Manager, give me a membership card too!

Like an old father nagging his underage daughter to be careful of fire, theft, and scumbags, Captain Smith kept admonishing Sarah about everything she should be careful of after he left. Only when the breeze in the captain's cabin gently blew across his forehead did the seventy-nine-year-old man nod with a look of satisfaction, turn around and go to the control panel, and pick up the book that Sarah had already opened.

"Tell me where you are, little one? Oh, this part?"

A gentle breeze rustled the pages of the book in Smith's hands, drawing his gaze to a particular passage. Looking at the densely packed small print, the old captain smiled and nodded, then sat down on the sofa in a corner of the captain's cabin.

"The wicked do not die easily, for God seems to have other plans for them, intending to use them as instruments of his revenge. There is no such thing as happiness or unhappiness in the world; it is only a comparison of one situation to another. Only those who have clung to a plank in the sea, enduring bitter winds and rain, can truly appreciate the preciousness of happiness. Enjoy life to the fullest, and always remember that before God reveals the future of humanity, human wisdom is contained in two words: waiting and hope..."

In the quiet, cold captain's cabin, Smith's deep, resonant voice slowly rose as he recounted the story of the Count of Monte Cristo to another person in the room. The gentle breeze that had always lingered in the cabin quieted down, gently enveloping the old man seated on the sofa, serene and timeless.

Not far from the old captain, the metal rudder that controlled the ship turned on its own under the control of some will, and the Titanic gracefully drew a near-perfect arc on the sea, turning its bow and heading towards its new destination, Cherbourg.

As the Titanic itself, Sarah knew everything that happened on board, both what could be said and what couldn't. She didn't mind taking a slightly longer route than spending a few more hours with her captain. After all, compared to her family, it was a negligible price to pay, wasn't it?

P.S.: I finally collected Asuka and the Spear of Longinus from Honkai Impact 3rd! So happy! Next up is waiting for 2B from Punishing: Gray Raven. (P.S. time: *Call My Name! Zero* Synopsis: When aliens, who don't even exist in his memory, reach out their claws to his Earth, fear torments his heart. A world on the verge of destruction… How could he possibly catch up with a hero who has already failed? This is a terrifying demon that humanity cannot fight. But… if even the last glimmer of hope is extinguished, then this world is truly beyond saving. "You think so too, don't you, Zero?" He put on the glasses from the Hero series.)

Chapter 461 The Mummy

Chapter 461 The Mummy

The Titanic entered the port, six hours after its departure.

The change in the route not only displeased Captain Smith, but also prompted protests from the passengers.

After all, it would take a considerable amount of time for a large ship like the Titanic to slow down to a stop and then return to full speed. With detours, towing, and docking, a delay of two or three hours would be quite common.

In this era, those who could afford to travel on a luxury cruise ship like the Titanic were all relatively well-off. Even the cheapest third-class cabin was far superior to the second-class cabins on other ships. The price of such privileges was the exorbitant cost of the ticket.

Of the more than 2200 passengers who bought tickets, more than half were wealthy businessmen or celebrities from all walks of life, especially the true gentlemen staying in first class and first class. Their combined strength was extremely powerful.

Most of these people have packed schedules, even their meals are timed perfectly to avoid wasting a second, so how could they not be furious when their routes are suddenly changed and they are delayed for several hours? They themselves need to maintain appearances and cannot show themselves, but their subordinates who travel with them begin to play their role.

Countless burly men, each seven feet tall and with a seven-foot waist, surrounded the White Star Line's special envoy stationed on the Titanic, their voices booming as they questioned the short man: Why hasn't the ship set sail yet? Why are we taking a detour? Don't they know their boss makes hundreds of thousands per minute? Can White Star Line afford to compensate for these few hours of delay?

The short, thin special envoy nervously wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, stammering and unable to speak. He could only turn his pleading gaze to Captain Smith, who was watching him make a fool of himself from a distance, smoking a pipe.

As the Titanic's captain, Smith actually had good relationships with those living in first class who frequently traveled across the ocean. With just a word from him, these people would disperse, giving him face and leaving the docking arrangements alone. But the crucial question is, why was he helping the White Star Line?

