Chaotic World Book
Chapter 554 - 538

Chapter 554: 538

"Why hasn’t the Third Leader come out yet? She’s been in there for an hour!" Hua Zhenming paced back and forth outside the courtyard. "Could something have really happened?"

The subordinate pirates exchanged glances, feeling it was less about something happening and more about the Third Leader taking a fancy to that man. If anything, it would make more sense for her to be creating quite the stir with him.

The Third Leader was, after all, a strong figure from the Third Layer Secret Treasure. If something were to happen, she wouldn’t have been unable to call out for help without a moment’s notice, not even the Sea Emperor himself could have managed that.

Which means it’s more likely they were... busy with other things...

Of course, they couldn’t be entirely certain of that. Quietly sneaking into the building, they crouched near the door, eavesdropping, ready to break in and rescue if anything seemed amiss.

Just as they hunkered down, the door "bang" swung open, knocking several pirates into a tumble. Awkwardly looking up, there stood San Niang, expressionless, gazing down at them.

Eyes met, laden with discomfort.

Only then did San Niang remember she had indeed spent a considerable amount of time alone in the room with a man... They had talked so long, if one’s imagination ran wild, it would seem everything that could have been done, was done...

Pirates didn’t place much importance on chastity; if there were women amongst the crew, most would likely engage freely during the voyages, with a few exceptions being just that—rare. One could only guess what the pirates were thinking now.

San Niang’s face was frosty, her stomach churning with irritation. Speaking of trust, the mere fact that she could discuss things this long alone in a room with him was a natural display of deep-set trust... And now her reputation was spoiled from Beimang all the way to beyond the East Sea...

"What’s the matter, San Niang?" In an unfortunate turn, Zhao Changhe peeked his head out from behind her.

Without turning back, San Niang pushed him away with one hand on his forehead. "What’s it to you? Go back to sleep!"

Zhao Changhe’s face was squished, his voice distorted: "Sleep? I’ve been hungry the whole journey... My nutrition hasn’t kept up, and you even ate the crab..."

He whined about being hungry the entire journey, about his poor nutrition, about why the crab was only meant for the leader to eat.

Hua Zhenming and the others sneaked a look; San Niang, without a ripple of emotion, and her dull mind turning a thousand thoughts, finally managed to squeeze out: "What are you looking at? Go prepare some food, something high-energy."

"Oh~" The pirates finally let out a long sigh, having apparently been holding their breath.

San Niang stamped her foot. "Zhao, go drop dead!"

"Crack!" The floorboards cracked under the force of her stomp. The pirates scattered. "We’re on it, dishes coming right up!"

San Niang called after them, "Don’t forget to charge him, and double the price!"

"...Got it, Third Leader." Doubling it, huh? Like it’s some kind of debauchery fee?

Zhao Changhe said helplessly from behind, "You don’t even take commissions from the fleet, yet you’re hounding me for food money..."

San Niang spun around, indignant: "I have been taken for someone you’ve dallied with, and by the hour no less! Have you paid for that?"

Zhao Changhe pocketed his hands. Not paying doesn’t count as debauchery... But he dared not say that out loud; saying so might just get him death by turtle stomp.

He silently lamented that she came of her own accord, not dragged by him... How such a destroyer of reputations could play its role so well was beyond him.

He could only change the subject: "By the looks of it, you’re not planning to make your move tonight?"

"Of course not tonight, look..." San Niang gestured towards the hall below, where a group of Tang family sailors were already drunk and disorderly: "With them like this, what move could possibly be made?"

"Uh..." Zhao Changhe seized the opportunity: "Then don’t rush off, let’s talk some more. Since your reputation is already this, might as well chat with the door open."

San Niang shot him a sidelong glance, as if to say your claim of Bao Yuan guarding is so distasteful with ulterior motives.

Zhao Changhe, however, hadn’t thought of those matters. He was genuinely curious about San Niang’s secrets: "You said you can’t remotely control things from Yellow Sand Market, then why do they still respect you so much?"

San Niang coldly responded: "If you’re able to pin everyone down and beat them senseless on your first day here, you too would earn respect."

"The assumption being a duel rather than a thousand pirates ganging up to hack at you. First, someone has to vouch for you, introducing you as the Third Leader..."

San Niang replied: "Of course, I’ve always been the Third Leader. It’s just that most newcomers have only heard of me, never seen me."

Zhao Changhe, with a sycophantic gesture towards the table, said: "Third Leader, Venerable, shall we continue our chat?"

San Niang glanced at him: "Forget it, take care of your nutrition. Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll come looking for you."

After saying so, she strode away.

...

The night grew deeper.

A table laid out with seafood for ten, it was unclear if San Niang had maliciously slaughtered a pig.

