Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 589: Deleted Again

Chapter 589: Deleted Again

Bam!

Charles slammed his prosthetic hand hard on the steel table, denting it and startling the crew members. It turned out that what happened between him and Anna not too long ago was all fake! It was a false memory to cover up the truth!

Charles was no longer in the mood to eat. He furrowed his brows, thinking of countermeasures.

"What did I tell you? I told you not to think about it. Is it that hard to keep your mind empty?" Anna asked with her brows knitted. She then snatched the phone away from Charles' hand.

Lily was on the table next to them, and she was about to run over to Charles and Anna, but Bandages pulled her away.

"Don't go... wait for him... to give orders..."

"I obviously haven't been able to avoid thinking about it. Since that's not working, and this crisis is from my previous exploration on 068. You should just delete all of my memories about that exploration!" Charles exclaimed, coming up with a solution that was not exactly a solution.

"Are you even sure that's going to work? If it does work, how come you've only thought of that now?"

"Let's just try it. If deleting my memories about the previous exploration is not enough, then delete more than just that exploration. Keep doing it until the crisis is resolved. The trigger for that so-called 'crisis' must be within my memories."

"Charles, you better think this through. You must know that a human being is made out of a massive network of memories. A massive chunk of your memories has already been deleted, and if I delete more memories further back in time, what do you think is going to happen to you? Will you still be 'you' by then?"

"Let's cross that bridge when we get there. Hurry up; we have no time to waste. This crisis has to be resolved as soon as possible!" Charles exclaimed. Then, he lowered his head, allowing Anna to touch his head.

"What if the issue isn't with your memories? I'm thinking that perhaps you're not the problematic one here. Have you ever thought of that?"

Charles' pupils constricted slightly at Anna's remark. After a brief contemplation, he looked up at Anna and said, "Delete all the memories that I implanted in myself from 068. The root of the issue might be there."

Anna no longer dissuaded Charles from his decision. She put her hand back up and put it back down after just a few seconds.

"It's done? How come I don't feel anything?"

Anna glared at Charles. "When have you ever seen me delete memories in a way that the victim can perceive? If you can't believe me, then try and look for those memories yourself. What? Can you still remember them?"

Charles was stunned, and then he fell into deep contemplation. The next second, a hint of bewilderment appeared in his eyes. "Anna, why did you delete my memories?"

Anna put her right hand on her forehead and revealed a speechless look. "Goodness, spare me. My man really is a great man. I told you that it's not going to work. You're not even making any sense now. How about I return those memories to you?"

"Wait," Charles said, raising his hand to stop Anna's hand in mid-air. There was deep confusion and bewilderment in Charles' eyes as he struggled to recall something. A few moments later, he looked up and said, "This is fine. Let me acclimatize to it for now.

"I feel like there's a fog shrouding my head, and I don't really remember that many details, but one thing I know for sure is that the issue I've encountered must be related to my memories."

Charles looked a bit dazed as he sat back down. He then reached out toward the biscuits on the table and stuffed them into his mouth. Charles swallowed briefly before turning to look at Anna.

"If it works for me, then you should go ahead and delete your own memories as well."

"Sure, sure. I'm much tougher than you, too. It's not a big deal even if I have to destroy my current self and construct a brand-new Anna."

"No, don't…" Charles grabbed Anna's arm and cast a nervous gaze at her. "You will no longer be the same Anna if you do that. Promise me—promise me that you will never do that!"

Anna was deeply touched by Charles' reaction. She hugged him tightly and kissed him passionately before saying, "I really don't know what to say. It's just…. I really love you to death."

The crew members were a bit surprised at the scene; they seemed to have no idea what their captain and his wife were doing.

"What are they doing? It feels like they're rubbing in the fact that we're single…" one of the sailors muttered, evidently unable to withstand the cheesiness of the scene.

"Don't say that," a sweaty Planck said as he emerged from the galley. "Couples with a relationship as good as the captain's relationship with her are rare.

"I mean, which couple still hug each other after the honeymoon period? By then, most couples are already tired of looking at each other."

"I don't think that's applicable to me. I still have a great relationship with my wife," Dipp spoke from the sidelines with a bowl of oatmeal in hand.

"All right, let's just eat. It seems the captain is fine."

The crew members sat back down and started eating their meals.

As the days ticked by, Charles' life eventually returned to normal, and nothing abnormal happened. Charles was still confused about what was going on, as he had no idea just what had happened, but he had a feeling that the ongoing situation was heading for the best-case scenario.

Just then, beeping noises echoed from the telegraph machine. As a former Navy troop, Norton was tasked to decode and transcribe the message on a piece of paper.

"Captain, the Colossal Hole Fortress has begun constructing an outpost at the location you've specified. They're also building a train for the sake of transporting supplies."

Charles nodded and replied, "That sounds great. It's a more convenient arrangement, as expeditions are extremely long, and it's too troublesome to return to the Colossal Hole Fortress every time for resupply."

Charles believed that once enough outposts were built, the delivery of supplies would become much faster, and the expeditions would become much more efficient. They'd be able to save a ton of time, which was crucial as time was equivalent to their lives right now.

"Captain, the Director of Hope Island Telegraph Bureau has sent a message saying that Governor Anna has massive reforms, which resulted in many dissenting voices. He asked you to come down and take a look."

Charles shook his head decisively and replied, "No need. Her words are my words. Tell them to cooperate with Anna. I also don't have any time to go down. I have to devote all my time and resources to the surface world, and Anna has been of huge help to me by managing the affairs downstairs."

"All right, I'll write up a report." Norton nodded.

"Mr. Charles, my mice have been really helpful, too. All of my mice friends on the island have come up here," Lily said, tugging at Charles' pants.

Charles squatted and stroked Lily's tiny furry head. "Thank you. You and your mice friends have been really helpful to me."

Lily's lips curled up, and her tiny tail wagged as she closed her eyes to enjoy Charles' touch.

All of a sudden, Lily opened her eyes and stared at Charles. "Mr. Charles, how about I call Uncle Mouse over here? He has even more mice than me, so he's going to be really helpful to us. Uncle Mouse's burrow is near the beach, so the seawater will definitely submerge his place."

"Laboratory Three…" Charles muttered, recalling the island where he first met Lily and that giant mouse about the size of a puppy.

"What's going to happen to the hierarchy of your colony once your uncle is called up here? Are there going to be any changes to it?" Charles asked. He was thinking far ahead than the innocent Lily.