Charles walked through the dim corridor and came to the water tank above the Narwhal.
He unscrewed the wooden lid and shone the flashlight inside.
This was one of his daily patrols as captain, to make sure the fresh water situation was normal.
Just as Charles was about to close the water cabin door, he suddenly felt a prying gaze coming from the round porthole next to him.
Charles was not at all panicked. He slowly closed the hatch and pretended to leave.
The moment he stood up, the flesh revolver appeared in his hand.
"Bang, bang, bang!" Gunshots rang out, accompanied by the shattering of porthole glass, and a green palm with webbed feet was torn in half by bullets.
Charles rushed to the window and found that there was only some disgusting purple blood besides half of a disgusting palm.
"We've already left the safe route, so all these messy things are starting to come out?" Charles muttered to himself.
At this moment, Charles suddenly felt someone behind him. He turned around quickly and pointed his gun at the person who came. "Stop! Tell me your position and name!"
"Dipper, as the boatswain, leads the sailors to carry out maintenance of the hull and deck equipment and other daily work." Dipper, with a haggard face, reported while standing in place.
Charles breathed a sigh of relief, put down his gun and walked over. "Why did you run out? Didn't I tell you to go back to bed?"
"Captain, I'm fine, just a little cold. With your scarf, I feel much better." Dipper, who was wearing a thick layer of clothes, pulled the gray scarf around his neck with his hand and said.
"I'm glad you're okay. Fortunately, you made it through." Charles breathed a sigh of relief. When Dipper's condition worsened and he fell into a coma a few days ago, he thought he was going to lose his boatswain.
"Captain, please reassign the steering duties. I am now able to steer again."
"Forget it. You've just recovered from a serious illness. Just rest more. I'll take care of the bandages." Charles, with a hint of relief on his face, patted him on the shoulder and walked up the ladder.
Inside the cockpit, a sailor was steering the ship nervously, while Bandage beside him was silently looking at the dark water surface under the searchlight in the distance.
"It's my shift now, you go and rest." Charles patted his first mate on the shoulder.
Bandage nodded silently, pushed open the hatch, and passed by Dipper who came in.
Dipper walked over with a grin on his face, snatched the sailor's steering wheel with a curse,
"Captain, I'm really fine. You see, I'm really fully recovered." Dipper skillfully checked the various equipment in front of him, begging Charles to let him take the helm.
Charles sighed slightly. He knew that this boy was not someone who could stay in bed peacefully.
He pulled a stool over and sat down. "Then try working a four-hour shift today. If you feel uncomfortable, tell me right away."
"Okay, no problem. I'm going crazy lying on the boat every day and looking at the doctor's old face." Dipper's voice was relaxed.
"You are still so erratic. Maybe it will get better when you find a woman and have a child."
Dipper chuckled twice.
"Have you been dreaming about your mother lately?"
Dipper thought for a while and said, "No, she seemed to have disappeared for a while."
"That's good. Something that appeared inexplicably in your dream must not be a good thing. Maybe that thing caused your illness."
"But Captain, that warm feeling is really like the mother in my memory." Dipper said with nostalgia in his eyes.
The two continued chatting, and as they chatted, the topic turned to the bright place that Charles was looking for.
In the end, Charles didn't know whether these words were spoken to him or to himself.
"Captain, I heard the doctor say that you won't live long?" Dipper interrupted Charles's narration with a sudden question.
Charles chuckled a few times. "That's what he said. He said I wouldn't live past forty. Oh, by the way, how old am I this year?"
Dipper showed a slightly struggling expression on his face, "Captain, why don't we find a way to cure you first? We have to stay alive first so that we have a chance to find the bright place you mentioned."
Charles shook his head. "I don't have time to waste on this. In my mind, finding a surface exit is always the top priority. Also, don't be so pessimistic. Maybe I will die at sea before I am forty."
Dipper rarely responded. His eyes were fixed on the outside of the window, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel.
"Creaky~" The stool rubbed against the floor, making a harsh sound. Charles stood up and looked at the scene in front of him in surprise.
Under the bright searchlight, a wisp of white mist slowly appeared in the surrounding sea, and the sea of fog became more and more approaching.
"Crackling" sounds were heard along with crystallization, and some frost condensed on the outside of the glass, and the temperature here dropped in an instant.
Faced with this exciting news, every crew member's face was filled with excitement. Life at sea was depressing and uncomfortable. Now that they had arrived at the foggy sea, it proved that they were not far from returning home.
But this excitement only lasted until the fifth day, when it was replaced by uneasiness.
At the coordinates of the Broken Island where it should have appeared, there was only a dark sea, and the Narwhal had lost its target.
Audric rushed through the cockpit in bat form, landed in front of Charles, and turned back into human form. "Captain, I've searched everywhere around here, and there are no islands. It shouldn't be a problem with the chart."
Charles's face looked very unhappy. "Damn it, is the sea chart that guy gave me a fake map?"
Charles quickly reviewed Gavin's experience in his mind and felt that the possibility was very low.
If that guy really wanted to harm him, there was no need to give him a wrong sea chart.
Moreover, the supplies on the ship were enough for them to return to the previous island. What he did was of no use except wasting Charles' time.
He didn't think that the boy was a prankster who took his own life.
What exactly is wrong
Charles frowned and thought about various guesses, but there was no answer.
Just when Charles was puzzled, the bandage next to him pointed to a round frame on the device next to him, which contained a compass. "Captain... there's something wrong with that thing..."
Charles rushed over and used the black blade to pry out the compass.
When he saw a small magnet placed at the very edge of it, his pupils suddenly shrank.
The compass was interfered with by the magnet, and their ship had long since deviated to an unknown destination.
Charles held the compass tightly in his hand and said to Dipper beside him in a low voice: "Notify everyone to gather, there are other things on the ship!"
Thanks to Fangyuan Gu for the 2000 reward, thanks to Banzhilemming for the 4000 reward, thanks to the tail number 4139 for the 4000 reward, and the brightest Tianjin 4 for the 1000 reward. Thank you all for your support!!! Thank you!!!
(End of this chapter)