◎ The Eerie Captain’s Quarters ◎
The soundproofing in the Captain’s private quarters was excellent, isolating the room from the restless, brightly lit gambling hall and making it feel like a different world.
The lighting inside was soft and dim, and the room was filled with the sound of light, steady breathing. He Yupu’s soft white hair was scattered across the bed, appearing even more ethereal and moving than the moonlight.
Suddenly, the ship jolted. Expensive jewelry on the bedside table rolled off, falling onto the plush Persian rug with a faint click.
He Yupu frowned in displeasure. His long eyelashes trembled as he opened his eyes with extreme slowness, gazing vacantly at the silent room.
He had been shaken awake. It was the third time tonight.
He Yupu turned to look out the window. Both the deep sea and the endless night were pitch black, with the moon hanging in the sky, using its meager light to dispel humanity’s fear of the dark.
This ship weighed hundreds of tons; why was it jolting so violently? Even more strangely, it sailed smoothly during the day and only rocked at night. Something about this did not seem right.
But drowsiness quickly overcame him again. He Yupu turned over, preparing to return to sleep, when his fair waist pressed against something hard and cold, causing him to gasp in pain.
He reached under himself, touching a smooth, hard sphere. After pulling it out from under the quilt, he examined it carefully by the faint night light.
It was a pearl the size of a palm, emitting a mottled pink luster. It looked like a star that would never fall from the endless night sky, beautiful to the extreme.
He Yupu looked at it for a few moments before tossing it onto the Persian rug without hesitation. He turned over, sank into the soft down duvet, and drifted back to sleep.
However, no sooner had his dreams begun to weave than a sudden, urgent knocking sounded at the door. The person outside was using great force, the knocking like a thunderclap that shocked He Yupu awake.
He Yupu did not want to answer the door. He covered his head with the quilt, closed his eyes, and tried to tune out the sound.
When the person outside saw he would not open the door, they stopped.
Bang! A gunshot rang out, striking the door handle with force.
The person knew that knocking was useless and had resorted to using a firearm to break the door, attempting to force their way in.
He Yupu was extremely annoyed. He lifted his eyelids, not out of fear, but because the incessant gunfire was preventing him from sleeping.
His eyes darkened, and his presence became cold and oppressive. His fair, bare ankles stepped onto the delicate Persian rug. He swept his gaze across the bedside table and picked up a long whip covered in barbs.
Holding the whip in one hand, He Yupu walked to the door, pressed the handle, and pushed it open, ready to lash out at the insolent knocker.
The moment he opened the door, music from the hall blasted against his eardrums, and the dazzling, blinding lights obscured the person standing against the backlight. The air was thick with a suffocating, heavy smell of blood.
Once his blue eyes adjusted to the harsh light, He Yupu saw that the person at the door was Shen Weiran.
He was carrying a man whose face was obscured. Shen Weiran’s clothes were soaked in blood, and dark red droplets fell from his body. He looked incredibly disheveled.
“Are you sick in the head?”
He Yupu narrowed his eyes, smiling coldly. “Why do you not check what time it is on your watch?”
Shen Weiran was not offended by the insult. Instead, he leaned forward with an expectant look, trying to show He Yupu the face of the man he was carrying. “Look at who your dog is!”
He Yupu’s attitude was exceptionally cold. He did not even glance at the man, stepping back to slam the door shut.
Shen Weiran hurriedly kicked the closing door open and laid the man down so that He Yupu could see his face clearly under the light.
He was not here to turn in a mission; he was simply here to cause trouble.
For the past few days, Shen Weiran had been a dog to an oily NPC in the dungeon. He had been abused and tormented for days before finally managing a counter kill, having had a miserable time. Since he had been caught in the rain, he wanted to tear up everyone else’s umbrella.