American Horror Story, Starting from Falls Town

Chapter 288 Extreme Cold
The sudden change caught everyone off guard, even Roy hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

Fortunately, Roy reacted quickly enough, constantly adjusting his body in bullet time, and also managed to grab Serena and Charles to prevent them from bumping into each other due to the sudden tilt.

However, the degree of listing was somewhat beyond Roy's expectations, as if some powerful external force was attacking the Santiago.

Based on what the staff just said, the sonar system detected a huge creature on the seabed, could it be that...

Before anyone could think, the Santiago was flipped over and plunged into the water, upside down.

The bridge of a cruise ship is usually located on the top deck to provide the best view.

However, when it is turned upside down, the top layer becomes the bottom layer.

The glass in front of the cockpit couldn't withstand the water pressure and shattered, allowing seawater to rush in.

Roy and his team were actually in an office outside the cockpit, some distance away from it.

Upon hearing the commotion, Roy instantly entered Ghost Wolf mode, using his immense explosive power to close the cockpit hatch before the seawater could rush in.

This is a blast-proof hatch, its main function is actually to give the crew time to call for help in the event of a pirate invasion, it is not a waterproof hatch inside a submarine.

So even after Roy closed the hatch, seawater continued to seep in through the gaps.

Furthermore, after the hatch closed, it seemed as if something hit it hard, denting the hatch.

Is it a sea monster? Roy asked, somewhat surprised.

Soon, the impact sounds became more frequent, and it was clear that something was deliberately ramming the blast-proof hatch, most likely the sea monster that had capsized the San Diego.

"Run!"

We definitely can't stay on the bridge anymore. Now that we're upside down, the safest option is to run back to the bottom of the ship's previous cabin.

Given the size of the San Diego, it contains a lot of air, so it won't sink easily until all the air is expelled.

Even if the sea monster dragged Santiago to the bottom of the sea, some air would still be retained at the bottom of the ship's cabin.

However, if the sea monster really had that much strength to drag the air-filled Santiago to the bottom of the sea, it might as well just break the Santiago in half like the Titanic.

(The Titanic stood upright after hitting the glacier, and then broke in two.)
And so, it took several hours for the Titanic to sink completely.

The Santiago was several times larger than the Titanic a hundred years ago, so theoretically it would have taken much longer to sink.

Yes, that's without any external influence.

Roy pulled Serena and Charles up, but Charles seemed a little off.

"It's over, it's all over!"

Charles was completely driven to despair by what he saw. He had spent countless sums of money to buy the luxury cruise ship and invited so many VIPs.

If the Santiago capsizes, the amount of money Charles will have to pay in compensation will be astronomical, not to mention the resentment that the families of those wealthy people will harbor towards him as a result.

Of course, some people might thank Charles.

Regardless, Charles's reputation in America has been completely wiped out, and no matter what business he does, no one will hire him anymore.

If the insurance company refuses to pay, then things will be even worse.

Make no mistake, the California wildfires have completely exposed the true nature of commercial insurance companies.

Commercial insurance companies are not charities. Even charitable foundations need to make money; they won't do anything that loses money.

It's entirely foreseeable that insurance companies will take advantage of the situation when things are going badly.

Roy slapped Charles.

“Charles, money can be earned back, but a person is gone forever! Look at Serena, don’t you think about how she feels?”

Charles covered his face and subconsciously looked at his daughter, Serena, and sure enough, he saw worry on her face.

"Dad, as long as we're together, we'll be able to overcome any difficulty!"

Charles was finally energized by his daughter's encouragement.

"Serena, my dear daughter! Let's face all difficulties together!"

"father!"

The father and daughter embraced and wept bitterly.

To be honest, this scene of fatherly love and filial piety was really touching, and Roy really didn't want to interrupt it. The problem was that the seawater was almost up to their knees!
"You two, wait until we escape before you're moved. Now, come with me!"

Roy pulled Charles and Serena out of the office. There were other people in the office, such as the staff member who had just delivered the message.

