There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

I quickly called out, "Tingting, uh, wait! You mean we're on a spirit ship sailing out to sea, surfing over graves..."

Hey bro, have you ever considered becoming Luo Yonghao's spokesperson?

Stuart, however, dismissed it, saying, "This is just a story about the origin of ghost wood, and it might just be a misconception about sea burial. According to later research, ancient maritime cultures all had the tradition of sea burial, and this kind of wood with a high oil content was the best material. I have personally witnessed South Island locals using thin fir wood sheets to bind boat-shaped coffins, coating the outside with a flammable mixture of wax and sulfur. After prayers, they lit the fir wood sheets and sent the deceased into the dark sea in a raging fire."

I tossed the wooden paddle aside, dipped my hand into the water, and felt the current. I noticed that the resistance from the water flow around me was gradually decreasing.

"Although your statement is very materialistic, what we've been doing is chasing after death in search of a way to survive. If I'm not mistaken, we've already arrived at the eye of the storm..."

Although the wind and rain gradually subsided here, thick walls of cumulonimbus clouds formed on both sides of the world illuminated by lightning, dark and oppressive like a dark prison. We forced our way through the vortex and strong wind zone of the tropical storm and finally arrived at a temporary paradise...

"The eye of the storm?! What are we doing here?!"

Gray, his face dark, threw down the oar and slowly calmed his breathing. When the rain poured down on him, a cloud of hot water would suddenly rise up, evaporating completely before it could even slide away.

"Of course, it's to chase after a lunatic who fell ill even earlier than us... I really don't know what's wrong with Kai's brain..."

It was thanks to Gray's performance that the fir raft was upgraded to the level of a nuclear-powered kayak, allowing them to reach this place with great difficulty...

The dark cloud wall blocked out too much light, making our search in the fog extremely difficult and blind. Stuart also realized that our goal was likely the same as his own search for his fiancée, so he worked extra hard to help us find our way.

"Stuart, your movements are far too practiced... Did you work at sea before?"

Stuart said regretfully, "I initially studied navigation in college, but unfortunately I got seasick too badly and failed my internship in the first semester, so I had to transfer to the maritime history major in the adjacent liberal arts college..."

He looked at the wooden oar in his hand with a self-deprecating smile, "I never imagined that my first 'personal voyage' would be on a raft..."

...I almost forgot that this guy suffers from severe seasickness. To make a living at sea is like having one foot already in the grave—and the other half is equivalent to staying in a cannibal tribe.

"And then what happened?" I asked curiously.

Stuart touched the bridge of his nose.

"Later, the academy organized a scientific expedition to Antarctica, but I was eliminated again and had to drop out to go back and inherit the family business. However, every cloud has a silver lining. The expedition I couldn't participate in went wrong, and half of the participants died. If I had gone, I probably would have been in grave danger too..."

Hearing about this somewhat familiar accident and the style of the operation, my heart skipped a beat.

"Um... if I may ask, what is the full name of your school...?"

Stuart smiled with a hint of pride. "It's nothing special, just Miskatonic University."

Chapter 602 The Strange Tales of Mineral Town Harbor (Part 5)

In the thick fog and rain, Stuart and I used all our knowledge to determine our location in the eye of the storm, making sure the fir raft was heading in one direction so as not to get lost on the vast sea, and also hoping to find the Pegasus yacht that Kay was piloting.

But upon seeing this guy in front of me...

If it weren't too late to get him off the ship now, I would definitely use my size 43 shoes to kindly see him off!

Can anyone tell me why every passenger I randomly pick is a student from that awful school?!

Fortunately, this guy was just a dropout, and his poisonous prediction skills weren't deep enough. Otherwise, I believe what I just saw wouldn't have been a strange stone pillar, but the real entity of an indescribable being!

Gray hadn't experienced the events of the parallel world, so he wasn't particularly sensitive to the name, only muttering, "That seems to be the school where Professor Basil works."

I added, "It's the same place Mary studied, and it could very well be Mr. Rhodes's... Oh well, since we're here, let's make the best of it. Stuart, since you have relevant knowledge, why don't you analyze the situation here as well?"

The tall, thin man, who had survived the raging storm, was now enveloped by the biting cold rain. His body temperature was slowly dissipating, and he huddled up listlessly, saying with a wry smile.

"I'm completely baffled by this situation... This kind of inexplicable matter... it doesn't seem like it should be included in the exam syllabus for either navigation or maritime history majors..."

"Then tell me about the ghost wood."

People's constitutions are not all the same. He doesn't have my extraordinary adaptability, nor does he have Gray's magical method of dispelling cold. Seeing his condition, he currently needs to distract himself to avoid fainting, so I brought up a topic he was familiar with.

Stuart's face turned slightly pale, and he spoke in a trembling voice.

“Alright, then I’ll talk about Ghost Wood… Fir trees that have been tempered by time underground have eventually evolved into this rare wood. But strangely, this phenomenon has never been found in the settlement ruins of the Federation continent, only on islands outside the southern island chain.”

