Crushing the Competition

Mallon and Grace exchanged a glance. They were clearly still hesitant, but Ella spoke first.

"I'm willing."

Jamie said almost at the same time, "So am I."

If Ling Chu and the other two had been ordinary people, they would never have risked their whole family's lives by following them to their deaths. But since they were all ability users and had their own ship and companions, rescuing Ivy was no longer a completely hopeless prospect.

Besides, they had no other choice right now.

Without cooperation, Ivy would remain trapped aboard the Nautilus, while Ella and her parents' plague would only worsen. The nearby farmers had already begun growing suspicious. Today it was Smith and Henry; tomorrow, who knew whether someone else would notice something was wrong.

Once the city guards truly came knocking, their family would face only one fate: being burned to death.

Having thought it through, Mallon and Grace nodded as well.

"How should we cooperate with you?"

Ling Chu looked at Ella. "You boarded the Nautilus before. Can you draw the route you took to deliver vegetables, along with the ship's layout as you saw it?"

Ella thought carefully. "I didn't go to many places, but I should remember the routes for delivering vegetables, going to the Back Kitchen, and carrying boxes later on."

"Draw as much as you can remember."

Ella immediately went inside for paper and a charcoal pencil, then sat down at the wooden table in the yard. Ling Chu pulled over a chair and sat beside her, watching her draw.

Meanwhile, at Golden Bay Casino.

Huang Xiaowen had not deliberately sought out players today. Her Gambler class had already advanced in rank, and her most urgent task now was finding a way to make the informant named Raine notice her on his