Chapter Summaries

Ling Chu and her companions entered the Wood family farm under the pretense of buying vegetables and discovered that the family was avoiding contact because of illness. Jamie returned home and learned that his sister had been abducted by the Nautilus crew six months earlier.

• Ling Chu and her companions told Jamie they wanted to buy vegetables, and he welcomed them into the farm that supplied the White Whale Tavern.
• Jamie returned home with gifts, but Ella, Grace, and Mallon all backed away from him because they were ill.
• Jamie learned that his sister was not at the White Whale Tavern, despite the workers saying she had already gone home.
• Ella told Jamie that the Nautilus crew had tied up his sister and taken her away after she refused to cook aboard their ship.

Jamie returned home after half a year away and learned that Ivy had been kidnapped by the pirates of the Nautilus, while his family had also contracted a dangerous epidemic. The chapter ended with Jamie overwhelmed by the revelation that his father, mother, and Ella were all infected.

• Ella told Jamie that pirates had taken Ivy shortly after he left, and Grace warned him that the Nautilus crew were vicious and that Mallon had already been injured trying to rescue her.
• Mallon revealed that pirates had broken his leg at the docks, and Jamie insisted he would find a way to save Ivy.
• Ling Chu said the Nautilus was due back at Black Reef Island in five days, and Ella confirmed its schedule.
• Ling Chu recognized Ella's illness as an epidemic, and Ella removed her hood and scarf to reveal scales covering her neck.
• Jamie realized that Mallon and Grace were also infected, then broke down as he confronted how badly his family had suffered while he was away.

Jamie tried to find medicine for Ella and their parents, who had contracted a plague that caused scales to grow on their skin. Ella traced her first symptoms to a bloodied crate she carried aboard the Nautilus, and Ling Chu suspected the disease was connected to Lucas’s dealings with a Sea Monster.

• Jamie gathered himself and promised to search the city and Black Market for medicine, but Ella said plague-suppressing ingredients had become unavailable across the island.
• Lingering Wind and Fading Moon offered to examine Ella with protective equipment and asked her to recall how she had been infected.
• Ella explained that she had boarded the Nautilus to deliver produce and visit her sister, Ivy, who warned her to leave the ship quickly.
• A cargo manager ordered Ella to carry a heavy, foul-smelling crate marked with dried and fresh blood, and she touched the blood with a cut hand.
• Ella said her fever began two or three days after returning home, and Ling Chu suspected the crate held the plague’s source and that the disease might be tied to Lucas’s bargain with a Sea Monster.

Lingering Wind and Fading Moon examined Ella and collected blood from her and her family to investigate their illness, while Huang Xiaowen planned to lure Raine out of the casino. After returning to the Ghost Ship, Lingering Wind and Fading Moon reported that Ella’s blood had become fifty-one percent similar to Sea Monster blood.

• Lingering Wind and Fading Moon examined Ella, warned her family to avoid spreading the disease, and collected blood samples from Ella, Mallon, and Grace.
• Ling Chu gave Ella a Voice Conch so she could report changes in her condition or anything she remembered about the Nautilus.
• Huang Xiaowen told the crew that the casino informant was Raine and revealed her new Sure-Win Chip skill, which could control the result of her Fate Dice.
• Ling Chu approved a five-thousand-Sea-Shell gambling budget, and Huang Xiaowen promised to repay one hundred thousand within three days and draw Raine out.
• Lingering Wind and Fading Moon compared the blood samples and found that Ella’s blood was fifty-one percent similar to Sea Monster blood.

Ling Chu’s group learned that Ella’s Sea Monster transformation was progressing rapidly and planned two ways to board the Nautilus and find the plague’s source. At Wood Farm, Ella’s worsening symptoms made her suspicious of the strangers’ motives, and she demanded to know who they really were.

• Lingering Wind and Fading Moon reported that Ella was 51% similar to Sea Monsters and could complete her transformation within two months without treatment.
• Lingering Wind and Fading Moon offered to make an inhibitor, while Ling Chu planned to seek the infection’s source aboard the Nautilus through Raine and Wood Farm.
• The group split into two teams the next morning, with Huang Xiaowen, Squid Ball, and Clumsy Bear heading to Golden Bay Casino and Ling Chu, You Jiali, and Lingering Wind and Fading Moon visiting Wood Farm.
• Jamie told Ling Chu’s group that Ella had suffered intense itching, scratched herself until she bled, and needed to soak in Seawater through the night.
• Lingering Wind and Fading Moon explained Ella’s test results and said they needed to board the Nautilus to find the box that caused the infection.
• Ella questioned Ling Chu’s group, saying she did not believe they were risking their lives solely to help her and asking who they really were.

