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墨書 Inktalez
There were indeed people on the ship, but they were dead.
The telescope was a common find from the city, with average clarity. Through the mist, one could only make out a rough outline.
The yacht was positioned against the starboard side of the Engineering Ship. According to Cao Zheng, the square white structure in that location was the Mixing Tower, surrounded by facilities such as the Fabric Pole, Material Warehouse, and Living Quarters. Unlike typical vessels with pointed bows and square sterns, this Concrete Mixer Ship resembled a Floating Construction Site at Sea. Its hull was boxy and low in the water, equipped with rubber tires to absorb impact. From the side, without the bright red Concrete Mixer Ship on one side of the Living Quarters, it would be difficult for an outsider to distinguish the bow from the stern. The guardrails were low because it was an Engineering Ship, lacking many unnecessary features. Dai Wei saw a body lying at the ship's railing, with the white Mixing Tower behind it; the corpse was quite conspicuous.
Dai Wei's expression turned serious not merely because he saw a corpse but rather due to its attire.
Song Jiu and others took turns looking through the telescope. The body lay face outward on the deck, seemingly propped up by something beneath it, causing its lower half to rise significantly. From this angle, one could clearly identify that it was wearing a Camouflage Uniform.
"Let's go take a look," Wu Wentao said as he lowered the telescope, his brows furrowing. While an ordinary person might not discern between camouflage and combat uniforms, Wu Wentao was all too familiar with them. Since he also showed concern, it was likely that this body was indeed unusual.
Wu Wentao glanced at Song Yao, who remained silent. Song Jiu wasn't foolish either; he naturally connected this to the elusive Establishment.
"Are you guys overthinking this?" Song Jiu said helplessly. Old Wu and his sister seemed overly jumpy. Jin Bo had mentioned that the Establishment's base was located in Spratly, which was far from here—hundreds of thousands of miles away—and not everyone in military attire had to belong to them.
"Maybe," Song Yao replied with a bitter smile. Once bitten by a snake, one would be wary of ropes for ten years; they were indeed too sensitive.
Without further ado, Cao Zheng steered the yacht forward slowly. To avoid any surprises, he didn't approach directly but circled around the massive Engineering Ship to gather more information. It turned out that Cao Zheng's caution was entirely warranted.
On this side of the ship, only that corpse stood out; everything else appeared normal. However, as they rounded the stern and approached the port side, problems arose.
There were Zombies on board, and quite a number of them.
"My goodness," Cao Zheng exclaimed wide-eyed as his hands trembled on the wheel.
If one were to replace the Engineering Ship with an old-fashioned mast sailing ship and pair it with the wandering Horde on this side, it would resemble Barbossa and the Black Pearl without needing any special effects.
The yacht moved parallel to the Engineering Ship, its engine roaring and startling those Zombies who had been drifting for who knows how long. The Zombies near the Mixing Tower heard the noise and began to stagger toward it with slow determination. They tumbled over the low guardrails like dumplings falling into water. The passengers on the yacht stared in shock as half of the Horde plunged into the water—some sank bubbling beneath the surface while others seemed still animated by some residual life force, thrashing and roaring as they struggled to reach a yacht they could never board.
Song Yao and Luci looked around, their expressions dazed. They had seen this scene before. Years ago, they set out from Bohai Bay, where the port was ravaged by Zombies. The chaos back then was far greater than what they faced today. Accompanied by soldiers, they managed to escape the onslaught of waterborne Zombies, thanks to the timely arrival of New Pu Yang for rescue. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Zombies could not drown; the seawater merely restricted their movement. What lay at the bottom of the ocean was unknown, but those floating on the Sea Surface were undoubtedly moving virus reservoirs. Whether marine life would be affected was not a concern for them at the moment, but it was clear that the Zombies in the water still posed a threat. No one could guarantee that these Zombies wouldn’t thrash their way closer to the yacht. While the chances of capsizing the boat seemed low, there was no assurance that some wouldn’t manage to climb aboard.
“There can’t be any Living Persons on that ship,” Fang Fei said as she stood by the Porthole, gazing at the churning Sea Surface. A chill crept down her back. If Zombies couldn’t be drowned, could there be hordes lurking at the bottom of the sea, swimming alongside fish? Would it be possible for new breeds of Zombies to emerge from the depths? Though it seemed like wild speculation, it was quite terrifying.
“Should we get closer?” Cao Zheng agreed with her sentiment. The Engineering Ship was large, but space for human activity was limited. Zombies were nearly everywhere on board; there was no possibility for Living Persons to survive here.
