Shrouded Seascape

Upon reaching the location of the fireworks, Dipp spotted a massive crater in the middle of the road. Surrounding it were four overturned cars and a black-uniformed police officer sprawled on the ground, his right arm profusely bleeding.

"Sir! The robber fled into Flea Alley!" The officer shouted immediately upon noticing Dipp's arrival.

Dipp swiftly changed course and darted into the alley. It didn't take him long before he saw the suspect in front of a flower vendor's stall.

The suspect was a woman who stood barely over 1.4 meters tall. She lifted an entire car above her head and seemed prepared to hurl it at the police officers surrounding her.

"What rights do you have to arrest me! Your Governor owes me this! I played a part in saving the Subterranean Sea too! Why do I need to be subjected to restrictions!" The woman screamed in fury.

"I assimilate the relic into myself with the intent to die for the Subterranean Sea! I even have a badge at home to prove my deeds! But now, you are treating me like a potential criminal!"

Just as Dipp was about to descend, a blur of green streaked past him and tackled the woman. In a split second, the creature used its centipede-like arm to subdue her and pin her down.

A nearby officer immediately rushed forward with a syringe in his hand. He plunged the needle into the woman's arm and injected the dark liquid within.

The woman's wild, furious eyes drooped, and she soon slumped into unconsciousness.

Dipp watched on as the officers bound the woman tightly with ropes before they finally took her away. Scratching the back of his neck, he turned to the green centipede creature and said, "Norton, you sure act quick, huh."

The green centipede clacked its two rows of sharp white teeth, seemingly in response to Dipp's remark.

"By the way, what've you been up to lately? I haven't seen you around in a while," Dipp asked, raising his chin toward Norton.

Norton pulled out a small board from his back and rapidly scribbled across it. "Nothing much. Been using Linda's treatment for my illness."

"Treatment? You're sick? Seems like Linda has really inherited the old ship doctor's skills, huh? She can even treat the illness of a monster like you," Dipp replied.

Norton didn't seem too keen on continuing the conversation here. He pointed toward his home and then rapidly scurried off in that direction.

Dipp followed Norton and soon arrived at the latter's garage-like room. The sight within took him aback. There was a pink cradle in the middle of the room, and a small baby lay fast asleep within it.

Norton crawled over with his centipede body. Gently gripping the side of the cradle with a centipede arm, he softly rocked it and, with another arm, wrote, "Linda said this is my medicine."

Dipp's eyes widened in shock. "Medicine? You will be cured if you eat the baby? Eating a live human doesn't seem like a great idea… Why don't you go find a stillborn at the hospital?"

At Dipp's words, Norton's head snapped up. He grabbed his board and furiously scribbled away, his frustration evident in the harsh, jagged lines.

"Are you insane! Eat a baby?! Did you not bring your brains out with you today? I'm taking care of the baby! Linda wants me to care for the baby to stay in touch with my humanity! That's the treatment!"

"Ohhh, I see…" Dipp flashed a sheepish smile. "That makes more sense. You could've explained earlier. You didn't say what kind of illness you were down with and just pointed to a baby, saying that it's your medicine. You can't blame me for getting the wrong idea."

Dipp let out an awkward chuckle before he continued, "Are you planning to keep this child permanently? By the way, is it a boy or girl?"

Dipp then reached out to gently stroke the baby's face, and commented, "So soft… softer than my wife's skin."

Feeling the cold touch of Dipp's scaly fingers, the baby instinctively furrowed his brows and shook his head before opening his eyes. The moment he laid eyes on the two monstrous faces looming over the cradle, he let out a loud wail of terror.

Norton flashed his board scribbled with a curse word at Dipp before he hurriedly scooped the baby up in all eight of his green arms. However, his clumsy movements evidently showed that he wasn't used to handling a baby.

Dipp also rushed over to help but it only served to intensify the baby's cries.

The baby's ear-piercing sobs resonated in the room. The two men awkwardly tried to soothe the baby to no avail. In the end, they were left with no choice and Dipp pulled out his phone and called for external support.

However, it wasn't as if everyone had experience in taking care of a baby. After calling every single crew member from the Narwhale, he finally got hold of someone who claimed that he knew how to pacify a crying baby.

The alluring second mate, Nico, gently took the tear-streaked baby into his arms and placed the baby's lips against his flat chest. The crying ceased almost immediately and was replaced by the soft sounds of the baby suckling.

Nico's lipstick-clad lips slightly parted as he said, "So, where did this little guy come from? I'm pretty sure he's not from either of you."

Dipp offered a quick summary of the situation before he marveled in a surprised tone, "Second mate, I always thought you just looked like a woman, but I never expected you to know how to do something like this. You just need to give birth to a kid, and you would be no different from a real woman!"

Nico ignored Dipp's comment and directly said, "Drop that nonsense. How's Charles doing? Sitting around Hope Island is getting boring. I want to borrow some men from him and take back the Coral Archipelago. It's been too long since I stopped being a Governor. I kinda miss that feeling."

"I've no idea. Usually, it's the first mate who's in contact with the Captain. I asked him and he didn't say anything. Bandages has also been glued to James lately. Who knows what they're talking about?

Letting out a sigh, Dipp continued, "Ever since we returned, something felt off. Everyone is split up and busy with their own things. Just the other day, I called everyone to come for drinks but not even half of them showed up."

A gloomy expression settled upon the trio's faces. Holding the baby, Nico sat down on the bed and sighed softly. "It's normal. No exploration ship stays out at sea forever. Sooner or later, we all have to make landfall."

"But the captain clearly still has business to deal with! Why won't he let us go on board? If he thinks we're not strong enough, he can just tell us directly! We can find ways to get stronger," Dipp countered.

With a flick of his right hand, a swirl of mist shot out from his palm and hit the painting on the wall. The painting that depicted a ship instantly froze over, encased in a solid layer of an unknown white substance.

Norton climbed toward the wall and ran his hand across the painting. He then scribbled a word onto his notepad: Wax.

Nico raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You absorbed another relic? That is very risky. Besides, it isn't because we are weak that the Captain chose not to bring us along. He's distancing himself from us on purpose."

"Distancing himself?"

"Mmhmm. Distancing himself. I'm rather sensitive to emotions, so I can tell that he's trying to pull away from us. It feels like he's preparing for something."

A sense of unease flashed across Dipp's face. "What could it be that he needed to distance himself for?"

"Who knows," Nico replied with a shrug. "Probably only Charles himself would know. Hopefully, it's something good. Ever since he defeated the Foundation, I could feel that his mood has been a little… strange."

"Then it should be enough for him to distance himself from you guys, but why me? I'm his family!" Dipp complained in frustration.

As soon as Dipp's words fell, his phone rang. He picked it up and after listening for a brief moment, his face lit up with joy.

"Lily said that the captain is back! And he is asking us to gather!"