After completing the mission, Austin originally planned to take a stroll on Baie Island and try to unlock the follow-up content about Baie Island in the voyage diary. However, as soon as he came out of the arena, he saw the man in a straight suit standing on the side of the gate. old man.
"Sir Austin, it seems that Mrs. Mariano is ready to leave." The old-school gentleman bowed respectfully and said unhurriedly.
Austin shrugged and said helplessly: "Lead the way. I originally wanted to have fun here, but it seems I have no chance."
The old-school gentleman smiled slightly when he heard this, handed over a black card half the size of a palm, and said: "This is a stored-value card issued by the money-worshiping sect. It contains a thousand pirate gold coins, which can be used in any money-worshiping sect in the world." We will be your friends forever."
Austin was stunned for a moment, looking at the card with black background and gold threads suspiciously, and hesitant to take it.
"Take it, we are temporarily allied with the Money Worship Cult." The sudden voice in his heart scared Austin.
"Mariannu?" Austin asked tentatively in his mind, "Do you still have this kind of skill?"
"Stop talking nonsense, hurry up, and go back quickly, otherwise you will be on the death list."
Austin's mouth twitched. Too many things happened in the past two days. He almost forgot that he was still missing in the Navy.
"Then I would first like to thank the Money Worshiping Order for their kindness. I hope our alliance goes well."
"It must be like this." The old-school gentleman cupped his chest and bowed, then turned around to lead the way for Austin.
"Why do we want to ally with the Money Worship Cult?" Austin asked, looking at the Bayer Island that was gradually receding.
"Because of Sophia." Mariano appeared next to Austin in human form and looked at the sea side by side with him. "She has a special identity. I want to use her to do something."
"To escape fate?"
"Um."
"I originally thought that ghost ships with mysterious properties like yours were very free existences."
"If there is no 'human' need, who will give a soul to a sunken ship?" Mariano asked, "The moment my name appeared in this world, the fate sent by the gods bound me."
"What is their purpose?" Austin asked, "Since they are already omnipotent gods, do they still need us mortals to do things for them?"
"Because there are seven such omnipotent beings." Mariano stared at the sea. "There are too many reasons to want to be stronger than the other six and to become the only master of the world. As for Our destiny is that the power of gods is too great, and it would be more convenient to leave some things to believers. Completing these things is the destiny given by gods to every believer."
"Then if you want to break free from the shackles of fate, those gods won't care about you?"
"Everything in the world will perish, even the gods. In order to delay the process of demise and find the path to true eternity, the gods in the world choose to enter intermittent slumber, look for clues in dreams, and then let them know through oracles. Believers execute.”
Mariano pointed at the sea and gently held her hand, and an unknown sea fish appeared in her hands.
"Just like a fish out of water will grow its mouth and gills to the maximum size, the sleeping gods will focus all their energy on finding eternity, and their attention to believers will naturally be greatly reduced."
"Then what is my fate? What is Benjamin's fate?" Austin took out the voyage diary, and the follow-up content about Baie Island was still blank.
Mariano looked at Austin, her eyes full of hope, and her voice sounded directly in the latter's heart: "You and Benjamin, you don't have to care about your own destiny, because you were born to sweep these rotten things into history. Garbage dump.”
Austin's eyes slowly widened.
Oliver stood on the beach, looking at the dense forest not far away. Today is the deadline for the search and rescue operation. If Austin is not found within today, the captain will be included in the Navy's sacrifice list, and he will be promoted continuously. Second rank, he returned home with honor as a colonel.
He sighed. Frankly speaking, after getting along with him these days, he actually quite likes this young man. In a few years, this guy may become another maritime legend.
It's a pity that God is jealous of talents.
"First mate, get ready to go, the captain is probably stuck inside." Martin stopped the boat on the shore and shouted to Oliver.
"Wait a little longer, I haven't missed these few hours after waiting for a few days." Oliver shook his head and sat on a wooden stake nearby.
Ma Fei, who was already the official boatswain, kept squinting his eyes and scanning the direction of the dense forest. He was probably the only one on the ship who firmly believed that Austin was still alive.
"First mate, second mate! There seems to be someone in the direction of the dense forest at eleven o'clock!" Ma Fei suddenly shouted loudly.
After hearing this, Oliver and Martin did not dare to neglect. After reporting through the magic crystal, they took out their weapons and faced the direction of the dense forest on guard.
