“What is that thing?“

“Don’t bother your Chairman brother; can’t you see his headache is easing?“

In the unnoticed, dim air, invisible psychic bees busily shuttled between Yang Zicang’s side and Karl’s body.

“Is this really a spell?” Kim Tae-cheol found it hard to believe as he looked at his makeshift chairman.

“…Willingly, with our lives, to set sail…” These four lines were continuously uttered from Yang Zicang’s mouth like a chant.

The dark, swelling energy was persistently blocked by the invisible magic runes on the canvas until what was within was completely depleted. Yang Zicang turned his head toward the door frame; the inscriptions on it had worn away significantly, becoming plain and losing their eerie resonance.

Karl finally calmed down, gasping for breath. “I… I feel a bit better. What’s going on here? “

“What’s under there? A monster? “

The Silent Night’s soul-mark network began revealing traces beneath the old canvas. Feeling them, Yang Zicang’s heart twitched with anxiousness.

His hand gripped a corner of the tarpaulin!

“Wait, Chairman! “

“What are you doing? ” Li Aimin bounded to his feet. “Stop! There’s something nasty under there! “

“Those four lines! ” Yang Zicang boomed.

“Chairman! Boss Yang! Stop! “

“Those four lines of text, appearing after the deaths! They are… “

Whap!The thick waterproof canvas covering the object was whisked aside by Yang Zicang! The two behind him clapped their hands over their faces instictively.

Nothing abnormal happened.

Their eyes peered through their fingers, ears tracking Chairman Yang’s placid rendition.

“It’s the activation column of the sound-wave force-field for this ship. “

Several pairs of eyes snapped to it. In the corner lay neither treasure nor demon.

It was a…

A bronze figurehead, covered in cracks and… a weirdly pristine, necrotic green tarnish!

……

For a heartbeat, Li Aimin sensed his soul squeezed by immaterial sucker-punch.

“This is! “

“A Bloodline resonance statue — a ‘Bloodline Statue,’ that is! “

Everyone’s breathing turned heavy.

Li Aimin nearly ran all the way to approach, himself recoiling just before grabbing. “No doubt, it’s a genuine Bloodline statue!‌  “

“Something doesn’t look right, ” Li Aimin’s monster axe said.

The figurehead was not carved as a common sea god or auspicious beast, but as a humanoid with a twisted face, half-crying and half-laughing, its eye sockets being two bottomless voids! What made it even more horrifying, however, was that only the upper half of the statue remained!

“Only half. “

“That’s unsettling. “

Below the waist, the figurehead had been violently ripped apart by some terrifying force, the fracture caked with thick filth like blackened blood.

Moreover, after the canvas was pulled away, the statue’s surface, like those blessed with bloodline power, was covered in faint energy that warped the air—reminiscent of the searing heat from blazing flames. Phantasmal visions darted and scurried across it, overlapping chaotically yet indiscernible.

-｛Distributor February Dian is evaluating my current life experience.｝

Yang Zicang cast a glance at the pendant hidden beneath his shirt, when suddenly Karl’s psychic voice came from behind.

“Hey, I think I’m fine now! I’m not tired anymore! “

He sprang to his feet, jumped twice in place, then stared at the statue. “Ha, I get it now—it must’ve been that cloth covering this statue! Since I couldn’t communicate with it, I’ve been feeling exhausted all this time! “

“As for Luca and the others on that half-ship, is that why they’re so strong? They must have taken control of the other half of the figurehead long ago! “

“Wow, could it be that you’re the core figure controlling it? Does that mean we can control this half of the ship more flexibly from now on? “

The group excitedly looked at Yang Zicang, then back at the half-ship figure ahead.

“President, as expected of you! “

“Don’t get too worked up. Protect yourselves first. “

A dense, foul miasma of bloodline energy spread out from the dark corner.

The group nodded excitedly, their bodies flickering with a crimson afterimage from the Amplified Chrono, followed by an orange glow. This startled Li Aimin, “Whoa, President, you have that many chronos? What kind of association are you guys from? Can I join? “

“Uh… yeah. Let’s talk about that after we take care of things here. “

“Can you feel it? These energies seem to be drifting out to sea. ” As Kim Tae-cheol said this, everyone focused and sensed it—sure enough, the energy was drifting toward the sea, just like the gray mist that had spread after Bart’s death.

“Could it be responding to the other half of the ship’s figure? “

Almost without a doubt, they confirmed that the other half of the ship’s figure had to be on Luca’s half-ship, which had long been taken over. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence—the ship cut cleanly in half at the waist, and the figure torn apart along that same line?