He'll retire after this trip; the White Star Line has no say in his affairs. As for the Titanic? The donation agreement for the ship after its decommissioning was signed a few minutes ago. Smith gathered all the first-class and above passengers to witness it, and after signing, he immediately sold the special envoy to those gentlemen who were furious about the ship's closure, while he went to the side to smoke.

He took a deep drag on his pipe, then slowly exhaled a perfectly formed smoke ring. Watching the translucent smoke change shape in the breeze, the old captain squinted his eyes contentedly.

The weather is really nice today; it's a great day for fishing.

Luo Xia, who had just finished dinner and was enjoying the breeze on the deck with his two young children, shared the same thought.

With a cloudless sky, a bright moon hanging high in the heavens, and a gentle breeze caressing my face, it's a perfect day for night fishing.

Unlike the old captain who still needed to monitor the situation to prevent it from developing in an extreme direction, Luo Xia, who was free from all worries, did whatever he wanted. He directly asked his good daughter to run an errand to the cabin to get the fishing gear that they had 'prepared' in advance.

The purple-haired girl nodded seriously after receiving the order, took Abigail's hand, and the two of them ran towards the cabin on their four little white legs. A moment later, they returned, each wearing a proper fisherman's hat, carrying a small stool and a fish basket, happily running towards Rorschach. Behind them, Nyaruko, also wearing a fisherman's hat, smiled and gracefully carried her fishing gear bag onto the deck.

"Honey, can I join you?"

The silver-haired little devil swayed her ahoge (cowlick) and looked pitiful, as if she would burst into tears if Luo Xia refused her. While the shopkeeper was already immune to her malicious attempts at cuteness, he didn't mind having fun with his friends.

As long as he doesn't launch night raids, drug him, or deliberately walk around naked in front of him after showering, Luo Xia actually quite likes this silver-haired little devil. Having such an energetic character around makes the atmosphere unconsciously more pleasant.

Setting up small stools and picking up fish baskets, Rorschach and his group sat on the edge of the Titanic's deck and cast their fishing rods.

Although the Titanic's hull height was nearly 19 meters, requiring a long fishing line, none of the fishing group members, including Little Abby, were ordinary people. Even in the dead of night, thanks to the Titanic's daylight-like lights, they were still able to easily catch the floating bait on the sea surface. Each of them had a serious expression and began fishing with great seriousness.

If Rorschach in the crowd was simply having fun and cultivating his mind after dinner, and Nyaruko was looking for an opportunity to get close to Rorschach, then Matou Sakura and Abigail were the only two remaining contestants who genuinely wanted to catch a fish.

Especially for little Abigail, who grew up in a family with a strong religious atmosphere, aside from occasional outings and reading religious books, her only form of entertainment was 'prayer'. It wasn't until her parents had an accident and she traveled a long distance to live with her uncle Paris that she was able to have a relatively normal childhood and the entertainment she deserved.

This is why little Abby cherishes her friendships with her friends and is eager to try games she's never played before, including the traditional recreational activity of fishing. The little girl had never fished before, and she was watching Rorschach explain the precautions with great excitement, her eyes full of seriousness.

After a brief, introductory lesson on how to fish, and following sea fishing safety guidelines by donning bright yellow life jackets (to prevent falling into the sea), the fishing team officially began their work.

Soon, the fishing team caught their first catch, but it wasn't a fish; instead, it was a lively, menacing squid. Rorschach hauled it up from the sea, and then two excited girls carefully removed it from the hook and placed it in a fish basket that had been half-filled with seawater.

With their first catch after the fishing boat opened, the atmosphere in the fishing group became lively. The shouts of Nyaruko and the other girls when Luo Xia cast his line earlier also attracted the attention of some people. Since the ship was docked in the harbor and there was nothing to do, they simply stood behind a few people and watched with great interest.

Then, these people witnessed a scene that defied all logic.

The next few minutes were practically a showcase for the fishing team. As the first real fish was caught by Loli Sakura, all sorts of seafood kept taking the bait, seemingly fearless as they rushed towards Luo Xia and the others' hooks, only to be caught by several people in turn and placed into the almost overflowing fish basket.

