Embers Ad Infinitum

The captain, draped in white sheets, responded to Shang Jianyao's rhetorical question with a chant:

“Wisdom and beauty are equally important, she is both an angel and a goddess.

"She is the rose in the sports field and the crystal in the laboratory!"

"How many operas have you watched?" Honest Shang Jian Yao asked the question, even if it was with obvious ridicule.

The captain ignored him and knelt down on one knee again, looking at the ceiling, as if intending to continue his courtship.

Shang Jianyao thought for a while and asked with a smile:

"What's the name of your goddess?"

Ruowang next to him frowned, feeling that "Shang" was not doing his job properly.

How can asking questions about other people's emotions help you in this situation?

However, Ruo Wang also knew very well that without talking about the goddess in his mind, the captain in a chaotic state would not answer any questions at all. Therefore, he could only be patient and listen quietly, hoping that the seemingly useless topic could pull out some clues.

Hearing Shang Jianyao's question, the captain looked away from the ceiling.

His face lit up and he replied:

"Her name is Dafitir Osla."

Almost at the same time, Shang Jianyao and Ruowang felt that the darkness outside the window became thicker.

The howling winter sea breeze seemed to stop briefly at this moment.

However, this seemed to be just an illusion or psychological factor of the two people. After they came back to their senses, everything was so normal.

Shang Jianyao raised his hand to rub his chin and said to Ruowang:

"Come and try, I can't help it."

"I can tell." Ruowang was actually a little happy.

After all, it is not so pleasant to have something that you can't do but the other person has.

Ruo Wang took a step forward and tentatively asked several questions, but as long as they didn't involve the goddess in his mind, the captain ignored them and kept to himself, chanting about courtship or recalling with tears.

"It seems that the source of the problem cannot be found here..." Ruowang sighed.

The sympathetic Zen Master Pudu comforted him and said:

"Let's hide in a different place and take a look again after dawn. Anyway, you have remained normal. Even if something happens in the end, it probably won't be your turn."

"Hope." John scratched his chest a few times and prayed to the faith developed in the old days.

On a cold and windy night, the two left the captain's room and found a nearby unoccupied room to hide.

Shang Jianyao exited and re-entered, and the last day came as promised.

At this time, the cruise ship's announcement was telling everyone that the ship would dock today and arrive at its destination, Speysey Island. Everyone was asked to pack their luggage in advance and disembark in an orderly manner.

Ruo Wang, who had not slept all night, rubbed his eyes and said hesitantly:

"Would you like to go out and take a look?"

Take a look at the situation on the ship to see if there are any signs of danger.

"Okay!" Shang Jianyao seemed to have been looking forward to it for a long time.

Ruowang then boldly opened the door and walked outside, followed closely by Shang Jianyao.

After walking along the corridor for a while, they suddenly saw the chubby captain opening the door and coming out.

"Good morning." This middle-aged man in his forties had a warm smile and bright eyes, which was completely different from the fanaticism on his face last night.

Not only did John not feel relieved after being greeted, he was inexplicably frightened and shuddered.

He still vividly remembered the captain's aria-like courtship and tearful pacing last night, and was deeply impressed by the chaotic and unconscious state. But as soon as the sun rose, the captain was as if nothing happened, and there was no trace of anything. wrong.

How can this not make people think deeply and fearfully?

Ruowang always felt that he was facing monsters in human skin. They would imitate humans in the sun, but at night they would reveal their true colors.

"Good morning." Shang Jianyao responded enthusiastically to the captain's greetings.

Ruowang considered it for a moment and asked tentatively:

"Captain, do you feel anything is wrong these days?"

The captain shook his head in confusion:

"Everything is normal, and no one has contracted the 'innocent disease'."

Ruowang stopped asking questions, said goodbye in a hurry, and returned to his cabin with Shang Jianyao, preparing to pick up his luggage and go to the deck. As soon as the ship docked, he went straight down, away from this weird and terrifying place.

Along the way, they met several humans they had encountered before:

The crew member who was originally running wildly pushing the dining car, looking back from time to time with a frightened expression on his face, smiled politely and nodded to everyone he met; the male passenger who was originally manic and aggressive was sitting on a table with a popular novel from the old world. On the deck of the parasol, I read leisurely; the mad lady, who was crying and laughing at times, leaned against the side of the boat, looking tenderly at the blue sea, as if she was looking forward to the future...