However, many of them had been knocked unconscious by the impact when the San Diego capsized, and Roy didn't have time to check on their condition. He was more worried about Heather Penny's situation.

Charles seemed to have seen through Roy's intentions.

"Roy, are you heading back to the VIP area?"

"My women are still in the VIP area, I have to go and rescue them!"

“Roy, I understand your worry about your woman. If my daughter were on the other side, I would be very worried too! The problem is, we can't go directly to the VIP area right now unless we take a detour!”

The bridge is separated from the VIP area by a large hall. The ceiling of this hall is a skylight, which has now burst due to the pressure of the seawater and is probably already filled with seawater.

A normal person would definitely not be able to get through the hall under these circumstances, but Roy is not quite normal.

"Charles, believe me, I can definitely get you there!"

Roy's confidence mainly stems from his expert-level water sports skills, which is equivalent to mastering the top-level abilities in various water sports.

It includes swimming, diving, sailing, jet skiing, and more.

To be honest, Roy could easily have won the world championship in the Olympic swimming competition.

This ability had never been of much use before, at most it was used to have water fights with the women around me, but I never expected to use it after taking a luxury cruise.

Charles didn't understand where Roy got his confidence from, but fortunately Serena helped explain.

"Dad, Roy is actually a supernatural being, and he's incredibly powerful!"

Having reached Charles's position, he had heard some of the mysterious information hidden behind society.

From Serena's words, Charles knew that his daughter had already witnessed Roy's power (which was indeed the case, and she almost died), so he stopped trying to stop her.

"Alright then, I know a shortcut, we can go this way!"

Charles had seen the structural diagrams of the Santiago, and his memory was excellent, so he was able to remember most of the routes.

Led by Charles, the three arrived outside the hall a few minutes earlier than expected.

The area had already been flooded, but fortunately there was still some air at the top of the corridor, though it was quite difficult to walk around.

At that moment, Roy suddenly smelled blood.

This is not right!

Roy immediately took out the execution knife from his inventory, and the next moment a tentacle with a strong smell of blood attacked him.

Tentacles as thick as a person's waist, with tips that split open like mouths. Isn't this the design of the sea monster in "Deep Rising"?
Roy's face darkened. He hadn't expected that this ship was the same one from the movie. Charles really had no reason to be wronged. Even if he hadn't bought the ship, it wouldn't have escaped this fate.

Fighting in the water presents immense resistance, but fortunately, Roy's physical strength is formidable enough that he manages to successfully slash the tentacle with his executioner's blade.

The executioner's blade was quite powerful; this strike opened a large eye on the tentacle, which immediately retracted after being severely injured.

Serena stared wide-eyed at the blood floating on the water, wondering if she was hallucinating.

"What was that just now?"

"They're the tentacles of a sea monster!"

Roy's expression was extremely grim. Now that tentacles had appeared, the hall must have been taken over by the sea monster.

Even if Roy was a great swimmer, he wasn't confident he could defeat the sea monster in the ocean. The monster's physiology was that of a marine creature, and Roy, a land-dwelling being, had no chance of defeating it.

Since the main hall was blocked, Roy had no choice but to take a detour upstairs.

I hope Heather Penny and the others are alright!
"Uncle Charles, are there any stairs leading up nearby?"

"I know where the stairwell is, follow me!"

With Charles, who knew the area well, leading the way, Roy and his group quickly made their way up to the next floor via the stairwell.

This floor was not yet flooded, but the stench of blood was much stronger. Bloodstains were visible everywhere, but there were no corpses or living people to be seen.

The next floor below the VIP area is the residential area, which is second only to the VIP area. The people living here are the most high-net-worth individuals, and now these high-net-worth individuals only have net worth left.

However, Roy found a staff member's walkie-talkie on the ground, which was constantly emitting calls and screams.

Roy picked up the walkie-talkie and pressed the button to try and contact Heather Penny and the others.

"Heather, Penny, Dalia, Amy, are you all alright?"