This seemingly freebie-like scene clearly aroused the other passengers on the Titanic, especially those who were "addicted" to fishing. This scene was like a pervert seeing a naked beauty, which was simply unbearable. They almost ran back to their cabins, took out the fishing gear they always carried with them, and lined up in a row, sitting or standing, on the edge of the Titanic's deck.

However, unlike Luo Xia's group, who were catching fish almost as soon as they cast their lines, the other anglers, except for those near Luo Xia's group who had a bountiful catch, hadn't caught a single fish for most of the day, leaving them completely baffled. Several clearly novice anglers nearby (lacking proper equipment and unprofessional techniques) were catching fish non-stop, so why were they, the professionals, unable to catch anything?

The secret to all this lies in the seabed near the Titanic. Beneath that azure ocean, a dozen graceful mermaids are swimming about, using the unique skills of their race (deep divers) to herd all the fish within a few kilometers of the giant ship, drawing them to the area where Rorschach and his companions' fishing hooks are located, creating a dense, layered mass of fish in the vicinity.

Especially for Abigail's fishing hook, which belongs to a fishing novice, there was a young mermaid girl squatting in that sea area. As soon as Abigail cast her line, she reached out and grabbed an unlucky fish from the nearby school of fish, and forcibly hooked it onto Abigail's hook despite the fish's struggles. After hooking it, she even pulled the fishing line a couple of times to remind the girl that the fish was on the hook and it was time to lift the rod.

Completely unaware of normal fishing procedures and how fish are hooked, Abigail thought she had successfully caught a lot of fish on her first fishing trip. Her fair and cute little face beamed with joy.

Fishing is so much fun! I definitely want to bring Barbara and the others next time!

After filling his fourth fish basket with his own skill, Luo Xia put down his fishing rod with satisfaction, stood up and stretched, looking at the pile of his spoils beside him with a satisfied smile on his face.

Hmm, it's rare to be happy like this. Tomorrow at noon, I'll personally show off my skills and prepare a whole fish feast for Nyaruko and the others.

In high spirits, Rorschach picked through his catch, selecting a few that tasted good, had tender flesh, and few bones. He handed them over to the Titanic's crew to store for the night, offering several other baskets of fish as payment. Rorschach walked over to Abigail, who was excitedly catching what looked like her umpteenth fish of the night. He lowered his head, about to say something, when a dark and rotten aura suddenly approached from afar, like a howling, wailing wave that swept across the entire Titanic.

The overwhelming negative energy was like a sharp sword brimming with cold air, causing almost everyone on the Titanic to shiver at the same time, their faces turning pale involuntarily, as if they had been frightened. The noise on the ship instantly fell silent.

Outside the cabin, the fish that had gathered around the ship under the allure of the mermaid girls were startled. Ignoring their calls, they fled frantically away from the coastline, as if some terrifying predator was approaching.

"Sigh~ Where are the fish?"

Abigail, who had put down her fishing rod on the deck again, waited for a long time but no fish took the bait. The little girl, who had never seen this before, tilted her head cutely and turned to ask Rorschach next to her. But she suddenly realized that everyone, including Rorschach, was looking at the other side of the Titanic, the side of the ship near Cherbourg Harbor.

Something extremely evil, filled with hatred and curses, is approaching the Titanic.

Unlike ordinary people who were merely instinctively uneasy about the danger, Rorschach, being a superhuman, could clearly 'see' a dark, muddy mass of energy slowly making its way towards Cherbourg, where the Titanic was docked. In five minutes at most, it would reach the pier where the giant ship was located.

Glancing around at the crowd, who had recovered from their initial fear and were now back to their previous boisterous state, Luo Xia stood beside the silver-haired little evil god and asked in a low voice:

"That thing again?"

Upon hearing this, Nyarlathotep slowly shook her head: "It's not an ancient god, nor is it one of us outsiders. I smell fine sand and dryness. It must be someone from ancient Egypt."

