Because three Sun appeared in the sky, the sky became quite dazzling, and people had to squint when they looked up.
"Let's climb up and take a look," Boris said, grabbing the rope swaying in the air.
One end of the rope was in Petru's hand. He pulled hard back and said, "Okay, but I'm heavy, so you'll have to hold the other end for me and not let go!"
"Don't worry, even though I don't like you, a Slavic warrior would never stab someone in the back! Besides, aren't we fighting for all of humanity now?" Boris said, pulling hard on the rope.
Perhaps because the two men were too strong, they suddenly heard a snap, the rope suddenly lengthened, and both of them fell down on their backsides, almost capsizing the small boat.
"Can't you fucking be more careful?" Petru cursed.
"How was I supposed to know this ship would be so flimsy!" Boris said.
The pillars and railings on the ship were leaning, but the ropes were still firmly attached and had not fallen down.
Petru grabbed the rope and tugged at it a few more times, but this time it didn't budge and seemed very secure.
"Hold on tight, you'd better catch me if I fall." He then scrambled up like a nimble ape, gripped the gunwale, flipped over the railing, tied the rope to a nearby intact railing, and turned back to say, "You can get on now!"
"They really are fucking pirates!"
Boris weighed his own abilities and realized that he couldn't match Boris in climbing alone, so he felt a little resentful. But when he thought that this was a skill of robbers, which they had honed by climbing countless cargo ships, he felt at peace and even a little disdainful.
He gestured to Ivan, signaling him to go first. Ivan, however, looked at Situ and Qingmu and asked, "Which of you will go first?"
Situ and Qingmu exchanged a glance, said nothing, and walked over at the same time, each grabbing a rope with perfect understanding. Boris obediently stepped aside, and the two of them leaped up almost simultaneously, their feet bracing against the boat planks, moving like cats, and in no time they were up there, leaving only the two ropes dangling in the air.
Boris paused, then muttered, "These guys were all pirates, weren't they?!"
He shook his head, looking slightly dejected. Ivan came over, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "We're submariners; the deep sea is our forte."
Boris felt that what he said made sense, and his mood improved slightly.
Ivan looked at Anderson, Anderson couldn't climb the rope because of a leg injury, and said, "You guys go up, I'll stay here with the ladies."
Su Huilan could have gone up, but Mrs. Larry and Alice couldn't climb up, and she didn't want to try, so she thought it was better to stay here. Besides, she also felt that Anderson's behavior earlier was a bit abnormal. Although she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong, it was always good to be on the safe side. Qingmu was usually someone who didn't bother to think about anything, but she wasn't. She had been observing and reflecting on the recent changes.
Ivan said, "It's good that you stay; you can provide support should anything happen. Once we're up there, we'll see if we can open the dock or lower the gangway."
After saying that, he and Boris climbed up as well.
There was indeed no one on the warship. Everything looked new, but the surfaces were covered with a powdery substance that would flake off and leave marks if touched. The deck was the same; stepping on it felt like stepping on a fine, thin layer of sand, leaving clear footprints.
From the deck to the cabin, there were no obstacles or people in sight. All the cabin doors were open, but the interior didn't feel damp like on a ship; instead, it felt like entering a dry cave.
It wasn't until they entered the command room that they saw a man in naval uniform sitting in a chair in front of the window facing the bow of the ship.
The command room window wasn't stained at all, but you couldn't really call it clean because it wasn't very transparent. You couldn't see the outside world clearly through it, much like the kind of frosted glass used in bathrooms. But everyone knows that no ship's bridge uses frosted glass, let alone a warship.
Although the view was blurry, the sunlight still shone in, illuminating the interior clearly.
The man sat in a chair, and those entering through the cabin door could only see his side and back. He leaned back in the chair, his hands resting on his lap, looking natural and comfortable, as if he were looking at the shimmering waves of the sea through the glass in front of him.
"Hello, excuse me, sorry to bother you!" Petru said as he entered first.
The man didn't move or reply.
This was actually expected. The Crow had already scouted the area once, and everyone was prepared that there would be no survivors on the ship. Even if there were corpses strewn all over the place, it was still within expectations. But the sudden appearance of a man in military uniform sitting on a chair with Tushu, seemingly dead, created a rather eerie atmosphere.
Petru and Boris went ahead first, followed by Situ and Qingmu, with Ivan bringing up the rear. When they reached the man, even though they were all audacious individuals, they were still taken aback by the sight before them.
Beneath the clean white military cap was a pale, thin, and wrinkled face. The muscles in his face had shrunk from dehydration, and the skin clung tightly to the bones, forming deep wrinkles that were permanently fixed to his face. His cheeks were sunken, and his eye sockets were like two deep, dark holes, gazing upwards out the window as if staring at the sky, while his pupils had long since flown out and transformed into two extra Sun in the sky. His arms were placed naturally on his lap, and peeking out from the cuffs of his blue military uniform were two white, fleshless hands, covered only by a thin layer of skin, like bird claws.
This is a mummified corpse.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe Crow as a skeleton.
Petru pursed his lips, wanting to say something, but didn't. He wasn't afraid, just felt very oppressed. He felt that something was wrong with this place, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
Situ reached out and gently pinched the man's collar. Miraculously, a piece of cloth was pinched off and turned into dirt between his fingers.
He raised his hand to look at it, and said, "Strange." He gently blew on it, and the dust on his fingers flew away.
Qingmu looked down and saw the name tag on the right breast of his uniform, which read " Halsey " in English. He then remembered the naval lieutenant commander he had met on Rapa Island and in the library. He remembered that the man had a very handsome and masculine face, and that he didn't look out of place standing next to the beautiful Xia Xiaoxiao.
However, upon seeing the mummified corpse before him, the image of that face blurred, and eventually, he could no longer find the face in his memory, leaving only the appearance of the mummified corpse.
Ivan and Boris began checking the instruments in the command room, but found that none of them could be started and the circuits were not working.
"It looks like we've run out of fuel. We need to check the engine room and boiler room," Ivan said.
"Okay, and while you're at it, look for weapons," Boris said, still thinking about it, then warned Petru, "Hey, Redbeard, that helicopter outside is mine. Don't even think about sneaking it away."
Petru said, "Don't worry, I don't want to fall from the sky. If the steel plates of a ship corrode like that, I'm sure helicopters would be useless by now."
"Don't think you can fool me with such tricks!" Boris said.
"No, he's right," Situ suddenly said. "The plane is definitely not up to the task, and don't even think about restoring the ship's power. Go to the tool room and see if there's anything usable, if you can open the hatch there."
"Why?" Boris asked, puzzled.
"Look at this Lieutenant Colonel Halsey— " Situ pointed his scepter at the mummified corpse in the chair, "He's been sitting in this chair for at least several hundred years, maybe a thousand!"