140: Chapter 140 Returning to Moro

After sending them all to see Shiva, the Fengze Ship also happened to arrive in this area of the sea. The entire freighter was deathly still; there didn't seem to be a single living soul on board.

Lin Fang, whose blue bar was completely empty, took the opportunity to return to the freighter. After the ship sailed through the burning surface of the sea, it continued on toward Molo.

It wasn't until noon the next day that the people on the ship began to wake up one after another.

Sunlight streamed through the portholes, stinging their eyes.

Captain Zhang Yongkui was among the first to wake. He felt a splitting headache as if he'd been struck by a heavy hammer; his throat was parched and burning, and his stomach churned with waves of nausea.

In the dining hall, his crew members lay sprawled in every direction, all letting out groans of pain. One by one, like him, they struggled to climb to their feet.

"Ugh... my head..." "What's going on... bleh..." "What happened? Why are we all lying on the floor?"

Noisy, weak voices rose and fell. Zhang Yongkui endured the dizziness, using a table to steady himself as he stood. He shouted hoarsely, "Everyone awake? Is everyone okay? Can anyone tell me what happened last night?"

One man rubbed his temples, his expression grim. "Brother Zhang, I... I don't remember anything. I just remember that after dinner yesterday, I suddenly felt incredibly dizzy and couldn't catch my breath. Then, I blacked out."

"Me too!" "Same here! I just suddenly fainted!"

The crew members chimed in one after another; their memories all cut off at last night.

Hearing this, Zhang Yongkui was momentarily stunned. Was this mass food poisoning? Or a gas leak?

Zhang Yongkui's heart sank; this was one of the most terrifying types of accidents at sea. "Quick! Check the kitchen and all the ventilation ducts! The engine room too!"

"Yes, sir!"

Wait! I hope nothing happened to that Mr. Lin!

Zhang Yongkui snapped his head toward the opposite side, only to see Lin Fang clutching a chair with a deathly pale face. His condition looked far more serious than theirs.

"Mr. Lin, are you alright? I'll call the ship's doctor right away." Seeing him like this, Zhang Yongkui was startled.

"No need. What happened?"

Lin Fang spoke weakly. He wasn't faking much of this state; he really had overexerted himself last night.

Seeing that Lin Fang was conscious despite his weakness, Zhang Yongkui breathed a small sigh of relief, though the anxiety in his heart didn't diminish at all. "We don't know either. It seems like mass food poisoning. Mr. Lin, please rest here for now."

Zhang Yongkui instructed a crew member who was in slightly better shape to look after Lin Fang while he personally directed the others to conduct the inspection.

Soon, they discovered something unusual.

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, Zhang Yongkui rushed into the bridge to check the satellite navigation and electronic charts. His pupils dilated in shock.

"What the hell? What is going on!"

The light representing the Fengze Ship on the chart had clearly strayed far from yesterday's route, appearing in a patch of high seas they shouldn't have reached for at least another day! The navigation data showed that their current position was less than half a day's voyage from their destination, Ruang Island!

Zhang Yongkui looked at his helmsman, "Chen Zhen, did you turn on the autopilot?"

Chen Zhen was checking the instrument panel and shook his head upon hearing the question. "Captain, I remember clearly—I didn't turn it on."

"Then how do you explain this? Is the ship haunted!"

Chen Zhen flipped through the autopilot's log screen. "The log shows that the autopilot was indeed activated last night at 22:17. The target heading and speed were manually modified. The operator ID shown is... Li Rui, First Mate Li!"

Zhang Yongkui frowned. "Where is he? Find him."

Only then did it occur to him that he hadn't seen Li Rui since he woke up.

Half an hour later, Zhang Yongkui got the final result. Li Rui's personal belongings were all there, but the man himself was gone. They had searched the deck, the engine room, the storage—every corner of the ship—and found nothing. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.

But that was impossible. Out here on the open sea, unless he jumped overboard, he would have had to leave on another vessel.

After sending people to confirm the state of the lifeboats and the cargo,

Zhang Yongkui slumped into a chair. The screen in front of him was playing last night's surveillance footage, but it was nothing but static.

Last night's footage was missing! When it resumed, it was already the chaotic scene of them waking up at noon today.

"Captain, the lifeboats are all here, and no cargo is missing."

The inspection took another three hours. After hearing the results, a massive mystery instantly shrouded Zhang Yongkui and the others in the bridge.

What on earth happened last night?!

Filled with doubt, Zhang Yongkui could only force his suspicions down and turn his gaze toward the horizon, where the outline of Ruang Island was gradually becoming clear.

Fortunately, they had arrived safely.

—

By now, the entire Molo Island had been completely transformed. The original roads had been replaced by wide, smooth, four-lane black asphalt roads with clear and prominent markings.

Multiple high-standard highways extended like arteries from the port, spiraling deep into the island's interior and connecting various regions. One could even see tunnel entrances emerging from distant mountains and elevated bridges spanning across valleys.

Ten thousand buildings rising from the ground!

Just looking at this modern port, one could imagine the scene of it being brightly lit at night, even during the day.

After Lin Fang disembarked from the freighter, he saw Zhou Hui waiting to pick him up, along with a group from Third-Party Technology.

"Boss, you're finally here!"

Zhou Hui hurried forward to greet him with a smile, but upon seeing Lin Fang's pale face, his expression immediately turned cold. His gaze became sharp as he quickly scanned the listless Fengze Ship crew members.

As Lin Fang's confidant and head of security on the island, Zhou Hui immediately realized that the situation might not be as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Zhou Hui took a step forward, almost instinctively turning his body slightly to approach Lin Fang in a protective stance. "Boss, are you hurt?"

Lin Fang said, "Take our things and let's head back."

Zhou Hui understood immediately and said no more, gesturing for his men to bring their gear and receive the items from the ship.

After loading the Supercomputers and the 550W into the vehicles, Lin Fang's group left the port. To the other people on the island, all they could see was the black cloth covering the items.

This sort of thing wasn't considered unusual.

On the way to the center of the island, Lin Fang looked out the window. The sight of over a hundred large-scale construction projects operating simultaneously was spectacular. Massive transport trucks and engineering machinery came and went like a tireless, busy swarm of ants.

In just a short while, this place would become a new starting point.

The vehicles passed the branch building of the "Civilization Spire" currently under construction and drove straight into a factory-like structure. The building was surrounded by high walls that blocked all lines of sight.

After entering, the cars stopped before an electronic fence. Beside the fence stood two expressionless, burly men standing guard.

"You guys can head back."

Zhou Hui waved his hand, dismissing the drivers.