Falling into the Trap

Although Chen Qiang was unfamiliar with many of the customs in this world of pirates, he knew it was impossible for a stranger to pick someone up from the sea and treat them this well without there being an underlying issue.

Since he had identified a problem, Chen Qiang naturally grew wary and began to inspect the room.

After searching the entire place, however, he found nothing amiss. There was nothing strange in the bathtub water, no signs of poison, and he could even smell the scent of disinfectant on the fresh clothes provided, which had clearly been brought over immediately after being sanitized.

This only deepened Chen Qiang's confusion, but despite his doubts, he truly needed a good bath. He took off the pants he had been wearing for two months, stepped into the tub, and thoroughly enjoyed the hot water.

After Chen Qiang finished bathing and put on the prepared clothes, he still found nothing wrong; there was no ambush or anything of the sort that he had anticipated while he was in the bath.

Yet, the more things went this way, the more confused Chen Qiang became, unable to fathom what the captain was thinking or why he would treat him with such kindness.

Chen Qiang couldn't wrap his head around it, and even when he was led by a sailor to the dining area and met Captain Gill, who was waiting there with a beaming smile to host him, he still couldn't figure it out.

"Captain Gill, I've had a question on my mind. I wonder if you could clear it up for me?"

Since he couldn't make sense of it, Chen Qiang decided to stop guessing. As the captain pulled him to the dining table and invited him to eat, Chen Qiang didn't rush to start, but instead spoke to Captain Gill.

"Oh? I wonder what the young man wants to ask? Have I been an inadequate host in some way?"

Hearing Chen Qiang's words, Captain Gill set down his utensils, and the smile on his face turned serious.

"No, it's just that I want to ask why you would treat a castaway like me so well! Not only did you provide hot water for a bath, but you also prepared such a large spread of delicious food. If you don't explain yourself, I truly cannot set my heart at ease!"

Without hesitation, Chen Qiang voiced his inner suspicions directly to the other man.

After all, Chen Qiang possessed an invincible cheat, so he wasn't afraid of them playing any tricks. Even if they turned hostile right now, Chen Qiang could quickly counterattack; he asked simply because he wanted an answer immediately and didn't want to keep guessing.

"So that's what you're worried about, young man! My fault, my fault—it was my oversight for not explaining the reason clearly, which led you to doubt me!"

Upon hearing Chen Qiang's question, the previously serious expression on Captain Gill's face broke into a smile once again as he apologized to Chen Qiang.

After speaking, Captain Gill reached into his clothes, pulled out a bounty poster from his breast pocket, and handed it to Chen Qiang.

"Take a look, young man. The person on this should be you, right?"

"It is me. Is there a problem?"

Taking the bounty poster from his hand, Chen Qiang saw his own photo at a glance. His expression shifted as he realized who it was; he initially thought the man wanted to capture him for the bounty, but he immediately reconsidered. If the man really wanted to capture him, he wouldn't be showing him this. Since he was showing it, he clearly had other intentions, so Chen Qiang looked at him with some confusion.

"Since you are our benefactor Chen Qiang, then there is no problem at all. Treating you well is the least we can do!"

"Benefactor?"

"Yes, you are the benefactor of our merchant ship."

Captain Gill nodded and began to tell his story. It turned out that when they were running trade routes at sea, they had been attacked by pirates and were saved by Ace, who happened to be passing by. They regarded Ace as their benefactor, and when Ace was publicly executed a few days ago, they had wanted to save him, but their strength was too low, and going would have been useless.

They had been watching the live broadcast near Sabaody, feeling heartbroken, but they never expected that before long, they would see Chen Qiang rescue Ace. This made them view him as the benefactor of their benefactor—which made him their benefactor as well. Now that they had met him, they naturally had to treat him well.

Listening to the story, it was told so vividly that it really seemed plausible. As the man told his tale, he was full of emotion, and tears even streamed from the corners of his eyes.

Although Chen Qiang still felt something was slightly off, the man had explained everything clearly, and it sounded quite reasonable, so he lowered his guard a little.

Furthermore, to show that they had no special schemes, Captain Gill ate a bit of everything on the table before inviting Chen Qiang to eat, which made Chen Qiang's suspicions fade even further.

To be honest, having been in this world for two months, this was the first time he had properly enjoyed a good meal, and the taste was truly excellent. This whetted Chen Qiang's appetite, and within just a few minutes, he had wiped the entire table clean.

"Whew! I'm stuffed!"

After quickly finishing all the food on the table, Chen Qiang contentedly rubbed his noticeably bulging stomach.

"Hahaha! As long as our benefactor is satisfied!"

Hearing Chen Qiang's satisfied remark, Captain Gill also said with a laugh.

"Ah~~~"

Chen Qiang had wanted to say something else, but for some reason, just after finishing his meal, he felt a wave of intense drowsiness wash over him. He said to Captain Gill with some embarrassment, "I don't know what's wrong—as soon as I'm full, the sleepiness hits me!"

"That's nothing! You've been drifting at sea for so long, you must not have rested well during this time. Now that you're full, you should naturally get a good sleep. You there, come quickly and take our benefactor to his room to rest!"

Captain Gill didn't mind Chen Qiang's words at all; instead, the smile on his face grew even wider as he beckoned to a sailor outside the room.

"Yes! Benefactor, please follow me!"

"Then I thank you again, Captain Gill!"

"Nonsense, it is we who should be thanking you for saving our benefactor Ace!"

After thanking Captain Gill, Chen Qiang didn't even hear the rest of what he said. Dazed and groggy, he followed the sailor who had come into the room and walked out, swaying as he went.

"Whew! Good thing I'm smart—I was almost found out!"

After Chen Qiang was led out of the room, Captain Gill, who had been all smiles, tugged at his sweat-soaked clothes and let out a huge sigh of relief, while hurriedly taking the antidote he had prepared in advance.

"Of course, our captain is so wise and powerful; how could this mere Chen Qiang possibly see through our great captain's perfect disguise!" At this moment, Barque appeared from somewhere, fawning over the captain.

"Exactly, exactly!"

The other high-ranking officers who had entered with Barque also nodded in agreement, their faces full of sycophantic smiles.

"Hmph! You've prepared for what comes next, right? Don't cause any trouble and let him escape, or we'll all be finished!"

Captain Gill nodded, clearly pleased by Barque's words, but thinking of Chen Qiang's strength, he still issued a stern warning.