Chapter 187 Doubts
“We searched the entire ship and couldn’t find them.”
“What does that mean?” The Colonel snorted, veins bulging on his usually placid face, like a volcano about to erupt. “Captain Remington, do you have anything to say?”
The Captain first showed disbelief, then as if he suddenly remembered something, he looked enlightened.
“If you’re sure it was six people… then I think I know who they are, and they probably have nothing to do with Joseph,” he said, looking embarrassed.
The Colonel glanced at him, took a white cloth from his coat pocket, and began to polish the pistol in his hand. “You’d better give me a reasonable explanation, Captain Remington.”
“Ahem, it’s like this…” Remington wiped away sweat. Even with his physique as strong as a grizzly bear, he still felt powerless when facing an officer of the Kingdom’s Navy.
“A while ago in Leicester, some crew members fell ill and needed recuperation, so the ship started to lack personnel. I tried to find suitable people in the taverns of Leicester.”
“I met those six young people in a tavern in Leicester,” Remington continued, with a hint of apology in his voice. “They were looking for work at the time. Seeing how young they were, I felt a moment of kindness and hired them to do what they could on the ship. I thought I was helping them, but who knew something like this would happen.”
Colonel Grant frowned, clearly dissatisfied with this explanation. “Then why did they disappear during the search? What happened on this ship?”
Remington gave a wry smile. “That’s also something I can’t figure out. Those young people behaved strangely, their actions were exaggerated and difficult to understand with normal thinking, and they were always appearing and disappearing. However, they all appeared to be benevolent and followed the arrangements of the old sailors, so I never thought negatively. Now that I think about it, perhaps they have some unknown secrets. As for where those six people went, I really have no clue.”
Li Wen listened quietly, but had already made up her mind. She guessed that those so-called “young people” were most likely players. Only players would fit all the descriptions, and they could return to reality at any time by logging off. This might be the reason why those “sailors” disappeared.
It wasn’t strange to have players on the ship, as they were always everywhere.
However, Captain Remington’s vague statement didn’t convince the Colonel, whose face turned ashen as he wondered what he was thinking.
Remington didn’t explicitly state why those six people had nothing to do with Joseph, but Li Wen had her guesses. She estimated that he had heard of the existence of players from Selwin or other members of the Lagovin Family and had a lot of knowledge about them. Players had only recently become active in this world, so naturally, they couldn’t be associated with the pirate first mate who had been rampant in the sea decades ago.
The Colonel called over a few sailors and whispered something to them, appearing to believe that those six players were Joseph and his gang.
“I don’t think things are that simple,” Li Wen suddenly spoke up, her voice clear and calm. “The crew list might not include all the crew members. As far as I know, there is one person who boarded the ship neither as a crew member nor as a passenger.”
“Are you talking about Old Joey? He’s been on the ship all along, could it be…” Mr. Remington’s voice was a little dry.
This attitude was indeed strange. Li Wen glanced at the Captain.
She nodded, her tone undeniable. “During the previous search, I counted them, and Old Joey was not among the crowd. This old sailor also seems to have ‘disappeared’.”
“Who is this Old Joey?” the Colonel asked, frowning deeply.
Mr. Captain recounted Old Joey’s story roughly. After finishing, he added, “Although Old Joey is sometimes eccentric, it’s due to his experiences. In normal times, he’s just an experienced old sailor.”
The young Colonel, with a gloomy expression, looked deeply at Remington. “Are you sure he couldn’t be Joseph Vilburad?”
“Yes, Colonel,” the Captain replied with certainty. “After the accident thirty years ago, Old Joey has been muddled-headed, and it’s impossible for him to be that notorious pirate.”
“But you know, Roberts was killed by the Xiderians more than thirty years ago. His experience makes him even more suspect of his relationship with Joseph.”
“But Colonel,” Captain Remington asked doubtfully, “if Old Joey is indeed Joseph Vilburad, for what reason would he pretend to be crazy for thirty years? And for what reason would he want to board this ship, even enduring the disdain, mockery, and abuse of the crew, and yearning to stay on board even while doing the most menial and humble work? Do you think a fierce and cruel pirate could tolerate that?”
Colonel Grant opened his mouth; he was speechless.
At this moment, Moria stepped forward and said softly, “Colonel Grant, I think the most pressing matter now is to find those missing people, whether it’s those mysterious young crew members or Old Joey. Only then can all these mysteries be unraveled.”
The Colonel pondered for a moment, then accepted the suggestion. He looked at Remington deeply. “In that case, I’ll ask the Captain to accompany me to search possible hiding places. I believe you know all the secret corners of the ship like the back of your hand. As for Pastor Moria, please stay here to help calm the passengers’ emotions and keep an eye out for any suspicious signs.”
Everyone took their orders and left. Li Wen wandered alone on the ship.
Indeed, both Remington and Lieutenant Grant seemed particularly strange.
Needless to say, Remington seemed convinced that Joseph was not among the crew, and furthermore, he didn’t even suspect that the pirate was currently on his ship. As for Grant, he was even stranger. He had mentioned that one of the pirate’s abilities was extremely powerful disguise.
If the intelligence was accurate, Joseph could completely kill any crew member or passenger and then steal their identity using his disguise ability. In this situation, the Colonel was merely sending people to compare them one by one, intending to find out who was extra or missing on the ship, which was hard to understand.
This Colonel appeared young, but to be the commander of a warship in the Kingdom’s Navy, he couldn’t be incompetent. How could he not realize this problem?
Or perhaps, the so-called “Joseph Vilburad” was just a gimmick, and his real target was something else?
