Wang Tai lay comfortably on the deck, resting.
He thought about his deceased loved ones, about the Sequence Potion, about his life after becoming a Sequence Transcendent tomorrow.
Tomorrow, after taking the transcendent potion at the appointed time, he would be a true transcendent.
The gulf between him and ordinary people would be like that between immortals and mortals.
He would no longer have to be so cautious, no longer have to maintain a balance in everything...
No longer have to bow to a gun in everything he did!
The success rate?
Although a few people aboard doubted he could succeed, he, Wang Tai, had always been lucky.
Since he had made his decision, and the Diviner had performed a divination too, he ought to have absolute confidence in himself!
As these thoughts ran through his head, Wang Tai fell asleep on the deck.
The next day, he took out the Sequence Potion and drank it in the morning breeze, beneath the brilliant golden sun rising at dawn.
No uncanny transformation, no mutation, no instant death...
With his heaven-defying luck, he successfully seized that sliver of a chance at survival and awakened as a powerful Sequence Transcendent!
With his unparalleled transcendent abilities and the enormous wondrous ship built by the Shipwright, he rose swiftly.
He cut through wind and waves on the Azure Moon Sea.
He became a legend!
The Hope welcomed more like-minded transcendents aboard and carried more ordinary people struggling to survive.
He formed a "Hope Fleet" even stronger than it had been under Captain Chen.
They sailed in a mighty procession toward the Blood Moon Sea.
On the Blood Moon Sea, he personally defeated the culprit who had once nearly wiped out the Hope Fleet.
Watching the enemy transcendents' heads roll and their captain kneel at his feet, weeping bitterly.
He burst into laughter, thoroughly satisfied.
"Captain Chen, Miss Ye, old Mr. Zhang... I, Wang Tai, have avenged you today!"
Years later, he had become invincible on the Blood Moon Sea.
He had become its undisputed overlord.
He established the largest survivor base at sea, "Hope Base."
Hundreds of thousands of humans multiplied and carried on their legacy within the base, the flame of civilization burning eternally.
One day, while taking an afternoon nap, he felt a chilly draft over his body. It was rather cold.
"Boss, Boss..."
Someone called to him softly.
Wang Tai opened his eyes a crack and saw Zhang Qing, the lackey who had followed him for over ten years, holding a yellow robe and draping it over him with a fawning manner.
"Boss, it's getting cold. Put on another layer!"
The yellow robe gleamed with golden light, five-clawed golden dragons coiling around it.
"Hey! Hey, what are you doing! No, this isn't appropriate. You can't put that on me..."
Wang Tai squirmed, his aging face reddening as he made a show of refusing.
"...Boss, Boss, don't move. Let me cover you!"
The voice suddenly became much clearer.
Wang Tai's head cleared considerably too.
He opened his eyes, gazed at the disk of azure blood in the sky, and smelled the distinctive vegetal scent of Mulberry Stalk soup. After staring blankly for a long while, he slowly came to his senses.
It had been a dream.
He scrambled up from the deck and sat cross-legged, regaining his usual cold composure.
"What time is it?"
"Boss, it's five in the morning."
Holding a blanket, Zhang Qing answered obediently.
"Mm... It's dangerous on deck at night. Why haven't you gone to rest?"
"I was going to, but you sent First Mate Qin to get a blanket from the Captain's Quarters, and he still hadn't come out after ages. I remembered I had one nearby, so I brought it over for you first."
"Me? First Mate Qin? Getting a blanket?"
Wang Tai froze briefly, then quickly stood.
"When did I tell Qin Mao to get a blanket?!"
"Huh? You didn't...? That's what First Mate Qin told me..."
"The Captain's Quarters... Shit!"
An ominous premonition welled up in Wang Tai's heart.
Even now, he did not think Qin Mao would be interested in that bottle of Sequence Potion.
He only thought that greed for the other wondrous materials had gotten the better of him.
"That shouldn't be... I already made him first mate. That's practically giving him shares in the company. If he had a use for those wondrous materials, all he had to do was discuss it with me. Was betraying me really necessary?"
