Chapter 2356 - 2259: Ghost Curse
Chapter 2356: Chapter 2259: Ghost Curse
The Okinawa 0288 fishing boat incident has attracted a lot of international attention. As soon as the news broke, there was an uproar in Dongyang. Many people turned into Sherlock Holmes, believing that this was very likely the work of the people from Huaxia Country.
These Dongyang people seem to have some sense of self-awareness. They believe it might be related to Dongyang’s recent unilateral detention of a Huaxia ship caught poaching and the detention of its Huaxia personnel, which might have led to retaliation by the Huaxia people.
Thus, there was an uproar online in Dongyang, demanding a reasonable explanation from the Huaxia consulate and hoping that the Huaxia government would stand up and respond to the incident.
On the Huaxia side, they were actually quite puzzled, unaware of what exactly had happened. However, before the situation could escalate, Dongyang also could not obtain any direct evidence to prove it was the work of the Huaxia people. The Huaxia government is not foolish and certainly would not rashly come forward to speak at such a time.
Indeed, this is exactly the case. Although the East Ocean Police Bureau assembled an exceptionally strong police force to investigate the matter, because Gu Xu erased the sailing records on the fishing boat, the East Ocean Police Bureau could only determine that the ship had automatically sailed back to Dongdu Port from the high seas, without discovering anything else.
Although the East Ocean Police Bureau still places the main suspicion for this incident on the Huaxia side, given that the high seas where the incident occurred are closest to Huaxia Country, they found no evidence on the fishing boat that could point to Huaxia, so no one dares to assert that it was definitely done by the Huaxia people.
The Dongdu Police Department remains silent, and the Dongyang Government is not foolish; they can’t hand over the opportunity to Huaxia. Without direct evidence, who dares to accuse Huaxia?
Moreover, the East Ocean Police Bureau found many doubts after investigating and gathering evidence from the fishing boat.
For one, although the boat was meant for fishing, its cargo hold was completely clean without a trace of seafood, which was unusual for a fishing trip and more akin to a pleasure cruise.
On the other hand, the cargo hold of the boat contained a very inconspicuous torture room. More alarmingly, all the torture instruments there were made in Dongyang, and they were obtained through illegal means.
This made the East Ocean Police Bureau highly suspect that the fishing boat might be linked to the Dongyang mafia.
Speculation arose that the boat might be a front, using fishing as a guise while actually handling illegal mafia affairs, with the torture room intended to punish rebellious members within the gang.
But if this incident was caused by the mafia, then suspecting Huaxia would mean they’re looking in the wrong direction.
Thus, the Police Department was hesitant, unsure where to focus their investigation.
At this juncture, a very shocking video emerged from Kyoto Hospital.
Some fishermen rescued from the boat were sent to intensive care after falling into a coma and shock, but shortly after, their bodies began exhibiting strange symptoms.
First, they experienced full-body convulsions, then developed sores. The final scenes of the video were jaw-dropping, with blood seeping from their orifices and countless worms bursting forth from their abdomens.
What is the scene like when thousands of worms emerge from an abdomen? Anyone who saw that video felt their scalp tingle, and those with trypophobia could not help but feel cold, dizzy, and pale.
The thought of what the doctors and nurses in the video witnessed evoked sympathy, and their panicked retreat seemed understandable, given the severe impact of such a scene. It was more fear than mere awe, more a terror that seemed to claw at the soul.
Almost instinctively, everyone touched their abdomens, fearing a similar swarm might inexplicably emerge from their bodies.
The two bizarre casualties, named Yincun Zhengyi and Zhengyetian Xiong, were the captain and first mate of the ship respectively. Shortly after the worms burst forth, they died due to a lack of timely medical intervention.
The Capital City Hospital quickly reported this news, and the Police Department dispatched specialists to examine the case. The deceased crew members’ bodies were transferred to the forensics division of the Dongdu Police Department for autopsy analysis.
The forensic scientists quickly extracted many unhatched worm eggs from the victims’ blood vessels. The sheer number of eggs virtually filled their vascular networks. Observed under a microscope, the dense clustering of eggs caused even the pathologists to step back in shock.
This was a completely unprecedented situation, leaving these pathologists baffled. When they tried to hatch and analyze the origins of the eggs, their efforts were futile.
After being extracted from their hosts, the eggs swiftly died, and despite all efforts, the pathologists failed to retrieve a single living egg sample from the blood vessels. They could not determine anything from these remains.
Such a departure from normality left the pathologists feeling helpless, as they had never encountered such a bizarre and problematic case.
Adding to the Police Department’s headache, unable to decide on an investigative direction, the video from Capital City Hospital circulated increasingly online, eventually reaching audiences across the Pacific, spreading worldwide.
Initially, Dongyang citizens considered the incident as Huaxia’s provocation against the maritime convention, pressing for Huaxia’s accountability. But now, nobody dared to voice such accusations.
After all, this kind of incident seemed too bizarre; not only Dongyang, but netizens from other countries also found it odd. A large portion harbored unease deep inside, coupled with a sliver of doubt.
The ship returns to port mysteriously, with everyone either witless or paralyzed, and the captain and first mate die in such an uncanny fashion.
How does this not resemble one of those unsolved global mysteries? Could the boat have encountered a ghost at sea and, for offending the spirit, been cursed?
The more they thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Thus, rumors of the fishing boat encountering a ghost at sea slowly emerged from Dongyang.
The ghost curse rumors grew increasingly intense, capturing global attention, even overshadowing the sensational case of the Huaxia girl Lanke’er, who disappeared in an American hotel and was later found dead in the rooftop water tank.