"That's it?"
"What else were you expecting? To arrive with a newbie Card for a thrilling trip to R'lyeh?"
The captain looked down in astonishment, lowering his glasses to look at him, "It's still not too late to turn back now. If you like cheating death, I don't mind tearing up a couple more Cards."
God knows what he was talking about.
Huai Shi took out his phone and connected directly to the Astronomical Society's GPS, checking his location.
After verifying it several times, I still couldn't believe it: I'd actually made it to Australia?
This was unscientific!
Huai Shi turned back to look at the Raven on his backpack, "The ship actually didn't explode?"
"Would you like me to arrange that?" The Raven sighed, "You're unhappy if the ship explodes, and you're also unhappy if it doesn't explode. Fool, you've become really hard to please lately."
Huai Shi rolled his eyes. Whose fault was this all anyway!
"Well, it looks like it's time to part ways..."
The captain whistled, sporting a smile that begged for a beating, toying with a pair of dice in his hand, "How about I give you some parting benefits?"
"What benefits?" Huai Shi instinctively became guarded.
"DING! DING! DING!"
The young captain, as if performing Magic, wheeled out a trolley, pointing to the dazzling array of products on it, "The Mayflower Steamer's limited-time supply event begins! All items, a flat 40% off! 40% off! You can't go wrong, no tricks, how about buying a little of everything?"
Huai Shi habitually rolled his eyes at this inexplicable development.
When he saw the prices on the cart, his eyes nearly rolled all the way back in his head.
"What the hell!"
Huai Shi pointed at the bottled water, "One liter of mineral water for eighty? And in US Dollars? Is that the discount price? Do I look like a big sucker? And these compressed biscuits look like they're about to expire, right? Where do you get the nerve to sell them for forty a pack?"
"You don't have to buy it," said the captain with a weird smile. "But just so you know, young man, once this opportunity's gone, there's no second chance."
"I, Huai Shi, would rather die of thirst today, jump off here, than buy even one bottle of water from you!"
Huai Shi clutched his wallet tightly, on guard against the captain possibly feeding him Chaos noodles or plankton noodles. Since he could already see the coastline, he might as well jump off and swim over.
Dream on if you want my money!
Unexpectedly, the captain just looked at him with pity and then put the trolley away.
Not long after, the sea started smelling foul.
As the shoreline got closer, the pungent odor in the air grew stronger.
Through the surface's layer of brown sticky grease and heaps of foam, the steamer docked at the small jetty amidst the stinging haze.
Distant factories emerged under the gray sky, their sharp and lofty contours revealed. Plumes of smoke continuously rose from their massive chimneys, like black pillars holding up the ever-lowering heavy clouds.
Beyond the city, one could vaguely make out increasingly desolate plains, and at the horizon, a vast desert.
Huai Shi couldn't help but hold his breath. It was too pungent!
The captain, on the other hand, seemed to produce a small horn out of nowhere, joyfully tooting it to bid farewell to his single passenger as he disembarked.
"Welcome to Darwin, the only town in northern Australia!"
He clapped excitedly, pointing to the dock by the ship, "Step into your new journey, young man, your treacherous fight for survival is about to begin!"
Huai Shi glanced back at him, half convinced, half suspecting the captain was waiting to see him make a fool of himself.
But even after he got off the ship, no one suddenly jumped out to pull a Long Spear and strafe at him.
Maintaining caution and vigilance, Huai Shi first entered the only convenience store outside the dock...
「Three minutes later.」
He rushed back as if chased by wild dogs, frantically grabbing the Mayflower Steamer's anchor as it was about to be weighed.
"Good sir, wait a moment!" He rushed up, humbly clinging to the captain's legs, "Do you still have those supply benefits? I'll buy! I'll buy! I'll eat my words, it's great stuff, okay?"
And so, the captain gave a wry smile.
Then he reached out and took down the sign for the limited-time offer from the trolley.
"Buying is no problem."
He grinned, smiling happily, "Unfortunately, the sale ended three minutes ago... Now, it's full price. Is that okay?"
Suppressing the urge to cry and the aching in his chest, Huai Shi took out his wallet, trembling as he pulled out the US Dollars he had worked so hard to save.
"Alright."
His voice squeezed through clenched teeth, "I'll take everything..."