"Ah! How could you say something like that?!"
Cui Lin stomped her foot in anger, but Roy just grinned. He enjoyed seeing her flustered and helpless—honestly, it was way too entertaining.
As for the two remaining mercenaries, they were tied up and locked in the storage room. They didn't get a say in anything.
In the end, Roy decided to form a five-person team: himself, Joey, Serena, Cui Lin, and Heather. Together, they would board the Antonia Graza to search for engine parts and any valuable jewels.
The others stayed behind on the boat to wait for updates.
Even though Finnegan's story claimed nothing would happen as long as you didn't board the Antonia Graza, they couldn't be sure the story was true. That old captain might've just gotten lucky.
So Roy handed Mason's digital camera over to Penny, letting her monitor the situation from the boat.
After Roy gained the Eye of Truth and the Eye of Judgment, the camera wasn't all that useful anymore. Most of the time, it was just for fun.
Take Madison, for example—she loved performing in front of the camera. Total drama queen, which made sense since she used to be a child star.
Heather also liked using the camera, but more as a director. Her directing instincts were strong, though her acting was honestly a step below Penny's.
Thanks to the grappling hooks the mercenaries brought, the five of them quickly boarded the Antonia Graza.
The condition of the deck was just as expected—covered in parasitic sea creatures and a bunch of dead fish.
But once they entered the ship's interior, everything changed. It looked untouched by seawater. In fact, it looked even cleaner and better kept than their own boat.
Serena looked around in astonishment.
"How is this possible?"
"It's an illusion. Stay close to me!"
With his Eye of Truth activated, Roy could see the ship's real state—bones scattered everywhere, furniture in disarray.
Strangely enough, there were no sea creatures, and it was oddly clean, not at all like something that had been underwater for decades.
Following the hallway, they soon reached the grand ballroom. The moment Roy stepped inside, everything changed.
And suddenly—everyone around him vanished.
They were replaced by elegant strangers in formalwear, dancing and mingling.
Damn it. He'd been pulled into an illusion!
This one was powerful—so strong even the Eye of Truth couldn't see through it.
Turns out the Eye of Truth still had limits, depending on Roy's mental attributes. This ghost ship's illusions had clearly surpassed them.
Roy clenched his fists. He had to find the others—fast.
Cui Lin, upon entering the ballroom, blinked—and the others were gone.
Fear crept in as she carefully scanned her surroundings, whispering:
"Roy? Where are you?"
No one answered. The people around her kept dancing, completely ignoring her existence.
She wanted to leave, but when she turned around, the corridor was gone—replaced by a wall.
"What the hell…?"
Panic rising, she pushed through the crowd looking for Roy—only to trip on something.
"Ow!"
When she got up, she saw a row of display cases—filled with massive jewels. She froze.
If she could bring these back… she'd be a millionaire.
Her greed took hold. She licked her lips, a little voice in her head urging her to smash the cases and take the jewels.
Her eyes glazed over, and she reached for one of the displays—until a sharp cough snapped her out of it.
"Ahem!"
Cui Lin blinked. The "display case" was no display at all—it was a noose. One more step and she'd have hung herself.
This… this was what the spirits wanted. In Christian belief, suicide was a grave sin. Those who took their own lives were doomed to Hell.
And on this ghost ship, suicide meant staying here forever, trapped with the damned.
Shaken, Cui Lin looked around for the person who saved her—but no one was there.
That voice... it sounded like a young girl.
Who had just saved her?
Meanwhile, Serena was overwhelmed by the golden splendor of the ballroom. When she snapped out of it, a stunning blond, blue-eyed man stood before her, reaching out.
"My lady, may I have this dance?"
She instinctively reached out—but then stopped halfway.
Ever since she met Roy, other men just didn't compare.
"Sorry, I already have a dance partner."
As soon as she said that, her vision blurred again. The handsome stranger was gone—replaced by Roy.
"Roy? Is that you?"
"Roy" didn't answer, but he nodded.
Serena's eyes softened. She reached for him.
But just before she touched him, another hand grabbed her arm.
"Serena, what are you doing?"
Startled, she turned and saw Heather.
In front of her, where Roy had been, was now a skeleton holding out a bony hand.
"AHH!"
She stumbled back in horror.
"Thank you, Heather!"
Heather shrugged it off, curious.
"What did you see just now?"
Serena looked embarrassed.
"I thought Roy was asking me to dance…"
"You too? I saw the same thing. But I could tell right away it wasn't the real Roy. He hates dancing."
Serena blinked, a little embarrassed—after all, she'd only known Roy for a few days, not even a full month.
"So… maybe these illusions show us what we desire most?"
"Seems like it. Makes me wonder what Roy's seeing."
The ballroom returned to normal, but Roy and Joey were nowhere in sight. Cui Lin, confused and wary, had reappeared at the center.
"Did either of you hear a young girl's voice just now?"
