The Stranded Iron Whale
On the deck, a Born is steering the ship, trying to maintain its course.
The other Born stood motionless, expressionless, as if the violent shaking had nothing to do with them; only the occasional metallic glint beneath their skin suggested they were prepared.
Philip led the Deacon in a low chanting of prayers, the Holy Emblem in their hands emitting a faint glow that formed a barely perceptible barrier around them.
The Judge has been activated.
The massive mechanical construct stood in the center of the deck, silent as a mountain, its red light slowly sweeping across the surrounding sea.
Lu Yuan felt a headache coming on.
It wasn't a warning from the Gray-White Text, but a more instinctive unease—images from Strange Dream kept flashing by, fragmented yet strangely clear.
Small island... cave... altar...
He gripped the gunwale, fighting off the nausea rising within him.
[Sanity: -1, 67/70]
Having just regained their senses after a rest, the descent had already begun before they even landed on the island.
The Contamination level on this island far exceeded expectations.
The Abyssal Hunter circled the island and found a barely usable harbor on the leeward side.
Then Lu Yuan saw the Iron Whale —or rather, the wreckage of the Iron Whale.
The once-famous ship was now stuck between the rocks, its hull severely damaged, as if it had been torn apart from the inside by something.
The mast was broken, the sails were rotten, and the deck was covered with a strange, Deep Blue Slime.
"Found it." Marcus's voice came from behind, metallic in tone, "The Iron Whale."
Lu Yuan turned to look at him and saw that the Gear on Marcus's mechanical face were slowly turning, and red light was flashing constantly, as if searching for something.
As a puff of steam escaped from the gaps in Marcus's body, the flickering red light finally stopped.
"Disembark!"
Marcus seemed to have seen something and shouted.
Immediately afterwards, one of the Born controlled the Abyssal Hunter to drop anchor, and the gangway followed.
The moment Lu Yuan stepped onto the beach, a strong sense of discomfort spread from the soles of his feet.
Although the ground beneath their feet was sand and gravel, it felt as if they were standing on a slowly writhing piece of flesh. This sensation caused everyone's expression to change, especially Philip from the church, who even conjured a Golden Holy Light beneath his feet.
Moreover, the island was incredibly quiet; there were no birdsong, no insect chirps, and even the sound of waves crashing against the rocks seemed to be blocked by some force.
[Environmental Perception: Excessive Contamination levels and prolonged exposure will lead to a sustained decline in rationality]
Alice gripped her warhammer tighter, her gaze slightly darkening.
She turned to look at Lu Yuan and made a hand gesture—a warning of danger.
Lu Yuan noticed that her fingers, which were gripping the weapon, were trembling slightly.
As Second Order Flesh Transcendent, Alice's sixth sense is far more acute than that of ordinary people.
What did she sense?
Marcus two of the Born to board the Iron Whale wreck first.
The figure in black robes climbed the rotten gangway onto the deck, his bird-beak mask slowly turning as he surveyed the surroundings.
A moment later, one of them made a "safe" gesture.
Marcus nodded, signaling everyone to follow.
The moment Lu Yuan stepped onto the deck, a stench assaulted his nostrils.
A layer of Deep Blue slime covered the entire deck, emitting a pungent, fishy stench, like the secretions of some kind of creature.
His boots made an unpleasant, sticky sound as they stepped on it.
[Environmental Perception: Residual Strong Source of Pollution]
Lu Yuan frowned. This was the first time he had ever seen the term "strong source of Source of Pollution."
This means that the contaminants that attacked the Iron Whale were extremely Contamination.
"Search the cabins," Marcus ordered decisively upon seeing the Iron Whale.
The Born silently dispersed and walked towards their respective cabins.
Lu Yuan followed Gray toward the captain's cabin, while Alice led the others toward the deeper parts of the ship.
The captain's cabin was located on the deck below, and the interior was in a mess.
Tables and chairs were overturned, items were scattered, and there were obvious scratch marks on the wall—as if someone had tried to escape but was dragged back by something.
There was no body, and not even any bloodstains.
Only that layer of ubiquitous, Deep Blue Slime covered almost every surface.
Lu Yuan was about to take a step when he suddenly stopped, because a gray character reappeared.
[Environmental Perception: Extremely High Concentration of Anomalous Biological Traces]
The next moment, Lu Yuan saw a clump of Deep Blue slime slowly wriggling in the corner of the cabin.
The thing was about half a person's height, and its shape was irregular, like a giant lump of jelly, with its surface constantly churning and contracting.
And at the top of that clump of slime—
A human head was stuck in it.
The head was severely decomposed, with empty eye sockets and peeling flesh, but the mouth was still opening and closing, as if silently calling for help.
The mucus coated the neck beneath the head, constantly eroding and melting it, yet it always maintained the head's integrity.
[Witnessing Deep Mutation: Corrupted][Warning: Sanity assessment in progress... Assessment failed, the target continues to suffer moderate Sanity Contamination.]
Lu Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted upon seeing this, because the head had turned around.
The empty eye sockets, filled with remnants of Flesh, met Lu Yuan's gaze.
[Sanity: -1...63/70]
"Something's there!" Lu Yuan shouted in a low voice, while simultaneously retreating, his Revolver already aimed at the target.
"Bang!"
The specially made Alchemical Bullets shot out and accurately hit the body of the Mutation creature.
The moment the slime was punctured, it emitted a hissing, corrosive sound, and the bullet quickly dissolved within it.
But the clump of slime only trembled slightly, then, as if enraged, it lunged at him with astonishing speed.
Gray reacted extremely quickly.
He pulled Lu Yuan behind him and drew his short sword from his waist, slashing fiercely at the oncoming slime.
The moment the blade cut into the slime, a hissing sound of corrosion rang out, and the metal surface quickly became pitted.
"This stuff is corrosive!" Gray growled, tossing the object back at him.
At this moment, a section of the sword blade had already been corroded away.
The person embedded in the slime showed a look of terror on their face, then suddenly opened their mouth and let out a silent scream. The slime churned wildly, releasing a wave of Mental Shock that was visible to the naked eye.
[Rationality: -1...-1, 61/70] Lu Yuan's face was grim as he forced himself to endure the headache and raised his Revolver again.
Gray grunted, his face turning pale, but he still gritted his teeth and stood in front of Lu Yuan.
But before Lu Yuan could fire his gun...
The next moment, a dark shadow swept past from the side.
Those Born.
The figure in black robes bypassed Gray and went straight to meet the onrushing slime monster without any intention of dodging.
The moment the slime touched him, a hissing, corrosive sound rang out again.
The strong acid, powerful enough to dissolve steel, was corroding the black robe of the Born, and white smoke rose.
But the Born remained completely still.