There was no time to waste in this place, so Charles told the crew about the strange things he had encountered in a few words.
"There's something wrong with this place. Some things in the sea can be teleported over a small area."
"Captain, do you think it could be the sea otter? Maybe they are not knocking shells, but performing some kind of ritual." Feuerbach speculated.
Charles frowned slightly as he thought about the details of his previous encounter with the sea otter. He knew that this was a possibility, but at the moment it seemed only a suspicion.
He turned his head and looked at the sea next to him. Now there was nothing in this sea area except seaweed and lotus leaves. The sea otter and the giant toad from before were completely nowhere to be seen.
After thinking quickly for a moment, Charles decided to go into the water again. He had finally found a place and it was impossible to go back so easily.
Of course, every failure makes one wiser, and Charles immediately began to change his exploration methods based on his own experience.
"We will not separate this time. Let's gather together to explore. The six divers, including me, Dipper and Feuerbach, are all within sight of each other."
"If you encounter any living creature, including but not limited to the sea otters and toads mentioned earlier, give warning immediately."
"If you are teleported away, remember not to trust any living person who approaches you. Use a codeword to confirm whether the other person is yours. The codeword is the name of the food you had for lunch today."
Everyone said they understood and started putting on their heavy diving suits.
"Captain, now that we know the opponent's capabilities, it will be much easier to defend. We just need to avoid being touched by the opponent." Dipper said to Charles.
"I hope so. I hope there is only a strange thing in this place that teleports people randomly, but this ocean is always full of unimaginable things." Charles put the huge steel helmet back on his head.
"Where is Tuba?" Charles suddenly noticed that there was one less crew member on the deck.
"I don't know. I just saw it. I think it's in the cabin. I'll go look for it later." Linda, the ship's doctor, replied calmly.
Charles didn't care and walked towards the edge of the boat with heavy steps.
However, just as he turned around, he felt someone staring at him from behind, a gaze that was malicious.
When he turned around, he found nothing.
"Charles, what's wrong with you? Are you going into the water? Have you seen Lily? Why haven't I seen her recently?" Tuba, who came out of the cabin, asked with a smile.
Charles said nothing, but stepped on the edge of the boat, "Bang!" As a high column of water was stirred up on the sea surface, Charles and his companions returned to the cold sea again.
This time the crew members stayed very close, stepping on the slippery moss on the ground, and continued searching in the seaweed forest.
At the beginning, everyone was terrified, afraid that the captain's experience would happen to them.
But as time passed, they found that there was nothing unusual, and gradually they focused their attention on their essential work.
Everyone bent down and used their hands to pull away the moss and seaweed, looking for clues hidden in this sunken island.
The sea water was cold and the diving suits were heavy, so even with the buoyancy of the water, the crew members quickly lost their energy.
Just as Charles was pulling out a bunch of seaweed and observing the traces on the ground, he suddenly saw the crew members gathered in a group, making flag signals with their fingers and communicating rapidly.
"Get to work! The faster we explore, the faster we can leave." Charles rushed over and pulled them apart roughly.
But after a few minutes, Charles saw them gathered together again. When he asked them the reason, they said that the diving suits were too heavy and they were too tiring.
In the end, Charles asked two people to change into diving suits to assist him, while the others stood on the deck and prepared to take turns.
Time passed minute by minute, and soon it was night in the Earthsea. Charles followed the two exhausted crew members back to the deck.
Today's working hours are over, and it's time for everyone to eat and rest. After all, only with a good rest can you have the energy to work.
Charles walked towards the captain's room with a frown on his face. There was no danger at all when he went into the water this time. Even the things in the sea did not cause any trouble. This was a good thing.
Generally, any island owned by the Foundation would have traces left behind, but this one has none. It seems that the Foundation did not land on this island. This is not good news.
Charles took off his coat, put it on the shelf beside him, opened his diary and began to record what happened today.
"Travel through October 23, 2013:
We arrived at the first of the five islands. It is a half-sunken island, and everything here is weird. I don’t like it very much…”
"Rustle~" The sound of the pen tip sliding across the paper continued to be heard, leaving lines of Chinese characters.
"Squeak...squeak~" Suddenly a very faint mouse cry came into Charles' ears.
Under normal circumstances, Charles might have ignored it, but he heard a special emotion in the mouse's cry, an emotion that made him uneasy.
"Da~" Charles put on the pen and put the invisibility ring directly on his finger.
The door of the captain's cabin of the Narwhal suddenly opened and closed again.
At this time, right below the captain's room, there was a storage room full of mops and brooms.
All the brown mice gathered together, their eyes fixed on a larger mouse and squeaking.
There is also a picture of a mouse hanging on the wall, and the mouse is white.
"Squeak! Squeak, squeak, squeak!" The big rat slapped Lily's portrait with its little paws. There was a little straw man with only one arm standing on the ground next to it.
After yelling fiercely for a few minutes, the big rat picked up the one-armed straw man on the ground and bit off its head fiercely.
In an instant, the mice standing on the buckets and brooms below began to scream violently, their heads raised high, and their two front teeth kept and knocked rapidly.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!" As a mouse jumped out from the gap in the utility room and gave a loud warning, all the mice quickly piled up and opened the door.
They searched quickly in the corridor outside, trying to find the thing that had just caused their companions to warn them.
After searching for more than ten minutes without finding anything, the mice quickly retreated back into the utility room.
As the door snapped shut, Charles' figure slowly appeared on the ceiling.
He raised the iron prosthesis in his hand and scratched his body hard, looking at the door of the utility room with a somewhat ferocious expression.
Just now, through the gap, he saw everything that happened inside.
"They are blaming me for Lily's death. They are plotting to kill me!"
Charles did not underestimate these mice at all. He knew that the intelligence of these mice was almost catching up with that of humans, and they definitely had the ability.
"No, we must find a way to solve this problem."
Charles quickly walked towards the cockpit, intending to discuss the situation with the first mate, but just as he passed by the cafeteria, he heard some noise inside.
"Shh! There are footsteps outside!"
A familiar voice came into Charles' ears. He rushed to the cafeteria door and kicked it hard.
"Bang~!" The door of the cafeteria was kicked open. All the crew members of the Narwhal, except Bandage, were standing or sitting inside. Everyone formed a crowded circle, seemingly discussing something.
Charles looked at them, and for some reason, the group of rats in the utility room suddenly flashed through his mind.
(End of this chapter)