Shrouded Seascape

Ilov inside an isolation ward was clad in clean clothes and was staring quietly at the "tree branch" lying quietly in a box filled with water.

The tree branch that looked as if it was made out of flesh and blood had grown significantly larger. It was now as thick as a forearm.

He had somehow managed to retrieve the "tree branch," but he couldn't allow it to be exposed to air. It had to be contained and treated as an Anomaly of the highest threat level.

Ilov looked around and began pounding on the white wall to his right. "Raven, I know you're out there! Tell the Anomaly Containment Team to come here quickly! I'm not joking with you!"

A short-haired woman with sharp features stood with her arms crossed on the other side of the wall. She was staring at the colleague with whom she had overcome many life-and-death situations through the one-way glass.

There was no mistaking it—Jackal's mind had been contaminated. However, they had no idea what exactly had contaminated his mind and why he was seeing something on the water inside the clear box.

"Jackal, if you can still understand me, then listen to me and just rest. Be obedient and rest. Don't worry about anything else; just focus on recovering."

Ilov was furious upon hearing those words from the nearby speaker. "What do you mean, 'rest'?! I'm not sick! I started out as a medic myself, so do you really think I won't know whether I'm ill or not? You have no idea how serious this is!"

Ilov carried the clear box containing the flesh branch and ran toward the wall. He tilted it slightly to show it to his colleague. "See? It's right here, but it has no physical form! It's like a reflection on the water!

With that, Ilov held out one hand above the surface of the water. As he moved it slowly, the reflection of his hand on the water moved slowly as well until it eventually made contact with the flesh branch.

The flesh branch moved slightly, eliciting an exclamation from Ilov. "See?! It moved! I'm not imagining things here! It really exists!"

Silia behind the mirror rubbed her aching head. Ilov's bizarre actions weren't convicting at all.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Jackal, we've had people examine it, and it's just a box full of rotting water. There's nothing in it at all."

Realizing that they still couldn't believe him, Ilov became anxious. He scratched his head frantically and exclaimed, "That's because our technology isn't advanced enough to detect this thing!

"This isn't the only evidence! Interrogate the patients in the field hospital, and you will know that many people have seen this thing. I have a feeling that we'll find bigger clues about this thing inside their minds!

"And let me warn you that this thing's power is unimaginable! I saw it in my dream! I don't know where it is right now, but if it becomes hostile toward us, we won't be able to fight back at all!"

"Jackal, you're on leave now. Rest well, and don't think too much about anything. Leave everything else to us. Your room is equipped with many monitoring devices, so any Anomaly that will attempt to influence you will not escape our detection."

With that, Silia turned and left the monitoring room to write her incident report.

Jackal's outbursts had alarmed many people, after all.

"Hey, where are you going?!" Ilov roared. His voice pervaded the corridors as Silia walked away. "Come here quick! Look! It moved! It's still alive! It MOVED!"

However, Silia didn't even look back as she walked out the door.

***

Somewhere in the pitch-black depths of the Subterranean Sea was a clump of flesh the size of an island. The flesh island writhed as it sank slowly toward the seafloor.

The flesh island was Charles, and he was testing whether he could reach the surface world. The possibility was low, but who could be certain without trying?

Charles dove deeper and deeper. At some point, white flashes of light engulfed him as he began teleporting in rapid succession.

Soon, Charles felt that he had reached the deepest point of the ocean, but when he emerged, he was stunned to find an ocean. However, it took him no time to realize where he was—he was in the Divinity's Land within the Eastern Seas.

He had started drilling down in the Western Seas, but he somehow found himself in the Eastern Seas. There was clearly something wrong here. It seemed that something was interfering with his perception.

Charles moved not a single inch before diving into the seabed, but instead of emerging in the Western Seas. He found himself on a continent. Based on the rock layer overhead, he was still within the Subterranean Sea.

Clearly, the Subterranean Sea had continents as well.

The traces on the ground told Charles that the continent was habitable, and perhaps there could be humans living here. The human Charles would have been overjoyed at this discovery, as this was a continent that would never sink.

However, the current Charles couldn't care less; all he cared about was what exactly was capable of interfering with his perception, especially when he could practically be considered a god.

Actually, Charles could instantly know the answer to his question. He simply had to unlock the constraints on his mind and accept every knowledge around him. In less than a blink of an eye, he would learn what was happening beneath the seabed.

Unfortunately, it meant instantly becoming a god.

Knowledge—once considered priceless—had become akin to a curse for Charles.

After a few moments of pondering, a white light engulfed Charles, and he vanished into thin air.

Inside the Governor's Mansion on sunny Hope Island, Bandages was sitting in front of his desk, reviewing many different documents.

He had become Hope Island's de facto ruler, so he was the decision-maker of Hope Island's government departments.

Bandages was skilled at managing. He was even more skilled at it than Charles. As for when and where he had obtained his management skills, he had decided not to think about it.

At this point, Bandages had already grown accustomed to his nine-to-five job, and the fishy smell that had been clinging to him from spending years at sea had long disappeared.

While he was signing his name on the papers, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," Bandages replied without looking up.

The door was opened, and Bandages immediately stood up in excitement upon seeing the visitor.

"Captain!" he exclaimed.

"Captain? It's been a long time since anyone called me that. I'm actually missing it," Charles said, smiling warmly as he walked toward his old friend.

Bandages walked over and hugged him tightly for a while before finally letting go.

"I walked around the island, and… everything looked great. You're definitely better at being the Governor than me." Charles smiled.

"Captain, you… are you okay?" Bandages asked. He sized up his captain from top to bottom, but he couldn't find any changes. It was like Charles hadn't changed at all.

"Am I okay? Haha, how should I say this? Hm, I suppose you can say that I'm dying," Charles replied calmly but in a self-deprecating tone of voice.

Bandages was stunned.

"I'll... go call everyone... over," he said before rushing toward the window.

Before he could reach the window, the walls on both sides of the window shut tight like two pieces of flesh, crushing the window into nothingness.

"Don't call them over. I'm sure they're going to cry and kick up a fuss, which is undoubtedly going to be troublesome. In addition, I don't think it's a good idea for them to know the reason behind my visit."