A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 730 - Chapter 730 Chapter 534 The Same Old Development_1

Chapter 730: Chapter 534: The Same Old Development_1 Chapter 730: Chapter 534: The Same Old Development_1 Upon hearing Captain Lark’s words, Duanmu Huai and Professor Palmer returned to the cabin, where Captain Lark led them to the wireless radio and handed them headphones.

“Here’s a message we just received.”

“………”

Duanmu Huai and Professor Palmer exchanged glances, put the earphones to their ears, and listened to the fragmented calls coming from inside.

“This is Gr…… we are under attack…. I… need…”

Except for a few words that were barely audible at the beginning and in the middle, the rest was just static. Upon hearing this, Duanmu Huai frowned slightly but said nothing while Professor Palmer looked at the captain with confusion.

“What’s going on here?”

“I’m not sure, perhaps something to do with those who came before us…”

“Understood, we’ll investigate it when the time comes.”

Duanmu Huai gave a nonchalant reply, having a hunch about what it might be.

It was pretty clear that the cultist fools had screwed up.

Isn’t that normal? Stupid humans always think they can manipulate the Evil God with their own strength, but they have no such ability. Investigators try to stop them, not to curb their ambitions – these fools’ ambitions will inevitably fail anyway, they do it to prevent everyone from going down together when these idiotic cultists mess up.

Yes, their ambitions will inevitably fail.

This wasn’t just a possibility; it was a sure thing.

The reason was simple. Most cultists receive inspirations from the thoughts of the Evil God, and they believe that they have found the truth of the world. They then start seeking ways to please the Evil God for their purposes.

But the reality is… what they perceive, to put it in simple terms, is like – blind men feeling an elephant.

Yes, human spiritual power is simply incapable of thoroughly understanding the essence and existence of the Evil God. They can only perceive what they are capable of perceiving. It’s like in this world, many artists can perceive the dreams of the Evil God and paint numerous evil creatures – acknowledging these as some kind of evil omen or an indescribable, dark part of the world.

But think about it, maybe all you sensed was merely an Evil God’s nightmare.

It’s like when a person dreams of being surrounded by flies or dreams of their house suddenly exploding… interpreting reality through the mutterings of the Evil God’s nightmares is as absurd as cracking the Goldbach Conjecture based on your college roommate’s sleep-talking.

In fact, many adventures share a similar scenario where players, as investigators, infiltrate and expose the plots of a cult, making their way to the final ritual site. They confront the cultists, who suddenly receive a mandate from the Evil God, stating that the investigator is the key to completing the ritual, prompting the investigator to make a choice.

And so, a bunch of cultists stand there like idiots, staring as the ultimate decision of their painstakingly orchestrated ritual rests with an investigator who has been hunting them all along…

This is no different from dreaming. Many people experience similar scenarios in their dreams: they dream of a group of people designing a ritual to please them. Then someone tries to stop it, they find it amusing and allow this person to decide the outcome of the ritual – this is illogical in reality, but dreams don’t abide by logic.

Despite receiving a mysterious radio transmission, the group didn’t change their course. After all, they’re in Antarctica; they must ensure their safety first before attending to others. So, they first set off from the icebreaker to the Queen Elizabeth Station to begin cleaning the investigation base. In Antarctica, an empty investigation station is likely to remain clean. They just need to ensure that all facilities can function properly.

It’s safe to say the group was lucky. Shortly after entering the investigation station, a sudden blizzard rolled in, so they didn’t even get the chance to admire the blue skies and white clouds of Antarctica before they had to take shelter inside.

“Haah…”

Miss Mary, lying in bed, heaved a sigh as she watched the thunderous blizzard outside. From the events in Fog City to their current situation, she felt as if she were dreaming. She had ended up in Antarctica from a simple accident?

To this day, Mary could hardly believe it. She even questioned whether all of this was just a dream, perhaps when she wakes up tomorrow, she’ll be in her warm and cozy apartment, going to school with A’Xie and Shirley, heading to Mrs. Leeds’s cafe for afternoon tea, where she’d talk about the dream she’d had, get teased by Shirley, and then they’d discuss about A’Xie’s fiance…

As her mind wandered, Mary eventually drifted off to sleep.

In contrast to the exhausted Miss Mary, who had fallen asleep in the storm, another individual was revitalized.

“Finally, I survived…!”

Lorena almost raised her hands in praise of the goddess.

“Dear Goddess, I’ve finally made it!”

“Honestly, I never thought you would get seasick.”

Looking at Lorena, who was now lively after appearing like a dead fish throughout the journey, Duanmu Huai shook his head. Evidently, getting seasick was probably Lorena’s specific weakness. Ever since she started traveling with Duanmu Huai, she had ridden carriages, warships, spacecraft, cars, trains, airships, airplanes – none of which had caused any issues.

