"Mr. Charles..." Lily looked up. Her long eyelashes quivered slightly as she cast an aggrieved gaze at her captain. She was human once again, and she had been longing for this for a long time now.

She was supposed to be happy, but Charles' decision was making her feel extremely uneasy.

The smiling Charles helped Lily up. Then, he stroked her head and said, "Lily, you were always worried that your parents from that parallel world would be terrified of you, but now, you're human again. You can go back to their side now.

"You and your mice friends have been extremely helpful to me over the years. To be honest, it was really too much of me to ask you to go on expeditions with me when you're still so young.

"I could have let you leave the ship, but I didn't do it. This is what I owe you.

"Fortunately, I've already accomplished my goal of going on expeditions, and I can finally repay the favor I owe you. The ship that is going to take you home is ready, and you can board it any time you wish."

Lily blinked. Then, she opened her arms wide and threw herself into Charles' broad arms. Her youthful voice sounded aggrieved as she exclaimed, "Mr. Charles, I won't go back! I'll go wherever you go!"

Anna jeered at the sight. "What a waste! Do you not have any idea just how valuable that wish was? And you actually used it on a mouse? Is that little mouse worthy of such a wish?"

Charles didn't even glance at Anna. He whispered words of comfort into Lily's ears before pushing her away gently and saying, "Lily, be obedient, all right? Go back to your world and live the life you've been longing for.

"This is an order from your captain."

With that, Charles reached out and grabbed the second white ball.

When his steel prosthetic hand touched the ball, everyone present cast their gazes on Charles. Their hearts were in their throats, wondering what wish Charles would make.

Charles took a deep breath and slowly said, "I want to return to the surface world with an ordinary human body. I want to go back to the world I once lived in."

There was a

pop

, and the white ball turned red.

Everyone's pupils constricted; they were clearly taken aback to hear Charles making that wish.

The door next to Charles was flung open, and Bandages rushed in. Bandages' expression was extremely complex as he stared at his captain, with whom he had overcome many life-and-death situations.

Bandages' assumption was correct.

Charles was leaving, and they would never see each other again.

Bandages wanted to say something, but his thoughts wouldn't come out of his mouth. In the end, he spoke with much difficulty, "Congratulations... on… going home..."

In stark contrast to Bandages' reaction, Anna reacted violently. Her gorgeous figure, which she was barely maintaining, split open, and a terrifying tentacled monster manifested.

Towering over more than a dozen meters tall, Anna raised her tentacles to swing them at Charles, but Sparkle wasn't going to let that happen. She morphed into her true form and jumped in between her mother and father.

"You coward!! You actually want to abandon everything and return to the surface?! Am I nothing to you?! Is Sparkle nothing to you?!" Anna roared, her voice filled with thick, killing intent.

However, Charles seemed like he couldn't hear Anna's words as he reached out to grab the final white ball. He held it up in front of Anna and said, "Time is running out. Make your wish."

Anna's yellow eyeball with a cross-shaped pupil glared at Charles, becoming bloodshot as the blood vessels across it burst open one after another. "My wish…! My wish is to become a true god!! Just you wait, Charles!!"

The white ball in Charles' hand turned red.

Gao Zhiming then reached into his left pocket and took out a red box. He looked down at it before opening the red box and placing the red ball inside of it. Then, he hurled it at Anna.

Eight tentacles covered in mucus rushed out of Anna and wrapped around the red box.

The red box was tiny, and Anna opened it to see a glowing red ball and a ring with an inset black diamond the size of a quail egg.

Anna was supposed to pay attention to the red ball, but the diamond ring was like a magnet to her gaze, holding her attention captive. She was suddenly reminded of the conversations they had about diamond rings.

"Jerk. A good man would have replaced the spider here with a huge diamond ring…"

"It's a sense of ritual for a reason. Do you even know what sense of ritual means?"

"All right. I won't forget what I said and that diamond ring. I'll give you one once everything is over…"

"Tsk, forget it. With that memory of yours, you'll probably forget it the next day."

Gao Zhiming standing next to Anna looked down at the red ball in his hand, which was becoming increasingly brighter as the seconds went by. In the end, he stepped forward, and the calm and composed facade that he had been forcibly maintaining all this while began to collapse.

Gao Zhiming gnashed his teeth and stared at the tentacled monster before him with a gaze full of reluctance. There was a tremor in his voice as he said, "Goodbye, Anna."

The next second, the light from the red ball pervaded the room.

***

It was late at night, and a police car was patrolling the bustling Nanjing Street. The two police officers inside the police car were listening to some music on the radio while looking around the street.

"Zhou Tao, look at that kid." An old police officer holding the steering wheel pointed at a figure wearing a tattered white vest in the distance. The figure was sneaking around, looking quite suspicious.

"That kid's name is Li Long. He's a repeat thief in our jurisdiction, but that's not the only thing that he does; he's a scammer and a con artist as well. He's been in and out of prison quite a few times now, but he still refuses to change his ways.

"You're new to our station, so you should memorize his face. If anything happens in the future, and he's nearby, pay special attention to him."

Zhou Tao glanced at the thin back profile of the old police officer and nodded. "Got it, Uncle Liu."

Just then, a woman's voice interrupted the music on the radio. "Dispatch to nearby officers; we've received an emergency call stating that someone is drowning at the Baita River Estuary."

"Roger that. I'm going right away," Liu Jianguo replied. He changed gears with his right hand and stepped on the accelerator.

As the police car rushed toward the destination, Liu Jianguo couldn't help but remark, "I bet it's some young couple arguing with each other again. These youngsters really have nothing to do these days, huh?

"Life has gotten so great for us now, but they don't cherish it at all. When I was still young, I didn't have the luxury to even think about such minor issues."

When they arrived at the scene, they were welcomed by a huge crowd. There were even some cars that had stopped on the roadside to join in the crowd and observe.

"Everyone, step back. Don't crowd around here. They need some fresh air," Liu Jianguo said, leading Zhou Tao through the crowd.

A kind-hearted aunt was crouched next to someone drenched in the cold river water, and her eyes were full of heartache as she used her towel to dry the latter's head.

Liu Jianguo calmed down at the sight. The supposed-to-be-drowning individual had already been rescued, and they were conscious as well, so Liu Jianguo believed that there wouldn't be any issues. Of course, he still knelt on one knee and began his routine questioning.

"You're so young; why waste your life by jumping into that river? Are you in pain anywhere? The ambulance will be here soon. Do you know the phone numbers of any of your relatives?"

The towel fell, and Liu Jianguo was instantly stunned.

"What a beautiful woman..." Liu Jianguo muttered.

Tears were sliding down Anna's face, and it seemed like she couldn't hear Liu Jianguo's words at all, as she was unwittingly transfixed on the ring box in her hand.

"Gao Zhiming! You bastard!!!" Anna roared hysterically.

Cosyjuhye's Thoughts

I didn't expect that twist.