The sun was high.
Above Sea Demon Island, a temporary naval meeting room had been set up.
"During the pursuit of Devilfish, the Bai Ou was attacked by the sirens and black armored sharks. We withstood the siren's death song and even captured seventy pirates aboard the Devilfish.
As for the witch and the monster that attacked the Devilfish, we have sent people to search intensively. All viable hiding spots around Sea Demon Island are under our scrutiny.
But as of now, there is still no news..."
The commander of the Bai Ou stood straight, reporting to the senior navy commander, Old Bai Ou.
This operation, they defeated the Devilfish and also took down ships of the Black Whale Group lurking within Sea Demon Gorge.
Looking solely at the results, they had achieved a complete victory!
The only flaw was the unexpected witch and monster.
In reports, this was an accident.
The witch was a person on the reward list, and as navy personnel, they were supposed to capture both the witch and the monster.
However, the commander of the Bai Ou was very grateful to the Flower Witch and the monster.
Had the witch and monster not appeared abruptly, the losses of the Bai Ou might have exceeded those of the Devilfish.
It could even be said that the witch and the monster had protected them.
Old Bai Ou looked at the blurred photograph:
"The witch has a companion? Is he really just Second-order in power as reported?"
The commander answered calmly:
"Yes, only Second-order in spiritual power. Catching him wouldn't be a difficult task."
Old Bai Ou, looking like he was smiling at a naive fledgling, chuckled:
"Appearances can be deceiving, remember how the legendary Captain Palu of the Sea God Pirate Group often displayed only Second-order strength."
"Indeed..."
The commander suddenly felt a chill, but he didn't voice any doubts.
How could a Second-order Transcendent easily master Water Walking and dare roam the seas filled with sea beasts?
Unless he was from a top-tier transcendent organization, it would not be possible.
Old Bai Ou handed the photograph to the commander, instructing:
"Mention to the bounty department to set the reward as for Third Rank. Additionally, have someone check the Sea God Pirate Group for anyone resembling this tentacled monster."
The commander took the photograph:
"Understood. What should we name the bounty?"
Old Bai Ou fell into thought.
The photograph only showed Chen Qi wearing Residual Fire Touch but provided no name.
Dressed in tattered Hunter's clothes of the last century, with tentacles growing underneath.
Although his appearance was memorable, he was still a nameless individual.
But Old Bai Ou had an intuition that the individual's actions wouldn't stop so easily.
What to name it? 'Tentacled Monster' wasn't quite right, and 'Beast,' since he was with the witch, wasn't suitable either?
Old Bai Ou, struck by indecision, struggled to decide:
"For now, let's just call him a Monster. Later on, the newspapers will give him a name."
The commander responded:
"Understood."
At that moment, the commander boldly asked:
"Commander Bai Ou, why are we, the navy, offering a bounty for the Flower Witch?"
The navy's rationale was that the Flower Witch was a menace bound to bury a hundred thousand naval troops just like the legendary Flower Witch.
But in the commander's view, the Flower Witch did not exhibit that kind of madness.
At least from what could be seen, the tentacled monster standing next to the Flower Witch was the real threat upon the sea—a monster truly capable of overturning the ocean!
Old Bai Ou did not conceal it, speaking slowly:
"I'm not entirely sure, perhaps it's related to the witch occupation card. You should know that in legends, there are thirteen lost witch occupation cards.
For some who yearn for beauty, a Fourth Rank witch occupation card is nothing short of a miracle.
Undoubtedly, the Flower Witch knows the whereabouts of these thirteen cards. This reason alone is enough to burden her with a bounty exceeding twenty million."
Old Bai Ou sighed deeply.
The witch occupation cards, creations of the Goddess of Beauty from legends' first thirteen hunters, ensure perpetual youth.
The whereabouts of the thirteen Fourth Rank occupation cards were profoundly tempting.
The Flower Witch being wanted wasn't solely for this reason.
She, in herself, was a treasure brimming with secrets, and consequently, the naval high command wanted to capture her alive.
