Yang Yi's gaze swept over the five human heads and noticed they all had one thing in common: their necks were cut very cleanly, as if severed by some sharp weapon in a single stroke.
He stared for a few seconds and quickly recalled the remains he found in the half-werewolf camp.
At the time, he had found many human bones, but the number of skulls was surprisingly low.
Initially, he thought the half-werewolves had lost the skulls, but now it seemed the bodies didn’t have heads at all — they had been deliberately collected by some creature.
He scanned the room with his Third Eye, not detecting any immediate danger. He only noticed some scattered footprints, not yet covered by the dust.
The players had probably entered the ship, and the Sacred Box was likely found there.
Using his spider-web gloves, Yang Yi quietly climbed into the room without causing much noise.
Once on the ground, he immediately adopted a defensive posture, holding his gun in one hand and the Sea Serpent’s Fang in the other, his body tensed and ready for any potential ambush.
But he had overthought it — there was no movement in the room, not even a single bug.
He began exploring immediately, as the effect of his Third Eye was limited. He needed to understand the situation on the ship in the following eight minutes.
【Name: Head Jar】
【Description: Human heads preserved by some technique, kept for long periods. Particularly their brains, which are frozen at the moment of preservation.】
"Head jars?" Yang Yi felt a chill run down his spine. (1)
Aside from the head jars, there was nothing else suspicious in the room.
He didn’t linger but immediately moved to the next room.
Due to the ship's tilt, the room couldn’t be accessed normally, so he had to climb in.
After confirming that the adjacent room was safe, Yang Yi entered.
It was unlike the previous one. The floor was covered in broken glass and stains, and even after so long, the traces were still visible.
There were still a few glass jars intact, containing unknown objects, but it seemed that due to the passage of time, the liquid inside had become murky.
Yang Yi tried checking a few of them.
【Name: Melted and Rotten Human Heart】
【Description: Contaminated by being stored too long. This heart is now useless.】
【Name: Melted and Rotten Human Eyeball】
【Description: Contaminated by being stored too long. This eyeball is now useless.】
【Name: Melted and Rotten Human Brain】
【Description: Contaminated by being stored too long, this brain is now useless. 】
【Name: Rotten Human Right Foot】
【Description: Contaminated by being stored too long. This right foot has begun to rot.】
The jars were full of human body parts.
The more Yang Yi looked, the more familiar they seemed, because there were similar jars in the witch’s laboratory, but those contained the organs of otherworldly demons.
He suddenly realised.
"A witch is on this ship? And she particularly likes to research human bodies?"
Frowning, he didn’t stay long, as time was limited.
He crawled through the room and reached the ship’s cabin.
Although it was only half a cabin, it was even more spacious than the Nightmare Star.
On the other side, there were parallel rooms. The middle one had a larger door, while the rooms on either side were smaller.
Following the cabin floor, Yang Yi climbed up.
Halfway there, he discovered a fixed white platform.
Even though a lot of time had passed, the platform showed no signs of fading or rotting. It only had a thick layer of dust on top.
Yang Yi reached out and touched it; the material felt very similar to the Sacred Box, so it was likely that the Sacred Box had once been placed there.
He continued climbing and reached the bottom rooms, first entering the largest one.
It was somewhat damp, with two rows of weapon racks. There were large amounts of severely rusted armour and weapons scattered across the floor.
They appeared to be part of a set. Each piece of armour had a spherical raised pattern in the centre.
【Name: Holy Knight Armour (Damaged)】
【Description: Standard armour worn by the radiant Holy Knights, glowing faintly in the dark. This piece has become rusted and damaged from neglect, and is now of no value.】
【Name: Holy Knight Sword (Damaged)】
【Description: Standard longsword wielded by the radiant Holy Knights, glowing faintly in the dark. This piece has become rusted and damaged from neglect, and is now of no value.】
【Name: Holy Knight Shield (Damaged)】
【Description: Standard shield used by the radiant Holy Knights, glowing faintly in the dark. This piece has become rusted and damaged from neglect, and is now of no value.】
Yang Yi glanced over them briefly and saw that they were all of no value, so he left the room and moved to the next.
