??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 ho by flight after the off-season storm in the Pacific had completely died down in January, and a significant number of them developed ntal 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 rembered that during the storm, passengers of the Star Cluster seed 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 beco unavailable over ti, but on an old video website, soone 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 so 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 so 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 so interview materials, mostly from the captain, crew mbers, and passengers since the accident was quite serious, leaving behind many speculations and a wide array of opinions. So people thought there was a mutiny among the crew, so 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 segnt of an interview with the first mate, Zhao Liren.
“… At that ti, 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 equipnt 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 , and even as the fire spread, he didn’t initiate effective asures. I’ve known the captain for several years; he’s not like this, sothing must have affected him, maybe it’s the pressure from all the unforeseen events of this voyage that overwheld him…”
In this segnt, 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 mbers 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 co out for air during al tis, 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 seed troublUserServiceed by sothing, 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 movents like a jailer watching over them and acted sowhat neurotic, far from the calmness the first officer claid to possess.
“…The crew were all tight-lipped and uncommunicative, not like this at the beginning. Since the storm started, they’ve beco much more serious. I understand that such storms at sea are very dangerous, no joking matter, but after the storm, they seed 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 ti, I thought he was trying to scare us, but who would have thought that after so ti onshore, the ship caught fire. Luckily, we were all in the hotel at the port. Seems like so crew mbers were burned to death on board? I’m not so sure.”
So tourists presented another view, that the crew seed to change due to the severity of the storm and the restrictive asures 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 tis 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, so crew mbers did develop psychological issues due to the pressure, and I had the ship’s doctor give them dication. At least by the ti 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. Sotis they would stand at the port, in the torrential rain, making strange worshipful gestures towards the center of the storm. So 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 seed to be ancient temples, all representing primitive beliefs.”
“Those statues looked like octopuses, or so 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 so monster.”
“Only, in the light of the fire, I thought I saw sothing 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 ca 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 beca hysterical, and the interview had to be interrupted.
Lu Ban saw the final outco of the captain; he spent ti at ho recuperating after the interview, and a month later, drowned himself in his own washbasin. It was said that at the ti 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!
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