“Where have you been?” Charles asked the mouse that had just opened the door, still focused on the nautical charts in front of him.

  “I went out to play,” Lily replied, sounding dejected.

  “Are you hungry? I have some food on the table.”

  “Give it to the other mice; I’ve already eaten.” With that, Lily climbed onto the pillow and lay down.

  Noticing her unusual mood, Charles felt puzzled. He couldn’t understand why this little mouse seemed upset; hadn’t everything settled down? However, he didn’t want to indulge her bad mood, so he grabbed her tail and pulled her over to the table.

  “I found some books about operating the cannon. You need to study them; I’m taking you to the port for training tomorrow.”

  Lily looked at the stack of books that towered over her and instinctively felt resistant. “I don’t want to read them! I already know how to operate the cannon!”

  “Enough with the nonsense. Becoming a qualified gunner isn’t that simple. Since you’re my crew member, you need to meet the standards. On the sea, any slight shortcoming could endanger everyone’s lives.”

  Charles opened a book and tossed it at her.

  Under the captain’s coercion, Lily was forced to digest material meant for someone much older than her. Yet, in this high-pressure environment, her earlier gloom and sadness quickly faded, and the cheerful Lily returned, complaining to Charles all day long.

  With the persistent chatter from the mouse, Charles, who usually spoke little, found himself talking more. For the first time, there was a hint of liveliness in the apartment.

  Half a month passed quickly, and Lily completed her initial training. Charles, with the crew well-rested, set out for a new mission. The previous exploration of the fifth-level island had been at the edge of known territories, and this time, he was tasked with navigating the northernmost sea.

  Typically, exploring open waters is safer than island expeditions. But when it comes to the sea, who can say for sure?

  The other crew members were surprised by Lily’s return, but under Charles’s subtle hints, no one pried too deeply into the matter. They only knew one thing: the Unicorn Whale now had a mouse gunner.

  As the Unicorn Whale’s smokestack began to emit black smoke again, it slowly disappeared from the dock, watched by the laborers.

  Life at sea remained as calm and routine as ever, with any unknown threats quickly dealt with.

  Entering the unmarked waters for the second time, the crew was much calmer. Perhaps because there had been no casualties during the last mission, the crew was highly motivated for the new task. Even though they had only rested for half a month, confidence radiated from everyone’s faces. Second Officer Knona was eager to introduce his cousin to join the crew and strike it rich together.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Behind closed doors, the crew whispered among themselves, speculating how soon they might discover a new island and prosper alongside their captain.

  In the cockpit, Charles held a pen, calculating the ship’s current position based on speed and direction on the nautical chart. Normally, this would be the navigator’s responsibility, but he took it upon himself. This task required precision; even a slight error in coordinates could lead to a significant miscalculation in actual positioning.

  After confirming that today’s coordinates were accurate, Charles turned to head to the captain’s cabin to write the navigation log. However, as he stepped out the door, he felt an inexplicable discomfort.

  Standing at the entrance, Charles turned back and scanned the cockpit. The Unicorn Whale’s cockpit was much larger than that of the Mouse Ship, comparable to half a classroom.

  At that moment, the bosun, Deep, was at the helm, while the first mate, Bandage, sat nearby, engaged in conversation.

  “First Mate Bandage, did you hear? James secretly got married! He didn’t even invite us; isn’t that a bit too ungrateful?” Deep complained.

  “Left rudder 15... speed up to 5 knots...” Bandage directed, seemingly ignoring the bosun’s grievances.

  As Charles’s gaze swept the cabin, he finally pinpointed the source of his discomfort. He strode over to Bandage and yanked the bandage off his amputated leg.

  To his astonishment, a portion of the leg that had been consumed by Anna had regrown, the contrast between the tattooed dark skin and the newly grown bright white skin was striking.

  Deep clearly noticed this surprising development as well, his eyes widening. “My goodness, your leg grew back after being amputated? Are you some kind of sea octopus?”

  “Keep your eyes on the helm!” Charles barked, causing the curious Deep to quickly retract.

  Pointing at the regrown leg, Charles asked Bandage, “Can you explain what happened? I’ve never heard of Furtan followers having a special method for regrowing limbs.”

  “I... I don’t know... My memories are all jumbled... I’ve been to many places... experienced many things, but my memories fade away...”

  Bandage clutched his head, a pained expression crossing his face. “I don’t think I’m called Bandage... but I’m not sure…”

  It seemed this guy had a story of his own. Charles sighed inwardly. He reached out and patted him on the shoulder. “It’s okay; if you can’t remember the past, don’t dwell on it. Just remember that you’re the first mate of the Unicorn Whale now.”

  Bandage looked up, a strange smile spreading across his face. “Thank you... Captain.”

  After saying this, he took a long black needle and began to skillfully poke it into the newly grown part of his leg, where small letters began to appear: “Captain Charles can be trusted.”

  “First Mate, you really don’t have to—”

  “Captain! Something’s happening! Look outside!” Deep’s anxious voice interrupted him.

  Immediately, Charles turned his gaze to the window.

  Bright yellow flakes were falling, swaying in the air. This scene made Charles feel as if he were looking at snow on Earth, but in the Sea of the Dead, where even the sky was absent, how could there be snow?

  Faced with this anomaly, Captain Charles quickly issued orders. “Everyone, get below deck! Full speed ahead to leave this area!”

  The bright yellow “snow” continued to accumulate on the deck, and the atmosphere aboard the Unicorn Whale grew tense.

  With a muffled sound, the Unicorn Whale’s engine roared to life, and black smoke billowed from the smokestack.

  Tension mounting, Charles fixed his gaze on the dark sea, not even daring to blink.

  “Whoosh... Whoosh...” The sound of howling wind filled the air, and waves began to rise on the surface of the sea.

  “What... is this? Is it wind? Is the Sea of the Dead experiencing wind? Are we approaching the entrance to the surface?” An absurd thought crossed his mind.

  Suddenly, Charles remembered something. His pupils constricted to pinpoints as he grasped the red lever and pulled it hard. The searchlight above the cockpit, which should have been aimed at the sea, rapidly tilted upward, shining toward the sky.

  Rushing outside, he looked up, and in an instant, he felt an unexplainable tremor coursing through him. A fear he had never experienced enveloped him completely.

  Above the Unicorn Whale, a massive eye covered half the sky, staring straight at him.