"Undeniably, the family collection inspired me to devote excessive energy to the study of ghost wood. I even considered making it my graduation thesis... Okay, I digress. I took a train to the South Island during a holiday to conduct research and found that the locals had an unusual reverence for ghost wood. Besides believing that it could bring peace to the souls of the dead, they also generally believed that those who possessed ghost wood would have the power to control the dead..."

"For example, according to the local Joaquin legend, the pirate emperor Harald did not die, but instead sailed in a large ship built of ghost wood, preparing a fleet of shipwrecked ghosts in the depths of the ocean, ready to return when the apocalyptic waves roar, to continue the unfinished conquests he had begun..."

I imagined the scene and couldn't help but complain, "Legend has it that after more than a thousand years, he still hasn't assembled a fleet... Does this emperor never intend to pay his employees?"

I'm familiar with this tactic.

Low emotional intelligence: Our company doesn't pay salaries, it operates on love.

High emotional intelligence: Flexible salary and benefits offer considerable potential!

Stuart chuckled awkwardly. "Legends are bound to be embellished... According to research by professors in the Department of Oceanography and the Department of History at the University of Michigan, they unanimously agree that these legends from the South Island originated from the cultural influence of a mysterious empire in Oceania. Unfortunately, these relics were severely damaged during the periods of the Primitive Empire and the Holy Spirit Church, and no further information can be found in historical records..."

Hmm... The results of the University of Michigan's research in this field seem to coincide with the speculation in the Voynich Historical Manuscript in Father Carter's possession.

Besides the manuscript records, I happen to have a pair of "Gan Jiang and Mo Xie" in my possession, which are very likely sacrificial artifacts left behind by the mysterious empire of Oceania...

"Is there anything else you can share about your research on this mysterious empire?" I asked.

Stuart's eyes were filled with regret.

"Actually, I don't know much about this part either. Back then, in pursuit of clues from the rescue excavation, the University of Michigan launched a massive scientific expedition along the ocean route all the way to Antarctica, and at one point discovered many precious artifacts. Unfortunately, part of this crucial research was lost due to the deaths of the expedition team, and another part was lost with the sinking of the research vessel Poseidon, and will never see the light of day again..."

...You might as well just name it Titanic, play "My Heart Will Go On" on repeat, and study the iceberg's structure up close. That would be much more direct.

As for what happened to this research team in Antarctica, I don't want to know and I dare not know, but I always feel that there must be something wrong with this mysterious empire in Oceania.

Putting everything else aside, Stuart's story about the ghost wood always reminds me of the Orichalcum wall in the Mads Mountain hot spring mine—and combined with the dual swords found in the lagoon halfway up the mountain, the connection between them is definitely not simple...

Stuart, perhaps seeing me, became very interested in this mysterious civilization and spoke up.

"Although this research has been interrupted, if you have any ideas, Sheriff, you can inquire with the people in the Navigators' Alliance. Our professor once told us that this organization might be the one that knows the truth best on this planet, and that its origins are intricately linked to a mysterious empire in Oceania..."

"By the way, the reason why ghost wood is so rare is that mysterious inscriptions and patterns are often found on the wood, which are believed to be the lost script of a mysterious empire. If we can decipher the codes on it, we might be able to find the legendary ruins and treasures..."

Stuart carefully stroked the ghostwood beneath him, then suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "For example, this spot... I can feel the carvings! It seems there are Nagardian characters on it too!"

Nagar script?

"Oh, the discoverer of this script was Professor Nagar, a historian, so it was named after him."

Gray chuckled and said, "Heh heh, then according to that logic, this script might have to be called Kai script... Didn't you notice that it says 'I have sailed into the sea' in the Common Language of the Federation?"

Stuart's ecstatic expression froze on his face. He awkwardly smoothed his hair. "Ah... so you decided to go to sea after seeing the words..."

I said ambiguously, "It's half and half the reason... I just feel that we can't stay on the coast any longer, and escaping to the sea with Kay is probably the safest option."

Gray added, "Hmm... Grandpa probably knows something too. I once saw him dig something with strange symbols on it from a mine and give it to an acquaintance in the Brotherhood of Navigation..."

"Theft of cultural relics! Arrest! He must be arrested! Sebala actually did such a thing! Prepare to spend the rest of his life in jail!"

I clenched my fists, determined to uphold justice to the end, but suddenly I felt the raft hit something with a "bang." The sudden stop caused us to lurch violently, almost plunging us into the water.

"What's going on?! How can a ship run aground at this draft?! Is this even possible?!"

It took me a long time to balance myself on the raft before I could calm my old companion, which was almost deformed and falling apart.

"Boss, look!"

Gray's voice echoed softly, slowly reverberating in this dark world where the boundaries were indistinct due to the mist, giving me the illusion of being deep in an empty valley.

The culprit causing the sound waves to reverberate is the lone ship in front of us. At this moment, the dark-colored ship is moored alone on the water, swaying involuntarily with the waves.

