Chapter 1139: Chapter 1137: The Smell of Blood
What did I see?
A silence so profound, even the sounds of ship repairs had ceased.
The conflict that had ended in mere seconds shocked every spectator intensely.
That included Rachel.
Although her friend had held Mr. Fang in the highest regard, even acknowledging his extraordinary skills, the swift brutality of the killing still dealt her a considerable impact.
This guy is undoubtedly a figure of extreme danger!
The one who met a gruesome end was someone she was relatively familiar with, ranking high in strength aboard this ship, and wielded an extraordinary weapon compatible with his abilities.
Normally, even Lann would be notably polite to him.
Who would have thought that, like herself, he would be instantly killed upon confrontation?
And while it was purely a display of fighting technique without overly bizarre methods, witnessing the bone-white Bone Fragments in Mr. Fang’s hand still sent shivers down Rachel’s scalp.
And the fact that Mr. Fang’s expression remained unchanged throughout, even carefully examining the remnants in his hand after the killing, deepened her genuine concern.
Is it really a good idea to travel with such a person? The stronger they are, the more dangerous it seems!
For a moment, she felt a strong urge to talk to Li Min again.
Unfortunately, to avoid exposure, her friend had fallen silent starting from a moment ago and was hiding beneath clothes hastily draped over her.
"Eh?"
It was then she heard the somewhat puzzled voice of Mr. Fang, the cultured man.
Lifting her head, she saw him sniffing the Bone Fragments under his nose, looking surprised.
"Mr. Fang, what’s the matter?"
The person asking was not Rachel but Lann from across the way.
Watching the body that only now had slowly fallen at his feet, Lann finally signalled his crew to halt their advance.
In fact, even Lann didn’t know how much of their urge was genuine, because almost as soon as he motioned to stop them, the crowd obediently came to a halt.
Only one person had not shown a soul-crushing gap in strength, but the excessively prompt killing seemed to have directly crushed everyone’s fighting spirit.
"Sorry, our people acted impetuously, please do not take it to heart."
Despite the dilemma of how to maintain the stance, as the decision-maker, it only took Lann a breath of time to characterize the situation.
"It’s alright, everyone has their cognitive limitations, just that—"
A contemplative expression made Lann’s heart skip a beat; the next moment, Fu Qian shook his head.
"It’s a bit fishy."
Fishy?
The comment prompted silence once again.
Where in the sea is there not a fishy smell?
Moreover, comparatively speaking, the Sea of Ashes is quite mild, isn’t it?
Wait a second, what he just sniffed was a Skull, right?
Was he saying the brain matter on it was a bit fishy?
Dumbfounded by Fu Qian’s remark, the crowd finally realized something and simultaneously turned to look at what was in his hand.
"A bit fishier than normal."
Fu Qian acknowledged slightly with his head, showing no sign of being a deranged Butcher.
To think he actually meant it... But isn’t fishiness normal for brain matter? Is this guy mocking?
Uncultured people, with their brain matter fishier than others, just like a brainless, salty fish?
"Fishy smell."
As if hearing the hearts of the crowd, Fu Qian actually added.
...
Lann, being the leader, was the first to snap out of this eerie exchange.
He knelt down to the Skull, which was missing half its cranium, and took a careful sniff. The next moment, his face drastically changed.
Really...
He was certain that the particular fishy scent emanated from flesh and blood that had not yet cooled.
And as he murmured to himself, Lann’s first reaction was to sniff his own hand.
There was no particular smell, but when he sighed in relief and lowered his hand, he unexpectedly caught a terrifying sight.
From this angle, his little finger’s nail was coated in a glossy sheen, resembling a uniquely shaped fish scale.
Gritting his teeth, he quickly found similar traces on all five fingers of his right hand.
"Didn’t notice it before?"
Amid his shock, he heard Mr. Fang ask in a gentle tone.
From his point of view, the question clearly pertained to his own fingernails.
"It must be a recent change, otherwise I couldn’t have missed it."
Taking a deep breath to maintain his composure, Lann analyzed the current situation, also comforting himself with his words.
"How recent? Be more specific."
However, the other party did not let him off easily, and while asking, tossed back the bone fragments smeared with brain matter.
"After we realized the way back had disappeared?"
He had thought this conservatively styled team wouldn’t provide much valuable information for the time being, yet they brought a physical signifier directly.
As he asked, Fu Qian also sighed internally.
The smell of fishiness and Lann’s fingernails both indicated that some special changes were starting to occur in humans, and not just in the mermaid’s forked tail.
Considering these people hadn’t even entered the water, Fu Qian doubted it was just the warping power of the Sea of Ashes.
"It’s possible, after all, before the Miracle occurred, I was almost constantly monitoring changes in my body."
Lann nodded repeatedly and even naturally acknowledged the notion of the Miracle.
"Based on Mr. Fang’s understanding, might the Miracle cause people within it to mutate more rapidly?"
Sorry I haven’t learned about that yet, I hope not.
Fu Qian thought to himself.
Otherwise, this slight aberration would once again be categorized as normal.
"If you’re worried about this, it seems like you should get them busy."
For things unknown, Fu Qian didn’t mislead but pointed behind Lann instead.
"We need to find an exit as soon as possible."
’Us’... was this guy’s purpose for coming, to move together with this ship?
He is trapped in here too!
The other party’s words were easy to understand - if the Miracle really accelerated mutations, then of course, the priority would be to fix the ship and find an exit as soon as possible.
This reasoning undoubtedly made sense, and Lann felt a stirring in his heart, greatly relieved and not even minding the lack of a direct answer to his question.
Powerful abilities aren’t a problem, as long as he’s not a desireless lunatic, there are ways to handle him.
"Indeed, we can’t afford any more delays."
The next moment, he folded his right hand’s fingers into his palm and said with a smile.
...
Back again, huh!
The super-doubled sense of crisis brought significant motivation.
Shortly after, Fu Qian stood in the familiar cabin, observing the Floating Island outside the window.
"Please come in."
And the next moment, without waiting for a knock, he called out directly.
"Mr. Fang."
Rachel opened the door silently and only when next to him did she speak softly.
"Inside the Shattered Crown, mutations are said to indeed accelerate."
Lady Li Min, you really know how to dampen spirits.