Graveyard Island

"All right, since none of you object, from today onward, our pirate crew is officially established. Our pirate crew will be called the Phantom Pirates." As Locke spoke, he picked up a flag from nearby and unfurled it.

A red skull was painted on the flag, with crossed guns and swords beneath it. Behind them was an identical but more ethereal skull pattern, hidden in the background.

"Pfft!" Carmen was thoroughly speechless as she watched Locke excitedly pull out the flag.

Ignoring Carmen's little mood, Locke showed the flag to the two of them, then happily hoisted it onto the mast.

After finishing all that, Locke came before them and loudly announced, "I hereby declare that the Phantom Pirates are officially established today!"

Seeing that neither of them reacted to his announcement, Locke could only say helplessly, "All right! Let me tell you about our next destination."

"Look!" As Locke spoke, he reached into his clothes and pulled out a small piece of parchment.

"What is that?" Carmen asked curiously.

Yun Zhinnan also stared curiously at the thing in Locke's hand.

"This was something I accidentally found in my father's study a long time ago. After studying it for a while, I discovered that it was actually a treasure map!" As Locke spoke, he slowly spread out the rolled-up parchment in his hand.

"A treasure map? I've never seen one before!" Carmen immediately leaned over as she looked at the parchment Locke had unfolded.

"Let me see!" Yun Zhinnan leaned over as well, directly squeezing Locke aside.

After the two looked at it for a while, Locke asked, "Well?"

"Can't understand it!" Carmen answered honestly, and Yun Zhinnan nodded as well, indicating that he could not understand it either.

"Damn it! If you can't understand it, why did you squeeze me out?" Locke sat down in exasperation and directly pushed the two aside.

Putting away the treasure map, Locke said to them, "Whether you can understand it or not, I've already studied this place. It's only five days away from here. Our next stop is there."

"Treasure... I wonder how much money's inside!" Hearing that the destination of their maiden voyage was where the treasure map pointed, Carmen eagerly anticipated the gold coins in the treasure.

"I don't mind. Just arrange it." Yun Zhinnan merely shrugged.

"Move it, lads! Full speed ahead for the treasure!" Seeing that the two agreed with his proposal, Locke stood up, pointed forward, and shouted.

"Pfft!" Carmen curled her lips and left for the kitchen.

Yun Zhinnan said nothing either and headed into the cabin, intending to study the ship and slowly compare it with the knowledge from his books, lest something happen later that he could not handle.

"Hey! What kind of attitude is that? I'm the captain, at least! Show me some respect!"

As if they had not heard him, the two walked away without looking back.

East Blue, an unknown sea region, on an unnamed island.

There were no signs of human habitation on the island, nor were there any trees. Not even a blade of grass could be seen. Countless gravestones stood across its surface. The weather around the island was also extremely strange: massive dark clouds hung overhead all year round. Even the sea breeze that occasionally swept past could not make them shift in the slightest.

At that moment, two voices unexpectedly came from beneath the island.

"Big Brother, when do you think we'll be able to leave this place?" asked a rather young voice.

"Fourth Brother, how many times have I told you not to suddenly speak like that? Don't you know it's scary?" a more mature voice reprimanded.

"So can I talk now?"

"You already are!"

"Oh! Big Brother, I just wanted to ask, when exactly can we leave this place? I miss home."

"I don't know either. We can only see whether Third Brother spots any passing ships on the sea today."

"But Big Brother, we've already been stuck on this island for over a month. If this keeps up, we'll run out of food."

"I want to leave too! But there aren't any ships!"

"Hmph! It's all A-Qiang's fault. Just to keep Big Brother from being with Sister Ruhua, he tricked us into coming here by saying this island had the most beautiful flowers in the world..."

"Enough, don't say any more. It's all Big Brother's fault. I made you and Third Brother suffer with me." The steady voice blamed himself.

"Big Brother, that's not what I meant!" the younger voice hurriedly said.

"All right! I know that's not what you meant! It's just that I feel guilty. I dragged you all into this because of my own affairs."

"Big Brother..." The younger voice was about to say something else when fierce sounds of fighting suddenly erupted outside.

"Roar!" Along with the sounds of combat came wave after wave of bear roars.

"Oh no, something happened to Third Brother." Hearing the bear's roar, the steady voice suddenly became anxious.

Following the direction indicated by the treasure map, Locke and the other two had sailed for five days and were about to arrive.

They could already make out the island ahead. But as he looked at the island shrouded in dark clouds, Locke had a feeling that this treasure hunt would not go so smoothly.

Before long, the Phantom arrived near the island.

Only after drawing close did Locke realize that there was not a single tree on the island. What had looked like bushes from afar turned out, up close, to be gravestones.

Looking at the scene before him, Locke took out the treasure map again. After examining it for a few moments, he confirmed that the island he was looking for was the one before him.

Although the island looked extremely eerie, Locke still wanted to go ashore and take a look. After all, this was his first adventure since setting sail. He could not possibly turn back just because the island looked a little strange.

"Zhinnan, drop anchor. We're preparing to land!" Having made his decision, Locke called to Yun Zhinnan.

Yun Zhinnan nodded and began slowly lowering the anchor.

"You two go ahead. I'm not going." Feeling the ship come to a stop, Carmen emerged from her room. After taking one look at the island, she spoke fearfully.

"Why?" Locke asked strangely. This was the pirate crew's first adventure. How could she not go?

"I'm a girl! How can you make me go onto such a terrifying island? What if there are zombies or something up there?" Hearing Locke's words, Carmen immediately shouted at him.

"This is our first time! It has commemorative meaning!"

"So what if it's the first time? Aren't there plenty more first times ahead?"

"But..."

"No buts! I said I'm not going, so I'm not going!" Carmen said firmly.