Witch, I'm really not an ancient god of the deep sea!

Chapter 19 Lighthouse
Sailing a small boat and then going ashore in stormy weather is no easy task.

Raindrops kept pelting Chen Qi's body. His thoughts had changed from wanting to get ashore as soon as possible to just not falling off the boat.

My body became exhausted, and my consciousness gradually became blurred.

I don't know how much time passed, but the blazing sun in the sky began to dim and eventually went out.

A bright moon, tinged with a reddish hue, slowly rose from the edge of the coastline.

This marks the arrival of night and the end of day—

Is it night...? The weak Chen Qi slowly opened his eyes and looked at the pitch-black world before him.

The storm took a heavy toll on his body.

In the torrential rain, his perception of time became blurred.

The steam-powered boat was also damaged by the impact of the waves, and its speed was greatly reduced.

Once this ship reaches the shore, it will probably be unusable.

However, there is also good news.

As night fell, the storm subsided, leaving only wind and a light drizzle.

Where am I? Chen Qi looked ahead, braving the sea breeze.

Suddenly, a faint light shone into his eyes.

Light again... Chen Qi raised his head and looked in the direction of the light.

The light grew stronger and stronger.

Suddenly faced with bright light, he had to squint.

In the blurry distance, atop a massive tower, an old man holding an oil lamp could be vaguely seen looking at him with a puzzled expression.

It's a lighthouse...

Chen Qi lay on the boat, a faint smile playing on his lips.

at last……

He finally reached land...

Seeing the lighthouse meant he was not far from the town and from landing.

Chen Qi shook his head, sat up, and stretched his muscles.

Lighthouses are important navigational structures for maritime navigation.

The lighthouse in the Witch Sea is also responsible for guarding against special situations such as attacks by large sea monsters and island fleets.

Therefore, the lighthouse keeper is usually a highly respected, inspired, and exceptionally capable individual.

This is an extremely boring, yet exceptionally important, job.

The lighthouse keeper, over seventy years old, looked toward the direction of dawn.

The storm has lasted for so long today, how come there are still people at sea!

And it seems to be a young man!

That's too much! As an elder, the lighthouse keeper always shows great care for the young people.

He cleared his throat and roared in a loud voice:
"Young man, are you alright? Do you need help?"

"What did you say? Your voice is too soft!"

Chen Qi patted his head and poured the water out of his ears.

He perked up as soon as he saw the light!
Anyway, smile first, then wave!

"Stop laughing! Be serious!" the lighthouse keeper shouted anxiously in an even louder voice.
"The wind is strange tonight, there might be a monster in the sea! Get ashore quickly, and don't go out to sea again today or tomorrow!"

He shook his head. The boy didn't seem nervous at all; he probably didn't know what had happened tonight.

With his keen intuition, he could clearly sense an ancient aura mixed in with today's storm, like the whispers of a monster.

It's been a long time since this kind of wind has blown over the sea.

Based on his experience, this sea breeze, which sounds like the roar of a monster, means that some monsters that originally lived in the deep sea will also come to the surface!
It seems that something big has already happened.

Today, many fishermen and merchants have met with misfortune.

At night, the sea monsters will be even more rampant!
This boy was lucky to escape being attacked by sea monsters while sitting in such a small boat.

"Get ashore quickly!"

The lighthouse keeper shouted, not daring to guarantee that something strange might emerge from the sea.

"Okay! I'll get ashore right away!"

Chen Qi replied, and slightly increased the speed of the steamboat.

As the propeller turned, his small boat headed towards an island town called 'Maro Town'.

This is the town he is about to arrive in, the town where the original owner was born.

Chen Qi opened the sea chart again and took a look at the terrain of the Shell Kingdom and the location of Maro Town.

The large coastal city in the Kingdom of Shells is called Moonstone City.

Besides Moonstone City, there are also many islands along the coastline of the Shell Kingdom that are habitable for humans.

Moonstone Islands, Devil's Islands, etc.

Towns of all sizes have been built on these islands.

Maro Town is one of the many towns in the Moonstone Islands.

By reading the original owner's memories, Chen Qi gained a lot of understanding of this place.

First of all, the archipelago is not a good place for the people of the Shell Kingdom.

The area suffers from poor transportation, a lack of recreational facilities, and frequent threats from waves and marine life.

Not to mention the increasingly arrogant pirates.

The island town is a remote rural area.

Many young people in the archipelago yearn for the wealthy big cities of Pei.

They work from dawn till dusk every day so that they can go to big cities and own a house of their own.

Every year, a large number of young people leave the archipelago and head to the major inland cities of the Kingdom of Shells.

