Conquest Sea, shining white pearl.
At night, the massive cruise ship was cutting through the waves and moving forward. Deep within the crashing waves, the huge vessel sailed onward, leaving a long wake.
Inside a passenger cabin near the ship's side, Dorothy sat on her sofa, frowning, analyzing the important intelligence she had just overheard.
'Haimo Hois... a giant sea monster rumored to possess Abyssal Serpent bloodline... one of the objects of worship for the Sea Abyss Church... judging by the current intelligence, Captain Costa and a significant portion of the crew on this ship, as well as that jewelry collector Mr. Massimo... they might all be members of the Sea Abyss Church.'
'Heh... do I have some fate with cults? I can encounter a new one just by going out, and it's another one from the Placenta lineage. How many is this now?'
Dorothy couldn't help but inwardly complain like this. From Igwinte's Holy Communion Society, to Tivian's Wolf Blood Society, and now the Sea Abyss Church on the Conquest Sea, Dorothy has encountered three cult societies, big and small, related to the Placenta lineage along the way. She has encountered two of the three main branches of the Fetal Garment Cult; only the Order of Rot hasn't been encountered yet.
'Although I thought about whether I might encounter other societies before going on vacation, that was supposed to happen after reaching the destination. I didn't expect to encounter one while still on the way.'
'Speaking of which... when I first took the train to Tivian back then, I also encountered people from the Eight-Pointed Nest causing trouble, but that time the guy just killed someone and stole something. The extent wasn't as outrageous as this time. These guys now actually want to sacrifice the entire ship!'
Dorothy thought with a slight sense of urgency. Based on the conversation between Costa and Mr. Massimo, combined with what she had read in the book-sea navigation record, it was clear that these Sea Abyss Church cultists wanted to conduct a sacrifice ritual and sacrifice all several thousand passengers on the ship, including herself, to Haimo Hois!
'No wonder the ship quietly started deviating from its original course. It turned out it was heading towards that sea monster's habitat. If what was said in the book-sea navigation record is true, and that sea monster really has the bloodline of an Abyssal Serpent within it, then it has a kinship with a true god and very likely possesses some divinity. This is not something I, a Chalk, can handle right now.'
'Therefore... no matter what, I must stop this ritual before it is completed. If that sea monster is summoned, there will be no escaping at all.'
Sitting on the sofa, Dorothy thought seriously to herself. She was now extremely grateful that she had chosen Summoning Thunder Master as her second simulated profession. If it weren't for the unique ability of the Summoning Thunder Master to sense the planet's magnetic field and determine the course, she wouldn't even be able to detect the ship's deviation now and would just foolishly wait for that group of cultists to steer the ship to the sea monster's lair.
After realizing the danger she and all the members on board were in, Dorothy also began to seriously consider countermeasures. Her primary goal now was to stop this sacrifice ritual, no matter what method she used.
'How about just directly fighting those guys? No... judging by the anti-reconnaissance measures outside the Captain's cabin earlier, that Captain is undoubtedly a Chalk Wave Path Extraordinary, and the jewelry collector's tone when talking to the Captain was very equal, without any respect or humility. His status seems comparable to the Captain's, so it's possible he is also a Chalk existence.'
'Analyzing it this way, this ship effectively has two Chalk Wave Paths, several Black Earths and Apprentices. With it being their home ground at sea, me, a Chalk, at most plus Neff, a Black Earth, it would be very difficult to fight them. The key is, there are no official Extraordinary forces on this ship isolated overseas to rely on, so reporting won't work.'
Dorothy analyzed inwardly. In the past, when fighting powerful enemies, she liked to borrow the strength of official Extraordinary organizations like the An Yin Bureau or even the Church, but in the current environment, she had no way to report. The only other force she could use was Neff, so fighting the Sea Abyss Church this time would be very difficult.
'Directly fighting them is unrealistic. Setting aside the home ground advantage and the strength gap, initiating a Chalk-level Extraordinary battle in a confined environment like this ship is very likely to cause widespread harm to the innocent.'
'Even if I don't care about the innocent, even if I can directly defeat those two guys and their group of subordinates, what if they sink the ship when they are cornered? If this ship is damaged or sinks, those Wave Path cultists will be fine and can swim back using their abilities, but I and the other passengers will be in trouble... Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, I cannot directly engage these cultists in battle.'
'So... I need to seriously think of some other methods.'
After deciding against directly confronting the cultists, Dorothy began to ponder other ways to stop the ritual. She continued to control the small Corpse Puppets scattered throughout the ship, seriously observing the movements on board, especially those of Costa and Mr. Massimo. Dorothy attempted to find more clues to break the situation.
After the secret meeting ended, Mr. Massimo left the Captain's cabin and returned to his own cabin not far away, which was also under water vapor protection, to rest. After observing the layout of their rooms, Dorothy also canceled her original assassination plan.
