The Ghost Ship Appears

Of course, things that leave you feeling lost are different.

The two stared at each other in silence for a moment, then Joe couldn't help but murmur softly:

How could things have turned out this way?

Yes, how could things have turned out this way...? Tego Lorry was equally baffled.

He knew that the original body didn't want Joe's investigation to go too smoothly, but he didn't expect that what was hindering this matter was actually the original body's casual action a long time ago.

The air was silent for a few seconds. Qiao took a deep breath and pondered:

"This adventurer team has a very good reputation. They are said to be devout Believer of the Goddess and maintain good relationships with many clergy."

"That's precisely why I chose to hire them. How could they have been arrested by the Church of Storms and the Military as Believer of Evil God?"

As he spoke, he suddenly lowered his voice and explained:

"I heard from the person who introduced us that some of them, like you, possess powers beyond those of ordinary people. I guess that might be the reason."

"Let's go back to the Oak Inn first, and try to find out later."

"If we confirm they're alright, we can arrange for a few of the Goddess's Believer to go to Her Church and seek help as paid clients. Otherwise, we can only try to bribe one or two Military personnel to see if we can meet with them privately for questioning."

"If all else fails, hire other adventurers to reinvestigate."

What do you think?

Tego Lorry hesitated for a second before replying, "I'm a bodyguard, not a consultant. My job is to protect your safety, not to offer advice."

Joe smiled and said:

This is not a suggestion.

"I just want to hear your opinion."

Having said that, Tego Lorry didn't continue to refuse. After thinking for a moment, he said, "From a personal perspective, I think this consideration is very thorough."

"Of course, ultimately the decision still rests with you; you are the employer."

Joe nodded slightly, said nothing more, and walked towards the Newsboy loitering not far away, buying several copies of the local Newspaper with the largest circulation from him.

Since the investigation has been temporarily suspended due to force majeure, he has no choice but to spend his time and energy on another task.

Ideally, I should find a suitable business for the boss before the results of the former (presumably referring to a previous advertisement) come out... Joe thought to himself as he flipped through the dazzling array of advertisements.

The night was as dark as ink.

The "Golden Dream" cruise ship moved slowly forward in the gentle breeze.

Looking up at the stars, "Flames" Danitz exhaled forcefully, handed the helm to his subordinate, and pulled up his hood to begin his routine patrol.

He was about to leave, having enthusiastically kissed the backsides of a few dozing men with his Leather Boots, when he was suddenly stopped by his Pirate crew:

"Boss, can we really find the Ghost Ship of the Solomon Empire?"

Danitz coughed and said:

"Certainly!

"Don't you trust the captain?"

"We trust the captain, but..." another Pirate interjected, his tone tinged with bewilderment, "We've been lingering in these waters for the past two weeks."

"We didn't encounter a single Ghost Ship, not even Pirate ship, let alone a ghost ship."

Before the words were even finished, someone else chimed in. "Yeah, isn't this just a waste of time? We might as well abandon the Ghost Ship and search for other treasures instead."

"Alright, enough of that," Danitz hissed. "Instead of complaining, you'd better keep your eyes peeled and watch your surroundings."

This is the first exploration mission of the year.

"If you encounter Ghost Ship but miss it because of your carelessness, humph... be prepared to clean the Washroom for the rest of your lives."

"There's no way I'm letting you off the ship."

"If that's the case, the captain won't let you off easily... At worst, we'll both clean the toilets..." the first Pirate muttered under his breath.

"Dogshit... "Danitz's expression changed slightly, and he kicked it in annoyance.

But the other party was already prepared when he opened his mouth. As soon as he made a move to lift his foot, the other party jumped and dodged to the side.

The Pirate burst into laughter upon seeing this.

"Boss, we heard that Griffin and Mia are getting together, is it true?" A Pirate looked around furtively and asked in a low voice.

"What's it to you? Get to work!" Danitz glared at the guy who was cursing him for scrubbing the toilet, then turned and walked to the other side of the deck.

"Dogshit... I'll be washing decks and scrubbing toilets later..." he thought, striding away, his thoughts drifting back to his subordinates' complaints. They were unaware of the situation, but Danitz and the other higher-ups knew.

This exploration had little to do with the captain.

Is that Jodson guy—no, this piece of Dogshit —reliable at all...? We've been drinking sea air for half a month and haven't even seen a single Ghost Ship...

He muttered something about someone to himself as he sighed silently.

At that moment, a tremendous force came from beneath my feet.

Danitz stumbled, quickly regained his balance, and strode towards the nearest Sailor, shouting, "What just happened?"

"Did it run aground, or encounter an underwater current?"

The Sailor grumbled as he climbed up from the deck, shaking his head at his Boss: "It shouldn't be. The navigator said this area is safe."

