In the dark, vast moonlight, several people on the deck felt a bone-chilling coldness spreading around.

“Are you okay? ” Yang Zicang asked Karl, whose face changed color several times.

“I had a rest—much better now. “

After speaking, the Euro-American man bent down to trace the carved letters on the mast’s base. The word “Earth ” was becoming increasingly hard to say. After several attempts, he abandoned that term and used the approved wording of the Holy Ring Council:

“This ship should be one that wanted to return to ‘Fog City,’ right? Was it built by our fellow townsmen from across the sea? “

The group exchanged glances. Li Aimin said, “No way, over the sea it’s not… “

Suddenly, the rest of his words were swallowed back into his throat.

“Damn, you can’t even say that either? Holy Ring, I fuck your eighteen generations. Hey, I can say that one! “

-｛Distributor Loki·Tata Mingqi expressed “Haha. “｝

Yang Zicang pondered for a moment, then raised his head as if guessing:

“Built by our countrymen? Well, Carl, maybe these words are in English because you, the discoverer of the sunken ship, saw them. Otherwise, why would it be called the Carl? What do you all think? “

“I have that feeling too, ” said Kim Tae-cheol.

“Huh, what? Really? I don’t feel that way at all, ” Li Aimin was stunned. The fire axe on his shoulder also grumbled, speaking with a muffled voice.

{You guys are all so smart, no wonder you have brains. }

“Shut the hell up already! ” Li Aimin shot a glare at the slanted-eye fire axe, grumbling without patience.

“But if it’s not our countrymen, who would want to return to a place that’s already… no… istnie… ah, forget it, don’t say it… ” Carl struggled, letting out a weary breath. The group changed the subject, discussing the meaning of these letters.

Yang Zicang stepped back, pulling aside the guard of the Travelers’ Guild, who looked East Asian but whose nationality was unclear. “Hello, what’s I should call you again? “

“My name is Ruan Wenxiong, from Ho Chi Minh. Hello, President, very happy we meet again. “

Yang Zicang smiled awkwardly, remembering it was he who had actually heard this name introduce itself before.

“Was that deeper stain on the base only just appeared?“

“I just noticed it myself. I’m not sure exactly when it appeared, but it definitely wasn’t there yesterday. “

“Other than Bart, has anyone else died today? “

Ruan Wenxiong nodded grimly, glanced at Li Aimin, and said, “Of the two who came with this man, one was blown up today. The shockwave from those shells can’t be fully neutralized by the timeline, and on top of that, he was already scratched by Bart’s poisoned dagger earlier… “

“So how many are dead in total? ” Yang Zicang cut him off.

Kim Tae-cheol, Li Aimin, and Karl, who had been examining the text, all turned their heads.

“Four. ” After saying this, Ruan Wenxiong realized there were only three marks of erosion. A flicker of unease passed through his eyes. “Could it be… President, you mean…? “

The four of them stared intently at Yang Zicang’s face.

“There’s another one? “

“Yeah, if I’m not wrong, there should be another carving somewhere that you haven’t found yet. “

……

Four dead, corresponding to four eroded texts. That was their guess.

Ruan Wenxiong was still on guard by the small boat the strong man had left behind. The Crossing People’s boats were all custom-made; they couldn’t afford to have them damaged.

The remaining four searched the deck but found nothing. So, with the help of Yang Zicang’s “dispatcher ” ability, they leaped down from the fractured deck, entering the second level.

Most of the things here had been washed away by the seawater, except for some old items that were inherently fixed in place.

In the darkness, several figures searched every inch, looking closely. At several spots with deep grime, they cleaned the surfaces clean but found no text underneath.

“There’s an iron door here. “

Several people walked over and saw an iron door barring a room, covered in ancient corroded marks and emanating a faint aura of “bloodline “. Though the goods inside had been soaked beyond recognition by seawater, most of them were still piled up here.

“President, this floor also doesn’t have the corrosion marks you mentioned, except here… ” Kim Tae-cheol said.

A skeptical expression appeared on Yang Zicang’s face. He crouched down, rubbing his fingertips against the seam between the threshold of the iron door and the deck.

“Could it be inviting us to open it? “

“Wow, President, since when did you become this cautious? “

“Not really. ” Someone who had suffered greatly from an iron door grunted, amplifying the timeline, signaling others to step aside. A more intense flame of Chrono-Void Flame rose in his palm, and a precise slap struck the decayed door bolt.

Smack!With a heavy thud, the iron door’s bolt snapped with a crisp crack, sliding for a few centimeters with a creak. The others behind stepped in to pull it half-open, only for it to get completely jammed by broken goods tumbling down.

“No danger—quickly clear it out and see what’s there. “

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, everyone set to work clearing the debris.

And in the depths of this pile of refuse, near the inner cabin wall, the subtle silhouette of an irregular object, roughly the height of a person and covered by a thick tarpaulin, could be vaguely seen.

