Spoils

"Now, it's just the two of us left here." Barus looked at the sperm whale's belly. At this moment, the smoke finally thinned, and with his excellent eyesight, he immediately noticed the difference there.

Previously, Jilan had caused a massive explosion in the belly of a whale. Although the details are unknown, Barus did witness it. A hole about half the size of a person was torn open, and a large amount of blood gushed out like a burst water pipe.

Although the sperm whale is still covered in blood and gore, the soft flesh on its abdomen is constantly wriggling and healing. No matter how much Barus is unwilling to believe it, there is no doubt that its wounds are regenerating.

In the dim light, Barus saw a white stone gleaming faintly at the wound. Its flashing frequency was the same as the sperm whale's breathing; with each breath, the white stone would flash once, and the wound was healing rapidly.

"So this is the Ambergris that Jilan was talking about? It seems it's the culprit that caused the whale to become this size. Well then, to alleviate your pain, let my treasure hunter retrieve it and make it my trophy!"

Barus wanted to take away the "Ambergris" that Isana relied on for survival, but Isana would not sit idly by. Both her subconscious and her survival instincts told her that she must not let this half-human, half-dragon thing get close to her!

Then, the sperm whale turned around and roared at Barus!

Leaving aside the battle over there, let's shift our focus to a corner of the deck.

Following Barus's instructions, Jilan left the battlefield. However, Jilan didn't go too far, remaining in the shadows to observe how things would unfold. When he saw Barus and Isana facing off, a smile appeared on his lips.

As expected, Isana will try to stop Barus's attack in order to protect its necessities for survival, while Barus needs to obtain Ambergris in order to calm the sperm whale down. Both sides are fighting for their own reasons, and at this moment, the one who benefits is the fisherman.

Of course, he wouldn't participate in their mythical battle; his spoils were...

"Sheer Heart Attack!"

Jilan gave a soft call, making a "whoosh" sound, and a chariot resembling Thomas the Tank Engine emerged from the mist and drove towards Jilan. The skull that made the sound mumbled indistinctly, as if something was preventing it from speaking.

"Master, the package has arrived. I accidentally took the item you asked me to bring."

"You're communicating with me telepathically, so how can having something in your mouth cause you to stutter?" Jilan gave a strange, wry smile, squatted down, and placed his hand at an angle, letting the chariot climb up his palm as if it were a ramp. "Thanks for your hard work this time, Sheer Heart Attack."

The skull didn't answer, but instead opened its mouth wide, separating its upper and lower jaws like a purse, revealing a glittering gem placed inside.

It's the size of a pigeon egg, with a beautiful pure white color, like the most precious diamond, radiating a soft glow that instantly attracts attention. If used as a diamond ring to propose to a woman, most people would probably not refuse.

This is Ambergris from the belly of a sperm whale, or more precisely, a small part of that Ambergris. Perhaps because the method of cutting it was very rough, its overall shape is very irregular, and some fragments have fallen off from just the corner of the skull that served as the storage space.

Just as Jilan reached into the skull's mouth and took the stone out, the skull eagerly spoke up, "Master, I've successfully completed your task! You should praise me!"

"Well done! You've done a great job this time. Without you, I might not have discovered this crucial intelligence." Jilan didn't hold back her praise, toying with the stone as she turned and walked towards the ship, her figure gradually disappearing. "Perhaps this thing can bring me one step closer to the truth."

The acquisition of Ambergris was certainly not accidental. Jilan had this idea when he learned from the Sheer Heart Attack that Ambergris was the tool to maintain Isana's transformation. Ambergris is formed by the solidification of the fluid inside the sperm whale. It seems stable, but its melting point is not high. It is often used as a fragrance in noble households. Therefore, as long as the Sheer Heart Attack explodes inside the sperm whale's narrow interior, the instantaneous high temperature will definitely cause a chemical reaction.

Jilan didn't remove her hand from the whale's skin, firstly to accurately pinpoint the explosion's location and maximize its power, and secondly to distract Barus from noticing a small toy car that had secretly slipped out from the sperm whale's belly.

The Sheer Heart Attack's resilience allowed it to remain unscathed even after taking a Jotaro Kujo from Jotaro Kujo. This time, even after completely withstanding the self-destruction inside its cramped interior, it was almost unharmed and even maintained a state of high alert. While Jilan was blasted away by the heat wave and Barus was unable to react to the sudden explosion, the Sheer Heart Attack picked up the largest fragment near its mouth and quietly left like a ghost.

When Jilan's fingers touched the Ambergris, he had a feeling that this fragment contained endless energy, like a spark within Spark. Jilan subconsciously used his Hamon to envelop it and began to analyze its internal energy structure. However, apart from being able to recognize that it contained endless life energy, Jilan was unable to let the power of the Hamon penetrate deep into the stone to sense it.

"Could it be a blood oath?" Jilan thought of the fantasy novels she had read in her previous life, and without hesitation, she pricked her finger and dripped a drop of blood onto the Ambergris. However, the blood did not blend in as if it had been dripped onto an ordinary stone; instead, it quietly slid off the surface.

"Does it mean I should eat it like Isana?" Jilan glanced at the irregular shape of the stone's surface, where the sharp points gleamed with a keen light, and immediately dismissed the idea.

"Forget it. What if my esophagus gets punctured, or what if this stuff gets inside and causes indigestion? My body isn't as strong as a sperm whale; it's quite fragile."

It seems that supernatural and superstitious methods are not feasible for now, so the next step is to use the power of science.

The Sheer Heart Attack has already been proven; high temperatures can melt its surface, but it cools rapidly once the heat is removed, just like metal. So, what about displacement reactions and Decomposition reactions? Jilan is now eager to conduct experiments!

However, Jilan doesn't know its exact melting point, nor can she guarantee what will happen when it reacts. Before finding a quiet and suitable place, Jilan decided to put the idea aside for the time being.

Oh right, Captain Barus told me he was going to report to the first mate, right? Well then, let's head to the captain's cabin.

"Second Bomb, defuse."

Jilan Jiyu ran their fingers across the skull on the chariot, and instantly, its burning pupils dimmed. Jilan put the Ambergris back into the skull's mouth, making its teeth close tightly like a zipper, using it as a storage space for the Ambergris. Then, she placed it back on the dial.

When Jilan arrived at the empty hall, the loudspeaker around the corner blared again, like a heartless, broken record. "Repeating, repeating, all passengers, please return to your cabins, put on your life jackets, and wait quietly. Our crew will ensure the safety of all passengers. Repeating, repeating."