Chapter 71: Chapter 52: Are They Playing Me?

Chun rowed all the way to the open sea, approaching the treasure-hunting ship where the atmosphere seemed a bit tense. Whether it was because of his own plague scaring them, or because they were preparing to make a move, Chun didn’t care at all.

Then he also saw Villapico himself standing at the bow, waving—a typical 30-40 year old NPC with an average appearance and standard captain attire.

“The captain is here, lower the rope ladder, welcome, welcome…”

Huh? Chun noticed the form of address and boarded the ship amidst sparse applause to meet: “The captain calls me captain?”

Piku took off the hat symbolizing the captain’s status: “I am now the first mate, you are the captain, so are you ready to take your position, captain?”

Um? Jumping right into it, the efficiency was so high Chun felt a little unaccustomed: “I’m ready.”

——System prompt: You received the “Sea Otter Captain’s Hat” and assumed the role of captain of the Sea Otter! Your commanding power +30, and you’ve gained the captain skill “Risk Avoidance.”

Risk Avoidance: A skill that can only be used after purchasing insurance from an insurance company. At the cost of damaging over 50% of the ship’s durability, randomly teleport a short distance away from the battlefield to escape, with random loss of goods during the avoidance process.

…

Holy Shit!?

Chun stood in a daze for a while, this system prompt, was he really a captain now and not just temporarily practicing!?

In the game, going out to sea is a very important gameplay feature. Players can buy, mortgage, or rent ships through formal channels, which are both special equipment and a sea territory with a complete protection mechanism.

This means that once sunk, the ship doesn’t actually sink, but instead “drifts” back to a designated port over time, akin to ship resurrection. Goods are not protected, and players can spend extra money on insurance to preserve some goods that drift back.

There’s also the captain skill that requires insurance to obtain—in some sense, it’s the same type as the Divine Magic acquired by Paladin Physicians who must pay to renew it.

As for the nine small broken boats Chun stole from the shipyard the other day, without going through any official channel, once sunk, they’re likely gone for good. As for the small boat given by Fafnir, if it sinks, it’s likely to drift back to the original port. Pirate ships are the same, once sunk they drift back to the pirate port.

If players die on the ship, they don’t resurrect in town, but in the chapel cabin, which is like a village. Small boats don’t have chapel cabins, so if a player dies, they go back to town, but can issue a “self-sink” command to the small boat to have it drift back.

In short, if a player becomes the captain of a large ship, runs a trade route safely without buying insurance, the income… Chun was immediately excited!

At this point, Piku led the way: “Captain, please come to the cockpit!”

The surrounding sailors followed suit: “Hello, Captain!”

Holy Shit!

Chun felt he might lose himself being called captain so many times: “They know about my situation, right?”

Piku smiled: “Yes, Captain just defeated the Slime Monster on the island; they greatly admire you and are very willing to follow your command.”

I mean the plague! Never mind, let’s not mention it!

After entering the cockpit, Piku began to teach step by step, issuing commands sequentially.

Overall, the command process was similar to the manual left by the Great Evil Spirit, but the Great Evil Spirit was a sophisticated Magic Ship, activated by pressing a button, whereas here it was about giving orders for sailors to move at various posts.

One must say, Piku and the whole crew were highly cooperative, not mentioning the island matter, nor showing any dissatisfaction that would lead to mutiny over the plague. Chun thought he might be overthinking it, but more likely, such preventive measures had completely dispelled any insidious thoughts the crew might have had?

Then what should come finally came!

——System prompt: You begin to master the operation of large ships, and your Advanced Level 10 Sailing Technique proficiency has been enhanced. You’ve integrated the whole crew’s teamwork, and your Advanced Level 10 Module Combination proficiency has been enhanced…

Finally, some proficiency, how far to Expert? If I can also use the Four Sea Souls, wouldn’t I become an Expert immediately… no, this is a secret, can’t use it.

…

In the game world at 4 AM, the misty night before dawn was dark and layered, and the lights on Plague Island were hazy bright.

Chun had fully understood the command functions in the cockpit, the operational processes of various cannon rooms, cargo holds, fish holds, and salvage holds, and had made great progress in navigating with tailwinds or headwinds, as well as turning, accelerating, and decelerating.

And being an engineer, Chun even felt there were some design flaws that weren’t practical, further validating that this complex system was likely a smart system’s own design. If players could manually modify and optimize it, reaching Master or Grandmaster level was possibly within reach?

At this moment, the lookout began to alert: “Report to the captain, there are ship lights appearing to the southeast!”

Piku immediately said: “Recommend to turn off lights for light discipline immediately!”

Chun felt uneasy: “All lights off on the ship!”

In the next moment, the surroundings of the ship were plunged into darkness.

Chun felt a bit tense: “What’s the situation?”

Piku said solemnly: “As I said before, a Plague Island that’s been dark for many years suddenly showing so many lights is bound to get noticed by passing ships. But merchant ships won’t come, it’s likely pirates or treasure-hunting ships. When unsure of the other’s intentions, turning off lights is the best choice.”

No goodwill from those who come, and the good don’t come; if they forcefully land on the island, thinking there’s no plague and a big battle with the Evil Spirit ensues, what if they seize my Resentment Ring and Divine Format?

Chun asked: “If they see us turning off lights, won’t they think we’re about to attack them?”

Piku laughed: “Is Captain planning to attack them? This is an important lesson: while our infection hasn’t flared up, we still have combat strength, ready to follow orders at any time. From their position, our lights blend with the island’s lights, making it very likely they haven’t noticed us, benefiting our ambush.”

Chun asked again: “What if they’re a legitimate treasure-hunting ship?”

Piku laughed: “Then we can be illegitimate! Raise the pirate flag! Check the cannon rooms! Boarding teams stand by!”

