In the early morning, the port of Thousand Streams Island was still asleep, shrouded in a gray haze.
The seawater rhythmically lapped against the pier, finally making the atmosphere less deathly still.
Is everything ready?
With a newly changed face, Qin Ze stood in front of the Flying Circus Man, watching the sailors bustling about.
The damage left on the ship yesterday has now been completely patched up.
The warehouse was filled with enough supplies to sustain the Circus Man at sea for several days.
Captain Hook patted his chest and assured him, "All taken care of."
The bow has been fitted with a new, rusty old-fashioned cannon, which Captain Hook found at the flea market on Thousand Streams Island.
According to the owner, this cannon has been through countless battles and has a distinguished record, having even participated in the war before the formation of the Pan-Alliance.
To avoid repeating the same mistake, Captain Hook test-fired two cannons, neither of which exploded, before he was able to safely load them onto the ship.
"Are we going to Steamed Bun Island?"
Qin Ze looked up and saw a somewhat weathered middle-aged man leaning against the railing on the ship in the next berth, scrutinizing them.
The man had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, the flickering embers resembling a wildfire spreading across the night.
I saw you guys working on it all afternoon yesterday.
"With all that hammering and moving, I reckon you're planning to go out to sea today."
"You all believe that Dragon King story too?"
After taking the last drag, the man casually tossed the cigarette butt into the sea.
Qin Ze said casually, "Just taking a stroll."
The man chuckled. "If I were twenty years younger, I'd definitely team up with someone to try my luck too. Give it a shot, and maybe you'll turn a bicycle into a motorcycle."
"But I'm not like I used to be, where I only had to worry about myself. Now I can only watch you take risks."
Qin Ze saw regret on the man's face.
Qin Ze: "On boring days, you have to find something to do."
The man nodded. "Your personality is pretty much to my liking. I'll treat you to drinks when you guys get back."
Qin Ze's face darkened. "Do you think it's a good idea to say that at this time?"
The man paused for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Hahaha! That's really inappropriate."
I'll buy you a drink right now.
As he spoke, the man tossed a bottle of wine over, which Qin Ze caught steadily.
"In the past few days, a total of twenty-two boats have set sail from here to Steamed Bun Island."
"Good luck, young people."
Qin Ze weighed the bottle in his hand. "Thank you for the wine."
After the final inspection was completed, Qin Ze the ship.
As the anchor chain slowly retracted, and with a long, drawn-out whistle, the Flying Circus Man departed from the harbor.
Captain Hook was very excited. "Cheer up, lads! The Dragon King's treasure is right in front of us!"
Giant Overlord stood next to Qin Ze: "Most of the information I received yesterday came from that guy."
Qin Ze looked at the man who had been standing on the deck watching them go, his expression calm and composed.
"A guy with an adventurous spirit who has to compromise with reality."
Soon, the Flying Circus Man sailed into the vast sea, and the Thousand Streams Island behind it disappeared from sight.
Qin Ze stepped into the driver's seat. "How much longer until we reach that Steamed Bun Island?"
Captain Hook, staring intently at the nautical chart, said seriously, "Before dark."
Qin Ze turned the nautical chart upside down. "Let's look at it again."
Captain Hook blushed and quickly put the map away.
"If I say I can get there before dark, then I definitely can."
"No unauthorized personnel allowed in the driver's cab. Go find somewhere cool to stay."
Qin Ze was pushed out of the driver's seat.
"If I don't see the island before dark, you can expect to be fish food in the sea."
After speaking through the door, Qin Ze casually found a cabin on the ship, intending to pass the time by cultivating.
Before leaving in the morning, he left a clone in the room.
With his clone handling the situation, no one knew that Qin Ze was currently adrift at sea.
To avoid encountering marine mammals, the underwater sonar was turned up to its maximum power.
Within a radius of 500 meters, the moment a sea monster peeks out, it will appear on the display screen in the cockpit.
Although Captain Hook hadn't quite figured out how to sail the ship after two or three months at sea, Qin Ze was still relatively at ease with Giant Overlord by his side.
After cultivating for a few seconds, Qin Ze opened the chat group and saw that the Taoist was complaining about the weather in Sea Capital.
[ Catch a Fox Spirit: I'm going crazy! When will the rain in Sea Capital stop?!]
[ On the Slacking on the Sidelines: I'm going crazy too! When will this snow in the Northern Territory stop?!]
[ Scholar: Suddenly, like a spring breeze overnight, thousands of pear trees burst into bloom]
[ Slacking on the Sidelines: So you're not actually in the Northern Territory? ]
[ Passerby A: By the way, why hasn't the Fairy posted anything today?]
[ Slacking on the Sidelines: @ Fairies Don't Poop, are you still alive?]
[ Fairies Don't Poop: I'm currently tearing sea monsters apart, I don't have time to deal with you.]
[ Beast Tamer: 6]
Qin Ze was somewhat surprised; the Fairy was also at sea.
Could it be...?
[ Passerby A: Are you craving sea monster meat?]
[ Fairies Don't Poop: What a load of rubbish]
[ Slacking on the Sidelines: You still have the same heavy tastes as always]
[ Fairies Don't Poop: Get lost! There's been a sea monster riot lately, they say the Dragon King is dead, so I've come out to find treasure.]
[ Passerby A: Huh? Dragon King?]
[ Slacking on the Sidelines: Are you an idiot? You actually believe something this ridiculous?]
[ Fairies Don't Poop: Fast Man, I'll definitely prepare a big gift for you when we meet again]
[ Catch a Fox Spirit: You didn't even invite me to the event? I'm practically rotting away in Sea Capital!]
[ Fairies Don't Poop: I just did this on a whim. Okay, I'll stop now. There's another big guy up ahead. I'm going to sneak up on him.]
Sure enough, the Fairy was also after the "Dragon King".
Given her unconventional personality, it's not surprising that she would do something like this.
I just don't know where she is now.
The Flying Circus Man then embarked on a long journey.
Fortunately, we didn't encounter any sea monsters along the way.
To Qin Ze's surprise, the ship remained perfectly still and didn't collide with anything.
Once inside the driver's seat, Qin Ze found the answer.
The one at the helm is Giant Overlord.
Captain Hook said angrily, "Don't you know that unauthorized personnel must knock before entering this place?"
Qin Ze ignored him and asked the Giant Overlord, "How much longer?"
The Giant Overlord glanced at the sea chart. "An hour or so."
bite--
At that moment, the sonar alarm suddenly went off.
The clone responsible for surveillance shouted, "Two sea monsters have appeared, they're very fast, and they're heading straight for us!"
"No, it's five... uh, ten, fifteen, now it's over twenty..."
"Damn it, come and see for yourselves."
The clone chose to simply give up.
Qin Ze walked to the sonar display screen and saw a large number of light spots flooding into the sonar's detection range, and their number was increasing rapidly.
Captain Hook cursed, "No wonder we had such a smooth journey, and then this came crashing down right away."
"Ready for battle!"
As the battle alarm sounded, each clone performed its assigned task.
Qin Ze braved the heavy rain to walk onto the deck. A hundred meters away, the sea was already boiling, with large patches of white foam and waves.
The sea monsters were densely packed together, forming a dark, overwhelming mass that sent chills down one's spine.