Chapter 198: Brando, the Strongest Man in the Five Seas
The past two days on the Golden Dream had been unusually calm.
However, Luo En always felt a subtle, scrutinizing gaze occasionally fall upon him.
He glanced inadvertently out of the corner of his eye towards the source of the gaze and discovered an unexpected "acquaintance."
It was a man with brilliant golden hair and a somewhat cynical look. It was Anderson, whom he had met once on that shipwrecked passenger liner.
Anderson? Why was he on this ship?
Just as Luo En felt puzzled, Cattelya silently approached him and called him aside.
"What's wrong?" Luo En asked.
"Be careful," Cattelya warned, looking at the golden-haired man's distant back. "That man is not a good person."
"Anderson Hood is a Treasure Hunter."
"A Treasure Hunter?"
"Yes, and also a Bounty Hunter," Cattelya nodded and continued. "Moreover, some people call him the 'Strongest Hunter.'"
"I didn't expect him to appear on Iceberg Admiral's ship."
The Strongest Hunter—then this guy's strength must not be weak—Luo En thought to himself.
"With the Captain here, he shouldn't do anything out of line, right?" Luo En said, somewhat uncertainly.
Cattelya, however, pushed up her glasses and said flatly, "They might be working together."
This… that shouldn't be the case, right?
Seeing Luo En's disbelieving expression, Cattelya added, "The world at sea is far more dangerous than you imagine.
You trust people too easily."
According to what you're saying, aren't you also very suspicious then—Luo En silently grumbled to himself.
She paused for a moment and continued, "If you encounter any problems you can't solve, you can come to me."
"Oh—" Luo En nodded.
"Mm."
Cattelya adjusted her glasses, seemingly satisfied with his reaction, and turned to leave.
Strange—why does it feel like she has a lot of animosity towards the Captain? Is it simply because they are peers?
Also, why does this lady, despite being very serious, not feel distant at all? Luo En looked at her cool back, feeling a bit confused.
On the other side, Anderson had actually noticed Luo En's gaze.
He had originally wanted to go up and greet this interesting "old acquaintance." However, the sudden appearance of Admiral of the Stars Cattelya forced him to temporarily abandon that plan.
"Never mind," he muttered to himself. "As long as I can confirm he's still alive and safe, I'll have an explanation for the old man upstairs."
However—he looked at Luo En, who was talking with Cattelya in the distance, a playful expression on his face.
First Iceberg Admiral Edwina, and now Admiral of the Stars Cattelya. Before, he had also provoked Vice Admiral of Disease Tracy, and was allegedly being hunted by her—
Anderson couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.
"This guy, wouldn't he have a nickname like 'Wild Rose of the Five Seas'?
It seems it won't be long before a new legend emerges on the high seas.
The strongest man in the Five Seas—Monqi Brando."
Later, Edwina called Luo En to her captain's cabin alone again.
Luo En subtly brought up the matter of Anderson to her. But Edwina stated that Anderson had some personal connections with her and was just hitching a ride this time, telling him not to worry.
Hitching a ride again? Like me? Luo En felt slightly surprised but didn't say much.
Then, Edwina handed a compiled set of documents to Luo En.
"This is the information about the notebook you asked me to research last time. I've already deciphered the parts written in ancient Hermes on it."
The Antigonus Family's notebook! The Captain is indeed the most reliable!
"Thank you," Luo En said sincerely, taking the thick stack of documents from Edwina's hand and immediately flipping through them.
The two chatted for a while longer. Luo En then asked if there were any new leads regarding the giant bronze key salvaged from the seabed last time.
Edwina shook her head and said, "The specifics are still unclear. We only know that it's most likely a relic of a giant from the Third Epoch…"
Luo En wasn't disappointed. It was normal for such mysterious items involving ancient history to take a while to research.
At the same time.
Outside the cabin, several Sailors were chatting.
"Hey, who's that new pretty boy?"
"I don't know, why?"
"He just went into the Captain's room again."
"Just the two of them?"
"Yeah! Just the two of them."
As the Sailors complained, Cattelya, passing by, unexpectedly overheard their conversation.