Ling Chu offered to help the Wood family recover from the plague in exchange for their help boarding the Nautilus, where she planned to confront Lucas and rescue Ivy. After Ling Chu revealed that she and her companions were Special Ability Users, she left the decision to cooperate to Ella and her family.

• Ling Chu explained that she wanted the Wood family to help her group board the Nautilus, and promised to treat their plague and try to rescue Ivy.
• Ella questioned whether three people could challenge the Nautilus and worried that helping them would endanger her family.
• Ling Chu overheard Smith and Henry plotting to report the Wood family to the City Guard, then seized them and tossed them into the courtyard.
• Mallon recognized Smith and Henry, and the family tied them up and locked them in the woodshed to keep the plague secret.
• Ella noticed Ling Chu's speed and asked if she was a Special Ability User; Ling Chu confirmed that her group had abilities, a ship, and more crew members.

Ling Chu secured Mallon, Grace, Ella, and Jamie’s help in planning a rescue of Ivy from the Nautilus. Meanwhile, Huang Xiaowen drew attention at Golden Bay Casino with an unbroken winning streak and faced a skilled card cheat.

• Ling Chu asked Ella to sketch the Nautilus routes and layout she remembered, and Ella began drawing while Mallon, Grace, and Jamie agreed to cooperate.
• Huang Xiaowen sat at a Golden Goblet table with Squid Ball and Clumsy Bear guarding her and won round after round.
• After Huang Xiaowen had won twenty-nine rounds, casino staff watched her as a crowd gathered around the table.
• A gaunt, long-fingered gambler took the seat opposite Huang Xiaowen and used a sleight of hand to switch his card.
• Huang Xiaowen noticed the card trick and welcomed the chance to challenge an expert.

Huang Xiaowen beat Buck the Gray Hand in a card game after he tried to cheat, then challenged him to wager his Ring against her legendary Ice Crystal Dagger. The chapter left their second round poised for its reveal, with Buck confident his altered cards would win.

• Buck swapped his cards for a Golden Crown and tried to persuade Huang Xiaowen to raise the stakes, but she refused.
• Huang Xiaowen revealed her own Golden Crown, exposing Buck's losing hand, and the crowd mocked him when he accused her of cheating.
• Buck demanded another round and used a silver-gray Ring to turn his low cards into a Golden Crown while keeping them in his grip.
• Huang Xiaowen noticed Buck's Ring and proposed wagering her Ice Crystal Dagger against it.
• Buck accepted the wager and slapped his three cards onto the table, revealing their golden patterns.

Huang Xiaowen exposed Buck’s cheating at Golden Bay Casino, won his Illusion Card Ring, and then went shopping with Squid Ball and Clumsy Bear before returning to the Ghost Ship with gifts for the crew.

• Huang Xiaowen revealed a second Golden Crown, prompting the casino staff to investigate both players.
• The staff found Buck’s hidden cards and arrested him for cheating, while Huang Xiaowen claimed the ring he had wagered.
• Huang Xiaowen examined the Illusion Card Ring and learned it could disguise the appearance of playing cards.
• Squid Ball told Huang Xiaowen that the captain and crew had returned to the Ghost Ship, and she decided to go shopping with Squid Ball and Clumsy Bear.
• The three returned to the Ghost Ship laden with purchases and gifts for Ling Chu, Lingering Wind, Fading Moon, You Jiali, and Xiao Pai.

Ling Chu and her companions prepared for the Scale Plague while continuing their plans on Black Reef Island, and Lingering Wind and Fading Moon’s medicine halted the scales’ spread in Ella’s family. On the third day, Raine finally entered Golden Bay Casino, setting up the next move in their investigation.

• Clumsy Bear shared a feast of snacks on the Ghost Ship, and Lingering Wind and Fading Moon warned everyone about the epidemic before giving them preventive medicine.
• Lingering Wind and Fading Moon observed that the others showed no signs of infection and suspected stronger physical constitutions might resist the Scale Plague.
• The group agreed to keep their existing teams for two more days, while Lingering Wind and Fading Moon monitored Ella’s family and adjusted their suppressive medicine.
• Ling Chu expanded Ella’s sketch of the Nautilus and learned the farm’s delivery process, while You Jiali prepared a convincing list of ship provisions.
• The first medicine slowed the scales on Ella, Mallon, and Grace, and You Jiali bought produce from the farm for the Ghost Ship.
• Raine, who had stayed away from Golden Bay Casino while handling Nautilus business, disguised himself and entered the casino on the third day.