"Ancient Egypt? I've already seen the Black Pharaoh. Could it be the Faceless God? The Black Bull? Nyarlathotep? Or one of your other incarnations?"

"Honey, really, I'm not causing trouble this time. I'm really enjoying our romantic ocean trip, how could I possibly sabotage it!" Hearing the options Luo Xia gave her, the silver-haired evil goddess glared at the man beside her, looking quite angry.

Realizing he had misunderstood, Luo Xia readily apologized and comforted Nyaruko, who was clinging to him while he was in the wrong. Soon, the evil goddess, who had gotten the better of him, stopped crying and started laughing again, returning to her usual cheerful self.

At that moment, the vessel of that evil negative energy appeared before Rorschach.

It was a tightly packed convoy, four black Ford sedans, each filled with people, escorting a white truck on either side. The truck carried a rectangular object covered by a white sheet. The terrifying negative energy emanated from that rectangular object wrapped in the white sheet.

Besides Rorschach and his group, there was another person on the Titanic who sensed the approaching evil presence: Captain Smith, who had been smiling and leaning against the ship's railing.

Feeling the slightly tense breeze around him, Smith stubbed out his still-smoking pipe, stared solemnly at the cars that had slowly pulled up beside the Titanic, and gripped the railing of the ship's side tightly with both hands.

Having witnessed the 'mystery' firsthand and even having a mysterious person living right next to him, Captain Smith was no ignorant outsider. He knew perfectly well the power of those strange things. Almost immediately, he ordered the Titanic's drawbridge to be raised to prevent the thing from boarding his ship. Then, he rushed to the White Star Line envoy, who was surrounded by a group of burly men, and with his strong, albeit somewhat aged, arms, he grabbed the short man and practically dragged him into a cabin before slamming him heavily against the wall.

"Tell me! What exactly is that thing down there? Those bastards in the company went to such lengths; it couldn't just be transporting an ordinary item. What exactly is on that vehicle?"

The special envoy cowered beneath the old captain's towering frame like a trembling quail, his face contorted with grief, unable to utter a single coherent word.

"The ship, Captain, you know, this, this is a company secret!"

Faced with the special envoy's stubborn resistance, Smith, who had served in the military in his early years and had earned the honor of being a (prospective) naval commander, drew his command sword from his waist and pressed the gleaming blade against the special envoy's throat, his eyes blazing with deep anger.

As a seasoned sailor who had spent almost his entire life at sea, Smith would never allow anyone to harm his ship, especially the Titanic, which held special significance for him. His 'Sarah' was the ship itself, and Smith would not allow anything that might endanger the Titanic to be uploaded.

At this moment, Smith was not only a captain, but also a father in a fit of rage.

Faced with Smith's incessant roaring like an old lion, the special envoy, keenly aware that continuing to conceal the truth might actually lead to his death, finally gave up resistance and shouted in a voice trembling with tears:

"It's a mummy! The mummy of Egyptian Princess Ammanette!"

Chapter 462

Chapter 462 Setting Sail

“Mr. Smith, you shed blood and were wounded for this country when you were young. You are a true hero and should understand the nature of our work. This ‘cargo’ is ordered by our superiors to be transported to America and must leave today. There is no time to prepare a ship on your own. The last ship to America today is the Titanic. Please, Mr. Smith, fulfill your duty as a British citizen and cooperate with our operation.”

On the docks of Cherbourg, a group of men in black suits stood silently in front of a row of black Ford cars, looking up at the white-haired old man standing on the drawbridge.

Smith remained silent, his slightly cloudy eyes fixed on the men in black on the dock, his aged, withered hands incessantly rubbing the sword at his waist. It was an honor he had earned in his youth, a testament to everything he had given for his country, for his people, and for his ideals.

A worried breeze enveloped the old man, gently fluttering the hem of his pristine white captain's uniform, much like Smith's own chaotic, conflicted, and hesitant state of mind.

Several minutes passed before the old captain slowly withdrew his hand from the hilt of the knife, and his back, which had been slightly hunched due to his anxiety, gradually straightened.

