Deep in the Living
Chapter 323 - 311 Knocking on the Door

Chapter 323: Chapter 311 Knocking on the Door

The merchant cruise ship always remains fully enclosed during the voyage, prohibiting any passengers from breaking the windows.

Once broken, the isolation between the inside and outside would be compromised, and the miasmic plague pervasive in the ocean would surge in.

Passengers responsible for such acts would be permanently blacklisted by the merchant, and serious offenders would also be branded as Sinners and sent to the Punishment Room.

Presently.

On the exterior of the giant golden skull cruise ship,

Luo Di and two others were climbing the golden walls in various ways, moving upward.

The biting sea breeze, carrying the final byproducts of True Hell, continuously slapped against them, the smell several times more intense than that of tumor citizens. Thankfully, everyone had prepared in advance, and Luo Di had put on the Jaw Splitter early on.

Climbing swiftly, staying away from the windows.

Yet their gaze was fixed on the windows below, vigilant for any "ancestor" that might emerge from inside at any moment.

But there was no such pursuit as anticipated, and even the knocking sounds inside the room seemed to have completely ceased.

"Wait a moment!"

Luo Di gestured for everyone to remain hanging outside the hull.

Given the current unknown invasion situation of the ancestors, rashly moving to other areas of the ship might encounter greater danger.

Since there were no more knocking sounds in their cabin and nothing chasing them, it was entirely plausible that the ancestor had left. After all, with thousands of passengers on the entire cruise ship, the ancestor definitely had other knocking options.

The three of them stayed hanging outside for a full ten minutes before attempting to return to the cabin.

Luo Di led the way; if there was any danger, his tongue would always react first.

Moreover, the new skull covering his brain seemed to also function in enhancing mental capabilities, giving Luo Di a general Perception of the situation inside the room.

Assuring it was safe, they climbed back into the cabin.

Luo Di, even stepping on the shattered glass with his bare feet, showed no change in expression,

Surveying inside the room,

He continued to wait for another five minutes before gesturing for his teammates hanging outside the window to all return.

The last to return, Calen reached out to the broken window, ready to repair it with the crystals inside his body when, snap!

Luo Di grabbed his hand to stop him.

"No need to repair, let the odor of the ocean flood in, the more the better.

If the ancestor has been soaked in the sea for many years, he must have gotten used to this smell. When he boards the ship and comes to a space without any pungent smell, his sense of smell will become extremely sensitive.

Allowing the smell to flood in might serve to confuse him. Moreover, we just hung outside for more than ten minutes, and our bodies have also been somewhat imbued with the ocean’s odor."

"Alright."

Calen’s gaze towards Luo Di seemed to brighten a bit.

As for Agatha, she was not involved in their conversation,

She sat on the sofa near the window, fiercely pressing her fingers against her temples and rubbing vigorously, even inserting tiny steel tubes to help stimulate her mind.

It wasn’t self-torture, but reminiscing.

Recalling what she had seen in the Great Monastery Library about the ancestors. But no matter how much she reflected, she couldn’t match it with the current situation.

At least the books she had read did not mention any ancestor knocking on doors. Moreover, just the sound of knocking was able to divert their thinking, putting it foremost in all actions.

Agatha helplessly sighed, "Our first voyage encountering an ’ancestor,’ aboard a high-class cruise ship of the merchant, and I’ve never even read about it in the books... What bad luck this is."

Luo Digital Pump was not particularly panicked but was quickly analyzing the situation:

"This ancestor who has come aboard might not be particularly irritable... We are surely not the first ones he has sought out.

Our cabin is located on the middle deck, and before coming to knock on our door, the ancestor might already have knocked on half of the rooms.

The ancestor has been on the ship for such a long time, yet the overall structure of the cruise ship is intact. Maybe he simply targets the living on the ship without causing the ship to sink.

We currently just need to consider how to hide until the ancestor leaves.

Calen, do you have any ideas?"

Luo Di suddenly threw the topic over, and Calen still appeared indifferent, "Ah, our Eye-master hasn’t discussed various ancestors with me in detail. He just mentioned that no matter which kind of ancestor, they are all very dangerous. If encountered, prioritize surviving, never try to confront them head-on."

