Shrouded Seascape

Feeling her father's hand on her head, Sparkle said blandly, "Dad, I went to the bottom of the sea yesterday."

Charles was silent, but Sparkle could hear her father's breathing quicken slightly.

"Since 005 said that the world where you once lived is down below, I got curious and went down to take a look. I was thinking that perhaps I could just teleport you there, but I dared not go too deep in the end.

"Fhtagn's aura ended up standing in my way, just like how 002's aura in the Core had stopped me from exploring any further up above. The deeper I went down, the more panic-stricken I became."

Charles gulped and said, "Don't go down to the surface world by yourself. The journey there is extremely dangerous, and you might end up dying. After all, there has to be a reason why the deep sea gods of the Subterranean Sea had yet to go there."

"I know, I know," Sparkle said with furrowed brows. "I just wanted to help you."

"Thank you, but remember to tell me before you do anything next time," Charles said.

Sparkle raised her right hand and knocked her father's hand off her head. "I'm not a child anymore."

"How are you not a child anymore? You just turned four this year," Charles said, patting Sparkle's head again.

Sparkle pouted, but she didn't retort at all. Moments later, two tentacles stretched out from behind Sparkle, dragging two sofas from afar to behind the two of them.

"Let's sit down and watch them," Sparkle said.

With that, the two sat on the sofa, quietly observing the joys and sorrows of the tiny people within the tank.

***

"Captain? You called me to ask about what I would wish for if I could make a wish? I'm not afraid of you getting angry at me. My wish is to eliminate Hope Island's last remaining threat, Anna," James sporting a beer belly said to Charles.

In contrast to James' solemn expression, Charles seemed leisurely as he raised the raw oyster in his hand and drizzled lemon juice on it. Charles then sipped on the oyster, and a flavor explosion pervaded his mouth immediately afterward.

While chewing on the oyster, Charles shook the empty shell in his hand at James, telling him to sit down and eat together with him.

"Thank you, but I'm not hungry," James replied.

Charles reached out and patted James' belly, saying, "Mmhm, you do need to lose weight. Get some more exercise, and don't stay in your office all day. Can't you see this big belly of yours?"

James became a bit anxious in the face of Charles' nonchalant attitude. "Captain, she'd restrain herself a bit while you're on the island, but it doesn't mean that she's no longer dangerous! She's always been a hidden threat to the island!"

"I know, but I didn't call you here for that. I'm here to ask about what you would wish for personally," Charles explained calmly.

James let out a deep sigh and sat down next to his captain. "Captain, do you still remember our miserable days back on S.S. Mouse?"

"Our good days didn't come naturally to us. We earned these good days with our lives. I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to go back on the ship and earn these good days again if something were to happen with Hope Island."

Charles chewed on another oyster and swallowed it before replying, "It's all about perspective, my chief engineer. You're not looking at the big picture at all. What we're dealing with right now is way beyond this tiny Hope Island, so don't worry about Anna. I'll handle it."

James couldn't help but feel helpless upon seeing the squirming pitch-black tentacles on Charles' head. "All right, Captain. I'll listen to you. If you can, please stay on the island for now; we need to maintain the current stability for the foreseeable future."

Charles smiled and proceeded to deal with the food on the table. "The kid who was just in the car… she's your daughter, isn't she? I had no idea that she's already so big…"

The corners of James' eyes curved with happiness as he broke out into a smile at the mention of his daughter. "Yes, she's my daughter. Time really flies. When she was just born, she was only the size of my hand. Now, she can already run around and call me Daddy."

"Yeah, my daughter has grown up a lot, too," Charles said, nodding in agreement. "I still remember the first time we met. Back then, she couldn't even speak properly, but now, she can even argue with me."

The two fathers chatted with delight upon finding a topic they could relate to.

"Captain, I still remember this one time when I was doing my routine tasks on S.S. Mouse. I accidentally fell into the water at the time, and there were two sharks swimming next to me.

"You didn't hesitate to jump into the open sea just to save me," James said, shaking the glass in his hand. His face was flushed, as he was feeling a bit tipsy.

"I had been on other ships before becoming a crew of S.S. Mouse, and I can swear that no captain will do what you did for me back then. On that day, I swore to follow you forever! I swore to go wherever you go."

Charles hiccuped and shook his head. "I'm not as good as you think. I was poor at the time, and I saved you simply because I wanted to minimize losses."

"No way!" James shook his head vigorously. "I was your crew for seven years, and it was enough time for me to know that you're the type to hide your emotions and sometimes even outright deny them, but I know what kind of man you are!

"You are the best captain throughout the Subterranean Sea!"

The smile tugging at Charles' lips faded away slowly.

Soon, lunch was over, and James had to go back to work. James had contributed greatly to Hope Island's rapid development, and he had no time to rest to handle the influx of incidents throughout the lively and bustling Hope Island.

James walked up to the car and turned around to stare at Charles standing on the steps just right in front of a restaurant. "Captain, I can see that there's something on your mind, but no matter what you do, don't forget that I'm still here as your chief engineer!

"I will always be here to support you!"

Charles stood quietly and watched as James' car disappeared into the distance. When the car could no longer be seen, Charles finally walked down the bustling street.

He sought the other crew members and asked them about what they would wish for if they could make a wish. They all had their own unique, and even bizarre wishes, but the majority of them weren't that difficult to fulfill.

Walking out of Linda's residence, Charles saw a limping figure wearing a black dress in the distance.

"Grace?"

The silhouette quivered slightly and turned around slowly in response to Charles' words. He was correct; the limping figure in a black dress was Grace.

There was a stack of books in her arms, and her hair was deliberately let down to cover half of her face that resembled shattered glass.

"Captain," the young woman said, bowing slightly to Charles in a somewhat hesitant manner.

"What have you been doing on Hope Island these days?" Charles asked.

"I am now working for Lady Anna… just like I told you…"

"Have you gotten used to life on Hope Island yet?"

"Mmhm, my life here is so much better than my life in my mentor's tower. I have a lot of money to spend, too. "I actually bought the entire library, so these books are all mine now," Grace replied. Her signature radiant smile—which had vanished since she suffered her injuries—had reappeared.

Rather than radiant, however, her smile appeared quite hideous due to her bizarre face injury. In addition, Grace seemed to have deliberately worn a maxi dress for fear of scaring other people with the bizarre fissures all over her figure.

"You deserve this, so let me ask you a question—if you could make one wish come true, what would you wish for?" Charles asked.

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