Plundered Clean

The pirates immediately disembarked and began chasing Fanxin.

But Fanxin was too crafty, always ducking into the densest parts of the jungle. The pirates were formidable, but they were only skilled at fighting opponents at sea. In the dense jungle, they lost their advantage.

Fanxin, on the other hand, had grown up in the forest, fighting wild beasts every day. Naturally, he was right at home there.

After chasing him for a while, the pirates found that Fanxin had vanished without a trace. Though furious, they had no choice but to head back.

Once aboard, they tended to their injured crewmates while pursuing Black Cat.

They figured the little black cat was in league with the boy. Since they had failed to catch Fanxin, they took all their anger out on Black Cat.

Black Cat paid them no mind. He glanced toward the forest and saw that Fanxin had gotten away safely, which put his mind at ease.

With Fanxin no longer on his mind, he began plundering in earnest. He took every iron object and useful item aboard the pirate ship, leaving nothing behind.

Once he was done, Black Cat immediately transformed into human form. Then, with a whoosh, he flew high into the sky, leaving the pirate ship and following the direction Fanxin had gone.

Aboard the pirate ship.

The crew were exhausted, every one of them panting and red-faced.

"Damn it, that damned little black cat! If we hadn't been on the ship, I would have killed it," a bald pirate said viciously.

The ship was their own, and they hadn't dared fire recklessly aboard it. If they damaged it, repairing it would be a hassle. This wasn't a repair yard. Although they had a shipwright aboard, he wouldn't be much help if the ship was damaged too badly.

Precisely because their hands were tied, Black Cat had seized the opportunity to run wild and plunder at will.

They hadn't tallied their losses yet, but they were sure they were enormous.

"That's right. We have to kill it," a crewman with hair as messy as a bird's nest agreed with a nod.

The other crewmen joined in, all of them saying vicious things.

"Cut the crap and go check what's missing from the ship. Otherwise, you'll all suffer when the captain gets back." Just as everyone was angrily cursing the little black cat, a tall figure walked in and shouted coldly.

He was a tall man, over three meters in height, twice as tall as an ordinary person. He wore a fitted outfit and had a white coat draped over his shoulders, fluttering in the wind. He looked imposing.

He wore a mask, making it impossible to see his face clearly. His eyes, however, were piercing. He swept his gaze around, and every crewman who met his eyes immediately went to inventory the ship's contents without another word.

The man commanded such authority because he was extremely powerful. Aboard the ship, his strength was second only to the captain's. He was also the pirate crew's vice captain, so unless the captain gave an order, his word was the highest authority.

There were many crewmen, and working together, they were highly efficient.

In less than ten minutes, they finished the inventory.

They then came before the vice captain to report their findings.

"Vice Captain Dick, all the weapons on the ship are gone. That little black cat took every one of them."

"Vice captain, our cooking pots, washbasins, and... everything made of iron was taken. Not a single thing was left."

"Vice captain, the captain's private storeroom was plundered by the little black cat too. Everything inside has vanished."

One crewman after another reported in, and every report was bad news.

Vice Captain Dick was furious. They were pirates; they were the ones who plundered others, and no one had ever plundered them before. This time, someone had stripped them clean. They had lost a great deal of face.

"You said the captain's private storeroom was plundered too?" Vice Captain Dick stepped forward, reached out with a huge hand, and grabbed the crewman who had reported it, shouting coldly.

"Y-yes, Vice Captain Dick, that's right. If you don't believe me, you can go see for yourself," the crewman hurriedly replied, nodding. His body trembled, and his face was full of fear. He was worried that Dick would lose his temper. If Vice Captain Dick decided to kill him, he would be done for. He didn't want to die like that.

"Bastard! Damned little black cat, I won't let you get away with this!" Vice Captain Dick threw the crewman aside and ordered, "That little black cat must still be on this island. From now on, take up your weapons and go after it. Make sure you bring back everything it plundered."

"Especially the things from the private storeroom on the ship. Not one thing can be missing, or we'll all pay for it. Understood?"

"Yes, but Vice Captain, the forest is so big, and there are so few of us. How are we supposed to search?" The crewmen nodded, but they had a problem. Though there were several hundred of them, that wasn't much if they spread out across the vast forest.

There were ferocious beasts in the forest, too. Searching like that, they could easily be attacked by one. Then they would end up as a beast's meal.

"I know, but do you want to face the captain's wrath? I believe some of you have seen him lose his temper. Once he does, he shows no mercy to anyone. Do you want to be killed?" Dick said.

He knew it would be very difficult to catch the little black cat now that it had fled into the forest, because the forest was simply too vast. But he had no choice, because the captain was a very ruthless man.

The things in the private storeroom were all the captain's favorites. If they didn't get them back, he would never let them off.

He really couldn't say what the captain would do when he heard his treasures were gone. If the captain decided to kill them, not one of them could hope to escape. Even with all their strength combined, they were no match for him.

"This..." The crewmen were immediately struck dumb. Those who had seen the captain lose his temper looked terrified.

"All right, go. All of you, search for them. Try to get all the treasures back before the captain returns, and then he won't take his anger out on us," Vice Captain Dick shouted.

The crewmen were afraid of the captain's oppressive power, so they said no more. They took up their weapons and headed into the forest.