After dinner, Charles began to make his rounds on the Mouse, making sure everyone was safe.
I don't know what caused the sailors to disappear. Since the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light, we can only use this stupid method temporarily.
The atmosphere on the boat returned to the same level as before the trip. Everyone was trembling with fear, trying to expose themselves to others for fear that they would disappear without a trace.
I don’t know if Charles’ method worked or if that thing left, but the Mouse was very peaceful for the next few days.
Four days later, Charles stood on the bow of the ship, looking out at the dark sea in the distance.
"In three days at most, the Mouse will be able to return to the navigation mark. It should be safe by then."
After estimating the time to return to the island, Charles turned his head and looked at Anna who was sitting on the anchor winch. "Let's go to the vortex furnace room."
"No, I'm not going. I'm just following you around like an idiot. There's nothing good about visiting these places. If you want to go, go by yourself." Anna looked impatient.
"Don't let your guard down. It's dangerous for you to stay alone." Charles went over and gently pulled her arm, but she shook it off with one hand.
"Oh, I told you I can't go anymore. Why are you so annoying as a man? Besides, isn't the mummy right there watching? How can it be dangerous?"
Charles looked up and could clearly see Bandage at the helm through the transparent glass.
"Okay, you sit down and take a rest. I'll be back soon." Charles opened the hatch and went to the turbine compartment on the lowest level.
As the power core of the entire steamship, the turbine room was very stuffy. As soon as Charles entered, he saw the shirtless second engineer James adding fuel, and the boatswain Dipper next to him, who was sticking out his tongue like a dog due to the heat.
"Captain, I really can't stand it. Let me go up instead. It's too hot here." Dipper complained to Charles with a sad face.
"For the safety of your companions, please be patient for a moment."
"Even if there are man-eating monsters, they won't come down. It's so hot here, who can stand it except a big guy?"
Charles walked up to James and patted his sturdy shoulders. "Thank you for your hard work. The new ship will have much better insulation."
James smiled naively, "I'm used to it. Apart from the hot spots, the work down there is pretty easy."
"Once we buy a new ship, you won't be able to handle it all by yourself. You will be the chief engineer, and you will be in charge of the first, second, and third engineers."
Unexpectedly, James seemed to be frightened by Charles' words. He quickly took a half step back and waved his hands quickly like a fan.
"No, no, no, I don't know how to manage people. Let others do it. I'll just add fuel to the fire. Really, really."
Charles, smiling, was about to speak to comfort his crew when suddenly a loud noise came from the pipe next to him. As the Mouse let out a mournful cry, everything around it instantly tilted 75 degrees.
Charles, who stumbled to the ground, immediately reacted. The hull suddenly tilted. There must be something wrong with the helmsman. He used all four limbs to crawl to the communication tube and shouted loudly into it: "Bandage! Reply quickly if you hear me!!"
What came from inside was the sound of flesh being torn and the groan of pain from the bandages.
"Damn it!" Charles pulled out the revolver from his waist and quickly crawled towards the stairs despite the shaking.
"You two, follow me! There's an accident in the cockpit!"
When Charles rushed to the deck, he saw Anna panicking and rushing over with tears in her eyes. "That mummy... That mummy!!"
Charles and four others rushed to the cockpit and saw dark red blood splattered everywhere, making the cockpit a mess.
The Bandage, who was supposed to be steering the ship, lay miserably on the ground like a rag doll bitten by a dog. Apart from the wounds of varying sizes on his body, his right leg had been completely severed and disappeared.
When Charles felt the faint breath, he breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly pulled out the black knife stuck in his boot and held the bandage in his hand, hoping to use the healing power of the black knife to hold on to his life.
"Anna! Don't stand there, come and stop the bleeding!"
Charles' shouting woke up the panicked ship's doctor. With red eyes, she nodded repeatedly and quickly ran out the door. "I... I'll go get the hemostat!"
"Don't give up, buddy, you will be fine, don't give up." An anxious Charles whispered to the bandaged man.
After a while, Anna ran back again and shouted in confusion: "Charles, my medical kit is gone!"
Charles looked at Anna for a second and then quickly said, "Go to the captain's room, at the bottom of the cabinet, I have some medicine! Dipper, go and call everyone over! Quickly!"
After a flurry of activity, the six remaining people were standing in front of the unconscious bandaged man in the messy cockpit.
Everyone's anxious eyes were fixed on Charles, trying to find a sense of security. This feeling made Charles feel stressed, but this was the time when the captain was needed, and he couldn't panic.
"Anna, did you see what attacked the bandages??"
"I didn't see it. Suddenly the boat tilted and I fell to the ground."
"That thing is still on the boat. It will definitely strike again."
"But Captain, we've looked everywhere, but there's nothing there. Could it be that thing can become invisible?" asked Dipper with a frown on his face.
There are all kinds of strange monsters in Earthsea, and invisibility is not a big deal.
"It's unlikely. If it could become invisible, there would be no need to wait so long."
Charles knew that he had to do something. He couldn't let his crew be attacked again. If this continued, the entire Mouse would become an iron coffin, burying everyone completely.
But what can he do in this situation where he knows nothing
After thinking for a while, Charles pursed his lips and said, "Big wheel tube, turn up the turbine. As long as we can get back to the Coral Islands at the fastest speed, it doesn't matter if the Mouse is scrapped."
"Dipper, take Yishui and lock all the hatches."
"Frey, move all the food that can be eaten raw from the kitchen to the turbine room and cockpit. The others will only stay in these two places."
Since we can’t find it, we might as well stop looking and just stay together until we return to Hong Kong.
"What about going to the toilet?" Anna asked in a low voice.
Charles tapped the transparent glass in front with his fingers. "The deck faces outward."
As the crowd began to gather in two places, the atmosphere on the Mouse became increasingly depressing.
In the cockpit, Dipper was steering the ship, Anna was tending to the bandages on the hammock, and Charles, sitting on a stool, continued writing in his journal.
Inside the cabin, there was no sound except the rustling of the pen tip across the paper.
(End of this chapter)