Chapter 296: He Wants to Return Too!

Chapter 296: He, Too, Longs to Return!

"Captain, why are we coming here to go to Corona Island?" Fannie asked.

"I don't know either; it was Cullen's request." Neo stretched his arms by the shoreline. "I imagine he isn't going to suggest we swim across, unless he's gone mad."

Peggy asked, "Is there still time to summon a boat over?"

"There is, but we'd have to head back to York City first and take a boat from York Harbor," Fannie replied.

"Phew..." Peggy shrugged. "Pretend I never said anything."

Just then, two more cars drove up. From the first vehicle stepped Gray and Wind, while from the second emerged Memphis.

The captain brought his face close to Fannie and whispered, "You notified Memphis?"

"Didn't you tell me to notify him, Captain?"

"Oh, right, I did, but I didn't expect him to actually show up. It seems he truly enjoys our team activities."

"The moment Memphis received the notice, he replied and agreed immediately. However, Richard, whom you also asked me to notify, didn't come instead. It seems he was injured."

"Oh, it doesn't matter whether Richard comes or not."

"Captain."

"Captain."

Gray and Wind walked over.

Memphis also approached, gave Neo a nod, and then stood off to the side.

"Hey, what kind of car is that?" Peggy asked.

Fannie looked over and replied, "It looks like a hearse, and a new model at that."

Peggy smiled. "Is it here to deliver blessings? Why does it look a bit familiar?"

Fannie shook her head and said, "It's a vehicle from the Pavarotti Funeral Home. When we brought Cullen back before, this car was parked right at the entrance."

The hearse drove up to the spot, and Alfred stepped out, walking first over to Neo:

"Hello, Captain. I am Master Cullen's manservant. You may call me Alfred."

Neo nodded at him.

Alfred immediately turned to Fannie. "Miss Fannie, I am truly grateful to you for what happened last time."

"You are too kind."

"Miss Peggy, you are as wildly beautiful as ever."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Alfred smiled at Wind, then turned to Gray. "You must be Mr. Gray. Thank you for guiding our young master; he has always been very grateful to you."

"You're too kind, too kind."

Finally, Alfred took his place and stood beside Memphis.

Neo called out to Alfred, "Where is Cullen?"

"The young master will arrive shortly. Please wait just a moment longer, everyone."

As for the fact that Cullen had a manservant, no one present found it surprising. With their income, converted into Riels, they could live a very affluent life in the city, easily affording servants and maids.

At last, the black secondhand Ponce sedan appeared within everyone's sight, and Cullen parked the car right behind the hearse.

After a short while, Cullen finally stepped out.

Then, the crowd saw the two figures who followed Cullen out of the vehicle.

One was a woman holding a wand, wearing leather boots and a hood, with a cat perched upon her shoulder.

The other was a middle-aged man dressed in a gray robe, wearing sunglasses, holding a leash in his hand as a golden retriever walked ahead of him.

Pu'er's puppet walked up behind Cullen and whispered, "Cullen, does my face feel nice to touch?"

"Hmm? Puppets can retain memories?"

"Only for two days at most, and you just happened to make it within the time limit."

"I just wanted to confirm what material it was made of."

"Then you could have touched the stupid dog's face instead."

"Wouldn't it feel strange to touch Kevin's?"

"I suppose that's true. Next time you want to touch it, I'll control it to lie on the bed so you can have your turn."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just a puppet anyway, after all." A sly smile crept onto the lips of Pu'er's puppet. "Besides, touching it against a coffin is so terribly devoid of atmosphere."

"You are being mischievous."

"No, you are just embarrassed."

Cullen raised his hand to greet the crowd ahead. "Apologies, I am a bit late. Let me introduce everyone; these two are my friends, practitioners of a family belief system. This is Miss Pu'er."

"Hello, everyone. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Pu'er's puppet curtsied to the crowd.

"And this is Mr. Kevin."

"Woof!"

The golden retriever barked first, but realizing something was amiss, Kevin's puppet immediately nodded to everyone.

"What kind of family belief system is this?" Peggy asked in bewilderment. "Bringing pets along when going out?"

