The Captain's Invitation

Coming down from the Baccarat table, she had already cashed out all her Blue Chips, netting a total of four hundred and twenty-three White Chips.

Worth forty-two thousand three hundred Sea Shells.

And her principal had been only a hundred Sea Shells—a four-hundred-fold increase, sheer profiteering.

She carried her chips to the exchange counter, intending to convert them into Sea Shells.

The Attendant in charge reminded her: "Miss, you still have a VIP area card. There's an Auction in the VIP area at midnight tonight, and our auctions also accept chips for bidding. Are you sure you want to exchange these chips now?"

"If you're not in a hurry to leave the ship, you could visit the VIP area first. Rest assured, all your chips will be exchanged for you when you disembark."

Ling Chu suddenly remembered she'd also won that VIP card. She'd been gambling on the first and second floors the whole time and hadn't yet explored the VIP area—that card was worth ten thousand Sea Shells; not going would be a loss.

So she took the elevator up to the fourth-floor VIP area. As the doors opened, an Attendant in a perfectly tailored tuxedo was already waiting there.

"Miss, please show me your VIP card."

Ling Chu took out the card and handed it to him. After verifying it, the Attendant gave a slight bow, his face wearing an impeccable professional smile.

"Allow me to guide you and let you experience the VIP services we've prepared for you."

Ling Chu followed him through a quiet corridor carpeted with thicker rugs, its walls wrapped in Silk. The fragrance in the air was also more refined and upscale—a blend of cedar and faint White Tea.

When the VIP area door opened, it felt like stepping into another world. The space was expansive yet laid out with privacy in mind. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows stretched the endless black sea, only making the interior feel warmer and more luxurious.

A few guests sat scattered in sofas as wide as beds, murmuring in conversation or quietly enjoying the services.

The Attendant murmured introductions like a recitation: "To the left is the Spa Center, offering deep-sea seaweed mud wraps and pearl powder essential oil massages; to the right is the cigar lounge and wine cellar, housing the last batch of Bourbon Whiskey delivered before docking; straight ahead is the twenty-four-hour buffet area. If you need anything, just signal."

Ling Chu headed straight for the buffet area. She'd boarded the gambling ship in the morning, and now it was already dark. She hadn't eaten all day, and while she'd been focused on winning at the tables, now she was genuinely hungry.

The long counter was covered in spotless white linen, silver serving lids gleaming. Her eyes swept over the dazzling array of dishes, and she couldn't help raising an eyebrow slightly.

Plump lobster claws, crystal-clear meat on an ice-sculpted Lobster Tower; plump, distinct grains of Sturgeon Caviar paired with blini and sour cream; ham sliced paper-thin by a blade, its fat marbled like stone; perfectly roasted Beef Ribeye; Herb Roasted Lamb Chops; Confit Duck Leg...

In the fruit and vegetable section were fresh, dewy strawberries, raspberries, and even avocados and tender asparagus that required extremely strict storage conditions—on the sea, these were harder currency than gold.

In the dessert section were all kinds of French petit fours, Macarons dusted with edible gold powder, Caramel Pudding, Cream Soufflé, and a flowing chocolate fountain.

The luxury of these dishes was no different from any high-end banquet—hard to imagine this was inside a survival game at sea.

After all these days at sea, Ling Chu was sick of seafood. She skipped the Lobster Tower entirely and piled her plate high with lamb chops, steak, and petit fours.

Carrying her full tray, she sat down in a comfortable armchair and dug in.

Almost immediately, an Attendant appeared silently and poured her a glass of perfectly chilled champagne.

As the Attendant leaned in to pour, his voice dropped so low only she could hear: "Honored Miss, if you find yourself feeling lonely, we have male escorts from all over the world who are very 'attentive.' They are skilled in massage, conversation, and various... forms of entertainment, ensuring your journey ahead is more enjoyable. It would only require adding a small fee to your current expenses..."

Ling Chu extracted a guess from his cascade of euphemisms: was he trying to sell her a male escort?

Thanks, but no thanks.

Rejecting male beauty, starting with her.

She replied flatly: "No need."

The Attendant showed no extra expression, immediately bowing respectfully: "As you wish." Then he quietly withdrew.

After a short rest, Ling Chu went to the Spa Center. She lay face down in a private treatment room overlooking the sea, where a skilled masseuse used warm, oiled hands to ease her tense muscles and nerves. The scent of seaweed mud and soothing essential oils nearly lulled her to sleep.

Just as her consciousness began to drift, sinking into this luxurious tranquility, a soft knock came at the treatment room door.

Another Attendant in a different, more serious uniform stood at the door. He didn't step inside, only bowed again respectfully. "Miss, a thousand apologies for disturbing your rest," he said, his voice steadier than the previous Attendant's, carrying an undeniable formality.

"Our Captain would be honored to invite you to his private Captain's Cabin for a drink."

The masseuse's hands stopped.

Ling Chu slowly opened her eyes. The Captain's invitation?

Her sixth sense told her this was no simple invitation—had she won too many chips and caught his attention?

But she'd only won four hundred chips; among the many guests, that shouldn't stand out too much.

She hesitated a moment, then got dressed and stood up, saying to the Attendant: "Lead the way."

If she refused, she believed he'd find another way to make her go. Might as well see what the Captain was up to.

The Attendant led Ling Chu up another floor to the top deck.

Passing through a deeper corridor, they arrived before a heavy double door of solid wood. The Attendant knocked softly, and after a low "Enter" from inside, he opened the door for Ling Chu.

The scene inside was completely different from the extravagant glamour outside.

This was a room serving both as an office and a reception area, its style steady and dignified. The walls were paneled in mahogany, hung with ancient nautical charts, astrolabes, and carefully framed specimens of bizarre deep-sea fish. A massive mahogany desk sat at one end, neatly arranged with a ship's log, a brass telescope, and a briarwood pipe emitting a faint tobacco scent.

On the other side of the room was a comfortable seating area—two high-backed leather sofas facing each other, with a matching coffee table between them. The biggest feature was an entire wall of huge curved floor-to-ceiling windows, beyond which stretched endless night and sea.

Ling Chu's first thought was: this decor is really nice. When she had enough money and materials to Upgrade her own ship, she wanted to decorate it just like this.