I struggled to turn in the water, and a shiver ran down my spine as I looked back.
At some point, those dead heads had gathered around me silently, their empty sockets seeming to fix me with a gaze from the departed.
Damn it!
I immediately sensed something was wrong. Although these ghostly things weren't moving, my intuition told me that if this continued, something bad would happen.
So, I gritted my teeth, reached out, and plucked the dead head in front of me off, then quickly swam upwards.
On the surface, these ghostly things seemed unattached, but in reality, a thin line connected them from below.
I swam upwards rapidly, trying to escape their encirclement.
I didn't know if these dead heads were plant or animal, but they felt slippery to the touch, like snake skin, cold and damp.
Moreover, it seemed to me that their size was related to the nutrients they absorbed from the sea; the more they absorbed, the larger the dead heads became.
This made me think of plants on land.
If the lines connecting them were roots, then these dead heads were like budding flowers.
After they had absorbed enough nutrients, what kind of evil fruit would they bear?
A series of questions and speculations arose in my mind. If the conditions allowed, I would have loved to dissect these dead heads on the spot and study what they were!
Although these ghostly things made me feel uneasy, they also indicated that we were approaching the deserted island. After all, in my entire life, I had only seen such bizarre things on deserted islands.
I quickly surfaced, taking in deep breaths of fresh air, and then clambered onto the boat.
Seeing me return to the boat unharmed, the two sisters were very happy.
"Strange Uncle, you... Ah! What is this?!"
Qi Xinxin was about to pout at me when she suddenly noticed the dead head I was holding in my hand and screamed, cowering behind her sister in fear.
Qi Qiaoqiao also turned pale when she saw it clearly.
"It's okay, this thing won't hurt anyone. It was just following our boat."
I wiped myself down with a towel the sisters had, then quickly took a small box from my backpack and put the dead head inside.
Although I didn't know what this thing was useful for, if I returned to civilization, I could find specialists to identify it.
If nothing unexpected happened, these ghostly things must be related to the savages on the island.
Perhaps these dead heads were the reason we were isolated from the outside world!
I had already witnessed the marvels of the ancient savages in the underground palace. They must have left these things behind for more than just scaring people.
At this point, the company's boat continued to move forward, and we dared not linger, so we quickly followed.
The dead heads in the water began to follow us again, but fortunately, they seemed to have their limits and could not leave. After we had traveled for more than 20 minutes, they were no longer in sight.
Only then did I feel a sense of relief. After all, although these things seemed to have no other purpose than to scare people, it was often the unknown that was the most frightening.
Speaking of which, earlier, we were rowing to quickly leave this sea area, with Qi Qiaoqiao using the telescope to observe the movements of the company's people.
Now that there was no urgency, I quickly took the telescope.
Hmm?
The company's people had an accident!
I clearly saw that they were sailing normally when suddenly one of the sailors began to convulse inexplicably and then fell into the cabin!
I was sure this person wasn't just suddenly ill, because after a few convulsions, he began to cough up blood, looking like he was about to die!
Could it be that something had happened on the company's ship?
My face darkened. After all, in a sense, we were all in the same boat, and if they were in trouble, we wouldn't fare any better.
Just then, a thought struck me. Next to the sailor was a plastic box. I clearly remembered that this box contained the dead heads they had just fished out of the water.
At some point, the box had been pushed open, and a black tentacle had emerged from it.
The tentacle was a disgusting grayish-black and covered in barbs.
It looked like something out of a zombie apocalypse.
Perhaps the sailor had been pricked by the tentacle that emerged, causing him to fall to the ground.
Thinking of this, my alarm bells went off. I couldn't afford to hesitate any longer. I immediately dropped the telescope, took out the box where I had stored the dead head, and threw it forcefully back into the sea.
We had almost fallen into the same trap!