Cullen explained, "The characteristic of their family belief system is beast taming."

Peggy pointed her finger at the cat and the golden retriever, asking, "You call... this a beast?"

Beside them, Neo didn't think much of it at first, because although these two individuals were incredibly lifelike, they could not escape his eyes. They were clearly puppets, and moreover, products of that very ceramic studio he was most familiar with.

Cullen bringing along two puppets that were almost indistinguishable from reality was truly no surprise to Neo; after all, the two of them had shared and done far crazier things before.

But the moment Neo caught sight of Kevin's appearance,

The captain's eyes instantly widened.

In that time-testing space, he and Cullen had once seen a fountain together, and the crucial part was the statue in the center of the fountain—its appearance was unexpectedly identical to this dog-leashing puppet before him.

No, no, no...

Neo reached out to rub the space between his brows, immediately recalling the scenes he had witnessed after pushing open those three windows. The first scene was a youth, the second was a young man...

Wasn't this "Mr. Kevin" before his eyes the exact likeness of the evil god behind the third window!

The reason he hadn't remembered this in the very first instant was that Raniedal behind the third window was already an evil god; his image, especially his face, was easily overlooked because his overall presentation to one's perception was merely a symbol.

And excluding the possibility that Cullen had maliciously designed the puppet to look like this out of some twisted sense of humor... that left only one remaining reason.

"He is just like a dog in my house..."

Those words Cullen had once spoken to him now echoed beside the captain's ears.

The Captain's gaze drifted downward, settling upon that golden retriever.

Immediately following,

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd,

The Captain walked up to Mr. Kevin—no, more precisely, to the golden retriever Mr. Kevin was leading—and crouched down.

The Captain extended his hand, not as if to pet the dog, but rather as if to shake hands.

The golden retriever raised a paw, placed it in the Captain’s hand, and gave it a high-five.

The Captain turned his face slightly, instinctively wanting to grasp the dog with both hands for a closer look, yet he hesitated.

Even the Captain, who had once stirred up such a massive storm on Dark Moon Island, suddenly grew timid before this dog.

"Captain, we should make the most of our time and head out."

"Ah, right." Neo stood up and looked toward Garen, his eyes filled with inquiry.

Garen patted his pocket and made no response, but the meaning was clear: your subscription to my secrets has expired.

"Heh."

Neo let out a laugh.

Fanny spoke up to ask, "Garen, did you arrange for a boat?"

"Miss Purr has a way to handle it; that is precisely why I brought her along."

"Please wait a moment, everyone."

Purr walked toward the shore, letting her boots step onto the beach soaked with seawater, and instantly, a red starburst appeared beneath her feet.

Then,

Purr raised her hand,

And spoke:

"In my name, I summon your appearance—my companion, Acelos!"

The surface of the sea remained calm.

Yet ten minutes later, the sea suddenly swelled, then swiftly receded, immediately revealing the massive silhouette of a sea beast.

Though they had already experienced the visual impact of the behemoth Dorons, facing this giant beast still pressed a heavy weight upon everyone.

"Miss, responding to your command!"

Purr turned around and waved to the crowd on the shore, signaling everyone to come over.

The great beast opened its mouth accordingly, extending its long tongue.

"Everyone, just walk straight inside; there is a dry and clean space within," Purr said.

The crowd filed in, with Neo intentionally lingering at the very back.

"Quite a grand display," the Captain said to Garen.

"This way, the speed is a bit faster."

The reality was that Garen also knew well that, rather than any high regard for this descendant of Mr. Wood, Purr simply wanted to seize this opportunity to make use of this puppet and go out for some fun.

The increase in speed and efficiency was, instead, merely a convenient byproduct.

"By the way, Captain, I originally thought you would bring the entire squad with you."

"Marlow and the others took the rest of the team to Sanpu City for another mission. It isn't too difficult and the reward isn't high, so I didn't bother notifying you; consider it letting them earn a little extra pocket money on their own."

"Then Gendi's squad's mission..."

"Strictly speaking, Gendi took that mission from my hands. If they do it, we can just lie back and collect a commission, so if something truly terrible happened to his squad, it would bring some trouble to me as well."

