novelraw Chapter 126: Forced to Open Business
Chapter 126: Forced to Open Business
The sun hung high in the sky.
On Sea Monster Island, in a temporary conference room set up by the navy.
"The White Seagull was attacked by the sea witch's song and the black-armored shark while tracking the Devil Ray. We resisted the deadly song of the sea witch and arrested seventy pirates on the Devil Ray.
As for the witch and the monster that attacked the Devil Ray, we have dispatched personnel to search with all our might. All the suitable hiding places around Sea Monster Island are being searched by us.
However, there are still no new updates for now..."
The commander of the White Seagull stood upright and reported to Navy Admiral Old White Seagull.
In this operation, they defeated the Devil Ray and the Blackfin Crew ships hidden inside Sea Monster Gorge.
Judging purely by results, they could be considered a complete victory!
The only flaw was the sudden appearance of the witch and monster halfway through.
In the report, this was an accident.The witch is a bounty-listed individual, and as the navy, they should have captured both the witch and the monster.
But the commander of the White Seagull personally was very grateful to the Flower Witch and the monster.
Without the witch and monster suddenly emerging, the losses of the White Seagull might have exceeded those of the Devil Ray.
One could even say the witch and monster protected them.
Old White Seagull looked at the blurry photo in his hand:
"The witch actually has companions? Does he really only possess second-tier power as the reports say?"
The commander replied calmly:
"Yes, only a second-tier spiritual energy field. Catching them is not difficult."
Old White Seagull smiled as if looking at a fledgling chick:
"Appearances can be deceiving. Don't forget, Captain Palu of the Ice Demon Pirates, a legend, often only showed second-tier strength."
"Indeed..."
The commander suddenly felt a chill in his heart but did not doubt.
Which second-tier transcendent could easily master water walking and dare to walk the sea full of sea beasts?
Unless they were from a top transcendent organization, it was impossible.
Old White Seagull handed the photo to the commander and instructed:
"Inform the bounty department to set the bounty according to third-tier standards. Also, send people to check the Sea God Pirates to see if anyone resembles that tentacle monster."
The commander took the photo:
"Understood. What name should we use for the bounty?"
Old White Seagull fell into thought.
The photo only showed Chen Qi wearing Ember's Touch, without a name.
He wore a century-old tattered hunter’s outfit, with tentacles growing under the clothes.
Though the appearance was impressive, for now, he was still a nameless figure.
Yet he had a feeling the opponent would not stop his actions easily.
What to call him? Calling him Tentacle Monster didn’t sound right. Calling him a beast with the witch also felt inappropriate.
Old White Seagull was stuck on naming and hesitated:
"Let's just call him the monster for now. Later, the Press will give him a name."
The commander replied:
"Understood."
At this moment, the commander boldly asked:
"Admiral White Seagull, why is the navy placing a bounty on the Flower Witch?"
The navy’s official reason was that the Flower Witch was a lunatic who would bury one hundred thousand navy soldiers, just like the legendary Flower Witch.
But in the commander’s view, the Flower Witch did not show that kind of madness.
At least from appearances, the tentacle monster beside the Flower Witch was the true threat of the sea! The real monster capable of overturning the ocean!
Old White Seagull did not conceal anything and slowly said:
"I'm not entirely sure, but it might have to do with the witch profession cards. You should know, in legend, there are thirteen lost witch profession cards.
For those who desire beauty, the fourth-tier witch profession cards are miracles.
And the Flower Witch, without a doubt, knows the whereabouts of these thirteen cards. That alone is enough to give her a bounty exceeding twenty million."
Old White Seagull sighed deeply.
The witch profession cards were creations of the original thirteen hunters, the goddess of beauty, capable of granting eternal youth.
The whereabouts of the thirteen fourth-tier profession cards were too tempting.
The Flower Witch being wanted was not just for this reason alone.
She herself was a treasure trove of secrets, so the navy’s top brass wanted to capture her alive.
