Little Damarro raised his brows playfully, clearly eager to share his shocking experience of the day:

“The ship I’m on is a large merchant vessel dispatched to our Damarro Island under official orders.

And on the way here, we encountered something major.

We saw a massive luxury cruise ship from the Goldenfinch Kingdom, engulfed in thick smoke…

Can you believe it?

That steel-built luxury liner was torn in half, tossed into the sea like a piece of trash.”

A ship from the Goldenfinch Kingdom — it must be the one from the promotional video, where the foreign girl, the Flower Witch, was caught in a disaster.

“Did you discover anything?”

Chen Qi feigned curiosity with a bored face, playing dumb.

Little Damarro lowered his voice, continuing with a mysterious tone:

“Even though the ship was split in half, quite a few survivors were still aboard.

Our captain, being a kind soul, asked for a little money and supplies before rescuing them.

From those survivors, we learned they encountered a terrifying creature — one no weaker than the near-sea overlords!!!”

“And that’s not all — the survivors claimed they also saw a young girl walking across the sea, covered in flower petals, incredibly beautiful!

That girl could fight toe-to-toe with the massive dark creature that destroyed the steel vessel!

In the end, the two figures vanished from sight, swallowed by people’s fear.”

“Oh? Do you know where the girl or the creature went?”

Chen Qi asked.

Little Damarro scratched his head:

“How would I know? But Miss Perot, the top editor at the White Dove Times, already interviewed the survivors.

This might really be the reappearance of the legendary witch!

Unfortunately, Miss Perot is currently focused on tracking the Deep Sea Hunter’s treasure and the witch's sightings, so I couldn’t get her autograph.”

Chen Qi asked:

“That’s all?”

“Yeah. Well? Shocking, right?”

That’s it huh...

Chen Qi offered a polite smile.

Overall, this was all information he already knew.

The only useful detail was that the witch who’d survived the shipwreck seemed to be moving in areas close to his own.

Not shocked?! Can you stumble into events like these?!

Seeing Chen Qi’s lack of reaction, Little Damarro sounded annoyed:

“Alright, as we agreed, now it’s my turn to ask you questions.

I’ve got two!”

“Go ahead.”

Little Damarro glanced around before leaning in mysteriously and asking:

“Did you see any pirate ships out at sea today — like maybe one belonging to the Black Whale Crew?”

The Black Whale Crew!

That simple name stirred up a tidal wave inside Chen Qi.

Why was he asking about the Black Whale Crew?

Chen Qi didn’t answer right away. He looked toward the lighthouse in the distance.

If anything went wrong, the lighthouse keeper could likely help him out.

Right now, the area was safe, so Chen Qi answered:

“Nope. Someone like me, sailing a little boat as a chef, couldn’t survive running into pirates.”

Little Damarro eyed him up and down and nodded:

“True, you do look kinda weak. Okay, the second question.”

“Go ahead.”

“You probably know who I am — I’m Little Damarro.

Even though I’m from Damarro Town, my dad kept sending me away, so I barely know anyone my age around here.

So I want to ask — do you know if there’s a young guy in town who has sea beast sickness?”

As the words fell, the sea breeze gently stirred their hair.

Chen Qi’s eyes turned slightly cold.

Unfortunately, the only young man in Damarro Town with sea beast sickness... was him.

This question was clearly aimed at him.

Judging by the situation, someone had asked Little Damarro to snoop around.

Which meant — someone on that ship was his enemy…

The Black Whale Crew already moved this fast?

So cold… Little Damarro suddenly felt a chill on his back from the wind. He continued:

“You know? Honestly, you kinda look like one of those sickly sea beast patients...”

Halfway through his sentence, Little Damarro stopped and looked down.

Chen Qi hadn’t answered — he had walked into the cabin and come back with a fishing rod.

Little Damarro swallowed hard and asked:

“What are you doing with that?”

“Fishing.”

Chen Qi replied, swinging the rod a little.

Little Damarro chuckled:

“Hahaha, fishing? We’re moving! And where’s the fish even supposed to come from…”

“Huh?”

The next moment, Little Damarro realized the seemingly random swing had hooked the line around his neck.

Chen Qi yanked the rod hard and hauled “Little Damarro” right off the ship into the sea.

Boom!

Little Damarro splashed into the water, his heavy armor dragging him down as he flailed happily — or maybe in panic.

Judging from his movements, he seemed pretty excited.

Chen Qi reached out, graciously pulling Little Damarro back onto his boat, then asked with concern:

“You okay?”

Little Damarro coughed twice and glared at Chen Qi:

“You sneaky b*****d! That was dirty!”

“How could I be sneaky? It was just a miscast fishing rod, that’s all.”

Chen Qi replied while dragging Little Damarro by the leg into the cabin and shutting the door.

Then he peered out the window. No one stood where Little Damarro had been earlier, and nobody seemed to care about what happened.

