Chapter 4

Chapter 4

That evening, Chao Ge came over to see me with a bottle of beer in hand.

I asked him what the Captain had talked to him about earlier that day.

Chao Ge took a swig of beer and said, “The Captain thinks there’s something off about that woman.

“The radar on our ship has a range of 120 nautical miles-that’s about 200 kilometers. But on the day of the storm, we didn’t detect any other ships nearby. If she fell into the water outside the radar’s range, what kind of wind and waves could sweep her 120 nautical miles in one go and leave her unscathed?

“When she came aboard, I took a look at her. She didn’t have a single scratch on her. Either that, or she’s been drifting at sea for a long time. But that doesn’t make sense either. If someone’s been drifting for a long time, wouldn’t they be starving and parched? Look at her-she’s been staying in the Captain’s cabin this whole time. Has she eaten anything? Has she drunk anything? And the Captain said that based on her complexion, she doesn’t look like someone who’s gone without food or water for long.”

“Hey, you guys don’t think she’s not human, do you?” Xiong Liu laughed. “Chao Ge, go ask the Captain-if he’s scared of this chick, your Xiong Ye here can go give her a ‘test run’ for him.”

At that moment, I remembered the dream I had that night about Daiyu Zai, and the sight of Daiyu Zai I’d seen when I fell into the water. I told them both about it.

To my surprise, as soon as I finished, the expressions on Chao Ge and Xiong Liu’s faces changed.

Chao Ge said, “Last night… I also dreamed of Daiyu Zai…”

Xiong Liu stammered, “I-I dreamed of him too. Right…”

He pointed toward the small porthole and said, “Right outside that window, watching me.”

After Xiong Liu spoke, we all fell silent.

Intuition told me that something was indeed very wrong.

Chao Ge pulled another cigarette from his pocket. I noticed his hand trembling slightly as he lit it. Xiong Liu and I both hurriedly asked for one as well.

I took a drag and asked, “Chao Ge, you’ve spent a lot of time at sea. Do you think there are really… sinister things out here?”

Chao Ge took a deep breath of smoke and replied, “I don’t know. I’ve seen plenty of people die, but I’ve never encountered a haunting. But if you’re asking me to swear they don’t exist, I can’t do that either.”

Xiong Liu asked, “Then… that woman… could she really be a problem?”

Chao Ge shot him a sidelong glance. “Why don’t you go find out, then?”

Xiong Liu patted his crotch and chuckled. “Then again, never mind. Better safe than sorry, hehe.”

I asked, “So, did the Captain say what he’s going to do with her? Should we head back soon?”

Chao Ge exhaled a cloud of smoke, his eyes narrowing. “No. Now is not the time to head back.”

For some reason, when he said those words, I felt like there were still things being kept from me on this ship.

Once we finished the beer Chao Ge had brought, he said, “I’m heading back. The Captain is sleeping in my quarters tonight.”

We stood up to see Chao Ge out.

Just then, a shrill, piercing scream suddenly erupted from outside.

It was a woman’s voice.

Then, there was the unmistakable crack of a gunshot.