'These two guys' rooms are too close. If I make a move on one, the other will quickly become alert. There are also Extraordinary seamen guarding each door, and both are Chalk-level """Cup"""s, with abnormally strong vitality. It's almost impossible to assassinate both of them silently and simultaneously without causing any resistance, not to mention whatever life-saving Extraordinary means they might have...'
After observing the situation, Dorothy gave up the idea of directly assassinating Costa and Mr. Massimo. Because if she couldn't silently kill both of them in one blow, it would escalate into a direct confrontation. And trying to assassinate two Chalk """Cup"""s in one blow simultaneously was simply too difficult; even an elephant would be easier to kill than them.
Currently, Dorothy's theoretically lethal methods for killing a Chalk in one hit are all based on connecting spirit threads to the opponent. Either use Corpse Puppets to transmit fatal damage, or control them with spirit threads and then unleash a fully charged heavenly thunderbolt. And these two guys wouldn't obediently get drunk and lie outside waiting for Dorothy to draw puppet marks on them.
Since assassination wouldn't work, Dorothy began to ponder other possibilities, and soon, she focused her attention on the jewel mentioned by Costa and Mr. Massimo—the deep blue heart.
'This deep blue heart... it seems to be the key item for this sacrifice ritual. According to those two guys, the deep blue heart must be installed on the ship's bow to attract Haimo Hois lurking in the abyss. This is also why the deep blue heart's display stand must be installed on the bow... Since this sapphire is the key item for the ritual, if I can just find a way to get my hands on it, won't I be able to stop this ritual?'
Sitting on the sofa in the passenger cabin, Dorothy thought this to herself. Then she began to continue mobilizing the small Corpse Puppets on the ship and started searching for the whereabouts of the deep blue heart, and she quickly got a result.
Using the Corpse Puppets on the ship, Dorothy saw that on the bow of the shining white pearl, the angel statue that originally stood there was now covered with a layer of white cloth. This large white cloth was fixed to the railing and completely enveloped the angel statue, so only a blurry outline could be seen from the outside.
Seeing the angel statue covered with white cloth, Dorothy remembered what Mr. Massimo had said earlier. He said the deep blue heart would be placed in advance, meaning that before this, the deep blue heart might have already been installed, and it was now in the hand of the angel statue.
After realizing this, Dorothy began to have her small Corpse Puppets continue onto the foredeck, quietly approaching the deep blue heart. At this time, she discovered that although it was night, quite a few seamen were gathered on the foredeck, patrolling back and forth. Some of these seamen were also occasionally looking towards the angel statue covered with cloth on the distant bow during their patrol, and it seemed like they were guarding it.
Seeing the scene before her, Dorothy controlled the small Corpse Puppets to stealthily sneak towards the bow. After successfully bypassing the guarding sailors, several of Dorothy's small Corpse Puppets successfully climbed onto the angel statue beneath the white cloth. They continued to climb up the statue, and finally, using the Corpse Puppets' vision, Dorothy successfully saw the blue gem placed in the angel statue's hand.
Beneath the darkness concealed by the white cloth, the angel statue's cupped hands emitted a deep blue light. Upon closer inspection, a large blue gem was quietly placed in the angel's clasped hands, its deep, resplendent glow emanating from within the gem and softly illuminating the surroundings. This captivating radiance was blocked by the covering white cloth, unable to shine outwards.
'What a beautiful gem... and it's self-luminous. This unusual item looks like an Extraordinary item at first glance. Not to mention Extraordinaries, even ordinary people could tell its extraordinariness. No wonder this item couldn't be displayed in the port. Instead, it needs to be exhibited at sea under the guise of a jewelry exhibition.'
Looking at the large blue gem in the angel statue's hand, Dorothy thought to herself. This deep blue heart emitted a deep light of Spirituality, clearly an Extraordinary item, and most likely a "Cup" Extraordinary item.
After discovering that the deep blue heart was in the angel statue's hand, Dorothy immediately began figuring out how to get it down. She had her small Corpse Puppets make repeated attempts on the deep blue heart under the cover of the white cloth, but in the end, they were unable to successfully remove it. Afterwards, Dorothy began a comprehensive inspection of the angel statue and the deep blue heart, and then discovered that ordinary methods were simply not feasible for removing this blue gem.
Under Dorothy's inspection, she discovered that the interface of the angel statue's hands seemed to be specifically crafted for the deep blue heart. After the deep blue heart was placed, a series of complex mechanisms firmly fixed it to the angel statue's hands, almost integrating it with the entire statue. The angel statue was hammered and forged from a single piece of solid steel; except for the wings which were later installed components, everything else was solid and integrated. The base of the angel statue was perfectly connected to the entire bow.
Just as Massimo himself boasted, whether trying to take the deep blue heart from the angel statue or destroying the entire statue, it was a very difficult task.
