Where Are the Weapons?

Alice scrutinized him for several seconds before smiling, "Not late at all; I came early."She had her long hair tied back into a ponytail, wearing sportswear that accentuated her stunning features. Her smile was enchanting, with bright, lively eyes.

Once they were on the boat, Alice was about to head to the cabin, but Hurley stopped her. "I'll take care of it."

"You can?" Alice asked.He really was a jack-of-all-trades.

Hurley smirked, "Learned it last night; might as well put it into practice."

Alice stepped aside and watched as Hurley skillfully took control. He didn't look like a novice at all.Feeling reassured by his expertise, Alice was about to leave when Hurley spoke again, "My uncle wasn't sure, so he gave me a few weapons. Go pick one out and see if you can use it."

"Weapons? Where are they?" Alice asked.

"In the blue suitcase in the cabin," Hurley replied.

Alice went to the cabin and immediately spotted the conspicuous suitcase.She opened it to find two different types of guns and various knives inside. Besides these, there were also diving suits and oxygen tanks.These weapons might not have been the best, but they were comprehensive. Ignatius had clearly considered all possible dangers they might encounter.

Alice noticed another silver suitcase nearby and opened it as well.Inside were food and drinks, perhaps considering the inconvenience of cooking on the boat. There were self-heating rice, self-heating hot pot, instant noodles, canned porridge, and ten buckets of water, enough for their needs.

Alice walked back to the deck. Their boat wasn't large, but the sea breeze felt incredibly refreshing.

At noon, they found a calm area in the sea and stopped to cook.

"Let's keep the self-heating pot for now; nothing beats a homemade meal," Hurley said. He wouldn't eat those unless absolutely necessary.

Alice agreed. With meat and vegetables on board, they could easily prepare their own satisfying meals.Alice took out a portable stove and an electric rice cooker. Since there was electricity on the boat, they could use the rice cooker to cook rice.Using the portable stove was also convenient. Just set up the pot, pour in the oil, and they could start cooking.

While Alice stewed the meat, Hurley washed the vegetables. They worked together seamlessly, harmoniously coexisting.Their meal wasn't overly lavish. Alice simply cooked two meat dishes and one vegetable dish.

Hurley brought out fresh fruits from the storage space – strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and several other types."It's been a while since I tasted your cooking, and it still tastes great," Hurley praised.

Alice raised an eyebrow. "I'm not particularly fond of cooking, and besides, my brothers are better at it than me, so naturally, I step aside."She didn't like to waste time on cooking. It had been a habit from before, and now that she didn't need to do missions in this world, cooking had become a pastime.

Hurley paused for a moment. While he could cook, it wasn't particularly tasty. It seemed like the tradition in the Allen family was for men to cook.With this in mind, Hurley looked at her earnestly. "I've decided. From tonight onwards, I'll be the one cooking. Can you teach me?"With his expertise in research, cooking shouldn't be too difficult.

"Sure," Alice replied happily. It meant she could relax.

After lunch, Hurley was about to continue sailing when Alice said, "You go rest; I'll take over in the afternoon."

Hurley pondered for a moment before nodding. "Alright."

It was Alice's first time sailing alone, and she was somewhat excited, being a novice herself.She had spent the previous night watching instructional videos and believed she could handle it.With the additional guidance from Hurley earlier in the morning, she felt confident in her abilities.

An hour later, several boats blocked their path ahead.

Alice approached them and eventually maneuvered their boat closer, standing on the deck to communicate with the others.

Five boats surrounded one dilapidated vessel, which bore bullet holes on its sides.Several people on the boats dared not approach and only discussed from a distance.

"This ship must have encountered pirates. Look at all those bullet holes, it's terrifying just to see them."

"Is there anyone on the ship? Make some noise."

"I think I smell blood. Can someone go in and check?"

"If they encountered pirates, why didn't they take the ship? Why leave it drifting on the sea?"

"When will these pirates be eliminated? They're too audacious."

The people on the boats discussed among themselves, but none dared to approach.

Their blockade prevented other boats from passing.

Alice and Hurley exchanged a glance, then leaped from their deck onto the ship that had been raided by pirates.

There were gasps from the onlookers as they witnessed this.

As soon as they stepped inside, they were hit by a putrid stench.

Alice pulled aside a curtain and frowned at the scene inside, covering her nose with her other hand.

Inside the cabin lay over a dozen bodies in disarray, surrounded by darkened bloodstains, indicating that this was not a recent attack.

"Ahh!"

A terrified scream came from behind them.

It seemed that seeing someone take the lead emboldened the people from the other boats, and they followed suit, jumping onto the ship.

However, upon witnessing the scene inside, they turned pale and started retching in fear.

Alice lowered the curtain, and she and Hurley stepped back outside.

The others were equally shaken, and many quickly left.

The serious expressions of those who had been discussing earlier turned even graver, and some began to suggest retreat.

"Pirates are too terrifying. Everyone on board is dead. Maybe we should go back," someone proposed."In the base, it's better to find any job than to go fishing. We got lucky not encountering pirates, but if we did, outnumbered and unarmed, we'd be no match for them."

"That ship is a warning for us, telling us not to go. Captain, let's go back."

The people on the boat clamored to return, leaving the captain uncertain.

"Out of ten boats, only two might encounter pirates. Let's not go too far, and remember, we rented this boat. If we return empty-handed, we'll lose a lot of points."

Another captain suggested, "How about this? Let's all go together. If we encounter pirates, we'll have strength in numbers, and they might not dare to provoke us."

The other captains found this idea agreeable. Earlier, they had been concerned about others taking their fishing spots and were reluctant to let them pass. But compared to their lives, a little inconvenience was tolerable. As long as they didn't incur any losses, it was fine.

Some captains invited Hurley and Alice, "Do you want to join us?"

Their offers stemmed from selfish motives; they had fewer points and could only afford ordinary boats, unlike Alice and Hurley, whose boat looked better than theirs.

Alice didn't like traveling with others and shook her head, declining, "Thank you for the offer, but we prefer to travel alone."

The captain continued to persuade, "It's your first time at sea, right? Let me tell you, those pirates are fierce. The two of you won't be able to handle them. Unity is our best choice."

This time, Hurley spoke up to refuse, "No, thank you."

Seeing they wouldn't be convinced, the other captains waved their hands, "Forget it then, let's go. Good luck to them."

Alice and Hurley retreated to the cabin and continued sailing away from the other boats.Soon, they were far from the group of boats.

Hurley found a suitable spot to drop anchor.

"This should do."Alice halted the boat, surveyed the area, and agreed with the chosen spot. She then poured the bait into the sea.