Watching the white mouse as it seemed so eager for praise, Charles was utterly astonished. "You can operate the deck gun?"
He had originally thought it was the Chief Engineer, James, operating the gun, but it turned out to be the mouse, Lily.
"My friends and I operated it. How about that, aren't we impressive?" Lily squeaked twice, and a large group of brown mice swarmed onto Charles's bed.
Looking at the bed full of mice, Charles felt utterly repulsed. "Get them all off. You can go back alone. Why did you bring all these other mice with you?"
"I promised I'd invite them to my home to try my mother's sweet fish soup. A promise is a promise," Lily asserted confidently.
Charles soothed Lily for a few moments and then looked toward Krona, the Second Officer.
The red-haired young man seemed to know what Charles was about to ask. "Don't worry, Captain," he said. "We've done a headcount. No one is extra or missing."
"That's good, that's good..."
Once the danger had passed, a powerful wave of sleepiness enveloped him. The exhaustion from his wounds and the aftermath of his frantic run caused his body to sound an alarm.
"Don't let your guard down. Return to a safe shipping lane as quickly as possible. You can all go now. I'm a bit tired."
Before the others had even left the room, Charles's eyelids drooped, and he was instantly unconscious.
When he awoke, he had no idea how much time had passed.
"I need to buy a pocket watch."
Regaining his strength, Charles didn't get out of bed. A faint, long-absent smile appeared on his face as he leaned against the pillow.
He had always worried about one thing: was he still on Earth? Even if he made it to the Earth's surface, would he ever be able to return home? But the words of the Gate of Flesh 1068 had confirmed one thing. There was a sun in the outside world, which meant it had to be Earth. And if it was Earth, there was a high probability that his home was still there.
His resolve reaffirmed, Charles was about to get out of bed when he saw the relics taken from the Third Laboratory piled on the cabinet.
Seeing these items, Charles's heart stirred.
Although everything that happened in that place was his own doing, Charles now felt strangely detached from the person he had been. Back then, the mere thought of so many relics had made him itch with anticipation. He had acted on instinct, stealing them without a second thought for how dangerous his actions were. But now, looking at the relics, Charles felt fortunate. He had gotten away with so many of them at the cost of only a few injuries. The trade was undoubtedly worth it.
Charles began to carefully examine the items he had snatched.
A rusty knife.
A quill pen as thick as a forearm.
A pyramid-shaped Purple Crystal.
Along with the silver-white ring of intertwined tentacles on his hand, there were four relics in total.
The items seemed extraordinary, but Charles dared not test them rashly. During the skirmish with the leech-like creatures, he had lost some of the record books. When he jumped into the sea, even more were soaked and ruined.
Now, only the information sheets for two relics remained, one of which was for the ring on his hand.
"Project Number: 168"
"Project Name: Tentacle Ring"
"Description: 168 is a ring made of 925 silver, its appearance that of three intertwining, octopus-like tentacles. It was discovered by Dr. Tina during her vacation in a jewelry store in New Territory City [DATA DELETED]."
"Appendix 1: As Dr. Tina detected its anomaly and submitted it immediately, the Foundation decided to proceed with direct containment of 168. The Anomaly Description is provided in the interview record in Appendix 2."
"Appendix 2:
"Dr. Tina, could you tell us how you discovered 168?"
"My husband took me to pick out a wedding ring. I put it on the moment I saw it. It wasn't until I got back to my apartment that I realized something was amiss. I had begun to possess a certain Special Ability."
"What kind of Special Ability?"
"Um... my hand can turn into three tentacles that are invisible to others. The feeling is very strange, as if the tentacles are a natural part of my hand."
"I know what you're going to ask next. The tentacles have a very strong grip, roughly equal to the strength of two adult men. Their elasticity is also very impressive; they can stretch up to 5 meters when fully extended. As for the negative effects, the ring tempts people to unconsciously put it on, and it grows progressively tighter. It must be taken off from time to time to relieve the pressure."
"That's it?"
"Yes, that's it. It's a very simple little thing, really. It would be nice if the other projects were as well-behaved as this one. Right, Sophie? The one I'm in charge of, 1068, is manageable as long as it has enough food, but 641 is a real headache."
"Oh, Tina, I've heard about that one. It's indeed tough to deal with. If its containment were to fail, everyone on the island might be assimilated by it. In terms of sheer danger, though, it still doesn't compare to the one I'm responsible for, 134—"
"Ahem! Ladies, this is work time. Save the chatting for after hours. Please remember where you are."
"Sorry, sorry."
At 22:41, the interview ended.
Turn into tentacles? Charles thought for a moment, then raised his hand. Something amazing happened. He could feel his fingers rapidly extending and thickening, but to the naked eye, his hand remained unchanged.
Suddenly, a drawer on a distant table opened, and a bottle of wine floated out, hovering in mid-air. The scene was utterly bizarre.
Charles began experimenting with his new relic in the room, sending various small objects flying through the air.
After familiarizing himself with it, Charles decided to keep the relic for his own use. In terms of direct offensive capability, it couldn't compare to the Black Blade, let alone the clown mask. However, if used cleverly, it could have some surprising applications.
What moved Charles even more was that this little thing had the fewest side effects of any relic he had encountered.
Touching the ring, Charles looked at the other sheet of paper, which was the record for the Purple Pyramid.
"Project Number: 434"
"Project Name: Purple Pyramid"
"Description: 434 is a crystal pyramid with a base of 10 cm by 10 cm and a height of 10 cm. It was transferred to the Foundation after being reported by the Shadow Island Police Department due to the disturbances it caused."
Experiment 1: Test Subject 13 was instructed to hold 434 and mentally repeat "I am powerful" twice.
Experiment Result: The test subject underwent a mutation. His stature increased proportionally, reaching a height of 2.5 meters. However, his ability to articulate was significantly impaired, and his intelligence dropped to 80.
Experiment 2: Test Subject 13 was instructed to hold 434 and mentally repeat "I am powerful" three times.
Experiment Result: The test subject's height increased to three meters, and his intelligence dropped to 60.
Experiment 3: Test Subject 13 was instructed to hold 434 and mentally repeat "I am powerful" four times.
Experiment Result: The test subject's height increased to 4 meters, and his intelligence dropped to 40. As the subject's low intelligence rendered him unable to understand further commands, the experiment was forcibly terminated. The subject returned to normal 30 minutes after being separated from 434.