Qianqian nodded in agreement and whispered, “The ship must have drifted with the current. No wonder the radar images showed erratic movement; it’s like a ghost ship.”
“Why are there Zombies on board?”
“It’s likely that among those who boarded were infected individuals who went unnoticed in the chaos, causing trouble once they set sail.”
Song Jiu stepped out of the cockpit, her gaze sweeping over the imposing vessel as she murmured, “If it’s because of Zombies, then there should still be resources on that ship.”
Everyone paused at her words and quickly grasped her meaning. Upon further reflection, it indeed seemed plausible.
If this Engineering Ship had initially carried a group of Survivors seeking escape, it would certainly have stored some food, clean water, and fuel—perhaps not in large quantities, but enough to sustain them for a while. Unlike yachts that were easier to operate, this large Engineering Ship required professional crew members—more than one—and given that some of the Zombies wore military uniforms, it was reasonable to believe that this ship ultimately fell under the jurisdiction of The Establishment or organizations like RCA with significant resources. Ordinary Survivors would not have had the capability to navigate such a massive vessel away from port.
A ship full of Survivors sailing across the sea—what had caused it to separate from its main group? Or rather, why had all its passengers turned into Zombies? Since Zombies couldn’t operate a ship, it followed that the transformation must have occurred after setting sail. Considering how close they were to land, this conclusion could be tentatively accepted.
If The Establishment had used this ship for Survivor evacuation and considering the circumstances at that time, they might not have been meticulous in screening passengers. This could have led to an infected individual mingling among them. From injury to death and then reanimation took no more than 12 hours at most—this was assuming efforts were made to prolong that time; in reality, it could be even shorter.
In a panicked escape situation aboard a ship suddenly beset by Zombies, limited space left Survivors with nowhere to hide while stationed soldiers failed to control the situation—thus a tragedy unfolded.
Perhaps a small number managed to abandon ship in their flight for survival, but those individuals certainly couldn’t carry supplies with them since there were limited lifeboats on an Engineering Ship. From what they had observed while circling earlier, none of those lifeboats appeared to have been moved. Moreover, given how sudden everything happened, Survivors wouldn’t have had time for extensive preparations.
If these speculations aligned with reality, then this ship before them must contain a considerable amount of survival supplies in addition to Zombies.
The more they thought about it, the more credible it seemed. Zombies had no interest in food or clean water needed by humans; while water sources might already be contaminated, there should still be surplus food available. The Establishment typically provided military rations which weren’t particularly tasty but were easy to store and transport. Three years wasn’t too long or too short; vacuum-sealed military rations clearly wouldn’t expire easily.
The heavy atmosphere in the cockpit gradually faded, and the potential resources of the Engineering Ship became the topic of discussion. Cao Zheng and Dai Wei took the risk of bringing the yacht closer to inspect the specifications of the massive vessel. Unfortunately, it only had one fuel tank, which theoretically should be completely empty.
For a ship fully loaded with Zombies, simply drifting on the sea without capsizing was already a miracle, so everyone couldn't expect much more.
"So," as the discussions began to quiet down, Cao Zheng tentatively asked, "Should we board the ship?"
"I don't think it's necessary," Fang Fei, who had not participated in the earlier discussions, was the first to speak up.
Fang Fei remained calm, patiently waiting for everyone to settle down before saying lightly, "There's no need to take risks. The specific situation on that ship is unknown. Our supplies are sufficient to return to the island, and once we land, we won't have to worry about food and water."
Her simple statement instantly extinguished much of the enthusiasm.
Fang Fei was right; their earlier excitement had been somewhat inexplicable. No matter what was on that ship, it held little significance for them. Instead of wasting time and energy searching aboard, it would be better to take advantage of the clearing fog and make their way quickly. If they were aimlessly wandering about, perhaps exploring that ship would be worthwhile. However, they had a clear destination in mind, one that promised ample fresh water and food. Under these circumstances, risking their lives to scavenge from beneath the Zombies' noses was simply not worth it.
"I agree with Fang Fei," Song Yao also expressed his opinion, glancing at Wu Wentao, who appeared indifferent and clearly showed no interest in whatever might be on the dead man's ship.
The atmosphere in the cockpit suddenly turned a bit strange. Initially just there to check things out, Song Jiu's casual remark had sparked a flurry of speculation and discussion among everyone. Just as they were gearing up to act on it, Fang Fei's voice cut through their excitement. From an outsider's perspective, it seemed like this group had too much time on their hands.
