Chapter 1 The Approaching Island

The island was getting closer, and the thick fog and the silhouettes within it were becoming clearer. Lawrence stood on the forecastle of the White Oak, his hands gripping the railing tightly, his knuckles white with strain.

Everyone was nervous, even the old captain who had spent most of his life drifting on the boundless sea. What would be on that island? What were those shadows in the fog? Why did the island seem to appear consciously around the White Oak? And most importantly... what exactly was this sea area shrouded in bizarre phenomena?

Lawrence took a deep breath, the cold air filling his lungs, forcibly calming his turbulent emotions. He tried not to think about other strange things, such as Martha appearing before him, and the bizarre fact that others besides himself could see Martha. He knew he had to cut off these thoughts, because all of this was clearly related to his deteriorating mental state. If he continued to think about it, Martha might truly become more than just a phantom.

He had no more potions, and even if he did, the potion had clearly lost its effect.

The steam core was running smoothly, and the White Oak gradually approached the small island with its winding coastline. The beautiful white ship sailed across the sea, leaving a long wake behind it. In the rippling and spreading wake, a faint hint of ghostly green flashed by.

However, no one noticed the situation at the stern. Everyone on board was focused on the eerie island.

The island's edge was steep and rocky, with no suitable place to dock. The experienced helmsman did not rashly bring the ship directly alongside, but instead maneuvered the White Oak to begin circling the island.

As the ship sailed about a third of the way around, the lookout on the platform suddenly made a discovery.

"There's a port!" the sailor shouted from the high platform.

A moment later, a small pier appeared in Lawrence's field of vision. The facilities deeper within the pier were shrouded in fog, making it difficult to see clearly, but the part extending into the sea was still visible. That part of the structure was intact, with no signs of damage.

Complete pier facilities meant that the White Oak could be docked as a whole, without having to use small boats to land, which undoubtedly increased the safety of exploring the island. In addition to the convenience of resupply and retreat, the White Oak's own small-caliber escort cannons could also provide cover for exploration activities along the coast.

Lawrence returned to the bridge. Under his command, the White Oak began to cautiously approach the deserted pier. Because there were no shore-based guides to assist, the docking process was extremely slow, but it was eventually completed safely.

Lawrence looked towards the pier, seeing the island was shrouded in mist. Even the nearby pier facilities seemed hazy due to the fog's influence. He wondered if it was his imagination, but he felt that the fog on this island was even denser than he had observed before.

"No one in sight," the first mate came to Lawrence's side, observing the island's situation. "But I can vaguely see some lights... It seems to be coming from the port buildings."

"Any radio response?"

"No. After approaching this island, we can't even receive the Frost signals that we usually get," the first mate shook his head. "No response to light signals either."

Lawrence pondered for a moment. "Go and select twelve shrewd and cautious sailors, arm them with guns, and come with me to explore the island."

"You're going to the island yourself?" the first mate was immediately taken aback. "This island looks very strange, and doing so might be..."

"Risky? The risk of staying on the ship is probably the same," Lawrence shook his head. "It's not the island that's strange, it's this entire sea area. We're trapped in a large anomaly. Danger is everywhere within the anomaly. Exploring the island might at least allow us to find useful information."

The first mate opened his mouth, but he had to admit that the captain's experience and judgment were valid.

"Alright, I'll go prepare."

After a while, the first mate selected twelve sailors from the crew who met the criteria. They were all experienced old seamen, and they were steadfast and devout. Together with the first mate himself, there were thirteen people, ready to go to the island with Lawrence.

The affairs of the White Oak were temporarily handed over to the second mate.

The rope ladder extended to the pier's gangway, and Lawrence led his small exploration force onto the mysterious island shrouded in mist.

The feeling of solid ground somewhat diminished the uneasiness in the explorers' hearts. Lawrence stood on the pier, stomped on the ground, and muttered, "At least this concrete ground is real."