"A girl? What girl?"
Cui Lin explained what she'd just experienced.
"Wait, you didn't see the same thing?"
Serena gave a thoughtful nod.
"That confirms it—the illusions are tailored to our desires. Heather and I both long for Roy's affection, so we saw him. You, on the other hand, want wealth—so you saw jewels."
Cui Lin pouted.
"I'm not like you rich girls. What's wrong with wanting a little money?"
Heather shrugged.
"We're not judging. Why so defensive?"
Cui Lin, momentarily flustered, realized she might've overreacted.
Damn it, Roy's fault somehow!
(Roy: ???)
Serena then noticed the display cases around Cui Lin.
They were real—but empty. The glass was intact, which meant the jewels had been missing long before the ship sank.
"Weird… if this was just a shipwreck, where'd the jewels go?"
That got Cui Lin thinking.
"Could it be… someone stole the jewels and sank the whole ship to fake a disaster?"
Serena shivered.
"If that's true… that's horrific. There must've been at least two or three thousand people onboard. All of them, killed for money?"
Heather shook her head.
"We've got no proof yet. Right now, we need to find Roy and Joey."
So—what was Roy doing?
Watching a performance, actually.
At the front of the ballroom was a stage, where a jazz band and a beautiful woman in a red dress were performing.
Side note: although Cui Lin had worn a red dress earlier, she'd changed into casual clothes on the speedboat—dresses weren't great for moving around.
Roy was intrigued by the singer. Given everything he'd experienced, it wasn't hard to guess—this was another illusion designed to tempt him.
The ghost ship really did its homework. It knew Roy liked beautiful women.
The woman had an hourglass figure—curvy in all the right places, with the sultry aura of a classic Latin beauty. Absolutely smoking hot.
(Francesca Retondini from the film, by the way—hard to screenshot her scenes because they're… revealing.)
Even Roy, who'd seen plenty of beautiful women, couldn't help clapping for this one.
She winked at him flirtatiously.
The song ended. Applause surrounded him, as if people were congratulating him.
Roy was confused. He hadn't done anything.
Then, the red-dressed woman walked off the stage and hugged him.
"Darling, you were amazing!"
Roy raised an eyebrow.
I didn't even do anything yet.
Suddenly, she vanished from his arms and reappeared by the stairs, beckoning him.
"Come here, darling."
Now, Roy was a very disciplined man.
So of course, he followed her.
No hesitation.
He moved fast, but every time he got close, she'd vanish and reappear further away.
Soon, he'd left the ballroom and entered a luxurious bedroom.
The woman stood with her back to him, hips swaying. Her red dress slowly slipped off.
She had a body that could compete with any of Roy's current companions—maybe even surpass them.
Amy, Sartaña, and the Four Little Ones from the Apocalypse Society didn't quite match up. Although, to be fair, those four were still developing. Amy and Sartaña, though—they were pretty much done unless they underwent Roy's bloodline fusion ritual.
Latina beauties, man… built different.
Roy walked toward her. She turned halfway, covering her chest with one arm, trying to seduce him again—before vanishing.
But this time, Roy wasn't playing games. He unleashed the Cursed Hair, trapping her before she could disappear.
The Cursed Hair, aside from being tough and fast-growing, could also touch spiritual entities—because it came from Sadako, after all.
Bound, the red-dressed beauty froze. Roy caught her, dipped her in a ballroom-style pose, and leaned in.
[Special Character Detected: Francesca. Absorb Fate Energy to receive a reward!]
(Choreography by Tom-sensei)
"What's your name, beautiful?"
The woman blinked, surprised.
"Francesca."
Classic Italian name. Francesca was the feminine form of Francis, and her accent had that Mediterranean flair.
"Oh, you are truly beautiful!"
Francesca tried to struggle, but Roy had already covered the surface of his body with mental energy. Her strength simply wasn't enough to break free from his embrace.
Seeing that Roy was about to kiss her, Francesca quickly put her hand up to block his mouth.
"Sir, I... I don't even know your name yet!"
"That's not important at all. What is important is that God brought us together here today, so we should do something worthy of His blessing."
As he said that, Roy had already started to unbuckle his pants with one hand.
Since the ghost ship dared to use a female ghost as bait for Roy, Roy was more than happy to just take the bait directly.
It's just a female ghost, right? It's not like it was Roy's first time!
"Hold on a minute, sir! Isn't this moving a little too fast?"
"What the hell? You've already stripped completely naked, and now you're playing this game with me?"
Hearing that, Francesca struggled even harder, completely forgetting who exactly had been seducing whom just moments before.
Right at that moment, Roy heard a distinct, clear cough.
"Who's there!"
Being interrupted when things were getting good made Roy a bit annoyed. He turned his head and saw a young girl in a white dress standing at the bedroom doorway. In the blink of an eye, she was gone, vanished without a trace.
Seriously, where did such a rude kid come from?!