Kill and Fog (II)

The dead had come back to life!?

"Bang."

He stumbled back in terror and fell hard onto the ground.

"Plop, plop."

An undead creature crawled out through the cargo hatch. Bright red flesh and yellowing clumps of fat hung down from the horrific gunshot wound in its skull.

This was only the beginning. The next moment, at least five blue-gray hands gripped the edge of the cargo hatch as well. Rotten, swollen fingers crowded together, reminding Daolunte of writhing maggots.

He wanted to scream, but what he was seeing was so far beyond his understanding that he could not make a sound.

Was this still reality?! Was he dreaming?

Just as terror overwhelmed him, the undead first mate slowly lowered its head, and a slip of paper fell from its shattered skull.

Daolunte froze for a moment. Only after a long while did he hurriedly snatch up the note and begin reading.

The writing on the paper was faint and carried the rancid smell of whale oil. The crooked characters looked as though they had been casually written by a child just learning to write, but they were still barely legible.

"These Walking Corpses are driven by a secret art. They are extensions of my will, and they are your servants.

"Act immediately. Use the matchlock to kill Xia Lun, seize the helm, and head for Twin Bays.

"Once you succeed, command the Walking Corpses to seize the main deck gangway and release me."

Daolunte read it over several times in disbelief. Then he realized that his mentor had controlled the Walking Corpses to write this note, and he could not help muttering to himself.

"So that's how it is... so that's how it is..."

Trembling, he lowered the note. The fear on his face was gradually replaced by exhilaration. In less than half a second, he understood his mentor's entire strategy.

Everyone on the ship, himself included, had misunderstood his mentor's intentions!

Though his mentor had become a Monster, it did not actually need to eat corpses. Its constant demand for bodies had two purposes: one, to spread suspicion among the pirates; and two, to stockpile materials for transforming into Walking Corpses!

The hold had always been where the pirates stored corpses. Now, his mentor had at least fifty Walking Corpses under its control!

They had a huge advantage!

At that thought, Daolunte was immediately seized by a delirious ecstasy. He slowly climbed to his feet and stared excitedly at Xia Lun's faint silhouette in the mist.

The Walking Corpses were still pouring onto the deck through the cargo hatch, while Xia Lun at the helm remained utterly unaware, like a puppet.

"Heh, that's all." Daolunte scratched the festering sore on his face. Amid the pain was a pleasantly numb tingling sensation. He grabbed the matchlock, then raised it and aimed at Xia Lun.

But after a few seconds, he lowered the gun.

—The distance was too great. He was not confident he could hit Xia Lun in one shot.

Daolunte knew he had only one chance to fire. If he failed, given Xia Lun's marksmanship, there was no way he would survive.

He took a deep breath, then picked up the tinderbox, the premeasured powder charge, and the large lead ball from the ground, slowly stuffing them into his belt pouch.

If he could not hit from afar, then he would close the distance.

He bent low, lowered his center of gravity, and tried to conceal himself in the mist. With steps as light as a hunter's, he cautiously crept toward the helm.

The cold, heavy mist churned around him. With every breath, Daolunte felt some invisible chill fill his lungs through his windpipe. He was so tense that he even began to feel dizzy.

The smell of blood and rotting fat in the air grew stronger, while his deliberately softened footsteps vanished into the fog.

Perhaps it was luck, or perhaps it was the mist. Over the dozens of meters between the cargo hatch and the helm, Daolunte did not encounter a single person. Like ghosts in the fog, he and the Walking Corpses slowly closed in on the unsuspecting Xia Lun.

Closer, even closer...

Daolunte widened his eyes, trying to pinpoint Xia Lun's position. As he neared the helm, Xia Lun's figure became increasingly clear through the shifting mist. Soon, Daolunte reached the space beneath the helm.

The area below the helm was still empty. The deck was deserted. Everything was going so smoothly that it was unbelievable.

