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On the small island within the crack of the Sea Beast cave, the first mate of the Sawshark forcefully pressed their captain's head into the seawater with his bulky hands.
Gurgle, gurgle~
This was usually a method of interrogation, but it was also the quickest way to calm down those who had gone mad.
Now, their captain needed to be calmed down.
The first mate pressed the captain's head into the seawater for a full minute before releasing him:
"Calm now?"
The Black-eyed Captain's head popped out of the water and he immediately said:
"No! That black blade is my beloved, I can't be without..."
Gurgle, gurgle—
Before he could finish, the first mate fiercely pushed the Black-eyed Captain's head back into the water.
"A blade can always be found again."
The first mate displayed an indifferent expression, it wasn't his knife after all.
If he wasn't sober yet, then it was time for another dunk in the seawater!
It was at this time, having finished checking the situation on the ship and dealing with the wounded, that little Raven came before the two men:
"One of the Sawshark's emergency boats is missing, he might have taken it and escaped..."
The first mate blinked, asking in a slightly puzzled whisper:
"Are you saying he really left the Sea Beast cave before us, boarded our ship and then took off with it?"
"Yes, though I find it hard to believe, that's the situation at the moment."
"How did he manage to do that?"
The first mate looked utterly bewildered.
"It's not impossible..."
Little Raven nudged her mask, looking like she had already grasped the entire picture of the event,
"While cases are extremely rare, certain special types of parasitic Sea Beasts can achieve long-term parasitism in humans, and some have even established perfect symbiotic relationships.
Have you heard of 'skin-walkers'? These belong to a more advanced type of parasitic Sea Beasts that can mimic humans for up to a month.
Although the parasitic Sea Beast used on him was not of this kind, we cannot dismiss the possibility of mutations.
After parasitism, his speed and strength increased rather than diminished, and the parasitic Sea Beast gave him a partial Sea Beast scent.
Hence, his chance of escaping in the Illusion was real."
This was the knowledge of a deep-sea researcher... Little Raven hooked the corner of her mouth with a scholar's pride.
The first mate sighed:
"A mutated Sea Beast, which means he really escaped with the Deep Sea Hunter's treasure."
Treasure!
At that moment, upon hearing these words, the Black-eyed Captain again lifted his head from the water:
"Pursue! Set sail now! We must catch him! He has my treasure..."
Gurgle! Gurgle!
Before he could finish, he was once again pushed under by the first mate:
"Pursue what! With everyone so badly injured, we need to rest and recover.
Besides, in this vast sea and after so much time, we have no idea which direction he went.
He might have been infected by the Sea Beast and already gone into the sea..."
Finding someone on the open sea was harder than one could imagine.
Moreover, in the legends, those parasitized by Sea Beasts eventually stepped into the sea and forever became part of it.
In other words, that parasitic Sea Beast might have caused Chen Qi to cast himself into the sea.
The first mate truly did not believe Chen Qi was still alive.
"Sea Beasts turn to water, if he couldn't rid himself of the parasitic Sea Beast's infection, then plunging into the sea would be his only outcome...
But if he did escape, then he must be gravely injured..."
Little Raven shook her head, rationality told her that Chen Qi wouldn't have a very good outcome.
But her emotions still believed that Chen Qi was still alive.
"No! No! He won't die!"
At that moment, the Black-eyed Captain suddenly lifted his head fiercely, both his emotions and logic convinced that Chen Qi was alive!
He roared loudly:
"That man is extraordinary, I believe in him! He has inherited the will of my black blade, he's sure to survive!"
"Humph, talking about inheriting wills now, are you two that close? Wasn't it you who foolishly gave him the knife..."
Little Raven's mouth curled up, mercilessly mocking, having completely forgotten the promise to find Gold Coin to help Chen Qi with the treasure chest monster.
At last, the captain, who always broke his promises, was getting his just deserts!
"Done for, captain, have you lost your mind..."
The first mate shook his head and pressed hard, submerging the captain's head back into the water.
The treasure they had finally laid eyes on had vanished into thin air, sending the captain into a troubled state of mind.
The first mate spoke to the Black-eyed Captain earnestly:
"Captain, you need to look at the problem from a different angle.
Don't focus on the fact that he's escaped, but rather that the Deep Sea Hunter's treasure has emerged from underneath the Blood Eye Wall of the Sea Beast cave!
