Chapter 274


    Lyle asked, “Do you think someone deliberately built a fake Liberty to y a prank on us?”


    “No one is aboard, but the ship is spotless. Also, even if a murder had urred, there should have


    been clues,” Dante reasoned.


    Hearing that, Tate responded, “There were indeed bloodstains in the corridor earlier. However, there


    were no further traces after that.”


    Despite their discussions, they still could not figure out what was going on.


    Momentster, Tate suggested, “Let''s head to the bilge. There should be fourrge engines in the bilge


    for a ship this size, and someone must be feeding coal into the firebox to produce electricity.”


    “Shouldn''t they have switched to diesel-powered generators a long time ago?” Jonathan inquired as


    that thought urred to him.


    “It''s expensive and inefficient to produce electricity with diesel. The best option is with coal,” Tate


    replied.


    Realization dawned on Jonathan as soon as he heard that. Soon, everyone arrived at the bilge.


    It looked like an enormous basement. Inside were piles of coal and special vents to prevent carbon


    monoxide poisoning.


    Aside from that, there were also various safety measures.


    When they arrived at the bilge, they noticed that the massive firebox was cold.


    There was no sign of any fire to generate electricity.


    In other words, Liberty was indeed drifting across the ocean.


    How could no one have noticed such arge ship drifting across the ocean? What happened to


    everyone on board? Why were there no traces if they had been killed? Has the murderer cleaned up


    the scene?


    Everyone''s minds were filled with questions.


    Since they did not find anything in the bilge, Tate suggested that they check the ship''smunication


    system to see if they could contact anyone onnd.


    Everyone''s eyes lit up as they heard the suggestion.


    Subsequently, they headed to the bridge again, and there was indeed amunication system on the


    bridge.


    Previously, they were so focused on searching for people that they did not pay attention to the details in


    the room. They only realized themunication system was something from ten years ago after


    inspecting it.


    It was a vintage radio that could send radio waves to frequencies onnd.


    Although ten years ago was not that long ago, thendline phones on the ships back then were not


    something that could be used to contact the shore.


    At the same time, they found a mobile phone on the bridge, and the brand of the phone was Bode.


    Even though Bode was still operating in the smartphone era, nobody was using their phones anymore.


    The phone''s presence added to the strange atmosphere.


    Jonathan picked up the phone and tried to turn it on, but he was unable to do so because the battery


    was dead.


    At that moment, Lyle could not take it any longer and screamed hysterically, “There must be ghosts!”


    His eyes were filled with terror.


    Immediately afterward, he turned around and bolted out.


    Jonathan''s expression turned grim.


    Tate and Dante felt uneasy as well as this was the first time in their lives that they hade across


    something so bizarre.


    “Mr. Lawson, do you know what''s going on?” queried Tate. After a brief pause, he continued, “Why


    does it feel like someone is ying a prank on us? What is their purpose?”


    Instead of answering the questions, Jonathan asked Tate, “Was the yacht earlier yours?”


    Nodding, Tate replied, “I bought it with Lyle. We rent it out to wealthy people who want to go sailing.”


    “What did Briana Yarbrough say when she approached you?” Jonathan questioned.


    “She said she wanted to go out to sea to rx. We could see that she was very upset at the time, but


    we didn''t ask too many questions because she paid us very well,” answered Tate. Having said that, he


    looked at Jonathan and asked, “Who was she, anyway? Mr. Lawson, is everything we''re going through


    now rted to her?”


    Dante also fixed his gaze on Jonathan and piped up, “Mr. Lawson, please tell us.”


    Smiling wryly, Jonathan uttered, “To be honest, I always thought that Briana was just a spoiled


    daughter of a wealthy family. This time, I was employed by her father to handle something, and he


    promised to give me a valuable item that belonged to their family. However, Briana stole the item, so I


    chased her all the way here.”


    “Why did Briana steal the item? Was she reluctant to give it to you?” asked Tate curiously.


    “I should first exin what happened,” Jonathan remarked. “Briana''s father is the wealthiest man in


    Willowbank. An organized crime group had its sights set on Victor Yarbrough, and Otto Sharp was their


    leader. He was young, attractive, and very skilled inbat. The man approached Briana and made


    her fall in love with him.”


    After a brief pause, Jonathan continued, “Victor managed to see through Otto''s scheme, but he couldn''t


    force his daughter toply. Thus, he hired me and promised to give me his prismatic crystal since I


    wasn''t interested in money. I then went to Willowbank and forced Otto to show his true colors. Briana


    was devastated to learn that she had been tricked. After that, she stole the prismatic crystal and came


    to you. That''s basically what happened.”


    Hearing that, Tate and Dante could not help but exchange nces because they were still unsure of


    how those things were rted to the situation they were in.


