Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 561 Snow Mountain (Second Update)

The first mate couldn't stop the crew from going into a frenzy.

According to the flagship's time indicator, a full Hara year has now passed. The captain has never left his cabin, nor has the first mate brought him any food, yet the captain's breath and heartbeat still echo in the ears of every crew member. After being tormented by nightmares and mutations, the captain has given them a way to resist those nightmares, and fear drives them to devote themselves to this only hope of salvation with an incomprehensible fervor.

Only a very small number of crew members mutated, or were driven mad by endless blasphemous torment, and launched a mutiny. Without exception, these were people who rejected that method—the mutinous crew worshipped a scaly creature, a hybrid of snake and octopus, with a filthy name that the creature could not utter. It was a name filled with terror, and many civilizations had given it new meaning in their own legends, calling it the Sacred Serpent, the possessor of endless black magic, the bridge across chaos. After suppressing the mutiny, the first mate investigated the mutinous crew's rooms. The moment he opened the door, everyone vomited. Even aliens of different species would be overwhelmed by the stench and blood, and the inhuman laughter of the mutated crew still echoed in their ears.

The first mate saw the protective runes that had been scraped off the walls of the cabin, as well as a lifelike statue of a demon.

It was a sculpture smeared with rotting flesh and blood, a body filled with dripping entrails, countless limbs from different races twisted into demonic forms, the agonizing faces of the dead becoming demonic portraits. This was a blood sacrifice, a barbaric, primitive ritual, a means of praying for the realization of an illusory faith through pain and souls. This fleet had no shortage of dead; countless lives had been lost in battle, and the wrecked ships were salvaged for use as repair materials. No one would ensure that every corpse, every limb, was burned. The captain's orders were to keep the bodies clean, so the method of disposing of the corpses became a problem; even if someone took them back to eat, it wouldn't be out of the question.

Although the captain ensured logistical and food supplies, for some pirates, intelligent beings of other races were practically food. No one objected to this approach, after all, the reactor's cooling pipes were nearly full during those days, significantly impacting its power output.

The stench of the statues, cast from flesh and blood, deeply shocked everyone who entered the ship's hold. Those who saw them went mad upon returning home, including the completely mechanized race. Only the crew members who worshipped the captain were spared after witnessing the demonic statues. This fueled the surviving crew's fanaticism, and the captain's extraordinary deeds naturally became the object of their veneration.

In a daze, the first mate found himself muttering the captain's name, not the supreme wisdom that had ruled the Kree for thousands of years, nor the great Celestials or the Xorrians.

The devout crew members recited the captain's great deeds and wisdom over and over again. Whether they were cat-people or bio-engineered robots, their worlds had religions, yet they had abandoned their own faith, throwing themselves into a fanatical worship they neither understood nor wanted to understand. They took up arms to fight against evil, mutated enemies, a situation that utterly baffled the first mate, who came from the scientifically-minded world of Hala.

The Kree had long since eradicated religious worship on Hala through scientific advancements. Even if some still believed in the Xorrians who created the Kree, they were a minority, and no one openly embraced their beliefs because the Kree had scientifically analyzed the process by which the Xorrians created the Kree. First Officer Alex had never believed in anything; he knew a phenomenon called "information cocoon" was at play, and those people would absolutely not heed his advice. If he contradicted their views, even as the first officer, he might be attacked.

The first mate suspected the captain knew about it, but he let things run wild, allowing ignorance and fanaticism to spread.

Alex understood the captain's reasons for doing so, because the crew was indeed suppressing mutinies and maintaining social stability within the fleet. This would be normal elsewhere in the galaxy, but this was a pirate fleet, where the only feasible way to exercise power was through horrific violence. Chaos was the norm here, and mutiny was commonplace. However, the few small-scale mutinies now demonstrated that this cult was effective, not only uniting the crew and keeping them safe from nightmares during their journey through the lightless void, but also enabling them to spontaneously organize themselves to examine and eradicate any budding rebellions and evil cults.

This piqued the first mate's curiosity about their beliefs. He had never seriously studied them before.

As Alex read through the tattered pamphlets written by the crew, Laura Crawford was falling off the cliff. She swung her axe in vain, the biting wind seemed to freeze, and her heart pounded in her ears.

I might die!

I'm definitely going to die!

Laura calmed down; she could even feel the frostbite itching.

No adventurer in the world with normal fears would dare to climb the snow-covered cliffs of Siberia in a blizzard like Laura. A strong gust of wind blowing across the ridge would be enough to blow an adult off the cliff, but Laura possessed extraordinary courage and mental fortitude. She knew that the city of Kiterz was hidden among the snow and mountains, and that Trinity had already taken action.

This organization possessed immense power and resources; Laura couldn't fathom how fast they could move. She had to quicken her pace; she had already bid farewell to her guide and planned to travel alone.

"That snow-capped mountain looks a lot like the Paramount Pictures logo." Jonah, wearing a thick down jacket, looked very safe.

“You’re still as funny as ever,” Laura said with a laugh, thankful Jonah’s sense of humor hadn’t frozen out. She had spent two days traveling by plane and car to Siberia, and then another twelve days climbing to this point. There was no path beyond this point; even the locals were unwilling to go any further because it was far too dangerous. “You should stay with the guides; this isn’t a risk you have to take.”

However, Jonah refused to give up. They had already gone through the Dragon Triangle adventure together, and climbing the snow-capped mountain was just a trivial matter compared to their past adventures.

"No way." Jonah's smile was very warm. Laura shook her head; she knew Jonah wouldn't give up.

The climb was far from smooth, a troublesome prospect as expected. Water froze on the cliff face, forming waterfalls that had remained frozen for millennia, clinging firmly to the rock. Compared to the hard permafrost and rocks, these ice surfaces were the quickest path to the summit. However, some of these ice surfaces had become incredibly fragile due to years of geological activity and extreme weather, resembling white death traps.

The inexperienced Laura fell into this trap more than once. The first time, she was lucky enough to land on the snow, but the second time, a sudden avalanche completely blocked her path. She was separated from Jonah, radio communications were disrupted, and she had to continue alone.

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)