When evil gods hold a meeting in my head

Richard stood by the porthole, staring at the reef that was getting closer and closer.

It was right in front of the ship, a huge, dark mass emerging from the sea like the exposed back of a giant beast. Waves crashed against the reef, splashing white spray high, even higher than the bow of the ship. The top of the reef was bare, with nothing but a few cracks, their depths obscured by darkness.

The ship is still moving forward.

The sound of the steam engine came from beneath their feet, rhythmic and steady. The waves crashed against the bow. Other than that, there was no other sound. Everyone on board was asleep, hypnotized and incapacitated.

Richard turned to look at Brion.

Brion stood in front of the helm, his hands resting on the instrument panel, staring at the reef. His face was expressionless, but his jaw was clenched tightly, the muscles bulging out.

"How much further?" Richard asked.

Brion didn't answer. He stared at the rock for a few seconds, then suddenly moved. He lunged at the instruments and reached for the buttons. Red light, green light, yellow light—he pressed them one by one. No response. He then tried to pull the levers. The first one wouldn't budge. The second one, also wouldn't budge. The third one, still wouldn't budge.

"It's no use," Richard said. "I've already tried everything."

Brion ignored him. He kept pulling the levers, his hands red from pulling, trying them one by one. When he got to the fifth one, the lever moved slightly. Brion's eyes lit up, and he pressed down hard.

A click.

Then nothing happened.

The ship is still moving forward.

Brion released his grip, stared at the lever for a few seconds, and suddenly cursed something. Richard didn't hear it clearly, but he knew it wasn't anything nice.

"Can it be fixed?" Richard asked again.

Brion turned around and looked at him. His face was covered in sweat, shiny and oily. His eyes were bloodshot and red.

"Repair?" His voice was hoarse. "What can we use to repair it? We can't even stop the ship now, how can we repair it?"

Richard remained silent.

Brion turned back and peered out the porthole. The reef was closer; he could now see the patterns on its surface—lined marks etched by the waves. There were several dark holes beneath the reef, through which seawater gurgled and poured out.

"Three minutes left," Brion said, his voice suddenly becoming calm. "Three minutes at most."

three minutes.

Richard's mind raced. Jump into the sea? No way, the sea is full of whales, and even if they're asleep now, who knows when they'll wake up. Go back to the cabin? That's even worse; if the ship hits it, the cabin will be the first to fall apart.

"Can we change direction?" he asked. "Can we change direction by another method?"

Brion turned around and looked at him.

"What method?"

Richard pointed to the stern: "Isn't there a rudder at the back? Manually operated?"

Brion paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"It's no use. That thing needs seven or eight people to turn it. There are only two of us..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Richard stared at the reef, getting even closer. He could see the cracks on the top of the reef, and something was glittering inside them—perhaps seawater, or something else entirely.

He suddenly remembered something.

How many people on the ship are still unconscious?

Brion was also taken aback.

"What?"

"I said, how many people on board are still asleep?" Richard said, emphasizing each word. "I hypnotized everyone on board, but some people might have woken up early. Didn't you just wake up?"

Brion looked at him, a glint in his eyes.

"you mean……"

"Call people," Richard said. "Wake everyone you can and get them to the stern to turn the helm."

Without a word, Brion turned and ran outside. He reached the door, then suddenly stopped and glanced back at Richard.

"You stay here and keep an eye on things. If anything changes, call me."

Then he ran away.

Richard stood in the driver's seat, staring at the reef.

We're closer now. We can see the holes at the bottom of the reef more clearly. The holes aren't big, only about a meter high, and they're pitch black inside. Waves rush in, making gurgling sounds, like something drinking water.

His palms were sweaty.

Three minutes... two and a half minutes... two minutes!

Brion hasn't returned yet.

Richard turned and glanced down the corridor. It was empty; there was no one there. Only his own shadow, stretched long by the light streaming through the porthole, trailed on the floor.

He turned back and stared at the rock.

There's only one minute left, and it might be too late...

Just then, he heard footsteps behind him, a jumbled and chaotic sound. It sounded like someone was shouting or yelling, but out of the corner of his eye he could see that the people on the boat were still asleep. Perhaps it was just a hallucination caused by the immense pressure... He didn't dare turn around, staring intently at the reef.

Thirty seconds left! But no one woke up, and even with the captain's strength, they couldn't change the ship's course!

Richard, drenched in sweat, exclaimed, "Oh, right, I can still use the ring!"

As soon as he thought of this, he immediately used his ring to conjure up something like a lever, allowing him to achieve double the effect with less effort!

He pulled the steering wheel with all his might.

A few seconds later… Brion’s voice came from the stern, distant and drawn-out, filled with… hope! He shouted, “It’s moving! It’s finally moving! Keep turning!”

Richard stared at the rock. It was still in front of him, but it seemed... seemed to have veered slightly to the right?

He rubbed his eyes and looked again.

It's definitely veering off course. The bow is slowly turning to the right, very slowly, but it's definitely turning.

Suddenly, the ship jolted violently. Richard was thrown forward, crashing into the dial. Then came another, even more violent, jolt; he managed to grab the handrail to avoid falling.

boom--

A muffled thud reached Richard's ears. He suspected that although the bow of the boat had turned around, the hull had still scraped against something, which might have caused a leak...

During this time, only the sound of the steam engine continued to ring out, one beat after another, still so rhythmic.

Richard slowly got up and peered out the porthole.

The reef was right next to the boat, a few meters away. You could see the barnacles on it, densely packed together. You could also see the cracks; there was definitely water in them, and bits of wood from the boat remained.

The ship did indeed glide past it.

Richard leaned against the wall, panting heavily, his legs trembling uncontrollably. Meanwhile, many people in the corridor had already woken up and cheered after witnessing the thrilling scene.

Brion ran in, his face covered in sweat, but his eyes were filled with tears!

He was moved by Richard's bravery...

Richard looked at him, wanting to say something, but the words stuck in his throat, and he couldn't bring himself to say them.

These words... made him feel somewhat ashamed.

He could only silently lean against the wall, slowly slide down, and sit on the ground.

Meanwhile, the ship continued to move forward.

As it moved further and further away from the reef, it grew smaller and smaller in everyone's view, eventually becoming a black dot and disappearing on the horizon.