"As a seasoned captain who has sailed the high seas for many years, I have heard countless stories, some bizarre, some mysterious. Among them is the tale of the legendary mummy princess 'Amanette.' Legend has it that she was a beautiful, intelligent, cunning, and wicked woman who, in order to seize the supreme power of her father, the Pharaoh, sacrificed herself to an evil god, hoping to gain unparalleled authority. Unfortunately, her conspiracy was exposed in the end, and she herself was mummified while still alive."

Smith calmly recounted the story of the Egyptian princess Ammanette as he knew it, pausing slightly at this point before continuing:

"More than a decade ago, an archaeological team from the British Empire found the tomb of Ammanet in Egypt, excavated her coffin from the ground, and used her story as a gimmick to attract tourists from all over the world, making a considerable fortune."

After some time, whether this behavior angered Amanette's spirit or she was inherently cursed, everyone who possessed Amanette's mummy died mysteriously and gruesomely, without exception. Even the vehicles that had transported Amanette's mummy were tainted by misfortune, their passengers and the mummy destroyed in various accidents. Only Princess Amanette's mummy always survived, causing everyone to keep their distance from her. Did you know this?

The old captain's tone became serious and even angry as he finished speaking. Princess Amanet's mummy had killed countless people. The fact that she wanted him to bring such a thing onto the ship was tantamount to putting the Titanic, along with its two thousand crew members and passengers, in danger. What difference was there between that and murder?

Faced with Smith's stern questioning, the men in black remained expressionless, replying stiffly and calmly, "That's precisely why we chose you, the Titanic. After all, it's an 'unsinkable ship,' isn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Smith gripped the handrail of the escalator beside him tightly, so hard that veins bulged on the back of his hand, and his whole body began to tremble slightly with anger.

Smith's emotions were not unexpected for the men in black. Long before anything began, these people working in the shadows had thoroughly investigated Smith's entire file, his past history and life experiences, and had a complete understanding of his character. The men in black knew that Smith, who valued military honor, would ultimately force them onto the ship, no matter how angry or resentful he was. The outcome was already predetermined from the start.

Sure enough, after a brief silence, the old man, who had dedicated the first half of his life to Britain, spoke in a trembling voice:

"You can board the ship, but only if you evacuate all passengers and crew and have your own people take over the controls. I am the captain, and my professional ethics do not allow me to put the passengers in danger. I will not allow you to board unless you agree to this request."

Captain Smith's bottom line was to get all the innocent people out of the plane. He himself was willing to give his life for his country, but the crew and passengers were innocent and shouldn't die for some trivial reason.

The old captain had assumed his request was perfectly reasonable and that the men in black would agree. However, to his surprise, the figure standing at the very front of the crowd, seemingly their leader, rejected him without a second thought.

"Impossible! The passengers on board must not be evacuated."

"why?"

Smith was somewhat confused as to why these men in black wouldn't let him evacuate the passengers. He had previously taken on secret government missions and knew that those people adhered to a policy of secrecy; the fewer people who knew about the mission, the better. There were over two thousand passengers on the Titanic, and if something happened, it would be impossible to hide it.

This doesn't make sense!

“Because…” Seeing the undisguised suspicion on Captain Smith’s face, the leader of the men in black seemed to want to say something. But before he could speak, another voice rang out behind Smith, its tone full of mockery.

"Of course they won't evacuate the passengers, because their purpose is precisely the passengers. A sacrifice of more than two thousand souls is enough for that so-called Princess Amanette to eat for a long time."

"Who?!" "Who is it?!"

Upon hearing the voice from a third party, the men in black alertly drew their pistols and scanned the area, searching for the speaker. Smith, standing on the half-lowered drawbridge of the Titanic, immediately spotted the person who had spoken.

It was a young man in his early twenties, tall, handsome, and with a gentle demeanor. He was standing on the truck transporting the mummy princess Ammanette, examining the sarcophagus with great interest. However, because he was standing on the truck, the tall cab blocked the view of the man in black on the ground, preventing him from being spotted immediately.