Whether she had committed atrocities was now irrelevant.
What they wanted was simply the countless treasures known to the Flower Witch.
Old Bai Ou shook his head. Even with substantial funds and the support of the kingdom's armor, as long as the higher-ups didn't change, it would still be extremely difficult for the navy to become strong.
The Commander noticed Old Bai Ou's displeasure and said,
"Commander Bai Ou, we can say that this operation was a complete victory!
I heard that there's a barbecue boat near Sea Demon Island that seems to be very popular. How about we go have a meal there to celebrate, celebrate!
Maybe after dinner, we'll be able to find those two people."
Old Bai Ou looked at the piles of documents in his hands:
"It's not so easy to find people, they are now wanted. At this time, as a commander, I can't leave my post and be negligent."
"Then... I'm leaving? Commander Bai Ou."
"Um... bring me ten skewers of grilled squid."
...
...
At dusk.
On the docks of Sea Demon Island, a temporary barbecue stall.
Chen Qi, wearing an apron, skillfully flipped the skewers in his hands, the aroma of the meat wafting through the air.
"Damn it, why has it turned out like this again..."
Chen Qi gritted his teeth.
He and the Flower Witch, two sea robbers, were having a good celebration on their small houseboat when they suddenly encountered a naval ship searching for them!
They almost had their identities discovered by the navy.
Fortunately, Chen Qi's identity was solid, as he was a famous chef featured in the newspapers.
But then, the kind-hearted navy said to Chen Qi,
"Mr. Chef, you might not know, but there's been a rampage of sea beasts nearby, including nasty creatures with tentacles. Let us escort you back!"
The navy under Bai Ou's command was quite friendly and would actively help civilians in danger.
Facing the navy's friendly invitation, Chen Qi had to thank them.
Then, once the group of navy men got hungry, he was forced to start barbecuing on Sea Demon Island.
Moreover, for some unexplained reason, more than fifty customers came over.
They thoughtfully brought a pile of food to his stall, ensuring he wouldn't run away due to a lack of ingredients.
Besides that, there was that previous weird seafood sister.
The disadvantages of being famous...
Chen Qi unhappily ate a squid skewer.
His original plan was to leave the Flower Witch at the hotel and then go treasure hunting near Sea Demon Gorge.
At that moment, the people at the barbecue stall on the dock were still talking about the events on the Devil Fish.
"We're telling you, today near Sea Demon Gorge, people from Bai Ou's ship encountered the Witch, and besides her, there was a tentacled creature."
"A tentacled creature, I like it! What kind is it? Are the tentacles big? Are they slippery? Soft?"
"The tentacles aren't big. It's a very unique creature with tentacles growing on its body..."
"Tentacles growing on its body, could it be, he's the heir to the Deep Sea Hunter's arch-enemy?"
Chen Qi was secretly shocked, a few cold drops of sweat ran down his face.
Why did it seem like his fame was even greater than the Flower Witch's?
Now, he could only pray that all the customers here were fools who couldn't recognize the Flower Witch.
At that moment, inside the small houseboat, the Flower Witch pretending to be a waitress was also panicking, her sweat soaking her clothes.
What to do? What to do? The coast is full of navy and even Bounty Hunters!
To prevent being discovered, she had to shiver and handle the food ingredients inside the small houseboat, skewering them.
"Why is it so hard to skewer these?!"
"Waku waku (this way, that way, this way!)"
The deep-sea Water Elf below her feet tried hard to teach.
"I don't understand!"
The Flower Witch was on the verge of tears.
She was now very curious about how Chen Qi managed to understand the Water Elf's words; did the Water Elf provide subtitles with each sentence?
With the help of the Water Elf, the barbecue stall was fragrantly operating, barely running.
"Hopefully we can get through tonight okay..."
Chen Qi, while flipping the skewers, looked toward the sea.
On the distant sea surface, he saw a tiny green algae sneakily swimming toward the small houseboat.
"Sea Demon Little Green Algae..."