Weird Survival: I can devour thousands of talents

Chapter 144: The Homecoming Story (background, can be skipped, settlement tomorrow)

The two sides were unexpectedly peaceful.

Before coming, Ling Xiao had already arranged a tactic to fight at the slightest disagreement.

As a result, Captain Crane, the final boss, did not seem to have any hostility.

Of course, these battle-hardened men did not relax their vigilance, but firmly occupied the terrain at the door where they could attack or defend.

Then Ling Xiao represented the entire team to negotiate with them.

After experiencing the two copies of [Source of Disaster] and [Mysterious Realm], Ling Xiao also roughly understood the difference between them.

The former only needs to fight and kill.

The latter not only needs to have strong fists, but also needs to have a strong brain!
If there is a solution other than force, it is best to try it.

Otherwise, you might rush over and find that the person opposite you is as powerful as the proprietress.

"Klein...Senior,"

Ling Xiao changed his words to be more polite.

"I don't sense any murderous intent from you. Does that mean we can have a good talk?"

"Oh... I could not ask for more..."

Klein's elusive dark green light swayed for a moment, revealing a bitter smile.

"I've actually always wanted to have a good chat with you guys, um..."

"It's not just you young people, it's also in the past, before that, a long, long time ago..."

Ye Zhanqing and others who were hiding behind Ling Xiao looked at each other in bewilderment. They always felt that this weird captain seemed to be mentally unstable.

Qi Heng's soul of complaining was burning, but he still managed to keep his mouth shut.

No shocking words were said to disturb this being.

Make things change in an unpredictable way.

Ling Xiao naturally noticed the abnormality in Klein's words.

Take the essence and discard the dross.

Distill the key information - before?
Has Captain Klein ever seen other outsiders like himself before?
Homecoming...has it already received many groups of survivors who came to adventure?
Combined with what the lady boss said in "Crazy Lust", Ling Xiao vaguely felt that he had grasped something important!
Before he could ponder, Klein continued in a heavy voice, "But they're dead... all dead..."

Ling Xiao quickly asked, "Who are they?"

Klein didn't even raise his head, only muttering to himself, "Just like you, dying here, on the Homecoming."

"Senior, what you said sounds weird!"

Ling Xiao smiled helplessly, "So they didn't talk to you about anything? Or is it that you don't want to tell them?"

Hearing this, Klein finally broke free from his dull state.

His hazy eyes finally focused, and he looked at Ling Xiao and the people behind him.

"You are very strong, probably the strongest group so far."

"Those people before were all killed by monsters. I didn't expect that you would come all the way up here today when the Homecoming is becoming more and more mutated..."

Say it.

He gathered his stagnant thoughts and then recounted the story of what happened on the Homecoming that year.

Through Klein's vicissitudes of life, a journey filled with laughter and fine wine seemed to slowly emerge before everyone...

……

When Captain Crane was alive, he was a member of the North Sea Fleet of the Kingdom of Bain.

It was a glorious and powerful country, with its territory spanning the continent and touching the four seas.

In that era, the kingdom's most powerful wizard and the Holy See's top pope jointly deduced the "flat earth theory."

As a result, the saying that "the end of the sea belongs to the Kingdom of God" spread like wildfire and quickly spread throughout the continent with the secret instigation of the empire and the church.

Countless adventurers who dream of getting rich quickly, devout and devout fanatics, and expedition teams formed by the empire's elite, set sail on sailing ships under various temptations!
The Age of Discovery began!
The Homecoming was not originally called the Homecoming.

It has the same origin as Klein, both are Imperial Navy members drawn from the North Sea Fleet.

The sailing ship, originally named "Greyhound", did have smooth sailing at the beginning.

Under Klein's leadership, the crew, who were originally soldiers, did not pick up the bad habits that pirates used to vent their anger while sailing far away from land.

This adherence to naval code was once an achievement that Klein was proud of.

But no one would have thought of it.

The pent-up desires were not eliminated, but instead completely collapsed one day, dragging the Homecoming into an irretrievable hell.

Everything started when they left the empire's explored waters and sailed into a completely unfamiliar sea.

It was a nice sunny day during the day, but suddenly there was lightning and thunder at night.

What frightened many naval crew members the most was the lightning, which was as terrifying as blood-red thunder!
The Greyhound not only had a ship's doctor, but also a clergyman, a pastor.

But when Klein yelled at the crew to speed up, he inadvertently heard the pale-faced priest praying something in fear.

The wind is strong, the rain is heavy, and the waves are surging!
Everyone was busy, and he only had time to hear the pastor's repeated two sentences:
"Unclean disaster!?"

"Praise the blazing sun! Lord! Please don't let me fall into the endless darkness, into..."

The former does not know what it is.

But the latter is the prayer of the Church of Light.

The pastor added some final words, but Klein's hearing was drowned out by the roar of the crashing waves.

After a night of fighting against the wind and waves, the crew were exhausted both physically and mentally, but fortunately all of them survived.

In the past, it was considered lucky if no ships were destroyed or people were killed in storms of this scale.

