Why?
That was a very good question.
Locke looked at the man standing three paces away. The bullet had been lodged in his forehead for over a second, yet he remained perfectly upright. Locke's lips curled into a slight smile. "Because ten minutes ago, you weren't here."
When Locke had first descended from the deck, he hadn't heard a single breath coming from this conference room. It was only when they were preparing to refuel and leave that this guy's breathing appeared—and quite deliberately at that, ensuring they would hear it.
What did that mean? If this man were truly hiding from something terrifying, would he let his breathing be that loud?
Furthermore... Locke looked thoughtfully at the man's forehead. "No blood coming from a headshot. Your fakery is a bit too lazy."
As soon as the words left his mouth, blood suddenly erupted from the man's seven orifices. The scene was instantly gory and horrific.
Except... the acting was over the top.
'Hey, I gave you a headshot, I didn't feed you poison. You're performing the 'seven orifices bleeding' routine for a bullet to the brain? Does that even fit the setting?'
"You will all die here!" The middle-aged man began to expand rapidly, like a balloon being overinflated. "The great Lord of the Ocean will not forgive you! You will all die!"
*BOOM!*
In an instant, the man exploded. Every corner of the conference room was suddenly decorated with a piece of him. Locke, standing safely outside the room, watched the aftermath with a thoughtful expression.
Lord of the Ocean?
...
[Ding!]
[Mission Generated!]
[Mission: "Deep Rising!"]
[Reward: Potential Points 10,000, Achievement Points 10,000, Mystery Item Box 1]
[Description: There seems to be a monster here calling itself the Lord of the Ocean. It even sent its servant to mess with you. Can you endure this? If this can be endured, what can't be?]
[Note: Only the system can think what you think and feel your urgency. Only I understand you!!!]
...
Locke's lip twitched. 'What is wrong with this damn system?'
Regardless, Locke accepted the mission and turned back toward the deck. Gwen was still here. He wanted to get her to safety first. He could create a clone—one to leave with Gwen, and the real him to stay behind and handle this mission once the "extras" were out of the way.
On the deck, a loud snap echoed as the fueling hatch for the helicopter was forced open.
"How's it going?"
"Stark is seeing if he can override the program from the outside."
Dylan looked at the approaching Locke and gestured toward Tony. "What happened at the conference room?"
Locke shook his head. "Probably a stray cat. Gave me a jump. I checked that floor; didn't see anyone. It's like they all vanished into thin air."
Cindy gripped Kahn's shoulder. "Then... where are the people?"
Jennifer looked at the group, her face pale. "I just thought of something similar to this."
Everyone looked at her.
"The Philadelphia Experiment!"
The Philadelphia Experiment of 1943—a legend where the Navy allegedly rendered a destroyer and its crew invisible, teleporting them nearly 500 kilometers away. But when the military boarded the ship, the crew had vanished.
Gwen shook her head. "That's just an urban legend. There's zero evidence it happened."
"We have evidence now, don't we?" Jennifer countered. "Dr. Jessup believed that intense magnetic clouds could rearrange the molecular structure of humans and matter, pushing them into another dimension."
Gwen sighed. "I'm not saying Jessup's theory is flawed; I'm saying there's no proof the experiment actually took place."
Jennifer threw up her hands. "Isn't this proof? How else do you explain why the crew of the Argo vanished in such a short time?"
The Argo hadn't hit a rogue wave like the Poseidon. And looking at the sea, there were no bodies. Even the lifeboats were still hanging perfectly in their cradles.
Gwen opened her mouth to argue, but Jennifer cut her off. "Gwen, if not that, what's your explanation? The magnetic field here is strange. Otherwise, why can't we contact the outside world?"
Gwen lowered her head. "I... I can't think of another reason right now."
Locke interrupted. "Still no signal?"
"None."
"Done!" Tony Stark shouted. He was holding his tablet, fingers flying across the screen. "Rebooting in five, four, three..."
