Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 416: Abnormality

"Why are all of you huddled together here?" Charles asked as he stood at the entrance to the mess hall, his calm gaze on the crew assembled inside.

The crew exchanged glances, but no one stepped forward to answer immediately.

Eventually, it was Dipp who broke the silence. With excitement on his face, he chirped, "Oh, it's nothing serious, Captain. We were just waiting for our meals and were just killing time by listening to Feuerbach share tales of his hometown.

"You wouldn't believe it, Captain. This fellow actually had two wives back home and three more on Hope Island! That's five in total!"

Dipp then shot a playful look at Feuerbach, breaking the ice among the crew. Laughter erupted as they began to gesture playfully and teased the green-haired man. Feuerbach, not to be outdone, joined in the laughter, proudly taking the ribbing in stride.

Charles scrutinized each crew member and matched every detail in his memories to check for any discrepancies. Everyone appeared normal; there was no abnormality.

However, the cautious reaction to his arrival didn't align with their explanation. If it were just a casual banter and teasing of Feuerbach, why would they have to be wary of footsteps?

Just then, the cook and his newly hired assistant emerged from the galley.

"Captain, are you here for your meal, too? Take a seat. Dinner's nearly ready, just a few more minutes."

Initially, Charles had wanted to discuss the mice's strange behavior with his crew and devise a solution for the issue, but he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Brows furrowed, he pulled out a stool and sat down in the mess hall before slowly closing his eyes. The chatter of the crew continued, but Charles sensed their voices lower slightly as if they were afraid of disturbing him.

Peeking through barely opened eyes, Charles spotted Audric, his vampire sailor, discreetly loading his revolver among the crowd.

Charles closed his eyes again, but the tip of the Dark Blade had subtly slid out of his prosthetic palm.

Soon, dinner was served by the cook, Planck, and his assistant.

The spread was lavish. There were five long biscuits, an opened tin of pork, and a bowl of savory mushroom soup.

On top of that, the plate also contained two sea urchins cut in half, with their bright yellow roe displayed enticingly in front of Charles.

Charles looked toward the others' plates and noted that everyone had a similar menu. Apart from sea urchins, there were also small fish and crabs, and every single one of his crew was enjoying the feast.

However, Tobba was not one of them. He was engrossed with a crumpled paper rabbit in his hand and was oblivious to the sumptuous seafood feast.

Reminiscent of a seven or eight-year-old child, all his attention was on his toy, and he had forgotten about his meal.

Despite the lavish spread, Charles didn't indulge; instead, he continued to observe silently.

Some crew members who finished their meals quickly wiped their mouths and left, chatting and laughing as they made their way toward the exit.

As they left, mice followed one after another, entering the dining hall along the walls to start their feast. They paid no attention to Charles, who was sitting nearby as if everything that had happened in the storeroom before was just a fragment of illusion. Everything seemed so normal, so orderly, occurrences that were routine on the Narwhale.

Are they all imposters? Like that Dipp on the lotus leaf? Doubts swirled in Charles' mind

"Captain, why are you not eating? I caught this seafood myself; they are truly delicious!" Dipp said as he picked at his teeth with a sharp claw.

Charles shot a glance at Dipp and scooped the sea urchin roe from the plate with his steel prosthetic. "I'm not really into raw food; you can have it."

A hint of confusion flashed across Dipp's eyes as he received the sea urchin. "Captain, since when do you not like raw food? Didn't you enjoy that jellyfish salad the day before yesterday?"

With a slurp, the golden sea urchin roe slid into Dipp's stomach, and an expression of sheer delight surfaced on his scaly green face.

"Captain, do you still want these?" Dipp asked as he pointed at the remaining urchins.

"Go ahead. I don't feel like having them today," Charles responded as he pushed the plate of urchins toward Dipp.

A grin broke out on the fishman's countenance as he eagerly scooped up the sea urchin roe with his webbed claw and ate it.

As he watched Dipp, Charles picked up a biscuit and soaked it in the mushroom soup, ready to finally start on his dinner.

"By the way, Dipp, how's your child's health doing?"

Dipp swallowed the mouthful of food and turned toward Charles with a confused gaze, asking, "Captain, what child? I just got married, and my wife's condition means that we can't have kids."

Was I mistaken? The thought flashed through Charles' mind.

Just then, Bandages entered the mess hall and quietly settled into the seat next to Charles. When Planck served his meal, he started eating with relish through an opening in his bandages.

By now, the mess hall had almost emptied out, with only a few left behind. Slightly tipsy, Second Mate Feuerbach held a wine bottle in one hand and an arm around the vampire sailor's shoulder as he stumbled toward the mess hall door.

"Listen blindy, there's a new prostitute den that opened by the docks. I'll bring you there to check it out when we're back. The women there are so beautiful."

Audric declined, "No thanks, I'll pass. I've got matters to attend to when we are back."

"What could you be so busy over? You don't have a family yet, so why not enjoy life to the fullest now? It's fully sheltered within and not even a shred of sunlight. You don't even need to wear your leather suit.

As the two men casually passed by Charles on his left, two black gun barrels were suddenly aimed at Charles' head.

Bang! Bang!

Charles' head violently jerked as the bullets hit. His invisible tentacles sprouted out of his body almost instantly and wrapped themselves around Audric and Feuerbach and flung them away.

He pushed off the ground with his feet, ready to dash out of the mess hall.

They're all pretending! Everyone is fake! I must get out of here! This is not my ship at all!!

However, Charles found himself unable to move. Unbeknownst to him, a massive tree branch had extended from the side and tightly ensnared him in place.

It was Bandages' ability!

"Dig out the three stones from his palms! Otherwise, the bullets won't hurt him!" Dipp's voice echoed.

The fishman then charged at Charles in fury, his sharp claws aiming for the latter's palm.

With a sudden crash, the door to the mess hall was knocked down and the mice and crew members who had left earlier rushed back in.

They held various weapons in their hands; their expressions were terrifying and fierce as if they wanted to devour Charles alive.