The Great Worm Lich

“Yes, but of course, this method may not necessarily work. Nonetheless, it’s the easiest approach and is also the most plausible.” Zhang Lisheng thought for a moment as light flashed across his eyes before nodding in agreement. “This is indeed a good idea. It’s better than blindly turning around in the ocean. Have you told your opinions to the captain?”

“The captain has already thought about this without the need for me to remind him. The instant the ship is stranded, he has already told the navigator to start checking the course track recorded on the nautical instrument. Besides, the main problem that we have now is not how to return but how to get the ship out of these stone pillars instead.”

Usually, boys in American high schools are not so smart and did not know how to cooperate. Instead, they were ridiculously childish in striving to outshine others but this Eudora was obviously different from the other boys. His speech focused on the key points directly as well.

His conduct elicited approval from Zhang Lisheng. “Then, do you have any solution for this, Eudora?”

“It’s fortunate that these two giant pillars are erected in the ocean. My idea is that we make a pile of wood under the stone pillars and light it up to make a bonfire when the tide is low to continuously heat up the stone pillars. By the time the tide is high, with the principle of expansion caused by the heat from the bonfire and contraction caused by the cold water, coupled with the powerful torsion of the ship, we can hopefully break these stone pillars.”

Even though breaking a stone pillar that was more than ten meters wide in diameter using the principle of thermal expansion and contraction sounded bizarre, it was actually very feasible.

One could even say that if the material of the stone pillars were good at conducting heat, it would not even need the torsion force of the Elizabeth Holiday at all. The giant pillars would eventually crumble on its own weight as long as they carried out multiple bouts of thermal expansion and contraction onto the foundation.

“This idea does seem to be feasible!”

“Our Captain said so too. I think he would gather people to head to the shore to cut the wood when the tide is low in the daytime. We should have enough fire axes on such a huge ship. However, the crux by that time would be whether the aborigines on the islands are the tin man or the evil queen.”

Both the tin man and the evil queen were characters in the Alice in the Wonderland. The former was a useful helper to the protagonist while the latter was a big villain.

“I hope they’re all the tin man,” Sheila, who had been slightly absent-minded all this time, suddenly whispered.

Compared to the absent-minded girl, upon hearing Eudora’s words, Zhang Lisheng thought of a more critical problem. It would take time to destroy the giant pillars in the sea and the Elizabeth Holiday originally planned to sail around New York for one round so the food supply should be very limited as well.

Once the food supply was low, the motley crowds on the ship would most likely turn chaotic. By that time, the plan of working together to look for wood and start a bonfire to destroy the stone pillars would only become a joke.

Zhang Lisheng could think of this so naturally, the captain of the Elizabeth Holiday could also think about it. When the dawn almost arrived, he dragged his exhausted body back to the steering room and asked the third mate who had just counted the supply, “Anjella, how much food do we have left onboard?”

“The celebration cake that has not been finished yet is about 1400 pounds, there are 3700 eggs and 1000 pounds of flour. It’s enough for the entire ship if we eat it sparingly…”

“We don’t have much fuel left on the ship as well. We only have one chance to get out of the stone pillars. At this time, it is undoubtedly a dead end if we still eat our food sparingly. Put all of the food on the table and allow all men who will disembark to gather wood to eat as much as they like. However, as for the men who are unwilling to contribute their energy, just give them two pounds of bread like the women.”

“Sir, I’m afraid by doing so, everybody’s heart that had already calmed down would break out again!”

“It won’t! As long as there’s still a chance to escape, the human’s heart will not collapse. But, if we fail to leave the stone pillars before the tide rises… Pray, young man. Let’s hope that God blesses us…” As the old man uttered his final sentence, the first ray of dawn slowly cut through the dark ocean surface.

“It’s daybreak now! It’s daybreak now! Look, that is the sun! It’s none other than the sun of the Earth! W-We’re still on Earth…”

“On Earth? Are you trying to say that we have managed to find a new continent like Columbus did by just making a circle around New York’s vicinity? Wake up, buddy! We must have arrived at a different world already, a world where the sun is similar to the one on Earth!”

“It’s already bright now but the torches are still getting close to us. Looks like the aborigines in this world walk at a very slow speed.” The moment the sun appeared, it raised a commotion among the crowds who had had a nerve-wracking night till they were slightly giddy now.

Without warning, a boy with a large build pointed towards a short figure wearing black animal leather who was walking out of the forest holding a torch before shouting out loud, “B-Besides, they’re short too! Shit! Have we come to a dwarf nation?”

“It’s really a dwarf! The fuck! We’ve come to the world of Dungeons & Dragons! This is amazing!”

“Those are not the dwarves from Dungeons & Dragons! They don’t have bushy beards, they look more like midgets! But usually, a midget’s civilization should be slightly more advanced.”

