novelraw Chapter 165: You're in Danger
Chapter 165: You're in Danger
An wobbled unsteadily on the deck while carrying an enormous box over two meters tall. Chen Qi walked over and helped her place the box down on the deck.
"What's all this? So much?"
The box was so large that one might mistake An for someone moving house. She patted her dusty cat-like hands:
"Renovation supplies. My family runs a tavern. We recently renovated because of the Dimensional Tide, so we have spare furniture you might find useful, Qi."
Furniture... Chen Qi's face lit up with relief. Recently, both the navy and Moonstone City had been making changes due to the Dimensional Tide outbreak.
The main funds Chen Qi used to purchase this ship came from the Rift Sea investigation team. But ultimately, these were ill-gotten goods that couldn't be sold openly at weapon shops. For safety, Chen Qi could only sell them on the black market.
Items originally worth millions ended up being sold for half or even lower prices. Without trustworthy partners, the money he earned from selling weapons and supernatural items was much less than expected. This made raising ship purchase funds much harder than anticipated.
After scraping together everything - including Sea Cloud wool and Ghostfire Oil - he barely managed to afford the ship. Adding fuel costs, maintenance fees and other expenses left Chen Qi with alarmingly little cash remaining, unable to even purchase decent ingredients. Currently, neither Sea Cloud nor Ghostfire Fish had grown new materials yet.
Chen Qi had thought his new ship would remain barren for a long time: "Thank you, Teacher An! From now on, all my meals are free for you!"
"Mmm." An hummed lightly as she began unpacking the wooden crate. Chen Qi crouched down to help carefully remove the contents.Comfortable rocking chairs, white dining chairs, restaurant pendant lights, warm-toned wallpaper, a mini wardrobe, light blue curtains, fire extinguishers... There were even bar equipment like an ice maker, juice extractor, blue flame candles, and abstract art pieces as decorations.
Though secondhand, all items were well-maintained and would greatly improve the ship's appearance.
"This is..." Chen Qi's eyes widened as he pulled out two water spirit-shaped cushions and a new ship flag from the crate. The oversized water spirit cushions, twice their actual size, made incredibly comfortable sofa pads. Ships of different sizes required different flag dimensions - the ship management had mandated a new flag after purchase.
Unexpectedly, An had already handled this... Chen Qi unfolded the pristine flag. Against a stark white background, besides Beiguo's official chef hat emblem, there was a blue Deepsea Water Spirit. His food ship's flag actually featured a chef water spirit.
Did An like Deepsea Water Spirits too?... Chen Qi glanced curiously at An, who hadn't previously shown such fondness. Without a word, An lifted her chin like a proud little white cat.
Truly the most responsible mentor from the starter village... Chen Qi expressed heartfelt gratitude: "Thank you, Teacher An. This helps tremendously, and the design is quite creative."
"Ahem." Finally unable to suppress her smile, An covered her mouth lightly: "Beiguo's requirements for food ship flags aren't strict. I thought a chef water spirit would attract more customers while showcasing your uniqueness."
"Indeed." Chen Qi nodded.
Meanwhile, Burry, who'd been watching, proposed his mischievous idea: "Actually, I think having water spirits pole dancing as the ship's emblem, or one spoon-feeding its master would attract even more customers."
"This is a food ship, not one of Goldenfinch Kingdom's bizarre pet shops..." Both Chen Qi and An shot disapproving looks at the mechanic Burry.
Is my creativity that bad?... A sweat drop rolled down Burry's forehead as he took out his toolkit: "Alright, enough chatter. If you want a test sail tonight, we should finish renovations now. Oh, and don't forget my promised feast."
Chen Qi glanced at the clear sky - perfect timing for renovations. Let's begin!
With Burry's professional mechanical skills and An's meticulous efficiency, the restaurant was quickly refurbished.
...
At noon, Chen Qi placed a flowerpot on his bedroom windowsill, inserting the small yellow flower gifted by the Flower Witch. "A nice new home..." He surveyed his surroundings - finally a proper dwelling in this world, no more cramped little rooms.
After organizing his bedroom, Chen Qi headed to the restaurant where An and Burry already sat with utensils ready. As expected... He took out supernatural cabbages and carrots from the sea beast farm, stir-frying two simple vegetable dishes. Finally, using sugar made from Sea Sugarcane with pineapple and strawberries, he created an enormous mille-feuille fruit cake!
Presenting the dishes, Chen Qi said: "Thank you both. Please enjoy."
After tasting the cake, An asked: "By the way, Qi, when do you plan to sail?"
Chen Qi pondered: "Tomorrow or the day after..." He had many goods in Moonstone City that needed handling elsewhere. Only Rift Sea merchants wouldn't question their origins.
An frowned slightly as Burry interjected bluntly: "Sailing now isn't wise. Though the ghost ships are gone, stronger monsters have emerged in the sea." He eyed Chen Qi warningly: "These creatures have appeared even on Damarro Town's safe route to Moonstone City. My advice? Stay put!"
"The ghost ships are gone?" An seized this crucial point. She'd constantly worried about Chen Qi and other fishermen encountering ghost ships.
"Exactly! The Ghost Captain is dead!" Burry leaned back, producing a fresh White Pigeon Times: "Killed by the Flower Witch's accomplice - the Black Hunter!"
"The Black Hunter killed the Ghost Captain?" An snatched the newspaper. Today's headline prominently announced the Ghost Captain's demise by the Black Hunter's hand, accompanied by an in-depth interview by chief reporter Pelu.
Having previously met both the Flower Witch and Black Hunter, An had considered the witch a special third-tier supernatural while viewing the Black Hunter as merely an eccentric second-tier - someone with high bounties only due to his tentacles but weak actual strength. This completely overturned her perception!
Could the Black Hunter suppress his spiritual energy to second-tier perfectly?... No wonder the navy placed such high bounties. I actually thought they were making them up... An shook her head internally, realizing she'd overestimated her spiritual perception.
Meanwhile, Chen Qi sat quietly, suppressing a smile while pouring himself black tea. Pelu worked fast - yesterday's events already made headlines. He'd specifically used her to dispel previous rumors. Her reporting shouldn't be too outrageous.
As An read, her frown deepened. The Black Hunter allegedly sought the Witch profession card... disliked living human women... showed interest in the cloaked pirate elder and deep sea monsters... The Flower Witch's accomplice turned out to be such a terrifying, twisted humanoid monster!
The Black Hunter prefers men... An set down the paper, shaking her head: "You're in danger, Qi."