Chapter 25: The Ghost Ship

Almost simultaneously, Mo Yu’s low, frigid voice cut through the air, carrying an unprecedented gravity:

"It’s here! Off the starboard stern! One hundred meters!"

Luke’s face turned paper-white. "Analyzer! Maximum alert!"

The mechanical spider on his shoulder let out a sharp *click*, its eight compound eyes erupting in a blinding red glare that flashed rapidly.

"Threat level: A+! High-energy necromantic aggregate and unidentified corrosive energy field detected! Hull structure is undergoing accelerated aging!"

The group whipped their heads around.

Through the churning curtain of rain and the thinning remnants of pink mist, a massive, decaying silhouette slowly emerged.

It was a ship forged entirely of nightmares—from its fractured, tilting masts hung tattered sails that seemed to drip with black, putrid gore. The hull itself appeared to be stitched together from countless shipwrecks, twisted barnacles, and dark, viscous matter, emanating a nauseating stench of corpses mixed with sulfur.

It was the ghost ship Mo Yu had warned them about!

Even more terrifying was the influence it exerted. Around the ghost ship, the seawater began to thicken and turn a dark, murky red, like flowing pools of filth. As raindrops struck the deck of the Symbiotic Boat, they no longer splashed like water; instead, they emitted faint, corrosive hissing sounds, releasing wisps of white smoke! Rust spots began to bloom across the metal surfaces.

"My analyzer reports the hull durability is dropping visibly!" Luke’s voice trembled.

"Damn it! Attack it! Don't let it get any closer!"

Chen Wu roared, the phantom image of his Black Armor Turtle expanding instantly to the edge of the stern. A heavy wall of light attempted to block the encroaching corrosive field and the spreading necromantic aura. But the moment the light wall touched the dark red blood-sea, it hissed as if doused in concentrated acid, its glow visibly dimming.

Su Liu did not hesitate, her thoughts racing: "Tuanzi! Use [Void Scar]! Target the bow of that ship!"

The little creature on her shoulder bristled, silver light condensing in its pupils.

"Ying—!"

Two intersecting black fissures in space tore through the air at the spot Su Liu locked onto, slashing fiercely toward the ghost ship’s bow.

However—

*Pfft! Pfft!*

The two spatial cutting blades struck the rotting hull with precision, successfully cleaving away two massive chunks of filthy, decayed timber!

Yet, those shattered fragments crawled like mud, only to be enveloped and sucked back in by the dark, viscous matter flowing across the ship’s hull!

Within two seconds, the severed hull had "healed," as good as new!

The only "result" was that it provoked the ghost ship to respond with an even more piercing, teeth-grinding blast from its horn.

"Physical cutting is ineffective! It seems to have some kind of super-speed regeneration," Aya exclaimed, while quickly checking the kerosene lamp base to ensure it remained secure.

"No, it’s the force field surrounding it! All attacks are significantly weakened when passing through that blood-sea zone! And its material composition..." Luke shouted in despair, "My analyzer cannot parse the core! That thing... it looks like a hybrid of the living and the dead!"

Just then, rows of ghostly green spots slowly emerged along the filthy bulwarks of the ghost ship!

Those spots... were eyes!

Immediately, dozens of skeletal arms, composed of pallid, knobby joints and covered in sharp barbs, lunged forward like giant harpoons. They broke through the screen of blood-sea in total silence, moving with terrifying speed, aiming straight for the deck of the Symbiotic Boat!

[Warning! High-energy undead attack detected! Extreme risk of structural hull damage!]

Luke’s spider shrieked an alarm.

Chen Wu’s Black Armor light wall shattered instantly under the combined assault of several bone arms! Shards of light scattered everywhere!

Two of the bone arms narrowly grazed the tops of Su Liu and Chen Wu’s heads, slamming into a previously damaged section of the gunwale behind them. With a loud *snap*, they tore open a massive, gaping hole!

Seawater instantly flooded in!

Another bone arm swiped violently toward the helm!