Raine discovered Huang Xiaowen had won ninety-nine consecutive Golden Goblet rounds and came to the casino just as she waited for her hundredth opponent. A Tiefling woman took the seat across from Huang Xiaowen and warned her not to cheat, while Huang Xiaowen recognized Raine in the crowd as the person she had been trying to lure.

• Raine found Golden Bay Casino unusually quiet because spectators had crowded around Huang Xiaowen, who had won ninety-nine rounds in a row.
• Huang Xiaowen waited for an opponent to challenge her for the hundredth round as Raine hesitated in the crowd.
• Squid Ball spotted Raine's black scorpion-marked hand, and Huang Xiaowen recognized him as the target she had been trying to draw out.
• A Tiefling woman stepped forward and took the empty seat across from Huang Xiaowen.
• The Tiefling woman warned Huang Xiaowen that she could see quick movements and threatened her with the sword if she tried to cheat.

Huang Xiaowen accepted the Tiefling woman’s challenge to play Flower Chase, a Golden Goblet variation that tested players’ ability to track cards through rapid shuffling. The Tiefling woman successfully collected all three special cards, while Huang Xiaowen exchanged one of her ordinary cards, leaving the game’s outcome unresolved.

• The Tiefling woman proposed Flower Chase for Huang Xiaowen’s hundredth game and explained its rules.
• The dealer displayed twelve cards, including the Golden Goblet King, Queen, and Knight, then shuffled them for three rounds.
• The Tiefling woman tracked all three special cards, while Huang Xiaowen lost track of one during the final shuffle.
• The Tiefling woman chose the three special cards and confirmed she held the complete Golden Crown.
• Huang Xiaowen drew three ordinary cards, exchanged her lowest one, and received another ordinary card.

Huang Xiaowen used her swap skill to exchange her disguised cards with the Tiefling woman's Golden Goblet cards, then won the hundredth round and completed a hundred-win streak. The Tiefling accused Huang Xiaowen of tampering with the cards.

• Huang Xiaowen secretly swapped all three Golden Goblet cards with the Tiefling woman's cards using Let's Swap.
• The Tiefling woman added a wager of ten thousand Sea Shells, and Huang Xiaowen matched it.
• Huang Xiaowen dismissed Illusion Card Fraud after both players placed their cards face down.
• The Tiefling woman revealed three ordinary cards, while Huang Xiaowen revealed the Golden Goblet King, Queen, and Knight.
• The crowd celebrated Huang Xiaowen's hundred-win streak, and the Tiefling woman accused her of tampering with the cards.

Huang Xiaowen used her magic and card-swapping skill to win her hundredth consecutive game, earning a third-tier Magician advancement and a VIP card. Outside the casino, Raine pursued her with a gambling partnership offer, but she refused and let him negotiate.

• Huang Xiaowen concealed her card trick from the Tiefling woman, who conceded and handed over ten thousand Sea Shells.
• Huang Xiaowen completed the requirements for her Magician advancement, reached the third tier, and gained Magician's Perfect Mimicry.
• Huang Xiaowen collected her winnings and accepted a VIP card that let her enter Golden Bay Casino's VIP area without verification.
• Huang Xiaowen left the casino with Squid Ball and Clumsy Bear, then waited for Raine to follow them outside.
• Raine offered to provide the chips for a gambling partnership and split the winnings, but Huang Xiaowen refused and continued walking.

Huang Xiaowen pretended to represent Karl Claude and convinced Raine, the Nautilus’s contact on Black Reef Island, that she had a thirty-million-Sea-Shell budget for rare Soul Artifacts and cursed items. Raine agreed to arrange their boarding when the Nautilus arrived the day after tomorrow, leaving Huang Xiaowen and her companions to hope Ling Chu would handle their invented budget.

• Huang Xiaowen claimed that she worked for the Golden Finger Gambling Ship, and Raine excitedly praised Karl Claude as his idol.
• Huang Xiaowen told Raine she was seeking Soul Artifacts and cursed items, and Raine revealed that he was the Nautilus’s contact on Black Reef Island.
• Huang Xiaowen claimed her boss had a thirty-million-Sea-Shell budget, and Raine promised to arrange a meeting with the Nautilus’s manager when the ship arrived.
• Raine said the Nautilus would arrive the day after tomorrow and stay for only one day, and Huang Xiaowen agreed to meet him at the docks.
• After Raine left, Huang Xiaowen admitted that she had no thirty million Sea Shells, and she and her companions left the problem for Ling Chu.

