Chen Qi opened the cabin door:
"Good afternoon."
"Wow——"
Teacher An walked into the small cabin, curiously scanning the interior of the boat.
Yesterday, no matter how one looked at it, it was a dilapidated old boat.
Now, with furnishings added, although the oldness of the boat hadn't faded, there was a sense of home.
"Nice arrangement. At this pace, you'll be able to set sail today."
Teacher An's eyes lit up. As a child, she too dreamed of having a boat that could travel to distant divine lands.
However, after she began practicing magic, she completely forgot about it.
"By the way, I have a gift for you."
She then handed over a package to Chen Qi.
"?"
Chen Qi received the package with a puzzled look and opened it.
Inside the package was a flag and a piece of paper.
The paper was the license for a dining boat.
The pattern on the flag was one of crossed fork and knife.
"This is the dining boat's flag and the dining boat's license."
Chen Qi slapped his forehead, almost forgetting about this.
On the high seas, pirates have their flags, merchant ships have their flags, and the navy has its flags.
To operate a dining boat, you also need to have a flag.
According to the law, every boat must have its corresponding flag, and forging a flag is a serious crime.
Unlike the merchant ship's trading license, since there are few people in the dining boat industry and the money earned is not much, it is very easy to apply for.
The sea has its rules, and as a neutral boat with little money, a dining boat is unlikely to attract the interest of large vessels.
When sailing far, a boat without a flag is like a person without clothes; it's bound to be tricked if it encounters curious vessels.
In sum, his little houseboat needed a chef's attire.
Chen Qi thought it over and realized if he were to apply himself, it would take at least two days.
By then, the Black-eyed Captain might have made it to Maro Town.
"Thank you again, Teacher An."
Chen Qi took the flag and bowed his thanks.
He had to admit, An was indeed a diligent and responsible mentor for newcomers, having helped him a lot.
Maro Town was an exceptionally good starting village for newcomers.
Teacher An smiled slightly:
"No need to thank me. It's my job, and if you can become a second-order Transcendent, I can collect a substantial reward.
Moreover, it's very important for my own path to transcendence.
By the way, when do you plan to depart?"
"Hmm..."
Chen Qi looked out the window.
The flames of daylight were burning; it was the middle of the day.
He had collected all the bounties he was entitled to, and made all the necessary preparations.
Moonstone City was quite a distance from Maro Town.
"I guess soon. If I set off now and the timing is right, maybe I'll reach Moonstone City before the daylight completely fades."
"Is that so..."
Teacher An walked to the boat window and looked out to the sea.
Now, the sea was covered with the heavy shadow of the sky, making it seem particularly frightening.
She had intended to advise Chen Qi to pick a good weather day for sailing.
But on second thought, nobody knew how long this weather would last.
According to the information she received from the Meteorological Bureau, the weather in the Witch Sea was only going to get worse day by day.
Teacher An coughed twice, her expression serious, she couldn't help but add a few more points:
"Also, you must pay attention to the following matters when sailing.
First, by no means should you approach large ships, whether pirate or official; they don't like any vessels getting close.
Second, it's best to reach shore before nightfall, and if you're still sailing at night, be sure to pay attention to your lights. Oh, and if you encounter fog, you must also light your lamps.
And if you come across a sea beast..."
Teacher An suddenly stopped.
These were the conclusions of centuries of fishermen's experience, many dangers could be avoided with experience.
But sea beasts were different; most could only be driven off by force.
As Chen Qi was sailing alone, he lacked the strength to confront large sea beasts.
Against a creature like the near-shore tyrant, if his boat was spotted, he could only hope for the best.
"What should I do if I encounter a sea beast?"
Chen Qi asked in a frightened tone.
Teacher An's gaze darkened:
"Pray, pray that you don't encounter a sea beast on your voyage!"
"I understand..."
Chen Qi prayed silently in his heart.
He hoped that the more sea beasts on the way, the better!
The best would be like the near-shore tyrant, sensible enough to offer him good things voluntarily!
However, most sea beasts probably didn't have brains as clever as the near-shore tyrant's.
Although the near-shore tyrant had intelligent, wide eyes, similar to a husky's, it was already considered quite smart amongst sea creatures.
After Teacher An gave her instructions, she left the small houseboat and went to the moored merchant ship to discuss the establishment of Maro Town's defensive facilities with the town mayor and the merchant ship captain.
Chen Qi set up the dining boat's flag properly, and also left the small houseboat.
