```
The stormy rain kept washing over his face.
"Did I outrun a ghost ship?"
Chen Qi looked down at the dilapidated little houseboat beneath his feet.
The speed of the small houseboat was now even slower than his running speed on the open sea!
Then, he glanced at the huge traveling merchant ship in front of him.
The hull, painted in gray and white, bore a gigantic white dove at the bow, with the dove lifting its head towards the sky as if unafraid of any storms.
'White Dove Ship,' a type of traveling merchant ship notorious in the Witch Sea for its extreme speed, was under the operation of the White Dove Newspaper.
Compared to other merchant ships, the White Dove Ship had a rather good reputation.
Based on the shipping route, their destination was also Moonstone City.
There were many types of ghost ships, and without enough information, one mustn't rashly make contact.
The ghost ship could likely turn his little houseboat into mere cinders, devouring it completely!
Chen Qi shouted at the top of his lungs:
"My ship's engine is broken, can you give me a lift?"
Deckhands aboard the merchant ship fell silent for a moment.
Their merchant ship was in full flight, with no time to pick up an ordinary fisherman.
Under normal circumstances, he might have negotiated with the captain, potentially appealing to his kindheartedness.
But on this voyage, all their guests were renowned figures from all over, with significant reputations!
These guests wouldn't want to see a dirty, sodden fisherman who'd fallen overboard, ruining their mood.
Not to mention that behind their traveling ship was a vicious and relentless ghost ship.
Quickly, Chen Qi took out a water elf and the White Dove Newspaper's business card:
"I am a chef from Moonstone City, and I can pay one hundred thousand Shell Coins as compensation!"
One hundred thousand Shell Coins... The blond sailor hesitated.
Right at that moment, the captain with the golden teeth, who was dealing with the storm, glanced at Chen Qi and revealed his gleaming golden teeth, his face a picture of shock.
He recognized this person, the famous chef from Moonstone City! The owner of the Water Elf Restaurant!
Nowadays, at the docks, there were still some people looking forward to this chef's return, eager for him to cook them a delicious meal!
In fact, a sign had been erected that read 'Looking Forward to the Return,' and some had even hired a witch to perform a summoning ritual!
He must have made a good deal of money; he could rake in a hefty sum... The captain with the golden teeth shouted loudly:
"Okay! He's a Second-order Transcendent, I've tasted his cooking, he's the owner of the Water Elf Restaurant, throw him a rope!"
A Second-order Transcendent may not have a very high status, but it signified someone with some abilities.
Many small gang leaders have Transcendent ranks that are barely Second-order.
The ship's speed did not decrease.
"Ah, the captain wants to make some money again..."
In the howling wind, the blond sailor, from the deck, threw a rope thicker than his forearm down from the ship.
Chen Qi made a fast decision, catching the sturdy rope, then handed it to the deep-sea water elf number one.
Without any superfluous communication, the most reliable deep-sea water elf number one immediately understood his master's intentions and began entwining the houseboat with the rope.
The blond sailor was dumbfounded. The chef in front of him surely didn't plan to bring that ship on board in this storm, did he?
Before he could even react, Chen Qi took an agile step, stepping onto the ship's deck and locking eyes with him.
What was happening?
The blond sailor stepped back in shock as if he had seen a ghost!
What in the world was this man planning to do?
Then, the sailor heard the man before him whisper:
"Explode."
Boom!
The water elf below the small houseboat exploded with a sudden force!
With the massive impact, the little houseboat felt like it was flying for an instant.
Chen Qi gripped the rope with all his might. Taking advantage of the momentum, like a sailor filled with spinach-fueled strength, he pulled his engine-damaged houseboat, with a fierce tug from the waves, up onto the deck.
Bang!
The houseboat struck the deck with a loud noise, drawing everyone's gaze.
The sailors were stunned, staring at the scene.
How could this man be so strong, what did he eat to grow up!
The disheveled Chen Qi shook the rainwater from his hair and said to the people around him:
"Thank you. My boat is broken, it can only be repaired at Moonstone City's shipyard."
Chen Qi looked around at those present.
The reason he boarded the ship in such a brusque manner.
On one hand, he couldn't possibly abandon his little houseboat, even with the engine broken, its interior still housed a Steam Hand engine.
On the other hand, he absolutely had to prevent the chance of being fleeced by these merchants.
These merchant ships were not run by philanthropists after all.
```
If you didn't show enough force when boarding the ship, you would definitely get swindled.
The gentler ones would use bunny girls, gambling, feasts, and the like to give you a good time, make you comfortable, before draining all your money.
