Shrouded Seascape

HOOONK!

The Narwhale's piercing steam whistle sounded excited. She seemed thrilled at the fact that she was about to set sail once again. The Narwhale wasn't alone on the docks; there were several fully equipped warships next to her.

Soldiers in light blue uniforms boarded the ships one by one via the ladders. Charles alone was not enough to find the lost technology concerning the creation of prosthetic hearts. After all, the Albion Isles were massive.

The fleet carried many combat engineers and machines to sweep the ruins of the Albion Isles and locate their target.

The crew of the Narwhale turned up, and they all had a spring in their steps as they approached the Narwhale.

Just as they were about to board, Charles appeared and stopped them. "This expedition has nothing to do with you guys. Go back and keep doing whatever you were doing yesterday."

Dipp's smile faded, and he hurriedly exclaimed, "But we're always together for expeditions, Captain!"

The others didn't speak, but their expressions made it clear that they shared Dipp's sentiment.

Charles stood on the dock with his hands on his hips, and his gaze swept across his crew members as he explained, "We're just going to the Albion Isles just to obtain some information, that's all. It's an easy expedition, and there's no need for all of you to come along."

"Go back, all of you. We no longer have to risk our lives out at sea, and all of you can retire for good. Live your best life in retirement. I'm going out at sea for my own personal affair."

Sitting on Linda's bald head, Lily looked a bit aggrieved. She hugged her tail and said, "Then, I definitely have to go with you, Mr. Charles. When it's about locating something, mice are much better than humans."

"Did you not hear what I said? All of you, go back!!" Charles exclaimed coldly.

The crew members looked at their captain with complicated expressions. Charles' words didn't sound like what he'd say as their captain. If it hadn't been for Sparkle standing nearby, they would have thought that the Charles before them was Anna in disguise.

"Are the captain's orders no longer absolute? I said leave, so leave! Leave right now!!"

The crew had no choice but to leave with complicated feelings. Logically, they ought to be happy that they no longer had to risk their lives at sea. However, not one of them had a smile tugging at their lips.

Linda embraced the sobbing Lily and stroked her gently. "Don't worry. During his next physical exam, I'll examine his consciousness and see if his thoughts have been changed by Anna or if he's gone crazy again.

"If it's the latter, then I can only say that getting along with a lunatic is really exhausting."

"Perhaps the real reason is that… we simply are useless on board…" Dipp muttered, looking especially dejected.

Cook Planck seemed a bit aggrieved upon hearing that. "What do you mean, 'useless'? If we're useless, then does that mean I'm useless, too? People always need to eat. Are the cooks on the navy better at me when it comes to cooking?"

"Forget it. The captain has passed down his order, and we have to obey it. Fortunately, the first mate is still by his side. We can just ask him about what had transpired upon his return," Second Mate Nico said, casting his eyes, which had heavy eyeshadow, at Bandages, who was walking next to Charles.

Weister covered in bandages once again turned to Charles and said, "Everyone... is here... we can set sail at any time..."

The tentacles on Charles' head swayed as the salty sea breeze swept past them. Charles stared at the crowd in front of him for a while before turning to look at his first mate. "How's life on the island? No problems at home, I assume?"

"Mmhm..." Bandages nodded.

"You've been doing a great job holding down the fort on Hope Island. I really am at ease with you managing the island's affairs. I feel like you're the Governor of Hope Island instead of me," Charles joked.

"There's also... Anna..." Bandages replied in a low voice.

Charles shook his head and retorted, "I used to think that way, but her methods and ideas are too extreme. If I were to leave Hope Island in her hands, the islanders would suffer.

"If I had to choose a successor, I'd choose you. You're more suitable for the role compared to her. Under your leadership, everyone on the island would live a comfortable life."

The brows beneath the bandages furrowed as Bandages turned to his captain. "Are you… leaving?"

Charles chuckled and punched Bandages on the shoulder. "Don't be nervous. I was just saying. Where can I even go in the Subterranean Sea? All right, let's get on board, my admiral."

With that, Charles led Bandages toward the fleet. Once the preparations were done, Sparkle jumped around the fleet, teleporting every single ship of the fleet one by one to their destination.

Before the people on board could understand what was going on, they suddenly found themselves out at sea. They were on the periphery of where the Albion Isles was once located. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The new recruits on board were particularly shocked by the miracle, and some even prostrated on the ground, worshiping Sparkle in midair.

Charles had no time to pay any attention to them. His brows were furrowed as he swept his gaze across the scenery before him.

The bright searchlights of the fleet vanquished the darkness, revealing what remained of the Albion Isles. The islands that once housed millions of people had scattered into underwater reefs and islets of debris that surfaced intermittently.

"Advance!" Charles exclaimed, ordering the fleet.

A deafening silence blanketed the region, and everyone felt like they were sailing into a graveyard. The atmosphere became more and more oppressive as time ticked by until everyone eventually held their breath.

With a splash, several tiny submarines hit the water and submerged. They swam ahead to scout for everyone else.

Observing the wretched state of the once-prosperous Albion Isles, Charles couldn't help but feel doubtful about his chances of obtaining any information related to prosthetic hearts. The island's all scattered. Can we really find the records about the prosthetic hearts? No, does it even exist at this point?

A few white-haired old men were standing beside him. They were the shipwrights whom Charles had brought out of Albion Isles back then. The white-haired old men failed to control themselves upon clapping their eyes on their homeland.

The tears flowing down their wrinkled faces dripped onto the ship's deck. They pointed agitatedly at everything familiar in the water, discussing what those pieces of debris used to look like.

"Now isn't the time to cry. Where's the Navy headquarters of the Albion Isles? We need to start on that side," Charles asked, looking at them.

Under the guidance of the white-haired old men, the entire fleet turned and approached the destination that most likely contained the blueprints for prosthetic hearts.

"Sparkle, keep an eye out for anything dangerous. If you ever find anything dangerous, then sound the alarm," Charles said to his daughter sitting on the gunwale.

Sparkle's bare feet were dangling over the pitch-black sea surface. She wasn't nervous at all. In fact, she looked a bit bored. "Mommy and I came here a few years ago, and we found no dangers at all. What danger might be out here?"

"Better safe than sorry. It never hurts to be a bit more careful in a place like this. And don't you think it's a bit strange? How come we haven't seen even a single corpse so far?" Charles pointed out.

The islets illuminated by searchlights carried around a variety of objects—building debris, rusted mechanical parts, and even tilted utility poles. However, they still had yet to find any corpses.