He couldn't repair ships at all

A burly man with glasses, around thirty years old, stood beside Xu Ran.

He held a wood saw, tapping it against his palm, his expression solemn.

Even with Xu Ran between them, everyone could sense the gravity of his expression.

Yan Qi explained quietly.

"That's Zhao Yuechuan, the Shipwright aboard Ye's ship. He used to work at a ship repair yard and has plenty of experience. He's the best Shipwright in our fleet..."

"Oh, adash, now that you're here, he isn't anymore."

"But Engineer Zhao is still very capable. He must be refining the repair plan!"

When Zhao Yuechuan heard the words "Engineer Zhao," the corner of his mouth twitched.

The Yaximu's hull had been breached. As the fleet's best Shipwright, he had been invited over to help by Xu Ran, who kept calling him "Brother Zhao."

But materials were scarce in the apocalypse, and none of the knowledge or little tricks he had learned before were of any use.

He couldn't seal off this flooding cabin.

Outsiders thought Engineer Zhao, with his glasses, had everything under control.

In reality, twenty-eight-year-old Engineer Zhao didn't know shit.

A moment later.

Xu Ran and Zhao Yuechuan exchanged a look, each seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes.

"Friends, let me introduce you. This adash is Qin Mao, our newest companion. He's also a Shipwright!"

Yan Qi introduced both sides.

Xu Ran and Zhao Yuechuan nodded in surprise.

Both had seen the Eerie Coconut outside the fleet.

They had known a newcomer would probably be joining, but not that he was a Shipwright.

The breach in the Yaximu was enormous. It had punched straight through the outer metal plating and pierced a cabin on the second deck.

The ship had nearly sunk at the time.

In the end, the fleet had found somewhere to anchor and sealed the hole with wooden planks.

Later, the water had burst through the patch and widened the hole, leaving them no choice but to seal off the entire cabin on all sides.

That had also thrown the ship off balance, preventing it from traveling at full speed.

Yet now, seawater was still seeping in.

It probably wouldn't be long before a storm, whirlpool, or something similar proved too much for the ship, causing it to break apart and sink.

That was why the two of them had already spent over a full day here studying the problem.

Neither had had any interest in going up on deck to watch the commotion, and they knew nothing about Qin Mao.

Under normal circumstances, as fellow Shipwrights with something in common, they would certainly have been interested in talking with him and discussing ship repairs.

But right now, they felt the ship's condition was urgent and had no desire to chat.

Nor did they think one more Shipwright could fix the ship.

"Captain Yan, prepare for the worst..."

Xu Ran stiffly forced the words out.

Yan Qi froze, then took a close look at the water seeping across the floor and immediately understood what he meant.

"The Yaximu is too dangerous. She's no longer fit for long voyages. I'm afraid you need to discuss moving everyone onto the other two ships as soon as possible."

Zhao Yuechuan offered the suggestion with an equally grim expression.

Then he explained the current situation to Yan Qi in detail.

The gist was that without materials and machinery, the ship couldn't be repaired, and the risk of her sinking or breaking apart was extremely high.

"It's all right, it's all right. Thank you both."

Yan Qi's expression dimmed, and he turned his hopeful gaze toward Qin Mao.

"Brother Qin Mao... this damage was from one bite by an Eight-Eyed Ice Weird Spider... Could you take a look and see if you can fix it?"

Qin Mao didn't decline. He nodded and stepped forward, tapping around with his claw hammer as he examined it carefully.

The damage was indeed pretty severe.

But his amateurish actions made Xu Ran and Zhao Yuechuan frown deeply.

"Captain Yan, I, Zhao Yuechuan, guarantee it on my years of experience working at a major shipyard: this ship absolutely cannot be repaired!"

"The immediate priority is to discuss arrangements for the people aboard with Captain Yang and Miss Ye."

"No matter how reluctant you are to part with this ship, you have to abandon her!"

Zhao Yuechuan spoke with absolute certainty.

"That's right, Captain Yan. Brother Zhao is right. We have to consider the safety of everyone aboard. We can't make do with this!"

"I... I'll swear on everything I learned in four years at university, too. The Yaximu really is completely wrecked!"

Xu Ran puffed out his cheeks as he chimed in.

Qin Mao glanced at them without a word.

Mere mortals, what did they know of the system's power!

He would slap them in the face with the truth in a moment!

Hearing their conclusions, Yan Qi felt uncertain as well.