Whether she had done evil deeds no longer mattered.
What they wanted was the countless treasures she knew.
Old White Seagull shook his head. Even with massive funds and the kingdom’s armored support, as long as the upper echelons did not change, it would still be extremely difficult for the navy to rise.
The commander noticed Old White Seagull’s displeasure and said:
"Admiral White Seagull, this operation can be called a great victory!
I heard there’s a barbecue boat near Sea Monster Island that’s quite popular. Why don’t we go have a meal to celebrate?
Maybe after eating, we can find those two people."
Old White Seagull looked at the mountain of documents in his hands:
"It’s not that easy to find people. They are bounty targets now. As an admiral, I can’t leave my post or slack off."
"Then... I’ll go? Admiral White Seagull."
"Hmm... bring me ten skewers of grilled squid."
...
...
At dusk.
On the dock of Sea Monster Island, a temporarily set-up barbecue stall.
Chen Qi wore an apron and skillfully flipped the skewers in his hand, the aroma of grilled meat drifting.
"Damn it, why did it end up like this again..."
Chen Qi gritted his teeth.
He and the Flower Witch, two sea bandits, were celebrating quietly on their small houseboat when they suddenly encountered a navy ship searching for them!
They almost got their identities discovered by the navy.
Fortunately, Chen Qi’s identity was solid—he was a famous chef who had been on the newspapers.
But the kind-hearted navy said to Chen Qi:
"Chef sir, you might not know, sea beasts are rampaging nearby, and there’s a disgusting tentacle monster too. Let us escort you safely back!"
The navy under the White Seagull was very friendly and would actively help civilians in danger.
Faced with the navy’s kind invitation, Chen Qi had no choice but to thank them.
Then these navy men got hungry, and he was forced to start barbecuing on Sea Monster Island.
And why did more than fifty customers inexplicably come over?
They even thoughtfully brought a pile of ingredients for his barbecue stall, eliminating any chance he’d run off due to lack of supplies.
Besides that, there was that perverted Seafood Sister from before.
The downside of fame...
Chen Qi gloomily ate a skewer of squid.
His original plan was to send the Flower Witch to the inn and then loot around Sea Monster Gorge.
At this moment, the crowd at the barbecue stall on the dock was still talking about the Devil Ray.
"We tell you, today at Sea Monster Gorge, the White Seagull crew encountered the witch. Besides that, there was a tentacle monster."
"Tentacle monster? I like that! What type? Are the tentacles big? Slippery? Soft?"
"The tentacles aren’t big, but very unique, growing on his body..."
"Growing tentacles on the body? Could he be the heir of the Deep Sea Hunters’ archenemy?"
Chen Qi was secretly shocked and broke out in a cold sweat.
Why did it feel like his fame was even greater than the Flower Witch?
Now he could only pray that all the customers here were fools who wouldn’t discover the Flower Witch.
Meanwhile, inside the small houseboat, the Flower Witch, pretending to be a waitress, was extremely nervous, sweat soaking her clothes.
What to do? What to do? Outside were all navy men, and bounty hunters too!
To avoid being discovered, she could only tremble inside the small houseboat while preparing ingredients and skewers.
"Why is it so hard to skewer these?"
"Waku waku (like this, like that, like this!)"
The deepsea water spirit under her feet was trying hard to teach her.
"I don’t understand!"
The Flower Witch was at her wit’s end.
She was now very curious how Chen Qi could understand the deepsea water spirit’s words. Did the deepsea water spirit come with subtitles every time it spoke?
With the help of the deepsea water spirit, the barbecue stall emitted bursts of fragrance and barely operated.
"Hopefully, we can get through the night smoothly..."
Chen Qi flipped the skewers while looking toward the sea.
In the distance on the ocean surface, he saw a tiny green algae stealthily swimming toward the small houseboat.
"Sea Monster Small Green Algae..."