Pirate Fleet and Purple Pearl

Li Jiuchuan blinked in disbelief at the vessel that had suddenly surfaced from beneath the water.

She hesitantly looked at Ye Tian beside her. "This is...?"

"A submarine," Ye Tian said calmly. "You can think of it as a ship that travels underwater."

As he spoke, the submarine's entrance opened.

Several Heavenly Strategy Army soldiers in plain clothes lowered an inflatable boat from the submarine's deck and rowed it toward the shore.

Li Jiuchuan looked at Ye Tian, then at the submarine.

The Li Family dealt in ships, so she was familiar with all kinds of vessels.

Yet this was the first time she had seen a ship capable of moving underwater.

It truly was astonishing.

She had never imagined that ships could sail beneath the sea.

She could not help but marvel inwardly at Ye Tian's power.

He even possessed a vessel like this.

Hu Liena beside her was equally astonished.

Gazing at the submarine from afar, she could not help saying, "This looks like a huge lump of iron. How can iron float on the water?"

The submarine's material was truly beyond Hu Liena's imagination.

Wouldn't iron normally sink when placed on the sea?

Ye Tian chuckled, resting a hand on Hu Liena's shoulder as he explained, "An object only sinks when its overall density is greater than the buoyant force. The submarine is hollow inside, with only an iron shell outside, so its relative density is very low and it won't sink."

Hu Liena scratched her head, utterly confused.

What was Ye Tian talking about?

She clearly recognized every word, so why could she not understand a thing?

Seeing Na Na's expression, Ye Tian could not help but laugh.

With her grasp of physics, she was probably worse than an elementary school student.

It seemed that this world's mathematics, physics, and chemistry needed him to save them.

They had cultivated themselves stupid, never realizing that science and technology were the primary productive forces.

That reminded Ye Tian of a saying.

...Cultivation could not save Douluo Continent.

Ye Tian smiled faintly and stepped onto the inflatable boat.

"Stop thinking about it and get on."

Hu Liena scratched her head and hurried after him.

Li Jiuchuan took a step, then stopped and asked, "Do you need a Li Family ship to follow behind us?"

"No need." Ye Tian was a little speechless.

His reason for taking the submarine was to conceal his whereabouts, using the Li Family's ship as a smokescreen.

If it followed behind them, what secrecy would be left in his plan?

"Tell the captain to leave a little later and return to Golden Turtle Island by another route," Ye Tian instructed.

At that, Li Jiuchuan immediately understood what Ye Tian meant.

She nodded lightly. "I understand."

Zhou Long was the last to enter the submarine.

Once the hatch was sealed, the submarine's Water Pump began forcing seawater into the ballast tanks, and the submarine slowly started to descend.

This submarine was mainly meant for fishing and observation.

Thus, it had a glass observation window.

After seeing it, the two women could not help pressing themselves against the glass and looking outside.

Night had already fallen, and visibility beyond the vessel was poor.

Still, they could vaguely make out schools of fish swimming around the submarine.

There were also glowing jellyfish radiating a faint light.

"It's truly beautiful," Hu Liena praised.

Li Jiuchuan nodded lightly beside her. "Although my family lives on an island, this is also my first time seeing the scenery beneath the sea."

Ye Tian was not particularly interested. He headed alone to the cockpit.

The two soldiers were fully focused on steering.

A submarine built on Douluo Continent could not compare with a real submarine.

It had no radar for navigation and relied almost entirely on visual observation, so it traveled very slowly.

But it could not be spotted by vessels on the surface, making it safer.

That was why Ye Tian had chosen to travel by submarine.

Traveling underwater had another advantage.

They did not have to suffer the rolling of the waves.

It was as steady as walking on level ground.

The dark surroundings made it easy to fall asleep.

Staring at the pitch-black seawater beyond the cabin, Ye Tian's eyelids kept drooping.

However, Hu Liena and Li Jiuchuan were restless.

They entered the cockpit, sat close together, and sized Ye Tian up from head to toe.

"Ah, Ye Tian Gege has fallen asleep."

After watching Ye Tian's profile for quite some time, Hu Liena feigned surprise.