It is normal to have a few unlucky people.

But the Greyhound was lucky and no one on the crew was lost.

And there is one more person.

It was this storm, and these extra people, that initiated the nightmare that haunted Klein throughout his life.

The sailors who were inspecting the damage to the ship called Crane over in surprise and pointed out to him a body of unknown origin at the stern railing.

Klein felt that some of these guys were just being naughty again, actually daring to make fun of their companions who had unfortunately died!

The reason is very simple.

How could there be an unfamiliar corpse in the vast ocean?!
Even after soaking in the turbulent sea for a night, his face was so swollen and torn that it was impossible to see it clearly.

But everyone got along for several months.

Just by counting the number of people or identifying the personal belongings of the bodies, you can find out who the victims are.

But the following action silenced Klein and the crew members who were originally laughing.

They originally thought that there was a mistake during the roll call on the deck, which was why someone was missing, but they didn't notice it.

This time, not only did Klein check off the names of the people on the roster, but they themselves were also identifying the familiar companions around them.

The result was that no one was killed on the Greyhound.

Whose body is this extra corpse...

There was some uneasy commotion among the crew, but it was quickly calmed down by Crane's reprimand.

After all, they were all navy before.

As the elite of the empire, their minds are stronger than those of ordinary adventurers.

After a brief thought, Klein concluded that "it drifted here after a nearby shipwreck."

This statement is indeed the most reasonable answer.

After everyone sighed.

The body will return to the embrace of the sea.

There are implicit rules for going out to sea. If a crew member dies, letting him be buried at the bottom of the sea is the only way to "clear both sides".

Dying at sea means that the sea has taken notice of their lives.

Ships carrying corpses will incur the wrath of the sea.

But there is one more step to do before that.

That is to "baptize" the corpse.

This should be the pastor's job.

But when Klein once again saw the anxious look on his old friend's face, he had no choice but to take action himself. He simply had someone push the body into the sea.

So the number of people on the Greyhound returned to normal.

To preserve the dignity of the deceased, his clothes were not taken off.

But there was one thing left.

It was an ivory sculpture of a human figure with a very unique shape that was difficult to describe.

Not big, not small.

It bulged out in my trouser pocket.

You have to take this thing with you even if you escape from a shipwreck, so I think it must be very valuable.

While several crew members were playing with the rare statue, Klein heard a slightly unsettling statement from the crew member responsible for disposing of the body.

The limp corpse seemed to strike a diving pose in the air, falling smoothly into the sea. Most importantly, it seemed to glance upward from beneath the surface of the sea, revealing an indescribably strange smile.

Then he waved his limbs as if diving, disappeared in the waves at the stern, and swam deeper.

After hearing this, Klein harshly reprimanded the crew members.

The dead open their eyes?

Swim to the bottom of the sea?

What kind of Arabian Nights plot!?
They are the empire's most elite navy, how could they have such a ridiculous illusion! ?

However, what happened next only made Klein's unease grow stronger...

Perhaps it was the long time away from land that inevitably caused the crew's mental state to become strained; or perhaps it was the intense work that caused some negativity amidst fatigue...

The sailors who came into contact with the statue were the first to experience difficulty sleeping.

They looked haggard and were afraid to sleep, claiming that there was something strange in their dreams that kept getting closer to them.

After the pastor's comfort, the situation improved.

But later Klein realized that it was completely useless.

Because the priest had also come into contact with the statue, and he was the one who was most "infected"!
Without him knowing the truth, an invisible plague spread and grew among the crew.

As an experienced captain, Crane was keenly aware of the crew's problems.

But he never imagined that the pastor who was responsible for helping people solve their mental problems was actually a dangerous catalyst!

By the time he realized the seriousness of the situation, several people had already gone crazy.

They were all crew members responsible for disposing of the bodies at that time.

Their eyes bulged out, and their teeth opened and closed in disorder, biting their lips and tongues, causing blood to splatter everywhere mixed with saliva.

That illogical sound makes people very irritated.

And after listening to it too much, it feels like a layer of water film is wrapped around your ears, like a mumbling that is constantly repeated in dullness.

After receiving regretful responses from the ship's doctor and pastor, Crane decisively dealt with them.

When the disease cannot be cured, the best decision is to stop the loss in time.

But Klein was wrong.

Things have reached a point of no return.

After that, the Greyhound seemed to have returned to normal.

Knowing that his killing order would severely damage morale and military spirit, Klein realized that the exploration had to be terminated and ordered a return.

The "Greyhound" was renamed the "Homecoming".

Peaceful days.

But the peaceful days that Klein thought of only lasted a few days.

The riot that was brewing in secret suddenly broke out one night.

The crazed crew shouted incoherent slogans and brandished weapons, smashing and destroying the facilities on the Homecoming.

Klein woke up from his sleep and after trying to persuade them in vain, he could only take the ship's doctor and priest who still retained their sanity.

Use iron-blooded means to kill all these crazy crew members!

This is a last resort!

He wants to live, and he wants to go home alive!

The Homecoming is their only support in the vast ocean!
In the end, the exhausted Klein gave up hope.

