Chapter Two: The Reef Island Palace

He looked out over the sea, then checked the radar, glancing left and right as he shrugged his shoulders, surveying the situation outside. Then, turning around, he announced, “Prepare to go ashore!”

“All those who can stand, disembark!” Egghead shouted loudly over the intercom.

“This kid hasn’t been out long, but he’s got patience!” The captain nodded, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes for his younger days.

“He’s really not bad. I like him a lot—he suits my taste!” Old Rooster nodded enthusiastically, full of praise.

As they chatted idly about the past, they packed up, preparing to leave the ship. By then, Egghead had already lowered the soft ladder on the starboard side, and at some point, Dragon Boy had gone ashore.

A braying, half-donkey, half-human cry echoed back—it was Dragon Boy. Likely, as soon as Egghead had lowered the rescue boat, Dragon Boy had already boarded the dinghy.

The captain, along with the two sailors he had just woken, descended the soft ladder, leaving Old Rooster aboard. Given Old Rooster’s experience and his rapport with everyone, leaving him in charge was reassuring.

“With Old Rooster on board, we’ll always be safe,” the captain muttered, attempting a rhyming couplet. It came out awkwardly, so he simply shook his head, chuckling to himself, “Getting old, getting old!”

A group of sailors landed in the dinghy. They approached a spot with a noticeable rise, surrounded by vines, perfect for mooring and, in case of emergency, easy to escape from.

Egghead was bold; the moment they touched shore, he leapt out, looking for a place to tie the mooring rope. But as soon as he landed, the surrounding vines began to move, slowly descending.

“Ghosts! Quick, get away from here!” With a tiger-like leap, Egghead hurled himself into the arms of his crewmates. The dinghy rocked violently from the impact, nearly toppling Dragon Boy at the bow.

“Egghead, are you trying to get yourself killed?!” Dragon Boy looked at him as if he were peeling an egg, itching to take a layer off Egghead himself.

The two sailors who had come ashore steadied Egghead, and the rocking of the dinghy gradually subsided with the waves.

“What’s going on, Egghead?” the captain asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

“The ground moved—it’s alive!”

“Ah!” Everyone gasped.

“How could that be?” Dragon Boy, skeptical, pulled Egghead aside, hooked an arm around him, and gingerly placed his own foot on the vines. “Ah!” he yelped.

Instantly, sweat beaded on everyone’s brow.

“There’s nothing wrong. It’s perfectly normal!” Dragon Boy made a face. It had all been a false alarm—but under such circumstances, a scare could be deadly. The captain couldn’t stand it any longer and raised his voice more than usual: “Enough! Figure out what’s going on and get back to the ship before dark!”

The captain’s authority was clear. With a single sentence, everyone quickly regained their composure.

One by one, they disembarked, Egghead coming last, prodding and tapping experimentally as if he’d landed on the moon.

“Hurry up, Egghead!” came a shout from ahead, prompting him to jog after the group. After about twenty minutes, the vines seemed to vanish, replaced entirely by coral, with tree roots clinging to their edges.

“Could this be a floating coral reef?” someone suddenly ventured. But no one replied—they were all transfixed by the fantastical scenery.

“Look! There’s a fortune inside!” a sailor shouted.

“It’s true! So much gold and so many jewels!” echoed another.

Both sailors’ eyes gleamed with excitement. If they could claim the wealth before them, it would last for generations, possibly dozens. The two rushed forward, eager to seize the dazzling treasure—only to find themselves rooted to the spot, spinning in place.

“What’s happening?” they cried, their dreams of luxury and fortune slipping just out of reach.

As they turned, they saw not the captain and the others, but a monster with six arms and two thick legs. Most terrifying of all, where its head should have been, there was nothing. The two sailors collapsed in terror.

“There’s a monster!” they screamed, before dizziness overcame them and they fainted.

“What happened to them?” Egghead asked.

“They’re seeing hallucinations,” the captain replied coolly, as if he had expected it.

“How could that happen?” Dragon Boy looked at the captain with fear.

“They’ve been so exhausted lately that even on the ship, they’d sometimes see strange things,” the captain continued. “Egghead, Dragon Boy, stay alert. We can’t stay here long. Find out what we need to and get back to the ship quickly.”

At that, both felt a chill run through their hearts. Who knew what else awaited them?

“Don’t wander off, and don’t touch anything strange. Remember, we move forward shoulder to shoulder.”

“What about those two? We can’t just leave them,” Egghead said, worried.

“Tie them up.”

“What?” Egghead exclaimed, only to receive a slap on the head.

“What was that for, Dragon Boy?” he asked, bewildered.

