A volume with yellowed covers, creased and worn, as though carried daily. Zhang Yuanqing opened to the first page and found it was a maritime journal, the first entry dated March 1987, filled with unremarkable observations. Soon, he came across his journal entry from August 12, 1900: "For this voyage, tasked with recovering a comet that had fallen into the southern ocean, the soldiers' morale was poor. Although the joint government controlled the narrative and suppressed the legends of sea monsters, in coastal towns, fishing villages, and trading companies along the southern shores, stories of the southern sea monsters persisted. They claimed the comet was a demon cast upon Earth, and any living being near it would be contaminated by the demon's power. Another version held that the comet harbored extraterrestrial life, and the sea monsters were actually creations of alien beings—part of the first step toward Earth's destruction. In any case, the mission was clearly a failure. Fortunately, before I rejoined the fleet, I performed six consecutive sprays on Linda—six times, without fail. That performance is hard to imagine, and even if I were to fall in the mission, I would have no regrets. There's one odd point: why, when recovering deep-sea meteorites, were ocean liners chosen instead of specialized deep-sea vessels?" Although the cruise ship had been modified and equipped with torpedoes, it was not heavy-duty and lacked the capacity to carry large salvage equipment—could we possibly rely on divers to recover items from deep sea? August 16: "Oh God, today's experience will remain etched in my memory forever. In the South China Sea, we encountered merpeople who resembled humans, yet were quite unattractive—covered in scales, with ugly fish-like heads and eyes nearly bulging from their sockets, and hands and feet adorned with sharp claws that could climb up the ship's hull. Now I finally understand why a modified cruise ship, rather than a warship or a heavy-lift salvage vessel, was dispatched. The bishops, nuns, and priests of the Church are all angels blessed by God, endowed with the power to combat demons—capable of summoning fierce winds, stirring the seas, and unleashing lightning. To them, those grotesque and terrifying merpeople appear as fragile as children. "I really wish I had their abilities—strength like theirs. Then I could sleep with women every night. No, I want to sleep with six women each night." The rest of the content was rather mundane—just daily updates and Stephen Simpson's observations about the cathedral's nuns. Zhang Yuanqing deduced that among the cathedral's spiritual travelers, there were two nuns: one a wind mage and the other a sea nymph. Based on the abilities displayed by these two, he concluded they were both at the level of Saint. The "Stunning Cruise" instance was a smaller-scale quest, with only a modest number of spiritual travelers among the NPCs—likely key characters. In an S-tier quest for sixth-level Saints, it would be impossible to find NPCs at the extraordinary stage. The wind mage who attacked her last night was named Isabella. Stephen, the lieutenant, described her as: "having an angelic face, radiating a sense of holiness that makes one eager to defile her." Another priest named "Pajee." Stephen remarked: "She has a devilish figure—her curvaceous, peach-like hips, when they sway, instantly make me feel the urge to rush to the restroom and release my nucleic acids. Yet both women are exceptionally beautiful and possess extraordinary strength, so the ship's crew can only quietly dream of them and silently nod their admiration beneath their blankets throughout the night. It wasn't until August 25th that Zhang Yuanqing finally saw valuable information: 'We endured a thrilling day—enormous octopuses, larger than the ship, with sweeping tentacles; flocks of merfolk; sea serpents over twenty meters long; fish with infant-like hands and feet that spray venom; shells that emit women's weeping sounds, stirring deep human desires… Honestly, the battles of today would be hard to believe if told to anyone. But by my grandmother's honor, every detail is true. I survived solely by luck—God's grace, of course, and the ship's ample arsenal of weapons.' The meteorite from the ocean floor has been retrieved—it’s undoubtedly a magical seed sent by Satan to Earth. It resembles an egg, five meters tall, with pores and veins spreading across its surface, pulsating like a heart. The very first moment I saw it, I felt a second personality emerging within me, as though my flesh were whispering with a life of its own, speaking thoughts of its own. This sensation wasn’t unique to me—many soldiers fell to the ground, vomiting or clutching their heads in spasms. Fortunately, the heavenly angels of the Church swiftly baptized it with holy water, purified by the grace of God. The Cardinal brought it down to the ship’s lower deck and strictly forbade the sailors from approaching. It will be delivered to the Church, under the watchful care of God, and we hope for a smooth return journey! August 27: "What's going on? I've been hearing strange whispers for two consecutive days, and I've sensed someone walking back and forth along the corridor outside my room—the footsteps are mechanical, as if coming from a lifeless body. I told the captain about this, and he comforted me, saying it's a lingering effect of the demon-like atmosphere that affected the ship a few days ago; just a good night's rest should be enough." August 28: "…Today during lunch, I heard that Anthony suddenly fell ill and passed away, going to heaven. The news came as a shock—such a young life, taken so suddenly, not in battle but from illness. May heaven be free of disease. I wanted to visit him, but the captain said Anthony died of a contagious illness and his body has already been cast into the sea. Alas, he will never be able to return home. I hope the odd sounds won't continue tonight." August 29: "Last night, I heard footsteps again along the corridor, soft and rustling, as if some kind of arthropod were crawling. I didn't dare go out to investigate. This morning, I found a sticky residue on the corridor walls. I reported my observations to the captain, who took the matter seriously and promised to conduct a thorough investigation." August 30: "The captain has suddenly changed his attitude today, claiming I'm mentally unwell and experiencing hallucinations. How can that be? He hasn't properly investigated the matter." August 31: "Two more comrades have died from illness. The captain now requires all crew members to check in daily at the medical station to prevent infection. I believe the illness may be caused by the magical strain. Didn't the papal cardinal purify the magical strain? In the coming days, I will make a point of bathing regularly and maintaining personal hygiene. I hope to make it home alive." The mucus on the corridor is accumulating more and more... September 1st: "Another person has died today. Also, everyone seems strangely odd—there's something unputdownable about them. Though they're familiar comrades, I keep feeling they're strangers. During night patrols, I noticed Justin and William standing on the deck, staring blankly. I had to urge them back to their quarters. Their condition was peculiar—almost as if bewitched by some demon—strange and unsettling. The spot where they stood was covered in mucus..." September 2nd: "Justin and William have turned into monsters! I just secretly followed them to the public bathroom to bathe, and I saw it!" Seeing Justin's body covered in scales and William's tail vertebrae sprouting smooth, slippery tentacles—good heavens, they too had transformed into something terrible, like sea monsters. I must tell the captain, I must tell the captain... September 3rd: "The captain is ill, the captain is ill, God, bless me!" The journal ends here, with this brief entry written unevenly and hastily. When Stephen wrote those words, his mind must have been shattered—his hand trembling so badly he could hardly hold the pen. "Ah..." Zhang Yuan shifted into Stephen's perspective, suddenly feeling a deep sense of despair for him. After reading the entries, the sequence of events became clear: following the retrieval of the "magical seed," Stephen began to whisper strange, haunting words each night, discovering that familiar crew members were being infected and undergoing eerie transformations—among them, Lieutenant and Captain James. Well, it's likely that the papal team stationed at the ship's bottom still remains—being the closest to the "mystic seed," they must have been the first to suffer contamination. Zhang Yuanqing suddenly recalled the telegrams from the cruise ship and the naval headquarters. The captain had ceased communication with the naval command on August 30th, while in his diary, on the 29th, he had been firmly committed to investigating the issue of the mucous. By the 30th, however, he had become unusually indifferent to Lieutenant Stephen. The details aligned: on that very day, the captain himself became contaminated, transforming into a seemingly normal yet clearly insane creature. "The diary ends on September 3rd, and September 4th is the day I entered the spiritual realm—yesterday. Oh, Stephen likely died on the 3rd. I've taken over his position." "The captain has been contaminated, and so have the papal team, along with a portion of the crew. That's the most conservative scenario." The worst case scenario is that the entire crew has been contaminated... Thinking about this, Zhang Yuanqing felt a strange tingling sensation at the base of his skull. Oh no—I've truly stumbled into a wolf's den! "So, if I made a hasty move yesterday, forcibly opening the captain's drawer, or today, forcefully stabilizing the dream, wouldn't that have disrupted the current balance and caused the crew to progressively transform?" "Good thing I remained composed and didn't act impulsively—I managed to uncover everything within just one day." "If the entire crew has now transformed, then my situation is rather dire. The nuns are saints, and that red-robed bishop is at least at the peak of Level Six. Plus, there's the magical seed down in the hold... Hmm, no wonder this is an S-tier quest—straight out of the gate, I've been dropped into the wolf's den." "Should I now confront them directly, or pretend I'm unaware and hide here for a few more days? Let me think..." ... The hold. James, wearing a double-breasted captain's uniform and a naval cap, ascended the stairs to the entrance. The two knights did not obstruct him; they let him enter the lower deck. James walked among the piled-up goods, supplies, and tools, and under the dim glow of the gas lamps, stopped before the mound of flour. James spoke firmly, "I've checked—he seems to have sensed something's off." From behind the mound of flour, an elderly voice replied, "Faster than I expected. Let's proceed with the ceremony!" James thought for a moment, then said, "Tonight, then. I've scheduled him for patrol tonight, and at that time I'll have people take control of him forcibly." "I'll coordinate with the knights outside." the elderly voice responded. …… "The big boss might be a magic seed, the small boss the Cardinal. The court's spiritual travelers are elite monsters, and the other crew members who've changed are regular monsters. Before facing off against the bosses, we should clear out the smaller ones first." "Then I won't be able to make a formal demand. I'll need to strike first—either eliminate the captain and crew, or eliminate the elite monsters from the court, and then move to the lower deck for the final battle against the boss." "The patrol is tonight, right? This is a perfect opportunity to eliminate a portion of the monsters." Zhang Yuanqing was a decisive strategist and quickly formulated a plan. The celestial realm travelers from the Church's contingent should remain at the lower deck—these would be the final adversaries to face. First, he would eliminate the crew and the captain, then focus entirely on the enemies stationed at the lower deck. Given the current situation on board, the magical strains within the realm likely serve as a powerful contaminant. They possess the ability to amplify distortions and to infect the celestial realm travelers themselves, rather than acting as direct threats. Otherwise, the magical strains would have already transformed into monsters and launched a full-scale assault by now. Therefore, he would need to remain vigilant against the distortions caused by the magical strains, guarding against potential contamination of his own.