The rougher ones would simply take a Gatling gun spewing blue flames and aim it at your head to rob your money.
But regardless, as long as you didn't appear strong enough, you would inevitably be tricked.
Thus, when Chen Qi boarded the ship, he displayed his muscles.
At this moment, the gold-toothed captain of the White Dove cruise ship was staring dumbfounded at Chen Qi, swallowing back the thought of charging extra.
The gold-toothed captain's Transcendent level wasn't high, merely a Second-tier Transcendent "Merchant" with no real combat capabilities.
Just one glance was enough for the widely experienced captain to sense that this man had strength not inferior to a Second-order Transcendent from the mafia!
Raising the price was no longer an option; all he could do was call a few bunny girls over and try to make some hard-earned money.
The gold-toothed captain lamented.
Six deep-sea Water Elves hopped back from the sea and ran over to Chen Qi's side.
Chen Qi took a look at his little houseboat.
The little sea demon was honestly hiding in a bucket, while Hai Yunduo was disguised as wool, squeezed into the cramped cabin.
As his business grew, the small houseboat continued to become more crowded.
He needed to buy a bigger boat soon... Chen Qi took out 100,000 Shell Coins from his backpack card and handed them to the captain:
"Appreciate your help, everyone. My little boat had some problems, resulting in most of the ingredients I got from the Crack Sea spoiling."
Going to the Crack Sea alone? The gold-toothed captain took the money and forced a smile:
"No worries, Chef, what with the rampant pirates these days. Vessels like ours doing small business should help each other out when facing these ghostly calamities from the crack."
Deep-sea Water Elf Number One climbed onto Chen Qi's head to shield him from the rain and to stand guard against his master's enemies.
If anyone dared to attack the master, Deep-sea Water Elf Number One would be the first to defend!
Chen Qi asked curiously:
"The calamity of the ghost ships? Can you elaborate a bit more?"
The captain with the golden eyes suddenly clenched his teeth, showing a terrified expression:
"Sir, you should know about the consequences of crack mutations, right?"
"Crack mutation..."
Chen Qi pondered.
The consequences of a crack mutation weren't limited to the elevation of the crack's rank. In addition, a mutated crack would become a source of pollution, further contaminating the world.
For instance, the number 8 train crack he had encountered previously, if left untraversed and its rank reached C-tier, then in the dark corners of the city, there might really be a train running, clanging and inviting weary travelers to head to Nether River.
If the cracks weren't dealt with in time, they would transform into a natural disaster, roaming the world!
Therefore, under the Crack Tide, more and more strange phenomena would occur above the vast sea.
Chen Qi asked:
"The ghost ship chasing you, was it also caused by a crack mutation?"
Following that, the gold-toothed captain lowered his head:
"Yes, it's a ghost ship with green fire, incredibly fast. Lately, within the nearby seas, it has already robbed multiple ships.
They'll replace the local sea lords and have become the new dominators of the nearby seas!
Our ship has already been outfitted with the Bonfire Energy propulsion system from inland, but despite that, we still can't match the speed of this ghost ship.
If it weren't for a powerhouse on board taking action, by now, we probably would have been completely plundered by the ghost ship."
The new local sea lord, such big talk... Chen Qi thought with an inward smile.
However, from the captain's description, the speed of this ghost ship was certainly extraordinary.
Bonfire Energy Company, like Steam Hand, also in charge of an A-tier crack, was a well-known big company in Shell Country.
The power cores of many giant Steam Mechas were made by Bonfire Energy Company.
Even a White Dove cruise ship using their engines, had quite a swift sailing speed on the sea.
Chen Qi then asked for more details about the calamity – the ghost ship.
The sea ghosts who robbed on the big seas were named Green Fire Ghosts, a type of pirate ghost that liked to plunder and aimed to dominate the nearby waters.
Their pirate ship was extremely fast, which was why many ships were helpless against them.
And just an hour ago, this ship had been targeted by the ghost ship but had managed to shake off the pursuing ghost ship by relying on the passengers inside.
Now, the ghost ship still hadn't given up the chase! They claimed to be the new local sea lords and demanded blood and money from any who passed through the nearby seas.
Chen Qi looked down at the cabin below his feet.
On this ship, there was someone capable of repelling the ghost ship.
At that moment, from below, ear-splitting curses could be heard:
"Quiet down up there! Our transaction feast is about to begin!"
"Hurry up and bring all the courtesans, gigolos, and delicacies from your ship up here!"
Hearing the shouts from below deck, the gold-toothed captain shuddered all over.
Such a strong Transcendent presence...
Chen Qi thought to himself.
It seemed that the passengers on this ship were no ordinary people.