Chapter 273 - 273 One hundred thirty

Words : 1415 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

273: One hundred thirty. Realization 273: One hundred thirty. Realization Having closed the “kitchen’s” ceiling hatch, Lu Li gripped the crowbar, which could likely affect his safety on this ship, and returned along the path from which the sea breeze was blowing, back to the previous corridor. Without any further incidents, Lu Li made it to the end of the corridor and saw a staircase leading to the upper level. But on the upper staircase, a blob of shadow guarded the area, topped with a Viking-style Bull Horn Helmet. Lu Li found it hard to describe the shape of this shadowy mass, as it was constantly changing, only the position of the Bull Horn Helmet remained unchanged. After a brief pause, Lu Li stepped onto the first stair. He slightly lowered his head and, with a downward gaze, kept an eye on the guard at the top of the stairs using his peripheral vision. After Lu Li stepped on the stair, the Bull Horn Helmet shadow turned its helmet, as if the eyes moved towards Lu Li. He continued stepping forward. After climbing a dozen or so stairs, Lu Li reached the middle level of the staircase. The constantly shifting shadow abruptly began to morph in a set manner, its figure elongating and limbs stretching out from the elongated torso, shaping into a tall, brawny shadow with a Bull Horn Helmet on its head. It seemed to be a kind of warning and alertness. Unable to proceed to the next level, hmm... Lu Li changed direction, turning slightly to the right. Under the piercing gaze of the Bull Horn Helmet shadow, he climbed a few more steps, reached the edge, lifted the crowbar, and smashed it down on a protruding rivet of a stair plank above him. The rivet was hammered into the plank, returned to its original form. Lu Li made his way back downstairs as if that had been his purpose all along. A brief glance as he turned his head allowed Lu Li to observe that the space above the stairs was still the ship’s cabin. Gurgle... Yet, as Lu Li turned around, the Bull Horn Helmet shadow at the top of the stairs made an indistinct murmuring sound. Lu Li did not stop immediately but continued as the murmuring became more rapid and dissatisfied. Lu Li stopped his steps then looked back toward the top of the stairs. A tentacle emerged from the chest of the Bull Horn Helmet shadow; it continually stretched downwards and rested on a lower step, transforming into the shape of an arrow, pointing toward a wooden plank on the stairs. There appeared to be another similarly protruding rivet there. Understanding the intent of the Bull Horn Helmet shadow, Lu Li returned up the stairs and hammered down the protruding rivet. Lu Li looked down, his gaze not reaching the spot where from the chest of the Bull Horn Helmet shadow, several tentacles were slowly spreading downwards... Bang! The final blow fully drove the nail into the plank. Lu Li raised his head to see several tentacles from the Bull Horn Helmet shadow scattered toward different corners of the staircase, turning into arrows. “...” Silently, Lu Li continued playing the role of a repairman assisting the Bull Horn Helmet shadow, fixing boards that could potentially scrape its body. Bang! With the final strike on the last plank, Lu Li looked up to see the tentacles of the Bull Horn Helmet shadow moving to new positions. This time, they were pointing to a plank that had only holes left, with no nail in sight. Lu Li stood up straight and stared at the Bull Horn Helmet shadow. Before he could make any gesture, the Bull Horn Helmet shadow’s chest “spit out” several nails, presenting them in front of Lu Li with its tentacles. The Bull Horn Helmet shadow had provided the materials itself. Among the nails presented to him, a silver necklace was mixed in—unsure whether it was payment for the work or the Bull Horn Helmet shadow made no distinction. Unperturbed, Lu Li picked up all the nails, including the necklace, pocketed the necklace, and hammered the nails back into their rightful place. Having completed everything, Lu Li looked again, and the figure of the Bull Horn Helmet shadow reverted to its consistently shifting form. Lu Li believed he might have earned the right to go to the upper deck of the ship, but as he approached the middle level of the stairs, the Bull Horn Helmet shadow once again turned into a brawny black figure. This way was blocked. In the gaze of the Bull Horn Helmet, Lu Li randomly tapped on the wooden planks a few times with a crowbar, turned, and walked down the stairs back to the corridor. After walking about ten meters, Lu Li stopped. He took out a silver necklace he had obtained from the Bull Horn Helmet. The black substance covering it almost obscured its original color, barely allowing one to discern that it was a woman’s style. Crowbar, necklace, identity, chamber puzzle... Lu Li linked the clues he had at present. While this didn’t give him new clues, it triggered a new line of thought in him. Lu Li retraced his steps, passed the Octopus Monster Shadow’s room, and arrived at the initial morgue. Pushing open the carved wooden door, the place remained as Lu Lili had left it. Circumventing a large puddle of sticky black substance on the floor, Lu Lili approached the decayed wooden box he had previously ignored and lifted the crowbar to smash it. The humid wooden boards, softened by prolonged soaking, showed some toughness; even using a crowbar, Lu Lili took two minutes to chip out a fist-sized hole. After inspecting the hole from outside, Lu Lili reached into the wooden box, and after several seconds, he extended his hand out of the box clutching a key. It was a small brass key, more suitable for unlocking doors than padlocks. Lu Lili picked up a padlock beside the door for comparison, and indeed, they were not a match. This key had another purpose—or perhaps none at all. So, if following the logic of a chamber puzzle, the device for opening the morgue door would be something else. Lu Lili looked around at the surrounding body cabinets. ... Minutes later, all the unlocked morgue cabinets had been opened; most were empty, and only a few were filled with the black substance. Including the dentures Lu Lili first discovered, there were only four cabinets with items in them; the remaining three cabinets each contained a pair of shoes, a strand of hair, and a stamp of unknown purpose. Compared to these items, the connection between the crowbar and the door was greater. Ding! Ding! Ding! The rapid ringing of a bell suddenly echoed from the dark depths of the corridor outside. The ringing lasted for a few seconds and then stopped. On both sides of the corridor, the tightly shut doors opened, and various dark silhouettes of weird shapes stepped out, moving in the same direction. The gap in the carved wooden door gradually closed. Seeing the strange shadows passing by outside, Lu Lili felt he should join them, follow them. Leaving behind the meaningless relics in the body cabinets, Lu Lili gripped the crowbar tightly, pulled open the door, stepped out of the room, and blended into the noisy, chaotic corridor. All sorts of peculiar mumbling sounds entered his ears from around him, Lu Lili kept his eyes straight ahead, following the moving crowd. He appeared short and distinctive among this group of strange shadows. Lu Lili saw the Octopus Monster Shadow in the crowd; it was talking to a monster beside it that had two legs sticking out from beneath a barrel. He also saw the “chefs” hopping out one after another from the second door along the corner hallway. All the monstrous silhouettes of the vessel seemingly left their respective rooms, joining the “parade” of the crowd. Just as Lu Lili had hoped, the crowd moved forward, stepping onto the unguarded staircase up to the second deck of the ship. Lu Lili silently moved from the center of the crowd to its edge, where he saw eyes akin to vertical pupils the size of palms, like frog eyeballs, spaced along the dark walls, watching all the strange shadows in the procession. Lu Lili quietly returned to the center of the crowd.

Chapter 273 - 273 One hundred thirty

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