<h4>Chapter 343. The Ind</h4>


    At Feuerbach''s report, Charles dashed toward the cabin''s door. Of course, he didn''t forget Lily, who had been watching him in amusement.


    "Lily, hurry up! We need your mice for the indnding."


    "Mr. Charles, help me to check first. Is my back balding?"


    "That''s what you get for dyeing your fur all the time. Let''s go!"


    Lily scurried up Charles'' pants and onto his shoulder. As soon as they reached the deck, the sight of their destination weed them. Under the illumination of the Narwhale''s searchlights, the ind resembled a colossal turtle lurking in the darkness.


    The beach was barren and lined with rocky columns. They stood tall and upright in a single file and didn''t appear to be a natural urrence.


    As the Narwhale revolved around the ind, Charles realized that thendmass was simr in size to Hope Ind and shaped like a gourd.


    Also, he noticed that the Narwhale wasn''t the first ship to visit this ind. When the Narwhale reached the waist of the gourd-shaped ind, she encountered arge passenger ship that spanned over 120 meters long.


    As the Narwhale closed the distance between them, Charles could see the thickyer of rust on its anchor and the heavily damaged cabins. He concluded that the passenger ship had been here for a very long while now.


    Lily''s mice were dropped over for a quick search, and they reported no living creatures within the dpidated ship. Anything that was soft hadpletely rotten away, and only the ship''s metallic shell remained.


    After hearing Lily''s trantion of the mice''s squeaks, the crew gazed at the ship and started specting about what the ship might have possibly encountered in these dark waters.


    "Let''s go, ignore that ship now. Whether those people on board went ashore or jumped overboard, it''s none of our business. Don''t forget what we came here for," Charles interrupted their discussions.


    He then followed up with another instruction for his vampire sailor, "Audric, go scout the entire ind, but don''t get too close. Make use of your sonar and see if there''s anything to look out for."


    Audric nodded and transformed into a bat before soaring into the air to survey the vast ind.


    Half an hourter, Audric returned. He turned toward Charles and reported, "The outskirts of the inds are all stone, but judging by the sonar reflections, it seemed like the innernd is a forest."


    "Is there any human construction? Or other living creatures that you managed to detect?" Charles asked.


    "I didn''t see anything from my aerial observation, and the ind is still very quiet."


    Charles''s brows frowned slightly as he brooded over the intelligence Audric had gathered. Since the Pope said that they found information about this so-called <i>door</i> among the data from Newbound City, then there would surely be traces of the Foundation here, but Audric said that he had detected none.


    Of course, Charles wasn''t nning to just return empty-handed. Simr to their previous exploration of Elizarles Shores, it was possible that the Foundation had built their stronghold here underground. Regardless, he needed to get onto the ind.


    "Deploy thending boats. Ready your weapons. Anchor down. Prepare to go ashore."


    Under Charles'' orders, the Narwhale''s crew sprung to action, and soon, they were rowing toward the shore.


    As he walked among the stone pirs, Charles felt as though he had been transported to a familiar tourist spot he had once visited on the surface world: the Stone Forest of Guilin.


    There wasn''t much difference between his current spot and the famous tourist site, apart from the perpetual darkness overhead. Of course, the throngs of tourists were missing, too.


    "Audric," Charles called out. "You mentioned a forest, didn''t you? How much further is it?"


    Audric ced his hands on the rocky walls surrounding him and felt around before he replied, "These stones stretch about half a kilometer. The forest is at the end of it."


    Indeed, Charles and the party soon arrived before the so-called forest.


    Audric had called it a forest probably because he used his sonar detection and couldn''t pick up the color of the <i>forest. </i>If he could perceive color, he would never have called the things before them <i>trees.</i>


    The trunks and leaves of these tree-like objects were in a variety of bizarre colors. It was as though someone had ingested a melody of colorful paints before regurgitating them. The most apt description, if Charles had to find one, was that he was staring at decaying rainbows.


    First Mate Bandages suddenly took a step forward and gently pinched a leaf.


    "This... is... not a nt..."


    "Then what is it? Is it sentient?" Charles asked as a hint of solemnity appeared on his countenance.


