The Story's Aftermath

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Violent explosions erupted on the whaling ship once more. Amid the rising flames, the last mast finally came crashing down.

It seemed to be a signal. With a massive wave, the whaling ship's tilt suddenly worsened. Like the arm of a stiff corpse reaching toward the sky before death, the entire hull slanted nearly seventy degrees.

Billowing black smoke and white mist poured from where the ship met the water, like puffy sleeves. With another explosion, the whaling ship suddenly began sinking at an incredible speed!

A whirlpool visible to the naked eye gradually formed!

"We have to go, or the whirlpool will suck us in!" On a lifeboat, a brown-haired pirate wiped the rain from his forehead and shouted sharply. "We can't wait any longer!"

"No, we have to keep waiting!" roared the one-eared pirate. "Lord Xia Lun hasn't come up yet!"

"He's not coming back! The ship's already sinking!" the brown-haired pirate shouted back. "Don't be crazy, let's be rational! The other lifeboats have all left. If we don't go now, we'll fall behind!"

With that, he ignored everyone else, grabbed an oar, bent over, and started rowing.

Click!

The next moment, the one-eared pirate pulled out a flintlock pistol and pressed it hard against the brown-haired pirate's forehead.

"Put the oar down, damn it. Don't even think about running!"

"Priest, he's gone mad!" The brown-haired pirate's eyes widened as raindrops streamed from his brown bangs into his eyes. "Hurry, save me!"

In the center of the lifeboat's deck, the priest knelt on the ground, clutching a holy emblem and praying in anguish.

"It's all my fault... It's all my fault... I got everyone killed..."

"Stop muttering and make a decision already!" the brown-haired pirate shouted shakily. "Damn it, I can see the whirlpool! It'll be too late soon!"

Rumble!

Lightning streaked across the sky, its ghastly white flash illuminating the doctor's face aboard the lifeboat.

The doctor still wore his broken glasses, and his face still bore that harmless, ingratiating smile. Yet now, his eyes seemed far more lively.

"Wait one more minute." The doctor took out a pocket watch and lightly pressed it. "Maybe Xia Lun is about to come up?"

Before he finished speaking, the entire boat suddenly shuddered!

Amid the raging waves, a shriveled hand suddenly emerged, then fiercely gripped the edge of the railing. The next moment, a person so gaunt he barely looked human, like a dried corpse, climbed aboard!

It was Xia Lun!

Thud!

In an instant, all four people on the lifeboat stared in shock at Xia Lun, who had suddenly appeared.

"Thank you for waiting for me. Cough, cough... Get moving." Xia Lun turned over with difficulty, as though swimming had exhausted all his strength. "There are no other survivors. I was the last one. Let's go!"

"Xia Lun!" The priest tossed aside his holy emblem and rose to his feet in shock. "I... I'm sorry... I'm sorry!"

"Lord Xia Lun!" The one-eared pirate suddenly dropped to his knees, his voice unexpectedly choked with tears. "I knew you'd be all right."

"Enough nonsense. If we don't leave now, that whirlpool will churn us in. Go row. I need to rest first..." Xia Lun interrupted. "By the way, do you have any food? Give me some, quickly."

The one-eared pirate hurriedly rummaged through a sack, then reverently handed Xia Lun a piece of hard bread.

"We won't be sucked into the whirlpool." The doctor adjusted his glasses with a smile. "After all, every good deed must be repaid."

Xia Lun stuffed the bread into his mouth and chewed rapidly, but after only a few bites, he swallowed it whole.

"Doctor, thank you for your Symptom Reading." Xia Lun grabbed another piece of dried salted fish and stuffed it into his mouth, then let out a long breath. "That really was... a lifesaver."

"It was my honor." Smiling, the doctor picked up an oar and rowed with the others.

Before long, the small boat narrowly drifted through gaps between cresting waves and hidden currents, safely leaving the storm zone.

A day later, the lifeboat safely reached the sandy shore on the western side of Perilous Earth Island.

When gentle waves washed the boat onto the beach, everyone was utterly exhausted.

"We survived... We survived!" Overcome with joy, the brown-haired pirate dropped to his knees on the beach. Like a madman, he slapped himself, then began wailing loudly. "We really survived!"

Warm, gentle sunlight shone upon the survivors' faces. Its dry warmth seeped into their skin, driving the fear and fatigue from their bones.

For a moment, they were dazed—the horrifying memories aboard the whaling ship seemed like nothing more than an unreal nightmare, and everything faded away along with the dampness drying beneath the sun.

They were completely safe!

"Lord Xia Lun, what do we do next?" The one-eared pirate patted his face, wiping away his smile before asking respectfully.

Xia Lun did not answer immediately. He closed his eyes and carefully listened to the waves washing over the beach and the cries of seabirds before slowly speaking.

"Two options. We either meet up with the others first, or we dig for the so-called treasure. According to Monster, the treasure is nearby."

"The others should be at the Red Hook Tavern in Senel Port." The priest cautiously glanced at Xia Lun before speaking quietly. "That's our base on Perilous Earth Island."

"Forget the Red Hook Tavern. Let's dig for the treasure first. If we really find it, the few of us will strike it rich." The brown-haired pirate wiped away the tears on his face. "Let's dig for it. If we can't find it, it won't be too late to look for the others."

Xia Lun glanced at the doctor, who slowly adjusted his glasses.

