587: Chapter 55: The Eternal Silence (Part 2) 587: Chapter 55: The Eternal Silence (Part 2) To be precise, Mu Enli didn’t truly consider himself qualified to be a good captain—even though he was once in the navy and even had an engineer’s title, he was, after all, too young.
He didn’t even know how to manage the many employees on this ship—although he had returned to this homeland he had never met, and although those working with him had the same skin color as him.
But Mu Enli had to admit one thing: the cultural differences between two different societies were really too great.
The seagulls flew low over the horn; on a summer evening of a certain year, Mu Enli stayed alone in a certain place on the cruise, took off his hat, and leaned tiredly against the railing, drinking sullenly in secret.
Shortly after, a silhouette agilely climbed up, dressed in ordinary crew attire, lowering its head, walking toward Mu Enli.
“Mu Enli, why is this route repeated this time?
We should take as many different routes as possible to explore more areas.”
There it goes again…
there it goes again.
Mu Enli silently looked at this monitor walking towards him; he couldn’t understand why this woman still didn’t understand?
Or was she just pretending to be asleep…
while he could never wake up someone pretending to be asleep?
Mu Enli wasn’t sure what country this monitor should really be counted as belonging to; what he knew clearly was only she was obviously of yellow race, and her name…
codename: Yuna.
A codename…
he himself also had a temporary codename called King, right?
Mu Enli suddenly mocked himself.
The hat Yuna wore wrapped her hair very well, from afar, she probably looked like a relatively frail crew member.
But Mu Enli knew that on this ship, probably no one except him could call out her name.
Because she had always occupied his bedroom—of course, for convenience, the two of them were considered to be living together.
Yuna was waiting for the day the mission was pleted; back then, the mysterious people instructing him required at least two years of data…
now, almost a year had passed.
In theory, maybe another year and Mu Enli could be liberated, if nothing unexpected happens…
yes, if nothing unexpected happens.
However, in the past three months, Yuna had not contacted those mysterious people again, and she had gradually started to bee abnormal.
“The routes are all arranged; even I can’t change them at will.” Mu Enli looked into Yuna’s eyes, frowned, and said, “Didn’t I tell you not to e out randomly?
What if you’re discovered?”
“Are you afraid I’ll cause another ghost legend?” Yuna’s face was calm, “Don’t worry, I’ve adjusted and recovered, I’ll never do such a silly thing.
Because yesterday I contacted the headquarters again.
Mu Enli, we can continue the mission.”
Yesterday…
yesterday you were just talking to yourself all night.
Normal?
I’m afraid it’s gotten worse, isn’t it?
Were those people’s brainwash really this terrifying?
Mu Enli even looked at this woman living in her delusions with some pity; he couldn’t understand what the meaning of this woman’s survival was.
“Yuna, what is the most important thing to you?” Mu Enli suddenly asked, looking at the sea that was dyed red.
Yuna said without a word, with extreme determination: “pleting the mission.”
Mu Enli suddenly felt somewhat agitated, perhaps due to the influence of alcohol, or the reason being he lived in a straightforward society for the first half of his life.
He suddenly grabbed Yuna’s arms fiercely and forcefully kissed her lips.
Yuna angrily bit Mu Enli’s lips, pushed him away, her face cold, “I’m here to assist you, not to seduce you, Mu Enli.
If you dare to harass me again, don’t blame me for being impolite!”
Mu Enli wiped his lips and laughed heartily, “You’re still just a woman!
Hahaha!!”
Yuna snorted coldly and turned away.
Mu Enli shook his head, lay directly on the deck, used his hat to cover his face, and began to hum a tune carelessly.
It seems…
even if I’ve returned, it’s not as carefree as before.
Returned…
what does it mean?
…
Mu Enli thought of another way, a way to wake Yuna from her delusions.
“Look!
This is an internal document sent over from the shipyard pany which already states there’s no ‘treasure’ on board!
Besides, those people didn’t give any directive either!”
“You’ve gone crazy!
How could you do such a thing?
What if you’re exposed?” Yuna looked at Mu Enli like an enraged mother cat and directly tore up the document.
“You’re truly persistent, if you’ve got guts, contact your so-called headquarters now.” Mu Enli shook his head.
Yuna said nothing; instead, she took out a suitcase from under the bed, opened it, and there was a set of munication devices.
