"No! I'm almost back to the surface! I absolutely will not die here!" In his Bat Form, Charles opened his monstrous mouth and unleashed a piercing sonic wave, sending ripples echoing through the water.
The King's face twisted in pain. His fat hands shot out, trying to rip Charles's jaws apart.
At that instant, Charles shifted back to his human form, and all the King's insects fell away from him. But just then, the King's belly burst open. From the gore and flesh, swarms of grotesque insects of every kind surged forth. Charles was once again in mortal peril.
Having no choice, Charles transformed into a bat again and unleashed another sonic barrage. The insects in the water quivered and froze.
This is my chance! Charles turned back into his human form and dove deeper, attempting to escape.
But as soon as he dove, a huge mouth was already waiting for him. It was the King, his jaws stretched impossibly wide, his entire face distorted into a demonic visage.
This time, Charles didn't try to flee. He'd lost too much blood, and his mind was growing hazy. He simply had no strength left.
With a kick of his legs, Charles dove straight into the King's maw. The Tentacle Ring activated at once, propping open the closing, monstrous jaws.
"Die!" Furious bubbles gushed from Charles's mouth. He raised the Black Blade in his hand and made a swift, arcing slice.
The blade pierced the slick skin and moved quickly along its contours. Half the King's head was sliced clean off.
Watching the bloated body sink into the pitch-black depths, Charles's vision darkened and his body went limp. He was gravely wounded.
WHOOSH! A dark shadow burst from the water—a shark! It had been drawn by the scent of blood!
The shark's monstrous jaws snapped shut, its triple rows of serrated teeth sinking deep into Charles. It seized him and began dragging him down into the depths.
"Captain! Captain!" On deck, Deep paced back and forth in a panic, his eyes fixed on the blood-red surface of the sea.
But the sea remained ominously silent. After several seconds, a few dead insects floated to the surface. Deep couldn't wait any longer. He tore off his shirt, clenched a dagger between his teeth, and prepared to dive in.
Beside him, the bandaged man, Silence, held him back. He opened a sack on the deck, revealing a dozen panicked and terrified faces. Their mouths were bound tightly with gauze. Men and women alike, all were emaciated and clothed in rags.
After counting them, Silence pulled out a dagger and pressed it to his own chest. The blade slowly sank in, and crimson blood bloomed through his bandages.
The other members of the Narwhal's crew watched in utter silence. They seemed to know what the first mate intended to do, but no one dared to intervene.
The ship doctor's ugly face twisted with disgust. He took a swig from his iron flask and turned away.
KNOCK. KNOCK. The sudden pounding startled everyone. Second Officer Krona rushed to the ship's rail in a few quick strides. Peering over the side, his face broke into a delirious grin.
"It's the Captain! The Captain's back! Doctor, hurry! He's badly hurt!"
When the crew finally managed to haul Charles out of the water, the timid Lily was so terrified by the sight that she screamed and burst into tears.
Charles's body was a complete wreck. Vicious wounds covered him from head to toe. The waterlogged flesh was pale and turned outward, and the gash in his abdomen was so deep his internal organs were faintly visible.
Shaking, Deep tried to remove the mask from Charles's face, but Charles blocked him with a mangled forearm. "Don't… take it off… If you do, I won't hold out… Get the ship started first…"
A jubilant Krona nodded fervently and dashed toward the cockpit.
Ignoring the worried voices of the crew around him, Charles looked at the sobbing Lily. "Lily… the journal…"
By the time Lily's rat delivered the journal, Charles was already lying on the ship doctor's operating table.
Charles took out a pen and, summoning the last vestiges of his strength, carefully copied the sea chart from his memory. The moment he set the pen down, he lost consciousness completely.
When Charles woke again, he found himself wrapped like a mummy in his own bed. His ears, which had been completely deaf, could now faintly pick up sound.
Seeing the journal on the nearby table, a faint smile flickered across his face. I've found the sea chart. Now I just need to find the island with the Heavenly Ladder, and I can go home.
Yeah, that wasn't easy. Risking your life for this little thing, a sardonic voice exploded in his mind.
A chill shot up Charles's spine, running from his tailbone straight to his skull. His trembling hand reached for his face. There was no mask. He fell silent. The room was dead quiet.
"Why haven't you disappeared?" Charles managed to ask, his voice strained.
Then, his mouth opened again, but the tone was completely different. "Hey! What a coincidence, huh? I was just wondering the same thing!"
CREAK. At that moment, the ship doctor pushed open the door. Charles looked at the old man's face and quickly asked, "How long was I wearing the mask?"
"You wore it through the entire surgery. It worked quite well. Your blood loss was much lower because of it."
Beneath his bandages, Charles's face contorted in pain. He had taken every precaution, but in the end, he had still failed. 096 had managed to generate a new personality in his mind. The entity was simply too dangerous.
Buddy, you should be thanking me. If I hadn't taken the mask off while you were unconscious, it wouldn't just be a game of mahjong in our head. We'd have enough people for a full basketball team by now.
There's someone else inside my body. How is that something to be happy about?
Listen to yourself talk. 'Your' body? Our personalities might be different, but we're both Gao Zhiming.
The doctor watched his captain arguing with himself, a look of confusion on his face. Has his mind snapped? I thought all his injuries were external…
As their bickering grew more intense, the doctor pressed an iron syringe into Charles's arm.
"Old man, what's in this?" Charles asked.
"A sedative. You need to let your body heal first. We can deal with what's wrong with your head later."
The next second, Charles's eyes rolled back. The two personalities battling in his mind both lost consciousness at the same time.
When he woke again, he had no idea how much time had passed. The wounds on his body had begun to itch.
Charles let out a slow breath. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke in his mind. Hey. Let's negotiate.
I'm not 'Hey.' My name is Chu Yuxun.
How long are you going to keep this up?
Oh, relax, it was just a little joke. Why are you so worked up? Go on, talk.