Chapter 1 James

The two navy soldiers looked at each other, straightened their backs, and the soldier on the left said loudly, "Reporting, Captain James."

The navy soldier on the right added, "Also known as our captain."

James, Naval Captain... Zhang Yuanqing silently noted James's name, narrowed his eyes, and scrutinized the two navy soldiers. "Are you very afraid?"

As an Illusionist, he could see the emotions of those around him at a glance.

Hearing this, the two navy soldiers' expressions became even more tense, and they shook their heads in unison.

In the military, it was normal for subordinates to fear their superiors. Zhang Yuanqing didn't dwell on the matter and asked about the situation on the cruise ship in a kind voice.

After a conversation, Zhang Yuanqing gained a preliminary understanding of the situation on the cruise ship.

Captain James, who was also the captain, was the highest-ranking person on the cruise ship. In addition, there was also a cardinal whose status was on par with James.

In the Irish United Nations, the bishop had a lofty status and was the official organization in this era of steam and guns.

Zhang Yuanqing waved his hand, signaling the two navy soldiers to continue patrolling, while he walked along the deck towards the captain's office.

Along the way, he didn't see any tourists. It was clearly a cruise ship, but the deck and cabins were only filled with navy soldiers, sailors, and logistics personnel.

Zhang Yuanqing noticed a detail: regardless of whether they were navy soldiers or logistics personnel, they all seemed to be afraid of helping the sailors.

"Carrying out a secret mission, using warships would be too ostentatious. The cardinal of the Holy See is also on board, so the secret mission being carried out should be related to Lingjing Xingzhe (Spirit Realm Adventurers)."

"Tsk, I have an identity in the instance, but there is no memory implantation, and I'm not even given basic information. Am I supposed to explore it myself?"

"There is no intelligence at all, and all the information needs to be explored by myself, including the identities, skills, and professions of the NPCs on the cruise ship, etc."

Considering that it was an S-class instance, such difficulty was reasonable.

"Currently, the cruise ship is still safe, and the danger shouldn't break out so quickly. Figuring out what the mission is will probably reveal the crisis. The goal is very clear."

"According to the Spirit Realm's description, the cruise ship disappeared on its return journey. If the cruise ship is returning, it means the mission has already been completed." He thought as he walked.

He came to the bow of the ship, entered the cabin, and went up the stairs to reach the captain's cabin on the second floor.

The captain's cabin was on the second floor and could directly overlook the sea.

"Knock knock!"

Zhang Yuanqing knocked on the door of the captain's cabin.

"Come in." A deep male voice came from the captain's cabin.

Zhang Yuanqing pushed open the meter-wide iron door, and what came into view was a classical office in European style. From the furniture to the desk lamp, as well as the porcelain cup and saucer on the table, everything was very retro and in line with the style of more than a hundred years ago.

It made him feel like he had stepped into a movie.

Behind the brown desk sat a burly middle-aged man wearing a long, pure black coat with gold double-breasted buttons, and a white shirt with a black tie underneath.

Captain James had a face like a Greek sculpture, his beard was trimmed very beautifully and neatly, and his blue eyes were as deep as the ocean. Seeing that it was Zhang Yuanqing who had entered, the deep "sea" stirred up a wave, but quickly calmed down again.

"Lieutenant Haas, what's the matter?" Captain James nodded.

Zhang Yuanqing entered the captain's cabin, straightened his back like the two navy soldiers, and said loudly, "Captain, when will we reach the port? I miss Grandma's apple pie."

Captain James' expression was serious and unsmiling. "Fifteen days at sea. Also, if I remember correctly, I don't think you miss apple pie, but the tarts in the Pink Bar. Your grandmother has been dead for many years."

Fifteen more days... Zhang Yuanqing originally wanted to joke: Oh my god, you guessed it, Captain. Yes, that little tart is tight and moist.

But looking at James' serious expression, as if he was about to go to the execution ground, he rationally chose not to joke.

As for the matter of his grandmother having been dead for many years, it was probably Lieutenant Haas's persona. Zhang Yuanqing wasn't afraid of being "exposed." Except for certain special instances that required hiding one's identity, there was no need to worry about the collapse of the persona in other Spirit Realm instances.

The NPCs in the Spirit Realm would automatically fill in the gaps and accept the Spirit Realm Adventurers.

"Captain, I want to discuss the mission with you." Zhang Yuanqing got to the point.

"Mission?" The captain took out a box of cigars from the drawer, opened it, and offered one.

The cigars of this era did not have filters.

"Captain, I don't smoke." Zhang Yuanqing waved his hand in refusal.

The captain gave him a strange look. "Besides women, your favorite things are cigarettes and alcohol."

Smoking, drinking, and playing with women... what kind of persona was this? Zhang Yuanqing took the cigar, lit it with the match that the captain had struck.

Captain James exhaled a puff of white smoke. "What do you want to discuss?"

Zhang Yuanqing said, "I would like to hear your opinion on this mission."

Hearing this, James frowned, took a hard puff of the cigar, and said, "I know what you're thinking, but... please don't worry. The matter has passed, and there haven't been any more abnormalities these past few days, have there? With the Holy See's cardinal, bishops, and priests here, there won't be any problems."

The matter has passed? What happened on the cruise ship? Zhang Yuanqing's eyes narrowed slightly, and his instinct told him that this was probably the reason for the cruise ship's disappearance.

Just as he was about to probe further, James spoke first, "Lieutenant Haas, you can leave first. I need to work."