Agatha also took up the conversation: "Generally speaking, those ancestral remains floating in the ocean, once they collide with a ship, will start to wreak havoc, but this time it’s unusually quiet. It is indeed strange, maybe it really won’t cause the ship to sink, we just need to find a way to survive, shall we just stay here, in this cabin that the ancestor has already knocked on?

Maybe if we just hide here, nothing will happen?"

"But there’s one problem... this door, should we close it or not?"

Luo Di raised his arm, pointing towards the completely open cabin door.

This indeed was a problem.

If they don’t close the door, once the ancestor returns, he will directly capture the three inside.

If they choose to close the door, this door touched by the ancestor might retain something, or perhaps the action of "closing the door" once triggered might be perceived by the ancestor.

With almost zero clues at the moment, it was impossible to decide whether to close the door or not.

Ultimately, Luo Di chose the most primitive method, flipping a coin, leaving the decision to luck. Even if it really caused the ancestor to return, they still had the window behind them as an escape route.

Ding!

A Monk coin was tossed in the air.

Smack!

It landed steadily on the back of a hand.

Heads, close the door!

This outcome meant that a decision still had to be made on who would close the door. However, there was no discussion necessary; Luo Di took the initiative to walk up, as this sea voyage was primarily related to him.

He walked slowly with silent steps toward the fully opened, gold-inlaid door.

Luo Di did not use his hand to close the door; instead, a semi-illusory tentacle grew from the back of his hand, slowly pushing it.

Throughout the process, not a single sound was made, and even if there were any noises, they would be drowned out by the undulating sounds of the ocean outside the window.

Click!

The door lock closed.

Luo Di did not lower his guard. He retreated with the same pace back to the shattered window to regroup with his squad.

His eyes intensely focused on the door gap, and his ears keenly listened to any sounds.

If there were any anomalies, he would flee with his teammates at once.

Thump, Thump, Thump~

The clear sound of his heart pumping could be heard.

Such beating also perfectly helped to keep track of time.

One minute,

Two minutes,

A full five minutes passed,

It seemed that there were no creatures approaching from outside the door, nor were there any knocking sounds.

The tense mental state of everyone gradually eased.

Agatha slowly pressed her lips to Luo Di’s ear and whispered as quietly as possible: "Do you need me to reinforce the door with the Iron Pillar? This way, even if someone comes searching, maybe we could buy more time."

"No... don’t make any superfluous movements, let everything stay normal, and make the door look like it’s been closed by the sea breeze.

As long as the cruise ship is still sailing, we’ll just keep waiting like this. It’s already been one day; we just need to wait another thirty hours to dock, and then we can survive."

"Wait? Okay."

Under Luo Di and Agatha’s high tension,

Calen started feeling sleepy as soon as he heard the word "wait," and yawned continuously.

Luo Di immediately reminded him, "Calen, if you want to sleep, do it like before, pack yourself into your backpack and hang it on me."

"Okay."

At the same time, Luo Di also lifted his clothing to check on the Crow hidden inside, making sure it was alright.

Continue waiting,

Continually watching the door,

Still no shadows flickering, still no creatures approaching.

Suddenly,

Luo Di’s tongue suddenly moved in his mouth, not flipping, just a pure twitch.

He did not ignore this detail, quietly cautioning:

"Something might be coming... just maybe! If we capture any information, we’ll immediately..."

Before he could finish,

Thud, thud, thud!

Despite no shadow under the doorgap, knocking sounds came through.

Strangely,

this round of knocks was different from the previous ones, closer, clearer, and each knock sounded distinct.

The reason was simple, because it was not their cabin door being knocked on.

Luo Di realized this immediately, cold sweat rapidly sliding down his temples.

He abruptly turned his head toward the bathroom glass door that was much closer.

Through the incompletely sealed frosted glass, a strange silhouette could faintly be seen sticking on the inside.

And because of this unexpected and close knocking,

everyone’s thoughts were affected, considering [opening the door] as an unshakable first priority, with Luo Di’s tongue as if heavily suppressed by something, unable to lift.