Chapter 152: Corpse Feast

Jingti Hao! Please respond if you receive this!

Anyone! If you hear a reply!

Maiersi growled into the communicator, tried again, but all he got was a scalp‑tingling burst of static.

Gradually, Maiersi's eyes darkened, his face under the combat helmet tensing tightly.

He took a deep breath, made a quick decision, and switched to the internal comm channel:

All personnel, internal comms are working! First, rendezvous at the Central Banquet Hall!

The order given, the two squads scattered throughout the ship sprang into action.

They began converging on the most opulent area at the ship's center.

In the corridor, the red emergency lights flickered, stretching and twisting each person's shadow on the walls; the air reeked of rotting seafood mixed with rust, growing stronger.

Soon, the two squads met at the entrance of the banquet hall.

How's the situation? Maiersi looked at the captain of Alpha Squad.

The log of the voyage stopped a minute before the incident; the rest is blank.

His tone carried an undisguised gravity.

Moreover, the helm in the captain's cabin is moving on its own.

That statement made everyone's hearts sink halfway.

Never mind that for now.

Maiersi suppressed his shock and pointed to the two massive, ornately carved wooden doors of the banquet hall.

Find a way out of here back onto the deck! See if we can contact the mother ship with signal flares!

Several crew members stepped forward and shoved hard at the two heavy doors.

Yet they didn't budge.

They're locked!

And just then—

Zzz—

That eerie waltz suddenly stopped.

A piercing burst of static exploded from the overhead speakers, making everyone instinctively cover their ears.

Immediately after,

A harsh, stiff male voice tinged with electromagnetic noise came over the broadcast, echoing throughout the banquet hall.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome aboard the Haiyang Ningjing Hao!

The midnight buffet is about to begin.

Enjoy your meal!

The broadcast ended.

The entire banquet hall fell into absolute silence.

All the special forces troops froze in place, their faces mixing utter absurdity with fear.

On this ship, aside from them, there are no living people!

Then where on earth is this voice coming from?!

Shush...... shush......

A dragging, scraping sound came from the darkened depths of the banquet hall.

One.

Two.

Ten.

Dozens......

Shadowy figures staggered out of the darkness.

They wore tattered evening suits and tailcoats soaked by seawater, their movements stiff, postures twisted.

Their faces were blurred masses of flesh, features indistinguishable.

These...... were all the passengers who had gone missing aboard the ship.

——corpses.

These shambling corpses completely ignored the fully armed special forces troops gathered in the center of the banquet hall, as if facing a great enemy.

Their target was clear.

It was the long buffet table at the far end of the banquet hall.

Sometime ago, the formerly empty table was now laden with 'food'.

Swollen, pallid salmon soaked in seawater, with a few pale shrimp clinging to its flesh.

Roast meat oozing yellow‑green pus.

Piles of shellfish, rotted and blackened......

The corpses sat expressionless around the table, using their rotting, stiff hands to grasp the nauseating 'food' and mechanically stuff it into their mouths.

Crunch...... crunch......

The chewing sound rang out in the dead‑silent banquet hall, clear enough to send chills down one's spine.

My God......

The young crew member Fengniao could hold back no longer, retching violently.

Before his eyes, this scene was a hundred times more horrifying than any battlefield he had ever endured.

A feast attended by the dead, a gluttonous banquet of rotting corpses!

Fortunately......

Maiersi stared fixedly at these dead people:

"They seem unable to see us!"

Yes.

These corpses, from head to toe, have never glanced at them even once.

They are immersed in their own world, carrying out this terrifying midnight buffet.

This feeling of being completely ignored not only failed to make the team members feel relieved, but instead evoked a deeper chill from their hearts.

We can't wait any longer!

"Fatty!"

A flash of determination crossed Maiersi's eyes.

"Use the minimal amount of explosives to blast the door open! We must get out!"

"Understood!"

Fatty immediately took out the plastic explosive from his backpack and began placing it on the door seam.

The others raised their guns, forming a circular perimeter, muzzles firmly aimed at those corpses that were 'dining,' their backs already soaked in cold sweat.

"Bang! Bang!"

To secure the explosive, Fatty was tapping on the door with a tool.

The metallic clanging sounded especially harsh in the quiet banquet hall.

Just at the moment this sound rang out.

"Crack—"

All the chewing sounds came to an abrupt halt.

The entire banquet hall fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Those corpses originally immersed in the 'feast' all ceased their movements.

Then.

In unison, they slowly turned their heads.

Each skull twisted to an angle completely contrary to human anatomy, a full 180 degrees.

All their 'gazes' focused on this group of uninvited guests.

They, saw them.

"Whoosh—"

All the corpses, at the same moment, rose from behind the tables.

The chairs scraping against the floor produced a piercing screech.

They no longer swayed.

They were no longer sluggish.

They just stood there, pairs of hollow eye sockets staring straight at the special forces members.

The next second.

The corpse horde, moved.

They stepped forward with stiff legs, making no sound, yet with a heart-pounding speed, from all directions, they closed in on the special forces members at the center of the banquet hall.