In Dorothy's estimation, not to mention smashing the gem with a large hammer, even if explosives were used to blow up the entire bow, the gem would likely still be in the hand of the distorted angel statue, deformed by the explosion. Furthermore, the explosives she carried were not enough to blow up the bow.
'A bit troublesome. Given the current situation, even with violent means, taking down the deep blue heart is extremely difficult. What's more, violent means usually come with a big commotion. Even if the deep blue heart is successfully taken, it will definitely attract those two guys, and then a direct confrontation will be unavoidable.'
After inspecting the scene, Dorothy couldn't help but think with some frustration. The current placement of the deep blue heart was very difficult to remove. Even if it could be forcibly removed by extreme violent methods, the two Chalks would immediately come. Even if the deep blue heart was obtained, it would be difficult to keep it. Even if it was thrown into the sea... with the ability of a Chalk Wave Path Extraordinary, retrieving something from the sea is no big deal.
Facing the current situation, Dorothy couldn't help but stroke her chin and begin to think. For her, the primary issue now was how to remove the deep blue heart from the angel statue. According to Massimo himself, only he could smoothly remove the deep blue heart.
And so, regarding the issue of the deep blue heart, Dorothy sat on the sofa and pondered for a long time. Finally, at the last moment, she had an idea.
"It seems I'll have to ask Neff for help this time."
Dorothy murmured to herself, then took out her "wen hai hang zhi", turned to Naifnis's communication page, and wrote a message asking her to come to her room. After notifying the other party that she had received the message, Dorothy sat in the room and waited quietly. A few minutes later, her cabin door suddenly knocked.
Hearing the knock on the door, Dorothy immediately stood up, walked to the cabin door and opened it. Then she saw Naifnis standing in front of her, wearing a set of pajamas with an owl pattern and looking a bit sleepy. The unbuttoned buttons on her chest failed to completely seal the spring scenery.
"Ugh... Miss Dorothy, is there something you need at this hour?"
Yawning, the college student rubbed her eyes and spoke to Dorothy, while Dorothy waved her hand and said to her.
"Come in quickly, close the door, and button up..."
"Mmm...Woo...Oh!"
Hearing Dorothy's words, Naifnis quickly buttoned up the buttons she hadn't noticed, her face slightly red as she wondered if anyone had seen her on the way. She closed the cabin door and walked into Dorothy's cabin, while Dorothy was already seated on the sofa and spoke to Naifnis.
"Sit down quickly... I just discovered some urgent situation on the ship, so I called you over to discuss it."
"Urgent situation... That... Miss Dorothy, this wouldn't be related to a hidden event, would it?"
Following Dorothy's words, Naifnis, sitting on the bed, frowned and said uneasily. In her mind, anything Dorothy called an urgent situation must be related to hidden Extraordinaries.
"Unfortunately... yes... and it's an urgent situation concerning the lives of everyone on board." Dorothy replied, and Naifnis's unease clearly increased after hearing Dorothy's words.
"Concerning the lives of everyone on board... Is it that serious?"
"Of course it is, otherwise I wouldn't have called you over so urgently to discuss it..." Dorothy said, then changed the subject and looked at Naifnis, continuing to speak.
"Senior Neff... If I remember correctly, your ancestors could be considered thieves, right?"
"Ah?"
Facing Dorothy's words, Naifnis couldn't help but freeze in place.
...
Time flew by quickly, and soon, a night had passed.
On the misty sea in the early morning, the shining white pearl continued to sail forward. On the third floor of the cruise ship's superstructure, the door of a special cabin slowly opened, and a gentleman with a small mustache and a sharp suit walked out.
"Today... is a crucial moment..."
After washing up and grooming himself, Massimo, who had slowly walked out of the cabin door, couldn't help but murmur. Just as he was about to go for breakfast, a voice suddenly came from the corridor in the distance.
"Mr. Massimo!"
Hearing this voice, Massimo couldn't help but stop in his tracks, then turned his head to look in the direction the voice came from. Then, he saw a young sailor in uniform running towards him in a hurry. Massimo recognized him; this sailor was one of the Sea Abyss Church members hidden among the crew, and could be considered one of his subordinates.
"What's the matter?"
Seeing the young sailor before him, Massimo spoke sternly, and the other party, after running to Massimo's front, took out an envelope and handed it to him, and spoke solemnly.
"Please take a look at this. Early this morning, this appeared in the restaurant... the casino... the ballroom... the bridge... many places..."
Listening to the sailor's words, Massimo's brows furrowed slightly. Then he took the envelope, and after checking it with the auxiliary Spirituality "Light" ability to confirm there were no issues, he opened it, pulled out the letter paper inside, and unfolded it to read.
On the letter paper was Iweig text typed by a typewriter.
...
Prediction Letter:
When the deepest blue light officially illuminates the sea, I will visit the Holy Mother's angel and take the deep blue heart.
Thief K
...
"Prediction letter... Thief..."
Looking at the letter paper in his hand, various strange expressions appeared in Massimo's eyes.