Ye Tian dozed off for a moment, only to be startled awake by her voice. He glanced at Hu Liena beside him and said helplessly, "With you here, it'd be a miracle if I could sleep."

Seeing Ye Tian awake, Hu Liena looked full of anticipation.

"Gege, Jiuchuan and I are both curious. How does the submarine move? I walked all around it, but I didn't see anyone rowing."

Hearing that question, Ye Tian felt his teeth ache.

Good grief, she really asked about everything.

How could he possibly reveal such a secret?

He looked at Hu Liena calmly and shook his head. "That cannot be said."

"Fine." Hu Liena shrugged, looking somewhat dejected.

Yet she secretly made up her mind that she would definitely figure it out.

The submarine traveled for two days.

At last, it entered the waters around Golden Turtle Island.

Ye Tian and the two women were playing Landlord.

"Rocket. I only have one card left."

"You lost again."

Expressionless, Ye Tian, who was the Landlord, slapped his final three onto the table.

"This..." Hu Liena's eyes widened, her forehead covered in slips of paper.

Quite a few slips of paper were also stuck to Li Jiuchuan's fair face.

The two women exchanged glances and both sighed.

"Ugh, there's no game experience at all." Hu Liena looked somewhat dissatisfied.

"Then let's stop playing." Ye Tian was delighted.

Ever since he had taught the two women Landlord yesterday, he had barely slept.

He was even beginning to regret teaching them the game.

"No."

As expected, Hu Liena pressed down on Ye Tian's hand, her gaze resolute.

"Next time, I'll definitely win."

Li Jiuchuan smiled and set down the cards in her hand. "Na Na, you've already lost seventeen games in a row."

It had to be said that Landlord was truly fun.

With just a few simple cards, it could produce endless variations.

"Next time, for sure."

Hu Liena spoke with complete confidence as she reached out to shuffle the cards, clearly unwilling to admit defeat.

She, Hu Liena, had never lost so badly before.

This time, she would definitely turn things around.

"Fine."

Looking relaxed, Ye Tian picked up two slips of paper from beside him and placed one on each woman's face.

Hu Liena acted carefree and openly showed her refusal to accept it.

When Li Jiuchuan felt Ye Tian's warm hand touch her face, her body suddenly stiffened.

She swiftly lowered her eyes, not daring to meet Ye Tian's gaze.

Just then, Zhou Long approached and leaned close to Ye Tian's ear. "Young Master, there's a fleet of warships above us."

Warships?

At those words, Ye Tian narrowed his eyes. It seemed something was going on.

"What is it?" Hu Liena asked curiously, looking up.

"We ran into a fleet of warships," Ye Tian said casually.

He stood and left the lounge, heading for the observation room.

When the soldier in the observation room saw Ye Tian arrive,

he immediately saluted and gave up the periscope.

Ye Tian nodded slightly to the soldier, stepped up to the periscope, and looked above.

Dozens of ships of varying sizes appeared clearly in the periscope.

Their decks were linked together, as though they belonged to the same group.

"Jiuchuan." After observing for a while, Ye Tian waved to Li Jiuchuan, who had followed behind him.

"Come take a look. See if you recognize any of them."

As a member of the Li Family, Li Jiuchuan frequently traveled at sea and was more likely to recognize ships.

"Alright."

Li Jiuchuan nodded, her expression troubled.

At this hour, the only people she could think of who would still be outside Golden Turtle Island were pirates.

After taking a look, her expression grew increasingly grave.

"Did you find anything?" Ye Tian asked.

Li Jiuchuan nodded lightly, her expression unpleasant.

She said, "I don't recognize most of them, but there are two that I know very well."

"The largest warship on the surface is called the Coral. It belongs to a notorious pirate crew in these waters. I heard their captain is a Titled Douluo."

"The long, narrow ship in the middle of the fleet is called the Purple Pearl. I heard they often rob the rich to help the poor, and their captain, Purple Pearl, is the most highly wanted pirate in the Heaven Dou Empire."

"Purple Pearl?" Ye Tian repeated inwardly. He knew that person very well.