Pirate: It’s not a phantom beast, it’s a phantom god!

Chapter 327 Under the Research Ship

"Dr. Clover, have you found the island mentioned in the literature?"

A white-haired woman, wearing a long trench coat and looking quite mature and intellectual, walked gracefully onto the deck carrying a large bag.

"Not yet, but it should be in this area."

Dr. Clover shook his head upon hearing this, then looked at the woven bag in the other person's hand.

"So, Olivia, does this 'beast-repelling powder' work?"

"Hmph~ That goes without saying, this was made by this genius himself, the effect is absolutely guaranteed!"

"Teacher, please don't worry."

Before Olivia could speak, the portly scholar answered first, his tone full of confidence.

However, no one paid much attention to him; instead, they were all waiting for Olivia's answer...

This wasn't because everyone was intentionally excluding middle-aged scholars, but because those present were all practitioners who knew that practice was the sole criterion for testing truth.

"Yes, it does have some effect."

"Based on my observations over this period of time, this powder made from the feces of large sea monsters has a fairly good repelling effect on smaller sea monsters or other sea creatures."

Olivia handed the bag full of brown powder to a scholar next to her, then added:
"However, it is too early to draw conclusions about its effectiveness against other large sea creatures, since those creatures are not so easy to encounter."

"Yeah, indeed."

"It's better to be more vigilant."

Dr. Clover and the others nodded.

There is precedent for using substances containing the scent of large predators to make animal repellents; they have used it to varying degrees before.

However, it is usually used on land, but this time it was directly sprinkled into the sea... No one has proven the effect before.

Moreover, although previous land-based records show that this method is indeed effective, it also carries a significant risk—if the feces used are not from the only apex predator in the target area but from one of them, the results often backfire…

The presence of unfamiliar scents in one's territory can be perceived as a provocation by other apex predators.

"It's getting dark now. Those on night watch should keep a close eye on the sea and sound the alarm immediately if they find anything unusual."

"Now the power team can go eat and rest. You've all had a long day."

Dr. Clover watched the sun about to sink below the horizon and began making arrangements for the coming night.

"Yes!"*n
The six people who were powering the boat by pedaling, including Dr. Clover's young apprentice Connor, were all exhausted.

Upon hearing this arrangement, they got off the power unit without hesitation; pedaling that thing was indeed too tiring.

"Phew~ I'm exhausted. Next time, let's make an automatic device. It's really too much to keep relying on people to step on it all the time."

A scholar wearing a top hat pounded his thigh and offered his advice.

"Sigh~ I was in such a rush to leave that I didn't have time. Adjusting the automatic mechanisms slowly is too much trouble~"

"Alright, let's eat. I'm starving."

"Connor, you're still growing, you'd better eat a lot later!"

"Okay, senior~"

……

"Marcus, go and lower the anchor."

Watching the group noisily make their way to the ship's restaurant, Dr. Clover turned to his students and gave them instructions:

"Let's stop here for today and continue on when it gets light."

"is teacher."

The tall scholar came to the side of the ship and then lifted the huge anchor that was hooked to the ship's side with one hand.

Splash splash splash splash~

The sound of chains scraping against each other echoed on the deck. Upon seeing this, the middle-aged, portly scholar quickly moved a few steps away, fearing that his senior brother might accidentally hit him.

"Alas?!"

"Why is the seabed black?"

As Marcus was about to drop the anchor, he looked down into the sea and discovered that the water below was completely black...

"Strange~"

Thinking it was his imagination, he rubbed his eyes and looked underwater again... This time the seawater returned to normal.

"Was it just my imagination after all?"

Marcus shook his head and then threw the anchor down.

Pfft!
Wow~
The heavy object fell into the sea, and the splashing waves hit the ship's side directly, followed by the chains being dragged to the bottom of the sea with a crashing sound... That's how it should have been.

Boom!
"Ok?"

The chain suddenly stopped halfway down for some reason. Marcus, somewhat curious, leaned over the fence, wanting to look down and observe.

"What's wrong, Marcus?" "Nothing, teacher...it just seems the anchor hit something—"

Bang! ! !
A sudden change occurred!

Before Marcus could finish speaking, a huge shadow, far larger than the research vessel, flashed across the seabed, followed by a wave tens of meters high!
The medium-sized research vessel they were on was suddenly thrown into the air by a tremendous force...

"Wow ah ah ah ah!"

"PhD!"

"What, what happened?!"

"What happened?!"

"Help!"

"..."

……

Caught completely off guard, the group was flung dozens of meters into the air by the immense force. The violent shaking left the scholars dazed and seeing stars.

Several scholars who were leaning against the railing were thrown overboard because they couldn't grab the boat in time.

"teacher!"

"Dr. Clover!"

Two voices rang out at the same time. Marcus and Olivia steadied themselves on the deck and immediately looked toward where Dr. Clover had been standing... but there was no sign of him.

Call ~
Before they could make any further moves, a sudden feeling of weightlessness washed over them!

The ship, which had been thrown into the air, crashed back onto the sea, and everyone was once again thrown into a state of near-death experience.

Fortunately, the research vessel was made of sturdy enough materials and held up without falling apart.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

"Teacher! Where are you?!"

Marcus, who had gotten up from the ground, shook his head and immediately shouted anxiously.

As the captain and core member of this scientific expedition team, Dr. Clover absolutely cannot afford to get into trouble!

"teacher!"

"I'm here, don't worry, everything's fine!"

Dr. Clover's voice came from outside the ship's side.

Marcus quickly ran over to the sound, only to see the other person clinging to the edge of the deck with one hand and holding the middle-aged scholar who had fainted from fright with the other.

It can only be said that he is indeed a veteran scholar who has attained enlightenment in the Dragon Field of the World Government. Even though he is over fifty years old, he is still very muscular and can easily lift people with one hand.

"Quick, teacher! I'll pull you up!"

After cursing his junior brother, who was dragging him down, several times in his mind, Marcus quickly pulled Dr. Clover up.

thump~
After two muffled thuds, the two landed on the deck.

"How is everyone doing?"

Dr. Clover, who had just arrived and hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath, quickly asked.

The attack was too sudden, and he was afraid that something might happen to the unprepared crowd.

"This is troublesome, Doctor."

Olivia answered him, followed by several members of the power group who had just gone to eat. These people all had bruises on their bodies.

"What? Has someone been in trouble?"

"Yes, three people were thrown out just now, and they haven't been found yet."

Olivia's voice was filled with worry.

It was completely dark by then, and the missing people hadn't heard their cries for help. In this situation, finding them would depend entirely on luck.

"But everyone in the restaurant was fine, they just bumped into things a few times."

"Connor hit his head and is now unconscious."

"Three people are missing...?"

Dr. Clover glanced around at the crowd surrounding him, mentally counted the number of people, and found that there were indeed only three people missing.

"Whoo~"

“Okay, Olivia, take the wounded to the medical room for treatment. The rest of you split into two teams: one to keep watch underwater, and the other to the watchtower and turn on the searchlights.”

"We need to find those three guys as soon as possible, or they might be in danger."

"Yes!"*n
……

(End of this chapter)