This was just an attempt, and Roy didn't have high hopes of contacting his woman, but to his surprise, the walkie-talkie actually answered.

"Roy, is that you?"

That's Penny's voice; they also found the walkie-talkie.

"It's me! Where are you now? Are you in any danger?"

"Roy, we're all safe and sound, and we're climbing up the elevator shaft now!"

Hearing that Heather Penny and the others were safe, Roy breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"You must be very careful! A giant sea monster is invading the Santiago! Meet me in the banquet hall, I'll find you as soon as possible!"

"We'll be careful, Roy, you be careful too! Keep in touch!"

"Keep in touch!"

After saying that, Penny stopped talking.

Roy looked at Charles and Serena.

"Let's go, let's climb up too!"

The three of them climbed all the way to the middle deck of the Santiago, where the banquet hall was located.

Upon entering the banquet hall, Roy saw a large number of panicked passengers, and the scene was in complete disarray.

Roy searched for Heather Penny and the others in the chaotic crowd, but couldn't find them.

They probably haven't climbed this far yet, since Dalia, her daughter, and Amy aren't in great physical condition and wouldn't be able to climb the elevator shaft that quickly.

At this moment, some people saw Charles. Their fear of death left them with nowhere to vent their stress, so they wanted to cause trouble for Charles.

“Charles Weyland! It’s all your fault!”

Some even tried to take the knives and forks and kill Charles.

When the most basic safety of life cannot be guaranteed, the order of human society will collapse in an instant, entering Darwin's law of the jungle.

Roy decisively pulled out his revolver and fired a shot into the sky.

Everyone present was stunned.

"If I were you, I would get to the bottom of the ship right now, instead of going crazy here!"

Roy's words made a lot of sense and calmed some people down.

Indeed, as long as one hides under the ship's hold, given the San Diego's sinking speed, it is possible to wait for rescue to arrive.

After all, it's 2000 now, not the era of the Titanic.

At that moment, Roy saw Heather Penny and the others rush into the banquet hall through the side door, shouting as they ran.

"Run! A sea monster is coming!"

But then they saw several tentacles following behind the five people, carrying a strong smell of blood.

"careful!"

Roy, wielding the executioner's knife, used the Ghost Wolf's explosive power to charge towards the tentacles.

Hand up and down!
Without the obstruction of seawater, Roy easily slashed at one tentacle, instantly causing the other tentacles to retract.

"Heather, Penny, you two hurry up and climb up with Charles and Serena, I'll take care of this!"

"Roger that!"

However, upon seeing the tentacles, everyone in the banquet hall rushed frantically towards the exits, blocking all of them and even causing a stampede.

Even if Heather Penny's exceptional physical abilities allowed her to squeeze out, there was nothing anyone else could do!
Left with no other option, Roy could only try to break through the ceiling and create a path upwards.

However, the ceiling of the banquet hall was quite high, and Roy had to transform into his demon form to reach it.

The nearly five-meter-tall red demon terrified everyone.

Roy punched a hole in what was now the ceiling, which was the floor, and then used the cursed hair as a rope to let the others climb up.

Serena and Trillin stared at Roy in shock. Having witnessed Roy's angelic form firsthand, they were now seeing his demonic form and were beginning to question their own existence.

"Roy, who exactly are you?"

"Quick, climb up quickly!"

At this point, it would be quite dangerous for the sea monster to launch an attack, but since Roy had just cut off one of its tentacles, it didn't dare to cause trouble for Roy for the time being.

However, there was simply too much food in the banquet hall, and the sea monster could no longer resist and began to feast.

Seeing this, Roy breathed a sigh of relief, then used his size advantage to speed up and send the others to the next level, before transforming into his Ghost Wolf form and jumping up.

Roy's demon form has become increasingly outrageous in size, making it impossible for him to move around in the confined space of a cruise ship. In many cases, Roy has had to use his ghost wolf form to fight.

"Keep climbing, don't stop!"

(End of this chapter)