After speaking about that poor family, the mood between the two dampened. Nan Yue noticed Penny was getting sleepy and politely said her goodbyes.
Nan Yue had stayed in Penny's room for a long time; by the time she came out, the other three were in the bar having drinks.
"What took you so long?" Wen Xiang Yuan whispered. "We were worried sick."
Zhu Xi Ning ruthlessly exposed Wen Xiang Yuan's exaggeration. "She's the only one who was fidgeting with worry. The rest of us were perfectly fine."
Zhu Xi Ning knew her place well; Nan Yue was the leader and knew what she was doing.
The three of them were just lackeys cheering her on from the sidelines.
Nan Yue shared the information she had gathered from Penny with the others. Wen Xiang Yuan frowned, a detail Nan Yue didn't miss.
"Is something wrong?"
Wen Xiang Yuan hesitated. "That's not what I heard..."
Wen Xiang Yuan had sought out a dapper man with a small mustache and a monocle tucked into his suit pocket.
Few men could resist Wen Xiang Yuan's charms, and she seemed particularly adept at coaxing information out of them.
"He came aboard the Devil's Bay because he bet his family's finest steed that he could uncover the secrets of Devil's Bay. He's here to witness it personally."
Gu Xiang Kai couldn't understand why these rich people would go looking for death when they had nothing better to do, but Wen Xiang Yuan was used to it.
"That's just how the wealthy are. They don't care about the price as long as they get what they want."
Nan Yue noticed a faint coldness in Wen Xiang Yuan's voice as she said this; she clearly disliked such behavior.
"He said there shouldn't be any children on the ship. According to old customs, women and children bring bad luck to a vessel. But times have changed, and this isn't a cargo ship but a pleasure cruiser, so women are naturally allowed on board."
"However, he said that no matter how you look at it, a child shouldn't be here."
Seeing the others' confusion, Wen Xiang Yuan explained further.
"Because of the oppression of women, many industries had rules against their presence. It wasn't actually about bad luck; they just wanted to keep women confined to the home, fearing they might build their own careers."
Zhu Xi Ning slapped her leg. "I remember that pirate movie you showed us! It said having a woman on the crew would bring misfortune!"
Wen Xiang Yuan smiled. "Exactly. But that's just a superstition held by men in certain trades."
Gu Xiang Kai found it all a bit strange. "Why would they suppress women? There's really no difference between men and women."
If nothing else, he had once thought of himself as a hero, but since he started following Nan Yue, he realized these women were tougher and more daring than anyone else.
He, on the other hand, was the least impressive one.
He had initially thought Wen Xiang Yuan needed protection, seeing her as a delicate, precious flower.
Yet, in Antswamp Village, this flower that would wilt from too much sun had resolutely jumped into the ant swarm...
Gu Xiang Kai shrunk into himself at the thought.
He was the weakest link in the team.
Nan Yue and the others couldn't quite grasp the logic either, but considering the mission world was distorted by pollution—even to the point of people eating their own children—anything seemed possible.
Wen Xiang Yuan continued, "He said he heard a rumor about a crew member who lived with his child. Because he joined the Devil's Bay and couldn't go ashore for long periods, he brought his child onto the ship."
"Children aren't allowed, but everyone knew he was struggling, so they helped him keep it a secret."
"But one day, the child went missing..."
Wen Xiang Yuan lowered her voice, heightening the eerie atmosphere. "The ship is only so big, yet no one could find the child."
"Some crew members say the child got stuck somewhere while playing hide-and-seek with his father and might have starved to death, or perhaps was ground up by the propellers..."
"In short, a child is often seen on this ship now, but it's a ghost that disappeared long ago..."
Wen Xiang Yuan finished her vivid tale, but the expressions of the three people in front of her didn't change at all.
Wen Xiang Yuan felt discouraged. "Aren't you scared?"
Nan Yue and Zhu Xi Ning shook their heads indifferently.
Not satisfied, Wen Xiang Yuan turned to Gu Xiang Kai. "You don't feel anything either?"
Gu Xiang Kai didn't dare say he wasn't afraid to Wen Xiang Yuan's face, so he replied diplomatically, "...We're on a mission. Isn't it normal for there to be ghosts?"
Wen Xiang Yuan was speechless. Right, she was so focused on telling a ghost story that she forgot they were currently living in one.
Nan Yue pondered for a moment. "So there are actually two children on the ship... I'm not sure which one Wenwen saw earlier, but if any of you see a child again, you must be careful."
After all, the story explicitly mentioned a ghost child; such an obvious hint couldn't be ignored.
At dinner, everyone gathered in the restaurant again. Nan Yue noticed that four or five scavengers looked terrible.
They probably hadn't rested at all, spending their time searching for clues related to tomorrow's fishing.
However, based on what Nan Yue knew, there weren't many useful clues to be found about the fishing itself.
The more their psychological stability wavered, the more panicked these scavengers became, and the more they felt the need to find something.
This vicious cycle was incredibly draining.
Most importantly...
Nan Yue looked at their faces. If this continued, they wouldn't even need a major problem to arise; they probably wouldn't last the full seven days.
"Go rest after dinner."
From the moment they entered the mission until now, they had only slept for four or five hours at most. This wasn't sustainable.
The others had no objections. On the way back, Nan Yue ran into Jiang Siyan, who was yawning as he left his room to get food.
This man had completely given up on searching for clues...
To Nan Yue's surprise, Long Qinghe was also heading back. He looked like a rough, blunt man, but there was a shrewdness beneath his rough exterior; his mind was sharper than many other scavengers.
After Nan Yue lay down on her bed, Tan Xiaonan returned as well. Nan Yue had a feeling the girl was following her.
It wasn't stalking, as she hadn't felt anyone tailing her while she searched for clues.
What she meant by Tan Xiaonan following her was that the girl's schedule was uncannily aligned with her own.
When to rest, when to look for clues...
Nan Yue glanced at Tan Xiaonan. She didn't mean anything by it; she was just curious.
But the young girl blushed first and stammered, "...I... I just think you're very strong. I feel like nothing bad will happen if I follow your lead."
Nan Yue nodded understandingly and closed her eyes.
Tan Xiaonan wanted to take a shower. The climate at sea was humid, and after running around all day, they were covered in sweat that felt sticky under their clothes.
But she was a bit afraid. Nan Yue hadn't showered either; she had only wiped herself down with a damp towel.
Tan Xiaonan followed suit. She still had a lingering fear of the water, terrified that she might find herself covered in flesh and tissue while washing.
Rate on N.U.