"If you ask me, we should dig." The doctor smiled. "Everyone's in poor financial shape right now. We need some startup capital."

"We'll do as he says," Xia Lun added softly.

Thus, the five of them brought their tools to the area near the cliff and began digging furiously.

Yet even by dusk, they had not found the so-called treasure.

At that moment, only a few minutes remained before Xia Lun completed his scenario objective of "survive for six days."

"Could Monster have made up the treasure just to trick us?" In the fading light of the sunset, the priest gnawed on bread and asked suspiciously, "Is there really treasure?"

"Of course there is." The doctor smiled. "Dig a little more. Maybe you'll find it?"

Before he finished speaking, his shovel struck something hard—bang.

"Didn't we just find it?"

Everyone hurried over in shock. After a series of knocks, they broke open the rusted iron chest, revealing a large pile of dazzling gold coins and gemstones of every color...

"Hehehe." The doctor nodded with a smile. "See? What did I tell you—"

Xia Lun stepped forward and grabbed a handful of gold coins. At that exact moment, his mission timer reached its end.

Countless golden messages flashed past the corner of his eye. Before he could examine them, two cobalt-blue messages surged into view.

[Scenario Objective: Survive for 6 days (6/6)]

[You will leave the current scene]

The next instant, Xia Lun's vision went black, and that familiar chill surged through him once more.

"Are you all right?!" Before completely leaving the instance, he heard the priest's worried, tense voice. He tried to speak, but before any sound could leave his mouth, it dissolved into boundless, freezing darkness.

The next moment, Xia Lun's consciousness completely left this place.

"What happened to Lord Xia Lun?" the brown-haired pirate asked uncertainly. "Why did he suddenly stop moving?"

As he spoke, he lightly patted Xia Lun on the shoulder.

Yet the instant he touched him, Xia Lun's entire body gave off a splashing, watery echo. His muscles dissolved in pale sweat, his skin filled with foaming water, and his bones let out a melancholy sigh before releasing a fishy scent of seawater.

In less than half a breath, Xia Lun turned into a puddle of bubbles and splashing water. The gold coins between his fingers fell into the bubbles with a clinking sound.

"Ah?!" The brown-haired pirate stumbled back two steps in terror, then fell onto the ground.

The one-eared pirate stared blankly, his eyes wide. "Lord Xia Lun is dead?!"

At that moment, even the doctor opened his mouth in shock. Somewhat confused, he scratched at his graying sideburns.

"How... how is that possible?" The doctor could not help taking off his glasses. "He... he died just like that?"

"No, you're mistaken." The priest suddenly spoke in a deep voice. "The amount of treasure in the chest has changed—nearly one-fifth of it is gone."

The brown-haired pirate shakily climbed to his feet and leaned over the treasure chest. Looking closely, he discovered that a considerable portion of the treasure really had disappeared.

"Lord Xia Lun was sent by the Undying Sacred Flame to save us." The priest declared with certainty. "He did not die. He merely returned to report. By taking that treasure, he was telling us that those of us left behind must divide the rest equally and use it properly."

"Is... is that right?" The doctor scratched his head instinctively and muttered, "He turned into waves, not sparks..."

"You don't need to worry about that." The priest's tone grew increasingly certain and devout. At that moment, he seemed to have received divine revelation. "Everything has its meaning. Only because it is absurd does it make sense."

Thus, the remaining few completely accepted the priest's explanation.

Though pirates were mostly greedy and ruthless, under such mysterious circumstances, none of them quarreled over the division of the loot. Like monks performing a ritual, they meticulously divided the treasure in the chest equally.

After erecting a wooden marker where Xia Lun had vanished, the survivors who had received enough money soon went their separate ways, each pursuing a different goal.

The priest turned over a new leaf. On Perilous Earth Island, that pirate free port, he established a church of the Undying Sacred Flame and also opened an orphanage.

Thanks to his capable management and high level of theological knowledge, the priest's reputation gradually rose. A few years later, the Church of the Undying Sacred Flame reinstated his membership and appointed him bishop of the archipelago region.

However, the church's inquisitors opposed this. They believed the priest's teachings were outrageously unorthodox and already qualified as heresy—the priest had openly declared that the merciless Undying Sacred Flame would send divine messengers to aid those in suffering.

Yet the inquisitors' accusations ultimately came to nothing. Under the force of money, the priest's influence within the church had expanded so rapidly that the inquisitors could no longer question him.

Although the brown-haired pirate and the one-eared pirate often quarreled, strangely enough, they eventually chose to work together. After obtaining this startup capital, the two former pirates made several more highly risky investments and ultimately succeeded. They had now become rising merchant magnates on Scarlet Lantern Island.

From a certain perspective, their horrific experience aboard the whaling ship had greatly tempered their resolve and judgment. Therefore, their success could not be considered entirely accidental.

Compared to the others, however, the doctor's whereabouts were quite strange, despite him receiving the same enormous sum.

"Hehehe." The doctor adjusted the frame of his new glasses, lowered his head to organize a suitcase filled with medical instruments, then stepped across the planks and quickly boarded an expedition ship.

At that moment, he had completely shed his former foolish appearance. Instead, he looked exceptionally professional and rational.

"Name?" On the expedition ship's deck, the clerk in charge of registration asked in a deep voice.

The doctor removed his glasses, revealing a somewhat strange smile.

"Just call me Ishmael," he said with a smile.

(The End)