At the same moment that Everly saw the name of the gigantic cruise ship, several crew members in the Mary Janeâs cockpit were also reading the name aloud, their voices full of shock and disbelief.
âThe Golden Anchor⊠my God, could this really be the Golden Anchor?!â
âWasnât this ship supposed to have sunk?â
âNo, it didnât actually sink. Back then, the Carnival Cruise Company tried everything but couldnât find any trace of the ship. Left with no choice, they had to announce to the public that it had sunkâŠâ
Even a layperson like Everly might have heard the name âGolden Anchorâ at some point in their life. For those working in the cruise industry aboard the Mary Jane, the name âGolden Anchorâ was absolutely legendary.
It was a massive cruise ship under the largest American cruise company, Carnival Cruise Company, specifically built for long-distance voyages from the U.S. West Coast to Australia.
Thirteen years ago, this ultra-luxurious cruise ship, which cost 2.5 billion USD to build, completed its trial voyage and officially entered service. However, less than two days after leaving the port of Yanifly State, the Golden Anchor suddenly disappeared during its journey, along with 1,831 crew members and 2,850 passengers.
Among the passengers on the Golden Anchor at the time were popular actors and celebrities, some of the richest people on the planet, and even a few government officials. As a result, the shipâs disappearance immediately caused a worldwide sensation.
There were countless theories about the fate of the Golden Anchor. Some said it had sunk due to extreme weather, others believed there had been a mutiny among the crew that destroyed the ship, and still others thought that the ship had been ambushed by pirates specifically targeting the wealthy passengers⊠Because there was no evidence that the ship had actually been destroyed, Carnival Cruise Company failed to receive full insurance compensation, suffering massive losses. The once-mighty company was nearly brought to its knees by this disappearance.
Who would have thought that this gigantic cruise ship, lost somewhere in the Pacific, would appear 13 years later in the Taixi Oceanâon the opposite side of a whole continent!
Everyone in the cockpit was stunned into silence by this discovery.
After nearly half a minute of quiet, it was the captain who finally broke the silence:
âWe canât just let it go. We have to follow it⊠get on board and see for ourselves!â
There was a reason for his decision.
The Mary Jane belonged to the American Holland Cruise Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary controlled by Carnival Cruise Company, which specialized in high-end cruise routes along the U.S. East Coast. The disappearance of the Golden Anchor had been the largest crisis in Carnivalâs history since its founding.
If the Mary Janeâs crew could uncover the truth behind the Golden Anchorâs disappearance, they would undoubtedly be rewarded by the head officeâpromotions and raises would be just around the corner.
Even putting all that aside, the captainâs human curiosity alone would never let him miss the chance to get such a close look at the legendary ship.
The crew clearly shared the same thought.
Under the captainâs command, they carefully maneuvered the Mary Jane to approach the massive cruise ship. When the distance between the two ships closed to just twenty or thirty meters, something extraordinary happened.
It was as if they had broken through an invisible, imperceptible membrane and entered another world. The Mary Jane plunged into a stretch of calm, serene sea.
Around the Golden Anchor, the ocean was unusually peaceful. There were no strong winds, no storms, no turbulent wavesâonly the salty scent of the sea and the deep, undisturbed water beneath the cruise ship.
âWhatâs going on? Has the rain finally stopped?â
Noticing the change in the surroundings, passengers on the Golden Anchor began opening windows, peering out curiously. Some who were closer to the cabin exits had already rushed out onto the decks and balconies. Small groups gathered here and there, their eyes constantly scanning the lower decks.
âHey, look! Theyâre launching the lifeboats!â
âAre we going to explore the Golden Anchor? Iâve heard about this ship for ages! My favorite actress, Nika, disappeared on it!â
âThe Golden Anchor really didnât sink⊠Thatâs amazing! I want to go on board too. I wonder if paying a little money would get me permission.â
ââŠâ
Everlyâs breathing grew rapid.
From the moment she saw the Golden Anchor, a strong sense of unease gripped her. She knew she had probably stumbled into yet another horror scenario. Considering the mysterious disappearance of the Golden Anchor in the past, maybe this was a sea-based thriller with a âghost shipâ as its theme?
But knowing this didnât help her at all.
The Mary Jane was now several kilometers from land. Though she didnât know why the storm had stopped near the Golden Anchor, the sky outside was still overcast. Looking into the distance, the waves still towered like mountains, and the wind and rain showed no sign of relenting.
This meant the weather outside remained extremely dangerous.
Under these circumstances, even if Everly had all sorts of skills to secretly get a lifeboat, food, and water, it would still be very difficult to safely reach land in a small boat. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, it was best for her to stay put on the Mary Jane and not get any ideas about running off.
This also meant that her fate was now inseparably tied to the Mary Jane. If the crew stayed careful, she would remain safeâbut if they brought disaster to the ship, Everly would suffer along with it.
