The sudden change caught everyone off guard, even Roy hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
Fortunately, Roy's reaction was quick enough. In bullet time, he constantly adjusted his body and, while he was at it, pulled Serina and Charles to prevent them from hitting anything due to the sudden tilt.
But the degree of the tilt was beyond Roy's expectation; it felt like some powerful external force was attacking the Santiago.
Combined with what the staff member had just said about the sonar detecting a giant creature on the seabed, could it be...
There was no time to think. The Santiago had already been flipped over, turning upside down and plunging into the water.
The ship's bridge is usually located on the top deck for the best view.
But when flipped over, the top deck became the bottom.
The glass in front of the bridge couldn't withstand the water pressure and shattered instantly, and then seawater surged in.
Roy and the others were actually located in an office outside the bridge, a short distance away.
Hearing the commotion, Roy instantly entered Ghost Wolf state. Relying on his super burst speed, he managed to close the blast door of the bridge before a large amount of seawater poured in.
This was a blast door, mainly intended to buy time for the crew to call for help from outside during a pirate invasion, not a watertight door like those in a submarine.
So, even after Roy closed the door, seawater continued to seep in through the gaps.
Moreover, after the door was closed, something seemed to hit it with force, denting it. Roy was somewhat startled and wondered if it was the sea monster.
Soon, the impacts became frequent. Something was indeed deliberately hitting the blast door. It was very likely the sea monster that had flipped the entire Santiago over.
"Run!"
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They definitely couldn't stay on the bridge anymore. Now that the ship was upside down, running towards what was previously the bottom of the ship was the safest option.
With the Santiago's massive size, it contained a lot of air. It wouldn't sink that easily before all the air was expelled.
Even if the sea monster forcibly dragged the Santiago to the seabed, some air would still be trapped in the lower decks.
However, if the sea monster truly had the strength to drag the air-filled Santiago to the seabed, it might as well just break the Santiago in half like the Titanic.
(The Titanic stood up after hitting the iceberg, then broke into two halves.)
Even so, it still took the Titanic several hours to completely sink.
The Santiago was several times larger than the Titanic from a hundred years ago. Theoretically, it should take even longer to sink.
Well, that is, without any external force influencing it.
Roy grabbed Serina and Charles, but Charles seemed to be in a rather strange state.
"It's over, it's all over!"
Charles had been completely thrown into despair by the scene before him. The luxurious cruise ship he had bought with countless sums of money, inviting so many distinguished guests...
Once the Santiago capsized, the amount of money Charles would have to compensate would be astronomical, not to mention the hatred the families of those wealthy guests would harbor towards him.
Of course, some people might actually thank Charles.
But regardless, Charles's business reputation in America was completely ruined. No one would come to him for any business ever again.
If the insurance company also refused to compensate, things would be even worse.
Don't doubt it, the California wildfires had completely exposed the underbelly of commercial insurance companies.
Commercial insurance companies aren't charities; even charity foundations need to make money, and they certainly wouldn't engage in losing propositions.
It was completely foreseeable that the insurance company would also kick him while he was down.
Roy gave Charles a slap.
"Charles, money can be earned back, but if people are gone, they're truly gone! Look at Serina, aren't you thinking about her feelings?"
Charles clutched his face and subconsciously looked at his daughter. Sure enough, he saw Serina's face was full of worry.
"Dad, as long as we're together, we can definitely overcome any difficulties!"
His daughter's encouragement finally lifted Charles's spirits.
"Serina, my good daughter! Let's face all the difficulties together!"
"Dad!"
Father and daughter embraced, crying together.
Honestly, this scene of fatherly kindness and daughterly filial piety was truly moving, and Roy really didn't want to interrupt it. The problem was, the seawater was almost up to their knees!
"You two, save the touching moment for after we escape! Get out of here with me now!"
Roy pulled Charles and Serina as they headed out. There were actually other people in the office, like the staff member who had just reported the sonar reading.