"The two of them messing around together?"
Hearing this, a cold glint flashed behind her glasses.
Luo En returned to the small storeroom he had been staying in on the Golden Dream.
Just as he was concentrating on reading the translated copy of the Antigonus notebook, he suddenly felt someone silently standing behind him.
Luo En instinctively turned his head and found Cattelya, who had appeared behind him at some unknown point.
"Madam, how did you—just suddenly appear?" Luo En's mouth twitched slightly.
You're not a Wraith!
"What are you doing?" Cattelya pushed up her glasses, adopting a teacher-like demeanor.
"Research," Luo En answered concisely.
"May I see it?" Cattelya asked.
"Uh—" Luo En hesitated for a few seconds, then handed her the document.
Cattelya took the document and examined it carefully: "Fourth Epoch data?"
"Mm," Luo En nodded.
"Edwina helped you translate it?" Cattelya asked in a calm tone.
"Is there a problem?"
"No," Cattelya rubbed her forehead and said, "The translation is—very excellent."
She returned the document to Luo En and added, "In the future, if you have similar questions, you can also come to me. I also have a lot of research on ancient languages."
"Uh, okay," Luo En nodded.
Why does it feel like—Madam, you are always secretly competing with the Captain?
"Madam, are you looking for me for something?" Luo En asked proactively.
Cattelya snapped back to reality, and a rare hint of hesitation appeared on her usually placid face.
She composed herself for a few seconds before asking, "What are your plans next?"
Luo En thought for a moment and said, "I haven't decided yet. However, with those bounties on me, for now, I'll probably mostly focus on hiding."
After a moment of silence, Cattelya clenched her hand and asked, "If you have nowhere else to go, would you like to be a Sailor on my ship?"
"The environment there is much better than here," she said, looking around the storeroom.
"You could at least get an annual salary of several thousand pounds," she offered a very generous condition.
"Madam," Luo En looked at her with curiosity, "Are you—trying to recruit me?"
"Mm."
Luo En didn't answer immediately.
This scene—why does it feel a bit familiar? It seems Tracy also did this back then. I didn't agree then, so if I don't agree now, will this Admiral of the Stars also turn hostile on the spot?
Seeing Luo En remain silent, Cattelya also seemed to grow a little anxious. She proactively said, "If you're worried about Iceberg Admiral, I can—go talk to her for you."
After all, poaching someone on another person's ship was understandable for Luo En to have reservations about.
"Madam, your suggestion is good."
Cattelya's eyes lit up.
"So, what's your answer?"
"I refuse."
"Why?" Cattelya's tone involuntarily grew a few shades louder.
Ahem. Seeming to realize her behavior was a bit awkward, she coughed twice.
"You want to stay on the Golden Dream?"
"No," Luo En shook his head again and explained, "It's just—too many things have happened recently. I don't want to take any more risks."
Cattelya didn't speak, a hint of suspicion in her eyes, seemingly evaluating the truthfulness of Luo En's words.
"The Captain also invited me to stay before," Luo En added. "But I didn't agree either."
"Is that so—"
Hearing this, Cattelya nodded, her mood seemingly slightly better.
Looking at Cattelya's reaction, Luo En was a bit baffled.
Are all women at sea this inexplicable?
After some more time, it was time to part ways.
Luo En did not choose to disembark at the originally planned Damir Port. Instead, under the joint suggestion of Edwina and Cattelya, he decided to disembark at Tiana Port, which was closer and less likely to attract attention.
Cattelya also happened to have her own contact point nearby, so she also planned to leave there with Luo En.
As for the enormous bounty of 42,000 pounds for Blood Admiral Señor, after discussion among the three, it was finally decided that Cattelya, who had the widest network, would help convert it.
However, due to Luo En's current identity, he did not have a suitable bank account to receive such a large sum, and the limit for anonymous accounts was far from enough.
Therefore, after some discussion, it was finally decided that after the money was converted, it would be temporarily kept by Edwina, and then a way would be found to transfer it to Luo En in batches.
This could be said to be a double insurance Luo En set up for himself.