Because the ship's masts, steering gear and other navigation facilities had been destroyed by the crew's riot.

And with only three people left, there was no way we could sail the boat back...

They can't go back...

But the chaplain did not seem to be as desperate as he and the ship's doctor.

The old friend, who had known each other for many years, whispered a prayer with many words in it that Klein could not understand.

During those days when he could only drift, the pastor fell into a state of dementia, doing nothing but prayer.

The ship's doctor was able to help Klein at first, but later he also joined in this strange behavior.

Klein, whose mind was on the verge of collapse, had no time to care about them.

He tried in vain to repair the damage to the Homecoming.

Then every night as I struggled to fall asleep, I heard the mumbling becoming clearer and clearer.

After an unknown amount of time, Klein became confused and dazed.

He knew he was wrong.
The whole ship.

Do not!
It begins when they sail into these unknown waters.

There's something wrong with the whole sea!
It seems... a little more deep dark green...

It seems... there are fewer common fish and seabirds...

But he realized it too late.

The pastor and the ship's doctor stood upright beside his bed, the dim light making the strange smiles on their faces look extremely weird.

"Did you hear that? They're calling! Let's go meet that person first..."

This long-time friend simply placed the statue next to Klein's pillow before leaving.

Oh, and there’s also the glorious emblem he always carries with him.

This sacred object, rumored to have been blessed by the Pope, somehow failed to help the priest stay awake.

But there is indeed something that Klein relies on to survive until now.

The latter's remaining sanity was no longer enough to control his body to knock down the statue of the culprit.

That night.

He dreamed of the temple, and of the crew members whose bodies were covered with scales and whose skin was gradually changing color, becoming more and more like monsters.

There was also the figure of the pastor, who looked back at him and then disappeared without hesitation in the light and shadow of the mountain-like figure.

……

The details are different from Ling Xiao's understanding, but the core outline is basically the same.

It was nothing more than the Deep Ones' mischief, sacrificing all the crew members who had entered their territorial waters to the evil god.

Those who are qualified to serve as sacrifices are sent to the temple, and those who can be assimilated into aliens will be eroded.

In the end, only Klein, the long-dead soul, was left, barely surviving under the protection of the Glorious Emblem.

As for the truth of the story.

The perfect golden light appearing in the taskbar is naturally proof of this.

This is the end.

Everyone has basically sorted out the dusty past of the Homecoming.

"So...Captain Crane,"

Ling Xiao sighed and looked at the poor yet great captain seriously.

"The Homecoming's final destination is definitely not here. What can we do for you, for the Homecoming?"

Hearing this, Klein finished his story and a relieved smile appeared on his face.

He glanced longingly at the captain's cabin where he had been for who knows how many years, and pleaded softly:

"Please, please, completely destroy this ship..."

"Since the Homecoming has been contaminated, it must never return to port! Bring this terrible disaster back to my, our homeland!"

"My crew members all disappeared at sea. As the captain, I should be no exception. I should have gone to accompany them long ago..."

This tired-looking middle-aged man's face was filled with the excitement and glory of joining the army and responding to the call when he was young!

"Homecoming? No homecoming! Since I died here, I'll be buried here!"

"Where can't the ocean waves bury you?!"

　If you are interested in this story, you can read Cthulhu: Temple. It is very interesting. My imitation of the spirit is less than one ten-thousandth of it.

　　[LV20: Alien Dimension Explorer [Owl]]

　　[Talents: Heart of Gluttony [Nature] (Glow of Embers, Bloodline Refinement, Blazing Sun Explosion, Containing Life in a Vessel, Controlling Spirit, Bloodline of the King, Blazing Domain, Azure Wave Domain, Shadow of the Night, Endless Fury, Carnage of Slaughter, Announcement of Execution, Painful Pleasure, Water Protection, Calm Waves, Rumbling Earthquake, Potion Prodigy, North Star Blade, Shadow of the Fighting Spirit, Harmless), Spatial Perception, Grinding Teeth and Sucking Blood (Excellent)]

　　[Occupation: [Other Dimension Explorer], Hidden ([Monster Hunter], [Dragon Slayer Beowulf])]

　　[Titles: Seven Deadly Sins (Excellent), Fortress Defender, Fearless Vanguard, Regicide (Excellent), Aquatic Killer (Excellent), Water Skilled, Qualified Survivor (Ordinary)]

　　[Status: Legacy, Duchess Emilia's Dream Curse, Tracing the Origin (Deep Dive Royal Family), Sinner, Weird Balance, Comical Tricks, Magic Hands and Feet, Unwavering Will, Fire Affinity, Dangerous Reflection]

　　[Attribute: Free attribute points (0)]

　　【肉体[力量19/敏捷18/体质30]——体力值[670/670]】

　　【魂灵[灵性18/感知18/精神28]——灵力值[640/640]】

　　[Skill: Gale Shadow...]

　　[Equipment: Emilia's Ring of Promise, Book of Deep Sea Sacrifice, Morning Dew, Iron Heart Knife...]

　　
　
(End of this chapter)