CHAPTER 219: DANGER IN THE NIGHT

Hammerhead Shark: A shark-like fish with a robust body, often traveling in schools.

Due to environmental factors, the fish in the Thorny Sea are influenced by the water, accumulating unusual metallic elements in their bodies—most notably manifested in the lumps on their heads.

Originally, Akira had only been about 30% confident in his hypothesis, given the limited information.

He couldn’t be certain his theory was correct.

But after using his Pokedex Ability, he confirmed his suspicions.

"Not long ago, we witnessed waves turning into thorn, frozen in place on the sea’s surface. You all remember that, right?"

The group nodded in unison.

It hadn’t been long, so the bizarre sight was still fresh in their minds.

Beside them, Ging lowered his gaze, already sensing a connection from Akira’s first sentence alone.

Perhaps it had something to do with those strange waves?

Glancing at the pensive Ging, Akira continued.

"Those frozen waves—or rather, the seawater—contained substances resembling metal."

"When the concentration reaches a certain level and conditions are met, the seawater solidifies into shape. As for why it’s the surface seawater, it might also be related to the air."

"But that’s not the main point. The key issue is that this substance exists in the seawater and could very likely affect other organisms."

"The lumps on these fish heads are the result of absorbing this metal-like substance."

"This can be understood as a mutation. Although we’ve only observed this type of fish so far, there’s a high probability other fish in this area are similarly affected."

"Currently, this mutation appears to bring beneficial developments, but we can’t rule out hidden dangers."

These fish not only reminded Akira of the Great Stamp, but also something else related to the Dark Continent.

That would be the parasitic plants that created Brions!

Those parasitic plants gained their current power by growing on certain minerals and absorbing some of their properties.

After hearing Akira’s explanation, the people around showed expressions of surprise, but they all agreed with his reasoning.

To be fair, Akira’s explanation made a lot of sense.

Though no one knew how he had figured it out, no one questioned it, accepting it as the correct reason.

After all, as the leader of the team and their strongest pillar, Akira had no reason to deceive them.

"In that case, these fish have quite a bit of preservation value."

"But let’s just keep the lumps. A few fish bodies will be enough."

Beyond pondered for a moment before making the decision, also considering whether to bring a few buckets of seawater back on board for transport.

With this unknown substance, the seawater held some value as well.

Though they had faced a somewhat perilous crisis, they had also gained quite a bit in return.

With no more creatures blocking their way, the ship continued forward, soon leaving the stormy sea behind.

*****

A few days later, the ship finally left the Thorny Sea.

During these days, they occasionally encountered thorny waves.

As if to confirm Akira’s theory, they were attacked by sea creatures several more times.

Without exception, these creatures all had body parts similar to the hammerhead shark, affected by the seawater.

After the initial tension, the crew grew accustomed to it—at least dangers of this level couldn’t trouble them.

If the Thorny Sea was the front section of the uncharted waters, then after sailing for some time, they had now reached the middle section.

The front section had relatively ordinary creatures, but as they ventured deeper into the uncharted waters, they would encounter even more bizarre lifeforms.

*****

In the pitch-black night,

The sky was covered with endless clouds, blocking most of the light and dimming the surroundings.

Even the azure sea turned as dark as the sky, as if vast amounts of ink had been poured into it, staining it completely black.

The only light on the entire ocean came from the faint glow of the moon reflecting on the water—otherwise, the world would have been nearly pitch-dark.

At this moment, the ship didn’t seem to be sailing on the sea but rather on ink.

It was late at night, and the ship was moving at low speed, supervised by a member of the Stonewall Mercenary Unit.

The fisherman Usamen was in charge during the day, while this member took over at night.

Most of the crew were already fast asleep inside the ship, while some were on deck or the watchtower, keeping guard.

Even in the waters of the Six Continents, let alone the uncharted seas, the crew would always assign night watches to handle emergencies.

But unbeknownst to them, they had already stepped into a carefully laid trap!

...

In one of the ship’s rooms,

Akira, who had been asleep just a second ago, suddenly opened his eyes, a trace of surprise flashing in them.

Just then, a new Incubation Bar had appeared in his mind!

And it was progressing unusually fast!

Akira wasn’t sure what kind of Pokemon it would be.

But he knew one thing—they were in danger!

The next second, Akira appeared on the deck, frowning as he quickly scanned his surroundings.

The situation was far from ideal!

"Boss, what’s the matter?"

Mascher, the melon-headed man, scratched his head, not understanding why Akira had suddenly appeared on the deck.

His expression.... it seemed somewhat grave?

Tonight’s duty roster also included Mascher.

Since there were enough crew members on board, they could maintain shifts in day and night rotations.

"Something’s wrong." Akira said calmly, simultaneously extending a finger to flick something upward with a gentle motion.

A small sphere composed of aura shot straight into the sky, striking the alarm bell on the watchtower.

"Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding..."

Upon being hit by the Aura bullet, the previously silent alarm bell immediately emitted a series of urgent rings.

Countless crew members who had been asleep abruptly opened their eyes.

Danger!

"Thud, thud, thud..."

Without wasting time on thought, people rushed onto the deck, their hurried footsteps echoing in succession.

Because this mission was extremely dangerous, most had slept in their regular clothes to be ready for emergencies.

The other on-duty personnel, though confused, also began to heighten their vigilance.

Only their eyes weren’t as sharp as usual—clouded, as if veiled by dust, making them appear dull and murky.

Unbeknownst to them, they had already been affected!

"What kind of danger is it this time?" Beyond spotted Akira at first glance and hurried over to ask.

"See the black mist around us?"

"Though obscured by the night, using ’Gyo’ does allow us to clearly perceive the surrounding black mist."

Hearing this, everyone promptly activated ’Gyo’.

They were in for a shock.

Under the cover of darkness, the ship was surrounded by vast swathes of black fog!

And lurking within that mist were eerie, flickering figures!

"Normally, we should have noticed this mist."

"It seems the mist has some special effect that prevented us from detecting the anomaly!"

Ging’s expression was unusually grave, his aura surging from his body as he spoke.

In an instant, the crew members unleashed their aura, causing bright flashes to illuminate the ship.

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