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On the crevice island of the Sea Beast Cavern, the burly First Mate of the Sawshark was pressing their captain’s head hard into the seawater with his thick hands.

Glug, glug~

Normally, this was a form of interrogation, but it was also the quickest way to calm down someone who had gone mad.

Right now, their captain needed to calm down.

The First Mate held the Captain's head underwater for a full minute before letting go.

“Calm now?”

Captain Blackeye burst up from the water and immediately said,

“No! That black blade was my beloved! I can’t live without—”

Glug, glug—

Before he could finish, the First Mate shoved Captain Blackeye’s head back into the water.

“A blade, you can always get another one.”

The First Mate wore an indifferent expression. After all, it wasn’t his blade.

Still not calm? Then soak a little longer!

At that moment, after inspecting the ship and tending to the wounded, Little Crow finally walked up to the two of them.

“One of Sawshark’s emergency boats is missing. He might’ve escaped using it...”

The First Mate blinked, his tone puzzled as he asked softly,

“You’re saying he actually left the Sea Beast Cavern before us, boarded our ship, and escaped using our boat?”

“Yes. Even though I find it hard to believe, that’s the current situation.”

“How the h*ll did he pull that off?”

The First Mate looked completely lost.

“It’s not impossible...”

Little Crow adjusted her mask with a knowing look.

“Though rare, some special types of parasitic sea beasts can possess humans for long durations. There are even cases of perfect symbiosis.

Have you heard of Skin-Painters? That’s a higher-tier parasitic sea beast that can disguise as a human for up to a month.

Though the one used on him wasn’t that kind, mutation can’t be ruled out.

After being parasitized, his speed and strength not only didn’t drop—they improved. Plus, the parasite gave him part of a sea beast’s aura.

So in that illusion, the possibility of him escaping is real.”

Such was the knowledge of a Deep Sea Researcher... Little Crow’s lips curled with a scholar’s pride.

The First Mate let out a long sigh.

“A mutated sea beast... which means he really escaped with the Deep Sea Hunter’s treasure.”

Treasure!

At that word, Captain Blackeye once again lifted his head from the water.

“Pursue him! Set sail now! We have to catch him! He has my treasure—”

Glug! Glug!

Before he could finish, the First Mate dunked him under again.

“Pursue what! Everyone’s badly wounded! We need to rest for a while.

Besides, this vast ocean—so much time’s passed, we’ve no idea which direction he ran.

He might’ve been infected by the sea beast and is already in the sea…”

Finding someone in the ocean was harder than one could imagine.

And legend said that those parasitized by sea beasts would eventually walk into the sea, becoming one with it forever.

In other words, that parasite might’ve driven Chen Qi to throw himself into the ocean.

The First Mate didn’t believe Chen Qi was still alive.

“Sea beasts go where water goes. If he couldn’t escape the parasite, then falling into the sea was his only fate...

But if he did break free, then he’s definitely gravely wounded…”

Little Crow shook her head. Logic told her Chen Qi wouldn’t meet a good end.

But emotionally, she still believed he was alive.

“No! No! He won’t die!”

At that moment, Captain Blackeye raised his head again with a jolt. Both his logic and feelings told him Chen Qi was alive!

He roared,

“That man is no ordinary guy—I believe in him! He carries the will of my Black Blade! He’ll survive this!”

“Hmph, talking about inheriting will now? Were you two that close? Wasn’t it you, idiot, who gave him the blade in the first place...”

Little Crow curled her lips, mocking him harshly—completely forgetting she was the one who asked for coins to help Chen Qi deal with the chest monster.

This captain who always broke promises was finally getting his karma!

“You’re done for, Captain. You’ve lost it...”

The First Mate shook his head and shoved that head into the seawater again.

The long-awaited treasure had vanished just like that, and it had clearly messed with the Captain’s mind.

The First Mate tried to talk sense into him.

“Captain, try looking at it from another angle.

Don’t think of it as him running away. Think of it as the Deep Sea Hunter’s treasure escaping from beneath the Wall of Blood-Eyes in the Sea Beast Cavern!