The group learned that the Nautilus would dock for only one day, so Ling Chu planned for them to help Wood Farm prepare supplies and reach the docks early. Huang Xiaowen tested her new Magician skill by mimicking the others’ abilities, and the chapter ended as Clumsy Bear was about to offer a strand of hair.

• Huang Xiaowen reported that informant Raine said the Nautilus’s stay in port had been shortened to one day.
• Ling Chu planned to visit the farm and help Jamie load vegetables before the Nautilus arrived.
• Huang Xiaowen returned her winnings to her own keeping after Ling Chu accepted only the original loan of five thousand Sea Shells.
• Huang Xiaowen revealed Magician’s Perfect Mimicry and recorded Ling Chu’s Storm Arrow, Squid Ball’s Starlight Doppelgänger, and Lingering Wind and Fading Moon’s Herbal Identification.
• Huang Xiaowen recorded You Jiali’s Bat Transformation, then prepared to mimic Clumsy Bear’s skill.

Ling Chu and the Ghost Ship’s crew prepared for their plan to infiltrate the Nautilus when it returned to port, while Huang Xiaowen took on Karl Claude’s appearance. The chapter ended as the group set out to pose as farmers and a wealthy buyer.

• Huang Xiaowen recorded several random skills, including Two-handed Hammer Buff, and worried about her claim that Claude would spend thirty million Sea Shells on goods.
• Ling Chu assured Titch that Lucas’s head would be left for the skeletons after the crew boarded the Nautilus.
• The crew stocked potions, memorized Ella’s ship map, rehearsed their identities, and prepared vegetables for Jamie to deliver to the docks.
• When the Nautilus’s return day arrived, Ling Chu, Lingering Wind and Fading Moon, and You Jiali disguised themselves as Wood Farm laborers.
• Huang Xiaowen rejected Clumsy Bear as Claude’s impersonator and used a potion to transform her own face into Karl Claude’s.

Ling Chu and her companions prepared a dockside infiltration as the Nautilus arrived, while Huang Xiaowen disguised herself as Karl Claude and approached the ship with Raine. Raine’s introduction got Huang Xiaowen, Squid Ball, and Clumsy Bear past the guards, and the three boarded the Nautilus.

• Huang Xiaowen, Squid Ball, and Clumsy Bear adopted disguises while Ling Chu and the others posed as farm workers delivering goods to the docks.
• Jamie’s family brought the cargo to Dock Thirteen, where Ella stayed behind and Mallon and his wife prepared to unload.
• The Nautilus arrived, and Ling Chu continued moving cargo while Raine met Huang Xiaowen and her companions.
• Raine recognized Huang Xiaowen as Karl Claude and led the disguised group to the Nautilus’s gangplank.
• The guards registered Huang Xiaowen, Squid Ball, and Clumsy Bear, then let them board the Nautilus.

Ling Chu and her companions boarded the Nautilus disguised as vegetable deliverers to investigate Ella’s infection. Ivy recognized their message and revealed that sick sailors had developed fish-like scales before disappearing.

• Jamie delivered Wood Farm’s produce list, and the purchasing manager assigned the goods to the ship’s cargo hold and Back Kitchen.
• You Jiali and Jamie carried preserved vegetables to Cargo Hold No. 2 while Ling Chu and Lingering Wind and Fading Moon delivered fresh vegetables to the Back Kitchen.
• Ivy found Ling Chu’s hidden note in a cabbage and brought her into a storeroom to speak privately.
• Ling Chu told Ivy that Ella had become infected after handling a bloodied box, and Ivy reacted with fear.
• Ivy told Ling Chu that several sailors had fallen ill, grown gray-white patches like fish scales, and then disappeared without anyone mentioning them again.

Ling Chu learned that suspicious black boxes came from the Nautilus’s restricted third level and planned to investigate it. She and Lingering Wind and Fading Moon disguised themselves as two kitchen assistants after knocking them unconscious, preparing to move through the ship unnoticed.

• Ivy told Ling Chu that the third level was restricted, guarded, and accessible only with keys held by Captain Lucas and First Mate Grande.
• Ivy recalled seeing Grande escort people carrying four heavy black boxes from the back of the cargo hold about two months earlier.
• Ivy offered to help Ling Chu reach the third level at night, when fewer guards were posted, and bring her to the kitchen workers’ break room first.
• Ling Chu called Lingering Wind and Fading Moon and two kitchen assistants into the utility room, then knocked the assistants unconscious.
• Lingering Wind and Fading Moon tied up the assistants, and Ling Chu and her companions drank Disguise Potions to take their appearances.