Yuna took out a separable municator, placed it on her face, “Calling, number SHG10, Yuna…
yes, this is Yuna, I have to report on this incident…
yes, this thing…”
Mu Enli suddenly flipped the suitcase, overturned the device, and said angrily: “The battery has long been dead, who are you talking to!”
Yuna just gave Mu Enli a hateful glance, gathered the scattered things hastily, and then spoke into the municator again: “Headquarters, heard me, I have a bad signal here, please wait…
is it good now…
yes, I’ll continue to report…”
“Gone mad, truly gone mad…”
“Yes…
Mu Enli has defected…
got it, I’ll clear him out immediately…”
“You…
what are you doing?”
Yuna stood up and suddenly lunged at Mu Enli.
He spent a lot of effort, even had a deep bone-visible wound on his arm, before barely subduing this monitor…
and this was thanks to his many years of military experience.
…
In the separate bathroom of the bedroom, her mouth was locked…
and here were even more layers of sponge, to prevent Yuna’s madness.
But even so, Yuna’s body was covered in scars…
if it weren’t for Mu Enli blasting music loudly every night in his room, the motion might have been noticed by outsiders.
“This is the latest sedative…
take it.”
Mu Enli pinched Yuna’s chin and pushed the pill into her mouth through the gap—it had been two weeks, hadn’t it?
He’s been giving her various sedatives that can be bought, but apart from keeping her drowsy most of the time, nothing seemed to work.
“Mu Enli, let me go, let’s just finish the mission, they won’t blame you…
Mu Enli…”
Yuna stared blankly, lying on the cold floor.
Mu Enli slammed the door irritably, sat on the bed, and covered his face with his hands.
He could no longer endure Yuna’s madness.
He started to grab a bottle of spirits, taking big gulps, then turned on the room’s speakers, increasing the volume to the max…
only this way could he barely fall asleep.
Day by day, no matter how noisy the environment was, he seemed to constantly hear Yuna speaking to him.
Finally…
not even alcohol could drown out this persistent sound in his mind.
One night, Mu Enli, like a piece of mud, fell to the floor beside his bed, and got up with a splitting headache.
Days of insomnia and fatigue had strained his nerves to the limit.
He took a fruit knife from the room, gripping the bottle with one hand, taking another swig, then dragged his body step by step…
opening the bathroom door.
Looking at the half-asleep woman inside, with a numb expression, he lowered his head and revealed the knife in his hand, sleep-talking, “I gave you a chance…
I gave you so many chances.
I, I even thought of so many ways, but why don’t you wake up?
Why?
Why…
why!!”
He roared suddenly, grabbing Yuna’s hair with one hand, pulling her up, submerging her upper body in the bathtub water—Yuna’s head fully submerged, instinctively struggling in pain.
“Wake up!
Wake up!!”
He lifted Yuna’s head again, her wet hair sticking together, Yuna coughing painfully, breathing heavily, her gaze cold yet indifferent.
“Look at you!
Do you still look human?
You don’t!
You’re just a puppet!!”
“To you…
what, what is most important?” Yuna suddenly said.
“I have my new life, I have my new future!
I have my life!
I have everything!!
What do you have?!”
“I have my purpose for survival…
you don’t…”
Mu Enli screamed in anger, stabbing the knife hard towards Yuna!
The sharp knife instantly cut into the skin on Yuna’s arm, blood immediately dyeing the bathtub’s water red, Mu Enli’s eyes widened with rage, “Even if you trick me!
Just say you’re normal!!
Yuna!
Forget the mission!
You’re free now!!
Move on with your life!
Don’t force me to kill you!”
“Coward…”
Finally, his nerves were pushed to the extreme.
In this bathroom, the ugliest, most evil, and despicable thing happened…
this young captain of the Baiyu Cruise, *** Yuna, who was equally young.
He covered her mouth, entering her again and again, their gazes never more than ten centimeters apart.
With each thrust, he was like a starving wolf feasting on a rotting corpse, she like a shell devoid of soul.
This place seemed like a silent and tranquil hell of sin.
This hellish mirror image continued indefinitely…
he had pletely fallen into a devil, getting drunk every night before opening this sinful place, venting the ugliness hidden deep within his body, repeatedly.
It was like a nightmare, an endless nightmare buried deep in his heart…
the ugliest nightmare.
They had been peeled layer by layer, then dug out again…
the once-faded things in those memories.
Finally, an old hand pletely tore them apart.
…
As if breaking through from one dimension to another, this old hand tore open the world of memory forcefully.
