Linley wasn't entirely sure about the market value of pearls, but he guessed they were worth a lot. The pearl's round shape made him want to shoot it with a slingshot.
He told Pandora, "Don't cry, it's not your fault."
Pandora gently tugged at her hair and said, "Actually, I'm a designer, always thinking up new things. My dad always says I have crazy ideas. I even messed up the palace's magic array once..."
Cora interjected, "No wonder you were sent as a sacrifice to Zeus."
"Not at all! It's because I'm beautiful," Pandora replied confidently.
Everyone's eyes were on Pandora, but she wasn't the least bit embarrassed, as if saying "I'm beautiful" was completely natural. Even though Pandora was indeed very beautiful, Linley still found her statement a bit odd.
Was this a difference in species culture, or just a difference between land and sea cultures?
"You should get some rest first," Linley said, "We'll talk when you wake up."
"Okay, good night." Pandora replied.
It's not exactly night yet... Do they even follow a day-night schedule underwater? You wouldn't see sunlight down there, right? He remembered that at depths of tens of meters, you couldn't really see sunlight; day and night were the same—just dark. He wondered how deep Atlantis was.
If it was tens of meters, that would be fine; but if it was hundreds of meters, Linley might not be able to dive that deep because of the water pressure. If it was thousands of meters, it would be completely dark, and you wouldn't see a thing.
There's no telling if Pandora's body can withstand the pressure at depths of several thousand meters. After all, besides science, there was also magic and divine power in this world, maybe mermaids had innate skills to move in deep waters.
"Lord!" Cora's voice carried a hint of jealousy, "Stop looking, the mermaid princess is already asleep."
Linley came back to his senses and found that Pandora had completely disappeared beneath the water's surface. Although Pandora could breathe on land, she clearly preferred staying underwater.
"Lord Dionysus, you need to be careful, there are hardly any good things in the sea. You might not have much contact, but we fishermen encounter them often, and if you're not careful, you'll be caught and eaten!" Cora said.
"Encounter often?" Linley asked, "How often?"
"Once in every ten or twenty trips out to sea," Cora replied.
"Is it a single tail or two tails? It seems a single tail is a mermaid, and two tails are sirens," Linley said.
The Starbucks logo is a siren, so it has two tails, symbolizing the infinite allure and temptation of the siren's song.
"All the same, think about it, they all move around in the sea, they must meet often, so they are in cahoots," Cora said.
Meeting often doesn't necessarily mean being in cahoots, Linley thought, just like he often saw his boss before, but he and his boss weren't in cahoots.
"You should rest for a while too," Linley said.
He returned to his chair, closed his eyes, and entered the divine realm. He expertly turned the dial, watching the pointer slowly come to a stop, pointing to an icon that looked like a book.
"What is this?" Linley asked.
"This is a skill that makes you proficient in basic grape cultivation techniques," the system said.
"Grape cultivation techniques..." he muttered to himself.
"This is a very practical skill," the system explained.
"Alright," Linley accepted reluctantly. As the god of wine, his duties were simply to plant grapes, make wine, host banquets, and enjoy life's pleasures.
The god of wine was neither as powerful as Zeus and Ares, nor as wise as Athena. Although Linley inherited the position of the god of wine and was stronger than mortals, his power was insignificant compared to more powerful deities. Could he really stand against Holiness?
"There is a side quest, do you want to accept it?" the system asked.
"A side quest? What kind of side quest? Weren't the previous ones main quests?" Linley asked, puzzled.
"That's right, the previous ones were main quests and must be completed. Side quests can be chosen to accept or not," the system explained.
Building a temple as a main quest was reasonable, but making Pandora cry as a main quest was just absurd.
"What is the quest?" Linley asked.
"I can only tell you after you accept the quest," the system replied.
This system was really unreliable. Linley asked, "What happens if I don't accept it, and what if I accept but don't complete it?"
"If you don't accept, there will be no quest reward," the system said. "If you accept but don't complete it, there will be a penalty."
"What penalty?" Linley asked.
"You'll find out once you accept the quest," the system replied.
Even though the system seemed more and more unreliable, Linley's curiosity got the better of him, so he said, "Alright, I'll accept it."
"Side quest: Build a tunnel connecting the cave and the sea within three days. Reward: Follower - Captain Nemo. If you fail, one random attribute point will be deducted," the system announced.
"Captain?" Linley asked, "What kind of captain?"
"You'll know after you complete the quest," the system replied coldly.
Linley currently had no one under him capable of piloting a sea vessel. The fishermen could only pilot fishing boats, but untrained individuals piloting a sea vessel would be very dangerous. Fishing boats could only be used for fishing, not for transport, combat, or even escape. Their only advantage was that they were inconspicuous.
However, Linley couldn't stay on this small island forever. Whether for business, smuggling, or sea battles, he needed a large ship, and a large ship required someone who could pilot it. Since Nemo was called a captain, he should be able to pilot a large ship, right? You couldn't call someone who piloted a fishing boat a captain.
As for the penalty for failing the quest, if it deducted strength attributes, that would be fine since he had just gained them. But what if it deducted intelligence and made him a fool? Or if it deducted agility, making him slow to react, that would also make him clumsy.
He left the divine kingdom and found that the cave was still leaking water everywhere, and the pool was getting larger, submerging many grape seedlings. However, the grape seedlings didn't seem to mind and kept bubbling in the water.
Linley sensed that the vitality of the grape seedlings had not diminished, so he felt relieved and dived into the pool. The water in the pool was somewhat murky, carrying down the soil that had formed on the stone mountain with great difficulty. Perhaps this was why the island was so desolate.
The stones on the island were constantly weathered, growing moss and lichens, gradually accumulating organic matter, turning into soil, growing more vegetation, and eventually forming a forest.