A Core Ship From The Start Chapter 726

Chapter 726: Chapter 532 Old Acquaintance_1 Chapter 726: Chapter 532 Old Acquaintance_1 “Never thought I'd go to Antarctica…”

Standing at the airship field, staring at the massive airship in front of her, Mary felt like nothing she saw was real.

Suddenly, Professor Palmer from the history department invited her to join his research team.

Suddenly, Professor Palmer indicated they were heading for an expedition to Antarctica.

Suddenly, he planned to take her along.

Only after Duanmu Huai filled her in did Mary finally understand what was going on.

To put it bluntly, after calculating the expenses required for this excursion, Mary felt a chill running down her spine.

It wasn't due to the excitement or fear, but purely because of the enormous amount… It was an astronomical figure that Mary, being middle-class, could never comprehend in her lifetime.

Not to mention, Duanmu Huai was not one to endure hardships. Thus, their journey was arranged to be extremely luxurious. Setting off from Fog City in an airship to Tierra del Fuego, before proceeding to Antarctica by boat from there. Of course, all facilities were in place.

In reality, if possible, Duanmu Huai would rather take an airship straight to Antarctica.

On one hand, it's convenient. On the other… well, do you all know where R'lyeh is?

R'lyeh is located at 47deg9′ S, 126deg43′ W… Yes, it's west of Tierra del Fuego.

Perhaps they would detour to have a seafood barbecue with Cthulhu.

Duanmu Huai might not fear Cthulhu, but he wouldn't want to smell fishy, right?

Unfortunately, considering the climatic conditions of Antarctica, while feasible for an airplane, airships would struggle. As a result, Duanmu Huai had no choice but to opt for traveling to Antarctica by boat from Tierra del Fuego, hoping that Cthulhu wouldn't be stupid enough to bother him.

“I'm truly grateful for you, Mr. Duanmu.”

Professor Palmer was likewise exhilarated, his face flushed with excitement as he tightly clasped Duanmu Huai's hands. Having a wealthy benefactor who didn't mind splurging was wonderful. If it were public funds, they'd have to settle for the worst third-class cabin, let alone an airship, because of the limited budget. In such expeditions, every penny must be stretched, and anything that can be saved on transportation and living expenses should be saved. Unlike Duanmu Huai who casually rented an entire airship, Palmer wouldn't mind more of such comfortable excursions.

Plus, it's the perfect time to go to Antarctica. Even though it's nearly winter in other places, it happens to be summer in Antarctica, and the daylight lasts the longest. While the airship isn't as fast as an airplane, it is much quicker than a boat. Maybe they could seize this opportunity and grab a good location for the expedition!

While most people were thrilled, there were exceptions.

Like Lorena.

“Eh? An airship again? Hope nothing goes wrong this time…”

“Miss Lorena? What do you mean, 'again'?”

Looking at the usually cheerful girl now wearing a bitter face, Mary curiously asked. Sighing, Miss Lorena explained.

“When Sir Knight and I took an airship to Fog City, a murder by a cultist happened on the airship… It was exhausting.”

“Huh? A… a murder??”

Hearing this, Mary was taken aback. After all, she had only ever seen such incidents in detective novels, not in reality!

“But… but you don't have to worry, Miss Lorena, Mr. Duanmu has chartered this airship, besides us, there is no outsider…”

“The murderer last time was the doctor on the airship.”

“……”
Hearing this, Mary was speechless. Duanmu Huai, though, nonchalantly walked over and patted Lorena on the head.

“Relax, Lorena, I promise you, nothing will happen this time.”

“Huh?”

Very soon, Lorena got why Duanmu Huai said it with confidence.

That's because what he chartered this time was the “Full Moon Starlit Ship”… It was the same one which they rode on their way here.

“As there was a murder on board, business hasn't been good for this airship of late. I simply took it for cheap.”

“……”
Looking at the airship in front of her, Lorena was lost for words.

Really, who does that???

So Lorena finally figured out why Duanmu Huai was so confident. The ship's crew had previously been scrutinized by Duanmu Huai, and aside from the ship's doctor, everyone else was innocent. This meant they shouldn't pose any problems. But… really, Sir Knight, do you really have to pull the wool over their eyes back and forth like this?

Even though Lorena was helpless, Duanmu Huai didn't care at all. In fact, he started introducing the airship to Mary.

“You see, right here, this smoking room. That's where the victim was killed last time. His blood was used to craft a strange Array. The walls were covered in blasphemous runes… Oh, it seems they've cleaned up really well …”

Listening to this, Mary's face turned pale. She looked at the smoking room as if staring at the entrance to Hell, instinctively stepping back.

“So, where do you plan to stay?”

“Please assign me to a guest room far away from here, thank you…….”

The group continued their conversation as they passed through the corridor to the observation deck. There, the captain was waiting for them. Seeing Duanmu Huai, the captain showed a warm smile and saluted him.

“It's been a while, Sir. You're as dashing as always.”

“You're looking a little off color.”

“Ah, there's not much to say about it…”

With Duanmu Huai's mocking comment, the captain gave a wry smile. The previous murder had indeed brought lots of trouble. A simple murder would have been one thing, but a Cultist's killing had left behind endless rumors in the harbor about the Full Moon Starlit Ship. One of the rumors said that the soul of the murdered man was trapped on the ship by an evil Magic, wandering in the vessel's hold, ready to seize other people's souls…

Those who could afford airships didn't like to compromise and surely wouldn't want to board a cursed airship. This led the Full Moon Starlit Ship to a miserable business situation for months. The captain, feeling disheartened, was considering selling the airship — only that no one was willing to buy.

It was then that Duanmu Huai saw the news and got in touch with the captain. Being the savior of the ship and its crew, the captain couldn't forget him. If it were not for Duanmu Huai and Lorena intervening, they might have perished at sea with the airship. He naturally agreed immediately.

Business was slow anyway, and any opportunity to work was a good thing.

The captain decided that after this job, he would overhaul the Full Moon Starlit Ship and rename it. Otherwise, for the rest of his life, he feared he wouldn't get guests anymore.

Chapter end

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