Their first Sailor Chief and navigator was an expert in sea routes.

After saying that, he scratched his head and guessed:

"Could a large sea monster be trying to overturn our hunting?"

What kind of sea monster would be so huge to be confident it could capsize the "Golden Dream"? Just as Danitz was about to voice his thoughts, his Spirituality unexpectedly began to warn him. He suddenly felt an extremely dangerous feeling, and suppressing his tension and horror, he turned around sharply and saw that fog had suddenly rolled in nearby.

After a few seconds of silence, Danitz's narrowed eyes suddenly widened.

The ancient figurehead pierced the gray-white Curtain, its menacing appearance exposed to all the crew members on deck.

Then, the ship emerged from the fog.

Danitz was then able to see the whole picture: behind the stone figurehead was a three-railed sailing ship about a hundred meters long, with an ancient design.

Its entire body is black, even the sails fluttering at the top of the mast are black. The material it is made of is not visible; it looks like natural wood, dried asphalt, or polished obsidian, giving people a sense of mystery and fear.

The deck was deserted.

On both sides of the ship, the number of cannons is either single or double.

The captain once said that the Solomon Empire's greatest style is asymmetry... This is the Ghost Ship we've been searching for all this time!

Danitz's heart skipped a beat, and he dashed toward the captain's cabin as fast as he could.

"Captain!

"We've found the ship!"

Three minutes later, all the crew members appeared on the deck.

Watching the black sailboat immediately turn around and speed away, about to re-enter the thick fog, a Pirate couldn't help but curse:

"Dogshit! This ship actually knows how to run away?"

"No wonder we couldn't find it!"

Upon hearing this, Lorry gave Danitz a strange look; his intuition told him that the Pirate who spoke must be one of the Fourth Sailor-in-Charge's subordinates.

Sure enough, under the scrutiny of many eyes, Danitz's face quickly flushed red, and he glared fiercely at the guy who had embarrassed him:

"Shut up!

"You're spewing profanities. Can't you have any manners? We're cultured treasure Hunter with aspirations, not real Pirate."

After reprimanding his subordinates, he coughed, giving his friends no chance to tease him, and abruptly changed the subject:

"Captain, what do we do now?"

"The ' Golden Dream ' doesn't seem to be as fast as this Ghost Ship. Once it's completely hidden in the fog, it'll probably be even harder to find next time." Normally, his clumsy methods wouldn't work, but now that the treasure they'd been searching for for days was right in front of them, no one cared about such a trivial matter.

"How about we give it a ' Purification Cannon ' and see?" someone suggested.

"No, that's too reckless. What if it causes bad consequences?" First Mate Bru Wall glanced at Orpheus, who had spoken, and rejected his suggestion, offering his own opinion, "I think we should use the ' Wind-blessed Sail ' to catch up with it first and then use the grappling hook to board it."

"Vice Admiral Iceberg" Edwina frowned slightly, seemingly hesitant.

Then, she looked at Lorry:

Third Mate, which method do you agree with?

Under the gazes of the captain, the First Mate mate, the second mate, several Sailor Chief, and nearby Pirate, Lorry smiled and shook his head.

"No need for such a big fuss. Give me a minute, and I can handle it."

"What you need to do now is to quickly decide who will explore the Ghost Ship and who will remain on the ' Golden Dream '."

After speaking, he looked at the "Vice Admiral Iceberg," who nodded slightly with a hint of hesitation in her eyes, then turned and walked quickly toward her room.

There were many people on the deck.

He could trust "Vice Admiral Iceberg," but he couldn't trust the Pirate under her command; otherwise, the story of the key would never have spread. First Mate Bru Wall, Second Orpheus, Danitz, and the others exchanged glances, all seeing deep doubt on each other's faces.

At this moment, almost the same thought arose in their minds:

"This guy, who stinks even more than canned wolffish, likes to put on airs in front of the captain, but he's generally trustworthy."

He wouldn't joke at a time like this.

"But the problem is, how do you do this? It's not the same as using a ' Teleportation ' Charm to get rid of the ' King of Immortality '!"

Since encountering the "Death Announcer," the crew of the "Golden Dream" have been almost constantly adrift at sea. Even when they occasionally disembark, it's only to purchase food, alcohol, and fresh water. They have no access to information about the outside world, and even when they hear rumors, they mostly remain shrouded in the Fog Sea.

Therefore, apart from "Vice Admiral Iceberg" Edwina who knew a little about the situation at the time, the others knew absolutely nothing.

Edwina pursed her lips slightly, took out a conch-shaped Charm from her pocket, but did not rush to put it in front of her mouth. Instead, she looked up at the mist in front of her and the increasingly blurry outline of the Ghost Ship.

Her eyes flickered slightly, a hint of anticipation and curiosity rising within her, eager to know how Lorry intended to resolve this matter.