“Speaking of civilization level, I think your civilization level should be more advanced instead! Those primitive people don’t understand terror so don’t tell me that you don’t understand terror as well?” Upon hearing the gradually excited discussions of the young man around him and staring at the midgets that began to increase in the number who looked similar to the people being hung upside down with their eyes dug out yesterday, Zhang Lisheng muttered with a grave expression.

“They’re really midgets! Maybe we should go talk to them. They are so short and weak and with just one glance, we can tell that they’re harmless and kind! Don’t you think so, Lisheng?”

“I’m much smaller and weaker compared to you but do you think I’d be harmless in the face of a stranger who I do not know whether he’s a friend or foe?” Zhang Lisheng’s words made Tina stunned for a moment. Then, when she recalled the way he treated a stranger who might be a potent enemy, she could not help but shudder. “W-Why did you say so?”

Zhang Lisheng looked at the midgets who were increasing in number by the shore and were yelling out loud happily as they danced with joy after raising their heads in surprise and saw the Elizabeth Holiday that was stuck in between the stone pillars. He placed one finger on his mouth and shushed Tina. “Don’t ask so many questions, Tina. Remember, you must keep in mind that those midgets are dangerous and you should never come into contact with them alone!”

Under the young man’s gaze, the midgets on the shore shouted excitedly before suddenly kneeling down one by one and worshipping the huge steel ship.

“Those natives are kneeling and bowing towards us. Perhaps they have regarded us as their God! Oh boy, this is too funny!”

“We are no different from God in the eyes of the primitives. We can just randomly hand them a lighter so that they don’t have to drill the wood to make fire anymore! We can change the progress of their entire civilization!”

“Don’t say like that, Jack! As an outsider, we should never think that we domineer over those aborigines. Instead, we should tell them that we are a group of disaster victims who need their help…”

When the young man saw the aborigines below the ship bowing towards them, the fear in their hearts lessened by a lot. An inexplicable sense of superiority crept upon their faces as they discussed the midgets below the ship. Some people even had the intention to get off the ship to interact with the aborigines on the island.

Zhang Lisheng, on the other hand, stared at the midgets who were kneeling and bowing on the sharp sands — that could slice through human skins — completely unharmed. At once, he could not help but tighten his grip on the Mountoad in his embrace.

“Sir, I think we should interact with the aborigines on this island. They seem to respect us very much and as long as we maintain a kind and positive attitude, I believe that no accident will happen at all.” In the steering room, the first officer who had the intention to atone for his mistakes suggested to the captain as he looked out from the window at the midgets who were kneeling at the beach like beans.

“I’ve been on Iceberg before when I was young and I was the third mate on the freighter. I’ve sailed from New York to Congo before and these midgets look like the natives of the African tribes. In other words, their thinking might be bizarre and is completely different from our logical way of thinking. The fact that they show respect to us doesn’t mean that there’s no danger at all.”

“But I thought you still want to convene the men to disembark to gather wood? We must come in contact with them anyway if they don’t leave. We might as well go now…”

“Wait! Have more patience, Harry. By the time when the sky is completely bright and the tide has completely gone, we’ll disembark and interact with them if those midgets are still there. Ask the men to prepare the safety axes and tell the security to load the guns!”

“Yes, sir!” Harry nodded before running out of the ship’s steering room and told the sailors to go down to make some preparations.

As a luxury ocean liner, the route the Elizabeth Holiday took was usually very safe but the necessary measures in preventions against the ship getting wrecked were very comprehensive too. Under the order of the first officer, it only took a while for over 50 sailors with axes in their hands and ten security holding on long guns to be ready!

At this moment, the midgets on the shore had bowed towards the Elizabeth Holiday for a long time already. Maybe they thought that the sincerity of their expression was already enough as they began to stand up one by one with the leadership of their leader who had a long feather tied on his head. Yelling excitedly, “Eeeeeyahhh —”, they sprinted towards the forest.

The captain breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the midgets leaving through the window. After witnessing the last aborigine running into the forest, he took hold of the microphone on the radio station and announced loudly, “Dear distinguished passengers, I’m Captain Fjodna Nightingale of the Elizabeth Holiday. I think everybody should know by now that we’ve fallen into a rather baffling and difficult situation. As the captain, I’ll do my best in leading everyone out of this predicament and return to New York. However, to do this, I’ll require all of us to work together!”

After consoling and inspiring the crowds, Fjodna continued to analyze the stakes at risk by using the method of thermal expansion and contraction to destroy the giant pillars that they needed to do as soon as possible. After that, he proposed for the men on board to volunteer on disembarking the ship to fell for lumber. Of course, due to the limited tools, most of the people would only go pick up branches from the mountains.

The New York boys who had not gone through anything before this did not need the temptation of food to lure them before they straightaway expressed their willingness with enthusiasm to disembark the Elizabeth Holiday immediately to get out of the danger.