But then he thought that Qin Mao was a Sequence Transcendent, after all. Surely he had some kind of ship-repair ability?

He was just about to explain that Qin Mao was a Transcendent.

Then a woman's shout came from the cabin passageway.

"Captain Yan, don't let Qin Mao fool you! He doesn't know how to repair ships at all!"

The crowd parted at her voice, and a beautiful woman squeezed through to stand at the front.

Yan Qi swallowed the words on his tongue and asked, "What did you say?"

He took a close look at the woman.

He had some impression of her. He had heard that her emotional intelligence and pretty looks made her quite popular aboard.

He had quite a good impression of her himself.

If he remembered correctly... she and Qin Mao had boarded together.

The two were very close companions, weren't they?

When they boarded, Qin Mao had even helped carry her bedroll and quilt onto the ship.

So he didn't interrupt her, instead continuing to ask, "What's going on?!"

"Captain Yan, you've been deceived!"

"Qin Mao!"

Su Miaomiao looked at Qin Mao with a pained expression.

"I never thought that even after the apocalypse, you still wouldn't give up your habit of scamming people!"

"You were locked up for a year for telecom fraud and only got out last year. Have you forgotten your promise to me that you wouldn't deceive people anymore?"

Qin Mao: Σ(°ロ°)?

What telecom fraud did I commit?

And when was I locked up? How come I didn't know about it myself?

The surrounding survivors pricked up their ears, ready to enjoy the drama.

Looking as though she couldn't bear to say it, Su Miaomiao revealed the truth.

"Captain Yan, Qin Mao studied liberal arts at university. It had absolutely nothing to do with ships. He doesn't know how to repair them at all!"

Qin Mao was speechless.

He hadn't even had time to settle things with Su Miaomiao, and the woman had already jumped out to bark at him.

"Do I have to tell you what I can do?" he said coldly.

"Qin Mao, I know you nearly died trying to save me, but you don't have to take it out on me, much less deceive people! Do you think pretending to be a Shipwright and gaining status aboard will make me see you differently?"

"We dated for seven or eight years. How could I not know whether you can repair ships?"

"Whoa-"

The crowd broke into discussion.

Qin Mao had only just officially joined the fleet. Only Yang Fan, Ye Xuanyin, and Yan Qi knew he was a Transcendent.

The news hadn't had time to spread.

After Su Miaomiao's heartfelt speech, everyone immediately believed most of it.

In everyone's minds appeared the image of a brazen, incorrigible fraudster and a virtuous girlfriend whose heart he had broken.

They all began viewing Qin Mao with hostility.

"Pah! Scum! No wonder Miss Su got together with Young Master Zhou Hao. She should've dumped trash like him ages ago!"

"Miss Su actually waited for him to get out of prison. What a devoted woman!"

"Engineer Xu and Engineer Zhao both said it couldn't be repaired, yet he still wants to show off. He really thinks he's somebody!"

Comments came from all around.

Even Xu Ran and Zhao Yuechuan, who already distrusted Qin Mao, looked even more suspicious, their brows deeply furrowed.

"Kid, this ship can't be repaired. Stop causing trouble, or Miss Ye won't mind tossing you overboard to feed the fish."

Zhao Yuechuan spoke coldly.

Su Miaomiao was delighted inwardly. As long as she could create a rift between Qin Mao and these people, making them wary of one another and leaving him distrusted, his movements would be restricted.

It would be best if he were driven out of the fleet!

The crowd's suspicions were growing stronger by the moment.

Just then, Qin Mao looked up and swept his gaze around. At some point, Yang Fan and Ye Xuanyin had also entered the passageway.

Neither showed the slightest intention of speaking up for Qin Mao.

Instead, they folded their arms and openly watched the show.

If he couldn't even handle a situation like this, they would have to reconsider this newcomer's value.

"What if I say I can repair it?"

Facing everyone's condemnation, Qin Mao showed no fear.

He lunged forward and slapped Su Miaomiao hard across the face.

The blow was heavy and powerful, instantly leaving a raised red handprint on her cheek.

Since she had come running to him, he would collect a little interest first!

Ignoring the woman's sobbing and curses, Qin Mao casually shook his hand without sparing Su Miaomiao so much as a glance.

It was as though he had merely swatted away a fly.

Then his gaze swept over everyone in turn before fixing firmly on Zhao Yuechuan's face.

"Engineer Zhao, right?"

"If I fix it, can I toss you into the sea to feed the fish?"