Deep in the Living
Chapter 170 - 164 Going to Sea

Chapter 170: Chapter 164 Going to Sea

The docks of Mingwang City also function as the third-largest port in the nation—Keppler Port,

which is significantly different from a conventional port,

with sea voyages for tourism constituting only a small portion.

The port mainly serves to receive cargo logistics from countries around the world, as well as those ’World Immigrants’ who have been approved.

Every year, numerous immigrants from various countries come here, completing their registration, inspection, and subsequent urban and work arrangements in Mingwang City.

As Luo Di and his companions passed the port’s checkpoint on the travel agency’s coach, they saw many buses marked with immigration signs driving out from the inner part of the port.

Sea outings are also restricted,

with the furthest distance not exceeding the "Roof"*, a massive structure built decades ago with the collective efforts of all humanity to blockade the country.

*The Roof project is introduced in the historical timeline.

It’s actually enforceable by law.

If you apply to come to this nation affected by the Corner, you will be forever forbidden to leave.

...

The travel agency’s chartered bus quickly passed through the checkpoint.

The docks piled with containers from various countries and scattered with numerous gantry cranes came into view.

Every day, a huge amount of materials is transported from countries around the work, with the most going to the Capital City.

The chartered vehicle traveled along the roads carved between containers and soon reached the west side of the docks.

Here, no containers blocked the view,

and the azure sea truly entered Luo Di’s eyes for the first time—not with any joy, but rather with a sense of unease, an unease emanating from his spine.

As a Hell’s Apostle, he seemed to reject this area wholly composed of water, as the heat and dryness of Hell were completely opposed to this ocean.

The cold sweat Luo Di broke out in due to his aversion to the sea actually became a good pre-emptive disguise, making him appear as though he was in fear of Monster Avatars hiding among the islands.

"Dear passengers, we have arrived at the docks.

Please board the Holy Resurrection at Dock Three; the voyage will take 1~2 hours.

Upon your arrival at Saiwei Vacation Island, our travel agency staff will be there to greet you and lead you to the island’s hotel for check-in. We hope you will thoroughly enjoy the one-week island vacation."

No sooner had he disembarked than a middle-aged man from the group approached to strike up a conversation, naturally targeting Hua Yuan.

Luo Di initially thought that Hua Yuan’s personality would lead her to exchange contact information with everyone, then later infiltrate their minds through some means to turn them into her puppets.

Who knew,

Hua Yuan would pretend to be a weak woman, wanting to refuse but unable to articulate it.

That was when Shea stepped forward and coldly issued a command: "Scram!"

Several greasy men looked at the security personnel patrolling the port and had no choice but to turn and leave, one of them glaring especially hard at Shea.

"Thank you, Shea."

"Hua Yuan, can’t you tone down your face a little?"

"Aiya~ I’ve already restrained all my abilities, but I can’t help that I’m naturally beautiful.

I’m not ’Wu Wen’; I can’t change facial features. Anyway, with you and Mr. Di as our bodyguards, those sleazy guys will run away at the slightest scare."

The sudden mention of the name did not prompt any reaction from the group leader, but it made Luo Di pause for a moment.

"Wu Wen..." Shea also remembered this former sister, "It’s indeed a pity. If Wu Wen were here, she could have helped us refine our disguises, increasing our chances of successful infiltration."

Hua Yuan continued, "Alright, from now on, the more natural, the better. We must behave like ordinary people! We must not reveal any abilities at all, this is something we need to learn from Wu Wen.

It’s such a shame—despite being so good at disguise, she couldn’t keep up in other areas and ended up dying in a simple interstice screening.

Let’s get on the ship! It’s been a long time since I’ve been out to sea; I’m somewhat excited."

Hua Yuan’s exterior exuded excitement, but beneath was a rare seriousness and focus.

Luo Di could clearly sense her temperament as the boss lady; her speech had put all the companions into a state of disguise, no longer exhibiting any Pseudo-Person traits.

Hua Yuan, leading the way, suddenly turned her head.

