Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 12. It's All Fake

My first mate was attacked by an unknown creature and remains unconscious. His condition doesn't look too good. It'd be a miracle if he can survive this ordeal with all those injuries. I'm not sure if he'll ever wake up.

Click.

Charles capped his pen and slipped it back into his pocket. Letting out a sigh and the helplessness of the situation, he then picked up his diary and flipped through it casually. But when he came across a particular page, his breath caught in his throat, and his heart raced.

At that moment, he regretted ever reading that page.

Closing the diary, he let out a psychotic chuckle and shook his head.

"What's so amusing?" Anna, standing a distance away, curiously asked.

Charles stared at her for a few seconds before walking over to Bandages and took the black blade from his hand. With a finger, he gestured for Anna to step outside.

"Didn't you say it'd be safer if we all stay together? Why are we going out again?" Anna asked as she walked out of the pilot house.

Charles cupped her fair face in his hands and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. Anna's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

As Charles pulled away, Anna's cheeks were slightly flushed. She playfully tapped his chest with a fist and purred, "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"Jiajia, we've been childhood friends. Have you only liked me all these years?" Charles leaned against the ship's wall with a calm expression.

Anna snuggled into his embrace and replied affectionately, "Of course, silly. I've liked only you ever since you handed me a shovel in the kindergarten sandbox."

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Charles tenderly held her as he gazed into the darkness beyond. "Jiajia, you're such a perfect wife. Beautiful, elegant, loyal."

With a smile, Anna reached up and wrapped her arms around Charles' neck. "I love these cheesy compliments. Keep them coming."

"Do you remember the brands of those lipsticks you own?" Charles asked.

"Why are you asking that? It's been so long, how would I remember?" Anna replied in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Yeah, of course you don't remember. Because I'm a clueless guy, so I don't remember any brands," Charles said, his mouth twitching slightly. Suddenly, tears welled up in his eyes. His left hand reached for his waist, and a revolver appeared in his grasp. The dark barrel pointed steadily at Anna's flat abdomen.

"Gao Zhiming, what are you doing?" Anna's face displayed a hint of displeasure.

"You even know my real name, so why did you have to be fake! Why?!" Charles' contorted face twisted further as he forced himself to pull the trigger.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The impact of the successive shots forced Anna to stagger back, and dark green blood splattered in all directions. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

With a slight tremor, Anna slowly lowered her head. When she saw the tentacles wriggling and extending from her abdomen, she began to claw at her own hair in a state of despair. She couldn't seem to be able to accept the reality.

"What is this? Why is this thing inside me? Gao Zhiming, save me! Please!" she pleaded.

As soon as the words left her lips, her delicate features collapsed like a melting candle. A twisted, grotesque creature covered in yellow-green slime emerged on the deck of S.S. Mouse. It resembled the same species found on the island—contorted pieces of flesh, horrifying, with seven or eight uncontrollable tentacles flailing about, akin to a deformed octopus emerging from the water.

Staring at the creature before him, tears streamed down Charles' face. His trembling hand held firmly to the gun. It was all fake. Everything in his memories about Anna was a lie.

The next second, the monster opened its grotesque maw and roared as it charged toward Charles.

Charles rolled to the side to narrowly avoid the creature's attack. His gaze grew resolute and his hands skillfully reloaded the bullets.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Every shot that landed on the monster was accompanied by a splatter of green blood. However, such injuries were futile in stopping it. With a deafening roar, a tentacle covered in fine black tendrils lashed out and struck Charles' hand, sending the gun out of his grasp.

"Why?!" Charles clenched his teeth as he swiftly retrieved his black blade and slashed the tentacle. The severed tentacle writhed incessantly on the deck.

The fleshy abomination let out a furious roar and retreated. In pursuit, Charles lunged forward with his blade in hand.

As soon as the bow of the ship, they clashed once more. The monster's hair-thin, black tendrils on its tentacles suddenly unfurled like a fishing net. Its sudden counterattack tightly ensnared Charles.

The constricting tendrils tightened around his body, Charles seemed to hear the anguished cries of his own bones.

Crack! His ribs began to break one by one. The intense pain made Charles groan in agony.

At the brink of desperation, the glass of the helm shattered abruptly as a bullet pierced the monster's colossal yellow eye, causing it to burst like a watermelon.

With a wretched howl, the monster immediately released its grip on Charles and darted toward the side of the ship in an attempt to escape.

The sound of gunfire erupted, as the others from the engine room rushed out with their firearms.

Despite possessing great strength, the fleshy monster was still made of flesh and blood. Under the onslaught of bullets, its grotesque body was torn apart like a tattered sack.

As the gunfire subsided, the once overconfident monster lay in a pool of its putrid, foul-smelling blood. Its remaining tentacles trembled and writhed weakly.

Pressing one hand against his throbbing abdomen, Charles approached the monster.

Just as he lifted his revolver, and aimed it at the creature's mouth, the front end of the fleshy abomination reshaped itself into the face of the ship's doctor, Anna.

Anna's expression twisted into a sorrowful smile, and greenish-black blood dripped from the corner of her eye. "Gao Zhiming, I'm sorry... I didn't even know I was fake..."

Those words pierced Charles' heart like a dagger as a pained expression appeared on his face. He would much rather the monster cursed and lashed vulgarities at him.

The others gathered behind Charles with solemn expressions.

"I can't control it. I'm just its bait. It's buying time. Aim below its eye, that's its weak spot," Anna said.

Looking at his companion and recalling the countless memories in his head, he felt the weight of the revolver in his hand increase a thousandfold.

"Gao Zhiming! Hurry up! It has strong regenerative abilities!" Anna urged.

Growing anxious at Charles' hesitation, Anna turned toward Dipp and said, "Boy, you do it."

Just as Dip hesitated, Charles clenched his teeth, raised his gun, and pulled the trigger.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

As the bullets struck her, a sorrowful smile crept across Anna's face. "Thank you... I really wanted to go home with you..."

As her words faded, her face began to melt and merged into the lifeless body of the fleshy monster.

Charles suddenly erupted into maniacal laughter. He rushed forward, grabbed the creature's corpse and hurled it with all his might into the sea.

"Don't try to deceive me again! I won't fall for it anymore! You monsters who alter memories! It's all fake! All fake! Fake!"

Charles's abnormal behavior worried James. He looked at the captain with a sense of concern and carefully chose his words. "Captain, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, hahaha! How would I be not alright? The crisis is over, the flesh-eating monster is dead! That's cause for celebration! Chef, prepare a feast. Dipp, work with Jack to clean up this place. I'll take the helm!"

For the rest of the day, the crew of S.S. Mouse tiptoed around their captain. They were fearful that they might accidentally trigger him.

But Charles appeared to be completely normal. He steered the ship and ate his meals as usual. Only his behavior was noticeably different. He seemed overly animated.

After finishing his food, Charles retreated to his quarters. Despite the darkness in his cabin, he didn't turn on the lights. With a bitter expression, he retrieved the liquor bottle at the bottom shelf. Sitting on his bed, he drank one mouthful after another.

"Anna, why do you have to eat humans..."

"If you hadn't eaten my crew, I could have pretended not to know..."