Under the guidance of the peculiar old man, Charles and his crew made their way toward the distant, intricate entrance of the maze.

  Just as they left, a figure wrapped in bandages slowly materialized on the wall, reaching out as if trying to stop something.

  Although Blake was blind, he seemed to navigate using some other sense, bending his neck and hunching over, moving quickly on his feet.

  "Mr. Charles, that grandfather looks so pitiful. Shouldn't we give him some cookies?" Lily whispered in Charles's ear.

  Charles shook his head, rejecting the request. It wasn't a good idea to expose food without knowing the other party's intentions.

  As they trudged through the muddy water in silence, about half an hour later, a human settlement hanging on the wall came into view.

  To avoid the filthy mud, the inhabitants had carved out various-sized hollows in the rock face, where dozens of humans sat, either resting or chatting.

  They looked just as emaciated as Blake, with a similar layer of white mist covering their eyes. However, when Charles spotted various human bones hanging on the wall, his heart sank; there were indeed human remains, and quite a few at that.

  Quickly scanning the settlement, Charles did not see any signs of bandages.

  Hearing the murmurs of the crowd, Blake excitedly moved closer to them. Once he touched the wall, he turned to Charles with a sinister smile.

  "Boss! Look! I’ve brought you some newcomers, and I just heard a woman’s voice saying they have cookies!"

  At Blake's words, a human from the highest level of the wall stood up and jumped directly into the muddy water, showing no concern for the height.

  His scarred face twisted in excitement. "A woman? Finally, another woman has arrived! Haha! This time, I will cherish her!"

  Blake approached with a fawning smile. "Boss, once you're done, can I have a turn?"

  Seeing the blind individuals quickly surrounding them, Charles raised his revolver and fired a shot into the air, warning them that he was armed.

  After the gunshot, the scarred man was momentarily stunned but then burst into laughter. "Hahaha, interesting! Looks like the newcomers have a gun! I'm so scared~! Hahaha!"

  Not wanting to engage in conversation, Charles aimed directly at the scarred man and fired.

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  As soon as the captain attacked, the crew quickly followed suit.

  However, at the moment the gunshot rang out, everyone in front of them dove into the water, disappearing into the murky depths.

  Bullets struck the water's surface, but apart from splashing a bit of mud, no blood emerged.

  Once the gunfire ceased and the water settled, the figures were nowhere to be seen; this was their territory.

  "Watch the water—" Charles's warning was cut short as the surface of the water before him broke apart, and sharp, foul-smelling nails shot toward his neck.

  Charles performed a backflip, narrowly dodging the attack. He fired several shots at the emerging enemies, blood splattering on their bare chests.

  Suddenly, danger appeared from behind him. The scarred man had somehow gotten behind Charles, grinning maliciously as he lunged at him with sharp claws.

  Just as things seemed dire, a large hand swung in from the side, sending the scarred man flying; it was James's hand.

  Charles quickly regained his footing and leapt onto James's knee, then up to his shoulder.

  From his elevated position, Charles saw the creatures attacking his crew, creating chaos in the muddy water.

  He couldn't afford to hesitate. He fired his revolver, taking down those who broke the surface.

  Initially, the surprise attack from the creatures caused some confusion among the crew, but they quickly stabilized and began to fight back.

  After all, they were all human; no one was afraid of anyone else.

  James swatted at the creatures like flies, sending them flying.

  Lily's rat swiftly dove underwater, crimson blood surfacing.

  Deep's dagger sliced through their throats with precision.

  To Charles's surprise, Second Officer Knona was holding a blue candle, mumbling something while two paper figures stood protectively on the water's surface.

  As the black muddy water turned red with blood, the fierce battle gradually quieted down.

  Glancing at the number of bodies on the surface, Charles realized this wasn’t over; there were only a dozen corpses, far fewer than the previous seventy or eighty.

  "Your aim is decent, but that’s about it," the scarred man's voice suddenly came from the left.

  Charles quickly turned his gun toward the sound and fired, but the bullet disappeared into the water without a trace.

  Then, the scarred man's voice appeared on the right. "Too bad that’s all you’ve got. You probably won’t even reach the second tier; you can’t possibly compete with me. Hand over the women and food, and I might consider letting you join us."

  Seeing that bullets were ineffective, Charles stopped firing and asked warily, "Second tier? What is that?"

  "Hahaha, looks like you’re not just new here; you’re also new outside, not even knowing the ranking of power levels."

  Hearing this, fragments of memory flashed through Charles's mind from his time in the library. He quickly recalled that the man was referring to the ranking among combat members on warships.

  Governors and their ships did not coexist peacefully; they used these rankings when they turned against each other.

  From this, Charles deduced that this man was likely a combat member on a warship outside.

  "I’m the captain of an exploration ship. I don’t care about your warship hierarchy."

  After saying this, Charles waved his hand, then pulled out the lightning short staff from his clothing.

  The crew of the Narwhal gasped in shock and quickly moved closer to the giant James. They remembered their last experience vividly and would not forget it.

  "Exploration ship? Hmph, only those who can’t get on a warship would foolishly sail a broken ship to the island to die."

  "Is that so? Then why is such a powerful being like you trapped in this place?"

  "Don’t talk tough; just wait until I catch you. I’ll make sure you die a slow death—"

  Now! Charles thrust the short staff forward, and a brilliant arc of electricity shot toward the source of the voice.