Chapter 89: Lost Song of the Deep (16)
Hidden in the circled areas is a route that the cruise ship took after it veered off course, along with their current location.
Ye Nianchu took a photo of the map with her phone, put it back in place, exited the office, and went to the designated meeting spot to join Qin Mubai.
The last room on this floor has new occupants—three players who recently requested an upgrade at the desk.
"What are you staring at? People are going in," said the girl with long hair, signaling her companion to hurry up and bring the suitcases inside.
"Zhao Qian, don’t lecture me. You were just as bad a moment ago," the other girl retorted.
When you put those two together, it's natural to take a few more glances.
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Inside the room, Ye Nianchu took a pen and labeled the photos on the cruise ship's route map.
The cruise ship Goni is heading into the most dangerous waters. Due to the geographical conditions, this area frequently experiences extreme weather, and storms are common. Not only can waves reach over ten meters in height, but there's also a high chance of encountering sea tornadoes, making navigation very challenging.
Ye Nianchu looked up and asked, "How's the situation on your end?"
"There was no substantial damage to the ship's communication and navigation equipment; everything failed for no apparent reason," Qin Mubai replied. His long fingers pointed to a location circled on the left side of the route map. "I found a piece of information—a game clue about this area."
"This place is known as the 'Devil's Quarter,' where shipwrecks are frequent. Either the ship remains but the people disappear, or both the ship and its occupants vanish together. The earliest record of this occurred over a hundred years ago, when a cargo ship lost contact in this vicinity. It was found weeks later, with the cargo intact and the vessel undamaged and without signs of a struggle, but the crew had vanished as if they had evaporated. Moreover, the freighter's original route did not include this area."
"Did they encounter a siren?" Ye Nianchu propped her chin up and looked toward the balcony.
The deep sea roiled with waves, and rain had been falling all day.
Sirens can enchant people with their voices, leading them to jump into the sea. This is what they have witnessed firsthand.
To complete the second mission, they need to eliminate the siren's influence and restore the equipment. Even if they manage to defeat the sirens, if they cannot determine the direction, escaping the 'Devil's Zone' safely will be difficult.
"Those five people returned after the rain stopped," Ye Nianchu said.
Qin Mubai nodded. "Sirens cannot stay out of water for long, and the current weather conditions are advantageous for them."
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In the evening, the ship rocked even more violently. People who should have been asleep emerged from their rooms in pajamas, moving awkwardly.
The dark sea, combined with the howling wind and rain, carried a strange sound from the distant waves, reminiscent of an old, nearly obsolete machine.
Such a sound is insignificant at sea, yet it created an oppressive atmosphere.
After dawn, staff went from room to room to count the number of people. There were significantly fewer people on the ship again. The food was no longer as refined as before, and no one cared about it anymore; the shadow of death loomed over the ship.
The black clouds above made it difficult to breathe, creating a scene reminiscent of the end times.
The broadcast was repeated three times daily—morning, noon, and evening. This continued for two days.
Initially, people held onto hope, but as they watched more disappear daily, helpless and unsure of their own fate, those with less resilience began to crack under the strain.
On the fourteenth day of the game, the rain stopped, and the weather showed signs of improvement.
The staff responsible for counting did not arrive, and breakfast was not delivered.