But as soon as she boarded this icebreaker, her defenses broke down.

You don’t get seasick in outer space, but you do on this?

That could only be chalked up to divine intervention.

“Ugh… I didn’t expect it either…”

Thinking back to her days on the icebreaker, Lorena looked pale.

“Sir Knight, can I request to swim back when we return? I think it might be more comfortable…”

Given Lorena’s state, she might actually be able to swim back to Tierra del Fuego from Antarctica.

“I’ve already asked my maid to prepare a plane, no need to worry.”

Duanmu Huai also quietly reassured Lorena. He was not too keen on taking the boat again either…

“Alright… Sir Knight, what are you up to?”

“Oh, I am investigating the whereabouts of these idiots.”

Duanmu Huai held a map of Antarctica in his hand, marking it up with notes. The map was marked with the locations of various research stations and some discovered areas. However, the key for Duanmu was not these details. After all, he knew far more about the situation here than Dr. Palmer and his team.

First, he crossed out latitude 76deg15’S and longitude 113deg10’E, representing a mountain range even taller than the Himalayas. From the north to the west, he drew a stretch of rolling mountains. Hidden here amidst the ranges were countless players eagerly awaiting to mark their presence in one of the inaccessible Holy lands – an ancient city left by the predecessors and beneath it, a bizarre race that has been dormant for millennia and is considered repulsive and ugly.

Shoggs.

Based on previous radio signals, the research station is not far from the Insane Mountain Range. It means these Cultists chose the closest route to the mountains. So, could they have been killed by Shoggs, or, maybe, wiped out by Shoggs? Hmm, anyway, there are no other possibilities.

It’s highly unlikely that when Duanmu arrives, he’ll find these idiots holding hands with Shoggs, having a campfire party.

Compared to Queen Elizabeth Station, where Duanmu and his team were, it was relatively far and apparently required traveling by plane… Of course, this was not a problem for Duanmu. As long as the weather cleared up, he could simply have the maid fly them over in a plane.

If only the supply deliveries didn’t need an icebreaker… Sigh, it’s too late to speak of that now.

“How’s Miss Mary doing over there?”

“Observe the situation and be mindful; if her friend’s soul really is here, I believe there would certainly be a reaction between them.”

Duanmu looked at the map in front of him, nodding solemnly.

“If it really comes down to it, we’ll have to rely on the Golden Pupil to guide us.”

Then he added.

At times like this, we must believe in the strength of friendship.

… It is friendship, right?

The cold wind howled.

The biting chill, compounded with the flurry of snow, assaulted the windows, while Mary closed her eyes, as always, sinking into sleep. For her, this was just another recurring dream, but it was distinctly different from any other.

She didn’t know when it happened, but the howling blizzard had turned into the sound of gentle rain. When Mary came to, she found herself holding an umbrella, standing on a deserted street in Fog City, reminiscent of the path back to her apartment.

However, Mary quickly realized something was off.

She wasn’t in the familiar Fog City; she was in another world, the one she had once struggled and fled from. Standing at a crossroads, she looked around only to see a blanket of fog obstructing all views and buildings.

But soon, Mary spotted a flicker of light in the distance.

She hurriedly quickened her pace, crossing the junction, traversing the streets, and arriving at an alleyway entrance.

“Mary…”

Meanwhile, a voice she was intimately familiar with echoed in her ear.

“Shirley? Where are you?”

Clutching her umbrella, Mary called out loudly. Soon after, a series of hurried footsteps echoed again, and without a moment’s hesitation, Mary followed the source of the sound, nearly running towards it.

“Don’t come any closer, Mary.”

Shirley’s voice was intermittent, filled with sorrow.

“No, Shirley…”

Of course, Mary wouldn’t stop for anything, not even her best friend’s plea. She clenched her teeth and sprinted forward. Then, the young girl emerged from the dense fog – the next second, howling cold winds and snow laden her person, halting Mary’s advance subconsciously. When she looked ahead again, she found herself no longer in Fog City, instead on a cliff overlooking an enormous mountain range. Beneath the cliff was a twisted, strange city, one she had never seen before, massive, filled with multi-dimensional structures.

It seemed to stretch to the edge of the world, as if it was the dominion of all things.

Simultaneously, Shirley’s voice rang out again.

“Don’t come, go back, Mary…”

“No, Shirley, where are you? I…”

However, Mary’s words were cut short when, in the next moment, the cliff crumbled beneath her feet.

“—–”

Then, Mary sat upright in surprise, her eyes wide with shock.

Outside the window, the snowstorm was still ablaze.

“Shirley…”

Staring at the storm outside, Mary gritted her teeth.

“I will definitely find you.”