Chapter 47 Pirates <TOC> Chapter 49 Wasteland Technology
Translator: SumTLMan
On the deck, the men played cards by the dim glow of prism-shaped stones.
They cursed under their breath, each one simmering with pent-up anger.
Yuan Tong stood at the stern, gripping the ship’s railing.
He knew everyone was resentful.
He was too.
There was no choice.
The circumstances were beyond them; Vice Commander He Jiu of the Seventh Fleet had spoken, which meant it was an order from the Dead Sea Knights. If his crew wanted to make a living on the Dead Sea, they had to bow their heads.
After the last job, he had wanted to wash his hands of this life and return to his old trade as a craftsman. Now, he had saved up a bit, enough to buy a workshop in the city and live a stable life.
But then a knight escort from the Dead Sea Knights came by and offered him praise.
He said: “All the jobs on the nearby seas will go to you. As long as Captain Yuan is here, this area belongs to you. We trust you, and everyone’s at ease with you in charge.”
“Captain Yuan, you should find a woman, have a child. If you need help, I can introduce someone. That way, there’s someone to inherit in the future. We trust the Yuan family; you’re friends of the Dead Sea Knights.”
These words made Yuan Tong’s heart skip a beat.
The Dead Sea Knights weren’t planning to let him retire.
Though nothing more was said, Yuan Tong knew that refusal would bring consequences he couldn’t bear.
Only sea pirates acknowledged by the Dead Sea Knights could survive; otherwise, even a large raiding group would have to retreat to those dangerous regions of the Dead Sea beyond the knights’ reach.
Yuan Tong was already 47, quite old, with a body that was deteriorating, burdened by lingering injuries from his time on the Dead Sea. After fifteen years as a sea pirate, he just wanted a peaceful retirement, to live a normal life.
But reality wouldn’t allow it.
It made him recall his youth. Back then, he had worked as a craftsman in the shipyards of Steel Port, where advancement was slow, and his earnings were perpetually tight.
In crafting, improving one’s skills required practice, and practice demanded materials and tools, which in turn required money.
From the age of 10 to 32, he’d worked there, only managing to progress from an apprentice to an ordinary craftsman. Each year, the competition grew fiercer. Seeing his name registered in the Craftsmen Guild and becoming a recognized craftsman felt like a distant dream.
As a registered craftsman, he could receive a guild recommendation and settle in any city. Ordinary craftsmen, however, faced the risk of being dismissed due to age or injury.
As he aged and the future grew bleak, Yuan Tong became more anxious and lost.
At that critical juncture, the shipyard posted a notice, recruiting five craftsmen as repair workers for a ship for at least one year.
Ship repairers maintained and fixed ships along the way. It was hard, dangerous work but paid better than shipyard jobs.
Gritting his teeth, Yuan Tong signed up.
He never expected to board a pirate ship, where everyone else was a bona fide pirate.
Yet, to his surprise, the pirates treated him respectfully.
Sea pirating was a dangerous trade, where one’s life hung by a thread; those who had been in it knew death could come at any time.
It wasn’t the act of raiding itself that was most deadly but rather the unpredictable nature of the Dead Sea. That was the real killer for pirates——and indeed for anyone navigating the Dead Sea.
Having a reliable, meticulous ship repairer was like adding an extra layer of safety, potentially saving lives in critical moments.
If a ship wasn’t well-maintained, everyone would be in mortal danger.
One surge, one flash explosion, and the fragile hull could crumble, sinking the ship and leaving no survivors.
A strange thing happened then.
Yuan Tong received better treatment on the pirate ship than he ever had at the shipyard. The crew respected and valued him more.
In all his years aboard, the ship never faced danger due to technical maintenance issues. He always identified and resolved potential hazards in advance.
With the captain’s permission, Yuan Tong recommended expanding the phosphorescent coating on the hull’s underside, upgrading the keel’s luminescent structure to make it more flexible and responsive, and equipping the ship with pop-out lifeboats.
These improvements saved the crew multiple times.
The only real emergency they faced was when a large creature passed by, causing a crack in the hull. Yuan Tong had frantically crawled into the hull and managed to seal the breach with a hammer and nails just in time. However, the shaking of the ship and constant exposure to the intense light caused him to lose his left eye.
