RE: Evolution System

"This is getting weirder and weaker. I'm a little overwhelmed," said Parker, helplessly.

"By the way, did you see Chris and Jessica?" Jill asked Javier.

"Chris and Jessica must still be in Northern Europe. You were tricked into coming here. Now we have to find a way to leave this ship," Javier told them.

"But the systems are completely destroyed. We can't control the ship at all, and there's no way to contact headquarters," Jill said, pointing to the ruined control panel.

Javier looked around the control room. On one of the walls, he found a map of the entire ship.

"Look here. On the second floor of the hall, there's a communication room. We might be able to contact the outside world from there," he said, pointing to the map.

With a new objective, everyone immediately ran toward the hall. They didn't have much time left, and through Javier and Rachel, they had learned that Morgan had a connection to Veltro.

When they reached the deck, they were ambushed by droplets. More than a dozen of them blocked their path, including one massive creature.

This one had two heads—one that looked human, and another with a huge mouth full of large, sharp teeth.

The reason was that the infected body had a different resistance to the virus compared to ordinary people. The virus spread slowly, resulting in gradual deformity and mutation.

The infected person remained conscious for a while, even able to write a diary, but as the infection progressed, the original head would be replaced by a large mouth used to devour prey. The remaining head lost all self-awareness and could only repeat a few simple words from past memories. The creature's right upper limb had mutated into a chainsaw-like organ.

Javier focused on fighting this monster while the others handled the remaining droplets. He fired a series of bullets directly into the monster's head, destroying the original human head, and then used flames to burn the creature until it turned to charcoal.

After dealing with it, Javier helped the others finish off the remaining enemies. Once the path was clear, they headed to the salon and up to the second floor.

When they entered the communications room, Raymond was already there. He looked at them and said,

"Looks like we're all too late."

"What do you mean?" Parker asked, puzzled.

Raymond shrugged and pointed to the damaged communicator beside him.

"Damn it, who did this?" Parker said angrily.

"Come take a look at this," Jill called them over. A video was playing on the monitor. The person in the video was wearing a gas mask and a black combat uniform.

At that moment, everyone at BSAA headquarters was watching the video on a large screen. The masked person held a syringe filled with a red liquid—the T-Abyss virus.

In the next part, the figure went to an aquarium and poured the liquid into the water. The ornamental fish reacted violently and swam frantically, then began to mutate into monstrous forms.

The figure observed this proudly. Their plan was to infect one-fifth of Earth's oceans with the virus. It was completely insane. This person was a lunatic.

Then the figure removed the mask. It was Jack Norman, the leader of Veltro. Behind him was a Veltro flag.

He was the one who spread the virus in the video. Javier showed his contempt. The man was a hypocrite. No wonder Morgan had deceived him.

Parker punched the monitor.

"Those damn terrorists."

Raymond leaned against the wall and looked at them.

"Have these bastards still not been eliminated?"

Jill shook her head.

"It seems there are still some survivors. Otherwise, who attacked us and destroyed the ship and the communicator?"

"They must be here looking for the virus, planning another terrorist attack. We need to stop them," Parker said.

Raymond stood up and headed for the door.

"All they want is the truth about Terragrigia and revenge," he said as he left.

No one paid much attention to Raymond. What he said was always difficult to grasp. Javier stared after him with suspicion. It could be said that his and Jessica's acting had been flawless.

"Right now, none of the ship's systems have power. We need to get to the engine room, restart the power, and then find the communications tower to contact headquarters," Parker explained.

After some of the group left the communications room, Raymond was waiting for them outside and handed them the casino key, which provided access to an elevator leading directly to the engine control room.

Everyone went to the casino. The place was well-equipped, filled with various game machines, and lavishly decorated. It was clearly a place designed for the wealthy.

"Jill and I will go down to activate the equipment. Parker, you and Rachel stay up here," Javier said, then entered the elevator with Jill.

"You seem to like Jill," Rachel said to Parker. He looked caught off guard.

"Unfortunately, Jill likes Javier," she added.

"Don't you like him too? Anyone can see that," Parker replied.

"Yeah. Javier is handsome, tall, and really strong. He knows how to protect and please women. Who wouldn't like a guy like that?" Rachel admitted.

As the two chatted about Jill and Javier, Chris and Jessica were also boarding a cruise ship. Unfortunately, they had boarded the Semiramis Queen, the sister ship—not the Queen Zenobia.

While Chris and Jessica searched on the wrong vessel, Javier and Jill reached the engine room. After locating the switch, they activated it.

Rachel and Parker were anxiously waiting above, and soon the entire casino lit up as all the machines came to life. Not just the casino—power was restored across the whole Queen Zenobia, lighting up the ship once again.

Javier and Jill returned to the casino, preparing to move toward the front deck, where a signal relay allowed contact with headquarters.

But just as they were about to leave, the water in the ornamental fish pond in the center of the casino turned red. The fish mutated and began leaping out to attack them.

(End of Chapter)

"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."