Chapter 307: The Lump of Flesh

On the small metal chest badge, the name “Cristo Babelli” was etched in steel, identifying him as the captain of the Obsidian.

This badge left the atmosphere at the scene eerie and silent, with the only sound in the spacious cabin being a heart pounding.

“Is his name Cristo?” Alice broke the silence after a while, scratching her head, looking puzzled. “But the... ‘person’ we saw behind that blue door also said his name was Cristo, right?”

“If this ship is from Frost’s deep sea, then everything on board could be distorted replicas. Each pile of twisted things here might represent Cristo or anyone else on the Obsidian at that time,” Duncan said calmly, his gaze falling on the wide-eyed middle-aged man on the ground with a hand covering his mouth. “The key is this... this corpse, which is clearly unique.”

“Do you think he’s the original?” Vanna quickly reacted, looking at Duncan in astonishment. “But... how could the original be here when the whole ship is obviously twisted and replicated?”

“Our understanding of Frost’s deep sea is based on Tyrian’s limited memories, and even what Tyrian knows is only part of the information from the early stages of the entire Abyss Plan. The entire project has never truly uncovered the secrets of the seabed below one thousand meters,” Duncan shook his head. “We know very little about Frost’s waters, and our assumptions about the rules for these ‘replicas’ may be incorrect. Perhaps the original is hidden within the counterfeit shell, or maybe every counterfeit is a manifestation of the original split apart, or even perhaps in the deep sea, there is no distinction between counterfeits and originals.”

As Vanna listened to Duncan’s words, she couldn’t help but glance at Alice beside her.

But Alice didn’t give it much thought. She was just curiously observing the “Cristo Babelli” on the ground. After pondering for a while, she suddenly asked, “Why is he covering his mouth?”

“People often react like that when they’re scared,” Morris said casually, “it’s not strange.”

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Duncan’s voice chimed in, “No, it’s quite strange... it’s not because of fear.”

Morris looked at Duncan in surprise, only to see him squatting down beside the eerie corpse, even bringing his face close to it, carefully examining something.

Thump, thump, thump.

Cristo Babelli’s heart continued to pound with Duncan’s approach – it beat even faster and more forcefully than before.

Duncan noticed the change in the heart, but his main focus was still on Captain Cristo’s face. After careful observation, he suddenly discovered something.

“There’s something in his mouth.”

“Something in his mouth?” Morris was taken aback, then saw Duncan reach out to try to pry the corpse’s hand away from its mouth.

The resistance from the hand surprised Duncan.

This corpse was tightly covering its own mouth, as if, even after years of death, it was still consciously resisting something!

Their return was much quicker than their exploration.

The group rapidly moved through the eerily silent and open cabin, through the chaotic and twisted sloping passage, and soon arrived back at the “Captain’s Quarters” with the blue door.

The door was slightly open, and behind it, the creature claiming to be “Cristo Babelli” still quietly clung to the wooden plank.

Vanna stepped forward, and almost immediately, the creature seemed to sense their presence. Its surface began to wriggle, and it spoke in a hoarse, low voice: “Ah, you’re back.”

“... Captain Cristo,” Vanna steadied herself, trying to keep her tone calm, “We have some matters to discuss...”

But before she could finish, “Cristo” interrupted her: “I already know, madam, I have remembered.”

Despite harboring a vague suspicion, Vanna couldn’t help but ask: “You... remembered?”

“If you’re referring to my death, then I remember, albeit only partially,” Cristo said in a low voice, “I am dead, right? Certainly... the Obsidian sank, we encountered a storm and an iceberg, we sank down, descending into the boundless darkness. I had no chance of survival.”

Duncan was silent for a few seconds before abruptly stepping forward: “Do you know what happened in the depths of this ship?”

“Depths?” Cristo’s voice seemed somewhat confused.

“Do you recall the specifics of your death?” Duncan asked again, “Did you ever struggle with something? Did anything occur on the ship after it sank into the deep sea?”

Cristo fell silent as if in thought, then a slightly regretful voice emerged from the creature: “I’m sorry, I don’t remember those details. All I recall is...the ship sinking, sinking for a very, very long time. Everyone died, and I should have died too, but I kept drifting in the darkness, surrounded by cold and darkness. It was as if I was searching for something in the dark. I don’t know how long this chaotic state lasted. When I finally regained my memory, I was knocking on this door.”

Duncan exchanged glances with the others.

“Captain Cristo” had no reason to lie.

The captain had only realized that he was dead, but he didn’t remember what had transpired in the depths of the Obsidian, nor did he know about the demise of “the other self” in the mysterious space at the bottom of the ship, let alone the origin of the mysterious piece of flesh.

The clues seemed to have run dry.

But Duncan glanced at the palm of his hand—the dark-colored piece of flesh still lay silently in his hand.

He had already made a significant discovery.