Mo Yu flickered like a phantom, snatching Luke away just in time to evade the strike. The bone arm lashed against the deck near the steering wheel, leaving behind deep, corrosive gouges and flying wood splinters!

"No! We can't hold it!"

For the first time, a trace of wavering appeared in Chen Wu’s voice. He struggled desperately to maintain the crumbling light wall, fending off more bone arms piercing through the blood-sea.

"This thing is not something we can handle at our current level! Its goal is to destroy our ship!"

The ship tilted violently, groaning with a teeth-grinding sound. New, large breaches appeared under the onslaught of the bone arms. The connection for the bilge pump, which Aya had just temporarily repaired, suffered a heavy impact.

"The lamp! There’s an energy fluctuation in the stern lamp! The spot Aya just patched is trembling!"

Aya’s face turned ashen; she could feel the rapid consumption of the lamp oil's energy.

"Ah—!"

Lorraine, just recovered, shrieked again at the horrific scene. Fortunately, Little Moon bit her hem, preventing her from running off in a panic.

Defeat was imminent! To fight head-on meant the destruction of the boat and death for them all!

Just as despair threatened to swallow them whole, Mo Yu’s cold, clear voice rang out again, like lightning cleaving through the fog, pointing toward the direction directly opposite the ghost ship—

At the dark green silhouette on the dim horizon, which was only visible through his Crow’s Vision:

"That island! It’s accelerating! The current direction is east-southeast, distance about four hundred and fifty meters! We can catch it!"

Luke’s mind raced through data: "Calculating course! It will take at least 20 seconds to turn! Aya, Chen Wu, give me power support! Don't let it get any closer!"

"Forget the resistance! Full turn!"

Chen Wu made an immediate decision, roaring the only command that could lead to survival.

"Aya, go plug the hole at the stern! Su-Su, Mo Yu, come with me to grab the helm! Luke, calculate the best evasion path! Lorraine! Use your rabbit’s healing and purification light to the maximum! Cover this damn corrosion! Don't worry about the energy! Save the lamp! Save the ship!!"

Luke kept his eyes glued to the analyzer’s projected data, his speech rapid-fire:

"Angle calibrated! Power maximized! Chen, Mo Yu, thrust on the port side! Su-Su, keep an eye on that broken lamp and maintain the force field!"

Aya didn't need to be urged; she had already lunged like a spike toward the massive hole in the hull behind the helm, torn open by the bone arms.

Her "Repair Hamster," Zhizhi, flashed with blinding brass light, throwing itself onto the edge of the broken keel regardless of its own exhaustion, attempting to delay the collapse of the hull structure.

As she desperately stuffed every piece of spare metal and waterproof tarp she could grab—even pulling items from her pack—into the gap, she screamed, "Materials! Hard materials! We need massive support!"

"Little Moon! Shine! Purify the surroundings!" Lorraine hugged the shivering Moon Rabbit, ordering with a tear-choked voice.

The rabbit radiated a soft, cool, milky-white halo, straining to neutralize the corrosive aura seeping into the ship’s cracks from the edge of the blood-sea. Though faint, it was slowing the lethal "hissing" sound.

Su Liu’s heart hammered against her ribs. Without hesitation, she rushed to the kerosene lamp at the stern—the one that had just been repaired but was now flickering unstably again due to the violent jolts and rapid energy drain.

While using her body to shield it from some of the wind and rain, she divided her focus to tap into the Hourglass of the Time-Sun—accelerate the energy stability of the stern lamp?

No, the core was the lamp oil; accelerating external objects might trigger uncontrollable consequences.

She decisively chose—accelerate Aya’s temporary repair!

A blue light flashed and vanished on the Hourglass of the Time-Sun.

Aya, who was struggling to plug the hole, suddenly felt her fingers move a fraction faster, and her mental judgment of the material's fit points became half a degree clearer!

The temporary support point, which had taken seconds to barely reinforce, stabilized in a single breath!

Although it was still teetering, it at least slowed the terrifying speed of the flooding seawater!

Aya glanced in Su Liu’s direction with surprise, but she had no time to ponder it.

At the bow—