Just moments ago, the entire ship was cautiously lifeless, now whistles arose with various clanging noises as the entire ship bustled!

——System prompt: The pirate flag is raised! The Sea Otter conceals its ship number! All crew switch to anonymous pirate red name mode.

Holy Shit! The legends were true, these treasure-hunting ships indeed turn pirate when idle! Since none of them are good, let’s go for it!

“Let’s go to battle!”

Piku began issuing orders: “Ambush! Engage stealth sailing!”

The entire ship was just filled with whistles, and now it suddenly fell silent, obeying orders without question. Billowing white steam spewed from every hole in the ship’s hull, and the surrounding night quickly became dense and sticky, obscuring the lights on the island.

——System Prompt: First mate Villapico has activated the ship’s underwater maneuver special skill, and our ship has entered silent mode, increasing its speed.

Huh!? High-end indeed!

Chun asked softly, “Is this a skill of our ship?”

Piku also whispered an explanation, “Yes! But it requires a material called Fog Stone Powder, which is also considered a strategic material for the navies of various cities, and it’s not easy for an ordinary ship to obtain it.”

So that’s it! Indeed, some things can only be taught through battle, making Chun even more eager for this fight.

As they got closer to the target, something suddenly bumped into the bottom of the ship, emitting a sharp screech!

Piku was shocked, “Demon Dolphin? We’ve been discovered!”

In the next moment, fire blazed and cannons roared from the rear, and simultaneously, the target ship also fired, tons of cannonballs bombarding the hull with loud booms, sending waves of water surging into the sky!

Chun was dumbfounded, “Another ship behind us?”

It was only then that Piku came to his senses, “Two ships? So we were the ones who were spotted long ago! I recommend an immediate retreat!”

Chun was startled, “Retreat to where?”

“Of course, to the open sea!”

Holy shit! My highly anticipated first naval battle, and this is it?

Chun panicked, “What about the island? This is still my place of exile, isn’t this just another escape?”

Piku solemnly said, “Actually, we can still press forward and take down the ship in front, engaging in close-combat boarding. This way, even if the rear cannons fire, they’ll risk harming their own allies—You are the captain, you decide! We’ll back you up unconditionally!”

They’re putting so much trust in me!?

Chun didn’t hesitate, “Then let’s press forward and charge!”

“Captain orders, full speed ahead!”

The entire ship erupted in a roar, morale surging!

But the lookout immediately noticed something was wrong, “The ship in front is also accelerating to maintain distance—”

Before the words were finished, another shell hit, causing glass shards to fly in the cockpit, and Piku swiftly shielded Chun!

Chun returned to his senses and saw him covered in blood with shards of glass on him!

A strange sense of being moved filled Chun, “Captain!”

Piku offered a faint smile, “I’m the first mate! Only such battles can rapidly develop one into a powerful captain—”

With that, Piku resolutely commanded again, “Keep accelerating!”

Chun’s heart was stirred, this two-front attack was not going well! Even if they charged ahead, their side would have suffered too many injuries from being bombarded, how could they fight back?

Since it’s come to this, it’s time to stop holding back. Using the Four Sea Souls as a boost, they could catch up immediately! Appears the soul of the Sea Emperor Crab could even enhance ramming damage, maybe catching up would mean they could sink the target, and break through to Expert level as a bonus…

But as Chun’s blood boiled, preparing to launch, he hesitated suddenly—something felt very wrong, he was long past the age of being moved by heated emotions, so how could he be so touched?

So, calm down… Is it possible they’re setting me up in a scheme to act on me?

After all, such a powerful Great Evil Spirit only has Villapico under its command? Perhaps all three of them are? The discovery of Magic Gold traces on Plague Island certainly means they gathered all their subordinates immediately for a search!

As for targeting me, what would be their purpose? Four Sea Souls! The Great Evil Spirit is strong enough to possibly disregard it, but his subordinates would certainly value it. I managed to escape the Silver Sea with the Four Sea Souls, yet Piku only asked about Magic Gold, didn’t mention any of this at all, clearly suspicious!

There’s no way to determine if once I infuse the Four Sea Souls into this high-end ship, I’d be able to retrieve it later! After all, retrieval has an unloading time, and a ship this size would certainly have a longer unloading time, what if something unexpected occurs midway?

If it can’t be retrieved, then Holy shit! And with his “faithful and brave” performance, turning on him now isn’t an option! I’d be stuck following his lead…

The more Chun thought about it, the more he felt a creeping fear! But if the suspicion was wrong, it would betray sincere loyalty, missing an opportunity to grow and develop, which would also be unacceptable!

“… Aileen, what do you say?”

Aileen smiled, “Why don’t you just jump into the sea and use the Sea Soul yourself.”

Chun was taken aback, “Swim in the sea to chase the ship?”

Aileen thought for a moment, “Then how about tying a rope to yourself and let the ship drag you along!”

Chun felt her intelligence must be flawed, “What effect would that have? Use fists to punch the bottom of the opponent’s ship?”

Aileen retorted, “What effect can you have here? At least down there, you might be able to fight that Demon Dolphin, right? Your Sea Race Personal Guard skill can control Demon Dolphins, right? If not, I can also test the effect of the Resentment Ring.”

Holy shit, that actually makes sense!

Chun elevated this to a tactical level, “Captain Piku, clearly we have fog-induced invisibility, how can we be hit so accurately, is it because of that Demon Dolphin’s positioning?”

Piku was momentarily stunned, “… Yes!”

Chun stated sternly, “I’m ordering you to focus on commanding the battle, I’m going down to deal with that Demon Dolphin!”

Piku was taken aback, “But Captain—”

This surprised expression looks suspicious in every way?

Chun immediately interrupted, “No buts, I’m the captain, execute the order!”

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