The man had a head of hair that looked like a bird's nest, and a stubble beard.
The oil stains on the collar and cuffs of the clothes were jet black and shiny.
The sour smell of his body mixed with the smell of alcohol created a very pungent and unpleasant odor.
"Brother, did you just arrive on the island today?"
Seeing that Qin Ze ignored him, he asked again.
Qin Ze nodded.
The man sized Qin Ze up and down. "Judging from your attire, you must be a sailor on the ship, right?"
Qin Ze was getting really annoyed, so he casually replied, "Our ship was capsized by a sea monster on the way from Sea Capital."
He was pulled ashore by a passing maritime patrol team and his life was spared.
The bartender seemed to dislike men and deliberately moved to the side.
After scanning the area twice with his mental energy, Qin Ze didn't get any useful information and decided to head back home.
"Another sea monster attack."
"Looks like everyone gathered in this tavern is a bunch of unlucky bastards."
The man chuckled self-deprecatingly, then quickly changed the subject.
"Brother, aren't you curious why those sea monsters suddenly started acting strangely?"
Qin Ze glanced at him. "What does it have to do with me? I'm not a scholar."
"I only care about where there are many low-level sea monsters and when the price of sea monsters will rise."
"Whether someone's acting crazy or not is something those bespectacled Scholar should worry about."
Qin Ze portrayed a rough-and-tumble sailor perfectly.
The man grinned, his features scrunched up like a chrysanthemum that hadn't been properly wiped clean.
This factor can indeed affect the price of marine mammals.
Qin Ze said calmly, "Spit it out if you have something to say."
The man rubbed his hands together somewhat awkwardly. "My throat's a little dry."
Qin Ze snapped his fingers and said to the bartender, "A beer."
The bartender shook his head at Qin Ze, but Qin Ze didn't take it seriously.
"Liquor."
A moment later, the bartender pushed a large glass of beer in front of the man.
The man eagerly picked up his glass and downed most of it in one gulp.
Qin Ze: "Is your throat still dry?"
The man said shyly, "I quit."
Qin Ze tapped the table lightly with his right knuckle. "Then hurry up and put it down, I don't have that much time to waste on you."
The man cleared his throat and spoke mysteriously.
"The sea monsters are rebelling because they want to seize the throne of the Dragon King."
Qin Ze frowned, displeased, and said, "Do you think I'm an idiot?"
On the Local Area Network, the group of clones were laughing so hard they were doubled over.
"This is hilarious! They're telling a mythological story right here."
"To be honest, you're pretty stupid, believing even a drunkard."
"Good grief, they've come here to freeload!"
"How dare he try to take advantage of us! We'll put a sack over his head when we leave."
What color burlap sacks should we use?
"It's rainbow-colored, isn't it?"
"..."
Seeing Qin Ze's murderous glare, the man quickly waved his hand.
"What I'm about to say is all based on my own eyes."
"More than half a month ago, before the sea monsters started their rampage."
"Back then, I went out to sea on a ship to hunt sea creatures. Near Steamed Bun Island, guess what I saw?"
Seeing that Qin Ze had no intention of interacting with him, the man awkwardly finished the rest of his drink.
"I saw a dragon."
"To be precise, it was the corpse of a dragon."
"That dragon was nearly a thousand meters long, lying horizontally on the sea, surrounded by numerous sea beasts."
The man's pupils gradually dilated, and his hand holding the wine glass trembled slightly.
I felt both fear and a touch of excitement.
"I have never seen so many sea creatures together; there are at least several hundred of them."
"They were like they were holding a funeral, swimming around the dragon's corpse, and the nearby seawater was boiling along with it. It gave me the creeps."
It must be said that men have a real talent for storytelling.
His fluent speech, coupled with occasional gestures, brought the scene to life.
"Not long after, the sea beasts began to tear apart the dragon's corpse."
"Large amounts of dragon's blood were spilled, turning the water within a radius of several kilometers red."
A legend has always circulated at sea.
"Dragons are the rulers of the sea. The moment the old ruler falls, the new ruler will use its immense power to reclaim dominion over the ocean."
"Those sea monsters are dividing up the power of the previous ruler, hoping to become the new king."
At this point, the man cleared his throat, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.
Qin Ze gestured to the bartender to pour the man another beer.
The bartender sighed.
Seeing another full glass of beer, the man beamed with joy.
After taking a sip, he continued, "The funeral turned into a celebration for the living, but this celebration didn't last long."
A huge burst of dazzling light rose from the seabed.
"The light was so bright, it was like the sun had fallen down; it was impossible to look directly at it."
When I opened my eyes again, the sea beasts that had been tearing apart the dragon's corpse had already scattered and fled, and the light disappeared.
"The frenzied sea monsters soon began attacking our ship, and it sank. Luckily, I had gotten into a lifeboat beforehand and managed to escape the area alone, surviving."
The man's face was serious. "They're electing a new king. Attacking the ships is their way of building reputation and proving their strength."
After saying that, the man downed the rest of his drink in one gulp and licked his lips.
"We ran too fast back then, otherwise we would have gotten some dragon meat and tasted it."
Qin Ze remained silent.
A story riddled with flaws.
Qin Ze glanced at the drunken man, seemingly lost in thought.
" Wang Laoliu, you're making up stories again to trick people into drinking."
The sailor at the next table, who was embracing a young bunny girl, shouted loudly.
The man waved his hand. "Bullshit, how can something that's consensual be called deception?"
The sailor exhaled a smoke ring and chuckled, "I've heard at least five different versions of your story from you these past few nights."
"The day before yesterday you went out to sea alone to search for treasure, yesterday you chased sea monsters all the way to Steamed Bun Island, and today is a completely new version."
"You're wasting your talents being a sailor, you should be a storyteller."
Wang Laoliu suddenly stood up from the stool, his face flushed with anxiety.
"You... you're talking nonsense!"
"I saw the dragon corpse with my own eyes!"
"You guys don't know anything! If we could get our hands on the dragon's corpse, immense wealth would be nothing."
"The corpse of a Level Nine sea beast, if used properly, can easily help you break through two or three levels."
The sailor joked, "Look, he's getting anxious, Laoliu is getting anxious."
Half the tavern erupted in laughter, filling the room with a joyful atmosphere.
Wang Laoliu stomped his foot angrily and stormed out of the tavern.
With the fun over, everyone continued drinking.
"Sir, you've been scammed."
The bartender behind the counter said to Qin Ze while wiping the glasses.
" Wang Laoliu was pulled from the sea seven days ago; he was half-dead at the time."
"From then on, I came here every night to scam drinks from unfamiliar customers."
"It's always the same old routine, the dragon corpse light orb and all that."
Qin Ze finished the last of the wine in his glass and then placed a banknote on the table.
Truth and falsehood intertwined, falsehood and truth blurred.
"It's not bad to listen to as a story to enjoy with drinks."
Then, Qin Ze said in a deep voice on the Local Area Network:
"Follow them."