Coal mines can bleed?
Li Andy frowned.
The Mind World originates from memories, so whose memory is this?
He and Youxi instinctively looked towards Irene and Eric.
From their appearance, they really didn't look like father and daughter at all; they resembled more a pair of siblings.
If not for their conversation, even if the guide explained it, ordinary people probably wouldn't easily believe they were father and daughter.
“Dad...”
Sophia felt her hearing was excellent; from afar, she heard the young girl Irene whisper into the ear of her calm, steady father, Eric,
“These coals aren’t the batch from the research institute. They… don’t seem to be entirely coal.”
Eric frowned slightly, pondered for a few seconds, then responded in a low voice:
“Examine them a bit longer, then collect some samples to take back for testing.”
Irene nodded, following her father's footsteps, and re-entered the ship's hold where the coal was stored.
Sophia suddenly felt that Irene's gaze towards her father carried a special kind of emotion.
It was a bit like admiration, but… it was more than just admiration.
It was just like… how she looked at Mr. Andy…
The sea breeze was warm. Thinking of this, her thoughts involuntarily drifted back to last night, and her cheeks rapidly flushed.
“Sophia, is the sun very hot?”
Just then, Youxi's voice suddenly rang in her ear, startling Sophia, who shivered.
“No… it’s not hot!”
Youxi curved her lips, glanced at Li Andy, who was inquiring about the illness over there, and then whispered:
“Sophia, do you like my brother?”
“Ah? I… I…”
Sophia's ears immediately turned red, and she stammered, incoherent.
“Do you want me to help you?” Youxi said again, her voice low and enchanting, like a little devil tempting one to fall.
Sophia was stunned, truly tempted.
But as soon as she thought of the difference in status between herself and him, she dejectedly lowered her head.
“Miss Youxi, please don’t make such jokes. Mr. Andy… is a big shot.”
“A big shot? Pfft…”
Youxi couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh, her youthful and charming appearance attracting the attention of many sailors.
She could already imagine Sophia, once her memories and tsundere personality returned, rolling on the bed in embarrassment, her toes digging into the quilt.
On Li Andy's side, he raised an eyebrow and shot a glance at his sister, who then smiled sweetly and quieted down.
He sighed, waving his hand to have the young naval officer lead the crewman in front of him away.
These people were speaking nonsense, and it was indeed difficult to get any valuable clues from them.
'But the captain's log shows that this ship did travel with the molly for a considerable period of time.'
'Could the reason for molly's disappearance be the same as the reason for their madness?'
'That bleeding coal…'
Li Andy pondered for two seconds, then asked the stationed naval officer if he could go see those strange coal mines.
The young naval officer looked troubled, but under the influence of Li Andy's money, he still scurried to lead him into the hold.
As soon as they entered, they smelled a strong, fishy odor.
Irene and Eric, who had entered earlier, were carefully tapping and examining some broken pieces of coal.
Seeing more people enter, Eric frowned and asked the naval sailor who had been monitoring him:
“Officer, didn’t you say that people outside the research institute aren’t allowed in here?”
The naval sailor looked at the young man leading Li Andy, realized he was the captain's son, and coldly replied:
“If you have an issue, you can report it to your superiors.”
Eric frowned, pondered for a few seconds, then swallowed his dissatisfied words, watching Li Andy and the others warily, committing their appearances to memory.
Li Andy met his gaze, unconcerned, then separated a wisp of his spiritual power, intending to probe the coal piles.
Unexpectedly, as soon as his spiritual power touched the coal mine, it felt as if it had hit a room filled with things, making it difficult to pass through.
This feeling only occurred when touching living entities brimming with spiritual power.
These “coals” possessed spiritual power?
They were alive?!
Because of Li Andy's “offense,” the adjacent coal pile suddenly trembled, and then murky red blood overflowed.
“Huh, so it's not just at night that they can bleed?”
The young naval officer was stunned.
However, the next second, a scream came from Irene's side.
She threw the coal chunk she was holding onto the ground, her palm stained red:
“Dad! This coal… this coal just bit me!”
“Bit you?”
Eric frowned, suddenly feeling a shiver down his spine.
He stiffly turned his head, only to see that the coal pile, which had been quietly bleeding, had grown densely packed eyes!
Just like… a pile of stacked insects and rats!
“Crash—!”
The coal pile collapsed, and those things made squeaking sounds, surging towards everyone.
“Run!”
Eric shouted loudly.
The sailor responsible for monitoring Eric, however, reacted too slowly and was instantly submerged.
In less than two seconds, his face was gnawed down to the bone, unable to even let out a scream.
Li Andy raised an eyebrow, his spiritual power flew out, animating the clothes on everyone, and quickly pulled everyone out of the ship's hold.
Those coal mines seemed to be afraid of sunlight; as soon as they reached the entrance, they quickly retreated.
“What… what exactly were those things?!”
The young naval officer's face was pale at this moment; thinking of how many times he had walked through the hold, his body couldn't stop trembling with lingering fear.
“Lieutenant Commander, what happened?”
A sailor ran over to ask.
However, before he could answer, another sailor on patrol suddenly shouted:
“A ship is entering the harbor!”
Everyone's gaze involuntarily focused.
A steamship with sails appeared on the horizon.
Under the sunlight, the large black molly flower imprint on the somewhat damaged canvas sail was clearly visible.
Almost everyone recognized what ship it was.
The young naval officer looked at Li Andy and opened his mouth:
“It's your family's molly!”
Li Andy couldn't help but frown. Had it returned safely already?
But as the molly approached, the people on deck realized the abnormality of its speed.
On the warship's side, someone was already signaling with flags.
But the molly's speed did not decrease.
After approaching a certain range, several “human-like” things appeared on the deck.
They were covered in scales, or overgrown with seaweed, with a greasy sheen that was particularly noticeable in the sunlight.
Immediately after, a strange flag with a skull was hoisted up the mast.
At the same time, the gunports on the broadside opened synchronously.
The warship in front reacted quickly, turning its hull, but facing the abnormal “molly,” it was still a large step too slow.
“Boom—!”
Firelight flared, followed by the whistling sound of cannonballs cutting through the air.
Dozens of cannonballs accurately struck the small warship.
In less than half a minute, its waist was blown in, causing the entire ship to begin sinking.
“Captain… Captain… my father is still over there!!”
The young naval officer's eyes were bloodshot.
“Calm down…” Li Andy frowned, “That ship is coming towards us now.”
The strange molly did not continue firing, but it kept accelerating and approaching, as if its target had been this coal ship from the beginning.
Was it for those bleeding coal mines?
Li Andy's gaze was wary, and he motioned for his sister to gather closer to him.
Nearing the shallow sea, the molly began to slow down.
Upon reaching a certain distance, a strange murmuring sound emanated from the deck.
Its tones layered, like gibberish, like a hymn, like a prayer!
At this moment, another anomaly occurred.
The door to the cabin where the mad crew members were confined was kicked open.
The mad crewman who had previously wanted to jump into the sea rushed out, holding a sailor's head, howling and cackling, facing the molly, and devoutly knelt on the ground:
“I heard it!”
“Hahaha!”
“Make the false true! Make the false true!!”
“Hahahaha!”
Then, his voice became less and less human.
Dense fish scales grew on his cheeks and neck.
His fingers became long and pointed, and webs grew between the joints.
With eyes as black and lifeless as stagnant water, he suddenly looked at the trembling Irene and her father not far away, and with the last intelligible human words, he said:
“Drown… Dream Master…”
“Make the false… true…”