Stirring, tearing continuously, continuing to stir, seemingly wishing to knead them into a lump.
But finally, they unfolded again, forming a ring, continuously spinning—this hellish mirror image.
Where…
is this place?
“The deepest place in your memory.”
“My life has e to an end, why must I face this again…
isn’t my remorse enough?”
“What did you see?”
“The ugliest me.”
“What else?”
“Yuna, hating me.”
The fragments of memory spun once more, the hellish mirror image opened again before him.
Unable to bear this pain, he had no choice but to cover his ears with his hands.
Until the sound of a newborn cry rang out.
He raised his head once more, and in this world pieced together from fragments of memory, he finally saw…
the boss who granted him his final moments.
The boss reached out and pulled a fragment from countless shards…
In the orb-like memory fragment, a newborn who just arrived in this world, eyes yet unopened, let out its first sound.
The boss presented the fragment to Mu Enli, “So, what do you see now?”
His hands trembled slightly, like a traveler lost in the desert, devoutly awaiting the sweet rain falling before him, “I…
my child.”
“Your and Yuna’s child.”
“Yes, mine and hers.”
“Captain, once more, look at these memories of yours.” Luo Qiu softly said: “Now, as you look back on your life, you should be able to feel it.”
Mu Enli instinctively looked at those guilt-ridden memories.
Yuna was sitting by the window, placing her hands on her swollen belly in silence.
Beside her, the young captain kept speaking incessantly.
“At that time, Yuna no longer struggled, but she never spoke a word to me, no matter what I tried…
I just wanted to make amends for the mistakes I made.”
In another fragment, the woman lowers her head, gently stroking the child within her belly, showing a rare hint of a smile, while the young captain gazes at her foolishly.
“She still refused to speak to me.
I knew she never forgave me…
but I saw the glow of motherhood on her face.
It was so sacred, that in front of her, I felt like the most wretched sinner.”
Another fragment.
“She began secretly making clothes for the baby…
but as soon as I returned, she would hide them away.”
Piece by piece.
He started carefully, bit by bit, to face these most despicable buried deeds.
“Premature birth…
my greatest fear finally happened!
I was planning to take the risk and send her to the hospital no matter what!
I had even arranged everything, but in the end, it was still a premature birth!”
Yuna used the last of her strength to give birth to this child of sin, and when the young captain came back to his senses…
life and death.
The finally aged man stared dumbly at these memories of blood, sin, and life.
The young him held the newborn in grief by the bedside, while the woman closed her eyes forever.
“Yuna…
why did she show such a smile?
Did she have it then?” The old man looked toward the boss in confusion.
“Captain, these are your memories, without any errors.
So naturally, it exists.” Luo Qiu said calmly: “Now…
what do you see?”
The old man finally embraced all the fragments of memories within his arms, suddenly smiling bitterly: “It was I who gave her a reason to live.
When I first had the heart to kill, she even hoped I would actually do it…
She was ultimately too tormented.”
“You’re right, it’s only when you look back, can you understand.” The old captain’s gaze gradually returned to tranquility, “I just never dared to face them.”
“But sins cannot be cleansed.”
“Yes, I never thought about cleansing my sins…
in the end, all I got was some relief.”
“Is that okay?”
“It’s enough, already enough.” The elderly man shed two lines of clear tears, softly saying: “I originally missed that smile of hers…
to be able to see it again, is already enough.”
“As long as you’re satisfied.”
…
…
In the cave.
Boss Luo suddenly released the initial restraint from his palm, giving the already gray sphere of light a chance to break free—it was merely a spirit.
The gray gently sank in front of the grave, then took shape—the old captain, in his spirit form, finally came again to the front of this grave.
The grayish substance began to gradually disperse.
The boss took out a handkerchief, placing a bundle of hair wrapped within in front of the simple tombstone.
It restored its pure white form once more, sparkling brilliantly.
The maid Ms.
Ren lifted an old suitcase from behind Luo Qiu and placed it beside, before returning to her master’s side.
This case contained no gold or silver jewels, just some simple old items.
Some baby clothes, feeding bottles for infants, little toys, small shells, and other such items…
things that are truly precious to someone as a father.
“Sir, these are your treasures, I brought them back here as well.”
Luo Qiu softly said: “You mentioned wanting to be buried here…
Your final wish is fulfilled.”
The pure white sphere of light slowly ascended from the ground, washed by time like flawless crystal, finally falling into the boss’s palm.
…
“Might you think I’m just doing some boring things?”
