"Where did you go last night?! We couldn't find you all night."
Geologist William looked worriedly at his friend he hadn't seen all night.
"And what are you dressed like this?"
The professor of ancient history wore a simple brown cotton and linen jacket and a pair of gray-blue overalls. He looked no different from ordinary workers. Only his gold-rimmed glasses could reveal some literary and artistic temperament that was different from the workers.
"I went to visit a friend last night." Wilson said without changing his face or heartbeat. "He warmly invited me to be a guest at his home."
"But because I was walking on the road, my clothes were accidentally cut by a pickpocket, and I couldn't wear them anymore." Wilson sighed regretfully, "My friend kindly gave me his clothes.
"
Wilson selectively told part of the truth.
Lies mixed with truth are the least likely to be exposed.
In fact, he simply took a shower and changed clothes at the painter Pickman's house. The painter originally wanted to send him to the subway station, but he refused.
He ran faster by himself, he just had to avoid the pedestrians on the road. When it was almost ten o'clock, he finally arrived at the pier, slowed down, and slowly pretended to have just come back from outside.
The geologist nodded, not doubting anything.
"Fortunately, you came back in time. We will board the ship in more than an hour." William pointed to the original camp. The members of the expedition team had already put away the tents and were carrying their luggage in twos and threes.
Set off.
Even the mysterious wooden box carried on the truck nearby was missing. It seemed that it had been moved to the ship.
"Captain Lyndon and Ellis went to the ship first." William said, "If your luggage is not too much, we can board the ship now."
"The captain has already arranged a room for us. We are too tired from running around these days, and we have experienced something like that..."
Every time a geologist thinks of the horror of that night, he will feel a tremor deep in his soul.
"I don't have much luggage." Wilson said carelessly, walked to the camp and picked up a slightly old wooden box. This was all his belongings.
He carried this wooden box from New York to Miskatonic University. There were only some basic daily necessities in it, and nothing else. It can be said that this small wooden box was left to him by someone else except Miskatonic University.
Besides the invitation letter, it is the most valuable thing.
The geologist stared at the small wooden box Wilson was carrying and hesitated to speak.
Although they, ordinary scholars and professors, generally have little assets, the salary of Miskatonic University professors is very generous compared to other universities. One month's salary is completely comparable to the income of an ordinary worker's family in just one year.
.
But is Professor Wilson living a little too poor?
But Wilson looked calm and didn't think there was any problem at all.
The geologist was too embarrassed to ask. This might involve the privacy of the other party. Or maybe Professor Wilson himself is a very frugal person.
How to live is other people's freedom, and other people have no position to interfere.
The geologist also quickly packed his luggage, which was quite large compared to Wilson's.
The two of them came to the pier together.
The dock was now filled with all kinds of people coming and going, including some workers shouting, guests from all over the world, and some laid-off workers who had lost their jobs and wanted to try their luck here.
Wilson saw many yellow and black faces among them, skinny and weather-beaten.
He looked at these in silence and pursed his lips slightly.
Then he turned his head away and forced himself to focus on the ship.
The port of Boston is one of the most prosperous ports in the entire state of Massachusetts. It has a superior geographical location and ships from all over the world dock here for supplies every day.
They were very lucky, and a cruise ship heading directly to Japan happened to pass by. The destination they wanted to reach was on the Pacific Ocean, near the Sea of Japan.
It will pass through Mexico and head to the Pacific Ocean through the Panama Canal.
Wilson originally thought they would take an ordinary ship, but the huge ship docked at the port still made him slightly surprised.
In front of them was a giant luxury cruise ship. Its black and white interlaced hull stood like a giant in the port. It made other ships around it look as small as shrimps.
Four huge chimneys stood high above the cabin, spewing smoke in an unmistakable manner.
Even from the perspective of the 21st century, all of these people can be considered luxurious.
Even in his previous life, when he went abroad for business, he had never taken such a luxurious passenger ship.
Wilson couldn't help but exclaimed, "Is our school so rich?"
He turned to look at William, who was a geologist at the University of Michigan. He also looked confused and shocked.
"I remember that the cruise ship arranged by the captain yesterday was not this one? Did we find the wrong ship?"
William murmured uneasily.
At this time, Captain Linden, who had some gray hair but still looked energetic, walked over from the side and greeted them with a smile.
He walked towards the two of them and saw Professor Wilson who had changed his clothes. He looked up and down and narrowed his eyes slightly, but did not say anything.
"Captain, was this the ship you were talking about yesterday?" William was obviously still unsure, "Does the school have enough funds..."
For such a luxurious ship, just a common ticket would probably cost a lot of money. Not to mention that there are still ten people in their entire expedition team.
No matter how rich Miskatonic University's heritage is, it's not such a waste.
"Hahaha, this time it's not paid by the school."
Captain Linden smiled slightly, pointed to a person behind him, and said with emotion: "This is all thanks to our Ms. Ellis."
The heroic Elizabeth Ellis, with her red hair tied up high and looking extremely neat and tidy, was standing behind Captain Lyndon, looking at the sea in the distance.
Wilson noticed that the woman seemed to like looking into the distance all the time.
"Ms. Ellis happened to meet the owner of this ship, so she arranged a luxurious stateroom for us." Captain Linden explained.
At this moment, Ellis seemed to have just heard what they said, turned his head to look at them, and raised his eyebrows slightly:
"Actually, this cruise ship belongs to my brother."