But many of them had been knocked out or fainted during the ship's flip. Roy didn't have time to check on their condition. He was more worried about Heather and Penny's situation right now.
Charles seemed to understand Roy's intention.
"Roy, are you going back to the VIP area?"
"My women are still in the VIP area. I have to go rescue them!"
"Roy, I completely understand your concern for your women. If my daughter were on the other side right now, I'd be extremely worried too! The problem is, we can't go directly to the VIP area right now, not without taking a detour!"
The bridge area was separated from the VIP area by a large hall. The ceiling of this hall was essentially a skylight, which had certainly shattered under the water pressure by now and should be completely filled with seawater.
A normal person definitely couldn't get through the hall in this situation, but Roy wasn't exactly normal.
"Charles, trust me, I can definitely get you through!"
Roy's confidence mainly came from his Expert level Water Sports skill, which was equivalent to mastering the top-tier abilities in various water sports.
This included swimming, diving, sailing, jet skiing, and so on.
Honestly, if Roy had competed in the Olympics before, he could have easily won world championships in swimming.
This ability hadn't been of much use before, at most just for playing around in the water with women. He hadn't expected to use it on a luxury cruise ship.
Charles didn't understand where Roy's confidence came from, but fortunately, Serina helped explain.
"Dad, Roy is actually a supernatural being, and he's very powerful!"
At Charles's level, he had heard a little about some of the mysterious information hidden behind society.
Understanding Serina's meaning, Charles knew his daughter must have witnessed Roy's power firsthand (which was true, and she almost died), so he no longer objected.
"Alright then, I know a shortcut. We can go this way!"
Charles had seen the blueprints of the Santiago. His memory was excellent, so he could remember most of the routes.
Led by Charles, the three arrived outside the hall a few minutes earlier than expected.
The area was already completely flooded, but thankfully, there was still some air trapped in the ceiling of the corridor (which was now the bottom). It was just difficult to move through.
At this moment, Roy suddenly smelled blood.
Something was wrong!
Roy immediately took out the Executioner Sword from his inventory. The next moment, a tentacle with a strong smell of blood lashed out at him.
A tentacle as thick as a person's waist, with the tip capable of splitting open like a mouth.
Isn't this the design of the sea monster from 'Deep Rising'?
Roy's face darkened. He hadn't expected this ship to be that ship from the movie. Charles really wasn't unlucky; even if he hadn't bought this ship, it wouldn't have escaped this fate.
Fighting in water was very resistant. Thankfully, Roy's physical fitness was strong enough, and he managed to cut the tentacle with the Executioner Sword.
The Executioner Sword was quite powerful. This one slash opened up a huge gash in the tentacle. The severely injured tentacle immediately recoiled.
Serina's eyes widened as she watched the blood floating on the water, wondering if she was hallucinating.
"What was that thing just now?"
"A sea monster's tentacle!"
Roy's expression was very grim. Since tentacles had appeared, the hall must already be occupied by the sea monster.
Even with his strong swimming skills, Roy wasn't confident he could defeat the sea monster underwater. Its physiological structure was that of an ocean creature; Roy, a land-based creature, couldn't possibly defeat it there.
The hall was impassable, so Roy could only take a detour by going upwards.
He hoped Heather, Penny, and the others were okay!
"Uncle Charles, are there any stairs going up nearby?"
"I know where the stairwell is, follow me!"
With Charles, who knew the ship like the back of his hand, leading the way, Roy and the others quickly reached the next level via the stairwell.
This level wasn't flooded yet, but the smell of blood was even stronger. Bloodstains were everywhere, but there were no bodies to be seen, nor any living people.
The level below the VIP area was the second-tier residential area for high-net-worth individuals, second only to the VIPs. Now, these high-net-worth individuals were just left with their 'net worth' (they were dead).
However, Roy found a staff member's walkie-talkie on the floor. It was constantly emitting calls and screams.
Picking up the walkie-talkie, Roy pressed the button, wanting to try contacting Heather and Penny.
