Chapter 94

Eck flipped through the ship's logbook again, which contained a record of the journey of the Blue Count Ship from its departure.

"The route for the first six days followed the original route published by the Blue Count Ship, but things started to go wrong after the sixth day..."

Su Cheng nodded, when suddenly Mu Ling's intrigued voice came from beside her. "They're fighting! Come and see!"

Switching to Mu Ling's perspective, a crew member is fighting with Modeya, wielding a shard of glass. Both seem determined to kill the other.

Did they start fighting amongst themselves at a time like this?

Her intuition told her it wasn't that simple.

"Let's go, your crew and first mate are fighting." Su Cheng opened the door and walked ahead.

"How could that be... They're not the kind of people who act impulsively." Eck frowned and quickly caught up.

Based on Mu Ling's location sensor, Su Cheng walked through the hall, down the stairs, and quickly arrived at the cargo hold.

Modeya had already pinned the crew member to the ground, raising the glass shards with both hands and pressing them down inch by inch, his eyes bloodshot as if he were in a killing frenzy.

"Modeya!! Stop!" Eck shouted anxiously from afar.

Su Cheng quickly stepped forward and kicked Modeya in the side, knocking him to the floor. He clutched his waist in pain and couldn't get up.

She then stepped on the back of a crew member who was trying to get up.

"Aaaaaah!"

The crew member's eyes were bloodshot and he was making incoherent noises; his condition was clearly abnormal.

Su Cheng ordered, "Bring the rope from the corner and tie these two up first."

Eck quickly picked up the dusty, coarse rope and, together with Su Cheng, tied Modeya and the crew members back to back.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

Although Modeya and the crew were tied up, they continued to struggle, their eyes glazed over and bloodshot, as if they were in a trance.

"What happened to you guys?" Eck asked, bewildered, scratching his messy brown hair in frustration. Suddenly, something occurred to him. "Wait, their situation matches what Ross's notes said!"

Su Cheng also thought of this, "If what Ross's notes say is true, they will kill each other, and the victor will throw the other into the sea and then jump in as well."

This is why there weren't many corpses on the ship.

But why weren't she and Eck affected?

She didn't sense anything unusual.

Su Cheng looked around; the cargo hold was filled with stacks of cardboard boxes. "Ross's notes mentioned that the cargo hold contained things he originally planned to use."

The two began rummaging through the junk boxes.

What was Ross planning to use to kill the passengers before arriving in this area...? Was it something that affected their minds, causing them to kill each other?

Most of the storage boxes were already empty, with only a few still containing expired food and rotten, dried-out fruit.

"What is this?" Eck suddenly shouted.

Su Cheng quickly walked over to him.

Eck took out a tightly sealed glass jar from the tightly sealed box, held it in his hands, and carefully examined the green color inside.

It appears to be a type of algae, clinging to the wall of the jar, with round leaves at the top, and whitish, particularly slender rhizomes beneath the leaves.

Perhaps due to lack of water, its leaves were yellowed and shriveled, and it looked somewhat like a plant specimen when it was stuck to the glass wall.

Eck twisted the lid of the can, trying to open it to take a look, but found that no matter how hard he tried, the lid was stuck and he couldn't turn it.

The reason he couldn't turn it wasn't because the jar was stuck, but because there were two unseen hands covering the lid.

Seeing the sudden appearance of the female ghost, Su Cheng stopped Eck's actions and took the jar of green algae.

Eck thought Su Cheng was annoyed that he wasn't strong enough, and coughed lightly, somewhat embarrassed, "There seems to be something wrong with this jar."

Su Cheng shook her head and offered no explanation.

The female ghost seemed unwilling to touch Su Cheng. After withdrawing her hand, she floated a few steps, sat on a box amidst the pile of clutter, and whispered, "Don't open it, you'll get sick."

Just like reminding Su Cheng to disembark, "Don't open it" also seems like a well-intentioned reminder.

Su Cheng believed the female ghost wasn't lying. The fact that the ghost appeared repeatedly to remind her showed that she had good intentions and must have been a kind person in life.

Furthermore, she did not sense any power from the algae bottle that could influence people's minds.

If it really was algae causing the problem, she couldn't have been completely Perception of it at such close range.

She put the jar of algae back into the box.

He pointed to Modeya and the other person, then to his feet, and asked her almost affirmatively:

"There's something underwater causing the boat to get stuck in a loop; it's eating people, isn't it?"

A note from the author:

I'm back!

Chapter 94

For the first time, the female ghost's expression changed noticeably. Her soul trembled, seemingly in fear, and her eyes widened slightly in surprise at Su Cheng's keen perception.

Her performance is the answer.

Eck looked in surprise and followed Su Cheng's gaze to the corner, but there was clearly nothing there. "Who are you talking to?"

Su Cheng ignored him and continued talking to the female ghost, "If I want to go into the sea, do you know where on the ship there is suitable equipment?"

