Chapter 69. The Narwhale
Watching the endless stream of animated objects stream out of the tree hole, the crew of the Narwhale finally realized the severity of the situation. They summoned every ounce of their strength and sprinted after their captain.
The next moment, a desperate cry sounded from behind them.
"Don't go! Please just kill me! I beg you! I feel like a blade is slicing through me every passing second! Why!! Why am I the only one that has to endure such pain!!"
As the voice rang out in the air, Charles' freshly attached left ear started twitching once more.
In the brief lull as they ran, Charles took a brief glance over his shoulder. Supposedly in the water tank, 1002 had got out of its confines. It congealed into a sphere and was rolling toward them. Any animated object in its vicinity would be instantly absorbed if it came into contact with the round object.
With every entity it absorbed, the ashen-gray sphere grew larger.
Without a second thought, Charles reached into Dipp's backpack and fished out an explosive. He lit it up and hurled it behind him.
However, the lit explosive rolled around on the ground and snuffed out its fuse before standing up wobbly. It had been initialized by 1002 as well!
This was just the start of a disaster. All non-living objects on the crew members started twitching as they developed their own sense of will.
Charles knew that they couldn't go on like this. If things continued as it was, none of them could escape. Gritting his teeth, he turned and charged straight at 1002.
"Charles! Come back!"
"Captain! What are you doing!"
Amidst everyone's screams, Charles was barely a dozen meters away from 1002. His facial features twitched as they started to detach themselves. His face was already bearing some similarities to those organless human husks.
Mustering all the strength he could, Charles whipped out the lightning bolt staff and pointed it at 1002. A crack of electricity lit up the dark island once more as 1002 became a sphere of charred flesh and was rooted to its spot.
Trembling, Charles collapsed to the floor. Taking three electric shocks in a row had completely overwhelmed his body.
Several pairs of strong hands reached out and supported Charles back on his feet. It was his crew. They hadn't taken the opportunity to escape, but rather, they turned back to help their captain.
"Captain, you are so formidable! Why didn't you use such a powerful relic earlier?" Second Mate Conor asked in excitement.
"We need to move now! That thing can't be killed. It'll come around again in a while!" Charles spat out through his gritted teeth as he endured the pain coursing through his body.
Hearing Charles' words, Conor turned his gaze onto the blackened sphere with a horrified expression. Immediately, he supported the numb Charles to retreat swiftly.
Luckily, the ruins were not considered huge, and before 1002 could resurrect, Charles and his crew had already reached the forest.
Following the path that they had hacked earlier, the group sprinted toward the shoreline.
They didn't pause for even a single moment. Everyone was pushing themselves to their limits to flee.
To gain speed, they even discarded anything that could weigh them down.
Thud!
Drenched in sweat, Laesto tumbled to the ground with labored breathing. Blood was already oozing out from the place where his metallic limb connected his flesh.
Charles rushed to Laesto's side and helped him up. "Don't give up! We'll be there soon!"
Laesto glared at the young man supporting him before he took out a pill from his pocket and swallowed it. He pushed Charles away and swiftly caught up with the rest as he shouted, "I'm not that old yet!"
The narrow forest path seemed to stretch endlessly as the group pushed forward with every ounce of energy in them. Just as they thought that they could push on no further, the sound of sea waves traveled into their ears like a song of divine salvation.
With ecstatic expressions on their faces, the crew stumbled toward the wooden boats on the coastline, ready to leave this wretched island.
Charles was also panting heavily. Despite being enhanced by 096, the series of high-intensity activities had worn him down.
"Who are you? Whoever you are, kill me quickly! I'm in so much pain!!"
Charles turned around, and his face contorted with dread. A gigantic airborne entity composed of various bloodied components was hovering above the treeline. It was hurtling toward them at full speed.
It was 1002, but not exactly it. All sorts of human parts—eyes, mouths, and organs—floated around its pale gray body. It was a truly nauseating sight that could induce vomiting.
Presently, 1002 had grown nearly five times larger than it was when it had been in the water tank. It hovered in the air like a giant airplane.
Feeling the twitches intensifying all over his body, a hint of despair emerged in Charles' mind. The range of 1002's initialization radiation had grown larger.
He could feel something stirring in his throat, and wanting to get out. His body was about to be initialized. His crew members had also dropped to their knees in pain.
Just when all hope seemed lost, an explosion rang out. 1002's monstrous body exploded into fragments and dropped into the forest. The despairing tremors that they felt instantly abated by a large margin.
"Quick! Move!"
Making use of this opportunity, Charles and his crew frantically paddled and navigated the wooden ships toward the Narwhale. The shelling continued ceaselessly and provided them cover from above.
"Captain, did we leave anyone on the ship? Who's firing the cannon? Their aim is spot on!" Conor shouted in excitement.
Hoooonk!
The steamship's horn sounded as the Narwhale that was parked in the distance inched toward them. The projectile had been from the Narwhale's deck cannon.
Charles paused for a moment before he said, "There's no one on the ship..."
Conor was taken aback. "If there's no one on the ship, then who fired the cannon?"
As the Narwhale swiftly approached them, Charles patted the vessel on her smooth hull with a gratified gaze.
"Our ship fired on her own. She's also one of us."
As though it heard and understood Charles' words, the Narwhale let out a low honk. She had also been initialized by 1002.
Standing on the deck, Charles watched as 1002 emerged from the forest, wailing for oblivion. The anxiety which had gripped his heart began to dissipate slowly. At last, it was all over.
"No, it's not over yet," Charles muttered to himself as his gaze landed on his pocket—it was still and motionless.
Charles reached out a hand to take it back again. He was afraid that it might be a dreadful sight that greeted him.
His pocket rustled first, and a cute white mouse poked her head out with a confused expression.
"Mr. Charles, how did we end up back on the ship? What happened just now?"
Heaving a sigh of relief, Charles gently rubbed the mouse on the head and said, "It's alright, everything's over now."
Just as Charles was about to console his little gunner, Elizabeth approached him with a tense expression.
"After our first meeting, have we slept together after that?" Elizabeth asked.
The abrupt question caught Charles off guard. Reading the room, Lily retreated back into Charles' pocket.
Under Elizabeth's insistent gaze, Charles averted his gaze first, "Why are you asking such a question? You have yet to explain why you were alone on that island."
Elizabeth remained silent. She seemed to be suppressing her emotions as her expression turned more tense. She looked even more anxious than she had been on the island.
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