My Pet Beast is Super Fearsome
Chapter 360 - Chapter 360 359 Chapter The End of the Diary (45)

Chapter 360: 359 Chapter The End of the Diary (4/5) Chapter 360: 359 Chapter The End of the Diary (4/5) After studying the Gold Coin for a while, Shao Zifeng put them away and continued reading.

“November 1711, my bottom is rather sore, delaying departure.”

“March 1712, having bid farewell to my parents, I embarked on a sailboat with the glory of the Karen family, praying that God and the Queen would bless me with smooth sailing, to return to the Imperial Capital with supreme wealth and honors. I swear, I’ll make Sir Charson experience what it’s like to be unable to sit comfortably.”

Mad idiot.

This same darn thing has been repeated so many times, Shao Zifeng felt a bit crazy as he flipped through the notebook.

Would you four, no, including Jack,

please just get married right there!

Shao Zifeng was flipping the notebook furiously, while the deer raised its head to look, then continued to rest on his leg.

Besides the incomprehensible content and Mr. Karen’s constant muttering, there really wasn’t much to see in this diary.

“May 1712, the brave Mr. Karen led his knights and conquered the enemy’s castle, acquiring one sheep, two hens, and two sick elder slaves. Eventually, the merciful Mr. Karen pardoned their crimes and left their territory, which was smaller than my garden. Damn, I’ve grown tired of life at sea, I need women!”

“June 1712, I can hardly stand it anymore, Miss Charson… no, any female… hey, that sheep.”

“June 1712, that sheep was nice, I liked it.”

Shao Zifeng’s hand trembled slightly, suddenly feeling this notebook was dirty.

Taking a deep breath to suppress the frustration in his heart, Shao Zifeng continued reading.

Hmm.

The diary ends here.

Although Mr. Karen wasn’t a daily diarist, there had never been a situation where he didn’t write for three months.

He quickly flipped a few more pages and saw some lines resembling route charts, the paper torn by the force of the strokes, indicating Mr. Karen’s irritable mood when drawing them.

Flipping a few more pages, he finally found new content.

“September 1712, we are lost, damn XXX and damn XXX, we are lost at sea, may the Lord and the Queen pardon my sins.”

“October 1712, for survival and food, I personally ended a few servants’ lives with my dagger, I am guilty.”

“November 1712, the second mate fell ill, continuously having high fevers, his gums rotting, legs swelling.”

Gums rotting,

legs swelling.

Reading this, Shao Zifeng showed an enlightened expression.

He roughly understood what disease the second mate had contracted.

From the start of their voyage, Shao Zifeng had been guessing if they would encounter this situation, and alas, the disease indeed appeared.

Both the East and the West have experienced the age of great maritime explorations, but a peculiar disease often struck Western sailors.

In 1521, Magellan led more than 200 sailors on a round-the-world voyage, but in the end, only 18 completed the grand feat.

In 1740, a few decades after Mr. Karen set sail, Admiral George Anson of the British Royal Navy led 6 warships and over 2000 sailors on a round-the-world voyage. After four years, when the fleet returned to port, only the flagship docked with a few hundred emaciated sailors, while over 1000 had been taken by the disease.

Scurvy,

a nightmare that sailors have struggled to escape for centuries and one that Western sailors feared the most.

The main reason for this condition was the difference in dietary structure. Western sailors primarily consumed meat and bread, and due to a lack of vitamin C, they developed scurvy. In contrast, the Easterners, to eat fresh vegetables during their voyages, would grow bean sprouts and other fresh crops on board, seldom suffering from the disease.

After clearing up the reason, Shao Zifeng silently prayed for Mr. Karen and others, and continued reading.

“In December 1712, the second officer died, and a few more contracted the same strange disease.”

“In December 1712, I ended a patient’s life with ‘the Glory of the Karen Family’ because he dared to insult me. After killing the man, my short sword had not a single stain of blood on it. I suddenly felt that our ship must have been cursed by the group of witches our ancestors had executed.”

There it was! Feudal superstition!

Shao Zifeng smirked and was just about to turn the page when his eyes fell on the ‘Glory of the Karen Family’.

He fell silent, although their illnesses could be scientifically explained.

But with the presence of this sword, who could definitively say it wasn’t feudal superstition?

“In February 1713, all were dead, except for me, the third officer, and that sheep which always ran from me. The good news is, we have plenty of alcohol and jerky, I hope we can reach shore soon.”

“In April 1713, the third officer disappeared, just last night. The sheep died right in front of my eyes, I tried to feed it some jerky, but this damned sheep wouldn’t eat it at all.”

Drops of water echoed from a distant dark cave.

With slender, pale fingers tracing each line, Shao Zifeng read more and more intently.

He had a premonition that the events to come were the reasons Mr. Karen came to the Antarctic.

From what was written, one could already see Mr. Karen’s transformation; most notably, it had been a long time since he prayed to God and the Queen.

He seemed to gradually numb, the disappearance of a man affecting him less than that of the sheep.

“In May 1713, or maybe it was May, the weather was growing colder, I saw a lot of drift ice, they kept colliding with my ship, the nights grew longer, the sun would appear for a while then turn back into night, I think I must be going mad.”

Good grief.

Incredible.

These few sentences were filled with clues.

This was drifting near the Antarctic Circle, May was about to enter the Antarctic winter, with nights growing longer until they became the half-year-long polar night.

“In June 1713, my ship was enveloped by the endless night, the weather grew even colder, someone was knocking on my door just now, strange sounds came from the sea, I dare not open the door… I might die here.”

“In June 1713, such thick sea fog, it feels like returning to the Imperial Capital where the fog is also pervasive all year round… Singing, is that the Siren singing? I really want to sleep… I really want to go home.”

The Siren.

Shao Zifeng furrowed his brows; Station Master Cui had once told a similar story during a fog encounter.

If one could interpret Station Master Cui’s story as a myth further elaborated upon,

But Mr. Karen was a man from the eighteenth century when the world was moving forward in a normal historical progression. With over two hundred years to go until the ‘Unknown Recovery Incident’ outbreak, how could he hear singing?

Was it due to hallucinations from prolonged isolation?

This wasn’t out of the realm of possibility,

After all, people from that era were more superstitious than those of the present.

After pondering for a moment, Shao Zifeng continued reading,

“In 1713, I woke up to find myself wrapped in blankets and thrown into the snow. There was ice and snow everywhere, had I been banished by the gods?”

“In 1713, this might be my last, last journal entry, monster XXXXXXX magic XXXXX divine punishment XXXXXXX”

(Seeing how hard I’ve worked, dear readers, please grant some votes.)