Chapter 526

Chapter 392: Forewarning

Seeing the scene before her, Dorothy controlled the Small Zombie Puppets as they stealthily approached the bow of the ship. After bypassing the patrolling sailors, several of Dorothy’s Small Zombie Puppets successfully climbed onto the angel statue covered by white cloth. They ascended along the statue, and through the puppets’ visual feed, Dorothy was finally able to see the blue gem placed in the angel’s hands.

In the darkness obscured by the white cloth, the two hands of the angel statue emitted a profound blue glow. Upon closer inspection, a large blue gem was quietly nestled within the angel’s overlapping hands, radiating a gentle light that seemed to originate from the depths of the gem. This enchanting brilliance was blocked by the covering white cloth, preventing it from shining upon the outside world.

“What a beautiful gem… and it’s self-luminous. Such an extraordinary object is bound to be an Extraordinary Item. Even a regular person can tell its uniqueness. No wonder it couldn’t be displayed at the port; it has to be showcased at sea under the pretense of a jewelry exhibition.”

As she gazed at the large blue gem in the angel’s hands, Dorothy thought to herself that this Deep Blue Heart radiated an unmistakable spiritual light and was a highly plausible Extraordinary Item categorized as a “Cup.”

Upon discovering that the Deep Blue Heart was resting in the angel statue’s hands, Dorothy immediately began pondering how to retrieve it. She had her Small Zombie Puppets attempt various methods to get the Deep Blue Heart while remaining concealed under the cloth, but in the end, they were unsuccessful. Afterward, Dorothy started a thorough inspection of the angel statue and the Deep Blue Heart, soon realizing that conventional means to remove the gem were ineffective.

During her investigation, Dorothy noticed that the interface on the angel statue’s hands seemed specially designed for the Deep Blue Heart. After the gem was placed, a series of complex mechanisms secured it firmly, almost integrating it into the statue itself. The statue was forged from solid steel, with only its wings added as separate parts. The base of the statue was also perfectly linked to the bow of the entire ship.

Just as Massimo had boasted, whether it was removing the Deep Blue Heart from the statue or destroying the entire statue, both tasks were exceedingly difficult.

In Dorothy’s estimation, even if one were to wield a large hammer to break the gem loose, or use explosives to blast it out, the entire bow would likely be destroyed, and the gem would remain on the deformed and distorted hands of the statue. What’s more, the explosives she carried with her weren’t sufficient to demolish the bow.

“This is a bit troublesome. Given the current situation, even using brute force, retrieving the Deep Blue Heart will be extremely challenging. Not to mention that violent methods usually draw a lot of attention; even if I succeeded in taking the gem, it would surely attract those two, leading to an unavoidable confrontation.”

After surveying the scene, Dorothy couldn’t help but feel frustrated. The way the Deep Blue Heart was secured made it nearly impossible to retrieve. Even if a brutal approach managed to work, the two White Chalks would come rushing in, making it difficult to keep the Deep Blue Heart even if it was obtained. Throwing it into the sea… given the capability of the Extraordinary Beings of the White Chalk Tier, retrieving something from the ocean would be trivial.

Faced with this situation, Dorothy rubbed her chin, considering her next steps. For her, the primary issue was figuring out how to remove the Deep Blue Heart from the angel statue. According to what Massimo himself had said, only he could successfully retrieve it.

Thus, regarding the issue of the Deep Blue Heart, Dorothy sat on the sofa and contemplated for a long while. Finally, in that last moment of thought, she came up with an idea.

“Looks like I need to ask Neve for help.”

Dorothy murmured to herself, then took out her Navigation of the Literary Sea, flipped to the communication page for Nephnis, and wrote a message asking her to come to her room. After notifying Nephnis to check her message, Dorothy sat quietly in her room and began waiting. A few minutes later, there was a sudden knock on her cabin door.

Hearing the knock, Dorothy immediately stood up, walked to the cabin door, and opened it. She saw Nephnis standing there in pajamas adorned with a cat head design, her eyes bleary from sleep, and her chest barely concealed by buttons that were not fully fastened.

“Ugh… Miss Dorothy, did you call me over this late for something?”

Yawning, the young university student rubbed her eyes as she spoke to Dorothy, who waved her hand insistently.

“Hurry in, close the door, and fasten your buttons…”

“Uh… Oh!”

Responding to Dorothy’s words, Nephnis quickly buttoned up the ones she hadn’t noticed, blushing slightly as she wondered if anyone else had seen her on the way. She closed the cabin door and walked into Dorothy’s room, where Dorothy was already seated on the sofa.

“Take a seat… I just discovered an urgent situation on the ship, so I called you to discuss it.”

“An urgent situation… is it… related to some secret matter?”

Listening to Dorothy, Nephnis sat on the bed, frowning in unease. In her mind, anything that Dorothy referred to as urgent must be linked to dark secrets and extraordinary affairs.

“Unfortunately… yes… and it’s an urgent situation concerning the lives of everyone on board.” Dorothy replied, and Nephnis’s expression turned more anxious upon hearing this.

“Concerning everyone’s lives… Is it that serious?”

“Absolutely, otherwise I wouldn’t have called you over so urgently…” Dorothy said, then shifted her gaze to Nephnis and continued, “Nephnis… if I recall correctly, your ancestors were skilled at thievery, right?”

“Ah?”

At Dorothy’s words, Nephnis was momentarily stunned.

…

Time hurried by, and soon a night had passed.

On the mist-laden morning sea, the Shining White Pearl continued its voyage. On the upper deck of the cruise ship, the door of a special cabin slowly opened, revealing a gentleman in a sharply tailored suit with a small mustache stepping out.

“Today… is crucial…”

After washing up and tidying himself, Massimo murmured to himself as he stepped out. Just as he was about to head for breakfast, a voice suddenly echoed down the hallway.

“Mr. Massimo!”

Upon hearing this voice, Massimo halted and turned to see a young sailor in uniform rushing towards him. He recognized this sailor as one of the members of the Abyss Cult hidden within the crew, effectively one of his subordinates.

“What is it?”

Serious, Massimo addressed the young sailor. The sailor reached Massimo, presented an envelope, and earnestly said, “Please take a look at this. Early this morning, this appeared in the restaurant… casino… ballroom… and the cockpit…”

Upon hearing the sailor’s words, Massimo’s brow furrowed slightly. He took the envelope, checked it with the accompanying “Lamp” ability for any issues, and then opened it, extracting the letter inside to unfold it.

The letter was typed in Iwig script.

…

Forewarning:

As the most profound blue light officially shines upon the sea, I shall visit the Holy Mother’s angel and take the Deep Blue Heart.

Thief K

…

“A forewarning… a thief…”

Gazing at the letter in his hand, various peculiar glints danced in Massimo’s eyes.