Sitting on the beach of Shellfish Island, the sea barely reached near Luo Qiu, but on the damp sand, the maid Ms.
Ren walked barefoot against the sea breeze.
Hearing her master’s words, You Ye turned around and smiled: “As long as it’s the master’s will, there’s nothing boring.”
After thinking for a while, Luo Qiu asked, “Old club owner, how long did it take you to extinguish all your emotions?”
“You Ye doesn’t know,” the maid softly said, “But ever since I came back to my senses, the previous boss was already like this.”
Boss Luo suddenly recalled something Black Soul No.9 had said and looked at You Ye indifferently, “I realize…
it seems like it can’t strip me anymore.”
“The altar?” The maid was slightly surprised.
Luo Qiu shook his head, then nodded, the plexity reaching a level that even the maid, this doll with over three hundred years of history, couldn’t fully prehend.
Boss Luo finally said thoughtfully, “Or maybe it’s just an illusion…
but at least I feel my direction isn’t wrong.
As long as it adheres to the rules…”
“Master, what did you just say?” The maid gave a puzzled look, “You Ye seems unable to hear.”
Luo Qiu was startled; with You Ye’s abilities, he couldn’t possibly be unheard…
that left only one possibility.
Even You Ye…
isn’t qualified to listen to the dialogue between ‘you’ and me?
Luo Qiu gazed at the edge of the sky.
A strong sense of isolation quietly enveloped his heart, and his consciousness seemed to detach instantly, and the small island before him began to shrink rapidly.
The sea, the earth, the sky…
everything began to diminish.
Ultimately, in his sight, only a naturally rotating world remained, and at this moment, he seemed to be able to glimpse countless beings in this world.
Even in this self-turning world, there are many twisted places…
they entwine with the world’s movement, each rotating in its own way.
A single thought enveloped all of this.
…
Meanwhile, in a cave on a distant mountain peak in Jerusalem, a gaunt white-haired old man slowly walked out, each step seeming to drain what little life he had left, looking extremely arduous.
In front of the cave, after gazing at the sky for a long time, the old man sighed softly, muttering like he was lamenting: “Too fast…
you’re too fast…
but that’s good, that’s good.”
The old man returned to the cave, which was so simple it had nothing except for an old music box placed by the stone bed.
He opened it, listening to the crisp sounds, muttering dreamily: “If I had taken this path back then…
how wonderful it would have been…”
…
By the beach, You Ye’s voice again reached Luo Qiu’s ears, pulling his consciousness back from countless layers instantly, returning to his body.
The sound of waves crashing, the sound of the breeze, everything became tangible again.
“Master, what happened?” You Ye looked at Luo Qiu with a touch of fear.
Only to see Luo Qiu shake his head, stand up, and smile slightly, “It’s nothing, just lost in thoughts a bit.”
The maid once again gave a puzzled look.
Luo Qiu merely chuckled lightly, “I want to do another boring thing…”
As he spoke, Luo Qiu turned around, gazing into the forest of the small island, his body rising into the air…
and the maid’s body too was lifted by something, following behind Luo Qiu.
In the sky, a massive cloud formation began to form, covering the entire range of the small island.
At a hundred meters above sea level, Luo Qiu reached out and gently pressed toward the island, centering on the small slope where a few old trees stood, approximately a diameter of two hundred meters began to sink.
The crustal movement triggered caused the seawater around the island to surge madly…
only after this area finally sank into the ground did the seawater outside the island transform into massive water columns, pouring into the sunken space.
After a long, long time, the seawater had filled this place, turning it into a small ‘lake’ within the island.
“Whatever you want, as long as you can pay us enough, whether it’s good or bad, whether you were a good person or bad in life, we will make it happen for you.”
Looking at the lake on the island, Luo Qiu said calmly, “Right or wrong, since you’ve chosen silence, here’s your final grave.”
Having mitted unforgivable sins, but also earning the respect of everyone on the Baiyu Cruise.
Ugly and glorious coexist.
“Your secret shall remain buried here forever…
guest.”
With that, Luo Qiu took out the old pocket watch and tossed it into the small lake on the island.
There seemed to be a faint sound of water splashing, as the moment it plunged, the force burst open the pocket watch’s clasp, and the opened pocket watch sank slowly in the water.
On one side is an old, yellowed, faded photograph.
The other side shows time, time that had stopped: October 2, 1987, 19:23:47.
All about Mu Enli, sank silently into this deep sea.
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