"From now on, pay attention to every detail! The calamity’s radiation may have already reached beyond the island, so everyone must be careful."

Boarding,

Since the sea journey was only a little over an hour, everyone made a beeline for the bow deck to take in the rare sight of the open sea.

However, Luo Di felt uncomfortable all over, standing alone toward the back of the deck, minimizing as much as possible the sea’s presence in his view... He was sure it was the Spine resisting.

Just then,

Note: A few lines of were omitted from the translation as per the request stated.

A hand reached out and took his,

"Dear, shall we go to the very front?"

The class leader had long noticed that Luo Di seemed resistant to the ocean, yet now she took the initiative to pull him to the foremost part of the deck.

Her intention was clear: she wanted Luo Di to confront his fear ahead of time. If they waited until the Monster Avatar related to the sea emerged before trying to adapt, it would be too late.

However,

Even though Luo Di was determined, his body refused to cooperate. His spine, which controlled his body movements, was fiercely resisting, causing his walking posture to appear extremely stiff.

In just a short distance of less than dozens of meters, he was already drenched in sweat.

"Excuse me, could you let us through? I’d like to take a photo with my boyfriend."

The class leader assertively cleared a path to the very front.

The entire sea came into view,

Luo Di could distinctly feel his entire spine as if it wanted to peel away from his body and retreat back into the cabin like a bony reptile.

Unbeknownst to him, the class leader had moved behind him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

Pressing her body firmly against his spine, she transmitted a warm and soft energy that nourished and soothed his back.

"Feeling better now?"

"Yes, a bit."

"That’s good... Just maintain this until we reach the island, and you might get used to it."

"Okay."

Their ambiguous actions naturally didn’t escape the keen eyes of the sisters nearby.

"Hiss~ Isabella sure knows her stuff."

Hua Yuan looked displeased, but she didn’t engage in any forceful competition and instead turned her head to gaze at the sea on the other side.

"Hua Yuan, you seem to be a bit different," Shea commented, using a method of communication audible only to the two of them.

"You’re being rather chatty, Shea. I’m just focused on the matter at hand. This Warrant is no small matter; if we’re not careful, we might all end up dead here, so these trivialities don’t matter anymore."

Shea let out a sigh of relief, joining Hua Yuan in gazing at the azure sea, "Seeing you like this reassures me.

If you can stay fully focused and serious, not dominated by the desires catalyzed by the Corner, you might be the strongest peer I’ve ever seen."

"Yo, yo, yo, you know how to flatter people after all! This time when I return, I have to properly thank Grandmother. If it weren’t for this Warrant bringing us together, I wouldn’t have known Shea could be this cute.

Forget about finding a mate; since I can mold my body at will, I might as well make an organ for you, and it would be the same."

Shea no longer replied and instead began discussing with her sisters.

...

The time on the ship passed quickly,

An hour went by in a flash,

The outline of a medium-sized island began to appear gradually at sea,

By then, Luo Di had largely adjusted to the ocean. Although his spine was still somewhat reluctant, he no longer had the initial stiffness throughout his body.

As the passenger ship gradually approached the island,

Maybe because he had adjusted to the ocean,

Maybe because of the warmth coming from his back,

Maybe because of this rare leisure time,

Luo Di gradually became lost in thought during this process, until...

Click!

A crisp snapping sound broke from his mouth, bringing his thoughts back to reality.

The class leader also heard the tongue snap and knew exactly what it meant; she sharply looked behind anxiously but didn’t see any suspicious passengers or approaching dangerous objects.

Luo Di, who made the snapping sound, didn’t turn around and continued gazing at the sea ahead.

It seemed he could faintly discern a large outline in the ocean, perhaps of a creature even larger than the ship.

Because the outline was too blurry, it was impossible to determine what kind of marine creature it was.

"A whale, maybe?"

As Luo Di tried to see more clearly, he found that the outline had completely dissipated with the wave movements, unable to confirm whether it was a contour from the seabed or a huge shadow cast from somewhere else.