Eck didn't stupidly respond; it was obvious that Su Cheng wasn't talking to him.

He recalled the psychic legends he had heard before, looked around, tensed up, and felt a chill creep over him.

The female ghost hesitated for a moment before answering, "It's dangerous, it's terrifying."

"Is it a soul?"

The female ghost shook her head; she didn't know, "It will devour all living beings."

Su Cheng: "If we don't solve this, we'll never be able to leave this sea area, and neither will you."

Although it's unclear why the female ghost was the sole survivor, her spirit was clearly trapped on the Blue Count Ship, wandering aimlessly as a wandering soul.

"..."

Seeing the female ghost's hesitant look, Su Cheng knew that she knew there was equipment for going to sea on the ship, and continued, "And the fact that I wasn't affected means that I'm not completely powerless to resist."

The female ghost remained silent for a long while before suddenly saying, "The equipment for going to sea is in my room."

Su Cheng left Eck to guard Modeya and the other woman, then left the cargo hold with the female ghost.

Meanwhile, Mu Ling was instructed to stay behind and observe Eck; if anything unusual happened, she was to knock him unconscious or tie him up.

She suspected that Eck was able to remain unaffected because of her surroundings, and that the jade pendant she wore or her profession prevented them from being affected by "it underwater."

Su Cheng hurried to the passenger cabin and easily returned to the female ghost's room.

The female ghost floated onto the bed, pulled back the quilt covering the corpse, and bent down to tear a sapphire ring pendant from the corpse's neck.

"Here, take this." She placed the pendant on the corner of the bed, took two steps back, and the golden light emanating from Su Cheng made her subconsciously reluctant to get closer.

Su Cheng stepped forward and picked up the gemstone pendant.

The antique sapphire ring, strung on a simple red cord, features a 5-carat azure gem that stands out brilliantly in the drab room.

It shimmers with a faint light, tinged with a clear blue like the sky, and as it turns slightly, it reveals the depth of the sea.

The red string that strung it together looked particularly crude and shoddy. Hidden under the clothes, the gemstone ring was not visible, and one would think that the thin string was just an ordinary piece of jewelry.

After admiring the beauty of the sapphire ring, Su Cheng also realized that it was no ordinary ornament, as the female ghost had referred to it as "equipment for going to sea."

After placing it in her Smart Bag, she saw the ring details:

[Heart of Sea Blue: Paranormal Weapon Class that creates a defensive space around the wielder, blocking external liquids, spying, and locking, and concealing the aura of a spirit. Durability: 20%, Weight: 0.2kg]

That's why the female ghost became the sole survivor, and why Su Cheng and Mu Ling didn't notice.

Despite its durability, it is truly a rare and excellent item.

Its ability to block liquids is essential for both water supply and drainage. Furthermore, its ability to conceal one's presence is not only effective against supernatural entities, but also against those with the ability to Yin-Yang Eyes or Perception presence.

"Thank you," Su Cheng said earnestly. She hadn't expected the female ghost to be so generous, and she also understood why the other woman had hesitated for so long when asked about her equipment for going into the sea.

The female ghost shook her head. "If it can help you overcome the underwater crisis, it will be most valuable if it stays with you."

Once the sapphire was separated from the corpse, it lost some kind of Protection, and its skin became visibly thinner.

Seeing this, Su Cheng channeled a White Qi into her body, allowing her soul to solidify once more.

The female ghost hadn't expected Su Cheng to possess such an ability. Her brows relaxed, and her eyes deepened with anticipation. She paused, then slowly said:

"This gemstone ring is a treasure my grandmother gave me; it helps you breathe underwater. But I'm not sure if it will still conceal your presence once you're underwater... I hope you can truly help Blue Count escape the cycle."

Su Cheng nodded; she would naturally do her best to find out what was underwater.

Their goal was the same: to leave this sea area.

In just a short while, Mu Ling's voice came through. Sure enough, Eck was affected shortly after she left and was tied up with rope by her.

Su Cheng decided to have the female ghost temporarily watch over Eck and the other two, while she and Mu Ling prepared to go into the sea.

She went up to the deck.

A ray of dawn rises where the sky meets the sea, heralding the approaching daylight in this region.

She climbed onto the guardrail, the cold sea breeze blowing through her hair and the hem of her clothes; the morning wind seemed particularly biting.

Looking down, the sea was calm.

She slipped the sapphire ring onto her thumb, and it fit perfectly.

He kicked his legs, held his breath, and without much hesitation, jumped down.

With a "plop," water splashed everywhere.

The instant Su Cheng submerged underwater, a transparent membrane quickly formed around her, preventing seawater from entering her mouth and nose.

She can breathe inside the membrane, but when she opens her mouth to speak, she exhales gurgling bubbles.

Mu Ling said from inside the bracelet, "I feel something pulling me down."

Su Cheng sensed it too.

Directly below the Blue Count Ship, a faint voice seemed to be calling to her from the depths of the sea, urging her to descend closer.