Old Chen used two fingers to lift the mermaid by the nape of her neck like he was grabbing a cat or dog, forcing her to confront herself.
His twitching lips twitched up and down as he angrily scraped Su Yao's tail scales with a knife, baring his teeth: "Don't you dare go too far! You better not lose my whiskers! Otherwise, I'll pluck your scales off one by one!"
"Here...for you..."
Slightly embarrassed, Su Yao scratched her head, coughed a few times, and then handed the string of black whiskers in her hand to Old Chen.
"Pat-pat-pat..."
Large raindrops soon poured down on the ship, a storm was approaching, and the farce was forced to end. The pirates on the lookout tower took the opportunity to chat.
A one-eyed pirate nudged his companion with his elbow, then turned his head away: "By the way, what language are the boss and this merman using? I've never heard of it before..."
"Perhaps it's the language of another race?" The companion was in a daze for a moment, unable to figure it out.
His face was full of surprise. The one-eyed pirate closed his eyes, pondering the question, and then said decisively, "That's not right. I've heard a little bit of other races' languages before, but the pronunciation doesn't sound like this..."
Meanwhile, a pirate standing beside them was silently observing everything that had just happened. No! He was more like a Navy spy than a pirate!
Because he is also a player! And he joined the Navy after posting "Naval Headquarters is recruiting talents" on the forum.
However, he never started live streaming. Since boarding the USS Al Jackson, he has been mingling with Old Chen as a native.
"A magical ruin on the seabed? This guy went to such lengths just for this? No way... what if he becomes a Dharma King?"
He silently pondered how to relay this intelligence back to headquarters, so much so that he stood rooted to the spot for a long time without moving.
The one-eyed pirate suddenly patted him on the shoulder, his doubt evident in his voice: "Tess? Why do you look so serious? Do you understand?"
The sudden command startled Daoistus, who then shook his head violently, feigning nonchalance: "Ah... I don't understand, but the storm is coming, and we need to prepare in advance."
"That seems to be true..." The one-eyed pirate scratched his head, quickly revealing a knowing look.
The torrential rain, accompanied by fierce winds, seemed to make the entire ocean boil. Huge waves relentlessly pounded against the hull, and the violent rocking instantly spurred everyone's enthusiasm.
"bump--!"
Faced with this situation, Old Chen merely glanced disdainfully at the sky, then with a forceful movement of his right hand, threw Su Yao into the cabin.
"Sizzle..."
He placed his hand on the hilt of the knife at his waist, and black and red lightning exploded in the vast ocean, unleashing a suffocating aura without reservation.
"bump--!"
As the ship rocked violently, Old Chen leaped into the air, his black blade unsheathed, and he laughed as he slashed at the sky.
"Gods, sir!"
A flash of black light disappeared in an instant, and the chilling sword energy slashed towards the sky. Amidst the thunderous explosion, the thick thunderclouds were instantly split in two.
Sunlight streamed back into the ocean through the crack, as if the entire sky had been cleaved open, and figures bathed in sunlight quickly fell back onto the ship.
Amidst thunderous cheers, the seawater regained its boundless azure blue, and the salty sea breeze gently swept across the USS Al Jackson once more.
"Boss is awesome!"
"That's how he cleaved through Atlantis's defenses back then! It was incredibly cool!"
The pirates on the ship cheered in unison. Although they were used to such scenes, they still instinctively clapped wildly.
"Captain Roger! Something terrible has happened! The Caesar Empire..."
Just then, a hurried shout came from the ship ahead, and a red-haired boy leaped from the bow and landed steadily in front of Old Chen.
He held a letter in his arms, his chest heaving with rapid breathing, and he anxiously tried to hand it to Old Chen.
"They've established a Marine Headquarters, ready to punish us pirates?" Old Chen didn't seem surprised by the boy's reaction, and just leisurely picked his ear.
"ah…?"
The anxiety on his face was quickly replaced by surprise. The boy paused, a look of astonishment flickering in his eyes: "You...how did you know!?"
Old Chen reached out and ruffled the boy's damp, red hair, then slowly took the letter from his hand: "Shanks, I've told you many times, don't rush things. The Caesar Empire's navy? They're just landlubbers!"
Old Chen carefully scanned the contents of the letter, pursed his lips at the right moment, and then nodded symbolically.
The boy called Shanks nodded, and after taking several deep breaths, he managed to calm himself down.
"Splash..."
Shanks drew a scroll from his waist, and with his scarred fingers, he opened it, revealing two maps.
It was clearly a nautical chart and a layout map of the East China Sea, with scattered red markings on it.
"They have already amassed troops in the Eastern Islands and major ports of the Southern Continent. The dwarves and demons in the Western Sea region are also making moves, and trade between caravans has become noticeably more frequent... and..."
Shanks moved his finger across the map, quickly recounting all the information he had gathered. When his finger stopped at the southeastern coast, his words suddenly paused.
A look of doubt lingered between his brows, and he couldn't help but turn his gaze to Old Chen: "Captain Roger! After plundering the demon race's merchant ship, we discovered some fellows who speak that strange language..."
"We've sent people to investigate privately, but it doesn't seem to belong to any of the languages of any race!" As he said this, his gaze suddenly became wary, and he tugged at Old Chen's sleeve with some concern.
"Player".
Shanks uttered the word somewhat off-key, then clicked his tongue repeatedly to adjust it. He looked at Old Chen curiously again: "Player, Captain Roger, what is a player?"
Only the word "player" was spoken in Chinese; all other times, Shanks used the common language of the continent of Irestia.
Before Old Chen could answer, Shanks seemed to have thought of something, and a look of surprise flashed across his eyes: "Moreover! There are rumors that the three admirals of the Caesar Empire's navy can also speak that language... Should we investigate further?"
"Haha, you're really clever, Shanks." Old Chen reached out and ruffled Shanks's hair, deliberately avoiding the topic.
"I'll tell you about those things later. Information can't be rushed. You need to become stronger first, and then..."
Reaching out to straighten Shanks' clothes, which were disheveled by the sea breeze, Old Chen gently wiped the blood from his face: "Burn the nautical charts between the various islands, and have all our people retreat to the Sea of Destiny. The East China Sea will be given to them."
Seeing that Old Chen looked mysterious, Shanks was very curious, but he still chose to obey the captain's orders.
"Yes, Captain!"
After bowing to Old Chen, Shanks quickly ran to the bow of the ship, and with a powerful leap, returned to his vessel.
"It seems I underestimated you." A soft, sweet voice, accompanied by the sound of chewing, entered Old Chen's ears.
Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a bright, glistening trail of water on the deck, and Su Yao's tail fin had just brushed against his foot.
At this moment, Su Yao was hugging the bulging burlap sack, her cheeks puffing out with the rhythm of chewing sweet potato chips.
"You named him Shanks just because his hair is red? What about Rayleigh and Jabba? Couldn't you find suitable candidates?"
Facing Old Chen's gaze, Su Yao was clearly a little embarrassed. After swallowing the food in her mouth, she quickly continued the conversation