"Captain..."

"Our Hound Squad used to get by like that too. Back when we were in Sanpu City, good missions were scarce. If we wanted to get our hands on some profitable ones, we had to take them as transfers from others just to swallow a bit of leftover broth."

"So even if I hadn't come, you still would have gone to Korona Island, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, I must bring the mission to a proper conclusion, but then again, who asked me to know about your connection to Allen Manor."

"The Allen family's coordinator on the island has already been detained; that is confirmed news."

"Oh, then things will be easier to handle." Neo let out a long sigh of relief. "Strictly speaking, the Korona Island line is a business between Dark Moon Island and the Holy Church, and Allen Manor was merely acting as a middleman. Now, an unknown faction has cut into this line, which is an insult to my Church of Order."

Garen knew that the Captain was elevating the issue. In doing so, even if Gendi's squad had truly met with disaster, the higher-ups afterward would likely have no time to bother with these lower-level, non-compliant mission transfers.

"I still hope we can resolve it quickly and smoothly."

"It will be difficult. Since the opposition dared to lay hands on Gendi's squad and also detained that island coordinator, it proves they might truly have substantial backing. However, we can test the waters once we land on the island. If our current strength is enough to solve it, then we'll settle the matter swiftly—perhaps we can even gain some merit and rewards from it. If it's beyond our ability to handle, then I'll call for reinforcements.

By the way, that Mr. Kevin—no, that gentleman Kevin—and that evil god, what is the connection?"

"The sunshine is quite nice today."

Neo pointed his finger at Garen, shaking it up and down.

Garen smiled.

"You just wait, sooner or later I will brew up a massive secret of my own to make you come begging to trade with me."

"I look forward to it."

Neo walked into the mouth of the giant beast.

"Young Master, I wish to go with you," Alfred requested.

"Of course, I will always need your help, Alfred."

There was no reason to bring along the family's cat and dog while leaving Alfred behind.

"Thank you, Young Master."

Alfred stepped into the great maw, and just as Garen was preparing to walk in as well, Purr spoke up: "Acelos, shut your mouth."

The beast closed its jaws.

Garen said, "I didn't sleep well; I wanted to go inside, lie down for a bit, and catch up on some sleep."

"For the first time in so many years, I am going out in human form, and you can't even accompany me for a little while?" Purr reached out and pinched her own cheek. "Just take it as compensation for you pinching my face."

"Fine, fine, can we let this matter drop now?"

"Hmph, depends on my mood."

Garen and Purr stood atop Acelos's head. Acelos spouted a column of water, and then its silhouette submerged beneath the sea, leaving only a tiny bit of its upper side visible, while its massive body advanced toward Korona Island with an unimaginable agility.

"It has been a long time since I formed a team to go on an adventure like this," Purr lamented with emotion. "In the past, I used to organize such adventure trips frequently with a group of companions. Some would die along the way, but next time, there would always be interesting newcomers joining. While life lasts, adventure never ceases."

"I can imagine what kind of feeling that life must have had."

"Are you envious?"

"Not particularly envious."

"Why? What you told Dis about wanting to come out—wasn't it just to see the scenery?"

"Our mindsets for looking at scenery are different. Just like you now, if you were to return to that time in the past..."

"I will still be very excited, very thrilled, and very happy—I will forever be myself."

"Alright, you are right."

Cullen sat down, placed the sword case behind him, and then lay down using it as a pillow.

The sun was still shining brightly, making it perfect to lie back, soak up the warmth, and take a nap.

Seeing this, Purr did not say anything to him, but continued to stand there, gazing out at the youth she once knew.

At dusk, Cullen felt the deceleration from below, opened his eyes, and found Corona Island right ahead.

"Have you been standing the whole time?" Cullen asked.

The black cat on his shoulder turned around and said to Cullen, "Does this puppet of mine also need to sit down or lie down to rest?"

"Haha, I forgot."

Acelos opened its mouth, and everyone walked out from its belly.

Purr was the last to come down, instructing the giant beast:

"Find a place nearby to rest and await my summons."

"Yes, mistress."

