Chapter 579: 198. Visitor from Yomi Country
The alarm suddenly blared.
In the banquet hall, the elegantly dressed guests froze in place, stunned.
Mrs. Kasahara and Mrs. Hoshimi continued to drink their wine indifferently, ignoring the announcement urging passengers to evacuate to the upper decks.
The entire cruise ship descended into chaos in an instant.
Kasahara Fumi stood up, tightening her belt a bit.
The staff and guards looked panicked as they rushed about.
Amid the cacophony of screams, another explosion echoed, causing the ship to shudder.
"Captain, we’ve got a situation. The Southeast Asian mercenaries blew up the ship..." a Section Nine agent hurried over, panting to report, "The cruise ship has a hole in it, seawater’s flooding into the engine room. We need to get to the upper levels for safety. We’ll hold them off at the lower levels..."
"What did the captain say?" Kasahara Fumi asked.
The Section Nine agent replied, "We’re heading to the nearest island, hoping to dock before the ship sinks."
Kasahara Fumi glanced back at her mother.
"You’re in charge here." Mrs. Kasahara flicked her hand dismissively and moved towards where the crowd was heading, "Yako, Rinko, quickly follow me. Let’s see if there’s anywhere we can be of help. Miss Yukino, are you coming along?"
Yukino Ritsuko seemed bewildered.
Fujiwara Reya was still outside, she wanted to wait for his return first...
Mrs. Kasahara grabbed her and dragged her along: "Saving your life is most important. If he dies, I’ll find you a good man to remarry."
Yukino Ritsuko puffed up her cheeks.
If someone she didn’t know well said that, she’d surely freeze them into a popsicle.
Mrs. Hoshimi also prepared to find a quieter place to stay.
Hoshimi Rinko watched the crowd around them and said, "My junior hasn’t returned yet. I need to wait for him, or else he won’t be able to find us..."
Ohhhh~
She should have asked him for a dance earlier.
What a wasted opportunity; the senior was very unwilling.
Mrs. Hoshimi naturally understood her daughter’s thoughts, nodded, and stopped interfering.
At this moment, Mrs. Kasahara turned around and winked playfully: "Your junior has a keen sense of smell, he’ll definitely track us down. Rinko, come with us."
"I’ll wait for him here." Kasahara Fumi added.
The women named Kasahara were too wicked... Hoshimi Rinko blushed, unable to find another excuse to stay, she lowered her head and reluctantly followed behind her mother with heavy steps.
※※※※※
In the room, Kasahara Asuka was awakened by the explosion.
For a moment, she didn’t know what time it was and glanced out the window at the storm-tossed sea, which was pitch-black.
In her sleep-dazed mind, it seemed like something had exploded somewhere.
Kasahara Asuka jumped out of bed and opened the door.
The corridor was in chaos, filled with moving silhouettes.
She casually grabbed a guard, impatiently asking: "What’s going on?"
"Miss, the ship is about to sink; please head to the upper decks... If you encounter anyone armed, please find a place to hide immediately..." the guard said hurriedly before running away.
Just woke up.
Her brain wasn’t working too well yet.
It took Kasahara Asuka a moment to realize someone was trying to hijack the ship.
In earlier days, she would have insisted on joining the chaos, but now she wasn’t in the mood... Besides, having slept the entire day, Asuka’s stomach was starving, so she decided to find something to eat first...
The girl left the room, heading towards the dining room.
Along the corridor, people were evacuating to the higher decks everywhere.
Among them, a director from the Onmyo-ryo in the crowd recognized the orange-haired girl and said, "Miss Asuka, come with me. The cruise ship is heading for a deserted island; there might be supernatural creatures waiting in ambush on the island..."
Kasahara Asuka glanced at the tall, serious-faced middle-aged man.
Her small lips puckered impatiently.
"Get lost..."
The middle-aged man gave a wry smile.
The chairman’s youngest daughter was just this unruly, as always...
The girl walked against the flow, out of the passenger cabins, and looked over the railing. On the storm-covered sea, three fishing boats were running parallel to the cruise ship, with several mercenary-looking men aiming RPGs at the ship’s hull.
Whoosh!
A trail of fire streaked through the darkness.
The cruise ship’s hull exploded, and the people on board felt the tremor.
As the smoke cleared, guards and Section Nine agents on the deck began returning fire at those below. The sounds of wind, rain, gunfire, and human voices echoed continuously over the sea. Kasahara Asuka just glanced briefly, then continued to the dining room.
For ordinary people, this might be an extremely shocking and terrifying scene.
For her, it was no different from watching a movie.
Kasahara Asuka turned into the last segment of the corridor leading to the first-floor dining room.
It seemed everyone had left; the place was quiet. She had just gone halfway when the light above her made a "zz" sound. Suddenly, a white mist capable of devouring everything spewed out from the base of the light.
Kasahara Asuka halted her steps.
"Something’s coming," she murmured, almost to herself.
In the white mist spreading along the corridor, a figure slowly emerged, crawling towards her.
An eerie stench filled the air.
The scent of the underworld.
The white mist flowed like water, with white silhouettes moving within it.
Kasahara Asuka looked carefully.
A naked woman.
Her body was half-submerged in the mist, half-exposed, as if floating on water.
The gleaming, damp skin was beautiful yet eerily strange, seemingly not possessing a physical form.