"The crack is right before our eyes, the time to go ashore has come!"
"My warriors! Grab your drinks and gather on deck!"
On the deck, the Black-eyed Captain yelled with all his might, his huge voice piercing through the entire Sawshark.
Was the Black-eyed Captain's voice always this loud... Chen Qi got up, glancing over the ship's infirmary in front of him.
Little Crow had gotten up early and was already prepared to enter the crack.
Even though she hadn't slept much, she was showing an excitement she had never exhibited before.
She quickly packed up and said:
"We're ready to set off, take two cans of painkillers, ten bottles of Healing Potion, five doses of tranquilizer, a bottle of Sea Beast oil, and bandages.
In this crack, your job is to timely distribute the medicines to the wounded."
"Okay."
Chen Qi answered excitedly.
The time to go ashore was always the most exhilarating moment for pirates.
And it was also a perfect opportunity for great endeavors!
Without hesitation, Chen Qi packed the necessary items into his backpack and strapped the Gatherer's Rifle to his waist.
Additionally, there was a yellow syringe.
This powerful Potion can grant self-healing and an energy BUFF, and it permanently increases constitution, randomly enhancing an attribute!
It was time to use it!
Chen Qi rolled up the sleeve of his right arm, clenched his teeth, slowly stuck the needle into his skin, and then pressed down hard.
The golden liquid rushed into his bloodstream in an instant, ignited the Transcendent Spiritual Power within his body, and then swiftly permeated his entire being.
His whole body heated up!
A notification screen appeared before Chen Qi's eyes again.
"You have injected a Yellow Needle improvement, gaining an energy boost BUFF, a gold self-healing BUFF, lasting approximately 24 hours.
Energy Boost: Your stamina has greatly strengthened, temporarily gaining +3 agility, and +3 strength.
Gold Self-healing: During the duration, use the Transcendent Potion within your body to heal external injuries."]
"Your constitution has permanently increased by 5, your strength permanently increased by 1 point."]
Suddenly, Chen Qi felt like he had boundless energy.
A 5-point increase in constitution was quite significant, similar to what some First Order Transcendent professions would offer.
Usually, the Yellow Needle often provides a boost in a major attribute at the cost of dropping another attribute; getting a 5-point boost in constitution would typically result in a loss of 1 point in agility.
Having no diminished attributes, but instead increased agility, was an incredibly lucky enhancement.
Of course, this might be the "improved Potion's" doing.
Awesome!
Constitution represents defense and stamina. Chen Qi took a deep breath, feeling every inch of his body.
Now, he no longer had to worry about being killed with a single punch by an ordinary pirate of the Black Whale Group; at least it would take two punches.
With this attribute value, even without Transcendent Skills, relying solely on his stats, he could take on many dangerous battles in the early stages and beat up the small monsters in the beginner's village.
But unfortunately, this was on the Black Whale pirate group's ship.
"How is it?"
Little Crow asked curiously, as after all, this was her painstakingly improved product.
"Quite good, it feels even stronger than the Yellow Needle I've heard about. If this syringe could be patented, it would definitely make a lot of money."
Patenting isn't that easy... Little Crow adjusted her mask. Although her new assistant seemed to be praising her while also appearing somewhat naive, he always managed to hit the right spot.
Little Crow picked up her medicine chest:
"Let's go, stay behind me and gather on deck. The old guy with the black eyes always likes to have a drink and give a speech before entering the crack.
By the way, don't tell the captain about giving you the Yellow Needle, that guy has been wanting this Yellow Needle for a long time."
"Not tell... the captain?"
Chen Qi showed a puzzled look.
Under normal circumstances, the captain is the person with the highest strength and status.
Little Crow suddenly clenched her teeth and tightened her small fists:
"Yes... that guy always likes to write 'Gold Coin IOUs' and then use them to take other people's things.
The kind that borrows but never returns.
Up to now, he already owes me fifty Gold Coins! Three Transcendent Potion syringes!
In any case, you do need to maintain the proper respect for the captain, but it's best not to trust that guy's words too much."
As she spoke, Little Crow threw a few punches in the air with her right fist.
"Hmm..."
Chen Qi nodded slightly.
From the first moment he saw the Black-eyed Captain, he felt like he was dealing with the boss of a ruthless company.
He didn't expect that the man would even dare to cheat the ship's medic out of her money!
Worthy of being a captain indeed.
Chen Qi followed Little Crow through the corridors and over the steps, reaching the deck.
The rays of the sun hit his face.
Coming to this world, it was the first time he had seen the sunlight...
Chen Qi raised his hand to shade part of the sunshine and looked up at the sky, unable to hide the amazement in his heart.
The huge white sun burned fiercely, illuminating the world.
He suddenly remembered the promotional video of the New Day Era.
The old sun had fallen, the new sun sustains the last of humanity's civilization, which is also why this era is called the New Day Era.
The brand-new sunlight was quite comfortable... Chen Qi shook his head and smiled again as he followed Little Crow towards the crowd.
On the deck, all the pirates of the Sawshark had assembled.
The slaves on the ship were also pulled out.
They formed a large circle, with those of higher status standing in front.
And in the middle of the large circle was the captain of the Sawshark — the Black-eyed Captain!
Chen Qi followed Little Crow through the crowd.
The Black-eyed Captain was drinking from a bottle of rum, humming a pirate's song of the sea:
"Hum hum hum~
We are pirates, with a bottle in the left hand, a cutlass in the right, filling the dead man's chest with Gold, filling that dead man's chest! Filling that dead man's chest!"
