novelraw Chapter 113: Intelligence
Chapter 113: Intelligence
The tavern instantly became lively.
“Even the White Pigeon Times can’t find this person, and you think you can?”
“Are you crazy? You’re risking your life for this money. The Flower Witch’s strength could easily crush a weak outsider like you.”
“I heard recently that the infamous Black Glove from the Blackfin Crew was burned into a half-disabled state by one of the Flower Witch’s 800,000-ghost-fire fireball spells.”
“Ghost-fire fireball? Is that for real?”
The bounty exceeded ten million, and these targets were all well-known figures.
Although the Flower Witch was only third tier, her bounty had already surpassed twenty million!
Unless it was a third-tier [Shell Blade Affinity] bounty hunter.
Otherwise, almost no one would accept bounty targets exceeding ten million.
Why would Seafood Sister of the Twin Pillars of the Imperial Capital be looking for the Flower Witch? For a date? Chen Qi rubbed his chin.There was never any mention of Seafood Sister’s relationship with the Flower Witch on the game forum.
As for Palu, captain of the Ice Demon Pirates, he himself had connections to the Witch.
The Flower Witch truly was the main figure of the Witch Sea, and so many people wanted to capture her alive. Chen Qi lightly tapped the table.
Palu paused for a moment, then slowly asked,
“What are you looking into the Witch for?”
The blonde woman smiled and said, “To claim the bounty.”
That was a lie... Palu snorted lightly, flicked five gold coins back onto the blonde woman’s forehead, and said confidently,
“If I knew the Witch’s location, I wouldn’t be here earning money now. You might as well ask the drunken innkeeper next door—maybe you’ll find her there. Next question.”
The blonde woman lowered her head in disappointment.
Actually, the Flower Witch was staying at the inn right next door... Chen Qi fixed his gaze on Palu.
As captain of the Ice Demon Pirates, he should know quite a lot about the rift intelligence.
Chen Qi downed the cider in one gulp and asked,
“I want all the known rift intelligence for Sea Monster Gorge. How much will that cost?”
In front of so many people, if he only asked about the rifts individually, it was very likely someone would target him.
Palu’s gaze landed on the Chef’s Certificate hanging on Chen Qi’s chest:
“There are as many as a hundred rifts in Sea Monster Gorge. All known rift intelligence? That doesn’t exist.
Of course, if you only want the affinities and locations of the rifts, that’s just five thousand Shell Coins.”
Five thousand Shell Coins! Chen Qi was shocked.
So cheap!
This was the captain of a famous pirate crew.
The intelligence he was selling only cost five thousand Shell Coins!
Chen Qi took out fifty Shell Coins of one hundred denomination each, rolled them into a small tube, and tossed it to Palu.
Palu caught the money:
“Alright, but guest, as a newly advanced second-tier transcendent, there aren’t many D-tier rifts on this sea suitable for you.”
Then, with a light wave of his hand, he publicly displayed a map of the rifts in Sea Monster Gorge.
He just showed it so directly...
Chen Qi focused his eyes.
The parchment map marked numerous rift details.
Near Sea Monster Gorge, there were many deadly whirlpool areas.
Whirlpool zones were widely recognized as dangerous sea terrains. These places were said to be able to drag ships into another world.
Not only that, Sea Monster Gorge itself was surrounded by many giant mountains.
Therefore, the entire Sea Monster Gorge was almost a one-way passage.
The vast majority of rifts were located deep within Sea Monster Gorge.
The rifts outside the gorge had mostly already been cleared by adventurers.
In other words, to reach higher-tier rifts, you had to go through the center of Sea Monster Gorge, where sea monsters appeared.
Here, the probability of encountering sea beasts was extremely high!
Chen Qi roughly understood why the rift location intelligence map was so cheap.
As long as you dared to pass through Sea Monster Gorge, there were plenty of rifts.
But even knowing their locations, no one dared to cross Sea Monster Gorge.
Besides that, Chen Qi noticed on the map two conspicuous symbols: one shaped like a “qin” (a traditional stringed instrument), and another like a “black shark.”
Chen Qi asked, “What are these two symbols?”
Palu plucked the strings of a qin in his hand and said in a deep voice:
“The qin is the coral nest of the sea monsters. Although there’s a chance to encounter sea monsters everywhere in Sea Monster Gorge, the closer you get to this qin’s location, the higher the chance of encountering them.
If you don’t want to die, plug your ears and stay far away from this spot.”
