Listening to the mouse speak, Deep remained skeptical and asked again, "Little one, where is your home? How many people are in your family?"
The white mouse stood with hands on hips. "I live on Coral Island, in the East 12th District at number 158. My dad is Oliver, a doctor, and my mom is Olivia. I am an 11-year-old girl, hmph! There, do you believe me now?"
Sailor chief Deep was about to say something, but Charles held him back, not caring where the little one came from, more concerned about the dangers outside at the moment.
"Lily, I can take you back, but first you have to tell me, what were those things?"
White mouse Lily shook her head, "I don't know, neither do my uncles. I call them 'big fat bugs.' If you encounter them, you must run away immediately, they are very powerful, not only can they become invisible, but they can also spit saliva. My friend was caught by them, and none came back."
"Are there many of them?"
"Lots, lots, past the stone ground there is a mountain, and they are everywhere in there." Lily gestured wildly with her mouse claws.
After briefly assessing the strengths of both friends and foes, Charles fell into deep thought. There was no way to reach the Earth's surface from this island, and it was overrun with dangerous monsters. It seemed there was no need to explore further.
"Lily, we will go back to Coral Island now. If you want to go home, you can come with us."
He could feel the white mouse's friendliness, and he could empathize with her desire to go home.
Charles was about to leave when the squeaking of many mice erupted, and a swarm of them bared their teeth, blocking their path.
"Wait, my uncles need your help. After we help them, we can go, okay?"
Charles shook his head, not wanting to complicate matters further. "Sorry, we can't help with their troubles. Let the mice clear the way."
Innocent Lily seemed not to understand Charles's intent and said coyly, "Oh, please agree. It's really important to my uncles, look, my uncle is coming out."
Everyone turned their heads to see a giant rat, the size of a small dog, crawling out from the shadows, its bright yellow eyes sizing up the humans.
This giant rat obviously wasn't as friendly as Lily, its eyes filled with hostility.
"Squeak!" The giant rat suddenly cried out, and the surrounding mice surged forward, their gnashing teeth seemingly about to swallow Charles and his companions whole.
Charles and his companions instantly drew their weapons, swiftly aiming at the rat king.
Seeing both sides tense and ready to fight, Lily's furry face showed anxiety as she quickly ran to the giant rat, squeaking as if communicating something to it.
After a while, the discussion between Lily and the giant rat seemed to come to a conclusion, with Lily speaking apologetically, "I'm sorry, my uncle said he's had the mice seal off the beach. If you don't help him, he won't let you on the ship…"
Charles chuckled lightly, not expecting to be threatened by a mouse.
"Hiss~" The fuse of a dynamite the size of a small blanket was lit.
Lily recognized what Charles was holding, and her fur instantly stood on end as she shouted, "Don't light it, don't light it. Uncle will reward you! It's a relic, a good relic."
Charles pinched his fingers together, extinguishing the lit fuse, "What kind of relic?"
Charles did not want to end in a deadly fight with these mice, and if the reward was suitable, it might be worth considering.
Then, he saw two mice dragging two items to Charles, a mask, and a sheet of paper.
When Charles picked up the paper and saw the text, his eyes widened slightly, as the recorded content was somewhat unexpected.
"Item Number: 096"
"Item Name: 'Clown Mask'"
"Containment Level: 'Level Three Item Containment, currently contained in Laboratory 3.'"
"Description: The appearance of 096 is that of a clown mask with a red nose and a snow-white face, bearing an ecstatic expression. It was discovered at a circus on Red Tree Island [data erased]. The previous owner of 096 had gone insane, and after a psychological assessment, this 27-year-old female showed evident personality changes, as well as a split personality."
Experimental Record 1: "Subject 654 was made to wear 096."
"Ten minutes post-wearing, Subject 654's body became abnormally soft and agile, and his strength greatly increased, approaching the human limit in all aspects. He was capable of handling all acrobatic tasks, including but not limited to: aerial flying, Blindfolded Knife Throwing, Shrinking Bones into a Box."
"Thirty minutes after wearing, Subject 654's emotions became somewhat excited, and he communicated with [data erased] Doctor outside the blast-resistant glass, attempting to tell poor jokes to make the Doctor laugh."
"One hour after wearing, Subject 654 started talking to himself, accusing another person inside his body, accompanied by neurotic laughter."
"Three hours after wearing, Subject 654 attempted to cut his own trachea with his fingernails. Security personnel injected anesthesia gas and removed 096, and three days later, Subject 654's abnormal physical and mental state hadn't subsided, and Subject 654, deemed valueless, was destroyed."
This seemed to be a report, with some people using scientific methods to understand a relic known as the 'Clown Mask.'
Charles shifted his gaze from the paper to the mask on the back of the distant mouse, which he presumed was the Clown Mask described in the document.
Hesitating for a moment, Charles picked up the mask and placed it over his face. Instantly, he felt his body lighten by half, as if stepping on cotton.
With a gentle push of his legs, his body flipped agilely in mid-air, turning two and a half times before landing steadily.
"Holy cow, this thing is awesome. I could totally go back and snatch a gold medal at the Olympics right now."
The next second, Charles hastily removed the mask from his face, staring fearfully at the pallid smiling face.
Although the words had come from his own mouth, neither the tone nor the pitch sounded like his usual self; it was as if he had suddenly become someone else.
"What do you say, will you agree? I've been persuading Uncle for a long time," Lily jumped to Charles's feet, pulling at the hem of his pants and shaking vigorously.
Charles hesitated for a moment, then lifted Lily in his hands, "Why do we need to help? These mice seem very intelligent, probably more useful than us, right?"
"We don't have hands, and that item is in a room. Uncle said it has to be opened by hands. Don't worry, it's very easy, not dangerous at all; I've been there several times."
Charles pondered for a moment then lowered his head and said, "Alright, I agree."
Although this mask relic was quite eerie, as long as the wearing time was controlled, it could be very useful, whether for running away or fighting.
Even if he didn't use it himself, he could still sell it to other captains.
Hearing Charles's response, Lily jumped around happily. "Great, I knew you were a good person!"