"Ungrateful bastard! I should have locked him up as forced labor from the start!"
He had heard of evil fleets imprisoning Shipwrights who disobeyed orders and tried to escape, working them like beasts of burden.
He felt the gun still at his waist, and his confidence immediately surged.
"A support Sequence with no combat ability... nothing to fear!"
The two hurried to the Captain's Quarters.
Seeing the door's lock intact, Wang Tai sighed in relief.
Even the key ring was hanging at his waist. Everything should be fine, right?
Perhaps he really was overthinking it.
He had Zhang Qing stand guard at the door.
He opened the door himself, went inside, closed it, then blocked the view with his body and opened the hidden compartment.
A large coconut lay quietly inside. Sensing a living person's presence, it opened its huge mouth and snapped wildly.
Aside from that, it was empty.
"Qin Mao! You motherfucker!"
Wang Tai roared in fury and stormed out.
After reaching the deck and sweeping his gaze around, he bellowed, "Who's seen Qin Mao!"
Most of the survivors had gone back to rest by then. Only a dozen or so remained on deck, chatting and playing little games. His roar frightened them into stopping.
A young woman timidly raised her hand.
"I... I just saw First Mate Qin go belowdecks."
Without a word, Wang Tai strode toward the entrance belowdecks, his face livid, and headed straight for the ammunition magazine.
Zhang Qing followed close behind.
When they reached the ammunition magazine, the two guards on duty were dozing off.
Seeing Boss Wang arrive for an inspection with a dark expression, they hurriedly snapped to attention in fright.
"B-Boss Wang... we weren't asleep..."
"Did Qin Mao come here just now?"
"Huh?"
The guard paused, then sighed in relief. So it wasn't an inspection. That had scared him to death.
"No, the two of us have been guarding this place the whole time. Not a single person has come tonight!"
Still uneasy, Wang Tai opened the door and went inside for a quick look.
Only after confirming that nothing was wrong did he come out.
"Keep guarding!"
"Yes, Boss!"
Thoroughly agitated now, he doubled back, intending to check Wang Tai's room.
As he passed a cabin, he suddenly noticed what seemed to be a figure in the shadows.
"Hmm?"
Wang Tai immediately stepped back, narrowing his eyes for a closer look while slowly moving his hand toward his waist.
"Who's there? Brother Qin?"
The figure shifted a couple of times, and a familiar laugh rang out. "Wang, you're awake?"
It was Qin Mao's voice.
Yet it sounded utterly different from the past few days.
If he had to describe it, the earlier "Brother Wang" had sounded like a new employee whose every sentence carried a hint of ingratiation.
The current "Wang," however, sounded as uninhibited as someone who had just signed his resignation notice.
Hearing that voice, Wang Tai ground his teeth in hatred.
"So it really was you, you little bastard! What the fuck have I ever done to wrong you!"
"They're just wondrous materials, aren't they? If you'd asked, would I have refused?" Though perhaps he would have.
But betrayal was what Wang Tai hated most in his life!
Those little shits fresh out of college whom his company had hired before-he had kindly provided employment opportunities and let them shine and contribute, yet just asking them to selflessly work some overtime, cursing them out a little, delaying their social insurance contributions by a few years, or paying their wages a dozen days late had them raising hell and filing lawsuits, as if they wanted to carve off his flesh and drink his blood!
"Wang... staying on your ship makes me fucking uncomfortable!"
Qin Mao clicked his tongue twice and sighed.
"I was going to say goodbye in person. You woke up pretty early."
"Uncomfortable? What kind of bullshit reason is that!"
Wang Tai was furious.
His company had once had plenty of talented people he had held high hopes for. After all the effort he put into training them, they had left with nothing more than "I'm uncomfortable here."
Qin Mao's words were practically rubbing salt into his wounds.
"Hand over the Sequence Potion, and I can pretend none of this happened tonight. You'll still be the Hope's first mate. I'll let bygones be bygones!"
He ground his teeth, pressing his palm against [Just Verdict].
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