Morel's exploration ship sailed across the sea.
This was the Boundary Sea.
Dense white fog hemmed them in on every side.
Visibility was less than a meter.
The searchlight at the bow illuminated nothing but a sheet of stark white.
An indescribable, pungent odor filled the air.
The atmosphere aboard the entire ship was unbearably oppressive.
The members of the Zodiacs stood on deck, fully armed.
Every one of them had raised their Nen to full alert.
Kanzai clenched his fists, veins bulging on the backs of his hands.
Mizaistom stared at the compass in his hand.
Its needle spun wildly.
All their modern navigation equipment was useless here.
Ging leaned against the mast, his tattered headscarf flapping noisily in the sea breeze.
He stared into the depths of the fog.
Everyone was tense as hell.
Only the scene at the stern was completely out of place.
Luo Ye had set up a lounge chair in the middle of the deck.
He wore a fresh Hawaiian shirt, with his battered canvas shoes propped right up on the ship's railing.
"New employee."
Luo Ye hollered.
"Bring me that bag of seafood-flavored chips."
Shizuku pushed up her black-framed glasses, pulled a large bag of chips from Blinkly's mouth, and handed it over, opening a can of chilled cola for him as well.
Luo Ye stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth and crunched away.
The sound grated in the deathly silence of the sea.
Cheadle turned around, her eyes blazing behind her green-framed glasses.
She had reached the end of her patience with his utter lack of discipline.
But before Cheadle could speak, the thick fog ahead suddenly churned violently, and a tremendous gurgling rose from the sea.
A group of uninvited visitors blocked the exploration ship's path.
They were dozens