Chapter 342. Pandora's Box
The swishing of mops filled the air as Weister and the other sailors scrubbed the deck diligently to remove the stubborn salt stains.
After some time, Weister finally completed the task. He then moved on to grab a head-sized iron oil can and started lubricating the windlass to ensure its smooth operation. This was one of his duties as a sailor, and it was also one of the reasons the Captain had recruited him.
Though he was at the bottom of the ship's hierarchy, Weister was like a crucial screw in a vast machine. His role was small, but he was indispensable.
Weister himself was rather satisfied with the job, especially with the generous pay that came with it. Although a greater bonus would be if it didn't come with exploring extremely dangerous places.
Swoosh
A drenched figure suddenly flipped over the ship's railing and landed on the deck. Weister and his fellow sailors were startled into a jolt.
When Weister's eyes landed on the figure's head of seaweed-like green hair, he immediately let out a sigh of relief. "Mr. Second Mate, you scared me! I thought you were some creature from the sea!"
Feuerbach shook his head to shake off the seaweed on his face before he casually sat on the ship's railings. Pulling out a green-back turtle covered in barnacles from his inner pocket, he started to make swift work with his dagger and pried the barnacles off.
"Don't worry. My little darlings are patrolling around us. If anything approaches, they can easily intercept it," Feuerbach reassured.
Weister drew closer to Feuerbach and watched the latter pry the barnacles. Intrigued, he asked, "By the way, Mr. Second Mate, I've always been curious about something. With the Narwhale moving at such great speed, how are your sharks keeping up with it? What if they feel like sleeping during the journey?"
Feuerbach let out a chuckle. "Young lad, you're mistaken. Sharks must maintain constant movement even during their sleep, or they'll suffocate. Pretty interesting, right? Don't you think you learn much useful knowledge being around me? I know quite a bit about sharks."
Weister scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile as he nodded. Suddenly, his eyes lit up at a sudden thought that struck him.
"Mr. Second Mate, then, do you know why shark meat has a pungent urine-like smell?"
"That's a simple question," Feuerbach began. "Sharks don't have urinary tracts, so their urine is discharged through their skin, and that explains the urine smell in their flesh. I mean, no one would probably eat shark meat for no good reason. That thing tastes like—"
"—like fatty pork soaked in human urine!" Weister interjected before Feuerbach could complete his sentence.
A mix of amusement and surprise glimmered in Feuerbach's eyes. He looked Weister in the eye and asked, "How do you know what it tastes like? Have you eaten it?"
"No way!" Weister was quick to retort. "Why would I eat something even a beggar wouldn’t touch? I was just guessing."
"Then your guess is quite spot-on. I heard that those from the Eastern Seas have a special way to remove the urine smell from shark meat. I wonder how they actually do it."
"Really? If there were really a way, then the fishmongers at the market wouldn't just throw the shark meat away and leave it to rot in the garbage," Weister replied. Holding the oil can in his hands, he stood rooted in place as he reminisced about his past.
"Hey! Get back to work! Don't you see the First Mate and the Captain at the bridge? Do you want to have your pay cut?" Another sailor changing the rigging ropes hissed a reminder.
Weister immediately looked up through the transparent glass windows to see Charles with his arms folded across his chest and Bandages behind the wheel.
He hurried back to his task and continued to oil the windlass.
Charles stared as Weister got back to his task before turning to Bandages.
"How are you feeling? Has the Divinity's Curse been completely lifted?"
"Yes... Safe... now..." Despite changing into fresh bandages, Bandages' usual manner of speech remained.
"That's good to hear. Actually, you really don't have to rush back. It was a close call on the previous voyage; you should've taken some time to relax," Charles remarked.
"Captain... I feel that... this power... is very unusual..." Bandages said. At the same time, vines and branches covered with green leaves protruded from the crevices of his bandages and extended toward the dashboard in front of him.
"Not only... can I... control plants... But with... more practice... I can change them... I can... mimic... any plant... I've touched."
A branch in front of Charles suddenly swelled, and a spiky black flower immediately blossomed on it. It then withered in the blink of an eye to reveal a dark and glossy Black Vine Fruit.
Crunch!
Charles chewed on the fruit. To his surprise, the taste and texture were exactly like those he had eaten on the Coral Archipelago.
Looking at the Black Vine Fruit in his hand, Charles' spirits were significantly lifted. This was creating something out of nothing!
"How much energy does it take for you to create this fruit?" Charles threw out the most crucial question.
"Slightly... more than... the energy... needed to... eat it," Bandages replied.
Staring at Bandages, who now resembled a living tree man with newfound abilities, a sudden idea struck Charles' mind.
If Bandages can utilize his powers this way, then won't I be able to use my lightning arcs to...
Spurred by the thought, Charles lifted his left hand, and his smartphone appeared in his open palm. He pressed his index finger against the charging port, and faint blue arcs of electricity danced from his fingertip.
It didn't take long before beads of sweat formed on Charles' forehead. If he were to be honest, performing a delicate operation that required precise control of his powers was proving to be a much more challenging task than simply releasing all of them at once.
Suddenly, Charles noticed that the battery icon on the top right corner of his phone's screen had updated to show that it was charging.
The corners of his lips curved up into a faint smile, but his joy was short-lived. He felt the back of the phone starting to heat up, and it was getting hotter rapidly, forcing him to stop his experiment.
The phone was the only item he had brought down to the subterranean space with him, and it would be a great loss if he ended up inadvertently damaging it.
"Captain... What are you... doing?"
"Wait... Hold on... I remember reading something about electricity in one of my old school textbooks...What was it again?" Charles muttered to himself excitedly. He held his phone tight and headed back to his quarters without looking back.
For the following days, Charles became engrossed in his phone. Day in and day out, he would tirelessly research and measure voltage levels. Of course, he didn't casually use his own cell phone as his test subject.
After damaging the two tablets that Laesto had left behind, Charles finally knew how to maintain a stable output of low-voltage electrical power.
Within the Captain's Quarters, Charles had a grave expression on his face as he held his cell phone in one hand. He felt like he was handling a piece of fragile tofu.
Clutching a piece of dried apple chip in her furry paws, a red Lily crouched nearby and watched him with a curious gaze. She didn't understand what Charles was doing, but she found his expression and mannerisms amusing.
"It succeeded!" The light from the phone's screen illuminated the excitement on Charles' countenance. His joy wasn't just from the prospect of being able to charge his phone as and when he wanted.
What excited him even more were the potential opportunities to apply his powers in a variety of unique ways. All forms of energy in this world were interconnected, like how magnetism could generate electricity.
By formulating some method, perhaps he might be able to transform this electrical energy into something else. And this was just a single power from one relic.
There were countless relics in the entire seascape, and if humans could tap on their potential, it would stir up a revolutionary change!
Charles felt as if he had unknowingly opened Pandora's box.
No wonder the Foundation said that the relics could elevate the overall technological level of human civilization. If what I had just imagined really works... it really might be possible. Charles mused.
Just as Charles was basking in the success of his experiment, a knock sounded at the door. The door then swung open, and Feuerbach entered the cabin. His face brimmed with excitement as he reported, "Captain, we've arrived at our destination."
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