Rushing to the entry point where the Japanese had come in, I glanced back one last time, unable to shake my unease, before finally steeling myself and walking toward the exit.

The exit was also a stairwell, though these stairs led upward.

There were no lights in the stairwell, but I could see a faint white halo of light spilling down from above.

A wave of reassurance washed over me; the light meant the ships surrounding us hadn't departed yet.

But I couldn't rush up there blindly. Alone, armed only with a handgun, I’d be riddled with holes before I knew what happened.

I stood silently at the mouth of the stairwell, listening for a moment, and made out the sounds of many footsteps pacing back and forth.

However, the steps were distant, seemingly coming from the deck outside the exit. The stairwell itself was empty.

A strange thought crossed my mind. "Are those monsters going to drill us before they grab us? Do some morning exercises on deck?" I muttered to myself.

Curiosity overriding caution, I peeked in again to confirm the stairwell was clear, then crouched low and slipped inside.

My own soft footsteps hurried upward, and the light from the exit above grew brighter.

Just as I was about to burst out, I caught sight of countless shadowy figures moving across the deck.

Startled, I yanked the half-exposed head back inside.

After a few seconds of rest, I wiped the cold sweat from my brow, wondering what in the world these things were doing. It certainly didn't look like morning exercises.

I waited in place for a while. Since they showed no intention of coming down, I cautiously peered out again for a better look.

This time, I saw that the incessant movement of the figures on the deck was due to them carrying corpses.

It seemed this location had just been the scene of a fierce firefight. The floor and walls were scarred with fresh bullet holes and signs of struggle.

This battle had clearly been between Jie Yuting's subordinates and the monsters that had boarded later.

What surprised me, however, was that this fight wasn't entirely between humans from the start.

Because the corpses the monsters were carrying were mostly those straw figures we had encountered in the Lop Nur underground!

No wonder we hadn't seen any of Jie Yuting's men since boarding the ship—his subordinates couldn't afford to be seen by anyone.

Looking at the scene before me, I felt like I was caught in a dream.

I truly could not imagine what a battle between electric monsters and straw men would look like.

The most unsettling part was that both factions possessed intelligence and used weapons.

Calming my nerves, I began searching through the dead straw figures for any sign of Liang Qian and Jie Yuting.

Thankfully, I found no trace of either of them.

But one thing left me deeply curious: why were these creatures moving the straw men? Did the corpses of these straw figures serve some purpose for them?

Obviously, I wouldn't get the answer now. The most important thing was figuring out how to cross this group of monsters and reach the other ships to find Jie Yuting and Liang Qian.

However, I realized this was nearly impossible.

Even if the monsters were moving slowly, every single one of them carried a weapon. Even weaponless, I would easily be surrounded.

To get across the deck, I’d need the Azure Sea Stroll technique of Duan Yu, or sprout wings and turn into a bird.

I pulled my head back, my brow furrowed tightly, realizing I had no solution and was on the verge of breaking into a sweat from anxiety.

It was then, quite unexpectedly, that I noticed a layer of black, hair-like substance on my hands.

I felt a flicker of strangeness. Had the green arm finally mutated? Was I developing into a Zongzi [a type of reanimated corpse]?

But looking closer, it felt wrong. Not only had my right hand grown black hair, but my left hand was covered in it too.

This black hair wasn't the coarse fur of an animal; it resembled the heavy body hair of a very hirsute human.

Frowning in thought, I suddenly grasped something and reached up to touch my face.

That's when I discovered that, without my noticing, my entire head was covered in white hair, and I sported a long white beard.

A faint smile touched my lips; I had finally confirmed the thought in my mind.

I had become that bizarre-looking old man with white hair!

Specifically, it wasn't that I had transformed into his appearance, but rather that the skin covering my body had undergone an autonomous change.

It seemed the Atlantean entity attached to me could clearly perceive my thoughts.

Now that I looked like this, those monsters would surely mistake me for one of their own, allowing me to stride right up and search for people openly.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up and stepped onto the deck.

The moment I appeared, the few monsters carrying the straw man corpses immediately turned their heads, halting their movements.

Honestly, I felt quite nervous. Seeing them stop, I froze as well.

But then, those creatures actually dropped the straw corpses they were holding and slowly retreated backward, looking extremely flustered.

This was the first time I had seen such evident fear on the faces of these powerful monsters, and I couldn't quite process it.

I stood there for a moment. When the monsters remained too afraid to approach, I glanced at them and continued forward.

The monsters gave way wherever I walked, keeping a respectful distance, which gave me a touch of satisfaction.

But on the other hand, I began to worry.

If even these inhuman, ghostly creatures feared this being, just how formidable must he be? If Da Xiong had confronted him directly, he would surely have met a terrible end.

Worries aside, the show had to go on.

I kept walking forward, my target being the ship moored directly ahead.

That ship looked the largest and most imposing. Besides, I recalled the white-bearded old man stepping off that very vessel.

Therefore, Jie Yuting and Liang Qian were most likely taken aboard that ship.

The journey was completely unimpeded until I reached the plank leading to that ship, where a man in a black tank top stepped forward to meet me.

This man wore the same uniform as the earlier Japanese men, clearly one of them. He stood right at the edge of the ship, seemingly acting as a lookout.

Seeing me approach, the short, stout, bald man looked surprised, stammered for a moment, and then managed, "O-you, come back, boss."

It took me a full minute to realize he was speaking English.

His English carried such a heavy Japanese accent that it sounded incredibly awkward.

But since he addressed me in English, that was perfect. I knew virtually no Japanese, but English was my strong suit.

What the short, stout man had said translated to: "Why are you back, Boss?"

I had no intention of answering him. As I remained silent for too long, the man's body actually began to tremble slightly.

He must have thought I was angry, because he quickly stepped aside, muttering continuous apologies: "SORRY."

I still couldn't grasp what kind of terrifying aura this man, who looked like a hawk, possessed that made everyone so afraid of him.

Since the squat man had already yielded the path, there was no need for conversation. I kept my face grim and continued walking forward.

But after two steps, I felt that was the wrong move.

My assumption that Liang Qian and the others were on this ship was just a guess. If I went in and wandered around without finding them, it would definitely arouse suspicion. It would be better to gather information from the squat man first.

So, I turned back and tapped the squat man’s shoulder.

The short man, who had been directing the monsters in moving the corpses, jumped in alarm when I touched him. He quickly spun around, his face crestfallen, and asked, "Boss, is something wrong?"

I smirked internally, but kept my expression severe, lowering my voice. "How are that man and woman we just captured? Are they dead?"

I avoided directly asking where they were, focusing instead on their condition, so as not to betray my ignorance.

The squat man paused, then replied, "Didn't the Boss arrange to refine them into Lightning Corpses? Those two have already been escorted to the lowest laboratory level. They can be dissected once the brain toxins are injected."

Upon hearing this, my legs nearly buckled beneath me.

I hadn't anticipated these creatures to be so vicious.