“What’s under that tarp? ” Karl frowned, then shook his head abruptly.

Yang Zicang turned to look at him. “What’s wrong with you? “

“I… I think I saw some more hallucinations. ” Karl averted his gaze, speaking with a growing sense of unease.

Kim Tae-cheol and Li Aimin, who were eagerly digging through the sunken ship’s debris, jumped at his words and turned to look. “Hey, Karl, you never told us about that! “

Karl pressed a hand to his head wearily. “How was I supposed to know? I just thought my eyes were playing tricks on me before. “

“What did you see? “

Yang Zicang asked as he immediately raised a hand, gesturing for the other two to stop tossing out garbage. Not that his signal was necessary—Li Aimin and Kim Tae-cheol had already bolted out of the iron door.

“Just now… ” Karl, still clutching his head, spoke in a sluggish, weak tone that dragged through the air.

“I… ” He struggled to draw a breath, as if trying to seize some fleeting sensation. “Suddenly, it felt like something stirred inside my brain… and I saw… the torn shadow of a canvas being ripped away by someone. “

“So you mean, an image of what this ship used to be? “

“Maybe. There were also broken winches turning, and beside them… well, silhouettes in human shape—not real people… “

The others took a sharp, cold breath.

Their gazes turned grim toward the corner of the small cargo hold, settling on the object hidden beneath a crusted, tar-stained canvas.

“I don’t buy it. There’s no way some tarp could hide anything truly terrifying. “

Li Aimin spoke as an ethereal flame flickered over him. Gripping his axe, he approached with renewed solemnity. Clearly, he wasn’t the strongest one here…

Seeing that expression, Yang Zicang couldn’t help but think of Liang Xi, that look the kid always got when he was about to go all out.

“Hey, Firefighter,” Kim Tae-cheol said, reaching out a hand. “Watch yourself—some dangers are pretty damn weird. I’d stay out if I were you. Let our chairman handle that thing.“

“Oh?” Li Aimin paused, then turned to fix a stare on Yang Zicang. “Hmph, I guess a quadrilateral does have something to be smug about.” Then, his expression suddenly changed as he raised his axe, pointing toward the threshold inside the room. “Take a look over there.“

“What?“

“Whoa! So the last one was right here—under that stain, there’s definitely text!“

The final inscription—or rather, the original “third to emerge“—was positioned at the very top of the inner iron door.

Quickly, the four of them cleaned the area clean, revealing delicate cursive script engraved in ornate English: “We set sail, with the blessing of the unsinkable… and the hope of returning home.“

“This!“

Yang Zicang quickly took out his paper and pen to jot it all down.

“Chairman, do you carry writing supplies everywhere now?” The others watched him, stunned for a moment.

“Well, it helps. Let me read this out—all four inscriptions, from the first to the fourth. Karl,” Yang Zicang glanced around the room, even meeting Karl’s gaze. “…the unsinkable sunken ship.“

“A heart pounds strong but keeps only half…“

He paused briefly before reading rapidly:

“We set sail, bearing the blessing of never sinking, and the hope of returning home. The Foglands… “

Kim Tae-cheol gazed at the script.

“That is the gentlest nesting place in the Dreamlands. May our lives… bring us back. “

-｛Distributor February. Di’an marked a new node of Radiance’s prelude for me with their extensive experience.｝

Suddenly, Karl collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

“What’s wrong with you! “

The group quickly caught him. “I saw again… some scenes… They, from the port, set out… dozens of people, entered the Sea of Fog… “

Yang Zicang, steadying Karl by the shoulder, narrowed his eyes. The elements of the Silent Night spread outward, and in an instant, an object nearby felt like an abyssal black hole, devouring all the psychic perceptions drifting over it.

That object shrouded in tattered, decayed canvas!

“Karl, are you seeing hallucinations again because I read those words? ” Yang Zicang released his grip and stood up. “Are you alright… “

Karl let out a muffled groan from the ground. “Keep going, we can try. Maybe I’ll see more… “

“Then… alright. ‘When the suspended heart thuds… only to exist in truth…’ “

“Uh! “

Just as Kim Tae-cheol and Li Aimin were helplessly wondering what to do, Yang Zicang had already read the final line!

“That is the gentlest nesting place in the Dreamlands. May our lives be given, to bring us home. “

Karl writhed in pain, howling on the ground.

The two crouching men looked at Yang Zicang’s back and the old canvas in front of him. On it was reflected a fragmented and intricate circular pattern, as if cast by some damaged projection lamp in a state of insufficient power, looming dimly and indistinctly.

The light source came from beneath it!

This tarpaulin was blocking the dark energy that kept surging up from below, trying to break through!

“The unsinkable ship… the heart waits to leap anew… only half remains… we set sail…“

These words were murmured repeatedly by Karl in a low chant.

The glow of the magic runes grew increasingly strong. Suddenly, it flickered, then dimmed slowly, taking several seconds before weakly lighting up again.