Devil's Bay (10)

Nan Yue woke up exactly at noon. She had rested well, and her movement to get out of bed woke Tan Xiaonan from her light slumber.

"You're awake? It's noon."

Nan Yue gave her a reminder, and Tan Xiaonan let out a small gasp.

"I usually find it very hard to fall asleep during missions, so I always end up exhausted by the time it's over. But I actually slept quite well sharing a room with you!"

"Big shot! You're a total sleep aid!"

Nan Yue: ...

Nan Yue went out to wake the others, and the group headed to the restaurant for lunch.

"I'm going to fill up two more bottles of water to take back later."

Zhu Xi Ning had already woken up from her nap and was yawning. "That seawater was too disgusting. I'll use drinking water to wash up."

This was actually a good idea. The group took several extra bottles of water from the buffet counter, and other scavengers who saw this followed suit.

They grabbed some random food and forced themselves to eat. Aside from Zhu Xi Ning, Gu Xiang Kai and Wen Xiang Yuan both looked a bit sluggish.

"Didn't get any sleep?"

Wen Xiang Yuan nodded with a bitter face. "My roommate didn't come back..."

She whispered, "She was the one who fell into the sea..."

The others fell silent. Zhu Xi Ning patted her shoulder. "You need to be even more alert when you're alone."

Wen Xiang Yuan nodded. "Sigh, sleeping near the boss is still the best."

Zhu Xi Ning agreed. "True. Usually, I can only fall asleep in a mission if I'm in the same room as A-Nan."

Even Gu Xiang Kai surprisingly agreed that this was the case, attributing it to the sense of security provided by Nan Yue's formidable combat strength.

Nan Yue: ...Am I some kind of sleeping pill spirit?

While eating, Nan Yue saw the man who had turned tail and run into the cabin earlier; he was currently taking food from the buffet counter.

In fact, knowing those things posed no threat, going into the cabin was a decent choice. It was just that this man had been the only one to run immediately.

When the others realized it was an illusion, they were already surrounded and couldn't escape at all.

Nan Yue spotted Johnny and headed over after giving Gu Xiang Kai and the others a quick nod.

"Yo, Nan, we meet again."

Nan Yue sat opposite him. He was currently lounging with a hot beauty with slightly tanned skin, looking quite smug.

He seemed a bit dissatisfied that Nan Yue hadn't sought him out yesterday, so he was putting on a haughty front now.

"Good afternoon."

Nan Yue looked at their table and saw a fish she hadn't seen before. It had protruding fangs and a terrifying appearance.

However, it smelled very fresh and sweet.

"I've looked into it. You lottery winners who came up can enjoy all the facilities on the ship, but this fish is one of a kind."

"Naturally, paying guests like us get priority."

Nan Yue didn't mind Johnny's mockery. She looked at the fish and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"This fish must be hard to catch."

Johnny snorted. "Of course. It cost me 900 USD."

Nan Yue stared intently at the fish. "...So expensive. I want to catch one too."

Johnny let out a scoff. "You?"

The tanned beauty beside him widened her eyes slightly. "Devil's Bay is very dangerous. Only Joseph is familiar enough with the ocean to catch these precious fish."

Nan Yue shifted her gaze to the beauty and gave a brilliant smile. "I'm Nan Yue."

"Penny."

"Did you just say only Joseph can catch them?"

Penny was amused and pointed to the harpoon guns outside. "Of course. Look at those harpoon guns. Only he knows how to use them. If you don't use them right, you'll only end up hurting yourself."

"And I heard Joseph only fishes on full moon nights. The wind is strong and the waves are high then; it's very dangerous."

Penny's expression was gentle. "The fish in Devil's Bay are very special and difficult to capture, so they sell for a high price. But the price is proportional to the danger. Don't risk your life."

Nan Yue felt a slight warmth in her heart. Women often showed greater kindness toward other women.

Nan Yue lowered her head in thought, putting on a slightly embarrassed expression. "...Then... then who is Joseph? I want to ask him something."

Penny looked at her with some sympathy, while Johnny simply burst out laughing. Nan Yue looked even more flustered by his laughter.

"He's a man of few words with red hair. Go down to the lower deck and ask for Deaf Joseph."

Nan Yue was somewhat surprised. "He's deaf?"

Penny shrugged. "I don't know. It's just that he's never spoken to anyone, so everyone calls him that."

Nan Yue thought of Bai La La.

She politely thanked Penny. Johnny had long since grown impatient, so Nan Yue turned and left.

Once she turned away, the embarrassment and shyness on Nan Yue's face vanished instantly, replaced by her usual indifference.

"They say Joseph is deaf because no one has ever heard him speak."

The expressions of the other three were complicated; they were clearly thinking of the same person.

Nan Yue and Gu Xiang Kai went down to the lower deck on Deck B1. Just as Gu Xiang Kai had said, Nan Yue didn't smell anything foul. Although there were sailors and servers coming and going, there was nothing in the air except a fishy scent.

Nan Yue observed the people passing by. They were fairly polite when they saw outsiders.

However, Nan Yue found something strange.

Why... were they all dressed so neatly?

The sailors doing manual labor, the kitchen helpers, the chefs... they were all dressed impeccably.

In the cramped, stuffy environment below deck, most men would have been bare-chested long ago.

Nan Yue stopped a boy who looked quite young. "What do you do on the ship?"

The boy stood before Nan Yue, his face flushed from running back and forth. "Beautiful lady, I am a sailor on the ship, primarily responsible for cleaning the kitchen."

Nan Yue gave a smile. "What an impressive child."

"But aren't you hot?"

The boy's expression changed slightly. He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention and whispered, "The captain told us we must remain tidy. We must never lose our sense of etiquette."

Nan Yue looked thoughtful as the boy scurried away again.

Gu Xiang Kai went off with some cigarettes to find information on Deaf Joseph's whereabouts, while Nan Yue and the other two looked into the open rooms of the crew members.

There were a few sailors on break who had originally been playing cards in tank tops, but they immediately put on their outer coats upon seeing Nan Yue's group, looking somewhat bashful.

These sailors weren't very old; the younger ones were even younger than Nan Yue.

"Don't be nervous."

Nan Yue chatted with them with a smile while observing their rooms.

The rooms were very tidy. There were no cigarettes, alcohol, or newspapers, and not even any personal items.

Even the cards they were playing with were handmade from cardboard.

"It must be boring, right?"

The crew members couldn't enjoy the luxurious wine and food on the ship. Such a voyage could easily last a month, and she wondered if they ever got bored.

"No, it is our honor to sail with Captain Steve."

Nan Yue could tell they truly felt that way. Their deep blue eyes were filled with admiration and trust.

"By the way, I heard Joseph caught another precious fish."