Hearing the sound, Chen Qing turned her head and noticed that the child she had rescued from the sea had woken up at some point; the child was now looking at her timidly.
Although she was young and not very good at disguising herself,
She had a pair of eyes as fierce as a little wolf, yet she acted timid and cowardly.
How could someone who had withstood the pursuit of the Black Blade Pirates group while heavily injured and adrift at sea for so long be a coward?
"Mm."
Chen Qing glanced at her and nodded briefly, acknowledging her with a simple sound, then continued to focus her attention on the seven locked chests.
These locks could be easily picked, and Chen Qing was quite looking forward to what she would find inside.
Little Wolf cubs found Chen Qing's response disconcerting, and she stood there, at a loss for what to do.
Three days ago, she had been nothing more than a lowly slave on Slave Island, but now…
She was still not accustomed to the change in her identity.
All her ferocity had been aimed at the scum on Slave Island and her own kind; facing someone like Chen Qing, she suddenly had the feeling of punching cotton.
"Gurgle—"
Before the little slave had time to figure out what to do, a loud rumble came from her stomach.
"There's food in the kitchen."
Chen Qing pried open one of the chests, which also revealed a thin piece of parchment, a compass needle, and a map.
[Profession Scroll·Navigator].
Profession Scroll?
Chen Qing's eyes darkened, and she quickly opened the other chests.
Without exception, these chests all contained Profession Scrolls and their corresponding items.
Navigator—compass and map, Doctor—medicine chest, Chef—kitchen utensils, Shipwright—toolbox, Fighter—weapon, Farmer—soil and a pack of seeds.
Poor sailors got nothing but a Profession Scroll.
Unfortunately, the Mechanic Profession Scroll that Chen Qing needed most was not there.
There were seven professions in total, and Chen Qing gazed at these Profession Scrolls, deep in thought; she had no plans to add more crew to her ship, so any one of these professions would be useful to her right now.
It was unclear how many professions a single person could hold.
Little Wolf, seeing Chen Qing squatting motionless at the side, sensibly took the bowl and chopsticks from the table to the kitchen to wash.
She needed something from Chen Qing.
Chen Qing didn't dwell on this matter too much. After putting away the Profession Scrolls and items in her room, she sat at the dining table on deck and began contacting potential buyers.
Having a private channel would make her next actions much more convenient.
She swiftly sent out invitations to the middlemen, asking them to pull in suitable customers.
As long as the price was right, Chen Qing would sell immediately.
After delegating the task of recruiting to Qing Xian and the others, Chen Qing turned her gaze back to Little Wolf.
Little Wolf's identity was tainted; Black Blade claimed she was worth thirty thousand goldfish.
How could an ordinary child be worth that much?
However, such a scrawny child couldn't be of very high status; even if she were, likelihood was she belonged to the shady side of things.
Sitting in the chair, Chen Qing began toying with her mechanical parts; the mechanical prosthetics used by the Black Blade Pirates' fighters were of poor quality but had enough lethality.
If that fighter had come across a common survivor instead of Chen Qing, the prosthetic alone could have killed someone with a kick.
Chen Qing intended to modify the Mechanical Prosthetics a bit, turning them into a wearable exoskeleton.
At the time, Chen Qing had targeted the key components in order to quickly dismantle the fighter's combat effectiveness, completely disassembling the prosthetic; now, it was a bit troublesome to reassemble.
Little Wolf fumbled around in the kitchen for a while, and by the time she brought out the dinner, Chen Qing was already making some progress.
"Um... I used the ingredients in the kitchen to cook some dishes."
The little wolf cautiously placed the tray on the dining table and stood by, speaking in a hushed tone.
"Okay."
Chen Qing nodded, raised her eyes, and when her gaze landed on the dish the little wolf had prepared...
That dark, eerily smelling lump, she didn't even know what to say.
This thing... wouldn't really kill someone by being eaten, would it?
But seeing the child's innocent ignorance, a face seeking approval, and thinking about how they had just cleaned and dressed her wounds—the fresh and old scars on her body...
Chen Qing sighed, got to her feet, took the few dishes to the kitchen, and without hesitation, dumped them in the trash.
Less than half an hour later, a spread of five colorfully enticing dishes and a soup graced the dining table.
The little wolf was almost stupefied, staring at Chen Qing in utter shock.
Chen Qing looked like someone who exceled in combat—a sense of safety off the charts—but seemingly clumsy with domestic chores.
The little wolf had never imagined that Chen Qing could cook meals even better than the chefs on Slave Island!
"Go ahead and eat."
Chen Qing placed a bowl of plain noodles in front of the little wolf, with a whole basin of noodles soaked in cold water by the side.
The stir-fried dishes she made were very suitable as toppings. The little wolf copied Chen Qing's actions, scooped some toppings onto her noodles, and immediately began to devour her meal.
The delicious food swallowed down filled her belly, and the sensation of satiety made the little wolf feel like crying.
She couldn't tell if it was the food or Chen Qing, but she knew this was the first time she experienced such tangible tenderness.
"..."
The little wolf sniffled and ate with even bigger mouthfuls, as if trying to cover up her vulnerability.
"Um..."
After having eaten three large bowls of noodles, the little wolf stood at the kitchen doorway, biting her lip as she watched Chen Qing clean up, finally making up her mind.
"Can you take me to Sapphire Island?"
The little wolf asked softly, her heart tinged with indescribable nervousness.
She was terrified that Chen Qing might be a bad person.
"If you take me to Sapphire Island, someone will give you money,"
She hurriedly added.
"Someone is trying to kill me."
She cautiously watched Chen Qing's expression, slowly speaking.
"Like the Black Saber Pirate Group?"
To make washing dishes easier, Chen Qing had rolled up her sleeves and was wiping her hands dry with a towel.
The little wolf quickly stepped forward to help, placing the dishes and utensils into the cupboard.
"They were supposed to protect me."
"But when someone offered a higher price, they wanted to hand me over to those people."
"They broke their oath and were punished by the sea."
Hearing the little wolf's words, Chen Qing knew the situation was more complicated than she had thought.
She subconsciously reached into her pocket, but found it empty.
Tsk.
"You..."
"They say I'm the daughter of Moana."
The little wolf hung her head low, nervously fiddling with her fingers, knowing what Chen Qing wanted to ask.
Moana, born in the Deep Blue Sea, from Barinia, was a well-known Great Pirate across both the Deep Blue Sea and the Scarlet Sea Domain.
She had countless enemies!