A leech, dripping with black water, fell onto the hull of the *Unicorn*. The crew member staggered and collapsed, desperately reaching out his right hand toward Charles, but it was futile; his body quickly liquefied into a dark substance.

  This terrifying scene sent chills down everyone's spine. Driven by primal instinct, they rushed into the nearby supermarket. At the same time, the rain of leeches began to pour down.

  Watching the outside world turn black, with writhing leeches crawling across the streets, Charles knew they couldn’t afford to wait. The reproductive speed of those creatures was beyond his imagination; they had to leave this cursed place as quickly as possible.

  Inside the supermarket, Charles scanned his surroundings and headed to the clothing section. He touched the garments, which looked like clothes but felt more like plastic.

  “Put these on! Grab extra hats! Hurry!!”

  With a loud crash, the crowd donned various outfits and pushed against the supermarket's glass doors, charging toward the distant giant wall.

  Even with this layered protection, people occasionally fell, overwhelmed by the leeches on the ground.

  At this moment, no one dared to stop. Stopping meant death.

  Three hundred meters, two hundred meters, one hundred meters!

  The sound of dripping above them ceased as Charles led the exhausted group into the breach of the massive wall.

  The towering structure shielded them from the black rain, and they were finally safe. Without pausing to rest, everyone quickly stripped off their protective gear to prevent any leeches from slipping through the seams and into their bodies.

  “You take half the people to your ship, and I’ll take half to mine. Hurry!” Charles instructed a female Luminary follower.

  Despite their exhaustion, everyone moved swiftly to the boats.

  The small boat, filled to capacity, slowly approached the *Unicorn*. With the ship's horn blaring once again, it finally began to move after a long period of stillness.

  Panting heavily, Charles stood on the deck, leaning against the ship's railing, gazing at the distant giant island.

  Under the bright spotlight, he saw the black leeches starting to crawl up the massive wall, like demonic hands consuming everything in their path.

  Scenes from the island flashed through Charles's mind like a movie. Although he had only spent a few days there, it felt like he had been trapped on that island for ages.

  “This island is done for. The Mihe inside are finished too. They’ll never catch humans for their live stage shows again,” Richard remarked.

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  Charles ignored him; he still had something important to accomplish. He grabbed Dipp and pulled him toward his captain's quarters.

  With a snap, the oil lamp was lit. Charles thrust his notebook, ruler, and pen into the bewildered Dipp’s hands and began to tremble as he took off his outer coat.

  “Draw a map marking the wounds on my back, quickly!” Charles instructed, exposing his bare upper body to his first mate.

  “But Captain, you don’t have any wounds on your back.”

  “What?!” Charles’s heart sank. He excitedly touched his back, realizing that the wounds Salin had carved into him had healed.

  He immediately recalled the capsule the white-robed Mihe had given him. That medication seemed to have healing properties.

  “Did I really waste my time?” Charles felt a wave of despair wash over him, his body nearly collapsing.

  “Captain, although you don’t have wounds, there are some scars,” Dipp’s comment made Charles want to strangle him.

  He shot Dipp a glare and turned away. “Then draw based on the scars. Hurry up.”

  Soon, a copied sea chart was handed to Charles’s trembling hands.

  After carefully comparing it with the mental map in his mind, Charles suddenly broke into laughter. His laughter grew louder, making Dipp feel a bit uneasy.

  “Captain, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, I’m fine.” With a smile, Charles hugged him tightly before shoving him out the door with force.

  “We found the exit! We’re going home soon!” Charles stared intently at the sea chart in his hands, muttering to himself.

  No matter the hardships and despair he faced during this exploration of the island, the moment he saw the map made it all worthwhile.

  “Oh no, I haven’t even started writing my *Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea*! I need to get to work quickly; otherwise, it’ll be too late once I get out.”

  Listening to Richard’s voice in his mind, Charles’s smile slowly faded. He carefully tucked the sea chart away, slipping it into his journal.

  “Things are coming to a close. We can finally have a good talk about the trouble you caused earlier.”

  In her soft bed, Anna lay on her side, humming along to the latest popular song playing on the gramophone.

  Naked, she propped her head up with her elbow, flipping through an art book filled with illustrations of grotesque monsters.

  “Creak.” The bathroom door opened, and a muscular young man, wrapped in a towel, stepped out excitedly. “Miss Anna, I… I’m all cleaned up.”

  Anna absentmindedly glanced at him. “Did you wash thoroughly?”

  “I’m spotless! You can see for yourself.” The young man, a mere petty thug from the port, felt elated to have caught the attention of a famous socialite from the island. He could hardly believe his luck. Tomorrow, he would boast to his friends, who would undoubtedly be envious.

  He excitedly reached out a hand toward her soft skin, while his other hand loosened the towel around his waist.

  But soon, the lust on his face transformed into sheer terror. His scream filled the room as a tentacled monster emerged from a pool of blood, devouring its meal and quickly transforming back into the beautiful woman.

  She lightly clapped her hands, and three maids dressed in black and white entered, respectfully cleaning up the mess in the room.

  Anna slowly lay back on the ship, continuing to absentmindedly flip through the art book. “Any news from Coral Island?”

  “Respectful Mistress, there is none,” one of the maids replied, bowing slightly.

  “Ugh…” Anna twirled her hair with her fingers, rolling over to the other side of the bed, where a portrait of Charles rested on the cabinet.

  Her left hand transformed into a tentacle, gently pulling the portrait closer.

  “Who is this?” one of the maids asked.

  “Oh? Him?” Anna’s lips curled into a smile, her eyes filled with a hint of struggle as she caressed the glass with her tendrils. “He’s my man.”

  “Ding-dong.” The doorbell rang, but Anna didn’t move, simply lifting her chin toward the entrance.

  The maid quickly laid down a new carpet and rushed to open the door. “Mistress, it’s the governor’s daughter.”

  Before the maid could finish, a flustered Margaret rushed in, her long dress trailing behind her. “Sister Anna, has Mr. Charles replied to his letter??”