Shrouded Seascape

Initially, the crew was just throwing furniture like tables and chairs overboard.

However, they soon realized that those things barely made a difference in reducing the Narwhale's weight. They then turned their eyes toward the heaviest items on the Narwhale—the two deck cannons.

With loud chants and combined effort, they began dismantling the cannons.

In his invisible state, Charles cautiously poked his head out from the smokestacks and watched the absurd scene unfolding on the deck below.

What's going on? We should be far enough from 005-3. It's at least ten kilometers away; they should've snapped out of it by now.

A grim expression crossed Charles' face. His plan had failed. He had hoped that putting distance between the Narwhale and 005-3 would relieve the crew of 005-3's brainwashing, but he was clearly mistaken; it seemed that distance was irrelevant to the brainwashing.

At this point, Charles had to make sure that the issue was resolved before the Narwhale could land. Otherwise, the crew would likely clash with the ground forces at the base.

If such a situation were to happen, it would lead to devastating losses on both sides.

Just then, a round of cheers erupted from the deck. The heavy and bulky cannons had just been tossed overboard, and it had significantly slowed down the Narwhale's descent.

This won't do. I can't do this alone. I need to get a few of them out of their trance and help me fix this mess.

Charles scanned the faces on the crowded deck. He knew this wasn't the ideal place to make a move. He had to lure the people he needed to a less populated area and isolate them.

However, every single one of them was focused on dismantling the last remaining deck cannon. There was no way for him to isolate anyone.

After contemplating for a couple of minutes, Charles came up with an idea. He decided to slip inside and create a distraction. Like a chameleon, he crawled to the doorway above, sticking to the ceiling to avoid detection. He also needed to avoid attracting any attention. Unfortunately, it was still a challenging task, despite being invisible. His figure itched uncontrollably as if he was wearing a tight, woolen bodysuit, and he was having issues moving around due to the itchiness.

Soon, Charles started moving, and he eventually got close to the cabin door. He was so close to the cabin that he could already smell the sailors' sweat.

Just then...

Drip!

A drop of blood trickled out of his neck wound and headed straight for the head of the sailor below him.

Fortunately, an invisible tentacle extended from his head and intercepted the blood just in time.

Having narrowly escaped detection, Charles heaved a sigh of relief before slipping into the cabin. Hanging upside down like an acrobat, he navigated past the ceiling lights, heading straight for the engine room without any hesitation.

The engine room was empty; the chief engineer, second engineer, and the third engineer were all on deck dismantling the cannon. Only the sounds of mechanical clamor and the squelching noise from the throbbing, pus-filled lump of flesh on the turbine filled the room.

The intense heat in the engine room intensified the itchiness all over Charles.

Once more, he twisted the black spike in his neck; an excruciating pain that almost knocked him out coursed through him, forcefully suppressing the itch.

As the captain, Charles was rather familiar with the equipment in the room. He dashed to the scalding turbines and started reading the temperature gauges before expertly making adjustments.

Under his skillful manipulation, the needles on the gauges shot up; the temperature in the room skyrocketed as well.

Charles knew that the smokestack outside had to be belching flames by now. If the crew didn't want the Narwhale to explode, they would have to come running here.

They were brainwashed, but their current goal was to perform that sacrificial ritual rather than to die in this dark expanse.

Charles slipped out of the engine room just in time as the engine room team rushed in along with the rest of the crew following closely behind them.

However, they didn't all storm in at once. They were brainwashed, but they knew the hallway couldn't accommodate so many people. A chaotic stampede would only worsen the situation.

Clinging to the ceiling, Charles quietly waited for the last person to pass by.

One by one, the crew members passed by him—Audric, Lily, Bandages, Dipp. Finally, Charles spotted the last figure in the line, Nico.

Just as the second mate passed by a cabin door, Charles, still in his invisible form, pushed off from the wall with his legs and pushed Nico into the room. With a swift flick of his tentacle, he slammed the door shut behind them,

Nico's reflexes were quick as well; the barrel of his gun was already pressed against Charles' stomach, but he found himself unable to pull down on the trigger. Apparently, Charles had anticipated the move and jammed his finger to block the trigger,

The next moment, a sharp black spike extended from Charles's prosthetic palm and pierced through Nico's forearm.

When Charles gripped the base of the spike and gave it a violent twist, Nico cried out in pain. However, his look of agony soon turned into confusion before finalizing to that of horror as he recognized the now-visible Charles.

"Captain, what… What's going on? What happened to me?"

A wave of relief washed over Charles. Nico was clearly back to his senses, and he finally had an ally on his side.

Charles didn't answer him. Instead, he dashed to the corner and grabbed the two mice in hiding. They were Lily's eyes.

He snapped the mice's legs with one swift motion.

Crack!

Now, the two mice couldn't return to Lily's side and make a report.

Upon dealing with the mice, Charles turned around to see Nico struggling to pull the spike from his arm.

"Don't pull it out!" Charles dashed forward and gripped Nico's trembling hand. With a forceful push, he pushed the spike back in. Before Nico could let out a piercing scream, Charles covered his mouth.

Ignoring Nico's flushed face and bulging veins, Charles leaned in close to Nico's ear adorned with a pearl ear stud and lowered his volume as he explained the situation.

"That's why we need to keep the black spike embedded in you. Only pain can suppress the brainwashing effect. We have to maintain this constant level of pain.

"What in the world is that thing? A Divinity? Why does it possess such terrifying power?"

Charles shook his head. "I don't know. But the Foundation designated It as 005-3. To get the ID 005, It must be formidable. But the suffix '3' probably meant that It's just a derivative of 005 rather than 005 Itself."

"If even a derivative is this strong, doesn't that mean that 005 itself is more powerful than a Divinity?" Nico asked, glancing at his bleeding arm.

"Let's cut the chatter. That's not our concern right now. Regardless of what it is, we need to rescue the others first."

Charles reached out to grab Nico's hand and pulled the latter up. Staring into Nico's eyes, which had heavy eyeshadow to them, Charles said, "You're conscious now, but they don't know that yet. We need to use that to our advantage."