Shrouded Seascape

In the dimly lit tunnel, Anna was just about to take a step forward when a green hand reached out and grabbed her. It was Charles in his swapped monstrous form.

"Wait. Don't go after him. He might be faking it; it could be a trap."

The corners of Anna's lips curved upward into a faint smile. She gently traced the scars on Charles' face with her fingers. "Then, do you plan not to take back your body anymore? Even though it's battered, it's still usable, no?"

Before Charles could express his opinion, Anna continued, "Don't worry. I'm quite skilled in dealing with them. After all, we used to be relatives. That guy is like an open book to me."

With that, Anna struggled out of Charles' grasp and sprinted down the tunnel after 1189-1.

As she ran, her alluring, slender legs split open, giving way to several black tentacles. They writhed and propelled her forward at an incredible speed.

Just as Charles was pondering over the meaning of Anna's words, Norton, who was standing nearby, suddenly had a change in expression. He brandished his black-shelled handgun, aimed it at Charles' dark green body, and repeatedly pulled the trigger.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Despite his swift reaction and agility, Charles was still hit by two bullets.

"Quick! Restrain him! Those things have taken over his body! Linda, tend to the captain!"

The sudden chaos made the crew forget about Anna's descent into the tunnel.

Even without light, 1189-1 still managed to infiltrate their ranks through body contact. 1189-1 had taken over their bodies and had turned them against each other.

The Narwhale joined the fray under the lead of the first mate and the second mate.

The battle intensified with each passing second, and both sides were evenly matched.

However, there was a slight sense of relief among the humans that the most powerful among them, Charles, was no longer among them. Even if the monsters had taken over the bodies of some of them, the damage those monsters could inflict was limited.

In the corner of the tunnel, Linda knelt on one knee as she carefully inserted her hand into Charles' bloody, mangled gunshot wound and meticulously searched for the bullet.

The bullets from Norton's gun were hollow points. They created only small entry wounds, the size of one's fingertip. However, they'd expand and create a wound the size of two fists upon entering its target.

For the average human, a single hit from a hollow-point bullet anywhere on their body would be a death sentence, which meant that a coffin had to be prepared soon.

With a soft plop, the bloody bullet was tossed onto the ground. Linda quickly pulled out a scalpel, cut open the wound, cleaned it, and sutured the blood vessels.

"Captain, your current body isn't human, so regular anesthetic probably won't work. So please bear with it."

Charles shook his green, deformed head. "It's okay. This body isn't that fragile. A quick treatment will do. Go and help the others first."

Just then, T, who had disappeared earlier, reappeared and approached Charles. "Tell your people to hurry up. We can't outlast them; we need to end this as quickly as possible."

Feeling the last of his wounds stitched up, Charles pushed himself onto his feet. "Don't just talk; take action, too!"

"Of course, I'm taking action and helping. Sometimes, strategy is more important than actual combat," T replied.

As soon as her words fell, Charles felt a distinct vibration from the ceiling above. He recognized the sensation immediately. Those were the green centipede-like creatures that had been body-swapped earlier; T had managed to gather them all.

"Let's go! Finish them off!" Charles pushed off with his slender limbs, and his sharp claws extended from his arms. Then, he charged into the battlefield along with T and the other green centipede-like creatures.

The monstrous forms of Charles and his allies possessed no eyes, so they held a significant advantage in the darkness.

With the new reinforcements, combined with the understanding of their enemies' bizarre abilities, the scales of the battle began to tilt in favor of Charles and his group.

Charles opened his monstrous maw, and with a sickening crunch, he tore off the head of the human before him.

He had just spat the head, complete with the windpipe, onto the ground and was going to assist elsewhere when he noticed that the other areas were already gradually quieting down.

Various noises and vibrations constantly reached Charles, allowing him to clearly sense his surroundings.

The bodies controlled by the 1189-1 entities were either dead or subdued. In this skirmish, the humans had emerged victorious.

However, they suffered significant damage, too. The tunnel was thick with the stench of blood and gunpowder, and groans of pain constantly echoed within the darkness.

"Bandages, do a headcount. Treat the wounded." In his current form, Charles couldn't handle these tasks personally.

"Mr. Charles…? Is it really you?" The timid Lily stood at a distance and gazed over at Charles' green, elongated form.

Charles nodded and extended one of his long, green fingers toward her.

Lily subconsciously took a few steps back before she suddenly rushed forward and wrapped her tiny paws around his finger. With a hint of dejection, she cried, "Mr. Charles… I'm so sorry… I didn't realize that… that guy wasn't you…"

Charles shook his head and traced lines in the dirt with his finger. "It's not your fault. That guy has my memories and personality. It was normal that you couldn't differentiate between him and me."

A sweet smile surfaced on Lily's furry face at Charles' comforting words. Her voice was laced with hints of pride as she said, "Mr. Charles, my mice were very helpful earlier as well! Their body-swapping ability was no use to us. They can only control one mouse at a time, but there are so many of us!"

"Yes, yes. Lily, you did great." Charles gently patted Lily on the head with his finger. Just then, T dropped from the ceiling and landed next to him.

"Move. We can't stay here for too long. We need to leave ASAP. There are far more of those 1189-1 than this."

Charles' momentary joy vanished instantly. He quickly relayed the message to everyone.

Without wasting a single second, everyone began to retreat as they hurried their comrades out, as though there was something pursuing them in the dark.

When they reached the widened entrance and saw the light beams of the Narwhale, almost everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Charles was not one of them. He turned toward the dark tunnel. His heart was filled with worry as he thought about Anna.

Anna had been gone for some time now, and with her power, if it was really an easy problem to deal with, she would have returned by now.

"Captain! The wounded are all aboard. We can now—AHHHH!"

Dipp's piercing scream resonated through the air. One of the Narwhale's large gas bags has exploded, causing the ship to tilt to one side. The injured on the deck groaned in agony as they rolled and tumbled toward the ground.

Fortunately, the Narwhale's animated cable ropes and Bandages' vines shot out and caught them in mid-air.

Charles didn't have time to focus on the Narwhale's situation. He could feel something massive moving behind the triangular hill, and it was slowly approaching them.

The vibrations reached his sensory organs and slowly painted a clear image of a strange, colossal monster in his mind.

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