On the deck of the Black Emperor, at this moment, besides the King of the Five Seas Nast Solomon, who was sitting quietly on a stone chair like a big boss, there were naturally other pirates waiting.
Among them, the Black Emperor's First Mate, Viscount of Fear Byrd Mustang, was currently holding a monocular telescope, scouting.
Upon seeing the several-meter-tall sun mushroom on the deck of the Future, Byrd Mustang was visibly stunned, and a series of thoughts like, "What is this thing?" and "Has the Future been attacked by people from the Earth Mother sect or ambushed by people from the Eternal Blazing Sun?" flashed through his mind.
Soon, Byrd Mustang reined in these strange thoughts. After scanning the other people on the Future's deck through the telescope, he respectfully walked up to the King of the Five Seas Nast Solomon, bowed, and reported in a deferential voice:
"Count, the Future has not reacted violently to our approach. From the current situation, it seems the Future is also waiting for us to draw near."
— Byrd Mustang addressing the King of the Five Seas Nast Solomon as 'Count' was not a slip of the tongue, but Nast Solomon's own request. On the Black Emperor, Nast Solomon always referred to himself as 'Count,' which stemmed from the enfeoffment of the White Maple Count given to him by Emperor Roselle in the past.
Nast Solomon was silent for a moment upon hearing this. His fingers almost subconsciously distorted the ring on his left index finger, then he slightly tilted his ear, as if he heard something, and said, "Get ready. I will personally board the Future to meet Your Highness." His voice was deep and authoritative.
"Yes." Byrd Mustang responded. Although he was quite surprised, he always executed the Count's orders without question. He rose and left to carry out the order.
Thus, not long after, when the Black Emperor was less than a hundred meters from the Future, the Black Emperor suddenly stopped advancing.
Then, under everyone's gaze, an invisible bridge, black and mysterious, was spontaneously erected between the two ships.
Nast Solomon stood up at this moment, then surprisingly took off the small crown on his head and placed it on the tray held by Byrd Mustang, who was half-bowed beside him.
Then, Nast Solomon's movements paused slightly, as if he heard something, and he took off the magnificent black and silver-edged long robe he was wearing, also tossing it to Byrd Mustang.
The latter carefully took the robe, burying his head even lower.
"Let's go!" Nast Solomon said after tidying his clothes.
He then walked towards the Future, but he did not use any special abilities, instead walking step by step. Since the King of the Five Seas Nast Solomon did so, the people following him naturally dared not cheat. The group honestly crossed the black long bridge and arrived on the Future.
"Are you here to see me?" Lin Ruo looked at this scene with a smile, but his gaze paused slightly when it fell on the ring on Nast Solomon's hand.
That ring, it seems to have a somewhat familiar aura…
"Yes, Your Highness Lin Ruo." To everyone's astonished gazes, Nast Solomon first gave Lin Ruo a standard bow, then said, "May I speak with you privately? There are some matters inconvenient for others to know that I need to report to you alone." As he spoke, Nast Solomon's fingers suggestively squeezed the ring on his index finger.
What exactly is that thing… Lin Ruo raised an eyebrow, then nodded, smiling, and said, "Of course." He then looked at Cattleya and said, "Cattleya, can I borrow the captain's cabin?"
Although other places could also serve as a reception room, currently every room except the captain's cabin had mushrooms, which was somewhat inconvenient.
As for whether the King of the Five Seas Nast Solomon would have any ill intentions… Lin Ruo indicated that if the other party truly had malicious intentions, a little red nuclear strike would be in order.
The King of Angels will be brought over to smash you in minutes!
"Of course, you may use it as you please." Cattleya naturally would not disagree.
After borrowing the captain's cabin, Lin Ruo glanced at Nast Solomon, then walked towards the captain's cabin. Nast Solomon, after giving a few instructions to Byrd Mustang and other accompanying personnel, followed him.
The two then disappeared around the corner of the hallway. Seeing this, the remaining people on the Future's deck immediately exchanged glances. Finally, Cattleya, as the legitimate owner of the Future, took the initiative to speak:
"Mr. Byrd Mustang, the last time we met was at the Pirate Convention, wasn't it? I didn't expect to meet again so soon." Her tone was polite and courteous.
"I was also surprised to meet again so soon…" Byrd Mustang also began to exchange pleasantries. Because he was so curious about the person the Count was meeting, he naturally steered the conversation towards the latter, saying seemingly casually, "I didn't expect Ms. Cattleya to have such a esteemed figure behind her. Is he also a member of the Moses Ascetic Order?"
"His Highness Lin Ruo is just my guest." Cattleya replied with a maintained smile, but said nothing more.
Guest? Do you think I believe that… Byrd Mustang muttered inwardly, but he could tell that he probably wouldn't get anything out of Cattleya, so he simply didn't intend to press further. He just glanced at the mushrooms on the deck out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but ask curiously:
"Ms. Cattleya, what's going on with these mushrooms on the Future? Did you encounter an attack from members of the Earth Mother sect? Or those crazy sun worshipers?"
Cattleya's composed and proper smile stiffened for a moment, then she nodded without changing her expression, saying, "We did encounter some special enemies not long ago. These mushrooms are remnants from the battle. Because my First Mate found them to be of great research value, we kept them."
"Research value? Oh… indeed." Byrd Mustang was stunned for a moment, then probably remembered who the Future's First Mate was, and nodded in sudden understanding.
Meanwhile, Klein, who witnessed this scene, silently averted his gaze.
He was afraid that if he kept watching, he wouldn't be able to control his expression.
At the same time, in the captain's cabin of the Future, Lin Ruo casually picked up a chair and sat down, looking at Nast Solomon, who stood before him, whose height was definitely no less than 1.9 meters, and said with a smile, "You sit too, otherwise I'll have to look up at you, which is quite tiring."
Upon hearing this, Nast Solomon, who was about to say something, looked awkward for a moment, then also found a chair and sat opposite Lin Ruo.
"Speak, what exactly do you need to tell me?" Lin Ruo said, while leisurely pouring himself a cup of tea.
Nast Solomon immediately took off the ring in his hand and handed it to Lin Ruo, saying, "Your Highness Lin Ruo, after generations of nurturing by us descendants, Ancestor Solomon has finally awakened."
"This time, Ancestor wants to see you."
Lin Ruo's hand, holding the teacup, paused. His gaze fell on the ring, and he unconsciously pursed his lips, then raised his hand to pick up the ring.
"Lin Ruo, long time no see."
Someone's voice rang in his ears, strange yet familiar.
Lin Ruo lowered his eyes, his eyelashes trembled, then he curved into a smile and said:
"Long time no see, Solomon."