Chapter 448: Family
Charles hovered around five hundred meters away to the right of the colossal door on the dome above the island. He looked around and finally saw what his sound waves had detected.
It turned out to be stone pillars in a state of disrepair. Charles looked around some more and came to the conclusion that the Foundation had built an inverted city on the dome.
The inverted city would be a magnificent sight if it were still here, but the ruthless passage of time had left nothing but a few ruins of what was once a grand city.
"Hmm?" Charles noticed something on a pillar, prompting him to climb up that pillar to examine it closely.
The cuts on the pillar looked unusually clean; they couldn't possibly be the result of natural weathering. In addition, they reminded Charles of the cuts made by the giant mantises hanging upside down above Newbound City.
Charles soon emerged from his contemplation with a deductionthe inverted city hadn't plummeted to the Subterranean Sea down below. Those mantises had to have destroyed it.
I guess those mantises have other colonies all over the dome. Hopefully, they won't pop up and attack us the next time we attempt to go up, Charles thought. He looked around for a while. However, he saw no more clues, so he flapped his wings and decided to go back down.
"Captain! What did you find up there?" Dipp asked in a curious tone.
However, Charles seemed a bit despondent and had no intention of becoming a chatterbox.
"Stop wasting time. Weigh anchor and set sail," Charles said. Then, he turned around and walked into the Captain's quarters.
Dipp cast a curious gaze upon the pitch-black dome. Moments later, he kicked Norton in the calf and said, "Did you not hear what he said? The Captain said 'weigh anchor.'"
"Yes, aye aye, sir!" Norton shouted, tensing up as he ran toward the windlass.
Dipp shook his head helplessly. It seemed that it would take Norton quite a while to change his old habits.
Dipp then gave some instructions to a few old sailors before turning around and walking into the bridge.
As soon as Dipp entered the bridge, he saw Second Mate Conor drinking before the wheel.
"Buddy, you're manning the wheel. Are you really supposed to be drinking?"
"It's just one sip. The waves are a bit rough, so I'm feeling a bit dizzy," Finance Minister Conor replied, tucking the bottle of liquor into one of his coat's inner pockets.
Conor was no longer the robust young man he once was a few years ago. His protruding belly and his goatee made him look like the perfect example of a portly and wealthy middle-aged man.
"You better not let the Captain catch you drinking behind the wheel," Dipp teased. Then, he turned to the nautical chart hanging on the wall.
"What happened to the Second Mate? Why did the Captain suddenly ask me to take over for this voyage? It's also been years since I was behind the wheel," the supposedly-retired-Second-Mate Conor asked.
"Feuerbach's injuries were too severe, so the Captain decided to let him rest for a while," Dipp replied.
Conor's expression became melancholic just then. He looked up and swept his gaze across the busy sailors on the deck and muttered, "Looks like everything has changed, except for a few faces. Even Lily is gone
"I can still remember how cute she looked standing on the table and stomping with her tiny feet while arguing with me."
A heavy and somber air settled on the bridge just then.
"Forget it. We should not talk about such depressing topics. Anyway, I heard your wife recently gave birth to another son?" Dipp asked, changing the subject.
Conor smiled at the mention of his newborn son. "Yes, yes, yes. He's really adorable. And you know what? Little Jim doesn't wake up in the middle of the night, which means he doesn't interrupt our sleep, andah, forget it.
"It's not really a joy that you'll understand. You'll only understand that kind of joy once you've become a parent yourself."
Conor chattered with Dipp as he steered the Narwhale toward the designated coordinates.
It would take them roughly seven days to reach their destination from the island enveloped by a temporal chaos bubble. Once the so-called key was found, their mission would be complete.
When the small hand on the clock pointed at twelve, Bandages and another veteran sailor entered the bridge to man the wheel. Dipp and Conor were finally off duty and could do whatever they wished until their next shift.
Although Dipp didn't have his own room, as he was just a boatswain, he still had his own private compartment. Dipp's wife wasn't on board, so with no one to nag at him to wash up, Dipp was too lazy to wash up and simply hopped onto the bed.
Dipp plopped down his head on the pillow and closed his eyes. Dipp was the type of individual to fall asleep fast, so his long, drawn out breathing soon pervaded his private compartment.
After an unknown amount of time, Dipp's hazy consciousness cleared up, and he found himself in the deep city of the Deep Dwellers. His family members had surrounded him, and they were whispering into his ears.
"Dipp hurry up and come back the Elder wants to see you, and we need your help"
Dipp frowned and shook his head. He struggled desperately, but his family clung tightly to him, refusing to let go until they finally melted into him.
"Dear brother you cannot escape this is our fate as Deep Dwellers."
A horrifying colossal pair of scarlet eyes manifested before Dipp and glared furiously at him.
Dipp's eyes shot wide open as he was startled awake. The light from the oil lamp on the bedside table dragged him back to reality. Realizing that it was just a nightmare, Dipp sighed in relief. Then, he sat up on his bed and took out his pocket watch.
It turned out that it had only been a little over three hours since he went to bed, so Dipp was about to go back to sleep. However, he tensed up and froze upon noticing footsteps just at the door of his compartment.
The footsteps were wet. It was an unusual footstep that a human being couldn't possibly make.
Dipp felt a shiver down his spine at the realization that there was a non-human being outside. He stood up immediately and rushed out of his compartment, but he saw no footprints outside as if what he had seen was a mere fragment of his imagination.
Dipp pondered briefly over it before rushing toward the Captain's quarters. He jumped down the iron stairs to reach the third deck and saw Charles holding the flesh revolver while anxiously running in Dipp's direction.
"Boatswain, follow me! The mice told me that something had come aboard. They've caught a whiff of the foul smell of those deep sea creatures!"
Dipp revealed a bitter expression at Charles' revelation. "Captain, I know who came aboard. They're my family, and they've come for me."
At Dipp's words, Charles' expression became exceptionally solemn. He instantly saw through the implied message behind Dipp's words. All lives aboard the Narwhale were in danger.
With that in mind, Charles rushed to the bridge and turned to Bandages at the helm, shouting, "Notify the turbine team to overload the turbines! Creatures underwater are following us, and we must shake them off as soon as possible!"
The Narwhale's smokestacks belched out thick, black smoke as she picked up the pace, speeding across the inky waters.
Charles turned to Dipp next to him and shoved the latter away. "What are you doing just standing here?! Go and wake everyone up! Tell them to grab their weapons!"
Dipp nodded frantically and rushed into the cabins.
Charles stared at the dark expanse up ahead with furrowed brows. He wasn't sure about the Deep Dwellers' motives. Whatever their motives were, however, Charles was convinced that they weren't here to make friends.
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