A few days later.
Thump
Hm?
Another collision thudded against the bow of the freighter. Carlo slowly rose from the hold and gazed toward the front of the ship.
The previous whale had been reduced to a skeleton by Carlo's appetite; the remaining scraps of meat... well, the Velociraptors could deal with those.
Metal screeching…
Carlo leaned his body forward to look down, and his pupils dilated in shock.
A Giant Squid was wedged against the bow, its round, bulbous eyes staring at him in unblinking death, its massive tentacles flailing rapidly in the direction opposite the ship's course.
What in the...?
A whale was one thing, but how in the world did this thing manage to hit the ship?!
Carlo was now certain that something was feeding him, and he had a rough guess as to who it might be, though the entity had yet to show itself.
He wasn't hungry, but... well, since it was already here.
Hum—
The ship began to tilt forward as the stern rose slightly. The violent motion sent the kitchen in the hold into a clatter of pans and utensils.
Bang!
An iron basin fell from the cabinet and landed squarely on the head of the dozing Delta.
"Aok!"
Who?! Who is trying to kill me?!
The Velociraptors had claimed the ship's galley as their temporary habitat; it was unexpectedly well-ventilated, warm, and infested with rats; if they got tired of whale meat, they had rodents as a snack.
Delta watched the array of kitchenware slide across the floor and realized what was happening.
The world is tilting... wait, where's the Boss?
She was about to warn Blue, only to discover she was the only raptor left in the kitchen.
When you fall asleep on the job and wake up to find everyone gone, that's a mood (confirmed).
Splash—
The stern slapped back against the sea, kicking up a monstrous spray of water.
Carlo expertly hoisted the Giant Squid up. It was limp, its tentacles hanging down listlessly.
Hmm... what now?
[Name: Carlo]
[Family: Giganotosaurus carolinii]
[Points Available: 352]
[Health: 300,960/300,960]
[Stamina: 750/750]
[Oxygen: 510/510]
[Food: 10,583.4/10,600]
[Weight: 0/898]
[Melee Damage: 1290%]
[Torpor: 0/143,800.5]
It was his UI! The panel that had completely faded into the background!
It had been five years… maybe longer?... since he last spent points. Carlo's stats seemed to have no cap, but the point growth had become increasingly sluggish.
Maybe... put them into Food?
After all, chances to eat to his fill were rare. For him right now, being able to go without food was more important than pure attack power.
He had to be careful even when just stepping on the ground now, lest he accidentally trigger an earthquake with too much force.
While pondering, Carlo scanned the surroundings, searching for his shy friend, and threw one point into Health… just in case. It was always better to have it regenerating.
Hm?
The search revealed something unusual. On the horizon, where the sea met the sky, a dark shadow had appeared. Several seagulls wheeled and shrieked, soaring over the ship.
It was land! But... it didn't seem to be in the ship's current heading.
The ship was on autopilot, but that would only take it to a port. Carlo was a dinosaur; he didn't need to worry about such trivialities. He could just find any random shore and land.
Thud... step!
He paused for a second, the Giant Squid in his jaws slipping slightly, then he stomped onto the deck! He concentrated his weight toward the front right of the ship.
The metal groaned in protest, and the ship's heading shifted slightly. It wasn't much, but it was enough to begin a slow, gradual turn.
"Aok-aok-!"
The ship tilted again, and Delta, who had been rushing toward the scene, couldn't brake in time, slamming headfirst into Echo and Blue, who were watching the show.
The three raptors tumbled, tangled together in the corridor, only coming to a stop after a long moment.
Delta shook her head, her mind not yet fully clear, when she was suddenly blanketed by two shadows. She opened her eyes to find Blue and Echo staring right at her.
Sigh, can we settle this?
…
Rose Tooth.
Sound of a bustling crowd laughter and chatter…
"So annoying."
On the beach, a lifeguard sat on a high plastic chair, watching the tourists playing in the surf.
He wore a sun hat and sunglasses, hunched over in his seat, occasionally glancing out to watch the swimmers venturing too far out.
Tourists loved to snorkel and splash around, so it was never easy to tell who was just a bad swimmer having fun and who was actually drowning.
"Mom, what is that?"
"That's a f… wait, what?"
The laughter of the crowd gradually faded, replaced by murmuring, and then, a bizarre, eerie silence settled over the beach.
Huh? Huh? Huh? What's going on?
The lifeguard looked around, noticing everyone staring toward the horizon. He followed their gazes.
"Oh, God."
He couldn't help but stand up, taking off his sunglasses to squint into the distance.
A massive cargo ship was barreling straight toward the beach, and it showed absolutely no sign of slowing down or turning!
This... this isn't right, is it?
A few tourists began to retreat from the water. Panic began to spread, but many still stood there, watching the show… surely the ship couldn't actually hit the beach, right? The odds of that had to be lower than a Mosasaurus beaching itself!
The freighter didn't sound its horn; it didn't make a sound. The ground crew tried calling the ship via radio and loudspeaker, but there was no response.
They didn't seem to realize the danger until the ship plowed through the offshore net buoys. That was when everyone finally started screaming and fleeing.
Whoosh—
The freighter surged onto the sand, kicking up a massive wave of golden grit! It crushed and flipped over rows of beach umbrellas and lounge chairs, only coming to a slow halt when more than half its hull was out of the water.
The ship listed slightly, the propeller still churning frantically in the sand, its anchor never dropped.
Uproar…
The crowd became chaotic. Many people had already pulled out their phones to record. A freighter beaching itself was guaranteed to be headline news.
A few bold individuals returned to the shore, trying to get a closer look.
"Why is the bridge gone?"
Indescribable swallowing sound…
Right then, a giant head with round, bulbous eyes poked out of the hold, scanning the crowd!
It was a Giant Squid!
"Sea monster! There's a sea monster!"
The sight petrified them. Screams erupted and echoed across the beach as the crowd fled in complete, chaotic disorder!
Gulp...
Carlo swallowed the entire Giant Squid in one bite and looked down at the people below.
Whale song…
Not far away, "Professor Mosasaurus" broke the surface. It took one last look in Carlo's direction, then followed the song of a Humpback whale, diving down to swim toward the Mediterranean.
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