However, in Chen Qi's opinion, Maro Town is a pretty good starting village. Aside from the fact that he has a registered residence there.

More importantly, with the onset of the crack tides, many cracks will be formed at sea.

The cracks are extraordinary resources—land, oil, money, and power!
When the tide fully arrives at the rift in the Witch's Sea, it will not be the people of the archipelago who rush to the inland.

Instead, it was people from inland areas who came to the sea to take risks, much like the American Gold Rush, which sparked the Age of Exploration.

These archipelagos, located closer to areas with dense rifts, are more favored by adventurers than larger cities due to their better accessibility.

Well, housing prices might rise slightly...

"Phew, we're here!"

Chen Qi stopped the steamboat and excitedly jumped onto the harbor of Maro Town.

Then, like a cat, shake off the water from your body!
This feels so good, solid ground!
After settling the steamboat, Chen Qi prepared to get something to eat, as he was extremely hungry.

The lighthouse keeper, who was in the distance, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Chenqi dock.

Fortunately, nothing serious happened...

Suddenly, the lighthouse keeper had a flash of inspiration.

Wasn't that young man just now the boy who contracted marine mammal disease a few months ago and went to work in a big city alone...?

He actually managed to come back, and even bought a small boat... The lighthouse keeper was somewhat moved.

Marine mammal disease, as the name suggests, is when a terrifying deep-sea creature infects a human body.

To cure it, a bloody surgery is usually required, and even finding an unlicensed doctor will cost a lot of money.

Even he himself probably couldn't come up with that much money right away.

In his view, Chen Qi's return was either because he was prepared to "die in his hometown".

Or they are forced to join illegal organizations and earn money by selling themselves, their fate is uncertain.

"This generation of young people has it tough..."

The lighthouse keeper sighed and shook his head.

……

……

The docks in Marlowe were unusually quiet after a storm had just ended.

As Chen Qi walked toward the town, he rummaged through his backpack.

In his backpack, besides the treasure map, were the medical supplies the little crow had given him.

Among them, the healing potions should be the ones that can be sold without losing money.

Such a valuable item that can provide emergency healing is valuable everywhere.

The problem is that Chenqi himself currently has a significant need for treatment drugs.

Painkillers and calming marine animal oil are also things that can be sold.

But even with all the miscellaneous items added up, the money they made wasn't much...

"Does this mean I have to go work in a factory?" Chen Qi frowned.

In Marlowe, there is a crack mine with a distortion rate of 0%, and anyone can apply.

Having to work even after transmigrating? No way, absolutely not...

As a content creator who makes strategy guides, he knows that, in many cases, working a part-time job is actually a good option.

However, he now possesses a black sword with decent stats, and the fastest way to make money is still by exploring rifts.

Chen Qi shook his head; he didn't have a single penny on him right now.

Gold coins were more popular among pirates, but ordinary people used the official currency of the Kingdom of Bahia—shell coins.

Aside from the different name, shell coins are very similar to Earth's currency; they are also a type of paper money.

As a nation that governs the nature of 'shells', the Kingdom of Shells has a relatively stable currency.

Shell currency is also widely used in other countries and is considered a fairly stable currency.

"Until we get the money, are we just going to have to keep eating bread soaked in seawater...?"

Chen Qi looked at the bread soaked in seawater in his backpack and smiled bitterly.

He doesn't have enough money right now to afford a decent meal.

However, he was a transmigrator after all, so going hungry wasn't a big deal for him.

Suddenly, the aroma of barbecue wafted into his nose!

Who's having a barbecue so late at night?! Especially since it's just after a storm!
Chen Qi looked in the direction of the fragrance.

The dockside tavern in Maro town is also the only tavern on the entire island.

Outside the tavern, a group of young people were grilling fish around a grill.

Inside the tavern, you could hear a tremendous cacophony of voices!

So many people are still out and about late at night after the torrential rain...

Is this tavern that popular?
Chen Qi was slightly surprised; even in city pubs, it was rare to find so many people.

He looked up and saw that the tavern's signboard had a banner that read:

"Today is a great day! All drinks, meat, and vegetables in the tavern are free!"

Free!

Everything, everything is free...

Chen Qi's heart was pounding.

This is just an ordinary tavern on a small island. If everything is free, the owner could work for free for a month or even two months!
This is undoubtedly a huge expense for a small business owner in a rural town.

What a lucky day it is! How could someone bleed so much?

Chen Qi pondered for a moment, then took a few steps forward, filled with curiosity.

Before he knew it, he had stepped over a drunkard at the door and squeezed into the noisy tavern.

(End of this chapter)