    Shortly afterward, Jonathan piped up in a low voice, “There''s one peculiarity, though. Otto poisoned


    himself to death just as he was about to be apprehended. Before he died, he imed to be a


    messenger from Eara and said that I would soon die.”


    At first, Jonathan did not want to tell them that, but he decided that since they were all now in the same


    boat, it would be selfish to withhold the information.


    Hence, after much deliberation, he told them everything.


    As soon as he finished speaking, Tate and Dante''s expressions changed drastically.


    Both of them gave Jonathan a peculiar look, and Tate remarked bitterly, “I guess this is all because of


    you. You offended the gods, and you''re being punished.”


    Knowing that everything was connected to him, Jonathan could only apologize.


    “Honestly, it''s pointless to hold anyone responsible because we''re now all in the same boat. We should


    think about how to get out of this strange situation,” Dante stated.


    Tate was, of course, also aware of that. Even if he wanted to put the me on Jonathan, he could only


    suppress his emotions.


    Because of Jonathan''s superior fighting skills, neither Tate nor Dante dared say anything.


    Nodding, Tate proposed, “Let''s go find a lifeboat.”


    Just then, a shrill cry of pain pierced through the air.


    It was Lyle''s voice.


    In an instant, everyone''s expression changed. Jonathan immediately dashed out the door because


    Lyle''s scream indicated that there were other people on board.


    If he could catch someone, he could force the truth out of them.


    While thinking of that, he continued to run in the direction of the voice.


    In the blink of an eye, he had reached the distant corridor, and Lyle was already on the ground.


    He hurriedly moved forward and noticed a punch mark on Lyle''s chest. Lyle''s liver had been damaged,


    and he would not live for long.


    Nheless, there was no one else in sight.


    Jonathan immediately squatted down and asked Lyle, “Who? Who did this to you? What does the


    culprit look like?”


    Yet, as soon as Lyle saw Jonathan, his eyes widened in terror.


    Jonathan was perplexed.


    Not long after, Tate and Dante also showed up.


    Tate was originally supporting Dante, but when he saw Lyle''s condition, he instantly let Dante go and


    ran to Lyle.


    “Lyle!” Tate was devastated. He and Lyle had been close friends for more than ten years. How could he


    not be sad now that Lyle was on the verge of dying?


    Lyle fixed his gaze on Tate, a glimmer of light shining in his eyes.


    “Who did this to you? I''m going to kill that b*stard!” eximed Tate indignantly.


    Stretching out his hand, Lyle grabbed Tate''s arm with all his strength and whispered, “Come closer.”


    Tate immediately leaned in.


    Jonathan could tell that Lyle did not want others to hear him. He''s going to die. Why is he afraid that I''ll


    hear him?


    As he thought of that, he focused his attention and eavesdropped using his extraordinary hearing.


    In such an unusual situation, he did not have the leisure to be concerned about their privacy.


    The next moment, he was dumbfounded when he heard what Lyle had to say.


    “The one who did this to me was... Jonathan!” After saying that, Lyle passed away, his head drooping


    to the side.


    “It wasn''t me!” As if being pricked by a needle, Jonathan leaped to his feet.


    Turning his head to look at Jonathan, Tate bellowed with bloodshot eyes, “Why would Lyle use you


    with his dying breath?”


    With that, Tate stood up, stepped forward, and grabbed Jonathan by the cor.


    Jonathan was never a gentleman. He reached out, grabbed Tate''s wrist, and twisted it. As a result, Tate


    grimaced in pain and was unable to move.


    “Are you an idiot? I was with you the whole time and only came out when I heard Lyle scream. Are you


    blind or something?” Jonathan questioned furiously. After a while, he continued, “I only need to move a


    finger to kill any of you. If I really did kill him, do I need to deny it?”


    Having said that, he threw Tate aside.


    Tate staggered and copsed to the ground.


    Just then, Dante moved forward and chimed in, “Tate, there has to be a misunderstanding. How could


    Jonathan kill Lyle?”


    “I know my best friend well. He wouldn''t lie. What other reason could there be for him to want to frame


    Jonathan when he was about to die?” Tate inquired dubiously.


    “Our journey has been filled with strange and mysterious events. We have to stay united. Otherwise,


    none of us will survive,” stated Dante.


    Yet, Tate shook his head and dered, “I don''t want to stay with this man any longer.” He then carried


    Lyle''s body and said, “We should go our separate ways!”


    Dante was at a loss for what to do.


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    At that moment, Jonathan whipped around andmented, “Let''s follow them. Lyle''s death proves that


    there''s an enemy on board, and they might attack us again. Besides, having an enemy on board is not


    even scary.”


    What he meant was that dealing with enemies was less stressful than going up against Orcus or any


    other mysterious things.


    “Okay,” Dante responded, concurring with Jonathan''s statement.


    Jonathan immediately supported Dante and quickly followed behind Tate.