Acelos sank into the sea and disappeared from sight.

The captain looked around and said, "This should be the dark side of the island. Good, we will split into groups now. Fanny and Peige in one group, Windgre in another, and Memphis and I in the third.

Cullen, you and your manservant, along with the two friends who came to help, can rest here first.

We will investigate from three directions. Everyone remember, do not expose yourselves prematurely, and do not be the first to strike. Before we gauge the opponent's strength, avoid any contact as much as possible, understood?"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Good, let's move. We will reconvene here in four hours to formulate the next step of the plan."

Soon, everyone else departed according to their groups.

"So, what about us?" Purr asked. "Are we really just going to rest here?"

"Woof!"

"Young master, what are your thoughts?"

"The captain is looking out for the two of you, as your movements might be inconvenient. He can deceive others, but he cannot deceive me. Fine, I will take you all to explore too; let's head that way."

"That way is neither toward the town nor the pier; that is a mountain hollow," Purr said.

"Other groups went in all the other directions, didn't they? Let's go take a look, maybe we can discover something."

"Cullen, are you just humoring me and the dumb dog?"

"Woof?"

"Yes, keep talking like that. The more you say it, the more I feel we might actually find something."

"You seem to have written about this theory in your notebook too. Which sect does it originate from?"

"The Sect of Xuanxue."

"I understand the word 'Sect,' but what does the pronunciation before it mean?"

Alfred took out his little notebook, writing as he spoke, "According to my understanding of the young master's words, the word formed by that pronunciation can be understood as 'mystic,' or it can be understood as 'the unknowable' or 'the unpredictable.' Even, as an extended meaning, it can be understood as 'fate'."

"Radio sprite, were you working in archaeology before you became an aberrant demon?"

"Yes, I am willing to spend my entire life unearthing and comprehending the young master's thoughts."

Purr spread her paws, making a gesture of helplessness.

The four of them began walking deeper into the mountain hollow. This was basically an uninhabited area of the island; no one would deliberately come here.

Alfred activated the Incubus Eye and began observing the surroundings;

Kevin led Mr. Kevin, his nose constantly sniffing.

Cullen was also paying attention to the changes in the surrounding environment, except for Purr, who seemed to prefer looking at the sky.

As they walked, Purr raised her paw, pointing into the air, and said, "Those seabirds are a bit strange."

"Let's go look."

Beneath the spot where the seabirds circled was a hollow depression, but the inside was covered by a layer of white cocoon.

Purr spoke up, "The seabirds circle and refuse to leave because they want to eat carrion, yet they dare not come down. This layer of white cocoon must be toxic. I'll try to burn it away with fire."

Promptly, Purr spread her paws, and two balls of fire appeared, floating up waveringly before making contact with that layer of white cocoon. The white cocoon was quickly ignited and burned away, revealing the scene within.

Inside, there were starkly shattered giant eggshells, each eggshell as tall as an ordinary adult male, with some black pus still remaining inside the shells.

At the breach of the lowest eggshell, a person covered entirely in black scales was stuck there; he was already dead, his corpse completely shriveled, evidently having failed when breaking out of the egg.

Visible from above, there were bizarre black runes on the insides of those shattered eggshells and on that corpse.

Purr said in puzzlement, "What the hell, egg-men?"

At this moment, Cullen noticed Kevin staring wide-eyed at these eggs below, baring his teeth downward, a low growl issuing from his throat.

"Dumb dog, do you know what this thing is?"

"Woof! Woof!"

Alfred spoke up, "Fundamentalist Sea God Sect believers."

Cullen opened his mouth to ask, "Hasn't the Sea God Sect already been destroyed by you?"

The original Sea God Sect had already fractured into many churches, the most powerful among them now being nothing more than a medium-sized church, comparable to the Pamires Sect before it allied with the Order Sect, and now it was far inferior to the Pamires Sect. One must know that during its prime in the last era, the Sea God Sect was an orthodox church!

Kevin's dog eyes turned grim, and he turned around, facing the direction of the distant sea, his tail cocked, letting out an extremely deep howl:

"Woof!"

Alfred translated:

"He, too, wishes to return."