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墨書 Inktalez
I quietly observed the figure in black with Jiao Balang outside the Hatch. The man in black first searched around the coffin, then pressed his hands against the Coffin Lid. With just his own strength, he managed to move it. I could hardly believe my eyes; it would take at least three or four people to shift that Coffin Lid, yet he did it alone. The amount of strength required was unimaginable.
Jiao Bayi was right behind me, and perhaps because he heard the sound of the Coffin Lid opening, he anxiously pushed forward. I didn’t react in time, and he nearly knocked me over, causing my hands to splash into the seawater below. The sound was faint, just a soft 'splash.'
However, this caught the attention of the man in black. As the Coffin Lid was halfway open, he immediately stopped and turned towards the Hatch, asking, "Who’s there?"
Seeing him turn around, I quickly pulled back with all my might and shoved Jiao Ba back. I shot him a fierce glare; this fool had messed up at a critical moment. We were both pressed against the corridor outside the Hatch, and I held onto a glimmer of hope that we wouldn’t raise any suspicion from the man in black.
We dared not even breathe loudly, but inside the cabin, there was complete silence—so quiet it felt eerie. After about five minutes of stillness, I couldn’t hear anything at all. I cautiously glanced with my peripheral vision and noticed that the light inside the cabin had vanished. What was going on? Had the man in black left? That couldn’t be possible! I had been watching the Hatch and hadn’t seen him come out.
I gently nudged Jiao Bayi; he seemed puzzled as well, shaking his head at me repeatedly. We waited for a few more minutes, but the cabin remained dead silent. What on earth was happening? Why was there not even a sound?
I could no longer contain my curiosity. I pulled Jiao Bayi down and signaled for him to take a look inside. He nodded in agreement. We both pressed against the edge of the Hatch and slowly turned to step into the cabin. I expected it to be pitch dark inside, but directly opposite the Hatch was a small hole about the size of a fist! Moonlight streamed through.
The moonlight illuminated just enough to reveal the coffin in the center of the room. In this pitch-black space, that little bit of light made my heart race even more. Now it was shining directly on that coffin, which had been opened halfway. With the faint moonlight, I could see a female corpse lying quietly inside. Although I could only see part of her body, it still sent chills down my spine.
At that moment, I suddenly remembered: where had that man in black gone? I had been so focused on the coffin that I almost forgot about him. Straining my ears, I heard what sounded like water flowing behind me. It was faint but unmistakable. I quickly turned around and saw a tall shadow behind me—at least half a head taller than me—it had to be that man in black.
What shocked me even more were his eyes; they resembled those of a feline. The whites of his eyes were blood-red instead of white, glowing ominously and sending shivers down my spine. His pupils were less than half of what a normal person’s would be, forming an oval shape just like those of a black cat.
In that instant, I involuntarily shuddered and nearly fell to the ground. Before I could react further, the man in black moved swiftly towards me with an overwhelming force that created a gust of wind. Instinctively, based on my years of military experience, I recognized this as wind generated from a punch—clearly demonstrating just how formidable this man’s strength truly was.
In that moment, I suddenly came to my senses. I turned to the side and narrowly dodged his strike. I could even feel his fist brush past my clothes, followed by a pained scream from Jiao Ba: "Damn it..." Then there was a loud splash.
Jiao Ba was right in front of me, and as I dodged, the black-clad man’s punch landed squarely on his face. Jiao Ba was sent flying, crashing straight into the sea, leaving me uncertain whether he was alive or dead.
I couldn't afford to check on Jiao Ba; instead, I let out a roar and retaliated with a punch of my own. In an instant, we were locked in combat within the cabin. I never expected that this black-clad man not only possessed great strength but also martial arts skills. From his movements, it was clear he was proficient in multiple styles of combat; these techniques were not merely modern fighting or grappling arts.
They resembled the legendary martial arts of ancient sects, making it impossible to discern any patterns. He excelled at using palm strikes, and the power in his fingers was immense. When he grabbed my shoulder, I could feel my bones creaking under the pressure. Thank goodness I had trained; otherwise, he would have surely crushed me.
Who was this person? His pair of red cat-like eyes stood out starkly in the dim cabin. For a moment, I even doubted he was human. Who among us could be hiding such a secret? No matter how hard I tried to think, I couldn't figure it out.
I faced him for quite some time but gained no advantage whatsoever. He relentlessly pursued me, landing blow after blow with incredible speed. This was the toughest opponent I had ever encountered; I couldn't afford to be careless because I knew that any mistake could cost me my life.
During my time in the Marine Corps, I wouldn’t claim to be the best soldier overall, but at least I was among the top fighters in my unit. Usually, I could take down three or five opponents with ease. In those five years with the Marine Corps, I learned all sorts of lethal techniques, yet against this black-clad man, none of those skills seemed applicable; he offered me no openings at all.
Just when I felt cornered and at my wit's end, Jiao Ba suddenly lunged at him from behind, wrapping his arms around the black-clad man. Seizing this opportunity, I stepped forward and delivered a powerful kick that sent both Jiao Ba and the black-clad man tumbling down. As I waded through the water and prepared to unveil the mystery behind this man’s mask...
He swept his leg toward my knee joint. The pain shot through me, causing me to lose my balance and nearly fall inside the cabin. The black-clad man broke free from Jiao Ba's grasp and sprang up like a fish leaping from water before turning to dash out of the cabin. I quickly pulled Jiao Ba up and chased after him.
The speed of that black-clad man was astonishing. By the time we burst out of the cabin, we were both left dumbfounded—the sea surface lay calm and undisturbed; there was no sign of him anywhere. It was as if he had evaporated into thin air, leaving no trace behind.
"Where is he? Where did that bastard go? Lao Ba, did you see where he ran off to?" I scanned left and right frantically, checking every inch of the surrounding waters but found nothing unusual. Could it be that this guy had submerged into the depths?
Jiao Ba covered his injured face and said, "How would I know? You came out before me! Damn it, it hurts like hell! Who is that idiot? That punch nearly killed me."
I kept a cold expression as I looked at the calm Sea Surface and said, "I don't know who he is, but one thing I can be sure of is that he must be one of us on the ship."
"One of us? How do you know, Brother Yi?" Jiao Bayi asked with a puzzled look on his face.
I recounted what I had seen earlier, and after listening, Jiao Ba said, "You really messed up. You should have checked which resting cabin had fewer people. Whoever was missing would be the one."
I shook my head lightly and replied, "It's not that simple. I thought of that too. Since he dared to come out, he must have been well-prepared. Besides, I can't just go knocking on every resting cabin's door in the middle of the night, can I?"
Jiao Ba nodded and said, "Yeah, that's true. But who could it be? Someone with such skills to match you?"
"You got it wrong; I couldn't beat him at all. If you hadn't suddenly jumped out, he would have definitely taken me down. This person is not ordinary." For the first time, I felt the presence of a threat so close to me.
Jiao Ba looked a bit shocked and said, "Damn, that's really something! By the way, Brother Yi, here—this is something I just picked up from him."
As Jiao Ba spoke, he handed me an object. I took it and saw it was a flashlight—the one used by the man in black. Seeing the flashlight reminded me of my purpose for coming here: "We'll discuss this later; first, let's go to the cabin and open the coffin. I need to figure this out."
I pulled Jiao Ba along as we headed toward the cabin. Behind me, Jiao Ba muttered, "My brother! You're really asking for trouble..."
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