However, the men in black quickly expanded their search area. One of them spotted a young man examining a sarcophagus by lifting a white sheet. Almost instinctively, the man in black raised his pistol to fire. But before his finger could pull the trigger, his heart suddenly skipped a beat, and then, as if struck by an invisible arrow, slowly stopped beating.

The sounds of flesh hitting the ground rose and fell in waves. More than a dozen men in black fell to the ground one after another like dominoes being toppled. Their blank faces were lifeless, displaying a terrifying deathly gray.

Having dealt with those annoying flies, the young man turned his gaze back to the stone coffin containing Princess Anmanette, slowly lowered himself, and said softly in a gentle tone, "If you dare to come out, I will kill you again."

After speaking, he bent his knuckles and gently tapped the stone coffin, which was covered with strange runes, as if to greet it, or perhaps simply to test the material of the coffin.

After doing all this, the young man straightened up, looked up at the shocked Captain Smith on the suspension bridge, smiled slightly, and then disappeared in a burst of light particles, leaving only a faint male voice echoing in Smith's ears.

"Don't worry, Captain, I have no ill intentions toward you or your 'ship.' Those people are a group of cultists whose souls have been corrupted by Amanette, and they deserve to die. I have already notified your British agency that is in charge of handling this matter. They will arrive in five minutes at most and 'clean up' everything here. The rest is none of your business or the Titanic's business. Now, let's set sail. We have been wasting too much time here."

After the mysterious man finished speaking, his voice slowly faded away, leaving Captain Smith alone, looking around in surprise and uncertainty, even the breeze around him began to stir.

After a moment, the captain, having calmed down, did not choose to follow the voice's instructions to sail away. Instead, he remained standing on the half-lowered drawbridge, waiting for the "organization responsible for handling this matter" mentioned by the other party to arrive.

The old captain didn't have to wait long. Seven or eight Ford cars, similar in appearance to the previous men in black, arrived from the horizon. Dozens of new men in black, dressed exactly like the dead men in black, stepped out and silently and efficiently dealt with everything at the scene.

They dragged away the bodies, drove off, and splashed a clear liquid on the ground where the dozen or so dead men in black had previously lay and on everything they had touched. After sealing off the entire dock with bright yellow police tape, they drove away without looking back, leaving only one man in black standing below the Titanic's railing, looking up at Smith standing on the suspension bridge, as if waiting for him.

The old captain gripped the railing of the drawbridge, silently watching the convoy carrying the sarcophagus of Ammanette leave. Only after the last vehicle in the convoy disappeared around the corner did he lower his head and look at the only remaining man in black on the dock.

Smith raised his arm and waved behind him. The crew members who received the signal pressed the switch to control the drawbridge, which was originally used to transport passengers, and placed it on the dock.

The old captain walked over to the man in black, and the two stood on the dock talking for a long time. Finally, they saluted each other and turned away in silence. Smith boarded the drawbridge and returned to the Titanic, while the man in black got back into his black car and drove away from the dock.

Inside the ship's hold, countless shirtless workers shoveled shovelfuls of dark coal into the Titanic's seemingly insatiable furnace. The blazing flames licked the boilers, and the immense power of the steam drove the bearings and gears, slowly accelerating this 46,000-ton behemoth away from the dock and toward its destination across the ocean.

Standing alone in the captain's cabin, the white-haired old captain Smith gazed at the Cherbourg harbor that was about to disappear below the horizon, recalling his conversation with the man in black.

The other party claimed to be a "special incident" handling unit belonging to the British Royal Family, called the "Royal Order of the Anglican Knights," specializing in handling incidents such as the "mummy princess Amanette." The reason for this incident was that the branch of the Knights responsible for taking Amanette in had been corrupted by this ancient mummy princess and wanted to take advantage of the recent series of incidents and the chaos in Britain to escape England and head to the United States across the ocean.

If Amanette had succeeded, it would have been a far-reaching diplomatic event, potentially even triggering hostility between the two nations. Fortunately, the mummy princess's plot failed. Instead, Smith was rewarded for successfully stalling for time, and the man in black promised to grant the old captain a reasonable request once the domestic turmoil subsided and the country was at a more relaxed stage.