"Heather, Penny, Dalia, Amy, are you okay?"
This was just an attempt, and Roy didn't hold out much hope of contacting his women, but unexpectedly, the walkie-talkie replied.
"Roy, is that you?"
It was Penny's voice. They had also found a walkie-talkie.
"It's me! Where are you now? Are you in danger?"
"Roy, we're all safe. We're climbing up the elevator shaft right now!"
Hearing that Heather, Penny, and the others were safe, Roy breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Be extremely careful! A giant sea monster is invading the Santiago! Meet up at the ballroom. I'll find you as soon as possible!"
"We'll be careful, Roy. You be careful too! Keep in touch!"
"Keep in touch!"
With that, Penny stopped talking.
Roy looked at Charles and Serina.
"Let's go, we'll climb up too!"
The three climbed all the way to the middle level of the Santiago, which was where the ballroom was located.
Upon entering the ballroom, Roy saw a large number of panicked passengers. The scene was a complete mess.
Roy searched for Heather and Penny among the chaotic crowd but didn't see them.
They probably hadn't climbed up here yet. Dalia, her mother, and Amy had average physical fitness and wouldn't be that fast climbing an elevator shaft.
At this moment, someone saw Charles. The fear of death made these people need an outlet for their stress, so they decided to target Charles.
"Charles Wayland! This is all your fault!"
Some even grabbed knives and forks, wanting to kill Charles.
When basic life safety cannot be guaranteed, human social order collapses in an instant, entering a Darwinian state of survival of the fittest.
Roy decisively pulled out his revolver and fired a shot into the air.
Everyone at the scene froze.
"If I were you, I'd quickly escape to the bottom of the ship now instead of going crazy here!"
Roy's words were very logical, which calmed some people down.
Indeed, by hiding in the lower decks, at the Santiago's sinking speed, it was possible they could wait for rescue to arrive.
After all, it was the year 2000, not the era of the Titanic.
Just then, Roy saw Heather, Penny, and the others rushing into the ballroom from a side door, shouting as they ran.
"Run! The sea monster is coming!"
Several tentacles were following the five women, carrying a strong smell of blood.
"Watch out!"
Roy gripped his Executioner Sword and used Ghost Wolf's super burst speed to charge in front of the tentacles.
A strike of the blade!
Without the resistance of water, Roy easily slashed at a tentacle, causing the other tentacles to retract instantly.
"Heather, Penny, quickly climb up with Charles and Serina! Leave this place to me!"
"Got it!"
However, upon seeing the tentacles, everyone in the ballroom frantically surged towards the exits, blocking all of them completely, and even causing a stampede.
In this situation, even if Heather and Penny had exceptional physical fitness and could squeeze through, the others couldn't!
Helpless, Roy could only try to break through the ceiling (which was now the floor) to create a direct path upwards.
However, the ballroom ceiling was quite high, and Roy had to transform into his demon form to reach it.
The nearly five-meter-tall red demon scared everyone senseless.
Roy punched a large hole in what was originally the floor, now the ceiling, and then took out the Cursed Hair to use as a rope for others to climb up.
Serina and Cui Lin watched Roy in shock. Serina had witnessed his angel form with her own eyes, and now seeing his demon form, she was starting to doubt everything she knew.
"Roy, what exactly are you?"
"Quick, climb up!"
It was actually quite dangerous if the sea monster were to attack at this moment, but the monster had just had a tentacle severed by Roy and temporarily didn't dare to mess with him.
However, there was just too much food in the ballroom. The sea monster eventually couldn't resist and started eating voraciously.
Seeing this, Roy breathed a sigh of relief. Then, using his size advantage, he quickly sent the others to the next level, and then transformed back into Ghost Wolf form to jump up.
The demon form's size was becoming increasingly impractical. He could no longer move around in confined spaces like the cruise ship. Many times, Roy had to use his Ghost Wolf form to fight.
"Keep climbing up, don't stop!"