    "No idea... But it''s definitely not a nt..."


    Traces of unease appeared on the faces of everyone as their eyes were fixated on the strange forest ahead. Weister''s palms were even starting to sweat.


    Lily''s mice were the first scouts to be sent into the forest to check if there were any potential dangers. Truth be told, Lily''s mice were the best fit for reconnaissance tasks. If not for theirnding boats being too small to amodate more of them, Charles would have made everyone scout the entire ind.


    <i>Squeak, squeak!</i>


    The mice soon returned, and Lily, perched on Charles'' shoulder, quickly tranted their squeaks.


    "Mr. Charles, there''s no immediate danger inside."


    "Everyone, stay within sight. Have your weapons loaded and relics ready," Charles instructed.


    Following Charles'' lead, the Narwhale crew slowly entered the eerie forest. Contrary to their expectations, the forest was far from silent. The sounds of various insects echoed continuously.


    When Charles spotted a mushroom with a luminescent glow and puffing out mist, his heart settled down slightly.


    Despite the oddities they had seen, it seemed that the ind''s unique flora had formed their own special ecosystem, and the trees that they had passed by might really be just trees.


    With much apprehension, the crew ventured deeper into the forest. Initially, everyone was on high alert; every muscle in them was tensed up in preparation for a fight or flight situation. But as hours ticked by, a sense of involuntary rxation set in.


    After six hours of exploration, they found nothing apart from the variety of uniquely colored nts. Charles then called for a brief respite.


    "Linda, Bandages, Feuerbach..."Charles muttered as he read down the list of names on the fabric tied around his shoulder and checked them against the people present.


    Although Anna''s tentacle was still in his brain, and ording to her, it could shield most mind-control attempts, Charles would rather err to the side of caution. He had more trust in written records.


    "Captain, here you go," the Cook, nck, said as he ced a steaming can of meat and a bowl of fruit soup before Charles.


    Under their present circumstances, Charles wasn''t in the mood to slowly savor the food. He gobbled his food quickly as his eyes darted around to monitor the strange forest.


    Seeing that Charles had started eating, nck moved toward a nearby bush.


    "Stop right there. What are you doing? Don''t you know it''s dangerous on an unexplored ind?"


    "I... I need to take a leak," nck said.


    "Just turn around and face away from us. Don''t wander into the forest," Charles instructed.


    "Okay. I wasn''t nning to go in anyway," nck said as he moved closer toward the bush and unbuckled his belt.


    Listening to someone urinating while eating wasn''t pleasant, but safety was more important than disgust.


    Charles averted his gaze from the cook''s back and continued with his meal.


    "AHHHHHH!" Suddenly, nck''s terrified scream pierced the air. He didn''t even manage to fasten his belt properly and ran back toward Charles and the rest of the crew.


    Startled by nck''s cry, the crew members instinctively reached for their weapons, and the sound of guns being loaded rang out.


    Charles even hurled his can of food aside and dashed toward nck with the speed of a cheetah.


    "What happened? What did you just see?" Charles demanded as he pulled nck behind him and stood protectively in front, his gaze piercing into the ominous forest.


    "A monster! A humanoid monster! It wants to eat me! It looks terrifying!" nck eximed as his fingers made failed attempts at buckling his belt.


    "What does it look like?"


    "It... it has terrifying scales all over its body, and they are green in color. Its eyes are white without eyelids, and its mouth is full of sharp fangs! It was even dressed in wet clothes that were dripping water."


    As nk described the creature, Charles found the imagery to be increasingly familiar. Realization dawned upon him, and a hint of anger flickered across his face. He bellowed into the forest, "What are you doing here?! Come out now!"


    Apanied by the sound of leaves crunching underfoot, a dark silhouette slowly emerged from the forest.


    As the figure came into view, a terrified expression appeared on the portly cook''s face. He pointed a chubby finger at the figure and stammered. "Y-Y-Yes! That''s him!"


    "Captain! Boatswain of the Narwhale, Dipp, reporting for duty!" Dipp, in his Deep Dweller form, emerged from the bizarre forest.