Charles’ heart tightened instantly. He quickly grabbed Lily and turned over, shielding her with his body from the sunlight. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"Mr. Charles, don’t worry. I’m fine. It seems the sunlight doesn’t harm mice."
"How do you know that??"
"It’s true. Mao Mao and the others secretly followed you into the forest earlier."
When Charles saw that none of the mice nibbling nearby had died, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
Perhaps it was because mice and humans from the sea had different physiological structures, but it seemed the sunlight indeed didn’t harm these rodents.
"Looks like mice and cockroaches are the most adaptable creatures on Earth," Charles concluded, finding this the most plausible explanation.
Lily scratched at the crisscrossing scars on Charles’ body with her tiny paws. "Really? So mice are that amazing, huh?"
"Yeah, Lily, you’re incredible." Lying on the warm sand, Charles felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him. His eyes fluttered shut. "Lily, I’m going to take a nap."
This nap was unusually peaceful. He didn’t have any nightmares, and when he woke up, his mind felt clear and refreshed.
He found himself buried in the sand, with a few crooked little sand houses standing on top. The clear mouse paw prints on them were unmistakably Lily’s handiwork.
"She’s still such a mischievous kid," Charles muttered as he sat up, brushing the sand off. Soon, he spotted the creator of these sand sculptures not far away.
Lily was in the distance, directing the mice to bury the bodies. Each grave had a thoughtful half-branch stuck into it.
"Mr. Charles, can you lead a funeral for them??" Lily looked up at Charles as he approached.
"I don’t know how," Charles replied, pulling out his pocket watch.
"Come on, just say a few words. Leading a funeral is easy. My father’s hospital had people die all the time. You just stand in front of their graves and…"
Lily’s voice trailed off as she saw Charles’ relaxed expression twist into something grim. "Mr. Charles, what’s wrong?"
"Lily, how long was I asleep?" Charles’ hand holding the pocket watch trembled slightly.
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"About ten hours or so. Mr. Charles, is your pocket watch broken? Doesn’t it show the time?"
"Clang!" The pocket watch slammed into the sand, startling Lily, who immediately hid behind her companions.
Watching Charles unleash a torrent of curses in languages she didn’t understand, the white mouse’s eyes filled with concern.
"Jump Jump, do you think Mr. Charles has gone mad?" Lily whispered sadly.
The brown mouse beside her squeaked twice, and Lily smacked it with her paw. "Don’t say that about Mr. Charles! How could he have always been crazy?"
Soon, Charles’ frantic movements stilled. He lay on the sand, panting heavily.
Hesitantly glancing at the steamship in the darkness, Lily cautiously approached. "Mr. Charles, what’s wrong?"
"Whoosh!" Charles’ hands shot out like shadows, grabbing Lily in an instant. His bloodshot eyes bore into her.
"Why hasn’t the sun set yet? It’s been thirteen hours! Do you know what this means?"
"Mr. Charles, you’re hurting me." Lily winced, her tiny paws pushing against Charles’ fingers.
"It means the damn Earth has stopped spinning! It means something catastrophic has happened on the surface! It means everything up there has changed! It means even if I can get up there, my home is gone!!!" Charles’ grip tightened unconsciously.
"Hisss!!" The mice swarmed, frantically biting Charles’ arms.
Charles threw Lily down, standing frozen like a statue.
Lily, lying in the sand, burst into tears, not just from the pain but also from Charles’ terrifying behavior.
The mice squeaked, carrying the sobbing Lily as they swam back to the Narwhal.
When the crew on the ship asked Lily what had happened, she tearfully recounted the events.
Hearing the story and glancing at their motionless captain on the beach, Second Mate Konor turned to the doctor with concern. "Doctor, has the captain caught some illness?"
The doctor shook his head, taking a swig from his flask. "Not sure. If he were driven mad by the sea’s whispers, it wouldn’t look like this. Let’s see how he behaves next."
"Are you even qualified to be a doctor?"
The doctor glared at him. "That area’s filled with deadly light! What do you expect me to do? Rush over and die? I’m old, but I’m not ready to kick the bucket yet!"
Time passed minute by minute, and the crew of the Narwhal began to grow restless. Anxiety was written on everyone’s faces.
Bandage, standing in a corner, silently walked over to the deck cannon.
"Boom!!" The cannonball struck the beach, creating a massive crater.
The sound jolted Charles awake. He glanced at the Narwhal, then swam over.
As Charles climbed aboard using the rope ladder, the crew felt even more uneasy seeing his calm expression.
"Deep, go call the other captains. I have an announcement to make."
Deep, visibly unsettled, nodded and entered the wheelhouse to sound the horn.
"Hey, Charles, what happened earlier?" the doctor asked, scrutinizing Charles’ face.
"Nothing, nothing."
Charles walked over to Lily and knelt down. "Lily, I’m really sorry for hurting you earlier. I apologize."
Lily, her furry face streaked with tears, didn’t respond. She curled up inside the brown mouse, leaving only her tail visible.
"I’m truly sorry. I lost control of my emotions when I realized something catastrophic had happened in the outside world. Please forgive me."
Hearing this, Lily quickly poked her head out of the brown mouse, her voice filled with concern. "Mr. Charles, what about your home? Can you still go back?"
Charles gently picked Lily up, stroking her tiny head.
"Yeah, I might not be able to go home. But no matter what’s happened up there, I want to see it for myself. If my family is still there, I’ll do everything in my power to find them and save them. If…"
Charles paused for a moment.
"If my family and my home are gone, then I’ll rebuild a new home right where it used to be!"
