Shrouded Seascape

The glass made out of special materials allowed James to see outside the window, but the people outside couldn't see what was inside the window.

James felt an inexplicable sadness welling up in his heart at the desolate scene outside. Hope Island was once bustling and full of vigor, but it was a scene that could no longer be seen on the island. Everyone on the street seemed to be in a hurry, and the people rarely smiled except for the innocent children.

James couldn't even see people chatting idly with each other.

Hope Island seemed to be no longer full of hope.

"Let's go to the Governor's Mansion," James said to the driver with his brows knitted tightly.

Soon, James found himself at Anna's office inside the Governor's Mansion. Anna couldn't even be bothered to pretend to be amicable in the face of Chief James, who had always been wary of her.

Anna's sexy and gorgeous figure split open, and two skinless female figures drenched in blood crawled out from the fissures. These figures were Anna's assistants in handling Hope Island's affairs.

"Speak," Anna said succinctly.

"The island is deteriorating at a much faster rate than we had anticipated. I deduce that the islanders will only last until August—no, July at most. I believe it's time we implement our plans," James said.

Anna propped her chin with her hand holding a pen and stared at the large-framed man before her. "I think they can hold out a bit longer. We have multiple cards but using one of them meant losing one of them forever.

"We're done for the moment we exhaust those cards."

"But… the islanders really are at their limits. The suicide rate is skyrocketing, and I believe it's difficult for us to make them have faith in us once more once they lose their faith in us," James said in a low voice.

"Don't worry; humans are more resilient than you think. I'll have you know, but the other islands are in a worse situation, and I'd say that their islanders are barely hanging on, but they're still doing fine.

"Do you really think that there are going to be any issues with Hope Island when our islanders are in a better situation than them?" Anna asked.

James' face briefly revealed his anxiety. He was about to say something when the door behind him was pushed open. James saw Leonardo with his head held high and his chest pushed out walking into the office with a folder in hand.

"Governor, I've come with the summarized report of Governor Charles' recent exploration."

Anna casually accepted the folder and turned to James. "Look at this guy working with so much motivation every day, and then look at yourself, who seems to be always unhappy. Do you want me to 'give' you something?"

James glanced at Leonardo next to him with wariness in his eyes. To be honest, he preferred the Leonardo of the past, whose mind seemed to be full of schemes, to the current Leonardo. At the very least, the past Leonardo was still human, while the current Leonardo could only be considered Anna's puppet.

James would be busy finding a way to drive Anna out of Hope Island if it weren't for the island's ongoing crisis. After all, Anna was still a man-eating monster, and James believed that such a monster was too dangerous to keep among humans.

Just as James was engrossed in his own thoughts, Anna pulled out a few photos from the folder using her tentacles. They were photos of the darkness from a variety of angles, and there were also photos of strange colors in the darkness.

The overlapping pupils emitting a pink light, a crescent-shaped beam, and finally, a photo of what looked like the sun sending out waves of gentle sunlight.

Anna's expression became a bit solemn at the sight. She took out the documents from the folder and read them carefully. After a while, Anna looked up and stared at James in front of her.

"I changed my mind. Let's do as you say and implement Plan 3."

James was stunned. He had no idea why she had changed her mind all of a sudden, but it was for the best. James bowed slightly toward Anna before turning around to leave the office.

"Ah, I really want to erase his existence, but too bad there are too many things going on right now that things will become messy without him," Anna muttered to herself.

Anna then glanced at the documents and photos on the table before turning to look at Leonardo. "Go ahead and handle this. Once Plan 3 is implemented, take advantage of the islanders' distraction to recruit the young people on the island.

"Sift through them and slowly remove those capable of causing any trouble. It'd be better to make them 'contribute' rather than allow them to cause trouble on the island."

Leonardo bowed deeply and said, "Your wish is my command, Mistress."

***

After an unknown amount of time since the decision to implement Plan 3 was made, James found himself sitting inside his car, which was moving slowly down the streets of Hope Island.

Just then, something caught his attention. It was an extravagant and luxurious-looking shrine that was several stories high.

There was an ongoing power curtailment throughout Hope Island, but the towering shrine remained illuminated by quite a few lights, making it appear magnificent in contrast to its dim surroundings.

However, the god that the followers were worshiping within the temple had a bizarre appearance. The god seemed to be an entity of intertwined rings riddled with eyeballs; there were four pairs of symmetrical, pure-white wings sticking out of its back.

There were quite a few kneeling people before the shrine, and their expressions were tinged with zeal and fanaticism as they muttered something under their breaths with their eyes closed.

James' car drove slowly down the streets, and they soon stumbled upon another shrine. A special chorus wafted out of the shrine, and it was carrying with it a distinct tone that allowed James to instantly recognize them.

There was no way James wouldn't know of them, as he had sent out those people himself to stabilize the people's hearts. Yes, this was the outcome of Plan 3, which involved using religion to calm the hearts of the anxious islanders.

Religions capable of uniting the people's hearts were especially popular during these trying times, and Plan 3 was taking advantage of that by establishing a religion that wasn't going to harm the people at all.

Just then, he saw a portrait of Sparkle on the streets. There were quite a few islanders kneeling before Sparkle's portrait.

The Governor of Hope Island herself was pushing for the expansion of religious groups, so everything went smoothly, and the worried hearts of the islanders soon calmed down beneath the influence of religion.

At first, James thought that there was going to be some kind of resistance, but he was proven wrong. On the contrary, the islanders welcomed the many different religions with open arms.

It seemed that the islanders all had the same thought. The reality was harsh and cold, but the promised afterlife in the divine Kingdom of their respective gods was enough to assuage the islanders' anxious hearts.

Although James believed that this was merely treating the symptoms rather than the root cause of the issues itself, it was true that the islanders were no longer as anxious as before.

James exhaled slowly and muttered to himself, "Why do I have to deal with something like this? If I had known that I would have to do this, then I would have left with the captain for that expedition.

"I'd rather go through multiple life-and-death situations with the captain rather than stay here and suffer through this kind of hardship."

James was doing great in his main job, but he didn't necessarily like his job. In fact, he had been finding it burdensome, and the weight was only getting heavier as he obtained more power.

He dared not and could not afford to make any mistakes, as every decision from him could determine the fates of many people.

James rubbed his throbbing temples with his calloused hands and muttered to himself, "I wonder how the captain and the others are doing right now…"

***

On the surface, Charles had chosen not to return to the Colossal Hole Fortress. Instead, they stopped at a rough outpost. The outpost was still in the middle of construction, and the smell of soil and black smoke made the air smell particularly offensive. Fortunately, the outpost had the basics; one could replenish one's supplies here, and of course, one could stay here for a brief rest.

After a brief conversation with the person in charge of the outpost, Charles borrowed the outpost's telegraph to inform the Colossal Hole Fortress that one outpost wasn't enough. They had to build as many outposts as possible on the route leading to the darkness.