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墨書 Inktalez
Just as I had relaxed my guard with Shunzi, a shadow suddenly darted over. Shunzi reacted quickly, sweeping the Underwater Light towards it, and the beam immediately followed. It was then that I realized the figure was Mai Lao, who squinted against the bright light, hastily shielding his eyes with his hand.
I had just seen him reaching out to touch the Human-Faced Flower. Thankfully, Shunzi's quick response prevented a potential disaster. As Shunzi moved the light away, Mai Lao quickly swam towards us. I gestured to him, asking, "Where's your Underwater Light?"
You see, there was a moment when I almost used my Spear. If I had struck him with it, even if he survived, he would have been left severely disabled for life. Mai Lao pointed at his light and gestured with his hands. It was then that I understood it had run out of battery; he must have forgotten to change it earlier.
I quickly pointed at the Human-Faced Flower, widening my eyes and gesturing at my neck. The Old Man immediately widened his eyes in understanding and nodded vigorously; it seemed his comprehension skills were quite sharp.
Since Mai Lao's light was dead, we had no choice but to move together as a trio. We navigated around the Human-Faced Flower and circled above the Wreck. Aside from what was buried beneath the silt and unseen by us, we thoroughly examined the exterior of the ship. The vessel was over ten meters wide, and aside from some deformed hull sections near the cabin, we found no significant damage or signs of impact. It appeared that it had been sunk by rough seas during a storm. Thinking about it made me feel sorry for those aboard; they likely perished in this underwater world.
On the surface of the Wreck lay a massive net. Although damaged, it was still recognizable as being woven from rope, quite different from modern fishing nets.
Mai Lao signaled for us to check inside the cabin. When we reached the entrance, we discovered that the Hatch was closed. I approached and pushed hard against it; it was tightly sealed as if suctioned shut. Gritting my teeth, I exerted all my strength but couldn't budge it—not even a crack.
Shunzi used his Underwater Light nearby while Mai Lao hurried over to assist me. We both held our breath as Shunzi gestured for us to count to three. On three, we both pushed with all our might, and slowly the cabin door began to creak open. As it did, an eerie 'squeaking' sound emerged from the Hatch—like a mouse's squeak but not quite.
Once opened, darkness enveloped us; nothing was visible inside. Shunzi quickly swept his light into the cabin; it remained somewhat blurry, but I thought I saw a mass of dark shapes writhing within—though I couldn't be sure.
Mai Lao urged us to go inside for a closer look. Just as we were about to enter, a swarm of strange creatures suddenly burst out from the cabin entrance, startling us into retreating just in time to avoid being surrounded by them.
These creatures surged out like a school of fish; however, I knew they were definitely not fish at all. The earlier 'squeaking' sound must have come from them.
Shunzi hurriedly waved the flashlight, and only then did we see clearly that it was a group of dark creatures. We couldn't tell what kind of beings they were; each one was about the size of a palm, and their appearance was quite strange. They were not fish, as these creatures had small claws, and their heads were particularly large, taking up more than half of their bodies.
Their mouths had sharp teeth protruding outward, giving them a fierce look. The rest of their bodies resembled fish, with small tail fins that looked more like tails. They had two claws at the junction of their heads and bodies. This was the second time in my life I had encountered such a bizarre creature; the first time was just a few days ago when I saw the Human-Faced Flower.
The three of us crouched beside the Hatch, not daring to make a sound, afraid that even a bubble might attract these monsters. After about a minute, the cabin entrance finally quieted down. Once those strange beings rushed out of the Hatch, they swam away into the distance.
We waited for another five minutes to ensure it was completely safe before returning to the ship's Hatch. We exchanged glances and collectively shook our heads. It seemed none of us knew what those things were. Perhaps they hadn't seen clearly, but I certainly didn't know. Deep underwater, we couldn't speak, so we could only wait until we returned to the ship to discuss it.
At that moment, Mai Lao waved his hand, signaling us to go inside the cabin first. I nodded, and Shunzi entered first with the flashlight, followed closely by Mai Lao, with me bringing up the rear. The cabin inside was spacious enough for the three of us to walk side by side. Shunzi's flashlight swept left and right, illuminating everything clearly.
However, there was something unsettling about this place; it felt very cold and made me shiver all over. My gaze followed the light closely, fearing we might encounter another strange creature. Fortunately, nothing unusual happened during our exploration of the first cabin; there was nothing exciting to find.
Aside from some broken ceramics, there was nothing else—just some wine cups, bowls of various sizes, and a few vases, some of which were shattered and scattered all over the cabin floor, creating quite a mess. I didn't see any corpses or skeletons here either, nor any gold or silver treasures. It felt a bit disappointing; was this really all there was to the legendary treasure ship?
We continued to explore the next cabin. When we opened the second cabin door, a bunch of bubbles surged out; it was too dark to see anything clearly. Shunzi went in first again. This appeared to be a Rest Cabin with some bedding and some decayed silk. This cabin was noticeably larger than the previous one, yet we still found no skeletons. Where had all those dead people gone?
After surveying the area and preparing to leave, I inadvertently looked up at Shunzi and got an enormous shock from what I saw. I nearly shouted in fright; floating at the very top of this cabin was a person who was swaying right above Shunzi's head.
I quickly signaled to them both. Shunzi shone his Underwater Light upward, and only then did we see that it wasn't just one person but several—five in total—floating at the top of the cabin. Upon closer inspection, there appeared to be three men and two women among them; their bodies had already bloated from being submerged.
The sight of these corpses was terrifying; they clearly had died from some sort of shock as their facial expressions were distorted. Some even had bulging eyes protruding from their sockets. Two of them were missing limbs—arms and legs—and there were obvious bite marks around their necks where something had attacked them; they were left with only half their bodies intact. The only way to tell if they were male or female was by their general appearance.
At this moment, an unprecedented chill coursed through my body. I admit that I felt a bit scared at that instant, but I forced myself to remain calm.
Shunzi's face turned pale, and Mai Lao looked equally terrified. Inside the Ancient Shipwreck's cabin in the deep sea, witnessing such a scene was something most people couldn't endure. What made it worse was that they were all wearing modern diving suits, clearly indicating that these individuals had also come to explore the Wreck. But what had caused their deaths? What had they encountered that led them all to meet their end in this merciless ocean? It was beyond our imagination.
Mai Lao, being quite bold, was the first to swim up and take a look at the wounds on the deceased. Shunzi and I waited below. I wanted to go up and see for myself, but I feared I might vomit; the sight of these corpses was simply too gruesome for me to handle.
A few minutes later, Mai Lao returned. I gestured to him, asking, "What did you see? Did you figure anything out?"
Mai Lao gestured back, saying, "Let's talk about it later; it's too complicated to explain right now." I nodded in understanding, and the three of us retreated to continue exploring the next cabin.
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