Chapter 130: The Ghost Ship

Ling Feng stared at that unfamiliar face, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes.

Is this what they call a side effect?

Meanwhile, the others gazed at Mei’s flawless, impeccable little face, feeling stunned and speechless. What a beautiful little thing! But what was this "side effect"? Why hadn’t they noticed it before?

Mei smoothed her long hair slightly and then spoke: "There, is that better now?"

Her voice immediately made many people feel uncomfortable. When she had been wearing her hood, they had only heard her voice without seeing her face, so they hadn't realized how young she was. Now, hearing that voice and seeing that face, they felt like they were bullying a child!

Although many people had lost their moral compass in this post-apocalyptic world, not everyone was entirely devoid of conscience. Many of those who had been crowding around sheepishly shifted their feet, retreating from the circle surrounding Mei and her companions.

However, come to think of it, was it really her who fought the tentacle monster yesterday? It truly didn't look like it!

"Your friend?" Ling Feng asked, turning his gaze toward Cyril upon hearing Mei speak.

Mei saw him shift his focus to Cyril, glanced over, but remained silent. Unlike her, Cyril was a necromancer—a class not accepted by most people. Back when he wasn't strong enough, he had grown accustomed to hiding his face to minimize his presence; after all, wearing cloaks was quite common in that world. Even after he became powerful, he never broke the habit.

Mei was used to him presenting himself this way in front of outsiders, so she saw nothing wrong with it and never even thought to remind him. As for Mo Chen and the others, they were so tired of Cyril’s tone that they avoided interacting with him whenever possible, so they hadn't considered bringing it up either. Now, seeing him being called out, they simply watched the drama unfold, showing no trace of their previous annoyance.

Cyril lived up to expectations, letting out a sneer filled with mockery.

"I thought you had at least a shred of wisdom among this group, but it seems you’re no different from the rest—just as foolish!"

"How so?" Ling Feng asked, completely unfazed by the insult.

"Hmph, disaster is imminent, yet you still have the leisure to stand around here chattering. If that isn't foolish, what is?" Cyril retorted coldly.

As if to verify his words, a large ship slowly began to reveal its silhouette through the thick fog.

The people from the other country saw the ghost ship appear once more, their expressions turning to despair. They knelt on the deck, hearts heavy, waiting for the Grim Reaper to arrive. Meanwhile, the ability users from the local group, seeing the ship slowly drifting toward them, no longer cared about Mei and her companions. They braced themselves, nerves frayed to the breaking point.

Seeing things unfolding exactly as the others had described, Mei’s eyes widened, filled with anticipation. She wanted to see exactly what those hooded attackers really were!

With that thought, she hurried to the railing to peer toward the ship. Seeing her reaction, Mo Chen and the others wore helpless expressions but followed her to the side, fearing she might impulsively jump over.

Cyril also followed, staring at the approaching ghost ship, his presence heavy with a low, oppressive pressure. He reached out with his slender hands, and a white bone staff appeared in his palm.

Seeing him pull out the staff, Mei’s expression turned to one of surprise. Cyril rarely brought out his bone staff; whenever he did, it usually signaled that he was about to start a massacre! It seemed she wasn't the only one annoyed by those attackers!

However, not everyone was interested in the ghost ship. When Ling Feng saw the vessel heading toward them, he ordered a change of course, hoping to avoid it. Under the captain's maneuvering, their ship slowly gained distance from the ghost ship. Watching it disappear back into the fog, Mei couldn't help but look disappointed. She really wanted to go over and see what was on that ship!

Her disappointment didn't last long, though. Not long after they changed course, the ghost ship appeared in front of them once more, sailing straight toward them again.

"Look, the ship is back!" someone shouted, pointing at the ghost ship. Seeing this, the group’s hearts, which had just begun to settle, tightened instantly!

"Change course again!" Ling Feng ordered.

The ship shifted direction once more, and the ghost ship vanished back into the mist. Unfortunately, whether due to some strange magnetic field on that mysterious ship or because it was truly a vessel of the dead, half an hour later, the dark shadow appeared ahead again.

They had encountered the ghost ship yet again!

"Go around it!" Realizing it was impossible to avoid, Ling Feng decisively ordered them to bypass the ghost ship and continue forward.

The ghost ship grew closer. Its mottled hull, the unrecognizable serial numbers, and the tattered fabric on the railings all signaled that the ship had been abandoned for a long time.

