The captain of the ship reached out.

Chapter 12 Monsters in Human Skin

Night falls.

The firelight on the deck dispelled the approaching darkness.

Bazel and the others have not yet returned.

Such island expeditions require camping on the island for several days, so returning on the first night would be abnormal.

During this period, Andrew acted as the temporary captain, managing the affairs of the ship.

"Mike, what's the situation in the lower decks?"

At dinner, Andrew received his food from the cook, David, and casually asked the freckled boy next to him a question.

"I've heard people say they've heard some strange noises coming from down below. Is that true?"

"No?"

Mike's face held just the right amount of bewilderment.

"I just checked, and everything in the lower decks is normal!"

"That's good."

Andrew did not suspect him.

Sleeping on a ship is inherently restless, and it's not uncommon for people to experience symptoms such as neurasthenia and auditory hallucinations.

Moreover, given Andrew's extensive experience at sea.

The wise thing to do is to ignore any unusual noises you hear.

Several colleagues who suddenly went insane did so because their excessive curiosity led them to see things they shouldn't have.

After dinner, and following the usual patrol, the night gradually deepened.

The crew members remaining on board the Golden Sun began taking turns patrolling.

Bottom-line crew members like Ivan and Mike are often responsible for the toughest and most tiring night shifts.

I've only been standing here for half an hour.

Evan swayed slightly and couldn't help but yawn.

"Mike, I'm going to sneak off to sleep for a bit. Remember to wake me up later."

After saying that, Evan ignored Mike's reaction, leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

"Huh? What's wrong with you...?"

Normally, Mike would definitely feel very depressed.

By doing this, Evan was essentially dumping the work on him and slacking off himself.

But today, Mike was secretly pleased.

He glanced at the unconscious Evan and thought to himself, "If you want to sleep, then sleep a little longer..."

……

……

Evan was awakened by a strange noise.

The sound was like something slippery crawling across the cabin, with a faint, eerie echo.

What was that sound?

Evan leaned against the wall to stand up, his head spinning.

He probably caught a chill from the sea breeze on the deck last night.

"Mike...Mike?"

Evan called out twice but received no response, muttering to himself.

"Strange, where did that kid go?"

"How long...did I sleep?"

In a daze, Evan picked up a kerosene lamp and slowly walked deeper into the cabin.

He hadn't forgotten his duty; he had to investigate that strange sound.

I wonder if it was just Evan's imagination.

The cabin seems much darker than usual today?

The dark passageway stretched forward, the light from a kerosene lamp illuminating a small area around it.

step... step... step...

In the silence, only Evan's own footsteps echoed.

Where did Mike go?

Evan, who is usually quite bold, felt a little uneasy today and could only try to calm himself down by talking to himself.

"I hope he's not hiding somewhere slacking off too! I hope I don't catch him!"

Glug... Glug...

Suddenly, that slippery wriggling sound rang out again.

The distance doesn't seem to be very far?

Evan raised the kerosene lamp and looked in the direction from which the sound came, but suddenly froze on the spot.

Ahead, a dim light shone from the cabin wall at the corner.

It seems there is another light source approaching.

However, the light cast a strange and eerie shadow on the wall.

It looked like several twisted tentacles.

They huddled together, intertwined, and slowly crawled in the dim light and shadow, their outlines gradually enlarging, as if they were moving closer to Evan's location.

What...what is that?!

Evan's heart pounded, and he didn't dare to breathe.

He had never heard of such a thing being on the Golden Sun!

What shocked Evan even more was...

The shadows on the wall changed rapidly.

The shadowy tentacles continued to shrink and converge inward, disappearing within a few breaths, leaving behind only a humanoid silhouette!

Who is he?!

Do not……

Evan suddenly realized what was happening.

That's probably not even human!

It's a monster in human skin!

A monster has possessed the body of one of the crew members, impersonated him, and... has been hiding among them all this time!

A tremendous fear gripped Evan's heart instantly, almost crushing his reason.

Run! Run now!!

Evan dared not look at the monster's true form and stumbled as he fled back the way he came.

But just as he was about to rush onto the deck, he tripped and fell, hitting the back of his head on the steps, and lost consciousness.

……

……

"Evan! Wake up, it's time for your shift to end!"

Shift change?

Huh? Didn't I just see that...?

As soon as Evan opened his eyes, he saw Mike's freckled face.

"You've been sleeping for way too long. How can you leave all the work to me?"

Mike complained with a hint of resentment.

Evan sat bolt upright, his face filled with panic: "Mike, you have no idea what I just saw!"

"Monsters... there are monsters on the ship!"

"What monster? Are you still half asleep?"

Mike asked in a strange tone, "Haven't you been hiding here sleeping all this time?"

"……what?"

Evan was stunned for a moment, then turned around and found himself sitting in the spot where he had been sleeping.

The kerosene lamp stood quietly in place.

Evan touched the back of his head and didn't feel any pain.

Could it be that everything that just happened was just a dream?

"It's a dream..."

Evan let out a long breath, and his expression visibly relaxed.

"Thank goodness, it was a dream."

However, Evan did not notice that a purplish-black tentacle was quietly tucked into Mike's clothes.

……

……

"Brother Mushroom, that was a close call!"

After calming Evan down, on the way back to the lower deck with Horn, Mike couldn't help but think to himself.

"We almost got exposed!"

"really."

Horn agreed.

The situation just now was indeed exceptionally dangerous.

Neither he nor Mike expected that Evan would suddenly wake up, almost catching him laying out the fungal mat.

Horn had prepared for the worst and was considering killing him to cover it up.

Fortunately, Evan tripped and fell, and passed out.

This gave them room to maneuver.

As for Evan's head injury, it was only healed after Horn found the last bottle of [healing potion] on Alice.

This matter is probably not over yet.

A seed of doubt may remain in Evan's mind.

But that doesn't matter. As long as there's no evidence, most of the other people on the ship won't believe him.

"Still not cautious enough!"

Horn reflected on himself in his mind.

However, the rewards of this adventure were also quite substantial.

He has already laid out small areas of fungal mats in the upper cabins, the galley, and several empty cabins.

Once the carnivorous mushrooms have grown, one-third of the entire ship will be under his perception.

Although the senses of his familiars are not as sharp as his own, it is better than nothing!

"Mike, you've worked hard."

After crawling out of the clothes and back into the black mushrooms, Horn didn't forget to praise his second employee.

"You did a great job today."

Although it was just two words of praise, it was still a very rare treat for Mike.

Mike felt a warmth in his heart and quickly replied.

"It's not hard at all."

Horn thought for a moment and realized that verbal praise alone might not be enough, so he extended his tentacles and extended an invitation.

"By the way, since you're already here, why don't you come in and lie down for a while? It's very comfortable!"

"……what?"