Kim Tae-cheol said excitedly, “Clearly, the canvas etched with magic patterns, these debris burying it, and this iron door were all deliberately sealed away here by someone once upon a time. “

“They couldn’t have had a falling out, resulting in the statue being cut in half, with one group taking half and fleeing while the other hid away with the rest, could they? “

“Very likely. What do we do now? Should we cover it up? “

{Can I take a crack at splitting it? If we break it into several pieces, it’ll be much harder for the other side to find. }

“Dear Old Axe, I appreciate you wanting to help, but how about we stop jumping in with suggestions for now, alright? “

“……“

As a chill ran down everyone’s spines, Yang Zicang grabbed the canvas and looked at it. It had indeed been painted with magical runes using some kind of translucent liquid. The moment he subconsciously tried to commit the pattern of the runes to memory, Yang Zicang felt as if his head had been violently yanked.

“Are you going to cover it up again? Maybe let me try to see if I can control it? “

Yang Zicang looked back at Karl, who had just spoken. The man’s eyes held a glimmer of longing, along with the vigilance he was restraining deep inside.

The thought-rendering bees, which had started to slow their gathering, flew out once more, hovering lightly beside Karl.

Yang Zicang wanted to stop him but couldn’t bring the words out. Given that this man had genuinely and earnestly protected his ship for all these days, Yang Zicang asked himself: could he really drive a wedge between friends for the sake of half a Bloodline Resonating Statue they didn’t even know if they could use?

“Watch yourself. “

He stepped aside to clear the path.

Li Aimin’s eyes went wide. Watching Yang Buchen, who had just shown up and crushed all of Luca’s fierce assault, Li Aimin was stunned to see him step aside and clear the way for their fellow society member to take hold of the mysterious secret treasure.

Karl walked forward excitedly, “We can’t let the energy drain to the other side, or it could be a big problem. ” He said it as if justifying himself.

The moment his hand touched the bow statue.

A distorted, hazy voice drifted over as if emerging from a dream.

“What’s that sound! “

{…Karl… }

“Not good! ” Yang Zicang reached out abruptly, grabbing the man’s shoulder.

Woom~ A dark veil suddenly enveloped a few of them.

……

“What… happened? ” Li Aimin looked at his outstretched hand and withdrew it with a hint of confusion.

Footsteps and voices came from behind, “Hey, Aimin, what are you spacing out for? ” A strange yet familiar voice called out.

Li Aimin turned around and found it was two companions he’d met at the lighthouse, who happened to be passing by the warehouse entrance, carrying boxes toward the deck.

“I… ” What was he doing here again?

He glanced at the axe in his hand; an eye on the back of the axe blade stared back at him. Li Aimin looked around the goods in the warehouse again—oh, he was here to find the tool box.

“Damn, the stench in this ship’s hold is truly choking! “

Fanning the air before his nose with his hand, Li Aimin picked up a box, following the two companions he’d known for a few days, and chatted as they walked toward the deck.

Upon ascending the stairs, bright sunlight and sea breeze brushed against him. The sails were full and taut; seagulls cried in his ears, and the sailors’ voices were full and hearty.

-｛Distributor February·Qinghe is watching my life experience.｝

Li Aimin, dressed in a sailor’s uniform, turned to look at this colossal ship.

The entire wooden vessel stood like a towering mobile castle, magnificent and imposing—especially its rear section, which seemed to house a king of the land. The passenger cabins there began amidships, a full ten meters below the upper deck where he stood—as if they had been intentionally built to create an insurmountable chasm separating him from such ordinary sailors.

Four cannons stood on the port and starboard sides, their pitch-black maws aimed at the bright, blue ocean.

Li Aimin scratched his head.

“Am I a newcomer? How come I’m so unfamiliar with all this?“

“Hey, newbie, come lend a hand.“

A voice came from a sailor scrubbing the deck nearby.

……

Kim Tae-Cheol watched the two teammates who had originally died. They were now standing beside him, laughing and chatting as they ate their sailor’s breakfast.

Somewhat bewildered as to why the dead were eating again, Kim Tae-Cheol picked up a piece of sailors’ bread but lost his appetite and set it down without hunger.

He very much wanted to turn and ask, “Aren’t you both dead?“

Yet he felt such a question would be too presumptuous.

“Getting used to things these past two days?” A person walking beside him spoke. Kim Tae-Cheol turned to look—it was the First Mate who had recruited him onto the ship.

-｛Distributor February. Di’an is watching my life experience.｝

“It’s okay. A little uncomfortable at first. So, where are we headed?“

“Where?” The First Mate slapped Kim Tae-cheol’s shoulder with a bold air, then let out a hearty laugh. “Hah, back to our homeland, of course—Fogbang!” He gave a tight squeeze. “Alright, do your job well, young man, and you’ll get what you want. Just remember, don’t go to the passenger zone. Those folks over there are richer than us for now. I don’t want you getting tempted by that lot and refusing to come back for work.“

Kim Tae-cheol watched the First Mate walk away, his brows deeply furrowed.

“Fogbang?“

He took a bite of the bread and muttered, “That’s not my homeland. What the hell am I even doing on this ship?“