Ma Fei took out his binoculars and took a closer look. Sure enough, there was a figure walking staggeringly out of the dense forest: "There is indeed a person, and he looks like a captain."
The man seemed to realize that he had walked out of the dense forest. He waved his arms in the direction of the beach a few times and then fell to the ground.
"Quickly notify the remaining crew members of the June Gemini to handle it." Oliver was a little excited. This can be said to be the only good news these days.
The person who came out of the jungle was indeed Austin. With the help of Sophia and Mariano, he sneaked back into the island's jungle and used the touch of the black sea anemone to trigger hallucinations, perfectly disguised as being affected by the mysterious power. affected state.
Three days later, Fleming Harbor.
"Hello, Major Austin, I am Ryan Wilson, who is in charge of this conversation, and I belong to the Eighth Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kingdom of Meletni."
"Hello, I am the captain of the August Lion of the Navy's new First Fleet, Austin Doug." Austin played with the tea cup in front of him boredly. This conversation has been held three times since he was "rescued" , the content of the questions is the same every time, but the departments are different.
"This conversation is based on the results of the first three reviews. Judging from the feedback from various departments, there is no doubt that Major Austin has not been contaminated by evil gods or other things, and you are still capable of continuing to command the battleship."
Austin raised his eyebrows. It seemed that he had managed to get through. The military and the church had not found any clues.
"This conversation is just a routine filing by the Ministry of Internal Affairs about your encounters on Bahar Island and the artifacts you obtained. You can relax."
In the previous review, Austin attributed the anomalies on Bahar Island to the evil god sacrifice and an artifact that almost produced consciousness [Black Sea Anemone Touch], concealed everything about Sophia and Mariano, and added something related to [ The story of the Black Sea Anemone's Touch] who fought for three hundred rounds and finally crushed his consciousness and subdued him.
On the way back to Bahar, Mariano polished the script until it was so seamless that Austen evaded censorship.
As for the inexplicable Benjamin’s Voyage Diary? Austin dumped her directly on Mariano. Anyway, they would meet again soon.
"So, Major Austin, do you have any details you can provide us about the Altar of the Evil God on Bahar Island?"
"I described everything I saw and did around the altar during the review session of Poseidon Church. You can refer to it."
"Okay, what's your explanation for the scene described by Major Rembrandt, the captain of the June Gemini?" Ryan seemed to be unconcerned about the first question and quickly turned to the next page and asked.
Austin frowned. He had not heard Major Rembrandt mention anything about himself: "Can you explain what Major Rembrandt said?"
Ryan narrowed his eyes and asked in a calm voice: "After the artillery support ended, don't you have any impression of what you did yourself, Major Austin?"
Austin's heart skipped a beat. After so many days, he actually never took the initiative to recall the scene at that time, or it could be said that his brain forced him not to recall it.
"Combined with Major Rembrandt's description, we assessed that he inherited negative traits after completing the oracle or using the artifact, which manifested as cold-blooded and murderous." Ryan moved his eyes from the report in front of him to Austin's face, "Combined with Major Austin's Your reaction just now seems like the person involved is not aware of this situation and may even deliberately ignore it."
Austin listened carefully, everything Ryan said was consistent.
"Logically speaking, the negative traits acquired due to special abilities come from the gods they believe in, but so far, no one favored by the Poseidon has acquired negative traits that are tainted with such... well, crazy traits."
A thin layer of cold sweat broke out on Austin's back.
"In view of this, we did not inform the Poseidon Church of Major Rembrandt's description, and only a few senior officials in the military knew about it." Ryan crossed his fingers on the table, "Don't worry, Major Austin, your baptism is The ceremony is presided over by the Cardinal, and the probability of problems is almost zero. I just want to remind you this time, try not to come into contact with artifacts that are too dangerous, and call for support in time the next time you encounter a similar incident. You have just been transferred to the Navy. , maybe not very familiar with the relevant business.”
Austin didn't speak, just nodded slightly.
Next, Lane asked some innocuous questions, and the conversation ended in a "relaxed and happy" atmosphere. Finally, Lane announced the final result of the investigation: Although it was affected by a mysterious force, everything appeared normal during the observation period, and it is recommended to continue the investigation. A mental health assessment was conducted and recorded in the military files.
So Austin got a free mental health evaluation at Fleming Harbor Naval Hospital and a week's vacation to recuperate.