Seven years after boarding, the captain retired, designating Yuan Tong as his successor. No one objected.
A captain who could keep his men alive was a good leader.
Otherwise, it didn’t matter how much they looted——if people died, it was all for nothing.
Yuan Tong planned to serve a seven-year term, find a successor, and finally retire peacefully.
To ensure a safe retirement, he refined the operating procedures, demanding quick actions from everyone.
Intercept quickly, load quickly, and flee quickly; no killing, no petty squabbles, no unnecessary trouble, keep everything professional.
Thanks to this approach, they went from one ship to two, from nine men to twenty-two, all former pirates who had joined from other crews.
Yuan Tong’s crew gained some fame in the local pirate circles, their methods respected by many.
This eventually attracted the attention of the Dead Sea Knights.
They extended an olive branch, hoping Yuan Tong’s crew would become their allies.
Refusal was, of course, not an option.
There were advantages, too. Backed by the vast Dead Sea Knights organization, they would be much safer. Other pirates would respect the knights’ influence and refrain from backstabbing, and if someone was captured, the knights could pull strings to secure their release.
In short, a powerful ally made life easier.
But there was always a price.
Yuan Tong had to unconditionally execute the Dead Sea Knights’ orders. As long as it involved his area of activity, they would find him.
Previously, ordinary knights delivered orders; this time, it came directly from Vice Commander He Jiu of the Seventh Fleet.
“We need you to investigate an organization called the Wasteland Development Company.”
This organization had seized a Dead Sea Abomination that the knights had invested considerable effort to locate. When the Seventh Fleet’s “Organ Horn” went to confront them, it never returned.
Yuan Tong understood.
Anyone who could easily destroy a Dead Sea Knight warship was not someone a small-time figure like him could provoke.
But orders from the knights had to be carried out.
So he led his men on a cautious route around the Wasteland Development Company’s core areas, gathering intelligence from the locals in Grub Grain Town.
Additionally, he sent out reconnaissance birds to ensure they would detect any dangers in time.
Both ships anchored far north along a remote beach.
Yet, for some reason, Yuan Tong couldn’t shake an unsettling feeling.
The key was that astonishing Dead Sea Abomination.
Its mountainous body sprouted grotesque steel arms, which discarded its outdated internal organs, then molded new organs from dirt, metal, and other materials to replace them.
The creature emitted constant flashes, its body covered with eyes capable of emitting light beams, as if no part of it could escape its watchful gaze.
The sight was truly breathtaking.
Even more strange was the fact that the chairman of the Wasteland Development Company actually lived within the creature.
His main endeavor, surprisingly, was cultivating land to grow crops. He had even hired two Light Absorbers at high prices to help with farming.
This was far beyond Yuan Tong’s understanding.
He had heard that the powerful often had eccentricities.
Perhaps this one just enjoyed farming.
…
In the darkness of night.
Yuan Tong had briefly lost focus when he suddenly realized that the card game and the men’s cursing had fallen silent, and an eerie stillness enveloped the ship.
He slowly turned his head.
The crew on the deck had been subdued by Warrior Crabs, each with sharp claws poised at their necks, leaving them motionless and afraid to resist.
A black-haired, black-clad young man looked his way: “You’re their captain?”
The face was familiar.
The chairman of the Wasteland Development Company, Zhou Yi.
He had known all along.
Yuan Tong felt a sudden sense of relief.
At last, freedom.
“Please, spare them. They’re just simple pirates, bound to follow orders, and pose no threat to someone of your strength.”
Yuan Tong knelt, pressing his head to the deck in submission: “Do with me as you will, but I will tell you everything I know.”
He thought quietly to himself.
Pirates always ended up this way.
Even if the brothers survived here, He Jiu would silence them.
Why was retiring so difficult?
The young man crouched down, speaking softly: “He Jiu sent you here without any intention of letting you return alive.”
“If your answers satisfy me, I won’t kill you. I’ll even show you a way out.”
Yuan Tong’s eyes widened in shock.
His conversation with He Jiu had taken place at the knights’ fortified post, yet the chairman’s reach extended there too!
This chairman had eyes and ears everywhere.
Maybe there really was a glimmer of hope.