Bring the Ship Alongside

Dawn continued to scrutinize her with an undisguised gaze full of appraisal and possessiveness, but his tone suddenly shifted:

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

To him, these two skills were urgently needed to sustain survival and combat strength during the voyage ahead, far more practical than romance.

Stella froze at the abrupt change of topic. She barely pulled herself out of her extreme embarrassment and answered instinctively:

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

A trace of surprise flashed through Dawn's eyes. A double talent? At the very least, this proved she had some foundation and aptitude in both areas. Still, talk was cheap.

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

Stella froze again. She had thought that after saying those things, 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 actually just wanted her... to cook?

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

"Why aren't you going? Or do you... want to fulfill a wife's duties first?"

"I'm going right now!"

Stella's face instantly reddened as though blood might drip from it. Like a startled deer, she hurriedly fled the engine room and ran 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 supplies were fairly abundant. Stella took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Remembering Dawn's astonishing appetite at the restaurant, she considered it briefly and decided to make some simple but filling roasted meat.

As for taking the opportunity to escape? The thought had barely crossed her mind before she rejected it. There were no lifeboats on this ship. Trying to swim away in the vast sea would be no different from suicide.

Half an hour later, Stella returned to the engine room carrying a platter of fragrant roasted meat. The outside was crisp while the inside remained tender, and the heat had been controlled quite well. Dawn, however, did not immediately start eating. Instead, he pushed the plate toward her.

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

Stella choked with anger, her ample chest rising and falling slightly.

"I would never do something so low!"

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

Only after confirming that nothing was wrong did Dawn begin to eat with astonishing speed, sweeping through the food like a whirlwind. Watching from the side, Stella silently cursed him.

"Hope you choke to death, you suspicious bastard!"

After finishing the food, Dawn calmly commented, "It tastes alright. You'll handle the cooking from now on."

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

"Not really." Dawn wiped his mouth with a napkin, his tone as casual as if discussing the weather.

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

Stella was left speechless by his unreasonable, impervious attitude. She could only turn her head away and stop looking at him.

Dawn said nothing more. He focused on steering the ship, following the sea chart as they sailed steadily toward the Calm Belt. The engine room was left with only the rhythmic roar of the steam engine and a subtle, tense silence spreading between them.

A month later, in the waters near the Calm Belt.

The sky was overcast, with dark clouds hanging low. The sea was a dull lead-gray, as if a downpour could fall at any moment. An old-looking three-masted sailing ship was making its way across the somewhat oppressive horizon.

Yet the atmosphere on the bow deck was entirely different from the weather, filled with crude clamor. More than twenty pirates of various appearances, most of them scarred, surrounded a curvaceous female captain dressed in extremely revealing clothes, noisily begging for something.

The female captain was named Angelica. She possessed flaming red hair and a seductive face.

She wore only a leather bikini that barely covered her vital areas, with an open captain's coat casually draped over it. Large stretches of snow-white skin and her proud figure were exposed to the air without the slightest restraint.

She lounged lazily in a specially made recliner, enjoying the gazes of desire, awe, and flattery from her subordinates.

"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 fight for it?"

"What did you say? Want to fight?"

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

The pirates' argument was unbearable to listen to, filled with blatant lust. The focus of their dispute was who had the right to climb into their beautiful captain's bed that night.

Angelica casually swirled the wine in her hand. She seemed long accustomed to her subordinates' bickering and even somewhat enjoyed the feeling of being fought over. Yet deep in her eyes lay a nearly imperceptible 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 once shared her bed, used to satisfy her seemingly endless cravings. Their earlier argument had arisen precisely because of this.

Now, listening to her subordinates quarrel over a single night with her, she felt an indescribable disgust and emptiness rise within her.

These silver spears with clay tips, these useless trash who surrender after only a few minutes, think they're worth wasting my time on?

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

Suddenly, the corner of her eye caught a figure silently scrubbing the deck in a corner. It was a little girl about twelve years old. The most striking thing about her was her abnormally long nose, which made her plain face seem even more awkward.

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

Bang!

"Ah!"

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

"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!"

The other pirates showed no sympathy at all. Instead, they burst into uproarious laughter, as if they had just witnessed something amusing.

The little girl named Catarina Devon endured the sharp pain and dizziness from her wounded forehead, quickly lowered her head, and apologized in a barely audible voice.

"S-Sorry, Captain..." She silently retreated into the shadow by the rail. Beneath her lowered face, her eyes gleamed with a venomous, chilling light utterly unsuited to her age.

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

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

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

"Captain! A ship ahead! Judging by its shape... it looks like a steamship!"

That cry instantly ignited the atmosphere on deck. Angelica shot up from her recliner, her ample chest heaving violently. She peered into the distance and indeed saw a black dot on the far horizon. The distinctive outline of its smokestack proclaimed its steam-powered nature.

A steamship! In waters near the Calm Belt, Angelica knew perfectly well what the appearance of such a vessel meant—either a merchant ship engaged in cross-sea trade and loaded with riches;

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

or the navy. But no matter which it was, it represented immense wealth! Even if they could not seize the cargo, the ship itself could be dismantled for scrap or sold off, earning them an astronomical sum that would let them live comfortably for a long time!

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

The greedy gleam in Angelica's eyes instantly replaced her laziness and impatience. She slammed her palm against the railing beside her. The hand infused with monstrous strength shattered the hardwood railing with a single blow!

She licked her sensual red lips and shouted her order.

"Bring the ship alongside!"