Even the coldness that filled the night was dissipated by the sunshine and brought a little warmth.

The strong contrast filled John with fear both physically and mentally.

The more normal it is now, the more he can't help but think about the chaos at night, and the more he suspects that the scene in front of him is only normal on the surface, but actually more dangerous.

It's like seeing the captain's goddess Dafitir, only to discover that there are tentacles lurking in the shadows under her feet and behind her.

"No! We can't just wait to dock!" Ruo Wang blurted out as soon as he returned to his room.

He felt like he had to do something to actually get to his destination!

"Yes, yes!" Shang Jianyao agreed.

He had experienced this last day many times before, but every time he would passively jump back to the moment he first boarded the cruise ship before landing.

At this time, if you just follow Ruo Wang and hide, it will be similar to the strategy adopted several times before, and the result will hardly be different.

It has to be a little different!

Ruowang thought for a while with a tense expression and said:

"Frankly speaking, I have a strange feeling:

“It can be more dangerous during the day than at night.

"At least under night, we know who is wrong and who is normal. As long as we don't use our abilities, we will not be affected. But now, we have no idea what will happen next, and why only a few people landed alive in the end. .”

"Actually, this period of history has been blurred because you, as the person involved, have always remained silent on this aspect, so we don't know whether most people survived or whether most people died in the end." Shang Jianyao answered truthfully.

The ending he told Ruowang before was a guess made by him and Jiang Baimian, not reality.

Ruowang glanced at Shang Jianyao and nodded happily:

"You are honest and not a liar.

"But I think that since the future me has always remained silent on this matter, then something must have happened in the end. At least I don't think there is anything worth keeping secret about my current experience."

That's a lie to you too. I have never really seen you in the future... The honest Shang Jianyao tried to answer this, but was pushed down to the floor of the soul room by his companions.

Without giving them a chance to respond, Ruowang said to himself:

"I have a very absurd idea:

"Since the night gives me more security, I want to find a place to hide in a place with the same environment as the night before the cruise ship docks."

Bang bang bang, Shang Jianyao clapped his hands.

"Wouldn't it be enough to just draw the curtains up?" He immediately suggested.

"That's still too bright." Ruowang thought for a moment and said, "Besides, you've also noticed the weather during this period. It's barely bearable during the day, but it's colder at night."

"Then you have to find a place with air conditioning and no light." Shang Jianyao summed up the key points.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ruowang already had the answer:

“Kitchen cold storage!”

The energy-stingy captain turned off the air conditioners in all rooms except here.

"Not bad! Remember to bring thick clothes." Shang Jianyao looked eager to try.

Not long after, the two of them, wrapped like bears and armed with weapons, sneaked into the kitchen and hid in the cold storage.

"It's really cold. Maybe I need a bottle of strong wine to divert my attention." Ruowang rubbed his black-gloved palms and glanced left and right.

After several days of sailing, a lot of food in the cold storage has been consumed, and everything seems empty.

Shang Jianyao waved his flashlight, shined it into the depths of the cold storage and said:

"Guys, there's no need to hide."

Ruo Wang also discovered that there were several human consciousnesses in the cold storage.

Soon, four men and three women came out from different places.

Their number was different from what John sensed, because several of them were ability users.

Among them was John's acquaintance, the playboy named Sally.

"Why are you here too?" Ruowang asked first.

Sally shrugged:

"My spiritual intuition tells me that a night-like environment is safer, and there is food here."

"Spiritual intuition?" Shang Jianyao suddenly became excited.

"Haha, just kidding." Sally felt slightly embarrassed, "In the old days, I was a occult enthusiast."

Neither party was in the mood for small talk. They each found their own place, waiting for the cruise ship to dock in the dark and cold warehouse.

Shang Jianyao quit again, wanting to see if he would be back to the time when he first boarded the cruise ship after re-entering.

This time, he returned to the cold storage in the kitchen and heard Sally say:

"It seems the cruise ship has docked."

If you want to find a companion:

"Shang, Shang, come out quickly!"

"Come on, come on!" Shang Jianyao was full of expectation.

A group of nine people wrapped in thick clothes opened the cold storage door and returned to the kitchen.

The floor was cleared, and the crew members in the kitchen turned their heads at the same time and looked over.

All of their eyes were cloudy and bloodshot, and their expressions were so ferocious that they seemed to be looking for someone to eat.

"No worries"!

They all suffered from "unintentional illness"!

PS: Please vote for the last day~