*Hummm! Clang! Clang!*
Several lights on the deck flickered to life. The indicator on the fuel line turned green. The heavy hose began to pulse as fuel started pumping into the helicopter's tank. The pilot, watching the gauges, turned with a jubilant shout. "We're fueling up!"
Just then—*BOOM!*
The fuel hose connecting the ship to the helicopter suddenly tore open. With lightning speed, the hose whipped around and slammed into the pilot.
*Crack!*
The pilot's head was snapped 180 degrees by the force of the blow. The scene went from horrific to nightmare fuel instantly.
The hose seemed to come alive, rising high into the air. With a wet, squelching sound, a tentacle covered in thousands of tiny, twitching eyes—enough to trigger a seizure in any trypophobe—erupted from the fuel pipe. It slammed into the fuselage of the helicopter.
*CRASH!*
The helicopter, as if it weighed nothing at all, was swiped right off the deck and into the ocean.
Locke grabbed Gwen and moved her to a safe distance before looking at a frozen Happy Hogan.
"Hey, my—"
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Locke snatched the handgun from Happy's holster and fired three precise shots into the flailing tentacle. Green blood and fuel sprayed across the deck.
The tentacle seemed to sense its attacker. It adjusted its position and swung at Locke like a falling mountain. Simultaneously, from deep within the bowels of the Argo, a muffled, furious roar echoed.
"Watch out!"
*BOOM!*
The tentacle smashed into the deck, cratering the metal. Within the hole, more tentacles could be seen squirming.
*Shink!*
A flash of cold light. Locke had grabbed an axe and brought it down on the limb. The tentacle was severed cleanly, the axe burying itself three inches into the steel deck.
A wounded howl vibrated through the ship. The severed limb twitched as the main body retracted into the pipes.
A moment later, a deathly silence returned to the deck, broken only by the heavy breathing of the survivors and the occasional spasm of the severed tentacle in the hole.
"It can be hurt." Locke pulled the axe free, looking at the green ichor mixing with the fuel. "If it can be hurt, it follows the rule: if you kill it, it dies."
Everyone stared at him in shock.
"Locke!" Gwen was the first to snap out of it. She ran to his side. "Are you okay?"
Locke shook his head. He tossed the empty handgun back to Happy and looked at Tony Stark. His expression was dead serious. "When we get back, change your bodyguard. If not, spend some money to send Happy to Blackwater for training."
Happy caught the gun with trembling hands, looking absolutely mortified. Tony walked over, glancing at the empty helipad. "I'll take that suggestion under consideration."
Happy: "..."
It was humiliating. With all these grown men around, the seventeen-year-old was the only one who didn't freeze. Tony looked at the stunned Happy, then at Pepper. "Remind me to hire a pro instructor from Blackwater when we get home."
Pepper nodded weakly. "Understood."
Dylan, having no ego about being outshined, walked over to the twitching tentacle. "What is this thing? An octopus?"
Based on the shape, it looked like one. But an octopus this big?
Robert Ramsey walked to the edge of the deck. The helicopter was already sinking, bubbles rising where it had vanished. "Must be a mutant," he muttered.
Locke watched the severed limb, which was still trying to crawl toward the pipe despite the damage. He looked at Tony. "Any other way to contact the outside?"
Clearly, the mission's boss didn't want them to leave.
Little Connor, standing by the railing, pointed to the intact lifeboats. "Why don't we just row away?"
Maggie pulled him back. "Stop wandering off!"
"Sorry, Mom."
Dylan stepped on the twitching tentacle and shook his head. "No. Robert and I saw the water earlier. That thing is right under the ship. If we get in those lifeboats, we're just bite-sized snacks."
On the deck, they had a chance. In the water, it was the monster's kingdom.
The group walked to the edge of the railing. The sun was up now, illuminating the sea. They looked down into the water.
Their faces turned ghost-white.
***
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