Thirty-nine. The Parasitized Steamship

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The small passenger ship, having dropped anchor, quietly floated a few miles off Crescent Bay,

with the bustling Rodest Port within sight, yet strangely, this passenger ship full of people anchored outside the harbor, motionless on the vast sea.

Even stranger was the behavior of the crew and passengers walking on deck.

The lookout sailor perched on the mast climbed the mast to gaze toward Rodest Port, then descended back to the deck, paused briefly before climbing up again to gaze toward Rodest Port.

On the deck, a couple of passengers huddled together, pointed towards the blurred Belfast shrouded in the rain curtain, withdrew their arms for a few seconds, then pointed at Belfast again.

The deckhand cleaning the deck bent down to wipe the floor, withdrew a bit to continue wiping, then moved forward to wipe, and then backward to wipe.