Flowers in the Mist (Big Chapter Seeking Monthly Ticket)

The rolling waves rocked the ship beneath the night sky, while dim yellow light illuminated the silent captain's cabin.

A blond man in an old gray-white sailor's uniform sat in a worn metal chair, staring at the tablet computer in his hands.

His fingers slowly scrolled through the electronic roster.

The portraits on the list slid past like streaks of light. The colors in many of the ID photos had already faded, cold black words branded over faces that had once looked reserved or confident.

Soon, the man's scrolling finger stopped, his fingertip resting on a bright ID photo.

It showed a somewhat frail but upright youth, gazing expectantly into the camera.

As the man pressed and held his finger on it, a floating prompt appeared.

[Mark crew member No. 074 as deceased?]

After a brief pause, the man slowly tapped confirm.

The frail youth's photo immediately dimmed, becoming just like all the other blackened pictures.

The man continued scrolling through the roster, placing his hand over one colorful photo after another, touching them and watching them turn dull gray.

It seemed as though only a short time had passed, yet it also felt like centuries. In the end, he scrolled the long electronic roster all the way to the bottom.

His hand unconsciously swiped the list again, pulling the final gray photo to the center of the tablet before the list naturally slid back down.

At last, his fingers left the roster.

Bright moonlight streamed through the cabin window, intertwining with the dim interior lighting.

The pitch-black seawater carried the tiny ship up and down with the waves.

Buzz—

At that moment, the blond man's wristband vibrated. The portrait of a capable-looking man flashed on the interface projected by the wristband.

The blond man tapped the portrait,