But could the crew avoid taking risks? They were about to go explore a ship that was clearly trouble waiting to happen!
Everly couldnât recall any horror movie from her previous life that featured the Golden Anchor. Most likely, this was yet another film she hadnât seen. Still, she had watched a couple of thrillers based on ghost ships before.
One of the movies was set on a ghost ship inhabited by vampires. They hid in the dark cabins during the day, leaving the ship seemingly empty, but at night they emerged, wreaking havoc on the protagonist group.
The other was more supernatural: someone had murdered an entire shipâs worth of passengers, and their restless spirits transformed the ship into a drifting ghost vessel that haunted the protagonists. Only when the main characters pieced together the clues and brought the culprit to justice did the ghost ship finally vanish.
In any case, by the rules of these stories, ghost ships were almost always home to monsters, and anyone who set foot on them had a very high chance of meeting misfortune.
For the sake of her own life, Everly decided she needed to warn the crew, who clearly didnât realize how serious the situation was. But as an ordinary passenger, she couldnât easily speak to the crew members. If she rushed over to stop them from boarding, she would probably just be thought of as crazy.
While Everly wracked her brain for excuses to intervene, Misha suddenly pointed excitedly at the deck outside.
âEverly, look! CrazyDog and the others are going too!â
âWhat? George and the others are going as well?â
Everly quickly moved to the window and peered out alongside Misha.
Sure enough, on the lower deck, among the crew preparing to set out, three young men and women stood out, clearly not part of the main group. One of them was a photographer George had hired, who had already set up a camera, taking advantage of the dry weather. It was obvious he intended to film the entire exploration from start to finish.
Seeing the camera, a spark of realization flashed through Everlyâs mind. Waitâcould this horror story be shot in a pseudo-documentary style?
In her previous life, there was a period when it had become very popular to have the protagonistâor their companionsâhold a camera and record the entire ghost encounter. The downside was that handheld cameras meant the footage would shake and some scenes would be too dark, making it tiring to watch. The upside, however, was that it created an incredibly immersive experience, and the filming style made the story feel more real, which enhanced the horror.
If it really was a pseudo-documentary style, then Georgeâthe protagonist being filmedâwas very likely the male lead of the movie. His cameraman, Gene, who was holding the camera, also had a good chance of surviving until the latter half of the film⊠as long as he didnât lose the camera.
For a movie to be made, it needed a main character. Could this mean that if Everly could convince George, the male lead, to give up this expedition, she could avoid the chain of dangers that would follow?
Thinking this, Everly felt a surge of determination.
Without wasting time on excuses, she took advantage of the moment while everyone on deck was still preparing and hadnât yet set out. She flung open her cabin door, ran down the corridor, and sprinted straight toward the lower deck.
âGeorge! George! Wait for me, George!â
She shouted at the top of her lungs as she ran, afraid of moving too slowly to catch up.
At the edge of the deck, George, ready to descend the gangway, turned his head. Together with the surrounding passengers watching, he looked in surprise at the young girl running toward him.
âEverly, whatâs wrong? Is something the matter?â
Everly reached him and got straight to the point:
âDonât go! The ship is dangerous!â
âWhat?â
âHey, little girl, you canât say things like thatâitâs very taboo,â a crew member standing nearby said, a hint of displeasure on his face. Everly guessed that if it werenât for the fact that she was a passenger, he might have scolded her outright.
But Everly wasnât intimidated by the crew memberâs stern expression. She pressed on:
âActually, I have some witch blood. Just now, in a sort of trance, I saw some visions. The ship youâre about to board is a ghost ship. Itâs completely empty, yet strange, eerie things happen constantly. Everyone who boards it will be cursed, bound tightly to the ship. If you want to avoid misfortune, you must stay far away from itâthe farther, the betterâŠâ
âGulpâŠâ George, clearly a timid person, swallowed hard at Everlyâs words, a trace of nervousness appearing on his face.
But that nervousness was quickly smoothed over by a nearby crew member:
âHah, what a joke⊠George, youâre not actually going to let a little girlâs nonsense scare you, are you? This is a world-shaking discovery! Weâve found the Golden Anchor, missing for thirteen years, and weâll be among the first people to board it in over a decade! Such a rare opportunityâare you really thinking of backing out?â
George shook his head quickly. âNo, of course Iâm not backing out.â
Then, with a look of apology at Everly, he said:
âEverly, I know youâre saying this because you care, but this is also my job. The captain wants me and a few other crew members to board and document this historic moment, so it can be used in the cruise companyâs promotional video. I also hope to take this opportunity to boost my accountâs popularity and stabilize my online presence. So I have to go on this trip.â
After saying this, he smiled and waved at Everly and Misha, who was running up behind her, then bypassed Everly and descended the gangway.
Possibly worried that Everly might chase him, the crew member who had been standing nearby acted quickly, immediately fastening the chains at the side of the gangway.
Everly: ââŠâ