However, the entire ship was pitch black, without a single glimmer of light. The four vertical structures were eerily silent; the decks, portholes, superstructure, and bridges were all eerily quiet, like an empty shell of a giant sea monster that had been dead for a long time in an unknown corner—because when we turned to the port side of the dark-colored yacht, we discovered a huge and gruesome wound on the hull!

The horrifying yet undistorted wound, like a gash on the belly of a steel behemoth, silently testifies to its presence, causing even a mere glance to send shivers down one's spine...

Chapter 603 The Strange Tales of Mineral Town Harbor (Part Six)

Judging from its appearance, the 95-foot yacht anchored in the black waters is the Pegasus, which went missing along with Kay.

The construction of a large-scale yacht involves not only preliminary steps such as mold preparation, fiberglass lamination, hull molding, mooring line installation, and assembly, but also practical procedures including marine engineering, electrical engineering, interior decoration, and final inspection. Finally, after multiple launches, hydroelectric tests, sea trials, system debugging, and final inspection reports, a well-made yacht has completed these interconnected production steps and is ready to set sail for the ocean.

According to Zach's slightly envious introduction, the ship is about 30 meters long, 7 meters wide, and has a full load displacement of 139 tons and a draft of 1.89 meters, which is enough for him to withstand the wind and waves at sea.

Not to mention that after multiple modifications by Kay, its maximum speed can reach 65 knots, equivalent to a car speeding on a highway. It can easily leave heavy warships and cargo ships far behind, and even storms cannot match its speed. This is why the Pegasus can fearlessly challenge the most violent storms.

Yet this very ship, a maritime power, sailing confidently against the storm under its captain's guidance, unexpectedly perished in a calm area, lying lifeless on the water's surface, calmly awaiting its inevitable drowning...

"Stay vigilant! Only approach when there is danger!"

The joy of spotting the target yacht could not dispel our suspicions.

The damage is so severe that it might have passed by an iceberg sideways, but how could an iceberg appear in such a tropical ocean? Could it have collided with a reef that is high above the water?

Compared to the raft beneath their feet, the thirty-meter-long yacht lay like an Attack on Titan, its left hull torn apart, its surface uneven, twisted and ominous, exuding a strange feeling of being dragged away due to a lathe malfunction.

Even without the horror of flying blood and flesh, the aura of fear emanating from this silent corpse corrodes our minds like strong acid, piercing our nerves and gradually making us feel lost and helpless.

“Boss, we can still hold on, but Stuart might not be able to hold on much longer,” Gray warned.

Having been soaked in cold water for so long, Stuart's hands and feet were now convulsing uncontrollably, his skin covered with unhealthy, bluish-purple scars. Even though he was biting his lip to avoid making a sound, I could quickly tell from the bloodless color on his lips that something was wrong.

...Well, if this continues, either Stuart or the fish in the sea will surely freeze to death—and all I can say is that the fish has a very good chance of winning this bet.

"Then come with me secretly... Gray, you carry him and follow behind..."

…………

The dimly lit cabin was eerily quiet, like a ghost town. The once luxurious experience brought by the large portholes and spacious interior had now been completely transformed into an empty and gloomy atmosphere. Even the heavy solid wood trim couldn't mask the horrifying sight of the tear in the hull and the section of deck.

Is anyone there?

I called out softly, stepping over the scattered debris on the ground, when my eyes suddenly caught sight of a strange statue that seemed to match something from my memory.

But something around me immediately drew my attention away—there was an unfinished sandwich on the table.

...What's with this ghost ship being a standard feature? Could it be that everyone on board has disappeared, leaving only an empty shell adrift at sea?

"Boss, quickly look around for a blanket and hot water. Stuart on my back seems to have stopped moving."

Gray reminded me, and I quickly shifted my attention, searching the upper deck. I found a nautical blanket in the cabinet in the wheelhouse and wrapped it around Stuart's body.

However, due to a breach on one side that allowed wind and rain to enter, and the lack of a source of fire to keep warm, we had no choice but to hurry to the relatively intact middle deck and conduct further searches in the area used as living quarters.

Fortunately, I found a pot of hot water in the living room, and after some first aid, I finally saved the starving and freezing Stuart from the brink of death.

“There were signs of activity everywhere, and there were signs of a struggle on the sofa... but the cabin seemed empty.”

After searching around, Gray took off his outer cloak, revealing the peculiar prototype of his first-dimensional armor, and began looking for signs of people in the cabin.

The only area that hasn't been searched yet is the lower deck, but the problem is that due to the damage to the hull, the entire lower deck is flooded. The upper half of the ship was lifted out of the water by the only remaining intact sealed compartments, so it's impossible for any living people to survive there.

I sat on the sofa, silently staring at the large hole in the ship, and said in a low voice, "I just checked the bridge. It's uncertain whether the ship's propulsion system is completely destroyed, but the buttons and levers on the control panel have been reset, so it's certain someone deliberately cut off the power... This feeling of something calmly disappearing always has an eerie quality to it..."