Chapter 892: Parasite
The Rockflow Group and the people in the lower deck cabin gathered together noisily.
The crew arranged for them to sit in an orderly manner, making it easier to observe.
Everyone had prepared various tools and weapons, waiting to grab the dishes as soon as they were served, with no thoughts to anything else.
After all, Old Tian had said this feast was prepared to celebrate Zhang Yi’s birthday, especially lavish, with unlimited food and drink.
Zhang Yi stood at the very front of the room, his gaze calmly sweeping over everyone present.
When Bai Jingyu walked into the room, Zhang Yi paused briefly before shifting his attention to the others.
Soon after, Zhu Yunque and Su Nuanxi arrived, each holding Tommy in their arms.
“Mr. Zhang, happy birthday!”
The two approached to offer their congratulations.Zhang Yi merely gave a perfunctory smile and nodded, then continued to look around at the others in the cabin.
Seeing Zhang Yi’s indifferent expression, the two couldn’t help but feel a bit displeased.
Zhu Yunque complained, “You really are something. We’ve known each other for so long, and you didn’t even tell me about such a big birthday event.”
Zhang Yi furrowed his brows slightly, “I only remembered it just now. It’s not a big deal. You two should quickly find a place to sit.”
Zhu Yunque and Su Nuanxi exchanged glances and nodded to each other.
As Tommy was handed over, Zhang Yi immediately caught a foul smell.
No doubt, these two women were terrible with children, and hygiene was definitely not handled well.
He quickly stepped back half a pace. “No need, no need. I’m not interested in babies. Since you like him so much, you might as well keep him yourselves. One of you can be the dad, the other the mom.”
Seeing her plan fail, Zhu Yunque’s face darkened.
“I… we’re not that kind of relationship!”
Zhang Yi waved his hand, signaling for them to sit down first. “Let’s start ordering dishes!”
The two women pouted in annoyance, then found seats and sat down.
Zhang Yi made a show of giving a speech, but he knew everyone’s attention was on the upcoming food—there was no point in wasting words.
He gave Old Tian a look, and soon, Xie Changming and several crew members pushed in serving carts loaded with steaming platters of fish and meat.
As soon as a dish was placed on the table, Jian Shou’s reaction was like poking a hornet’s nest; a dozen pairs of chopsticks, some even grabbing immediately, reached out!
In a moment, the whole roasted chicken and pork knuckle were torn apart by the crowd and stuffed into their red plastic bags.
Zhang Yi and Old Tian sat together without eating, instead taking the opportunity to observe the people in the room.
Sure enough, this closer look revealed some problems.
Not only Bai Jingyu, but there were three others in the crowd who remained relatively calm while eating.
These people from Rockflow Island hadn’t had such lavish food in nearly a year.
If anyone could still remain composed under these circumstances, there was only one possibility: they were not human!
Zhang Yi silently took note of these individuals but said nothing.
He later went to the control room.
Crew members there were monitoring everyone in the dining room in real-time.
Zhang Yi instructed them to identify all suspicious figures; after careful confirmation, the list basically matched the few people he had noted.
Zhang Yi took no immediate action.
While waiting for Zhou Ke’er’s autopsy results, he asked Old Tian and others to prepare for a night watch.
Time passed quickly, and after everyone on the ship had eaten their fill, most went to bed early that night.
At midnight, in several cabins of the Rockflow Group, three figures suddenly rose from their beds as if by agreement.
They approached their sleeping companions nearby, bodies stiff as they bent over, head to head.
Then their mouths suddenly opened wide, though nothing visible appeared, while the person in bed also opened their mouth wide.
After convulsing for a moment, the person fell silent and motionless.
Having done this, the three returned to the ship as if nothing had happened, pulled the covers back over themselves, and went back to sleep.
At midnight, Zhang Yi and Old Tian watched this scene clearly through the surveillance cameras in the control room.
The infrared cameras captured the details vividly.
However, they never saw exactly what it was.
“Could it really be a ghost from the ocean?”
One crew member swallowed nervously and said with tension.
Zhang Yi glanced at him and offered an idea.
“Perhaps it’s something invisible, or maybe a kind of transparent marine creature.”
After observing this strange creature’s killing method, Zhang Yi felt somewhat relieved.
Because from his observation, this bizarre thing’s destructive power wasn’t particularly strong.
It wasn’t a spirit that could ignore physical attacks.
If it wanted to kill, it had to do so through close contact.
Old Tian immediately suggested capturing and killing those creatures.
Zhang Yi, however, calmly said, “No rush. Everyone is asleep now. If a commotion breaks out, too many people might die.”
“It seems their appetite isn’t that big; they should be full tonight.”
“Tomorrow at meal time, serve them a whole pot.”
Zhang Yi patted Old Tian’s shoulder, then went back to his room to rest.
Opening the door, he saw Zhou Ke’er quietly sleeping, her body resting on the table.
She was wearing a combat suit, as Zhang Yi had requested, to protect her from unknown strange harms.
Zhang Yi smiled and walked over, picking her up and helping her take off her shoes.
Zhou Ke’er slowly opened her eyes and blinked at him. “Did you figure out what’s causing the trouble?”
“A very strange mutated marine creature, probably parasitic.”
Zhou Ke’er nodded. “My autopsy results are also ready.”
She took out some photos and showed them to Zhang Yi.
“Under the microscope, the wounds around the bite sites are densely covered with tiny tooth marks. So the flesh missing from the bodies wasn’t supernatural—it was chewed clean.”
Zhang Yi nodded. “That makes sense.”
But then he frowned.
“There must be more than just one or two of these creatures. They probably exist in large numbers in our sea area. We need to find a way to completely solve this problem.”
Zhou Ke’er smiled and said, “Then we have to catch a few first, and then research them to know for sure.”
Zhang Yi nodded. “That’s easy enough.”
As the two talked, Zhang Yi’s sharp spatial awareness suddenly sensed an abnormal fluctuation.
Author's Note