"Who is it?" Luo De rose and walked to the door, asking as he opened it. When he saw who stood outside, he cried out in surprise, "Captain!"
Standing outside was Wells, captain of the Freedom.
"May I come in?" As sparing with words as ever, Wells looked at Luo De and spoke in his distinctive low voice.
"Yes, please come in, Captain!" Luo De hurriedly ushered Wells inside.
Only after Wells entered the room did Zhang Yao and Luo De notice Amelia, who had been hidden behind his imposing frame. Her eyes were red and swollen, her lips pursed in a pout. She looked sad, aggrieved, and thoroughly reluctant.
"There's something I'd like your help with," Wells said to Zhang Yao and Luo De, getting straight to the point once he was inside.
"What is it, Captain? Just say the word. If I can help, I will!" Luo De poured Wells and Amelia a cup of black tea each, then agreed without a second thought when he heard Wells's request.
"I'd like you to look after Amelia for a while. About two months." Wells glanced at Zhang Yao and Luo De and stated his request directly.
"Captain! Are you really going to take everyone into the Death Sea?" Luo De's face drained of color at Wells's request.
"Yes. Well? Can you help me?" Wells gave a slight nod and asked again.
"I... I..." Luo De opened his mouth several times, but whenever words of persuasion reached his lips, the sight of Wells's unyielding expression made him swallow them again. Having known Wells for years, Luo De understood that although he rarely spoke, once he made a decision, there was absolutely no changing it. Since Wells had decided, there was no point trying to dissuade him. They should deal with the immediate matter of Amelia first.
Luo De turned an inquiring gaze toward Zhang Yao. Since they were living together now, he naturally had to ask for Zhang Yao's opinion.
Zhang Yao turned to look at Wells, then nodded his agreement. He had little fondness for Amelia. Had she come alone, he would have refused without a second thought, whatever she asked of him. With Wells involved, however, he found it hard to refuse. Over the past month, Luo De had chattered in his ear every day about their captain's glorious deeds. Then there was the way Wells had made a special trip out just for him that night. Without realizing it, Zhang Yao had developed a liking for this taciturn captain, whose face was cold but whose heart was warm, and who always thought of others.
"Of course, Captain. Leave Amelia with us. You have nothing to worry about!" Seeing Zhang Yao nod, Luo De immediately thumped his chest and gave his word.
"Thank you." Wells murmured his thanks, then turned to Amelia. "Luo De and Zhang Yao will look after you for a while. Behave yourself, and don't cause trouble for either of them. Understand?"
"I understand, Brother!" Amelia lowered her head and answered softly and obediently. Clearly, she was still very afraid of her taciturn older brother. None of the bluster she had shown before Zhang Yao a month earlier remained.
"All right. Zhang Yao, Luo De, sorry for the trouble." Satisfied with Amelia's obedient manner, Wells nodded, apologized once more to Zhang Yao and Luo De for imposing on them, then rose and headed outside. At the doorway, he stopped without turning around and spoke as though to himself. "Amelia, be good and wait here with Zhang Yao and Luo De. Your brother will be back to pick you up soon!" With that, he strode away.
----------A dividing line for a brother's deep affection for his little sister----------
"Is she settled?" Watching Luo De gently close the bedroom door and retreat with great care, Zhang Yao could not help asking quietly.
"Whew, she finally fell asleep!" Luo De wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long breath.
After Wells left, Amelia had kept shedding tears, leaving Luo De so frantic that he scratched his ears and head, at a loss for what to do. Fortunately, Zhang Yao's cold remark-"Keep crying and I'll send you back"-had finally made her stop.
Her tears had stopped, but Amelia continued to sob silently, looking even more pitiful than when she had been crying aloud. Zhang Yao looked at Amelia, then glanced at Luo De before getting up and leaving the bedroom for the living room. Out of sight, out of mind. Poor Luo De, meanwhile, remained in the bedroom, endlessly comforting the heartbroken Amelia.
"Could you explain exactly what's going on?" Zhang Yao looked at Luo De and asked softly. Piecing together what had happened, he had already guessed a few things. Luo De's earlier mission to contact the Sea Wolf Pirates, the Death Sea mentioned tonight, and Wells entrusting his sister to the two of them-all these events seemed to revolve around a single central matter. What exactly was it? Zhang Yao's interest was stirred.
"Ah, well... I don't really know where to start..." Luo De sighed, then scratched his head, looking as though he faced a thousand tangled threads and had no idea which to pick up first.
Only after a long while did Luo De finally put his thoughts in order and begin telling Zhang Yao the story.
As it turned out, ten years earlier, Wells and Amelia's father, Carmel-the former captain of the Freedom-had obtained a treasure map supposedly showing where the Holy Light Empire's treasure was buried. Overjoyed, the old captain immediately gathered his crew and set sail aboard the Freedom to search for the legendary treasure. Yet once he left, no further word ever came from him. Some said he had died; others said he had found the treasure and flown off to distant lands. There were all sorts of stories, but no one could provide any reliable information.
Wells and his little sister Amelia kept waiting for their father to return. One day, two days... one month, two months... one year, two years... Yet each time, all their waiting brought them was disappointment. Finally, five years ago, the now-grown Wells reestablished the Free Pirates and swore to find his missing father.
While expanding his own forces, Wells also searched for news of his father. At last, perseverance rewarded the determined: in a dilapidated fishing village, he found an old sailor who had sailed with his father that year but turned back partway through the voyage. From the old sailor's account, Wells finally identified the stretch of sea where his father had disappeared. He immediately set sail for those waters to search for his father's whereabouts.
At this point, an indescribable fear appeared on Luo De's face. He lifted his black tea and took a large gulp to steady himself. Then he turned toward Zhang Yao with a seriousness he had never shown before. "Zhang Yao, do you know what we encountered?"
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