Chapter 1149. Charles (End)

An eldritch island made out of flesh and blood broke through the cold surface of the Subterranean Sea. The island was none other than Charles. He could now reverse the time of the entire Subterranean Sea.

His gaze pierced the perpetual darkness of the Subterranean Sea and landed on Hope Island. In an instant, he saw the faces of his crew, who had overcome many crises with him.

Dipp, Linda, Bandages, Audric, James...

Their faces reminded Charles of the past, and he couldn't help but smile warmly as he reminisced about those days. Of course, they weren't his only crew members. Some of his crew were in other places, some were dead, and some were still with him.

Charles willed it, and his fleshly body split open. A sun slowly rose from within him.

"Mr. Charles."

"Lily." Charles' hundreds and thousands of eyes looked at her. "You should go. Find your own path out there. I won't be able to stay with you any longer."

The massive sun orbited around the flesh island, and Lily's ethereal voice echoed in his ear. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll go wherever you go!"

Upon hearing that, the memories that Charles had just recovered popped up in his mind, and he remembered having once fulfilled Lily's wishes. Charles remembered the joyful white mouse that wouldn't stop jumping around him.

"All right, let's go together, then. I'm going to keep protecting you. Now and in the future," Charles remarked. Five tentacles made out of his flesh burst out of his body and reached out toward Lily as if they were fingers of a palm.

"

Mmhm!

" Lily responded in delight and chuckled to herself. She nuzzled up against the tentacles and landed heavily on the flesh island.

Lily was engulfed by Charles' flesh once again as the latter began to ascend. He rose slowly until he reached the Core through that colossal hole in the dome overhead.

Having been freed from Fhtagn's grip, 002 was no longer around the Core, and as Charles ascended, he eventually settled in 002's previous location.

"Charles. Position: Captain. Duty: Responsible for the safe transportation and administrative management of the vessel. Ensures the utmost safety of the ship, the crew's lives, and property. Decisively and prudently handle all affairs in case of emergencies! Narwhale, set sail!!"

The Narwhale docked at Hope Island seemed to have sensed something just then, and its steam whistle tore through the air.

HOOONNKK!

At the Narwhale's piercing cry, the Subterranean Sea became a ship that started sailing toward the distant past under Captain Charles' lead.

***

At the same time, a cruise ship was sailing across the ocean somewhere on the surface world. The ship's deck was full of students wearing various uniforms, and the majority of them were busy taking photos of the scenery around them.

Thanks to Olivia's special ability, these people couldn't see Anna and Gao Zhiming.

Gao Zhiming's fall into the Subterranean Sea was nigh; the moment of parting was fast approaching. Gao Zhiming gripped his phone tightly, took a deep breath, and walked toward the ship's railings.

Anna clenched and relaxed her hands repeatedly as she tried her best to ensure that her tumultuous emotions wouldn't seep out on her face. She cupped her hands around her mouth, and her lips trembled as she stared intently at Gao Zhiming's back, shouting, "Remember! Zhao Jiajia will always love Gao Zhiming[1]! And promise me! You must come back here!"

Gao Zhiming turned around and grinned. Then, he nodded firmly and exclaimed, "

Mmhm!

I promise you, Jiajia! Olivia, let's do it."

Olivia pointed at her temple, and all of Anna's memories about Charles on the surface world were extracted from her mind. She then replaced Gao Zhiming's memories with the memories she had just extracted from Anna.

Gao Zhiming's passionate eyes and smile gradually disappeared. When the alteration was done, Gao Zhiming became a teenager on a sightseeing tour. The azure ocean instantly captured the attention of the naive young woman.

"

Wow!

The scenery here is amazing! No, wait! I've got to take some photos here. I have to make Gao Suling feel jealous!" Gao Zhiming held up his phone and frantically took photos of the beautiful scenery.

He approached the railings to take better pictures, but the massive cruise ship suddenly lurched forward, and Gao Zhiming lost his balance.

Gao Zhiming screamed as he fell into the sea, but before he could hit the water, a pitch-black hole somehow manifested at the right time as if it was a part of a script.

Zhao Jiajia rushed to the ship's railings to check on Gao Zhiming, but she saw nothing except for the frothy tops of the sea waves. Clearly, Gao Zhiming had fallen into the Subterranean Sea.

Anna's grip on the railings loosened, and she slumped to the floor with her back against the railings. She covered her face and cried hard. She had been trying her best to suppress her emotions, but she could no longer contain them.

As a strong and steady woman her entire life, Anna was never the type to lose her composure, but for the first time ever, she lost control of her feelings as if she were just an ordinary human being.

"Jiajia." A familiar voice echoed, and Zhao Jiajia's heart trembled. She looked up and saw a bizarre face.

It was a face covered in old scars. The figure was clad in a time-worn Captain's uniform, and he was also missing his right arm, right eye, and right ear.

The figure was none other than Charles, the Charles from the Subterranean Sea. A never-before-seen gentle smile tugged at Charles' lips. He walked over, knelt on one knee, and used his remaining arm to embrace his wife.