Picture it like this—that treasure chest grew legs and made it to a safe place!

Remember those days we hunted Mandrake Roots? Just think of him as one of those roots.”

Captain Blackeye cooled down a bit in the water, then lifted his head and said,

“You’re right... even if he ran, this treasure is way easier to retrieve than that chest behind the Wall of Blood-Eyes.

It’s like... we’ve got ourselves a new treasure map!

The only concern is if word gets out, the higher-ups will come for us eventually. Then my treasure...”

Self-delusion... Little Crow looked at the two of them, utterly speechless.

Too naive!

They completely ignored the possibility that Chen Qi might sell the treasure, or get robbed by other pirates.

The First Mate spoke again.

“Now, are you calm, Captain?”

Captain Blackeye nodded.

“Yeah. As long as we keep this quiet within the Black Whale Crew, that treasure will eventually be mine—no! Ours—Sawshark’s!

Come to think of it, I should really thank him! Thank him for giving us a new ‘treasure map’!”

Hearing this level of self-deception, Little Crow said,

“Right, Captain, I forgot to tell you—I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”

Captain Blackeye shook the seawater from his head, his hair flowing dramatically.

“The good news.”

“According to our info, before escaping, he even went to the galley and grabbed some food.

If he were fully taken over by a sea beast, he wouldn’t do something like that.

That means he hasn’t been completely controlled. There’s still a chance he’s alive.”

A chance to survive!

Because if they ever hoped to retrieve the treasure, it all depended on Chen Qi being alive!

Great news! Captain Blackeye grinned, showing off his glittering gold tooth.

“I knew it! He won’t die that easily!

So... what’s the bad news?”

Little Crow snapped her fingers.

“The evidence that he was still somewhat clear-headed—besides the missing food—is this:

He also took that limited-edition fishing rod you bought by delaying ten crew members’ pay and adding your own money.

There’s no way a sea beast would take a fishing rod. That proves he was still thinking clearly.”

“My fishing rod...”

That was a high-end brand! Last time he used it to catch a 20-pound fish! Captain Blackeye immediately felt his blood rushing up his throat. He wanted to grab his blade and slash someone—

Wait. My blade’s gone!?

His blood was about to burst from his skull—

Glug, glug—

The First Mate, quick as lightning, shoved the Captain’s head underwater again.

“You need to calm down. Again!”

“(⌓‿⌓)”

Hahahaha... Little Crow struggled to hold back laughter, keeping up the composed front of a ship’s doctor.

Nice work! My man!

She slowly turned around and walked toward the rocky shore with light steps.

Waves lapped at her boots, and the sea breeze brushed her hair.

Standing on the stone, her black hair swayed softly with the wind.

She stared blankly in the direction of the ship’s stern.

In a haze, she imagined Chen Qi dragging his parasite-wracked body, relying on sheer willpower to climb onto the dinghy—embracing the sea, and embracing freedom...

So much had happened in a single day.

She never imagined someone could leave such a deep impression on her in just one day.

“So cool...”

She tilted up the crow mask stained with sea beast blood, revealing her small scarred but slightly cute face.

Without the mask, her face really didn’t have much intimidation factor.

As a kid, she used to wish she had a badass face. After trying all sorts of things, she found that a mask was still the most reliable.

As a ship’s doctor and a triple-year undercover agent, Little Crow didn’t care much for the Deep Sea Hunter’s treasure.

Things of that level would never land in her hands. At most, she’d get a few coins.

So to her, Chen Qi’s escape brought a strange joy—and a little longing. A little hope.

Those who could sail freely on the sea... were truly rare.

Still, even with a decent steam-powered dinghy, whether he’d survive landing on shore depended on one thing—

The weather.

“May the Sea Goddess bless us and keep the sea calm.”

Little Crow felt the sea breeze and prayed.

Just as her prayer ended, a raindrop the size of a bean fell straight into her eye.

Ow!

Why...? According to the navigator’s forecast, today was supposed to be clear skies.

She looked up.

A storm was coming...

And it didn’t look like any ordinary storm.

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