Staying quiet was easier said than done.
These crazed people were unnaturally sensitive to sound. Even the slightest rustle or whisper of wind could draw them in. There were too many of them, and the terrain was twisted and difficult to navigate. How were they supposed to lure the crazed away while also boarding the ship safely?
After a moment of silence, Huang Jinghe said, "I've got an idea. Let's see if it works."
Huang Jinghe's plan was straightforward. If the crazed ones reacted strongly to sound, then they could simply use sound to lure them away.
They would find a spot some distance from the ships and place a loud, noise-carrying device there. Once the people on the ship were drawn away, the team could board, unlock the cabin doors, and clear out the crazed survivors inside. Then, the rest of them would rush aboard, take control of the vessel, and steer it out to the middle of the water. That way, they wouldn't be harassed again, and they could observe from a safe distance. Once the time was right, they could make their move.
The problem was not the plan itself, but the door leading into the cabin. It wouldn't be easy to open. Even after opening that door from the deck, they'd still have to go down a flight of stairs before reaching the cabin below.
The cabin was cramped. Even during routine decontamination, only two people could work inside, while a third waited awkwardly. Sending someone down there now to open the door would almost certainly be a death sentence.
But Zhang Ye, the plant ability user, spoke up immediately. "I think I can handle it. No one needs to go down. I can use my vines to hook the lock and pull it open."
Lan Jin asked curiously, "You can use vine abilities like that?"
"Yes," Zhang Ye replied confidently. "As long as the door isn't locked. And usually, it's not. Especially with injured people inside, they wouldn't have locked it."
That made the plan much more feasible.
Now all they needed was something loud enough to draw attention.
Captain Zhang rummaged through his bag and pulled out Professor Pei's old-fashioned mobile phone. The classic issue with these older models was that their ringtone volume was obnoxiously high—far louder than modern devices. With a simple speaker attachment, the sound would be deafening in this quiet environment.
But there was another problem. "What if this racket draws more than just the crazed crew?" someone muttered. "What if we bring every mutant beast on the mountain straight to us?"
Captain Zhang remained calm. "With the way those crazed ones fight, I doubt any beasts would be a real threat. Are you worried about them getting hurt?"
It wasn't injuries they were worried about. It was the way the crazed attacked—with their teeth.
If those teeth carried infection…
The thought made their stomachs churn.
Regardless, the plan had to be carried out.
They chose a spot to set the phone, the same place where they'd tied up a crazed teammate earlier. It was positioned at an ideal distance from both sides, the perfect location to draw everyone's attention there.
The task was assigned to Shen Zhiyu and Zhou Zhiye, with Lao Gao and Ling Jiang providing backup. If anything went wrong, they were to use ice or fire abilities without hesitation. Safety came first.
Lan Jin, Shen Zhiyan, and Xi Yu were positioned along the route as guards. On the deck, Captain Zhang and Zhang Ye would execute the rest of the plan.
Everyone agreed to their roles, and after a quick briefing, they split into teams.
Shen Zhiyu and Zhou Zhiye were the first to arrive at the designated location. They cranked the phone's volume to the maximum, started playing music, and tossed the device toward the gathering point.
The sound rang out sharply in the still air. Nearby crazed survivors immediately turned and swarmed toward the source of the noise.
The people on the deck reacted as well. Though the sound wasn't close, it was loud enough to stir panic. One by one, the crazed crew members fled down from the deck. Some grew so frantic they leapt straight overboard, thrashing wildly in the water before sinking beneath the surface.
Once the deck was clear, Zhang Ye moved into action. He extended his vines into the cabin, hooked them around the outer lock, and with some careful maneuvering, he managed to pop the door open.
The door swung wide, and a tide of crazed people surged out.
They couldn't climb stairs, but bodies piled up quickly, creating a writhing wall of flesh that crawled its way up.
Once all of them had spilled out, they too ran toward the sound.
With the cabin empty, Captain Zhang rushed to the cockpit to communicate with the survivors there. The rest of the team scrambled to board the ship, wary of any sudden accidents.
Boarding was easier for some than others. Those with training scaled the side quickly, two steps at a time. Zhang Ye used his vines to haul people up onto the deck.
Just as they were about to relax, a pale hand burst out of the water, yanking one of the researchers down. There was no chance to scream. The water swallowed him whole, and the surface stilled.
Everyone froze, stunned into silence.
Captain Zhang returned from the cockpit to see them standing rigidly. "What's wrong? Is everyone on board yet?"
Lao Gao's face was grim. "That researcher fell in."
Of the research team, only two had survived besides Pei Xin. One was Professor Pei's apprentice, Xi Yu. The other was so quiet that no one could even recall his name.
Captain Zhang's gaze swept over the group. He knew instantly who was missing.
"There's no saving him," Captain Zhang said flatly.
At his words, the ship roared to life.
But the engine noise was another lure. The people who had been drawn away by the ringing phone now turned, shambling back toward the water.
Lan Jin's expression tightened. "They can't swim, right? They're not going to jump in and try to follow us, are they?"
"They shouldn't be able to," Huang Jinghe said. "Their bodies are stiff. Swimming would just get them killed."
"But they don't know what death is," Shen Zhiyu muttered. Then louder: "Captain Zhang, just take us a little further out and stop the ship."
The vessel was massive. Even a short distance was enough to put space between them and the shore.
But fate had a cruel sense of humor. The moment the ship moved, the crazed ones leapt into the water, clawing toward them. They flailed for a moment before sinking beneath the waves.
It wasn't until the engines went silent that the chaos eased.