Little Damarro lay on the floor, spitting out seawater.

Then he looked up, confused, and asked again:

“Did you really hook me by accident while fishing?”

Is this Damarro’s prized son actually an idiot...? Chen Qi sighed internally.

“Yes, but now I’ve got a question for you.

Why were you asking about sea beast patients?”

There was no doubt — Little Damarro already suspected him.

But if he were a Black Whale Crew accomplice, he would’ve already called for backup.

Little Damarro looked at Chen Qi’s kind expression and replied:

“It’s nothing really. Onboard, I met a black-hatted hunter with a mechanical arm.

He told me that back in Moonstone City, a young man with sea beast sickness stole a huge sum of money from their company and ran.

That guy’s supposedly from Damarro Town, so they came here to collect.

They said if anyone gave them intel, they’d get a cut.”

Little Damarro stood up and clapped his hands:

“I don’t really need money, but I haven’t made much either, so I figured I’d give it a shot.

So, do you know anything? If I get something out of it, I’ll split it with you — you kinda look broke.”

A hunter with a mechanical arm is looking for me — not Captain Blackeye or the Little Crow. Chen Qi’s thoughts raced.

If it were them, they’d use more direct violence.

And there was no one with a mechanical arm on the Sawshark.

“They’re from a different organization...”

Chen Qi racked his brain, digging through the original host’s memories.

He had fallen ill and gone to Moonstone City to work, where a so-called relative tricked him into joining a criminal trafficking gang called “Black Rabbit.”

If the Black Whale Crew wanted info on him, they’d likely go through the Black Rabbit Gang.

And yes — the Black Rabbit Gang did have a Tier 1 Transcendent with a mechanical arm.

A wanted criminal in Moonstone City known as “Iron Hand,” with a bounty of 200,000 Goldfinch Coins for human trafficking.

Chen Qi sorted through his thoughts — he wasn’t as flustered as he expected.

First, his current strength meant that a Tier 1 with a mechanical arm wasn’t much of a threat.

Second, the Black Whale Crew didn’t know what he’d taken from the Deep Sea Hunter’s treasure and wouldn’t kill him right away. They’d want to capture him alive.

Third, Damarro Town had more than just the lighthouse keeper, who had at least Tier 3 strength — there was also Mentor An, a graduate of the Royal University Medical Academy.

Chen Qi looked once again at the distant lighthouse.

All across the Moonstone Archipelago, many Transcendents hated pirates.

If the Sawshark showed up in this sea and tried to flee, it might not survive the return trip.

Chen Qi asked Little Damarro:

“Do you know where that hunter with the mechanical arm went? Still on the ship?”

In his memory, that hunter was a criminal with a 200,000 coin bounty.

He could take him out just by reporting him.

Little Damarro replied:

“He jumped ship when the vessel slowed down.”

“Jumped ship?”

Chen Qi was stunned.

Little Damarro said:

“Yeah, the ship had to show its flag as it neared the lighthouse and stopped briefly. He took that chance to jump.

We were stopped for a while.

He’s probably already on Damarro Island. If he finds the thief himself, we’ll miss our payday.”

“True.”

Chen Qi looked at Little Damarro. The guy still didn’t seem suspicious.

He might finally understand why this guy couldn’t pass the simplest exam.

Then, Little Damarro’s eyes lit up.

He suddenly noticed the aura around Chen Qi — he was a Transcendent!

Little Damarro perked up and spoke faster:

“You’ve got the feel of a Transcendent too.

I came back this time to enter a crack called Monster Kitchen, but I only have three people.

That crack’s kinda dangerous. It’s labeled E-rank, but I have a feeling it might be D-rank level.

I want five people.

And with my keen eyes, I saw the way you swung that fishing rod — you’ve got technique!

More people means more safety. Interested in joining?”

“...”

Chen Qi didn’t know what to say.

Sorry, that crack’s already been solo-cleared…

The Monster Kitchen crack had a cooldown of at least three days.

“Next time, definitely.”

He replied half-heartedly and walked out of the cabin with Little Damarro.

His tiny cabin boat, the massive merchant ship, and countless fishing boats slowly made their way to the dock.

Like coming home from work or school — returning always brought comfort.

On the dock, people anxiously awaited, hoping their loved ones would return.

“You old coot, you finally made it back! It rained again today. I thought you drowned!”

“You’re back! What? You caught a shark?!”

“Hahaha! Bro, what, no fish today? Doesn’t matter — come grab a drink!”

Under the warm glow of the setting sun, the scene felt extra heartwarming.

And in the distance, Chen Qi saw the Mayor of Damarro and Mentor An, busy handling local affairs.

An paused her paperwork. She smelled a familiar scent.

As the sea breeze brushed by, she looked up and smiled, waving at Chen Qi:

“Welcome back!”