Chapter 190

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"Miss, you are still too kind," he sighed.

"Even though we didn't find any treasure, rescuing two people stranded on a deserted island is also good, right?"

On a small merchant ship, a middle-aged man dressed as a steward was conversing with a beautiful young lady.

Their original route did not include this location, but they accidentally learned of a message saying that there was a treasure buried on a deserted island.

The sea map looked like a child's scribbles.

Many had received it, but most sneered, thinking it was someone's prank.

After all, such incidents were endless on the high seas.

Distinguishing between real and fake treasure maps was a significant bit of knowledge.

And clearly, such widely spread maps were very likely to be fake.

However, Miss Hanna, on her first voyage, was very interested and decided to check it out on a whim.

Regardless of its authenticity, it was like fulfilling a dream of a maritime adventure from her childhood.

More importantly, if it were real, she could use this wealth to overcome the crisis of her family's trading company.

For such reasons, the steward could only reluctantly agree.

What followed was simple: a fruitless waste of time and effort, finding nothing after searching the island.

Instead, they encountered a brother and sister who had drifted there due to a shipwreck.

Out of kindness, Miss Hanna ignored the steward's objections and brought them aboard.

Compared to her naïveté, the well-traveled steward felt something was amiss.

After all, the coincidence was too great.

And judging by the siblings' appearance, they didn't seem like ordinary people; they were still in high spirits despite the shipwreck?

Even their clothes were only slightly tattered and dirty, which was rather odd.

It seemed almost deliberate.

This was the reason he initially objected to his mistress saving them.

However, after boarding, seeing the two of them staying quietly in the cabin, causing no trouble, he gradually eased his concerns.

"Perhaps I'm just overthinking it."

"I hope this trading trip will be smooth and safe on our return."

Whether it was the steward's jinxing "flag" that was realized so quickly, or Murphy's Law in action—fearing what might come—it wasn't long before they saw an unidentified ship not far away speeding up and heading towards them as soon as it spotted them.

"Bad news, turn the ship, full speed ahead, shake them off!"

The captain of this ship was an experienced sailor who knew trouble when he saw the aggressive approach of the other vessel.

Most likely, it was one of the pirates that roamed the nearby seas.

They normally didn't fly flags to avoid alerting their prey or attracting the Navy's pursuit.

But once they spotted a worthwhile target, they'd quickly pounce and bare their ferocious fangs!

The captain immediately communicated his thoughts with the steward.

The steward was also flustered, unsure of what to do.

Typically, he wasn't responsible for such matters.

But with the boss seriously ill and many rivals eagerly waiting for their company to fall, there was no choice but for Hanna, the boss's daughter, to step up.

Reluctantly and worriedly, the steward had to set out to sea with her.

Thus began their trading voyage.

Yet, unexpectedly, while the first half of the journey went smoothly, they suddenly faced danger.What should we do?

"Can we outrun them with our sailing speed?"

The captain wiped the sweat from his forehead and shook his head, "I'm afraid not. Our ship is loaded with cargo and isn't very fast. The other ship seems to have been specially modified and is much faster than ours."

"Can we pay them off?"

"Absolutely not! The more we show off our wealth right now, the more dangerous it becomes!" the captain hastily cautioned.

"Then what do you suggest we do? We can't escape, and we can't buy our way out of disaster. Are we just supposed to watch as they catch up and loot us?"

"It seems that the only option now is to stop and try to negotiate with them."

The captain sighed, "If we continue to flee, I'm afraid we will only anger them further."

"And that's not even the worst of it. If they're only after money, we might still save our lives."

"But if we encounter extremely vicious pirates, I fear none of us will survive."

"So later, we must make sure the young lady hides well and does not come out, no matter what happens, to prevent them from getting any ideas."

The butler knew the captain's words held truth and immediately went to make sure the young lady was hidden.

The loss of goods could be dealt with, but if the young lady were to die at the hands of these pirates, that would be true despair.

Since the merchant ship had stopped, the unidentified vessel quickly caught up. They dropped their pretense, and the pirates, each looking grim and carrying weapons, stood on the deck, grinning menacingly at the easy prey before them.

After docking, a one-legged pirate with a cane hobbled onto the merchant ship, followed by his crew. The sound of his wooden leg thumped on the deck, exerting great pressure on the sailors.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the captain of the Ghost Leg Pirate Crew, and these are my crew members."

"From this moment on, you all are my prisoners, and everything on this ship is mine. Do you understand?" Seeing that no one dared to speak up, Captain Ghost Leg was pleased with the intimidation he commanded.

He continued, "Of course, considering you did not continue to flee and made the wise decision not to resist stubbornly..."

"When we reach a nearby deserted island, I might let you go, giving you a way out. After all, what I enjoy most is winning people over with virtue, and I hate unnecessary violence."

"However, there's a condition that you cooperate with us during the following work."

"If anyone dares to resist, not only will that person die, but I will also randomly choose two others from among you to be buried with them."

"So, for everyone's safety, I hope you keep an eye on each other and persuade any foolish enough to act recklessly not to endanger themselves or others, hahaha!" Captain Ghost Leg was highly satisfied with his speech and began to laugh boisterously, with his men joining in.

The sailors on the merchant ship, on the other hand, each looked distressed but had no thoughts of rebellion.

After all, doing nothing might mean survival.

Taking action would surely result in death.

This kind of losing proposition interested no one.

Especially since the cargo on the ship didn't belong to them, any urgency wasn't their concern to bear.

"Very well, it seems we have reached an understanding."

"Now, who is in charge on this ship?"