Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 695: James

"Did... you have a nightmare?" Bandages inquired. He was sitting next to Charles and was the first one to notice Charles' strange movement.

Charles shook his head and walked past the crew members to the washroom between the two train carriages.

He turned on the faucet and splashed his haggard-looking face with cold water. The cold water quickly pulled him out of the nightmare's influence. Charles looked up at himself in the mirror and muttered, "No, I have to believe in Anna. She's not that kind of person. Sparkle is our daughter, and she wouldn't do that to her."

Ding, dong!

A pleasant female voice rang out from the speaker beside him. "Dear passengers, this train is about to arrive at the final stop—Colossal Hole Fortress.

"The current time is 5:57 PM. Please take your luggage and queue up to disembark."

Charles opened the train window and saw a small city in the distance. He hadn't been back for a long time, and the changes were much greater than he had imagined.

As soon as he got off the train, he saw his former chief engineer, James, standing in front of a group of people. They had all come here to welcome Charles back to the fortress.

"Captain!" James greeted. He was thrilled to see Charles once again. He then walked to the side to make way for Charles, but the latter opened his arms and gave him a firm hug.

"The relevant Navy department has drafted several plans concerning the Pope of the Divine Light Order. A few relic combat teams have arrived on the surface world. Governor Julio has also withdrawn from the front lines and is on his way with the strongest individuals of the Subterranean Sea."

"Thank you. I'll leave this matter to you and Leonardo. With you here, I feel much more at ease," Charles replied and let go of James. He stared at his former chief engineer and noticed that James had to be under a ton of stress these days.

James' hairline had receded significantly, and his belly had grown larger.

"Don't worry. Everything here is under my control. We're all working together to save the Subterranean Sea, after all. Anyway, Captain, what brings you back here?" James asked.

He was a bit surprised by Charles' decision to return to the Colossal Hole Fortress. Based on his captain's personality, Charles wouldn't stop searching for the darkness unless he was dead or had already located it.

"Nothing much; it's just a small matter. Anyway, when will the soonest airship depart for the Subterranean Sea? I have to go down as soon as possible," Charles replied. Evidently, he wasn't willing to discuss the matter in detail.

"It's departing now; it's just up ahead!" James pointed at the giant airship on a platform not too far away. Judging by its massive belly, it seemed that the airship was modified to serve as a cargo ship.

Charles nodded and strode over to the platform.

"Hey, big guy! Long time no see! How come your belly's the only one getting bigger? You should have made yourself a bit taller, too!" Dipp walked up to James with a grin and punched the latter's belly.

Dipp then turned around to leave, but James stopped him, saying, "Wait up. Tell me why the captain has decided to return before you go."

Bandages walked over and said, "Anna…"

It was just one word, but it was enough for James to understand what was going on. A hint of joy suffused his face. Could it be that the captain had finally become suspicious of his monster wife?

James followed the other crew members toward the departing airship. "Wait, I'm going down, too. There are other people here, so a day or two of absence will not make a difference."

The crew members of the Narwhale boarded the airship, and the airship let out three piercing whistles before descending slowly into the pitch-black hole.

The large airship was obviously spacious inside. It was so spacious that the voices of the crew members were echoing throughout the airship.

James with a cigarette between his lips chatted enthusiastically with the crew members in front of a table covered in mist and clouds of smoke. Everyone was happy to see that their friends were still alive.

They reminisced about the past and laughed at each other's embarrassing moments.

James came face-to-face with the new crew members.

"This is...?" James stared at Grace, who was quietly reading a book beside him.

Grace's right eye was covered with a black eye patch, making her look like a pirate; her face was veiled as well, which had piqued James' curiosity.

Grace was quiet, seemingly pondering over something. She felt that it would be impolite to answer while his face was hidden, so she reached out and removed her veil.

The right half of her face featured the delicate, fair skin of a young girl, but the other half looked like a shattered piece of glass that had been reassembled haphazardly, making her look especially frightening. "Hello, my name is Grace."

James stared at the young girl in surprise. If it hadn't been for the age and gender difference, he would have thought that Laesto had been resurrected. Grace's bizarre face injury was simply too similar to Laesto's.

Linda walked over to Grace and gave her a hug. "She's a crew member, but she has already completed her mission, so she is now retired."

Audric whispered a few words into James' ear, and he revealed a look of understanding. "Ah…"

"Since you're a crew member, then we're family. Don't worry. Hope Island will not run out of land to compensate the crew once the seawater recedes. You'll have your own fair share of land on Hope Island."

Grace felt a bit awkward in the face of James' enthusiasm, and a forced smile tugged at her split lips.

Just then, James turned to Charles, who was sitting on a steel box. After a brief pondering, he walked over to Charles to converse with the latter.

Linda didn't really mind James' abrupt departure. In fact, he took advantage of that opportunity to console Grace, saying, "Don't worry about it. A few scars aren't going to matter. You've earned the right to choose others, while others do not have the right to choose you.

"You've earned that using your life, so you truly deserve it."

Nico paused his drinking and frowned slightly at Linda's remark. Obviously, he strongly disagreed with Linda's words.

Grace shook her head and touched her abdomen with concern. "I don't mind the scars. It's just... will I always have a hole in my stomach?"

Whenever nature was calling, Grace had to respond using the hole in her stomach, and she'd have to plug it with a stopper once she was done, which was both extremely inconvenient and awkward.

"Don't be too worried about it. It has to be done, as your intestines were severely injured. Once they're healed, the hole will have to go. Except for the fact that you can't exert as much strength as before, you're still the same Grace before all this."

"Mmhm!" Grace nodded firmly. She hesitated for a moment before raising her head again. "Linda, actually, I really want—"

"Shh! There's no 'actually'! You've sacrificed enough!" Linda said firmly, showing her resolute attitude to Grace.

Meanwhile, James walked up to Charles with two glasses of wine in hand. He handed Charles a glass and said, "Captain, this wine is really strong. I'm sure you'll like it."

James kicked the steel box at Charles' feet and asked, "What's in here, Captain? Why are you sitting on it like that?"

Charles accepted the glass of wine and took a sip. "If you have something to say, just say it."

Upon seeing James board the airship with them, Charles deduced that James had something to say to him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come down, considering the tense atmosphere hanging about the Subterranean Sea.

James raised his glass and lightly clinked it against Charles' glass. "Captain, there are some things I've been reluctant to tell you about due to the ongoing crisis, but I decided that it's better to just tell you, as you've finally decided to return to the Subterranean Sea."