Zhang Yuanqing cleared his throat. "Captain, I want to see the mission files."

James didn't speak, and his deep blue eyes looked at him with majesty.

Zhang Yuanqing hesitated for a few seconds between using force, hypnosis, and emotional guidance, but finally chose to obey the captain's orders.

"Yes, Captain!"

This was an S-class instance, so caution was necessary. Moreover, once he was exposed, it would be troublesome.

The luxurious bedroom in first class.

The dormitories for ordinary tourists were below the deck. Zhang Yuanqing went down the steps, passed through the dormitory areas on the first and second floors below, and was stopped at the entrance of the third floor below.

The ones who stopped him were two Holy See knights wearing silver armor, carrying long cross swords, with cold and hard facial lines and sharp eyes.

"The bishop has ordered that no one is allowed to approach the third floor below the deck." The middle-aged knight with short golden hair and a scar on his left cheek said coldly.

The other knight didn't speak, but the right palm holding the sword hilt exerted force slightly, and his eyes stared sharply at Lieutenant Haas.

If it was an A-class instance, he would have attacked directly. Zhang Yuanqing looked at the two knights, sensed their killing intent and hostility, and did not act rashly. He took a step back and said, "I hate the way you talk. Be careful I'll treat you two to a torpedo."

After he turned around and left, the two knights breathed a sigh of relief.

Returning to the deck, Zhang Yuanqing deliberately chatted with sailors and navy soldiers, trying to find out the details of the mission, but was disappointed that no one knew what the mission was.

When Zhang Yuanqing asked what had happened on the cruise ship, the navy soldiers and sailors' faces changed drastically, and they shook their heads, saying that they didn't know anything.

But Zhang Yuanqing sensed fear, dread, and panic from them.

Something's strange! Zhang Yuanqing thought for a while and decided to lie low for now and sneak into the captain's cabin to check the information at night.

Dusk, the sun set into the sea horizon.

Zhang Yuanqing entered the cabin and had dinner in the dining hall. Dinner was beer, bread, vegetable soup, canned beef, and a yellow croaker for each person.

After eating and drinking his fill, he returned to his dormitory. As an officer, Haas had his own independent dormitory, a small room of twenty square meters, with simple furnishings.

Zhang Yuanqing lay on the bed, feeling the slight bumps, and waited patiently.

After the daytime investigation, he knew that this cruise ship was called the "Sea Swallow," and belonged to a medium-sized cruise ship with a passenger capacity of over a thousand and under two thousand.

There were no tourists on board, only two hundred navy soldiers, and over a hundred sailors and staff.

At 11 p.m., Zhang Yuanqing, who was lying on the bed, turned into starlight and dissipated. The next second, brilliant starlight rose in the captain's cabin forty meters away.

The captain's cabin was dark and silent. From time to time, the light of a flashlight flashed past the window, which was the patrolling navy soldier walking nearby.

Darkness could not affect the Night Wanderer's vision. Zhang Yuanqing walked to the file cabinet behind the desk and quietly rummaged through it, quickly scanning each folder.

Zhang Yuanqing paused and his eyes focused on a folder:《1899·Comet Falls into the Sea》. Last year's event, and it's related to the ocean, so it should be it. Zhang Yuanqing opened the folder and read the information on it.

——In 1899, in the sea area south of the Irish United Nations, a comet fell into the sea. Since then, fishing boats fishing at sea have often salvaged deformed and ugly marine creatures in that sea area. Those marine creatures have extremely strong aggression, and their flesh contains toxins, making them inedible.

Those monsters do not belong to any known species, and their cells contain some unstable, constantly mutating DNA. Biologists from the Irish United Nations had their worldviews collapse and claimed that underwater volcanoes had awakened ancient species.

The Irish United Nations government sealed off that sea area and prohibited fishing boats from approaching. But the incident did not end there. The mutation of the species became more and more exaggerated and gradually radiated throughout the southern sea area. A cargo ship encountered a giant octopus attack on the route, the ship sank, and no one survived.

A fishing boat encountered the legendary mermaid. The crew of the entire ship was attracted by the singing and jumped into the sea, becoming the mermaid's delicious meal. The empty ship drifted for several days before being found by the search and rescue team.

As the official organization, the Holy See, together with the navy, cleared out the mutated marine creatures. Under the organization of the government, the Holy See sent a special team of Lingjing Xingzhe (Spirit Realm Adventurers), and the navy dispatched a special fishing team to investigate the sea area where the comet first fell.

"An extraterrestrial comet caused the mutation of terrestrial species? It is also possible that the so-called extraterrestrial comet is the ruler of the Poison Master profession, and accidentally dropped a certain item?"

"It shouldn't be. If it was an item, it would have been recovered long ago. Deliberate? It doesn't seem like it. There's no point in doing so, and so many civilians were accidentally injured, resulting in a huge loss of merit points."

"Moreover, if it was just like this, it wouldn't be enough for the Spirit Realm to specially generate an instance. There must be a deeper story hidden behind this."

"I've finished reading the story background. Next, I'll check the follow-up development."

After knowing the story background, Zhang Yuanqing felt much more at ease. The sense of confusion when first entering the instance was greatly reduced.

He closed the folder, put it back in its original place, and his eyes swept over it, falling on the drawer of the desk, where a copper lock was hanging.

At this moment, the light of a flashlight came in from outside the door, and footsteps approached. With a click, the door of the captain's cabin was opened.