The southern semi-desert region remains extremely desolate, but we found signs of human activity at the very least.

One car after another, loaded with railway sleepers and steel, have set off toward the outpost. The sight of the construction site in full swing was stunning.

The commotion is probably going to attract just about everything on the surface, but we can't afford to worry about that.

We're approaching the coordinates of the darkness' last known location. This damned place has never given me anything good, but I sincerely hope that we'll be safe throughout this exploration and that we'll be able to bring the darkness back to the Subterranean Sea.

Charles stared at the drying ink on the paper. Once it was sufficiently dried, he closed the diary and walked out of the Captain's Cabin.

Upon entering the bridge, Charles turned to Nico, who had his pinky finger raised, and asked, "Are there any issues, Second Mate?"

"No issues at all. We're not out at sea, so there aren't that many issues," Nico replied before revealing a charming smile at helmsman Norton.

Norton tensed up at Nico's gaze.

"I haven't asked you yet, but what did your vessel encounter during your last exploration here? How come you're the only survivor?"

Death was not a big deal in the surface world, and it was common to see exploration parties getting annihilated, so survivors were a big deal, especially when there was only one survivor.

The majority of the vessels on the surface weren't animated vessels like the Narwhale.

It seemed that Nico was indeed not someone to be trifled with. As an explorer who had discovered a habitable island, he had to have some tricks up his sleeves.

"Ah~ honestly, I don't want to talk about what happened on that day. That thing was just too disgusting. I've reported the details to the Explorers Association. If you're interested, you can just go ahead and ask them for it.

"By the way, what happened to your face?" Nico asked, reaching out his hand to touch Charles' face.

Charles cast an indifferent gaze at Nico without saying anything. The atmosphere in the bridge became a bit oppressive.

"Do you really think that I won't throw you overboard?" Charles asked.

Nico's smile faded. He withdrew his outstretched hand and placed it on his left shoulder before bowing deeply to Charles. "I apologize, Esteemed Captain. I shouldn't have addressed you by your name."

"It doesn't matter who you are, but you must listen to me once you're on my ship. If you think you can't do that, then you can go ahead and leave," Charles said icily.

Nico had fallen to a mere explorer from a high and mighty governor, so there was a high chance that he had yet to acclimatize to the harsh reality. However, Charles couldn't care less about Nico's feelings.

He was the captain, so he could be selfish and tyrannical. He could even kill for fun. However, there was one thing that every single captain had to avoid doing—they could not allow their crew to undermine and threaten their authority, not even in the slightest.

It was an ironclad rule of the Subterranean Sea.

"Alright, alright, I understand. Let's talk about something else. You asked me about what we encountered, right? Actually, I don't know. It looked like a rotting lizard with moss growing all over it.

"And it was strong—very strong. The most important part was that it was nigh immortal. We had blown it into two pieces using the deck cannons, but it used its own intestines as feet to continue slaughtering my crew like mad.

"Of course, things were still going fine despite the massacre. We could still run away, after all. Unfortunately, it turned out that it was a social creature. It was living with its group, and—Ah~ just recalling the memories of how my crew members were torn to pieces by those lizards sends a shiver down my spine."

Charles reached out toward the map pinned to the wall with thumbtacks.

"Where did you encounter them?"

Nico's long fingernails grazed the map before accurately stopping at a certain location. "

Hmm...

here. As you can see, the Explorers Association has already marked it using the Unconfirmed Extremely Dangerous icon."

Charles hurriedly examined the map and sighed in relief upon discovering that the icon wasn't situated anywhere near their current route.

"I guess you're lucky that you're still alive after such an encounter."

At Charles' words, the corners of Nico's mouth curled up slightly as he smiled bitterly and said, "Lucky? I think the luckiest time of my life was the day I discovered the Coral Archipelago. I must've exhausted all of my luck on that fateful day.

"I'm actually quite fascinated by you, Captain. You've been in the business for so long without any issues. You're arguably the most experienced explorer throughout the Subterranean Sea."

Charles glanced at Nico and said, "Take a good look at me. Now, can you really say that I've encountered no issues during my explorations all these years?"

Nico covered his mouth with his pale fingers and chuckled. "Well, you're lucky compared to those who have sunk to the bottom of the sea."

Charles didn't respond to his words, as he had noticed something strange. His gaze pierced the transparent windows before him as he tried to peer through the purple mist. The next moment, he saw a black plume of smoke coming their way.

"Sound the whistle and warn the crew members! Something is approaching us!"

The shrill cry of the steam whistle echoed across the semi-desert region, and everyone's nerves immediately stretched taut as they prepared to face any oncoming attacks.

Everyone took on solemn expressions; their hearts pounded with anxiety as they stared intently at the black plume of smoke in the distance. Soon, the source of the black smoke was revealed. It was coming from the smokestack of an exploration vessel, which was rushing toward them at breakneck speeds.

"Give me the telescope," Charles said. He then closed his left eye and looked through the monocular with his right eye.

Within the circular vision, Charles saw a crowd on the deck of the oncoming ship. The crowd seemed extremely excited, and their faces were flushed red out of excitement.

"Lily, get your mice ready. Blow that ship to pieces as soon as you see any signs of them trying to attack us," Charles said to his gunner.

The oncoming ship seemed harmless, but Charles dared not let his guard down for even a moment. There was a chance that those people on deck had been attacked by something and were currently under mind control.

"Mmhm! Got it! Leave it to me!" Lily exclaimed. She jumped down Charles' shoulder and led her mischief of colorful mice toward the deck cannons.

Under everyone's tense gazes, the two ships finally got close enough for everyone to see each other's faces clearly without any telescopes.

"Governor Charles! Is that you, Governor Charles?! I have great news! We've found the darkness! You're going to keep your promise, right? I'm about to become a governor!!"

Charles' eyes widened at the man's unbridled joy. He leaned forward, and over half of his figure was beyond the gunwale as he exclaimed, "The darkness?! Did you really find it?! What about the place, is it dangerous? And where is it? Is it at my coordinates?"

"It's not too far, just three days' worth of journey ahead, but it's not at the coordinates that you've reported. The deviation is massive; I think the darkness can move, just like the wind."

The Narwhale's crew members seemed to have been infected by the agitation and excitement of the other vessel's crew upon hearing their words.

However, it wasn't strange at all. No one wanted to die, after all. Moreover, they had achieved one of their goals, which was to locate the darkness. Now, they just had to retrieve it, and the Subterranean Sea would be saved!