On deck, the underlings were playing cards by the light of the rhombic stone.

They were cursing and swearing, all with tempers flaring.

Yuan Tong stood at the stern, hand on the ship's rail.

He knew everyone was upset.

He was too.

But there was no helping it.

Circumstances were stronger than people, and when the Deputy Commander of the Seventh Fleet, He Jiu, gave an order, it was the command of the Dead Sea Knights. If his crew wanted to scrape a living on the Dead Sea, they had to bow their heads.

After the last job, he had wanted to retire and return to his old trade as a craftsman. Now with some savings, he could buy a workshop in the city and lead a stable life.

Then a knight guard from the Dead Sea Knights came and praised him.

He said, "We'll give all the nearby maritime jobs to you, as long as you, leader Yuan, stay here one more day, this area will be yours. We trust you, with you in charge, everyone feels assured."

"Leader Yuan should find a woman, have a child; if need be, I can introduce someone, so there will be an heir hereafter. We trust the Yuan family, you're a friend to the Dead Sea Knights."

These words made Yuan Tong's heart sink.

The Dead Sea Knights had no intention of letting him retire.

Although not stated explicitly, Yuan Tong knew the consequences of refusal would be unbearable.

Only the sea raiders approved by the Dead Sea Knights could survive; otherwise, even a large Pillage Group would have to hide in those dangerous waters where the whip of the Dead Sea Knights couldn't reach.

Yuan Tong was already past 47, quite old, his body increasingly weakening, and the risks of the Dead Sea had left him with many hidden injuries and diseases. After fifteen years as a sea raider, he now only wanted to retire peacefully and lead a normal life.

But reality wouldn't allow it.

It reminded him of his younger years. He was a ship worker in the shipyards of Steel Port City, where moving up took a long time and income was scarce for long periods.

In the trade of craftsmanship, to advance your craft, you needed to practice more, and practice required materials and tools, hence money.

Yuan Tong started in the factory at 10 and wasn't more than an ordinary craftsman by 32, with each annual assessment presenting ever stronger competitors. The prospect of being listed in the Craftsmen Guild and becoming a registered craftsman seemed more and more distant.

As a registered craftsman, you could get a letter of recommendation from the Craftsmen Guild and live comfortably in any city. You wouldn't be like the common craftsman who might be dismissed due to injury or decreased dexterity with age.

As he aged and saw no hope for the future, Yuan Tong felt increasingly anxious and lost.

At this juncture, the shipyard suddenly announced they needed 5 craftsmen to serve as repairmen, with a requirement to travel with the ship for at least a year.

Ship workers were responsible for maintaining and repairing the vessels en route, laborious and dangerous, but the pay was much better than in the shipyard.

Yuan Tong bit the bullet and joined.

Little did he expect to end up on a pirate ship, where everyone except him was a bona fide raider.

Surprisingly, the raiders treated him with courtesy.

Because the business of maritime piracy meant gambling with their lives, those who had really engaged in it knew that death could occur at any moment.

Yet, it wasn't the act of robbery that was most likely to cause death, but the unpredictable Dead Sea. That was the real killer for the raiders, or any Dead Sea mariner.

Having a reliable, meticulous, and practical ship worker was like adding a layer of insurance for the crew, potentially life-saving in critical moments.

Not caring for the ship and messing around were sure ways to get people killed.

One rapids, one explosion, could be too much for the fragile vessel to bear, and if the ship sank, no one would survive.

Thus, an odd thing happened.

Yuan Tong was treated better on a raider ship than in the shipyard, his presence respected and valued even more.

During his years with the ship, it never experienced danger due to technical maintenance issues; he always detected and repaired any issues in advance.

After getting approval from the boss, Yuan Tong recommended expanding the coverage of Light Soot on the ship's hull, upgrading the Light Imprint Structure on the keel for increased flexibility and speed, and equipping life rafts that could be deployed in an emergency.

This saved the crew from death on several occasions.

The only close call was when some large creature passed by and cracked the hull. Yuan Tong desperately dived into the cabin and managed to hammer in nails to patch the deadly breach in a short time. But due to the ship's instability and continuous exposure to intense Death Light, he lost his left eye.

Seven years after he boarded, the boss retired and appointed Yuan Tong as his successor, to lead this group of raiders. There were no objections.