The next room was very different; it had a bed and furniture, as though someone had lived here.
A thick layer of dust had accumulated on the floor, and the furniture was decaying, so the person who had lived here hadn’t returned in a long time.
The fresher footprints were all left by players, including a bloodstained set of footprints that stopped in front of the bed, as though someone had lain there for a while.
Yang Yi carefully examined the bed, then looked under it and found a severely damaged parchment.
The writing on it was unclear, in a special script that Yang Yi didn’t recognise.
【You have discovered a Human Tongue, costing 500 Shell Coins to learn.】
The system immediately popped up with a message.
Without hesitation, Yang Yi spent the coins to learn the language, and then he could understand the writing.
"Thank the Radiant One for the guidance!"
"A few days ago, we received a report that...a massacre occurred! A crazed one-eyed man killed his adulterous wife and her lover, as well as everyone around them."
"His strength was extraordinary, and even his single eye took up half his face..."
"We purified him with the Holy Fire!"
"Afterwards, we followed the trail and found a lurking witch!"
"To capture her, we sacrificed one knight and two knights' attendants. They were true heroes, and we buried them... Only this ugly, evil, and feared witch remains! We will escort her back to the Holy City, where she will understand the depth of her sins, but the gods will not forgive her..."
There were large stains in the middle of the text that Yang Yi couldn’t read.
"...Unfortunately, we encountered a sea tornado, which followed our ship! Damn it! This must be a curse the witch summoned!"
"...The ship was torn apart and fell from the sky. Most of us died, and we buried them, hoping they would return to the embrace of the Radiant Goddess..."
"Damn, the witch’s evil vessel contained a disease! Some of us began to have fever, hair started growing on our faces, and the holy water couldn’t cure this evil illness..."
"They went mad, biting everything in sight! Sir Knight Will and I killed these crazed people, leaving only the two of us..." (2)
"...That damn witch should have been tied to the pyre! In front of all the citizens of the Holy City, we would have used the harshest holy instruments to redeem her soul and body with the Holy Fire!"
"...Seven days have passed, this island is too barren, and with only Will and I, we can't repair the ship."
"Sir Knight Will has decided to prepare a small boat and seek rescue from the sea. I agree with this decision, for the Radiant One will guide him, and he will surely complete the task!"
"My task is to guard the Sacred Box and ensure that the evil within cannot escape. I have all the time in the world!"
"...My face is starting to grow hair, my teeth are becoming sharp, and I even want to dig up the corpses of my comrades to feast on... Maybe I’ve already started doing this!"
"My waking hours are getting shorter, but I will not forget my mission. I will ensure the ship remains undisturbed and the Sacred Box stays closed. The Holy Knights will come, and when they do, I will rest in eternal peace!"
"Radiance forever! Order forever!"
As the writing continued, it became increasingly scrawled, showing the deteriorating mental state of the writer.
Yang Yi finished reading and his brows furrowed deeply.
He had made a mistake in his judgment.
The ship wasn’t owned by the witch, but by the Holy Knights.
The purpose of the Holy Knights was likely to exterminate heretics. They had only encountered the witch during their journey back, and that was when the shipwreck happened.
However, the Sacred Box...could it hold a living person?
Yang Yi didn’t think so.
It would be very inconvenient to carry, and he hadn’t brought it with him. Instead, he had hidden it in a bush outside the giant ship.
Just then, a woman’s voice suddenly came from behind Yang Yi’s head.
"It only took you a little while to have lunch, and I didn’t expect a thief to sneak in and kill my watchdog..."
Yang Yi's scalp tingled.
Though he was facing away from her, he could still see clearly.
From the corner of the door, a head appeared — probably a woman — with her eyes tightly shut.
Yang Yi didn’t have time to turn around. He aimed at her while still facing away, pulling the trigger of his flintlock pistol.