasks to themselves.
In a third party's eyes, these people would appear as nothing but hard workers, but Charles was staring at them in a different light. These people were working tirelessly in a desperate bid to rid themselves of the grief.
In addition, they also needed a job; they had to keep on living, after all.
"Governor, shall I provide them with assistance using the name of the Governor's Mansion?" the butler asked respectfully.
"There's no need." Charles shook his head and explained, "They're good enough to make a living out of their skills. Once they're done building their shipyard, I want you to visit them and offer them a job contract.
"From then on, I want them to be in charge of refitting and maintaining my ship."
"As you wish, Governor."
Charles nodded slightly and looked back at the shipyard. He stared quietly at the designers working together to build their own shipyard.
Just then, Charles heard a cacophony of oncoming footsteps. Charles turned and saw a group of people carrying guns with live ammunition strapped to their waists.
"What are you guys doing?" Charles asked. The members of the police department were responsible for patrolling the city, but it was still strange to see them armed to the teeth.
The police officer standing at the helm, presumably their captain, saluted and replied excitedly, "Reporting to Governor, sir. The Hope Island Harbor Police Office has reported the appearance of a sea creature trying to come ashore.
"The headquarters dispatched us here to deal with it and strengthen the defenses of the docks."
Hearing that, Charles looked at the pitch-black sea next to him. He nodded at the police officers before turning around to leave.
"Cap...tain..."
Charles instantly came to a halt and looked back at the sea. The voice sounded familiar in his ears, and he had definitely heard it before somewhere.
"Captain..."
The voice echoed once again. Charles swept his gaze across the surface until his eyes landed on a fish-like head swaying with the waves of the sea.
The police officers also saw the head, and one of them roared, "Shoot!"
A crisp noise echoed as the police officers toggled off the safety catches of their guns and took aim at the distant head. Their fingers moved to pull the trigger, but Charles' empty left sleeve fluttered wildly; their guns pointed upward and fired, leaving several holes in the ceiling.
"Stand down! Hold your fire!" Charles shouted before approaching the sea surface.
The sea creature with a fish head swam over, and Charles' assumption turned out right. The disfigured sea creature was none other than his boatswain, Dipp.
Barely perceptible tentacles reached into the water and lifted Dipp out of the sea. A mixture of excitement and helplessness suffused Dipp's face as he was lifted out of the water by Charles.
The first thing that captured Charles' attention was the ghastly wound in Dipp's green and scaly abdomen. The whitened edges of the wound told Charles that the wound had been soaking in seawater for quite a while now.
Charles even saw Dipp's organs through the wound.
"What happened? How did you get that injury?"
"The police found me on my first attempt to talk to you here, and they didn't believe me when I told them that I was Dipp. They thought I was a monster who had come ashore to deceive the people of Hope Island."
Charles' brows knitted as he hoisted Dipp toward the docks.
"Captain, you have to listen to me. I'm here to tell you something important," Dipp said.
Charles didn't listen to Dipp's nonsense. His transparent tentacles reached out to a police officer next to him and snatched their handcuffs.
Two audible clicks echoed afterward, and Dipp's limbs were bound.
"Say no more. I've already caught you, so don't you even think of going back to that goddamned place for the rest of your life!" Charles said with a growl.
"Captain, listen to me! You really have to listen to me, Captain! This concerns the fate of our island! The Divine Light Order's fishy business has led the Fhtagn Covenant to request the Deep Dwellers to attack Hope Island.
"Their plan is to extinguish their Sun God up there! You have to believe me, Captain!"
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