Zhao Changhe didn’t mind, and leisurely consumed the dishes meant for ten, finishing every last bit with gusto.

Eating was no longer just about ingestion and digestion, as the energy from the food would be actively decomposed and utilized by the Cultivation Technique, directed to every inch of the body where it was needed. In reality, eating an Elixir for replenishing energy and consuming an entire table’s worth of dishes weren’t much different, except that one would miss out on the pleasure of eating... No matter, a great battle was upon them, and maintaining peak physical condition was of utmost importance.

Zhao Changhe had a vague premonition...

The pirates probably had a very integrated network of informants, and likely knew the exact numbers of troops and ships that were coming to eliminate them, and even when they would arrive. That’s why they hadn’t evacuated the island yet, possibly even planning to launch a surprise attack to defeat each enemy as they arrived... But Zhao Changhe felt things wouldn’t go as smoothly as they hoped.

The human forces, you have your spies, perhaps some are even at the King Level—it’s likely many kings don’t want their people worshipping a Sea Emperor and disregarding them.

But what about the Sea Race and those energy constructs?

If you can infiltrate both fish and androids with your spies, that’s truly impressive.

Even Zhao Changhe suspected that the pirates might not be aware of these creations’ existence. The Sea Emperor’s rise to prominence was only this year’s occurrence. Previously, many things were done in secret, many not revealed at all. It was only when Xia Longyuan decided to take the risk of causing collateral damage and captured that Sea Race energy being that he "consumed" and thereby discovered much information—others may not have this knowledge.

And this place might just be the stage for a full revelation.

In the thick of night, the island’s lights were bright, with sounds of revelry from drinking, the noise of gambling dens, and the laughter from the brothels spreading far and wide, the atmosphere was lively and auspicious. Extending the Five Senses out to their limits, one could faintly hear the relentless waves, while on the other side of the dock where the Tang family was stationed, the pirates’ ships patrolled the seas.

The pirate’s main base might not be here... This place was too obvious, even common seafarers knew of it... Their main base should be hidden somewhere unknown to anyone.

As he contemplated this, fireworks suddenly surged towards the sky in the distance, exploding in a burst of colors that scattered like a shower of flowers.

San Niang was in her room, stewing over how her reputation had been destroyed. At the sound of the fireworks, she stood up abruptly.

Outside, Hua Zhenming knocked urgently on the door, "Leader San, the base is alarmed, we are under attack!"

San Niang strode out the door, "Do we have a traitor among us?"

Logically, there had to be a traitor; otherwise, it would have been impossible for our hidden base to be so directly discovered. The ocean is vast, with many islands yet undiscovered, not marked on any maritime chart, forming a concealed haven for pirates. How could it be so easily found?

But Hua Zhenming, frowning, had a feeling that there wasn’t one.

Not only was the location exposed oddly, but the timing of the attack was also strange. According to the intelligence, the joint naval forces had just set sail and it should take them at least ten days to half a month to get here, how could they have arrived already?

The pirates had no time for confusion and scattered immediately, rushing to their ships that were patrolling behind the island.

San Niang boarded the ship and looked back suddenly, realizing they hadn’t brought Zhao Changhe...

Ah, forget it, the Tang family’s fleet isn’t useful right now anyway. Could they really be missing one Zhao Changhe?

On the other side, Zhao Changhe wiped his mouth, stepped on the eaves, and leapt off the island, heading straight for Tang family’s flagship.

Not everyone had disembarked the fleet to join in the chaos; half of the crew had to remain vigilant on the ships, in case of enemy attacks, with the roles swapping at the next island.

This time, as captain, Tang En didn’t disembark and stood at the bow looking at the distant fireworks in astonishment, "Where has the battle broken out?"

Zhao Changhe approached swiftly under the moonlit sky, "Old Tang, do we have enough men ready to fight?"

Tang En said, "Mobilizing just the flagship should be enough, the other ships can at best play a transport role, most of the crew are dead drunk and can’t fight."

Zhao Changhe said, "Wake everyone up, get on the ships and evacuate immediately, including our own people and the island’s residents. Take them all."

Tang En’s eyes widened in shock, "Take the island’s residents too? Are we kidnapping them?"

"If we have to kidnap, then kidnap. The pirates are in complete disarray, they’ve no mind to care for this place. I’ll manage it for that fool for now," said Zhao Changhe. "You handle this; don’t worry about the goods, just bring the people. Also, allocate a small boat for me."

Tang En asked, "What do you need a small boat for?"

"Of course, to join the battle," Zhao Changhe smiled. "The Sea Race conflict has already begun."

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PS: I forgot to ask for monthly tickets, let the editor add a line, please vote with a monthly ticket ah~