There were many places he needed money, and for now, he couldn't afford to pay in full for Old Beili's boat.
Chen Qi walked up to Old Beili and squatted down:
"I still have some goods I haven't sold, so I'll give you twenty thousand Shell Coins for now, and the next time..."
"No problem!"
Old Bailey immediately said.
After the incident with Iron Hand, Old Bailey harbored no more doubts about Chen Qi's ability to make money.
He had thought that Chen Qi was being toyed with by a rich widow in Moonstone City, but he didn't expect it to be related to a gang!
Although he still thought that Chen Qi going out to sea alone was a very dangerous thing, he kept it to himself, not daring to say it out loud.
But if Chen Qi could return successfully, he would make at least a million!
"Then thank you very much."
Old Bailey smiled as he took the money:
"No, I should be the one thanking you for buying my junk ship. With this money, I can move to Moonstone City earlier and get myself some decent clothes, so I won't be mocked by my daughter anymore."
After discussing the sale of the ship, Chen Qi went to the market once more to buy some ingredients and then returned to his little houseboat.
This voyage could take longer than he had anticipated.
Immediately after, he started the ship's engine.
Rumble rumble!
The engine roared to life, and the brand new propeller began to spin.
At this moment, An and the Mayor of Maro Town, who were still on the merchant ship discussing the town's defenses, heard the sound of the engine.
The two of them moved closer to the side of the ship, originally wanting to wish Chen Qi a safe and profitable journey.
But given the current conditions at sea, and with Chen Qi going alone, just returning alive would not be easy.
It would be normal for him to come back missing an arm or a leg.
Being alive was good enough.
They waved and said:
"Safe travels!"
"Alright!"
Chen Qi walked out of the cabin and waved goodbye.
The little houseboat departed from the dock and headed towards the vast sea.
...
...
Above the near sea, the sky gradually darkened.
The little houseboat had been sailing for some time.
On the way, he had already seen many large merchant ships.
However, Chen Qi's primary task on the ship was to enhance his Body Forging Skill through exercise.
With the knowledge imparted by the Skill Card, his mastery of the Body Forging Skill improved significantly during the voyage, earning him an additional 2 points of strength.
"Huff, huff..."
Chen Qi took out some freshwater from the fridge and drank it down.
The Body Forging Skill consumed more physical energy than he had expected, and due to excessive exercise, he had also severely injured his muscles.
But luckily, he was a Chef with a high constitution and possessed a Self-healing physique, so a little muscle damage was nothing a good sleep couldn't fix.
After sleeping, he could continue practicing!
The over-exercised Chen Qi sat on the sofa, picking up the Deep Sea Hunter's treasure map and newspaper to check.
He quite liked this world, but unfortunately, there was no internet, only newspapers.
Moreover, the ship felt a bit lonely being manned by just one person.
Perhaps, I could get a pet.
However, ordinary cats and dogs definitely wouldn't do, they couldn't adapt to the dangerous voyages, and he couldn't afford to keep a large Sea Beast yet, for fear of being treated as a heretic.
Chen Qi thought to himself.
Huff, huff!
While he was looking at the map, he faintly heard the piercing sound of wind!
Splash!
Another huge splash sound came through.
The sound of something flying?
Chen Qi put away the Deep Sea Hunter's treasure map and became suddenly alert.
In the Witch Sea, the chances of encountering a steam plane were very slim.
It was more likely that he had encountered some kind of bird monster.
Apart from Sea Beasts, there were many dangerous large birds in the Witch Sea.
He wasn't afraid of Sea Beasts, but bird-type monsters posed a great threat to him.
If it was a bird-type monster, that could be quite troublesome!
Not running into a Sea Beast but first encountering a strange bird?
Is my luck really that bad?
Chen Qi picked up his Collector, stepped out of the cabin, and looked up into the sky.
The sky was overcast.
He saw no sign of any birds in the sky.
"That's not right..."
Chen Qi gripped his gun and suddenly felt a chill on his back.
Behind him, there was a noise, the sound of footsteps.
There was something behind him...
How did it get there? His little ship was sailing in the open sea, and there were no other vessels around!
It was either some strange creature or a master-level person!
But if it were a master, what would they want? At least from the outside, his ship didn't have anything worth stealing.
Chen Qi, for a moment, couldn't figure out what the presence behind him could be.
The next moment, a hand was placed on his shoulder.
At that moment, the being behind him spat out a mouthful of seawater and, with a weary tone, expressed its thirsty request:
"Boss... is your dining boat open for business now?"