Adrian brought Gloria to the mess. They found dozens of crews and sailors sitting lounging around and having their dinner. The dinner was brought over from the ship’s galley, the spread consisting of a small variety of food but everyone enjoyed the meal nonetheless. “Ms. Sia, Mr. Theo, you’re here,” said Reuben hastily when he spotted them. He was sitting with his uncle.Casey paid more attention to them because they were all Navians. “Theo, treat this place as your home. Don’t be shy. We got meals for both of you. Come, eat.” He passed two packed food containers to them. Adrian accepted them and said to Casey, “Thank you very much.”“Don’t mention it. We’re all Navians, and we should take care of one another. Also, Sia is ill,” said Casey. Adrian smiled but did not comment further. He said to Gloria, “Let’s chow down!”Gloria tucked her hair behind her ears and sat next to Adrian to eat. She noticed that the crew members and sailors from different parts of the outlands were l
Adrian did not object to Gloria’s words and turned around to walk toward the bridge. Reuben made his way to Gloria after Adrian left and turned his head to glance at her. Gloria was breathtakingly beautiful. She had an attractive face and a captivating figure, exuding a mature, graceful, and beautiful presence. It was rare for anyone to encounter such a beautiful woman in this world, let alone on a cargo ship. Reuben turned his head and said to her, “Ms. Gloria, you’re really pretty. I’ve never met a woman as beautiful as you.”Gloria was a little stunned. She turned her head and smiled at him. “Thank you,” she said. Reuben smiled, then said, “Don’t mention it. By the way, what illness do you have? Is it serious? I can see that you’re so weak that a breeze could blow you away.”Gloria pouted. She said to Reuben, “It’s a rather rare condition that I can’t explain. If I can’t find a cure for it, it’ll be fatal.”“You’ll surely be cured, Ms. Gloria. My mother said that blessed
Reuben wiped his eyes. “While working on the ship with Uncle Casey, I’ve missed my mother terribly. But I thought about it and figured that my father would scold and beat her every day if she were still alive. It’s my fault for being so useless. If only I had been capable of leaving home with my mother then, maybe she wouldn’t have died.”Gloria was unsure how to respond to Reuben’s remark. Life was filled with discontentment and too many helpless situations. She stretched out her hand to pat him on the shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself. Many your age still depend on their mothers while you're out here making a living on your own. You can go home and get yourself a wife when you have enough money. Your life will surely get better then.”Reuben chuckled. “You’re right. I’ll keep it up. But you have to stay strong too, Ms. Gloria. You will get better.”Gloria pumped her fist in the air. “We shall keep it up together. I’ll put all my efforts into holding on to life.”“Also, I can see th
Shanglanders possessed an inherent trait—they were wildly conceited and behaved as if they were kings when standing in front of those they thought were weaker than them but would cower in fear in the presence of a powerhouse. It was no surprise that the Shanglander would blame Adrian when they encountered pirates.Adrian ignored the Shanglander’s remark. He instead turned to look at Casey and asked, “When will they get here? Do you know who their employer is?”Most pirates were in the employment of companies that held great influence. Casey answered, “We’ll cross paths with them in about two hours, about eight o’clock. We don’t know who they are, but we aren’t ruling out the possibility of Scorpius.”Scorpius was one of the four powerful pirate organizations of Seatum and was well-known across these waters.“Yes, it’s most likely they’re from Scorpius because we’re currently close to their territory.”“We’re doomed if they’re from Scorpius. Not only do they engage in illegal tra
Casey paid no attention to the Shanglanders. These people were indulgent and lazy workers. The rest of the crew had been fed up with them for a long time now.Casey, the captain, and the others began to think of ideas,Adrian asked, “Captain, does the ship have guns and binoculars?”The captain looked toward Adrian. “Do you have any good ideas, Mr. Theo?”Adrian said, “I’ll need a sniper rifle and a pair of binoculars. We may be able to resolve this crisis if you have those items on the ship.”Casey and the others exchanged glances upon hearing his words. “We have two guns on the ship, but not a sniper rifle, and we have binoculars. Moreover, it’s a pair of high-tech binoculars,” said Casey. The captain asked, “Mr. Theo, what if we have a sniper rifle? What are you planning to do?”Adrian asked, “Do you have one?”The captain nodded heavily. “Yes, there’s one in my room. I prepared it for self-protection while in Luposia, but I only have eight bullets.”“Eight is enough,” s
Not long after, someone knocked on their cabin door. Reuben called out, “Mr. Theo, Ms. Sia? The pirate ship is getting closer. The captain asks that you come quickly. Everything’s ready.”Upon hearing Reuben’s remark, Adrian cracked a heartfelt smile at Gloria and stretched out his hand to caress her head. “Any issues?” he asked. Gloria shook her head, smiled, and said, “No issues. Let’s get out there. If we miss the best timing and position to fire the sniper, it’ll be dangerous.”“Sure, let’s go.”Adrian helped Gloria out of the cabin. Reuben, who was standing outside, saw them walk out. He said nervously, “Mr. Theo, are we doomed? I hear that the pirates are ferocious and that they not only rob but also kill.”The ship crew was scared. Reuben had been working on this ship for a whole year, but this was his first time encountering pirates.Noticing his worry, Gloria said smilingly, “Don’t worry, I’m here. I’ll make sure that we’re fine.”Reuben scratched his head, utterly c
A gunshot rang out the moment the metal slab started falling. A bullet glistening with sparks hit the metal slab and blasted it outward. The metal slab then dropped into the sea. Everyone’s jaw dropped. The captain, Casey, Goch, and Sormus looked at Gloria incredulously. Reuben’s eyes widened in surprise. It was apparent that no one had expected Gloria to hit that rapidly dropping metal slab in just one shot. Her skills were that of a top-tier marksman!“Bullseye,” Gloria said as she put down the gun and smiled. However, her face glistened with sweat and she looked like she was about to collapse. Firing a sniper rifle required physical and mental effort, and complete physical and mental power was needed to shoot accurately. It was clearly exhausting for Gloria to perform such a feat in view of her current condition. Adrian hastily caught her and leaned her against his chest to rest. The captain said in astonishment, “Your marksmanship is extraordinary, Ms. Sia. This is how a t
Meanwhile, the pirates were closely observing their prey's movements. Suddenly, their prey switched off their lights, including their radar, making it difficult for them to locate their prey in the middle of the dark sea.In the depths of the pirate ship, a middle-aged male man was inside his cabin. One of his arms was wrapped around a woman as he sat on the couch, being fed by a gaggle of other women.The man's name was Anrud Leyre, a Shanglander who had drifted across the waters of Seatum ever since he joined Scorpius. Throughout his career, he had been involved in the looting of multiple ships and killing their crew. At the time, there was no one capable enough of handling someone like him. A few minor states tried to gang up on him but were ultimately defeated by a full-forced retaliation from Scorpius. At that moment, someone walked into Anrud’s cabin and reported, "Mr. Anrud, someone suddenly turned off all the lights just as we were approaching the cargo ship. They've also t