Crossing the World
XXI - Earth (Karen)

Sea ... Lately I have often seen amazing views of the ocean. However, only now did I begin to feel how boring it was.

A while ago I saw an advertisement on the internet. A certain company sells holiday tickets using small cruises to circumnavigate the three ASEAN countries. The route starts from Jakarta, then we head to Labuan, and the last visit is Boracay Beach in the Philippines.

The visit to Labuan went well. We were directed to shopping places by a travel guide. However, I feel that the place is not much different from Jakarta. I mean, why would they take people on vacation to places like big cities?

I don't understand at all.

Not including the crew, the number of passengers on the ship with a size of almost 5,000 tons is only about 25 people. Our room was also quite luxurious, but rather narrow like a hotel.

The facilities are quite complete although this includes a small luxury ship. I can even use the internet even if it is 50 kilometers away from the mainland. Well, if it's a communicator, as long as I'm on earth, I can still connect to the internet even if my smartphone doesn't get a signal.

Now is the third day after we leave Labuan. If everything goes well on schedule, we will arrive in the Philippines about three days from now.

This ship can actually travel speeds of about 40 knots. The steam-powered double engine that became the main driving engine is the latest product made by a large Japanese company. So, it is not surprising that this ship is very fast. However, it looks like we didn't even go half the speed.

Well, we're on vacation, I think it'll be a waste if it's too fast.

The other passengers were traveling with their friends and family while I was just going alone. All the cyborgs I left at home and I'll control them in my spare time on the way.

I'm actually very bored and want to go home soon. However, if I teleport here and leave the ship just like that, I fear that the entire crew will panic. Therefore, I intend to part with them once it reaches the mainland.

Today I fell asleep pretty quickly due to being too bored with the scenery around and not being able to do anything. I think with a lot of sleep, the time on the trip will feel shorter. However, it seems that my journey did not go well.

At about 03:00 in the morning, I was violently awakened by a foreign man. He pointed an old-fashioned submachine gun at me while yelling with a foul language.

What the hell is this?

Still not understanding what was going on, I chose to follow his orders while walking out of the cabin. Then, he directed me to the most spacious room on the ship. The room was a lobby, a place where we used to relax and do whatever we wanted.

Not far in front of me, my two eyeballs caught all the passengers and crew sitting on the floor with frightened faces. I also saw about eight men I had never seen before. Each of them carried the same ancient rifle, pointing those weapons at us.

Children and women sat sobbing while the men and crew tried to calm down. However, I was sure that they were actually scared as well.

I can teleport and leave here whenever I want. But I don't want to show that to anyone else. So instead of leaving, I sat down with the prisoners and went back to sleep.

Well ... it is clear the government will move quickly when a luxury ship is hijacked. Let us be good and obedient until we are saved.

Still sleepy, I looked at the people around me. They don't seem to be sleeping at all. I think it's natural, there's no way a normal person would just sleep in a situation like this.

Not long after I woke up, several gun-carrying men entered the room. They pulled a woman who was hugging a little girl and dragged her forcibly out of the lobby. Seeing that, the previous little girl and a man who looked to be in his 30s sobbed and tried to get in the way.

"Don't take my wife! Please!"

The man spoke, clutching the pants of one of the evil men while pleading to free the woman they were carrying. However, instead of fulfilling his plea, the person in front of him kicked and stomped on the man's head until it was wedged on the floor.

The little girl who was with him grew even more weeping as she saw how the man was being stepped on and kicked violently.

Everyone around me could only look on in horror, not daring to interfere in the presence of the few men carrying firearms.

Well .. I guess it's only natural that no one would help. Your own safety is more important. So, good luck to you.

I intend to close my eyes again. However, the ear-splitting sound of gunfire accompanied by screams from the people beside me shocked me.

I reflexively opened my eyes again and found a splash of blood staining a little part of my body. Ignoring that splash of blood, I looked at the dead body of the man that had been sprawled lifelessly. Blood flowed down the floor, spreading rapidly to where I was.

The little girl cried hysterically while hugging the man's corpse. Then, right in front of my eyes, one of the criminals shot his gun right behind the girl's head.

Seeing such a terrifying incident, everyone fell into fear. No one dared to rebel when the poor woman who had just lost her family was dragged out along with the two corpses.

They ... do not hesitate to kill. I'd better be a submissive girl to the end so that bad things don't happen. If there is no way out, I can run away with the teleporter right then and there.

Let's see how the government will handle it.

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Published in Mangatoon on Saturday 11 July 2020 at 12:00 PM

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