"The lights are in that direction," the first mate said, holding a large-caliber rifle and looking into the distance. "I can still see them from here, but there's still no sign of anyone active."

"Don't scatter, don't touch anything you don't recognize. If you hear voices around you talking to you, don't answer until you've confirmed the source of the voice and the location of your teammates," Lawrence instructed sternly. "If you see anything suspicious in the fog, warn everyone immediately. Do not fire your guns or leave the team to explore on your own."

He paused, and glanced at the team he had brought.

Twelve sailors, one first mate, and himself.

"Finally, remember, there are only fourteen of us. Before returning to the ship, the number of people can be less, but it must never be more."

The sailors immediately responded, "Yes, Captain!"

Lawrence nodded, and led the team towards the thick fog.

They crossed the pier's gangway and came to an open area. This seemed to be a stacking area used for temporary distribution of goods. Some remaining stacking facilities and small lifting mechanisms could still be seen, but apart from these facilities, there was still no sign of any "people."

"This doesn't look like it's been abandoned for a long time," the first mate muttered, observing the surrounding environment. "It's as if it was a bustling pier just a few days ago."

Lawrence didn't say anything. He carefully observed the nearby port facilities. Suddenly, his gaze fell on a plaque.

"Dagger Island Port Supplies."

Dagger Island was the name of this island.

"This is Dagger Island?" the first mate walked over, looked at the words on the plaque, and his eyes showed some surprise. "I've heard of this place... It's a small island near the Frost City-State, which used to produce feijin (boiling gold), but it's said that it was converted into a military facility many years ago... Is this really Dagger Island?"

"Nothing here can be trusted. We even briefly docked at a place that looked very much like 'Frost' before," Lawrence shook his head. "Let's keep moving. The place where the remaining lights are might be the port office. There might be something there that can answer our questions."

The exploration team left the pier stacking area and began to head towards the light that was lit in the fog along a sloping ramp. Everyone was tense, paying attention to the movements in the fog.

A very slight wind blew erratically on the island, causing the grayish-white fog to slowly roll. The strange silhouettes vaguely visible in the distance seemed to move along with it, gently swaying their bodies like some kind of living thing. And in this dark and chaotic fog, the light became more and more obvious, and gradually approached in everyone's vision.

The first mate walking in front of the team suddenly stopped.

"What is this?" the first mate lowered his head, frowning as he observed a pile of strange things by the roadside.

Lawrence held a revolver in one hand and a lantern in the other. After coming to the first mate's side, he saw the pile of things.

It looked like a pile of gray-black sludge - already dried up, with cracked edges, but it could still be seen that it was surging at the last moment.

It was as if a glob of boiling slime that was still bubbling a second ago had been drained of all its moisture in the next instant.

"Sludge?" Lawrence frowned, without rashly touching the strange thing. "Why is there sludge here?"

"I seemed to have seen some similar black sludge at the pier before," at this time, a sailor in the team suddenly said uncertainly. "But at that time, that thing was mixed with a pile of debris, and I thought it was just some garbage..."

Lawrence nodded, and then another sailor suddenly shouted, "There's a pile here too!"

Lawrence looked in the direction of the sound, and saw a pile of black sludge on the ground on the other side of the road.

This island was full of this stuff?

A sense of unease spread in his heart, but no one could answer what the sludge was. Lawrence cautiously gathered the team, preventing everyone from coming into contact with the strange "sludge," and then continued to walk into the depths of the fog.

After a while, they finally came to the end of the ramp, just as Lawrence had predicted - this was where the port office was located.

A small building made of reinforced concrete stood here, and slightly yellowish light spilled out from the windows. There was no sound inside.

The front door of the building was slightly ajar, and a plaque was nailed to the door with the words "Port Integrated Office" written on it.

Lawrence came to the door, listened carefully to the movement inside, and then prepared to push open the door.

But suddenly, his movements stopped.

On the wall beside the gate, a line of marks that seemed to be hastily carved with a dagger caught his eye. It was actually a sentence--

"Humans only have two eyes!"