I can see experience bars after being transported to another world.

The newborn remained completely still.

The black robe burned away in the corrosion, revealing the metal skeleton inside.

It wasn't ordinary steel, but an alloy with a dark silver luster. The viscous liquid left only shallow marks on it, unable to cause any real damage.

"The Ascension Society's modifications..." Gray's tone was somewhat complicated as he read this. "Truly terrifying."

Lu Yuan had no time to respond, because the bloated mass was struggling frantically.

The next moment, the newborn moved.

His arm emitted a mechanical whirring sound as the metal frame began to reassemble, and the forearm split open, revealing a long, brass-colored tube.

"laugh--"

A ghostly blue flame erupted, engulfing the writhing mass of slime; the extreme heat distorted the surrounding air.

"Squeak squeak squeak—!"

The slime emitted a piercing shriek, its entire body trembled with slime, and its volume began to shrink at a visible rate.

The human head, stuck at the tip of the slime, opened its mouth wide, revealing a bloody, mangled oral cavity, attempting a final struggle.

But Lu Yuan had already seized the opportunity and raised his gun.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two alchemical bullets pierced the heads of the people covered in slime with pinpoint accuracy.

His skull exploded, brain matter splattered everywhere, and his mucus instantly went out of control. He collapsed limply to the ground, only weak twitching remaining.

But the one who gave birth did not stop.

The blue flames continued to erupt until the clump of slime was completely carbonized, turning into a pile of charred remains, at which point the newborn stopped spewing flames.

A red light flashed beneath the bird-beak mask, and it turned and left with the red-hot copper pipe.

All that remained was a lingering, acrid stench in the air.

Lu Yuan then stepped forward and looked at the pile of wreckage.

In the carbonized mucus, the human face was completely obscured, with only a faint scar visible on the jawbone.

That was the captain of the Iron Whale... Lu Yuan had seen him when he was reporting information at the time.

[Sanity: -1, 60/70]

"My sword seems to be broken." Gray took out a bottle of holy water and drank it all in one gulp, then looked at the short sword in his hand.

The blade of the short sword had been corroded away, leaving it pitted and almost unusable.

"I have a new one." Lu Yuan put away his revolver, took out a gleaming silver dagger from his bag, and handed it over.

Gray took the palm-sized dagger, waved it around with a hint of helplessness, but still accepted it.

Lu Yuan's gaze swept across the captain's cabin, then stopped. He looked at the area guarded by the corrupted entity. What was hidden here?

"Gray, keep an eye on things and make sure nothing gets in."

Lu Yuan signaled Gray to be on guard, and then began searching the captain's cabin.

The room was covered in that layer of dark blue slime, but most of it had dried after being bathed in the fire of the birther.

This also allowed Lu Yuan to see what was under the slime. The captain's cabin was littered with items, and there were obvious bullet holes in the walls. It seemed that the captain had made a last-ditch effort.

Lu Yuan crouched down, brushed aside the scattered items on the ground, and finally found something unusual in the corner.

The things there were piled up exceptionally high, as if deliberately concealing something.

Lu Yuan carefully parted the slime and cleared away the piled-up debris, revealing the floor underneath.

A circular array was carved on the floor.

It is about two feet in diameter, with complex and intricate runes, half of which are holy symbols of the Church and half of which are the seals of the Night's Watch.

The fusion of two completely different forces requires extremely high levels of skill.

But the formation had been destroyed; the runes on it were broken, the lines were twisted, and something had violently torn it apart from the outside.

In the center of the formation were two things: a shattered silver holy emblem and a mithril dagger broken in two.

[Analysis in progress...]

[Complex Sealing Technique: A fusion of the Church's Holy Light and the Night Watch's Sealing Technique]

[Characteristics: The contamination in a specific area was sealed off/purified, but it has been compromised; core materials are damaged. This was a failed resistance.]

Lu Yuan stared at the shattered holy emblem and the broken dagger, and made a judgment in his mind.

Someone is trying to stop all of this.

It must have been Gawain, a priest of the church and a member of the Night's Watch... They worked together to create this array.

But they failed. But it makes sense, considering that the anomaly that could tear apart the Iron Whale couldn't be stopped by a single formation.

Lu Yuan was about to look in another place, but as soon as he got up, he found a small package stuffed into a crack in the floor next to the array.

Take out the package and carefully open it.

Inside was a silver badge, engraved with a moon and an eye—the emblem of the Night's Watch.

The name Gawain is engraved on the back of the badge.

The badge was wiped clean, making it stand out starkly against the filth.

Inside the package was a piece of cloth with a few lines of writing on it in blood. The handwriting was messy, but still legible:

"The plan has failed. Someone has betrayed us. The priest is dead, and I won't last much longer."

"They need our blood to complete the ritual. Don't come looking for us, and don't touch those minerals."

"Burn this ship, burn everything."

"Tell old Morgan... I did my best."

「——Gawain」

Lu Yuan's expression was somewhat complicated upon seeing this. Gawain had chosen to fight to the death. Lu Yuan remembered Lawson's words: the Deep Sea would select priests from among these people, and Gawain, who had embarked on the path to transcendence, was undoubtedly the best choice.

But he didn't. He chose to join forces with the priest to set up an array in an attempt to seal off the pollution, but they failed.

Lu Yuan put the badge and the blood letter into his pocket; he would take these things back to old Morgan.

But the most important thing hasn't been found yet, and that is the captain's log, or the voyage log.

Such things are common on long-distance ships, and most are kept in the captain's cabin. I just hope this thing wasn't burned to ashes in the fire.

After searching for a while, Lu Yuan finally found a leather-covered journal in the collapsed desk drawer—the Captain's Journal.

The diary is in very poor condition; most of the writing is covered by slime, and only a few pages are still barely legible.

Lu Yuan opened it and quickly browsed through it.

"November 25: Arrived at the target sea area and spotted a small island that was not marked on the nautical chart. It may contain minerals needed for the port. I wish us a safe journey."

"November 27: The crew began to exhibit strange symptoms, claiming that they dreamed of the sea or heard singing."

"December 1st: Some crew members have abandoned their human identities! Our situation is dire, but Gawain says they have a backup plan..."

The handwriting on the last page was distorted and warped, as if it had been written in extreme fear:

"December 3rd: The formation was destroyed, they climbed up from under the cabin...going home...we're all going home..."

Lu Yuan closed the journal, his face grim. Where were they all in the bottom of the ship's cabin?!

No, Alice and the others went down!