"To think a ship this old could drift on the sea for so long—a ghost ship, how interesting!" Mei muttered to herself, staring at the old vessel.

The two ships passed each other. At such close range, everyone could clearly see that the dilapidated deck was covered in dried blood. Yet, there wasn't a single corpse on board, nor could they see a soul. Many people, amidst their tension, couldn't help but feel suspicious. Was this even the ship the others had mentioned?

Ling Feng harbored the same doubt and turned to ask the person who had spoken to him earlier. However, the man didn't answer; he stared at the passing ship with a face ashen with grief and despair. The reactions of the other foreigners were much the same. Judging by their expressions, this was undoubtedly the same ghost ship they had boarded.

Everyone watched cautiously as the old vessel drifted slowly past their own without any strange occurrences, and they began to relax again. An hour later, when the ghost ship didn't reappear, many people began to mutter with disdain, saying things like, "Were those people hallucinating?" or "They're just too cowardly."

They all seemed to believe the ghost ship would not return. Even the foreigners were kneeling toward the empty void, praying piously; though their complexions remained poor, the look of despair had faded from their faces.

Mei, however, didn't look disappointed that the strange ship hadn't reappeared.

"What's wrong? You're not interested in that ship anymore?" Mo Chen asked, finding her reaction strange.

"Of course I am!" Mei shook her head. "Because I’m certain that ship will appear again!"

"Oh? And your reason?"

"No reason, just an intuition! Besides, Cyril thinks so too!" Mei’s gaze swept over Cyril’s bone staff, and she spoke with absolute certainty.

The others looked at Cyril, who had not put away his weapon, and naturally understood what he meant. Although they didn't know if their intuition was accurate, since both of them believed the ship would return, it was better to be prepared.

Lin Shaojie peeked at Cyril's weapon, his eyes full of curiosity. It was about a meter long, bone-white, with a claw-shaped top cradling a crystal ball the size of an adult man's fist that glowed with an eerie hue.

"Little sister Mei, is that a magic staff in his hand?" Lin Shaojie asked in a low voice, not daring to ask Cyril directly.

"That's right!"

"What's it made of? Why does it look so much like a bone?"

Mei glanced at him and said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "It is made of bone! A necromancer’s amplification effect is best when using a bone staff. And the best of all is a dragon bone staff; that one Cyril has is a dragon bone staff, and it even has a dragon’s eye embedded at the top. The amplification effect is ten times that of a regular bone staff!"

"A necromancer?" Lin Shaojie was stunned.

The others were also surprised; they had always assumed Cyril was an alchemist, never imagining he was a necromancer!

"Didn't you know? Haven't you seen him control skeletons before?" Mei asked, puzzled by their surprised expressions.

"Uh, we thought those skeletons were controlled by medicine or some kind of manipulation technique. We never thought he was a necromancer!" Mo Chen explained.

"Oh, I see! I thought you already knew, so I didn't mention it. Cyril is a Grand Necromancer; alchemy is just a hobby. What he’s actually best at is summoning the undead!" Mei said, observing the others' reactions.

In her original world, many people rejected necromancy, believing it to be a desecration of the dead. Although she felt people in this world wouldn't care, that was just a guess; she wasn't sure. Cyril was a very important person to her, and these people were her companions; she didn't want any rifts between them. If they minded, she would have to rethink their plans to leave together.

Fortunately, her worries didn't manifest. The others were merely surprised and showed no signs of rejection, which put her at ease.

Lin Shaojie even asked with great interest, "What is necromancy like? Were those skeletons in the place we stayed earlier summoned by you? What else can you summon?"

"I’m better at turning living people into skeletons. Do you want to try?" Cyril said with a sinister tone in response to Lin Shaojie’s question.

Lin Shaojie was immediately choked into silence.

"What, you don't believe me? I'll tell you the truth: those skeletons you saw earlier were all transformed directly from living people. If you want to experience the feeling of being undead, I can fulfill that wish for you!" Cyril said, then turned his head away, no longer looking at Lin Shaojie’s dumb, surprised face.

Seeing Cyril’s reaction, Mei laughed instead. "Aww, is Cyril feeling shy? Ha, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you like this!"

The others were speechless.

Is that what a shy reaction looks like?

Honestly, we really couldn't tell!