Hunting

"Captain, what should we do?"

On the merchant ship, everyone grew somewhat panicked when they learned that the attacking pirate crew was the Dominic Pirates.

"Should we run?" Joezer asked, staring at the captain.

The captain shook his head. "Forget it. We shouldn't do what we did last time. We tried to flee, but Dominic boarded the ship with his men and killed two people. It's better not to provoke them."

If they spotted a pirate crew early enough, their chances of avoiding them were fairly high.

Even if they were caught by pirates, as long as they negotiated in time, killings usually did not occur.

If someone was killed, the incident would be reported to the Marines, and there was a high chance the pirates would be put on the wanted list. Those already wanted would have their bounties raised and might even be actively pursued.

But if it was merely robbery, people often preferred to avoid making a bigger issue of it. The merchant association would only file a report, and the pirates would not be taken seriously.

Thus, despite facing the ferocious Dominic Pirates, the merchant association had no intention of leaving.

"Then let's give them the goods. Looks like we'll be docked part of our pay again this time."

Joezer spoke regretfully, then turned to Marcel. "Marcel, go inside the cabin."

"I-I'm not afraid," Marcel said loudly.

"This isn't about whether you're afraid."

Joezer rubbed his head and said, "You'll be sad when you see them."

Marcel shook his head and said seriously, "I won't be sad anymore. I'll remember what they look like, and one day, I'll kill them to avenge my parents."

"Fine, but stand farther away. Don't get too close to them."

Joezer sighed, gave him a warning, and pulled Marcel away.

The merchant ship lowered its sails and stopped trying to escape.

Before long, the Dominic Pirates drew near. The pirates aboard waved their blades, their faces fierce as strange sounds came from their mouths.

Bang.

The pirate ship rammed the merchant vessel at an angle from the front. One pirate after another leaped aboard, and finally, an extremely fat man bent his legs slightly and jumped onto the ship.

Thud.

His body slammed onto the deck with a dull sound.

This was Dominic, leader of the Dominic Pirates. He was fat and vicious-looking, wearing a vest that exposed three knife scars across his chest. In his right hand, he held a massive cleaver.

Two people followed close behind him onto the merchant ship.

One was tall and thin, with a Mohawk and an exceptionally ugly horse-like face. Two katanas hung at his waist.

The other was brawny and held a musket in his right hand.

With the arrival of those three, the surrounding pirates all made way for them.

"It's you?"

Dominic spotted the captain, raised his brows, and burst out laughing. "What a coincidence. I ran into you half a month ago. Since you've got experience now, carry the goods out yourselves and hand them over to me."

"Lord Dominic, isn't this too soon? Could you please show us some mercy and let us go? You robbed us last time, and every one of us was punished by the merchant association. If you take our money and goods again this time, we... we really won't be able to hold on." The captain stepped forward, his face full of misery.

Dominic narrowed his eyes. "So you're saying we should make this trip for nothing?"

"I wouldn't dare."

The captain hurriedly said, "Lord Dominic, I hope you can leave us the goods. We're willing to offer you the payment we collected this time."

"What nonsense."

The tall, thin man could not help speaking. He drew a blade and glared at the captain. "We want the money, and we want the goods too."

"Leo."

Hearing this, Dominic patted his subordinate. After falling silent for a moment, he said, "We robbed you half a month ago. If we take too much from you again this time, hand over the money on you, and I'll let you go. Oh, and the liquor. Give us the liquor you brought."

"Alright. Thank you, Lord Dominic."

The captain knew this was already the best possible outcome. He quickly had everyone take out their money and hand it over to Dominic.

"Too little."

Leo frowned, but Dominic waved a hand and said with a smile, "Forget it. They haven't had it easy either."

"Someone, bring Lord Dominic the liquor."

The captain arranged for several people to bring out four or five crates of liquor from the cargo hold and place them on the deck.

"Not bad. Move it back."

Dominic looked over the liquor, nodded, and had the pirates behind him carry it back to the pirate ship.

"Then we'll be leaving."

Dominic waved a hand, and the remaining pirates retreated back onto their ship.

Dominic walked to the side of the vessel. Just as he was about to leave, he said softly, "Little one, why are you looking at me so fiercely?"

As he spoke, the gunman raised his musket and aimed it at Marcel in the distance.

Hearing this, Marcel's body stiffened in the distance, and Joezer quickly moved in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Lord Dominic. He's just a child. Please forgive him," the captain hurriedly said.

"Hmph."

Dominic snorted coldly, waved a hand, and turned to board the pirate ship.

Leo and the gunman boarded as well. The pirate ship set off and slowly sailed away.

"Marcel."

The captain stared coldly at the youth in the distance. "Do you know you almost got yourself killed?"

"I-I'm sorry."

Marcel lowered his head, his eyes reddening.

"Your actions could have dragged everyone else down with you."

The captain spoke angrily, but then he remembered that Marcel's father had been killed by Dominic right in front of him on this ship. He sighed and said, "Marcel, you need to control yourself. Never show your hatred to your enemies."

"I understand."

Marcel nodded and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Joezer rubbed his head beside him.

"This haul was far too small."

On the pirate ship, Leo spoke with dissatisfaction.

"Boss, why did we let them go this time? The ship was sitting deep in the water, so it must have been carrying a lot of valuable goods. Why didn't we take them?" the gunman asked as well.

"Let them go? Johansen, I never let them go." Dominic sneered.

Leo's eyes lit up. "Boss, you mean...?"

Dominic said, "Tell me, what use would the goods be if we took them? Most of them are daily necessities. There's too much for us to use up, and we can't sell them either. Keeping them would only be a waste. What would be the point of taking them?"

Johansen thought for a moment. "Last time, we sold the goods at a discount to a black-market merchant in the Goa Kingdom, and got very little money in return."

"So we wait until they turn them into money, then rob them?" Leo asked excitedly.

Dominic nodded. "We know where the Shining Gold Merchant Association is and where they're headed. In seven or eight days, we'll ambush them and take all their money."

"Boss, you're brilliant," Leo flattered him from the side.

"They actually believed the boss. What idiots," Johansen said with a laugh.

"And!"

Dominic's face darkened. "The next time we run into them, kill that little brat. I don't like people looking at me like that."

As Dominic spoke, a cruel smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

But just then, a black shadow sped toward them beneath the distant water.

"You're my prey. Stay here."

Black Fish approached the pirate ship, its huge head slamming directly into the side of the vessel.

Boom.

A tremendous crash rang out. With a crack, the hull's wooden planks shattered, leaving a massive hole.

Details Revision Notes:

A reader asked whether fish have eyelids. Fish do not have eyelids, but the protagonist does. In Chapter Seven, the protagonist grew eyelids mainly to ward off attacks from small fish, and that setting was retained afterward.

However, the question made me realize this might be a problem. There was no environment in which the protagonist could grow eyelids, nor was it possible to grow eyelids by eating fish. There was no need for eyelids either. If they grew merely because he possessed evolution genes, that would be superfluous.

So I removed the description of eyelids and replaced them with a shark's nictitating membrane, which can retract and protect the eyes.

The nictitating membrane is part of the eyelid. Sharks, amphibians, animals, and humans all have them.

The nictitating membranes of sharks, amphibians, and creatures like kingfishers can close horizontally.

Of course, eyelids will still appear later. With the nictitating membrane as a foundation, that evolution will make sense.

Thanks to Daozhe Qingxu for the generous reward.