Shrouded Seascape

At Anna's command, the doctors among the devotees rushed forward. They lifted Roy onto a stretcher bed and hoisted him toward the surgery room on the ship.

The metallic tang of blood still permeated the air as Anna swept her eyes over the remaining followers. Roy had yet to clear himself of the suspicion but the chances of him being the traitor had lowered significantly.

Since he wasn't the traitor, then the spy had to be among those who remained on the deck. The thought of some unknown spy lurking on her own ship with the ability to spy on her innermost thoughts set Anna's nerves on edge.

No matter who planted this agent, she had to root that person out as soon as possible.

"My fellow brethren! Just moments ago, someone tried to dismantle the ranks of God's servants. That snake is among us, and we must find him. From this moment, everyone must surrender all communication devices. Until we find the traitor, no one is allowed contact with the outside world!"

Though the followers felt slightly uncomfortable about surrendering their electronic devices, the authority of Anna's words prevailed. They slowly fished out their electronic devices and placed them on the table before Anna.

As soon as all of them had surrendered their devices, they, alongside Anna, turned their gazes toward Captain Roger, who was standing stiffly by the side.

"Why are you all staring at me? I already said—I'm out!" The old captain maintained his firm stance.

Faced with Roger's unwavering determination, Anna chose not to confront him head-on. After all, the man still had his uses.

"Captain Roger," Anna said in a softened tone. "Please don't let what happened earlier get to you. Someone tried to attack us, and we're just taking measures to defend ourselves. There's someone on this ship bent on causing trouble, and what we did was a means of trying to identify the person."

"As if I'll buy your lies! Just let me and my crew leave!" Roger spat in a firm voice. His heart was steeled. He wanted to leave. The recent events had shattered any remaining trust he might've had for those aboard this ship.

Anna knew all too well that emotions were merely just tools. In negotiations, she wielded them with precision.

Clearly realizing that Captain Roger was not one to take on any hard approaches, she had already eased the intensity of her gaze.

"There's no need to be so absolute, Captain Roger. You've been a captain for years and have extensive experience. With a role like yours, I'd think that life shouldn't have to be so frugal… Are you facing some troubles at home?"

Anna's keen observation had allowed her to notice the old captain's well-worn shirt. Seeing the subtle shift in Roger's expression, Anna flashed a slight smile, knowing that she had hit the hammer on the nail.

"Perhaps, I can help you with that. But of course… that's only if you help him first.

"Let's just say…what just happened earlier had never happened. We are still employer and employees."

Roger eyed the followers surrounding him, and what happened earlier resurfaced in his mind. He gestured for his crew to regroup and slowly stepped back.

"Hold on for a moment," Roger said. "Let us discuss among ourselves first."

As Wang Sheng watched Roger retreat, he leaned close to Anna and whispered, "High Priestess, they can't be trusted."

Anna let out a soft chuckle. "If they can't be trusted, can all of you be trusted? This is all about needs. I don't need their trust. I only need them to be useful."

Anna paused for a moment before she continued, "Let's forget about them for now. No matter what those old fogeys do, even if they were to all jump ship, the potential damage they would cause us is minimal. The real threat is the spy hiding among us. That's the biggest trouble.

"If that spy brings down the entire church, everything you're hoping for will be down the drain as well."

Wang Sheng felt his stomach tighten as potential despair hung over him. He felt like his future was slipping into the danger zone.

"Understood! I'll make sure we find him!"

"I'm not leaving this to you. I'll handle it personally." Anna then pulled out a list of names—fervent believers among the followers.

Since the spy wouldn't come forward, they'd be rooting them out, piece by piece.

The rest of the night passed in silence. By the time the sun rose, peace had returned to the Narwhale once again. However, everyone knew the momentary peace was fragile. Until the spy was found, there would be no real safety.

There weren't many fanatical believers; they numbered only twenty. But these twenty swore absolute loyalty to Anna.

Like encroaching tentacles, they slowly spread out on the ship and silently sought a trace of that person who had tried to peek into Anna's dreams.

The ship continued her advance toward the Indian Ocean. Everything was normal on board, at least for the time being.

In a dimly lit cabin, Roy slowly opened his eyes and silently stared at the ceiling fan turning lazily above him.

He was alive. He had actually survived that life-threatening crisis. When Anna had singled him out, he thought it was all over there and then.

In that helpless moment, he could only take a desperate gamble. And somehow… he'd won.

Now, as he lay on his bed and recalled the sequence of events, a lingering question clawed at him. Why had Anna let him live?

From the intel he had gathered over the past few days, he was certain about one thing: Anna was a mercilessly decisive woman.

Forgoing the fact that he was actually a traitor, under those circumstances, even if there was the slightest doubt that he was the spy, he should have been dead. She wouldn't have cared even if he was not guilty.

So everything didn't add up. What was the variable that made her let him off the hook?

Roy began to mentally retrace her every move. Since he couldn't use the Controllable Anomaly to snub around her dreams anymore, he would have to look for useful intel by analyzing her actions.

He started to replay the fragments from that tense moment before he passed out from blood loss. Suddenly, he noticed that piece of paper—the one that mentioned his "daughter."

Why did she let me off? Does she have a daughter too?

The more Roy thought about it, the more likely it seemed to be the case. Perhaps, at that moment, Anna had resonated with the story he had fabricated.

That was her emotional weakness and he had to remember it, just so he could exploit it in the future.

And as Roy thought of Anna, memories from the dream flooded back to him. No matter what it was in that dream, he could no longer use that Controllable Anomaly any longer.

Unlike the average ordinary person, Anna could clearly sense it when there was something amiss in her dreams. Yet, Roy had no idea if that was Anna's innate ability or some skill she had acquired along the way.

"What other options are there?" Roy muttered to himself, his brows furrowing. "Now that I'm on her blacklist… It'll be even harder for me to make a move."

Just as his mind ran with new plans, muffled voices rose in commotion outside the medical room.

Not long after, he struggled to lift his head just as a doctor walked into the room. Roy recognized him immediately. He was the same doctor who had been changing his dressings these past few days. They had also exchanged a few friendly words in passing.

"Doctor, what's happening outside? Why is it so noisy?"

"Great news, Roy! You'd be delighted to hear about this! Your name has been cleared!" the doctor said, his face beaming with excitement.

"What?! How?"

"The spy who has caught the High Priestess' attention has been singled out!"

Roy couldn't comprehend the situation. He had been the one who caught her attention. How could they have found someone else?

As confusion clouded his mind, he couldn't sit still any longer. He struggled to lift his neck and asked, "Doctor, can I go there and take a look?"

"Look at your current state. Forget it. Get some rest first, save it for when you've recovered."

"But I really want to see it with my own eyes," Roy countered as he clenched his jaws. "I want to see which bastard caused me to end up in this state."

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