Imagine the treasure chest has grown legs and made it to a safe place!
Do you remember the days we caught Mandrake? You can think of him as a Mandrake."
The Black-eyed Captain calmed down a bit in the water, then raised his head to speak:
"Yeah... Even if he has run off, this treasure is far easier to get than the chest behind the Wall of Blood Eyes.
Isn't this just like getting a new treasure map!"
The only worry is that once the news gets out, those above will sooner or later come looking for us, and then my treasure..."
Deluding oneself... Little Raven looked at these two people with utter speechlessness.
Way too naive!
They completely overlooked the possibility that Chen Qi might sell the treasure or be forced to hand it over to other pirates who had their eyes on him.
The first mate spoke again:
"Now, are you calm, Captain?"
The Black-eyed Captain nodded:
"Calm down. As long as we keep the news within our Black Whale Group, this treasure will sooner or later be mine... No!
It will be ours, The Sawshark's!"
On second thought, I should really thank him! Thank him for finding us a new 'treasure map'!"
Seeing the Black-eyed Captain deluding himself, Little Raven said:
"By the way, Captain, I have some good news and some bad news that I forgot to tell you. Which one do you want to hear first?"
The Black-eyed Captain shook the seawater from his head, his hair fluttering softly:
"The good news."
"According to our information, he grabbed some food from the restaurant before he ran away.
If he were completely controlled by the Sea Beast, he wouldn't have done that.
This indicates that he isn't completely under the Sea Beast's control and there's a possibility he might survive."
A chance of survival!
You see, if they want to find the treasure again, the whole premise is based on Chen Qi being alive!
Good news! The Black-eyed Captain's mood brightened as he flashed his shiny gold tooth:
"I believe in him too, he won't die so easily!
Now, what's the bad news?"
Little Raven snapped her fingers:
"Besides the food that was taken from the restaurant, another piece of evidence that he was somewhat lucid is...
You made up an excuse to delay this month's wages for ten sailors, and even added your own money to buy that limited edition fishing rod. That's gone too.
The Sea Beast wouldn't take a fishing rod, which shows that he was indeed somewhat lucid."
"My fishing rod..."
That was a high-end brand! I even used it to catch a twenty-pound fish last time! The Black-eyed Captain immediately felt his blood rush to his throat, wanting to find his knife and cut somebody...
My knife, where is my knife!? My blood is about to burst through my head—
Gurgle, gurgle—
The first mate reacted quickly and dunked the Captain's head in the water again,
"Cool off some more!"
"(⌓‿⌓)"
Ha ha ha ha... Little Raven struggled to cover her mouth and maintain the composure befitting her role as the ship's doctor.
Nicely done, my assistant!
She slowly turned around, stepping lightly toward the rocky shores by the sea.
The waves washed over her boots, and the sea breeze played with her hair.
Little Raven stood on a rock, her jet-black hair gently swaying with the wind.
She gazed blankly in the direction of the stern.
In the haze, she seemed to see Chen Qi dragging his feeble body, controlled by the parasitic Sea Beast, struggling to get into the ship's boat, and then embracing the sea, embracing freedom...
What a day full of events.
She never thought that someone could leave such a deep impression on her in just one day.
"How nice..."
She slightly lifted the raven mask stained with the blood of the Sea Beast, revealing her cute little face with a small scar.
Without this mask, her face just couldn't command respect from others.
As a child, Little Raven had fantasized about having a fierce face, but after trying a few things, she found the mask to be the most reliable.
As a ship's doctor and an undercover agent for three plus three years, Little Raven didn't care much about the treasures of the Deep Sea Hunter.
After all, it was unlikely such treasures would fall into her hands; at most it would get her two or three Gold Coins.
Therefore, she felt a faint joy and a hint of longing, a yearning for Chen Qi's escape...
It's rare to see someone who can sail freely on the open sea.
However, although their steamboat was of decent quality, the most important thing for a successful landing was still the weather.
"May the Sea Goddess look favorably upon us and keep the weather on the ocean calm."
Little Raven prayed, feeling the sea breeze.
At the moment she finished praying, a raindrop the size of a bean fell onto her eyeball.
Ouch!
Why... according to the navigator's report, it was supposed to be clear skies today.
She looked up.
A storm seemed to be coming...
And it didn't look like any simple storm.
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