Shrouded Seascape

When Charles opened his eyes again, he found that it was already noon the next day. He was on the bed, and there was a small table beside him. A familiar yet unfamiliar meal of soy milk and fried dough sticks was on the small table.

Charles' heart was filled with warmth at the sight. This meal could have only come from Anna, as she was the only one who knew how to make them. It felt really wonderful to have a family who knew him well in this bizarre world.

The soy milk was fresh and sweet, and the fried dough sticks were crispy. Charles ate to his heart's content. Once he was done, he got out of bed, and his figure immediately tensed up. There was something behind the bedroom door.

Charles' keen ears allowed him to hear any minute movement around him, but he couldn't hear any footsteps behind the door. Just as Charles fell into contemplation, he spotted something white through a crack in the door.

It was a white envelope, and it lay quietly on the red carpet.

Invisible tentacles reminiscent of seaweeds sprang up from the ground and pushed the white envelope over to him. The tentacles opened it carefully and found no text inside; there were only some color photos.

However, the color photos contained disturbing images. The first photo revealed headless people stitched together in a string and were sewn onto a piece of machinery. Thick tubes from the machinery were connected to every single orifice of the headless people.

Anna's figure was captured in some of the photos, and she personally handled some of the machinery covered in gore.

Charles examined the photos one by one, and his expression remained unchanged. However, he froze as soon as his eye clapped on the last remaining photo.

The photo showed Sparkle in her true form, and quite a few of her tentacles were brutally ripped off of her.

Shockingly, the perpetrator was Anna, and she stuffed Sparkle's bloody tentacles into a machine next to her. She seemed to be extracting something from Sparkle's tentacles.

A radiant white light flashed, and the photos in Charles' hand were set ablaze. He quietly watched as the photos were charred before being reduced to ashes.

So the Foundation has finally made its move. I didn't expect them to make a move so soon. What are these photos? Are they trying to drive a wedge between me and Anna? They're underestimating me a bit too much than they should. Charles thought.

He then walked up to the door and pushed it open.

Charles was convinced that the matter was over, but he received more photos the next day as well as the day after that.

The photos weren't just growing more and more numerous, but the depicted scenes were becoming more and more gruesome as well.

On the fourth day, Charles waited patiently for the letters and finally caught the elusive courier. It was an invisible ghost capable of phasing through walls.

"Everything in those photos is true! If you don't believe me, then go and see it for yourself! I'm not lying to you! I didn't want to deliver those photos, either, but I had no choice! They forced me to do so!" the pale blue figure said in a panic.

Charles stared at the pale blue figure and smiled coldly.

"You know what? I've always been wondering about one thing."

"What?"

Swoosh!

A massive tentacle swept across the room, creating a huge hole in the wall. The dazzling sunlight outside pervaded the room in the blink of an eye, illuminating the pale-blue ghost before it could even react.

The pale blue ghost disappeared so fast that it couldn't make a sound.

"Charles! Are you crazy?! Why are you tearing down the house in broad daylight?!" Anna exclaimed, sounding annoyed. She rushed toward the commotion as soon as she heard it.

"The Foundation has sent assassins to attack me. Hope Island needs to be on high alert at all times. Otherwise, we'll be like a sieve—riddled with holes that they can easily exploit to come and go as they please."

Charles hooked his finger, and the envelope that the pale blue ghost was carrying earlier was quietly tucked into his sleeve.

"I know, I know. They're really annoying. Don't let them steal anything from us," Anna said. She looked quite annoyed as she brushed past Charles and walked toward the bedroom.

"I'm not going back home for dinner today, so no need to wait for me," Charles said. He turned around and headed for the big hole in the wall. He had just taken a few steps forward when numerous eyes abruptly manifested on Anna's back.

The eyes quivered and blinked rapidly, capturing the envelope hidden in Charles' sleeve and the photos inside of it.

Having been through many life-and-death situations, there was no way such an intense gaze could escape his notice, but he didn't look back at Anna.

Charles spent the day wandering outside.

He had no idea what he was doing, but he eventually spent the rest of the day deep in his own thoughts on someone's roof.

When the hole in the canopy above Hope Island was blocked, allowing night to fall on Hope Island, Charles jumped down the roof and started walking toward the Governor's Mansion.

"Charles, look at these guys. They're passing nonsensical decrees; what a joke," Anna said. She was lying on the bed, and she looked dumbfounded as she stared at the documents in her hand.

Charles turned and peeked at the document in Anna's hand.

It contained a report about how a new governor in the Western Seas had passed a decree, stating that all women on his island were his women, and he could play with any woman he fancied—anytime, anywhere.

The next report stated that a governor had passed down a decree that made sleeping with someone else's woman punishable by death.

The criminal's nether region would be cut off and fed to sharks, and then they'd get stabbed in the wound by a red-hot dagger.

"They were just desperate people back then, but they were suddenly given an island as a reward. How could a bunch of desperate people know how to manage an island?

"If they don't accumulate enough firepower to deter others, they'd surely be dethroned once the three-year protection period is over.

"Yeah, this is indeed an issue. Tomorrow, I'll talk to the Explorers Association about collecting books on management. We'll copy them in bulk, and then we'll send them to the brand-new governors.

"Considering our current situation, it's best to avoid killing others when possible."

Anna lightly bumped Charles' shoulder and replied, "Why do you say that? Aren't you managing Hope Island pretty well, even though you're not exactly knowledgeable when it comes to management?"

Charles was silent for a few moments before replying, "All credit belongs to Bandages. I once spent three years as a lunatic, and I never got to manage the island at the time. Since then, he's been the one managing the island's affairs."

"I see, but I think the islanders are quite free. I'm sure they'll be frantic as soon as they learn the fact that an extremely powerful organization is constantly thinking of annihilating us. Hey, what do you think about lifting the gag order and becoming transparent with the public?"

"It's no use telling them," Charles said, shaking his head. "They can't be of any help against the Foundation. I think quite a few people will even become traitors, hoping that the Foundation will spare them."

Anna looked at Charles' wrinkled brows and reached out with her finger to smoothen them out. "What are you so worried about at this time of the day? Do you not know what the word 'work-life balance' means?

"Don't keep thinking about our situation all the time. You have to cut yourself some slack, too, or you will inevitably crumble down beneath the weight of your own thoughts."

Charles raised his hand and grabbed Anna's finger. Then, he kissed it before saying, "I want to cut myself some slack, too, but I just can't do it. We're walking a tightrope. If we lose focus for even a moment, we'll fall into the abyss.

"It'll be too late for regrets by then."

Anna sighed softly and leaned gently against Charles' chest, closing her eyes. "Let's sleep. We have to sleep well, or we won't even have the energy to think of any solutions."

"I'm not sleepy. I spent the entire afternoon sleeping on a roof."

Anna's eyes shot wide open upon hearing that, and she instantly perked up. "Oh? You're not sleepy? Then, let's—"

"Why are you so raring to go at it all the time?" Charles asked, turning his back to Anna. "Hurry up and go to sleep. It's already one in the morning."