Charles had thought that climbing over this thick wall would take some effort, but after a brief search, he spotted numerous small doors at the base of the wall, suggesting that it wasn’t designed to defend against humans.

  With a gentle wave of his hand, he led the group slowly into this fortress-like island.

  As soon as they passed through the thick-walled tunnel, Charles was stunned by the scene before him. If he hadn’t just been at sea, he would have thought he had returned to the surface.

  Inside the wall was a row of modern buildings neatly arranged. In addition to ordinary high-rise buildings, there were fast-food restaurants, mobile phone stores, clothing shops—everything one would expect from a city.

  This was a city, a modern city devoid of human presence. Time had left no mark on these buildings; everything appeared so clean and tidy that there wasn’t a speck of dust on the ground.

  Under normal circumstances, this would be impossible. The ship had only been docked for two months and was already covered in dust, while this city had presumably been built for many years and should not look this new.

  “Hey, don’t you think this architectural style looks familiar?” Richard leaned close to a supermarket, pressing his face against the transparent glass.

  “Foundation.” Charles thought of the ruins on Island 1002. If those ruins were intact, they should resemble this place.

  The Foundation came from the surface, and it was possible that the exit could also lead to this city.

  Even Charles was surprised by this city, and the crew of the *Unicorn* was even more astonished; since entering, their mouths had been agape.

  Everyone stared wide-eyed at the bizarre buildings in the darkness, their hands gripping their weapons, sometimes tightening, sometimes relaxing.

  Charles grasped the doorknob of a supermarket, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.

  The layout inside was almost identical to a Walmart, but compared to the bustling supermarket, this place felt eerily empty.

  “Mr. Charles, is this the kind of computer you mentioned that can play animations?” Lily jumped onto the cash register curiously.

  Charles didn’t respond; he quickly walked over to check the cash register behind the counter.

  He soon realized something was off. Although it looked like a supermarket cash register, there were no data cables connected underneath.

  “Buzz~!” A chainsaw shot out from Charles’s prosthetic arm and sliced through the cash register.

  He quickly discovered that there were no computer chips inside; it was merely an empty shell.

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  “What do you think?” Charles scanned the other cash registers, suspecting they were all mere decorations like the one he had just cut open.

  “You’re asking me? Who would be so bored as to create a fake supermarket?” Richard yanked at the money slot, and various unfamiliar bills and coins sprang out.

  Charles picked one up with his right hand, noticing that while it looked like currency, it felt very rough to the touch. Just like the machine, this money was also fake.

  Suddenly, Charles thought of something and dashed deeper into the supermarket, quickly inspecting various goods. As expected, everything, whether daily necessities or clothing, looked similar but was not functional.

  Moreover, all the areas that should have had text were just a blurred, twisted mess.

  “I feel like I’ve stepped into a 1:1 scale model of a supermarket made by some big shot. Could it be the ‘deity’ in the water? I didn’t expect the ‘deity’ to have such a geeky hobby.”

  Hearing Richard’s guess, Charles shook his head. “No, think about the footprints on the ship. There are creatures here, and it’s possible these things were created by them.”

  “Then why would they make a fake supermarket? Just to show off their skills?”

  Charles set down the items in his hand and gazed out the glass door, muttering, “I’m afraid there’s more than just a fake supermarket…”

  Under Charles’s lead, everyone rushed into the grand high-rise buildings.

  Looking at the interior, which was identical to reality, Charles felt as if he had returned to modern times; the building even had elevators.

  However, a quick inspection revealed that the elevator was also fake. He used his prosthetic arm to cut open the elevator door, only to find it solid inside—there wasn’t even an elevator shaft.

  Charles led everyone up the stairs to the second floor.

  “Everyone, search the rooms for clues. Hand me anything with text or images immediately. Let’s regroup in half an hour, and if you encounter danger, alert everyone immediately.”

  Charles was with the doctor’s group, and they entered a room that resembled an office, beginning to rummage through everything.

  Five minutes later, he emerged with a disappointed expression and walked to the next room. Seeing the crew members coming in and out of the room, Charles knew they had likely found nothing either.

  After clearing another room, Charles, feeling somewhat impatient, was about to lead the crew out of there.

  But just as he stood up, clutching his head and squatting down, a painful expression crossed his face as the whispering sound echoed again, louder than before.

  He pressed his hands to his head and stumbled toward the adjacent room where the doctor was.

  After taking a few steps, Charles saw a humanoid, flesh-covered monster with grotesque limbs approaching him.

  The monster, noticing Charles’s condition, walked over on its blood-soaked legs and offered support with its limbs.

  Glancing at the monster’s blood-soaked robe, a pained Charles said, “Doctor, something is wrong. My hallucinations are starting again. Do you have any medication to suppress them?”

  The monster’s deformed lips moved as if trying to speak, and then it pulled out a writhing white mass from its blood-soaked robe and handed it to Charles.

  Charles took the mass, bit into it, and an overwhelming stench of blood filled his mouth. He forced himself to swallow the disgusting mass.

  At that moment, he saw a figure walking in through the door. It was none other than his ship’s doctor.

  “Clatter!” The terrified doctor dropped the flask he was holding.

  “Oh my god!! Charles, what are you eating—wait! What the hell is that thing standing next to you?!”

  Startled, Charles looked up, locking eyes with the monster’s cross-shaped pupils.

  The chainsaw from his prosthetic arm shot out, whirring rapidly.

  Just as he prepared to swing at the monster beside him, a strong wave of dizziness washed over him.

  The dizziness quickly drained Charles of his strength and will.

  As he collapsed to the ground, the last thing he saw was a six-fingered, grotesquely scaled foot that perfectly matched the footprints found on the ship.