I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 290 - 290 289. Its coming_1

Chapter 290: 289. It’s coming_1 Chapter 290: 289. It’s coming_1 “The investigation report on the Star Cluster states that it set sail from Yangshan Port on October 15, 2020, with an expected journey of twenty-one days, almost a month, during which it would pass by ports in Island Country, the Solomon Islands, Australia, etc., and finally arrive in New Zealand. This route was primarily marketed for its ocean views, which is quite rare.”

“However, ten days after departure, the Star Cluster encountered a rare oceanic storm in the West Pacific and was forced to dock at Pohnpei Island, north of the Solomon Islands, to wait for the storm to subside.”

“During the prolonged and abnormal storm, the Star Cluster experienced multiple accidents, and on November 21, a severe fire broke out, causing the ship to list and take on water. A week later, all rescue efforts proved futile, and the ship sank into the sea.”

“Passengers on the ship returned home by flight after the off-season storm in the Pacific had completely died down in January, and a significant number of them developed mental issues to varying degrees. The follow-up work related to the Star Cluster is still ongoing.”

Lu Ban saw the investigation report on the Star Cluster incident that could be made public.

He remembered that during the storm, passengers of the Star Cluster seemed to have captured videos of the islands and remnants of city buildings in the storm.

Lu Ban searched the internet, and most of the videos had become unavailable over time, but on an old video website, someone had left an archive of second-hand screen captures.

He took another careful look at these videos.

In the midst of that gale and torrential rain, one could indeed see the silhouettes of some buildings, mainly towering spires, with a style so peculiar it did not belong to any era. In fact, Lu Ban could not discern any architectural style from these buildings; they existed there as if they were stripped away from the art and aesthetics of the world, like a black dot on a blank sheet of paper, twisted and unnatural.

At first glance, the feeling wasn’t as intense, but now Lu Ban was almost certain that these buildings were not made by humans, but rather the halls of some eerie and mysterious, indescribable entities.

As for the accidents aboard the Star Cluster, Lu Ban thought they might be caused by the strangeness.

He flipped through some interview materials, mostly from the captain, crew members, and passengers since the accident was quite serious, leaving behind many speculations and a wide array of opinions. Some people thought there was a mutiny among the crew, some felt it was the captain leading the crew in plundering the passengers, and others fancifully suggested the ship was haunted.

Actually, their testimonies contradicted one another.

For instance, Lu Ban saw a segment of an interview with the first mate, Zhao Liren.

“… At that time, I told the captain there was a problem with the machinery in the engine room that needed maintenance, but the captain didn’t seem to care much, he didn’t agree to my request, and a couple of days later, the equipment malfunctioned, leading to the fire, no no, I’m not saying the captain did anything wrong, it’s just that his actions didn’t seem calm enough to me, and even as the fire spread, he didn’t initiate effective measures. I’ve known the captain for several years; he’s not like this, something must have affected him, maybe it’s the pressure from all the unforeseen events of this voyage that overwhelmed him…”

In this segment, the first mate believed the captain’s inadequate response was the main cause of the accident, which sounded quite reasonable.

But in the words of a tourist, the story changed again.

“… Those crew members were particularly fierce, at first they wouldn’t let us roam freely on the ship, they kept us locked in our rooms like prisoners, and we could only come out for air during meal times, especially during those days when the storm intensified, I felt the entire ship was about to sink, I’ve never seen the captain, but the first mate spoke to us, very sternly; he seemed troublUserServiceed by something, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, until later, after we docked and disembarked, things got a little better, we didn’t notice the fire because the storm was too fierce, too fierce.”

In his words, the first officer restricted their movements like a jailer watching over them and acted somewhat neurotic, far from the calmness the first officer claimed to possess.

“…The crew were all tight-lipped and uncommunicative, not like this at the beginning. Since the storm started, they’ve become much more serious. I understand that such storms at sea are very dangerous, no joking matter, but after the storm, they seemed like different people, very suppressed. For our safety, the crew advised us not to wander around. I could understand that. I talked to one of them, and he said the situation was desperate, the ship might be lost. At the time, I thought he was trying to scare us, but who would have thought that after some time onshore, the ship caught fire. Luckily, we were all in the hotel at the port. Seems like some crew members were burned to death on board? I’m not so sure.”

Some tourists presented another view, that the crew seemed to change due to the severity of the storm and the restrictive measures were for safety.

Lu Ban then saw an interview with the captain, Johnson Gustav.

This was a German with a beard, looking very gaunt in the interview.

“I’ve answered these questions many times already. The storm we encountered was historically rare, and for that reason, I had to ensure the safety of all crew and passengers, making them stay in their rooms. Yes, it’s true, some crew members did develop psychological issues due to the pressure, and I had the ship’s doctor give them medication. At least by the time we docked at Pohnpei Island, things weren’t too severe.”

“What was really severe happened after landing on the island. Those islanders, very strange, I can’t quite explain it. Sometimes they would stand at the port, in the torrential rain, making strange worshipful gestures towards the center of the storm. Some of them even snuck onto our ship, not sure what they were up to.”

“I walked around the island, and there were many strange statues. Up in the mountains in the center of the island, there seemed to be ancient temples, all representing primitive beliefs.”

“Those statues looked like octopuses, or some mix of soft-bodied creatures and humans. I know, the sea people always have this inexplicable worship towards sea creatures, but those statues gave an uncomfortable feeling. Although the temple was in ruins, I don’t know why, but at night, when you looked up towards the mountain, you could find it with your first glance, as if it emitted a faint green glow.”

“Later, when the fire broke out, the islanders didn’t participate in the rescue. They just stood there in the rain, on the docks, making worshipful gestures towards the burning cruise ship. I swear, I have never seen such bizarre worship gestures before. I started to suspect that these people were possessed by some monster.”

“Only, in the light of the fire, I thought I saw something rise from the ship and enter into the storm, hard to describe that feeling, I think maybe I was not quite sane myself, no, it must have existed, it was there, I know it, it was coming, sorry, I don’t know how to put it, when Star Cluster sank, I felt it truly came to life, each of us was a witness to its birth.”

“What is it?”

The interviewing journalist asked curiously.

“It is… it is… it is the stars, it is the stars, it is coming, it will be here soon!”

Captain Gustaf became hysterical, and the interview had to be interrupted.

Lu Ban saw the final outcome of the captain; he spent time at home recuperating after the interview, and a month later, drowned himself in his own washbasin. It was said that at the time of his death, both of his hands were twisted behind his back, pressing forcefully on his own head, as if those hands were forcing him under the water, not letting him lift his head.

He had drowned himself!