What a dark chant... Chen Qi thought to himself, paired with the Black-eyed Captain's hoarse male voice, it was nearly as terrifying as the whispered shanties of Sea Beasts.
The Black-eyed Captain stopped his singing as soon as he saw Little Crow.
"Little Crow, our best ship's doctor, you've finally arrived!
Have you prepared the Sea Beast we need to enter the crack?"
Little Crow raised his head and said solemnly:
"My new assistant talent is pretty good, did a damn neat job, saved me a lot of work, the parasitic Sea Beasts we'll need are all ready,
Now, cut the crap, get to the point,
About the information on the crack, and our target, this isn't just a regular treasure hunting game, right, Captain?"
"A good talent, Little Crow, it's the first time I've heard you praise an assistant, our Sawshark is exactly in need of talent at this time."
The Black-eyed Captain's pure black eyes glanced at Chen Qi, then suddenly he pulled out his pitch-black Cutlass and bellowed:
"Everyone, because of the instructions from above, to keep other pirate groups from screwing with our Black Whale Group.
I have not yet shared our true objective of this operation with you, which is more precious than tons of Gold! Even more valuable than a Transcendent Occupation Card!
Now that the crack is right before us, it's time to reveal it!"
The true target... Chen Qi felt a slight shock in his heart.
Normally, the captain wouldn't hide their objective from the crew, unless, it was something extremely valuable.
Valuable enough to be kept a secret.
The pirates looked at each other in bewilderment, the Black-eyed Captain seemed to have kept a big secret from them!
"Captain, more valuable than tons of Gold, could it be Blackbeard's sunken ship?
I heard that bastard Blackbeard's sunken ship contained over ten tons of Gold."
"Blackbeard! Captain, could you really have found the sunken ship of such a big shot?"
The pirates started making a ruckus all at once, each and every one of them dead set on treasure.
"No, no, no!"
The Black-eyed Captain shook his head, dismissing everyone's speculations,
"It's the ancient treasure left by someone even more famous than Blackbeard, a treasure location found by our great leader.
The treasure of the Deep Sea Hunter!!"
With that, the Black-eyed Captain slammed down his drink.
A huge roar erupted from the entire ship.
Deep Sea Hunter! Chen Qi swallowed hard.
He was not a player who specialized in studying plots, nor was he a player from the Witch Sea region.
But he still had a profound impression of the Deep Sea Hunter!
It was the title of a legendary hunter, with the Deep Sea Hunter and the Black Whale Group both being related to the main storyline of the Witch Sea region.
Deep Sea Hunter was incredibly powerful; in the legends of the Witch Sea region, he was the only person to have hunted a deep-sea behemoth after the Witches.
Unlike most legends, Deep Sea Hunter, corrupted by the blood of monsters he battled, had no offspring and no disciples.
On the contrary, he was feared by the world.
Legend had it that after his death, he divided his treasure into several parts, burying it in the hidden places of the great sea, leaving it for those adventurers who possessed the courage.
However, the Deep Sea Hunter was so ancient that most pirates stopped pursuing his treasure, so ancient that people doubted its existence.
The treasure of the Deep Sea Hunter was real... Chen Qi was quite certain of it.
He had seen it on the game forums; the treasures and weapons associated with it were top-notch Divine Artifacts.
The treasure he left behind had sold for a terrifyingly high price on the game forums.
The pirates were in complete chaos, this was without doubt earth-shattering news.
Little Crow asked anxiously:
"Captain, is it really the treasure of the Deep Sea Hunter?"
Chen Qi was excited but also apprehensive at the same time.
As a legendary hunter, the treasure of the Deep Sea Hunter wouldn't be easy to obtain!
Other pirates also voiced their doubts.
"Of course! This is the intelligence our great leader has acquired, the treasure of the Deep Sea Hunter is right behind us!"
The Black-eyed Captain turned around.
As the Sawshark slowed down, a desolate and small island gradually came into view.
Atop the small island, a huge crack, like the gaping maw of a monster, emanated a dark and terrifying aura.
That was their destination—the Sea Beast Cave Rift!
At that moment, the Black-eyed Captain greedily glanced at the slaves again.
On this ship, there were more than forty slaves.
He drew his Cutlass and addressed the slaves:
"Under normal circumstances, you would be sold upon arriving at the city and then become playthings in those shameless nobles' games!
With no chance of ever turning your lives around!
However, now you have an opportunity, and that is to show your courage in the crack!
If you show enough courage and contribute within the crack!
I will grant you freedom, and furthermore, award each of you five Gold Coins!"
Upon hearing the Black-eyed Captain's words, a spark of hope lit up in the eyes of some slaves.
These slaves were nothing more than cannon fodder meant for navigating through the crack, taken by the Black-eyed Captain.
Lastly, the Black-eyed Captain turned towards Chen Qi and the pirates:
"The treasure of the Deep Sea Hunter will determine the future of our Black Whale Group!
If we secure the treasure, all participants will be rewarded with fifty Gold Coins!
In addition, based on different deeds, you will also receive the Transcendent Blessings bestowed personally by our leader!"
Transcendent powers, in this superhuman world, are closely tied to status.
And fifty Gold Coins, that alone amounts to a significant fortune; these two rewards, let alone changing a person's destiny, could even change the fate of an entire family!
Bang——
The Sawshark stopped before the small island.
At this time, the Black-eyed Captain turned back, his eyes filled with boundless greed.
"Hahahaha!"
He laughed heartily, spreading his arms wide,
"My friends! Enough talk! After all, glory and Gold! Are right before our eyes!"
Then he leaped vigorously, stepping up to the edge of the crack.
"Everyone, follow me into the crack!"