“Idiot! In their state, if they start running off, how will we ever find them? Tying them up keeps them from getting lost,” Dragon Boy replied, a hint of annoyance in his tone.

Egghead grumbled but complied, realizing the captain had thought of everything.

Still, a sense of unease weighed on his heart. What the captain feared was far worse than what he admitted. For now, though, their priority was to survey the island and find fresh water and food. The captain, ever cautious, left loose knots in the ropes for emergencies and a note explaining the situation and their next steps. As it turned out, those two sailors would play a crucial role in their escape later on. The captain also slipped some rations into their pockets and gave them each a bit of honey.

The captain then directed Egghead and Dragon Boy to search the reef around the island counterclockwise. After five minutes, sunlight began to fade around them. The vines and tentacle-like appendages, reminiscent of marine invertebrates, started to move.

Soon, there was almost no light.

“Run—this is a man-eating island!”

Someone switched on a flashlight. The beam cut through the darkness, causing the tentacles to recoil. Egghead didn’t have time to think—he just ran toward the light with all his might. Occasionally, something like a hand brushed against him. Suddenly, he tripped and fell hard. He pressed his right hand to the ground, reaching up with his left as if expecting someone to pull him up—and something did, but it wasn’t human.

It was slick and tentacle-like, and a stabbing pain shot through Egghead’s palm. Could it be an octopus tentacle? Impossible—he’d eaten octopus for years and never seen one this big, and he’d only touched it. Egghead’s heart pounded so hard he could feel it swelling in his chest. He wanted to call out, but feared to disturb whatever creature it was. The flashlight beam drifted farther and farther away, and his willpower began to fade.

“Egghead, what are you doing?”

Suddenly, the captain’s voice sounded nearby. Egghead seized on it like a lifeline. No matter what was happening, as long as the captain was there, nothing else mattered.

He flailed his left hand and gripped his left wrist with his right, determined to escape even if it cost him his hand. As the pain intensified, the tentacle slowly released its grip, as if sensing his resolve. Egghead didn’t look back; he simply sprinted toward the remaining light. After two minutes, sunlight returned, and he caught up with the others.

“What happened to you?” Dragon Boy asked, half annoyed.

“Something tripped me, and I fell behind,” Egghead replied, not elaborating.

“Hurry up—let’s finish up and get out of here,” Dragon Boy muttered.

Strangely, the captain was already ahead. Egghead and Dragon Boy didn’t dwell on it but hurried after him, only to encounter a shocking new sight.

“What on earth is that?” Dragon Boy began, but Egghead had already cried out.

“Could it be a royal palace?”

Egghead’s eyes were wide with disbelief, but his lips curled in delight.

“Captain, is this another illusion?” Egghead wanted to be sure—after all, if this was a trick, it could cost them their lives.

“Ow, ow—that hurts! What are you doing?” Egghead turned to Dragon Boy.

“Just checking if it’s real. A pinch will tell you,” Dragon Boy said with a goofy grin.

Egghead shot him a look, but the answer became clear: it was real—a royal palace on the sea.

“Wow, you’re actually smart today. Usually you’re not this sharp,” Egghead grumbled, rubbing his head from the pinch, but glad it was real. He glanced at the captain, who nodded, confirming the truth.

Before them stood a palace of overwhelming grandeur, its very existence undeniable. The steps alone were ten meters high, but there was not a single expert around to identify its era.

Egghead didn’t care what dynasty it was from. If such a palace could be built, it must be filled with treasure. One piece would set him up for life.

“This is a Tang dynasty palace!” Egghead suddenly declared.

“How do you know? You’re just making that up,” Dragon Boy laughed.

“Look at the golden plaque above the main hall. The two big characters say ‘Great Tang,’ just like the ones in Chinatown.”

“Smack!” Egghead didn’t even have time to react.

“You really are smart today,” Dragon Boy said, giving him a hard whack on the head—a little payback for the pinch earlier. Egghead muttered to himself, “I’m not stupid, you know.”

“All right, enough talking! Let’s go have a look!” Dragon Boy grabbed Egghead, eager to begin this new adventure. As for the captain, why didn’t he give any instructions, despite his experience? Because he, too, had never seen such a majestic palace adrift at sea.

And the questions that perplexed the captain were endless: How had it stayed afloat all these years without sinking? Why hadn’t anyone discovered it? How did it drift on the ocean without being swept away by the currents?

“Hurry up, Captain! There’s something new here!” Egghead and Dragon Boy, like children, touched everything they could.

“Stop!” the captain suddenly commanded. “Something’s wrong!”