A leader who could keep his brothers alive was a good leader.

Otherwise, no matter how much loot they gathered, once a man died, everything was lost.

Yuan Tong planned to find a successor after a 7-year term and happily begin his retirement.

To retire safely, he improved the operational procedures, demanding everyone be swift in their actions.

Interceptions had to be quick, loading needed to be swift, fleeing had to be fast, no killing, no brawling, no idle troublemaking, maintaining professionalism throughout the operation.

Thanks to this approach, one ship became two, and the crew grew from 9 to 22—all raiders who had defected from other groups.

Yuan Tong and his crew gained some renown in the local raider circles, their style of conduct praised by many.

And then, they caught the attention of the Dead Sea Knights.

They extended an olive branch, hoping Yuan Tong's Pillage Group would become their friend.

This was, of course, an offer that could not be rejected.

The benefits were plentiful, with the backing of the gigantic organization the Dead Sea Knights, safety was much increased. Other raiders on the seas would respect the Knight Order, restraining from infighting, and even if someone was caught, they could pull strings within the Knights to get them out.

In short, it's good to take shade under a large tree.

But every gain came with a price.

What Yuan Tong had to give in return was unconditional obedience to the commands issued by the Dead Sea Knights. As long as it concerned the waters where he operated, they would find him.

It had always been ordinary knights who came to him before, but this time, it was Deputy Commander He Jiu of the Seventh Fleet giving instructions personally.

"We need you to investigate an organization called the Wasteland Development Company."

This organization had snatched a Dead Sea Alien that the Knight Order had spent a great deal of effort to locate. When the "Accordion" of the Seventh Fleet went to confront them, it never returned.

Yuan Tong was clear on the matter.

An opponent who could easily destroy the warships of the Dead Sea Knights was definitely not someone a small fry like him could provoke.

But the orders from the Knight Order were also mandatory.

So he took his men around the core area of the Wasteland Development Company, obtaining information through the locals of Mao Valley Town.

Besides that, he dispatched Scout Birds to ensure immediate threat detection.

Two ships were also docked in a far northern beach area.

But Yuan Tong couldn't shake a lingering unease.

The key was that astonishing Dead Sea Alien.

Like a small mountain, its body sprouted numerous deformed steel arms. These arms dug out aging organs from within and discarded them, then sculpted new organs from mud, metal, and other materials before stuffing them back inside.

The Alien continually emitted flashes of light, its body covered in eyes capable of shooting beams, as if no place could escape its gaze.

The vision was truly heart-stopping.

Even more bizarre, the head of the Wasteland Development Company made his home within the Alien's body.

The chairman's primary activity was surprisingly engaging in farming activities— he had even hired two Guangna Species mechanics and electricians at a high price to do the cultivation.

To Yuan Tong, this was just beyond comprehension.

He had heard that powerful individuals all had their eccentricities.

Perhaps, this was the chairman's hobby, to engage in farming or such.

...

In the night.

Yuan Tong was momentarily lost in thought when he suddenly noticed that the card-playing and curses had disappeared, and the ship was eerily quiet.

He slowly turned his head.

The crew members on the deck had been subdued by black samurai crabs, their sharp pincer-blades at their throats, making them stiff and afraid to resist.

A black-clothed, black-haired youth looked over: "Are you their leader?"

That face was familiar.

The chairman of the Wasteland Development Company, Zhou Yi.

He had indeed discovered their arrival long ago.

A sense of relief washed over Yuan Tong.

Finally, he was free.

"Please spare their lives; they are just a bunch of ordinary raiders who know nothing. They had no choice but to follow orders and pose no threat to someone as powerful as you."

Yuan Tong knelt on both knees, his head touching the deck in submission, "Kill me or flay me as you wish, I will tell you everything I know."

He thought to himself.

This is probably the end most raiders come to.

Even if his brothers survived here, He Jiu would silence them.

Why was retirement so hard to achieve?

Yet the young man squatted down, whispering to him, "He Jiu sent you, and he never intended for you to make it back alive."

"If your answers satisfy me, I won't kill you, and I'll even show you a way to survive."

Yuan Tong's gaze was one of shock.

His conversation with He Jiu had been in the Knight Order's defense base— that place had the chairman's people too!

The chairman had connections everywhere.

Perhaps there was a slim chance for survival after all!