"I kept my word. See? I'm back."

Zhao Jiajia finally came to her senses. She wasn't dreaming; this was real life!

Anna grabbed Charles and bit down hard on his neck. She tore at it as if she were mad, but the familiar taste of Charles' blood told her one thing. The figure before her was indeed Charles, and he had returned to keep his promise.

"Let's go... Let's go home." Charles wrapped his arm around Anna's slender waist and lifted her gently.

"Wait, give me a moment. I'm feeling a bit dizzy." Zhao Jiajia lay in Charles' arms and closed her eyes, kneading her temples with her hand.

Charles waited patiently for her to recover. He had plenty of time now, and he could afford to wait even an eternity for her. After a long while, Anna looked up, and the two smiled at each other.

Charles lowered his head to kiss her, but a soft palm blocked his lips.

"Wait, where's Sparkle?" Zhao Jiajia asked, and as soon as the words left her lips, her eyes widened in disbelief. A violent tremor ran through her, and her eyes darted around. She looked everywhere, but she couldn't see a girl with fluorescent green, cross-shaped pupils.

"Answer me!!" Anna exclaimed. She grabbed Charles' collar and tugged hard. "Where's Sparkle?! Where's our daughter?!"

"Shhh, keep your voice down. Be careful not to disturb our Sparkle," Gao Zhiming said, moving his calloused left hand to Zhao Jiajia's flat abdomen.

Zhao Jiajia's trembling hands settled on Gao Zhiming's rough hand. Together, they closed their eyes, focusing on the pulse of the tiny life underneath as the wedding ring on their finger reflected each other's gleam.

***

"

Wheeew,

why is it so cold? Aren't we in summer?" Gao Zhiming muttered, shaking his head to shake the dizziness away. His movements shook the wooden boat beneath him, eliciting splashes of water from somewhere.

"W-wait... where am I?" Gao Zhiming looked around and saw an oil lamp at the bow. The light from the oil lamp told him that he was no longer on a massive cruise ship. Somehow, he was on a wooden boat roughly six meters long.

Except for the two oars on the side, there was nothing on the boat.

Gao Zhiming gazed around in disbelief in an effort to discern his whereabouts, but to his disappointment, the pitch-black surroundings blended perfectly with the dark waters around him, providing him with nothing to observe whatsoever.

The instinctive fear of the dark inside him made him move closer to the one and only light source, a swaying oil lamp.

I've got to call for help!

Gao Zhiming thought. He reached for his phone in his pocket, but he saw that there was no signal at all.

"Where the hell am I?!" Gao Zhiming cried out, looking to be on the verge of tears. He was just on a simple sightseeing tour, so how did something like this happen to him?

Just then, a gust of wind blew across the sea. The fishy and salty smell in the wind reminded Gao Zhiming of something. He dipped his finger into the ink-black water and tasted it. A bitter and salty flavor instantly pervaded his mouth.

This is seawater! I'm still out at sea?

Gao Zhiming began to panic. If he were on a lake, he would be able to row his way to shore, but since he was out at sea, how could he row his way out when he had no idea where he was in the first place?

It's fine. I'll just wait until morning.

Gao Zhiming suppressed the fear in his heart and decided to wait it out.

Time went by just like that, and Gao Zhiming eventually noticed something amiss.

There's something wrong here. It's been so many hours, so how come there hasn't been any light at all?

He looked down at his phone and saw that it was already in power-saving mode.

Just then, he realized something and looked up. There weren't any stars in the night sky. Instead, he saw an unknown and seemingly endless darkness.

"Where the hell am I?! Where the fuck are the stars?! Hey, is anyone out there?! Heeelp!!" Gao Zhiming let out a heartwrenching cry of despair at the pitch-black darkness around him.

Unfortunately, it was clear that there was absolutely no one around here, and the realization made him fall into despair.

Gao Zhiming deduced that he wasn't on any ocean on Earth, or perhaps he was probably not even on Earth in the first place. After all, if he were on Earth, he would definitely see stars in the sky during nighttime and the sun during daytime.

Gao Zhiming went hysterical and screamed nonstop until he collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.

His eyes filled with pain, he looked at the darkness overhead with extreme confusion. But as the confusion in his eyes gradually disappeared, he pulled himself together again.

No, I have to go back. I can't die here. It doesn't matter where I am... I have to go back because...

Gao Zhiming trailed off and stayed silent for a long time.

The gleam in his eyes shifted erratically, sometimes confused, sometimes determined. Then, at one time, he looked as if he had remembered something, but he ultimately couldn't recall anything.

After a while, he decisively declared, "Everything I have is back there... my family is there, so I must... go back there!!"

Gao Zhiming's eyes blazed with determination. He grabbed the nearby oar and gnashed his teeth before desperately rowing in a chosen direction amidst the perpetual darkness around him.

(Fin.)

1. Chapter 410 reference ☜