Song Jiu remained silent, leaning against the porthole while observing the impressive Engineering Ship. He tuned out everyone's discussions until he suddenly noticed that everyone was staring at him.
"Uh, what's up?" Song Jiu asked blankly, as if he hadn't heard their earlier conversation. He looked around in confusion and asked, "What’s going on?"
"What do you think?" Luo Yu shot him an annoyed glance. His comment had sparked a lengthy debate among everyone else, yet it seemed he hadn’t taken it seriously at all.
"What do you mean by 'what do I think'?" Song Jiu was even more puzzled. Upon seeing Luo Yu's reproachful expression, he finally understood and couldn’t help but burst into laughter when he recalled their earlier discussion.
"What's so funny?" Song Yao said exasperatedly as he walked over and pinched his brother's ear playfully while scolding him. "Are you messing with us?"
"No way!" Song Jiu exclaimed in pain as he pleaded for mercy. "What did I do? You guys were having a heated discussion; it had nothing to do with me!"
"Ah." Wu Wentao sighed, leaving the cockpit with a bitter smile.
The remaining people exchanged awkward glances, their faces reflecting the embarrassment of the moment. The intense discussion they had just engaged in had turned into nonsense. They had been seriously debating whether to board, while the person who sparked the conversation, Song Yao, had completely disengaged, making them feel like a bunch of fools.
What started as a proper meeting had devolved into a farce. The flickering lights became clearer; they held no value for them, and there was no reason for the yacht to linger here attracting trouble from Zombies. Amused yet frustrated, they surrounded Song Jiu and playfully punched him before storming off in anger, leaving only the trio of laborers and Song Jiu staring at each other in silence.
Song Jiu rubbed his ears and pouted at the three, his face full of innocence. "Do you think I'm being wronged?"
"Absolutely," they replied in unison.
As the fog lifted, the sea breeze continued to blow.
The yacht departed from the Engineering Ship, and the assembled Militia disbanded. A mahjong table was set up again; those who wanted to play resumed their games, while others continued to vent their frustrations. Everything returned to normal.
Song Jiu climbed down the ladder and, seeing no one around, pulled out a cigarette he had swiped from Yang Xiaomeng's betting stash. He lit it up and took a satisfying puff while humming a little tune as he walked into the lower Sleeper Cabin, just in time to bump into the flushed-faced Jiao Ziqian.
"What happened? Did the ship stop?" Jiao Ziqian poked his head through the cabin door, looking suspiciously at what was happening outside.
"Nothing much, just waiting for the fog to clear," Song Jiu replied, glancing at the deep kiss mark on Jiao Ziqian's neck. He chuckled and pushed his head back inside, saying, "You carry on."
Jiao Ziqian grinned sheepishly and squeezed his eyes shut before gently closing the cabin door.
Song Jiu stood in the Passage finishing his cigarette. He frowned in contemplation for a long time, several times raising his hand to knock on the door but hesitating before finally lowering it again. After repeating this process several times, he lost patience and sighed, preparing to leave.
Just as he was about to turn away, the cabin door swung open.
Natalia stood behind it with an air of confidence. She seemed aware that Song Jiu had been lingering here for quite some time; there was no surprise or confusion on her delicate face. Her deep-set eyes glistened with moisture, bright and captivating as she quietly gazed at him.
Song Jiu instinctively looked away, clearing his throat awkwardly as he greeted her with an utterly foolish "Hi."
The morning mist dissipated, and sunlight burst through the clouds, casting golden rays upon the Sea Surface, reflecting a shimmering brilliance.
The waves surged and ebbed unpredictably, as the Zombie sank in the water, propelled slowly toward the stern of the Engineering Ship by the force of the Current.
For the Zombie, the Sea Surface was chaotic, while for the Engineering Ship, this vast ocean remained silent.
The Sea Surface appeared calm, yet the undercurrents swirling beneath were invisible to the naked eye. The Zombie did not understand what the whirlpools in the water signified; only strange sounds could pique its interest.
The Zombie struggled, emitting a hoarse roar. There was a force in the water pulling it down to the depths. Its broken body tumbled and rolled with the swirling currents, fine bubbles rising and bursting around it. The massive, cold propeller blades spun rapidly, violently churning the seawater. The momentum of that whirlpool intensified, dragging the Zombie into its center, where it was instantly torn apart by the Propeller Blade.
Dark red Blood Plasma dispersed in the seawater like wisps of crimson smoke, swaying and rising along with fragments of its shattered corpse emerging from the Water Surface.
The sky brightened with warmth, and ripples danced across the water, leaving the Sea Surface eerily quiet and empty.
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