The act of entrusting the money to Edwina for safekeeping seemed to make Cattelya, who was beside them, feel a hint of distrust. But she didn't say much, still agreeing to the request, merely silently filing the matter away in her mind.
Subsequently, Luo En proactively stated that he wanted to transfer 20% of this income directly to Danitz.
This decision even surprised Danitz himself, who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
He leaned next to Luo En and said incredulously, "Damn! Is this real?! A bounty of 42,000 pounds, even after deducting various handling fees, 20% is almost eight thousand pounds!"
Luo En looked at him and said with a smile, "Isn't that just a little more than your seven thousand pound bounty?"
Hearing this, Danitz's face instantly darkened.
After the joke, Luo En seriously stated that Danitz had somewhat helped in this hunt for Blood Admiral. Moreover, a part of the reason he got into so much trouble was due to his own factors. Therefore, this could also be considered a form of compensation.
"Damn—Brando, you guy—"
Hearing his words, Danitz suddenly felt his eyes welling up.
He playfully punched Luo En's shoulder: "Brando, if you were a woman, I might actually fall for you."
"Of course," he immediately added, "you definitely still can't compare to the Captain."
Luo En's face instantly darkened, but he still sighed and admonished, "Use this money to find a way to advance as soon as possible. Otherwise, with your current strength, something will happen sooner or later."
"Also, don't invest all your money in Bayam's houses again. I have a hunch that the real estate there will collapse sooner or later."
"Got it—got it—" Danitz agreed verbally, but in his heart, he was still muttering.
Unless the Rorsted Archipelago suddenly declared independence. Otherwise, how could Bayam's real estate collapse?
Tiana Port.
Luo En and Cattelya took a small boat and disembarked at a very secluded private port nearby.
"Lachi, we can go home soon," Luo En whispered to the still somewhat listless Orange Cat in his backpack.
The previous super-standard battle had quite an impact on Lachi, causing it to be somewhat dispirited recently.
"Meow—"
"Madam, it seems—it's almost time to part ways," Luo En said to Cattelya, who had already disguised herself, beside him.
Cattelya nodded.
Just as Luo En was about to turn and leave the port.
"Wait," Cattelya suddenly called out to him.
"Is there anything else?" Luo En turned around in confusion. "There's one more thing," Cattelya said after a moment of silence, with a slightly uncertain tone, "Could you—let me see your true appearance?"
This—
Luo En suddenly froze.
Because Edwina had directly recognized his identity before. So, to be safe, he had maintained his disguise during his time on the Golden Dream and had not reverted to his original appearance.
For this reason, the Sailors on the ship who didn't know his true identity had privately complained quite a bit, saying how that new, unknown pretty boy was always with the Captain.
"Madam," Luo En thought for a moment and said, "You should have seen my wanted poster, right? If so, this request seems—unnecessary."
"No, there's still a difference," Cattelya insisted. "As a friend, I believe it's necessary to confirm it personally. Could it be," she added, "that you don't think we are friends?"
Although Cattelya's tone was still calm, a hint of panic had crept into her heart.
This reason… even she didn't believe it.
Friends? Luo En nodded. He actually knew very well that Cattelya's words were not entirely true.
Probably the unique caution of pirates. His spiritual intuition did not send him any warnings of danger. Moreover, his identity had already been exposed, so he might as well do her a favor…
After confirming that the current environment was absolutely safe, Luo En reached out and removed the cufflink on his collar, which was used to maintain his disguise.
A moment later, the muscles in his face began to subtly twitch and deform. Except for his hair color, which couldn't change immediately due to the dye, the rest of him reverted to his original handsome appearance.
Cattelya quietly observed him for a few moments, then softly said, "Thank you for your trust."
"We are friends," Luo En replied.
Before parting, they exchanged their secret contact methods for sending and receiving letters.
"If you ever come to sea again and encounter any trouble you can't solve," Cattelya said, "you can always come to me."
"Mm."
After parting, Cattelya stood still, watching Luo En's receding back, a smile appearing on her usually serious face.
"We will meet again."