Xia Lun still stood in the thick fog like a scarecrow, oblivious and unresponsive, as though blind.

Daolunte stopped, slowly crouched down, and gradually raised the matchlock in his hand. Somewhat clumsily, he pressed his cheek against the stock, closed his left eye, and aligned the rear sight with Xia Lun.

"Phew..." He slowly exhaled, then abruptly pulled the trigger.

Click!

The crisp sound of the trigger echoed through the oppressive fog. A moment later, Daolunte realized that he had forgotten to load the propellant and bullet!

He was too nervous!

A chill ran through him. He looked fearfully at Xia Lun not far away, but to his astonishment, despite the obvious sound, Xia Lun still did not turn around. His face remained pointed toward the bow.

Daolunte instinctively poked his head out and narrowed his eyes for a closer look. As he watched, he suddenly noticed a terrifying detail.

In the fog, several clumps of cotton slowly drifted from "Xia Lun's" face, then melted into the rolling mist...

The figure before the helm was not Xia Lun at all. It was a dummy stuffed with ragged clothes and cotton!

His heart sank. In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and he suddenly understood why he had not encountered any other sailors along the way...

This had been a trap from the very beginning!

Daolunte's scalp went numb. He instinctively tried to move, but in the next instant, a familiar cold sneer suddenly sounded beside his ear.

"Click."

The fog abruptly swirled, and a cold, hard gun barrel instantly pressed against the back of his head. His body froze.

"Don't kill me, please..." Daolunte wanted to sound tough, but beneath death's cold shadow, the defiant words in his mind turned into an uncontrollable, shrill plea.

"Do you have any other accomplices?" Xia Lun's voice came from behind him, accompanied by the footsteps of countless pirates.

"You... how did you know it was me?"

"I asked the others. Voting is not even a popular way for you people to gamble." Xia Lun fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

That was a lie.

Xia Lun was not an omniscient god. He had no way to confirm the spy's true identity. He did not even know whether a spy existed at all.

In truth, he had merely used the Approved Specific List provided by the Game Panel when he gained Memory Points to single out those who appeared friendly toward him but were not actually on the list. He then deliberately assigned them to be on duty these past two days, hoping to lure the snake from its hole.

After all, if spies truly existed, these two days were their only chance to act.

"Plop, plop..."

Suddenly, Xia Lun heard the sound of liquid dripping onto the ground. His eyes shifted slightly, and through the rolling fog, he saw a pair of black leather boots covered in congealed yellow fat.

Who was that?

Xia Lun frowned slightly and instinctively looked up. In the next instant, his black eyes contracted uncontrollably!

A chill shot straight to the crown of his head.

Amid the roiling mist, a Black face mangled beyond recognition, with only half a head remaining, suddenly emerged. With sticky plopping sounds, the dark skin on its face, along with bright red muscle and yellowing rotten fascia clinging to it, slowly peeled away!

"Plop, plop."

What the hell was that?! Was that the first mate's corpse? Xia Lun was startled.

"Help..." Daolunte's ruined face suddenly cried out, but before he could utter a second syllable, Xia Lun pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang!

Daolunte's head exploded completely. Red, black, and white viscous matter sprayed everywhere like a smashed sauce shop.

The blast from the muzzle briefly scattered the fog, while the orange-yellow muzzle flash faintly illuminated the distance.

Amid the sharp intakes of breath from the pirates behind him, Xia Lun suddenly turned and stared deep into the fog.

The mist churned. Behind the first mate's rotten, vacant face were countless shadowy figures, heads bobbing as they charged through the white fog!

Xia Lun took a deep breath, slowly pumping oxygen and mist into his lungs. As shrieks rose and fell behind him, he suddenly shouted.

"Fire!"

Bang bang bang bang!

The deathly silent fog instantly erupted into chaos. This long-suppressed, grim, horrifying journey was finally ignited completely by the thunderous barrage of gunfire!