“My first mate was attacked by some creature and is now unconscious. The situation is grim; the wounds all over him make it a miracle he’s still alive. I’m not sure if he’ll wake up again.”

  Charles snapped the cap of his pen back on and sighed helplessly. He flipped through his journal casually, but when he saw a particular page, his breath quickened, and he suddenly regretted looking at it.

  He closed the journal and nervously chuckled, shaking his head.

  “What’s got you so happy?” Anna asked curiously from a distance.

  Charles stared at her for a few seconds, then walked over to Bandage, taking the black knife from his hand and gesturing for Anna to step outside.

  “Aren’t we supposed to stay together for safety? Why are you coming out again?” Anna asked as she stepped through the hatch.

  Charles cupped her pale face and gently kissed her. Anna’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

  When Charles released her, Anna, her cheeks flushed, lightly punched his chest. “What’s gotten into you?”

  “Jiajia, we’ve been childhood friends. All these years, have you only liked me?” Charles leaned back against the ship's wall with a calm expression.

  “Don’t be ridiculous! Of course, I have. I decided on you the moment you handed me a shovel in the sandbox at kindergarten,” Anna said, moving closer affectionately.

  Charles gently wrapped his arms around her as they looked into the distant darkness. “Jiajia, you are such a perfect wife—beautiful, refined, loyal.”

  Smiling, Anna wrapped her arms around Charles's neck. “I love hearing those cheesy lines; don’t stop. Say more!”

  “Do you remember what lipstick brands you had?”

  “Why are you asking that? It was so long ago; how would I remember?”

  “Exactly, you wouldn’t remember, because I’m a straight man with a brain full of nonsense.”

  Charles's lips twitched slightly, and suddenly tears welled up. He quickly drew his revolver from his left hand, pointing the dark muzzle at Anna’s calm abdomen.

  “What are you doing, Gao Zhiming?” Anna’s face showed a hint of displeasure.

  “You even know my real name; why is yours fake? Why!!” Charles's face twisted as he pulled the trigger.

  “Bang! Bang! Bang!!” The impact of the bullets sent Anna staggering back, dark green blood splattering everywhere.

  Her eyes widened in disbelief.

  Anna slowly lowered her gaze, trembling slightly, and when she saw the tentacle writhing out of her abdomen, she broke down, frantically tugging at her hair as if she couldn’t accept this reality.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “What is this? Why is there this thing in my stomach? Gao Zhiming, help me!”

  As soon as she finished speaking, her delicate features crumbled like a melting candle. A twisted, gooey, yellow-green tentacled monster appeared on the deck of the Mouse.

  It was just like its counterparts on the island—twisted and terrifying, with seven or eight tentacles thrashing uncontrollably, resembling a deformed octopus emerging from the water.

  Watching the monster before him, Charles, with tears streaming down his face, felt his hand tremble as he held the gun. Everything in his mind about Anna was a lie.

  In the next moment, the monster opened its gaping maw and lunged at Charles with a roar.

  Charles rolled to the side to dodge it, and his expression quickly hardened as he skillfully reloaded his weapon.

  “Bang! Bang! Bang!!” Green blood splattered on the monster, but such wounds were insufficient to stop it. With a howl, a tentacle covered in suckers struck Charles's arm, sending him flying.

  “Why!” Gritting his teeth, Charles swiftly drew his black knife and struck down, severing the tentacle as it writhed on the deck.

  The creature howled in retreat, and Charles charged forward.

  As he and the monster reached the bow of the ship, the monster’s tentacles, thin like hair, suddenly spread out, ensnaring Charles like a fishing net.

  The tentacles tightened around him, and he could hear the creaking of his bones.

  “Crack!” His ribs began to break—one, two—intense pain made Charles grunt.

  At that critical moment, the cockpit glass shattered, and a bullet struck the monster’s yellow eye, causing its eyeball to explode like a watermelon.

  The howling monster immediately released Charles and fled toward the edge of the ship.

  Gunfire erupted as the others from the turbine room rushed out with their weapons.

  No matter how powerful the flesh creature was, it was still made of flesh and blood. Under the assault of the bullets, its strange body was riddled with holes.

  As the gunfire ceased, the once-mighty monster lay in its own stinking blood, its tentacles trembling and moving slowly.

  Charles approached it, pressing a hand to his aching abdomen.

  Just as he raised his revolver toward the beast’s maw, the front end of the creature coalesced into Anna’s face.

  Anna smiled tragically, dark green blood trailing from the corners of her eyes. “Gao Zhiming, I’m sorry... I didn’t know I was fake…”

  Those words pierced Charles’s heart like a sharp knife, and his face contorted in pain. He would rather this monster curse him.

  The others gathered around, their expressions heavy as they stood behind Charles.

  “I can’t control it; I’m just the bait it created. It’s stalling for time. Shoot below its eyes; that’s its weak point.”

  Looking at the partner he had shared his life with, Charles felt the revolver in his hand grow heavy as a mountain.

  “Gao Zhiming! Hurry! It has strong regenerative abilities!”

  Seeing Charles hesitate, Anna turned to Deep beside her. “Shorty, you do it.”

  As Deep hesitated, Charles gritted his teeth and raised the gun, pulling the trigger.

  “Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!”

  As the bullets hit her, a sorrowful smile appeared on Anna’s face. “Thank you... I really wanted to go home with you…”

  As soon as she finished speaking, her face began to melt, merging with the completely still flesh monster.

  “Ha... Ha... Hahaha!!” Charles suddenly laughed maniacally. He lunged forward, grabbing the monster's corpse and threw it into the sea with all his might.

  “Don’t think you can trick me again!! I won’t fall for it anymore! You memory-altering monsters! It’s all a lie!! It’s all fake!!”

  James looked at Charles, who seemed a bit unhinged, with concern. “Captain, are you alright?”

  “I’m fine, hahaha! What could possibly be wrong? The crisis is over; the man-eating monster is dead! This is great news! Chef! Make sure the food is good later; we need to celebrate. Deep, take the sailors and clean this up; I’m going to take the helm!”

  For the rest of the day, the crew of the Mouse was cautious, afraid of upsetting their captain.

  But Charles appeared perfectly normal, steering the ship and eating normally, though his behavior was completely different—almost overly energetic.

  After finishing his meal, Charles returned to his quarters. In the dark cabin, he didn’t turn on the lights. With a bitter expression, he took out a bottle of liquor from the bottom shelf and sat on the bed, drinking deeply.

  “Anna, why did you have to eat people…”

  “If you hadn’t eaten my crew, I could have pretended I didn’t know…”