The Bonding Ritual Was Complete

Qin Mao searched and searched but found no situation suited to his talents.

But through the previous two judgments, he had discovered some of [Just Verdict]'s rules.

As long as the judgment was generally fair and both parties to the dispute verbally accepted it, the gun's bonding ritual would recognize the judgment.

He rubbed his chin, pondering.

Nothing in the world was without loopholes. Even legal codes passed down for thousands of years and code written by countless elite professionals had flaws to find and loopholes to exploit.

Let alone a mere gun born so recently that it could not even babble?

As he thought, his gaze wandered.

When his eyes landed on the two bratty children from the beginning, inspiration flashed through his mind.

A rotten idea immediately sprang up.

Meanwhile, aboard the [Yaximu], after Qin Mao had taught them a harsh lesson, the young couple had accepted reality.

In the past, an official one rank above you could crush you; now, whoever had the bigger fists was in the right.

Forget it. Hadn't they just taken a couple of slaps? At least they were still alive.

The couple huddled in a corner of the deck, each holding one child, determined to teach them a proper lesson.

The world had changed. They had to keep their heads down and could not let the children get them into trouble again.

Then they saw that devil walking over again, smiling and carrying a cup of water.

"M-Mr. Qin, we're disciplining the children. They weren't making any noise..." The woman kept shrinking back in fear.

"Brother Qin, please spare us. We'll go straight back to our cabin and stay out of your sight..."

The man also pleaded ingratiatingly.

The corner of Qin Mao's mouth stiffened, and he frowned.

"What, do I look that much like a bad guy?"

"No, no, not at all. You're a good-"

"Enough." Qin Mao cut off their explanations and looked at the two children.

"I just thought the kids must be thirsty after running around for so long, so I came to play a game with them."

"Another game?!"

The four exchanged glances, not understanding what this devil was up to.

"Yes, just a game!"

He nodded earnestly and lifted the large cup of water in his hand.

"Rock-paper-scissors again. Whoever wins gets this cup of water."

"It's... that simple?"

The man and woman looked at each other, unable to believe such good fortune could land in their family's lap.

After all, the weather at sea was unpredictable, and the bottled water aboard had to be saved for emergencies.

There was very little freshwater available each day, and people obtained it in all sorts of ways.

Those with collectors used their own freshwater collectors; those good with their hands found materials and made a Simple Freshwater Collector themselves.

Those without materials could only wait for the ship's solar freshwater collectors to collect freshwater, which was heated to a boil and then distributed to everyone.

And Simple Freshwater Collectors depended heavily on stable conditions. Not only were they inefficient, but sometimes fish bit holes in them or sea winds blew them away.

As a result, each person's daily freshwater ration was small, barely enough to keep them from dying of thirst, let alone wash their hair or bathe.

At the sight of that large cup of freshwater, both adults and both children began breathing faster, greed in their eyes.

But remembering what Qin Mao was like, they were worried again.

"You'll really give it to us?"

"Yep, guaranteed. It's yours."

Qin Mao gave them his most sincere smile.

At their parents' urging, Red Scarf and Black Shirt agreed to the game despite their fear of Qin Mao.

"Rock, paper, scissors-"

"Rock-"

"Rock-"

A tie.

"Scissors-"

"Scissors-"

Another tie.

Qin Mao was a little displeased. Are you fucking putting on an act for me?

Noticing Qin Mao's sour expression, the man grew nervous and tugged Red Scarf before they threw again.

Black Shirt: "Scissors!"

Red Scarf froze for a moment when his father tugged him. He had intended to throw scissors, but his train of thought was interrupted, and he stuck out a fist before he could make his move.

"R-rock?" He blinked and said it weakly, unable to believe he had won.

"Yay! I won! The water's mine!"

Red Scarf cried out happily.

Anxious and excited, the two adults cautiously checked Qin Mao's expression.

"Yes, you won. The water is yours."

Qin Mao smiled fondly and handed over the water.

"Little guy, was my judgment fair?"

"Fair! Thank you, big brother!"

Red Scarf hurriedly thanked him.

Black Shirt pouted, but under his father's warning gaze, he ultimately did not dare make a fuss and nodded miserably too.

"F-fair..."

Judgment complete!

The next moment, [Just Verdict] reluctantly completed its bonding ritual.

Qin Mao slipped his hand inside his clothes and gripped the gun's stock tightly.

He had a powerful feeling that this gun... now belonged to him completely!

He could pull the trigger and fire bone bullets at any moment!

If it had merely been a cold, lifeless object before, now that object had come alive, as though it had breath and a heartbeat.

Beside him.

Red Scarf excitedly took the cup, eager to pour the water into his mouth, but before his lips even reached the rim, his parents stopped him in displeasure.

"Lele! As the older brother, you should let your younger brother go first!"

Red Scarf's smile froze, as though he had turned to stone.

"Why are you so inconsiderate? Let your little brother drink first!"

"Honestly, you don't act like an older brother at all!"

The woman began complaining nonstop.

At the same time, without another thought, she snatched the cup from Red Scarf's hands and gave it to Black Shirt.

"Drink up, baby! Give it to your big brother when you can't drink any more!"

Red Scarf lowered his head dejectedly, a flash of deep malice passing through his eyes.

Black Shirt gave Red Scarf a smug, boastful look, like a proud general who had won a battle.

"Hmph!"

First, he made a face at Red Scarf, then tipped his head back, raised the cup, and brought it to his mouth.

He gulped down a huge mouthful.

The next second, he spat it all out.

"Pfft-"

"Mom! The water, this water..."

"Why are you wasting water? Do you know how precious water is now?!"

The woman angrily slapped her younger son on the head, took the cup with a pained look, and sipped a little herself.

Then she spat it out too.

"Pah, pah, pah! Why is it salty?! This is seawater!"

"Salty?!" Stunned, the man tasted some too.

The whole family turned their eyes toward Qin Mao, the corners of their mouths twitching slightly, angry but not daring to speak.

"Huh? What? Of course it's seawater. Freshwater is so precious now. Use your brains. Why would I give you freshwater for free?"

Qin Mao looked astonished, even more shocked and aggrieved than the family of four.

"I said water from the start, didn't I? When did I say freshwater? Even if it's seawater, I still went to all the trouble of scooping it out of the sea, you know..."

"You! Y-you, you..."

The woman trembled for a long while but could only get that one word out.

"What about me? I kindly gave you water. You're not thinking of cursing me, are you?" Qin Mao's tone turned hostile.

The family's hearts chilled. They forcibly swallowed their words and did not dare say another thing.

His goal had been achieved.

Qin Mao suppressed the excited urge to fire a blank into the sky. Not bothering with the family any longer, he left in high spirits.

The survivors watching nearby gloated at their misfortune while deciding that they would avoid dealing with this devil whenever possible.

He was far too unpredictable. They had to stay away!

Qin Mao headed happily toward the [Hope].

He had not forgotten what Yang Fan had just said, asking him to attend a meeting aboard the Hope.

Meanwhile, aboard the Eerie Coconut.

A little later.

While Qin Mao was away, a figure quietly slipped aboard.

The person watched covertly for a while, confirmed that no one had noticed him, then crept toward the mainmast.

Then he viciously slashed open his own wrist.

"Ah! It hurts! It hurts so much!"

"Fifteen days straight?... Heh, to live better, what's fifteen days!"

"I'm a Sequence Transcendent... I've got plenty of blood!"