**April 2, Year 9 of the Journey**

  Today marks the twenty-ninth day at sea. We are getting closer to the supply island, and aside from the recent fin incident, no major crises have occurred.

  As the journey progresses, I find myself sleepless, as expected. The doctor’s medication can help me lie down, but it doesn’t solve the problem of my dreams.

  These dreams are not ordinary nightmares; they are beautiful dreams. I dream of returning to the surface, back to that place of light, where I find my family. They embrace me joyfully, believing I had long since perished.

  I lounge on the sofa, eating various fruits from the surface, sharing strange tales of the ocean with them. Anna is beside me, and Elizabeth is there too, having come out with me.

  “Knock, knock, knock.” Someone is rapping on the door of the captain’s quarters.

  “What is it?”

  “I… found… something… you… should see…” A slow, muffled voice comes from outside.

  Charles doesn’t rush out, quickly finishing his writing with a steel pen.

  “My first mate seems to have something to discuss; I hope it’s good news.”

  He closes the diary and walks over to open the door.

  “Speak as we walk. What did you find? Is there any danger?” Charles asks, pulling his mate toward the deck.

  “A ship… a very strange ship…”

  Upon reaching the deck, Charles sees the ship his mate mentioned—a dilapidated iron vessel drifting toward them.

  The absence of gunports on the fore and aft decks indicates it is neither an exploration ship nor a warship.

  With his keen eyesight, Charles vaguely spots fishing nets on the deck. “Who would be bold enough to fish in unexplored waters?”

  Typically, fishing vessels operate only in well-explored safe areas. Fishing in unexplored regions is strictly forbidden; otherwise, it’s hard to tell who’s hunting whom.

  “Captain, why don’t we just ignore it and keep going? What if it’s a ghost ship?” the second mate advises.

  “Not necessarily. We’re already close to the supply island; this ship might belong to the island’s fishermen. Odric, fly over and take a look.”

  If this ship belongs to the supply island, they might gain some valuable information instead of blindly charging ahead.

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  The vampire transforms into a bat and flies toward the small fishing boat, circling it quickly before returning.

  “Captain, there’s a living person on that ship.”

  “A living person? Are you sure?”

  “Yes, quite certain. I’m a vampire; I can’t mistake my food.”

  “Bring the ship closer and alert the other exploration vessels to be on guard.”

  Soon, the Unicorn approaches the small fishing boat. The deck is cluttered with tangled fishing nets and ropes, and a thick layer of rust on the winch indicates it hasn’t been maintained by sailors for a long time.

  However, from the outside, it looks like an ordinary human fishing boat—one that many might frequent the Coral Island docks.

  “Where’s the living person you mentioned?”

  “In the cabin. Just now, I used sonar to detect him peeking at me from behind the door.”

  Charles leads the crew directly toward the cabin door.

  With a swift kick, he bursts the door open and sees a trembling figure scrambling toward the distant exit.

  “Bang!” A gunshot rings out, and the man collapses.

  Deep and the sailors rush in, capturing the disheveled middle-aged man, gaunt and dirty, appearing to be in his forties.

  “Don’t kill me! I didn’t kill them! It was the other slaves! It’s not my fault!”

  He shields his eyes from the flashlight, desperately denying any wrongdoing.

  “Clear things up. Who are you?”

  Hearing the deep voice, Kevin Carr slowly lowers his hands. When he sees the crowd’s attire, he trembles even more, tears streaming down his face as he lets out a low, echoing cry, like a sound reverberating in a valley.

  “Wuwu~ You’re not pirates! You’re not those pirates! I can go home! I can go home!”

  “Stop crying for now. Who are you? Where did this ship come from?”

  Upon hearing the question from the youth with peculiar black pupils, Kevin wipes his nose and stands still, his nerves at their peak as he stutters, “You can take me home, right? I used to be a very wealthy jeweler. I had a big house; if you take me back, that house will be yours.”

  “First, answer my question. What’s your role on this ship, and where did it come from?”

  Recalling his experiences on the ship, Kevin’s sorrow overwhelms him. He fights back tears and begins to explain.

  “I was a slave on this fishing boat. The pirates beat me every day, making me work 18 hours or even 40 hours without rest. I’m so tired, so tired.”

  As he recounts his tale, Deep moves forward to give him a lesson, but Charles stops him. “Let him speak.”

  In the dimly lit room, everyone listens to the slave share his tragic story.

  “Do you know? The ropes at sea soak up saltwater, swelling to the size of a wrist and stretching hundreds of meters long. To prevent them from tangling, we have to manually coil these hundreds of meters of rope onto the winch, using our hands to haul in the fish.”

  “Many people became dizzy and fell overboard, disappearing into the sea.”

  “Enduring fatigue and danger is one thing; they also joked about slapping my face and kicked me for no reason. They kicked me on the ground, specifically targeting my head, making the voices in my head grow louder. They didn’t treat us like humans; they treated us like livestock!”

  “Later, a group of slaves couldn’t take it anymore and started to resist, but the pirates had firearms while we only had squid knives. Many died—really, many died. I was the only one left.”

  As he speaks, Kevin breaks down again, collapsing on the ground, appearing utterly helpless.

  “Were they pirates from Sodom?” Charles asks, his brow furrowing.

  Once, the Foundation tormented them; now they are tormenting others. When will this cycle end?

  Kevin nods vigorously. “Yes, that’s them. They send unsellable slaves to Water Heaven Island to make us catch fish. Captain, you can definitely take me home, right?”

  “Where do you live? As long as you tell me all the information you know, I can take you back.”

  “No problem! Ask away, and I’ll tell you everything. My home is on Shadow Island.”