Bring the Ship Alongside

Dawn continued to look her over with an undisguised gaze full of scrutiny and possessiveness, but his tone suddenly shifted:

"What can you do? Do you know medicine? Can you cook?"

To him, those two skills were urgently needed to maintain survival and combat strength on the voyage ahead, far more practical than romance.

Stella was stunned by the abrupt change of subject. Barely pulling herself free from her extreme embarrassment, she answered instinctively:

"I... I only know some simple cooking. As for medicine, I only know a few common emergency treatments used at sea..."

A flicker of surprise passed through Dawn's eyes. A talent in both fields? At the very least, that proved she had some foundation and aptitude in both. Still, words alone proved nothing.

"Fine. Go to the kitchen and make me something to eat."

Stella froze again. She had thought that after saying something like that, what came next would be...

She had even secretly prepared herself for the worst. Yet this man's way of thinking seemed completely beyond common sense. He was actually just asking her to... cook?

Seeing her standing there dumbly, Dawn's lips curved into a teasing smile.

"Why are you still standing there? Or do you want to fulfill a wife's duties first?"

"I'm going right now!"

Stella's face instantly reddened as though it might drip blood. Like a startled deer, she hurriedly fled the engine room and rushed toward the kitchen.

She had followed Dawn while he searched the cabins earlier, so she already had a rough understanding of the ship's layout.

The kitchen's food stores were fairly abundant. Stella took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Remembering Dawn's astonishing appetite at the restaurant, she gave it some thought and decided to make simple but filling grilled meat.

As for taking the chance to escape? The thought had barely crossed her mind before she rejected it. There was no lifeboat on this ship, and trying to swim away in the vast sea was no different from suicide.

Half an hour later, Stella returned to the engine room carrying a plate of fragrant grilled meat. The chunks were charred on the outside and tender within, cooked quite well. Dawn did not start eating immediately, though. Instead, he pushed the plate toward her.

"You eat first. I'm afraid it's poisoned."

Stella was momentarily speechless with anger, her ample chest rising and falling slightly.

"I would never do something so low!"

But faced with Dawn's unquestionable stare, she still angrily picked up a small piece, bit into it in front of him, chewed, and swallowed.

After confirming nothing was wrong, Dawn finally began devouring the food at an astonishing speed. Watching from the side, Stella silently cursed him.

"Choke to death, you suspicious bastard!"

After finishing the food, Dawn commented flatly, "It tastes alright. You'll be in charge of cooking from now on."

"Aren't you afraid I'll poison you next time?" Stella could not help asking. She was still bitter about having to taste-test the food.

"I'm not." Dawn wiped his mouth with a napkin, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

"At worst, I'll just make you eat first every time. If you want to die with me, go ahead and try."

That unreasonable, impossible-to-argue-with attitude left Stella speechless. She could only turn her head away and stop looking at him.

Dawn said nothing more. He focused on steering the ship, following the chart and sailing steadily toward the Calm Belt. In the engine room, only the steady roar of the steam engine remained, along with a subtle, tense silence spreading between them.

A month later, in waters near the Calm Belt.

The sky was gloomy, with dark clouds hanging low. The sea was a dull lead-gray, as though a torrential downpour might fall at any moment. An old-looking three-masted sailing ship cruised across the oppressive horizon.

On the bow deck, however, the atmosphere was completely different from the weather—wild and boisterous. More than twenty pirates of varying appearances, most of them scarred, surrounded a voluptuous, scantily clad female captain and noisily begged her for something.

The female captain was named Angelica. She had fiery red hair and an alluring face. She wore only a leather bikini that barely covered her vital areas, with an open captain's coat casually draped over it. Vast stretches of snowy skin and her impressive figure were openly exposed to the air.

She lounged lazily in a specially made reclining chair, enjoying the looks her subordinates cast her way—looks mixed with desire, awe, and flattery.

"Captain! It should be my turn tonight, right? I've been waiting in line for days!"

"Bullshit! It's obviously my turn! You only lasted a few minutes last time, and you've got the nerve to argue?"

"What did you say? Want to fight?"

"Come on! Who's afraid of who?"

The pirates' quarrel was unbearable to hear, filled with blatant lust. What they were fighting over was who had the right to climb into their beautiful captain's bed that night.

Angelica idly swirled the wineglass in her hand. She seemed long accustomed to her subordinates' bickering and even somewhat enjoyed being fought over. Yet deep in her eyes lay a trace of barely noticeable weariness and contempt.

She had been born with monstrous strength, but the price was an abnormally intense desire in that regard. Nearly all the men on the ship had been her lovers, used to satisfy her seemingly endless cravings. Their earlier argument had arisen from exactly that.

Now, listening to her subordinates fight over a single night with her, she felt an indescribable sense of irritation and emptiness welling up inside.

These silver-tipped wax spears, these useless bastards who surrender after a few minutes—are they even worth my time?

She sneered inwardly. Her gaze swept over the subordinates still immersed in their lustful fantasies, and an inexplicable anger quietly rose within her.

Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a figure silently scrubbing the deck in a corner. It was a little girl of about twelve. What stood out most was her unusually long nose, which made her already plain face seem even more awkward.

Without a second thought, Angelica grabbed the metal wine cup beside her and viciously hurled it over.

Bang!

"Ah!"

Caught off guard, the little girl was struck directly on the forehead. Her skin split open, and blood immediately streamed down her cheek.

"Devon! You idiot!"

"You're ugly enough already, and you don't even have the sense to read the room! Can't you see everyone's resting? Why are you cleaning at a time like this? Get out of my sight!"

Rather than showing any sympathy, the other pirates burst into loud laughter, as though they had just witnessed something entertaining.

The little girl named Catarina Devon endured the sharp pain and dizziness in her forehead. She hurriedly lowered her head and apologized in a voice so quiet it was nearly inaudible.

"Y-Yes... sorry, Captain..." She silently retreated into the shadows by the rail. Beneath her lowered face, however, her eyes gleamed with a cold, venomous light utterly unsuited to her age.

Angelica... and all of you who laugh at me... just wait. Once I have power, I'll cut off your heads and turn them into my most precious collection! I'll kill every woman in the world prettier than me too!

The seed of hatred took deep root in her heart and grew wildly.

Seeing Devon submit as meekly as usual, Angelica felt bored. Just as she was about to find some other amusement to vent her irritation, an excited voice came from the crow's nest atop the mast.

"Captain! There's a ship ahead! From its shape... it looks like a steamship!"

That shout instantly ignited the atmosphere on deck. Angelica abruptly sat up from her reclining chair, her full breasts heaving violently. She looked into the distance and indeed saw a black speck on the horizon. Its distinctive smokestack outline declared its steam-powered nature.

A steamship! Angelica knew exactly what one appearing in waters near the Calm Belt meant—either it was a merchant vessel engaged in interregional trade and loaded with riches;

or it belonged to someone from the underworld with powerful backing, engaged in smuggling;

or it was a Navy ship. But no matter which it was, it represented enormous wealth! Even if they could not seize any cargo, the ship itself would fetch an astronomical sum—whether dismantled and sold for scrap or resold whole—enough for them to live in luxury for a long time!

As for whether they could defeat whoever was aboard, she was not worried in the slightest. She was a great pirate with a bounty of 120 million. How could she possibly fail?

Greed instantly replaced the laziness and impatience in Angelica's eyes. She slammed her palm against the railing beside her, and the hand imbued with monstrous strength directly shattered the hardwood rail!

She licked her sexy red lips and shouted her command:

"Bring the ship alongside!"