The sea monsters’ nest!
Chen Qi memorized this place firmly. Once he returned, his top priority would be to explore the sea monsters’ nest.
Also, he was surprised to find that near the qin sound, there was a very close “shadow affinity rift”!
Chen Qi asked, “And what about the black shark symbol?”
Palu’s expression grew somewhat serious:
“As for the black shark symbol, that involves the Blackfin Crew...”
Everyone present grumbled upon hearing this.
“Explain in detail.”
“The Black Shark is a ship under the Blackfin Crew, active year-round in Sea Monster Gorge.
Their leader, Mad Shark, personally is not weaker than Black Glove, who handles gang affairs in Moonstone City.”
Then Palu placed his finger on a D-tier rift.
This location was prominently marked.
“A large D-tier Blade affinity rift, the orc war site. Although it’s currently only a D-tier rift, this place was where the Deep Sea Hunters’ nemesis, the Azure Beast, was buried!
Besides that, nearby are C-tier Floral affinity rifts, which are also the lost grounds of the Joy Sprite.
There are relics like the Magic Bullet Gun and the Sea Monster Blade.
But you should have noticed, even if someone clears these deep Sea Monster Gorge rifts and obtains treasure,
when they return, due to Sea Monster Gorge’s terrain, there are very few routes to choose from!”
Chen Qi examined carefully.
Just as Palu said, many higher-tier rifts were located deep inside Sea Monster Gorge.
If you wanted to take a shortcut, you had to pass near the qin’s location.
If you avoided the qin, the sailing routes left were extremely limited.
After clearing a rift, transcendent states would be severely impaired.
Others could easily ambush along these routes.
In other words, Sea Monster Gorge was a natural ambush hotspot!
Even if the rifts were cleared, one still faced threats from sea monsters and pirates.
This was the danger of Sea Monster Gorge.
Chen Qi said quietly:
“The Black Shark is stationed in these places, aiming to rob…”
Palu smiled helplessly:
“Yes, not only the Black Shark, but also the Blackfin Crew’s Devil Ray and Electric Jellyfish ships…
Of course, the Black Shark is the most dangerous. It’s been active in Sea Monster Gorge year-round.
They’ve mastered ways to peacefully coexist with sea beasts and have trained to resist sea monster songs.
Their leader, Mad Shark, is a ruthless man who dares to operate near the sea monsters’ nest.
Therefore, with their geographic advantage, they are truly the overlords of this sea region!”
Troublesome... Chen Qi thought secretly. His small houseboat was no match for a real pirate ship.
Adventurers who came here sighed. So many rifts, so many opportunities? But these places were firmly controlled by pirates!
Because of the Blackfin Crew’s influence, many ships on Sea Monster Island didn’t dare enter Sea Monster Gorge.
At this moment, a tall man in a naval uniform downed his strong liquor and suddenly stood up, loudly saying:
“Everyone, don’t be afraid. Our navy has arrived at Sea Monster Island!
Under our general’s orders, we are preparing to join forces with other ships to enter Sea Monster Gorge!”
Everyone turned their heads. It was the navy.
“The navy has finally come…”
Palu touched his braided hair and smiled faintly.
Inside the tavern were many adventurers from other factions.
This navy man instantly became the center of attention.
He explained that this afternoon, their navy ships would enter Sea Monster Gorge as the vanguard.
Other ships intending to enter Sea Monster Gorge could follow behind them.
At the same time, he swore that this operation would be different from before—no longer robbing adventurers of a single cent.
The navy had been reorganized!
Violators would be executed!
Not only that, they would do their best to ensure the safety of other ships.
Flesh Cleaver Bone Breaker, Joy Sprite...
Chen Qi looked at the rift intelligence deep in Sea Monster Gorge.
The Blackfin Crew had already taken many key positions there.
Now, with the navy acting and planning to unite other ships, the stalemate would be broken!
Undoubtedly, in this one-way sea passage, an unprecedented battle would erupt.
The navy had suffered repeated losses; this rift battle was their chance to redeem themselves.
The Blackfin Crew was Chen Qi’s enemy and would indiscriminately attack passing ships.
Moreover, Teacher An should be on the navy ship.
The navy’s arrival was undoubtedly good news for Chen Qi.
At this moment, Palu, taking advantage of the navy’s speech, began counting today’s earnings, a satisfied smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Chen Qi stood up and walked to Palu’s side.