Navigator: I have a double six-story house

Mr. Zloty raised his eyelids slightly.

"Looks like something good is about to happen?"

"An interesting game is about to begin."

The message panel in front of Su Qing was still open.

The person who sent the message was Zhao Ling. They had talked on the street two days ago. He was a swordsman, and his skills were decent in all aspects. Su Qing added him as a friend.

The message was simple: Zhao Ling said he had found out about a very skilled crew member, a rare profession, who had been waiting at Midway for a sufficiently strong captain, and asked Su Qing if she was interested in going to see him.

He added at the end that if things go well, he hoped Captain Su would have the opportunity to invite him along in the future.

Su Qing scoffed.

Utterly clumsy.

Two days ago, I met and chatted with someone for less than three minutes. Suddenly, this person offered to help me find high-end talent, asking for nothing in return but a verbal promise that "there will be opportunities in the future."

That's something you could only fool a newbie who's just entered the Age of Exploration.

There are only two reasons for this situation.

Either Zhao Ling himself was a pawn planted by that group of people.

Either he was targeted by that group of people in the past two days and was coerced and lured into becoming their guide.

Regardless of the reason, behind this message stands a group of "troublemakers" who have been waiting for him for four days.

Su Qing closed the system panel and finished the last sip of tea in her teacup.

Mr. Zloty glanced at him. "Trouble has come knocking?"

"Hmm." Su Qing put down her teacup, stood up, and straightened her collar. "I need to take care of this."

Mr. Zloty also stood up. "Wait, I'll go with you."

Su Qing was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled and joked, "Are you going to make a move?"

Mr. Zloty shook his head, his eyes filled with a gentle smile. "You're overthinking it. I don't want to interfere in the affairs between you outsiders."

"Besides, if I were to intervene, it would only make things more complicated."

Su Qing frowned. Even more troublesome?

He wanted to ask more questions, but Mr. Zloty had already walked towards the door.

You'll understand after tonight.

Upon hearing this classic riddle-maker's statement, Su Qing stopped asking questions.

He replied to Zhao Ling with a message: Where are you?

The other party replied almost instantly: "It's a construction site west of Midway, the one where they're laying the foundation. There's no one working at night, so it's convenient to talk."

The phrase "easy to talk to" made Su Qing laugh.

It's really convenient. It's a construction site, remote and spacious, and there are no strangers around after nightfall. They really know how to choose a location.

Night fell over Midway Island, bringing a great show to a close.

Su Qing and Wang Yao were walking on the road leading to the western construction site. Mr. Ziloti had already left, saying that he was going to find a place with a good view to watch the play.

Wang Yao gripped his shield tightly, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.

"Su-zai, isn't this an obvious trap?"

"Yes."

"Shall we still go?"

"Why aren't you going?" Su Qing asked without stopping. "They've prepared carefully for four days. It would be impolite not to go."

Wang Yao grinned, knowing that Su Qing had arranged everything in advance, and all he had to do was take action.

Su Qing stopped when she reached the outer edge of the construction site.

Ahead was a construction site where the foundation had just been laid.

Interestingly, when Su Qing asked Mr. Ziloti if the construction site belonged to the Wind Breath Chamber of Commerce, he actually replied no.

Wang Yao glanced at the size of the construction site. "It's such a big place. Looks like quite a few people have come."

Su Qing did not respond.

He opened the system panel, selected all the prospective crew members he had added in the past few days in his friend list, and sent a group message except for Zhao Ling.

"Come to the construction site to the west and fight for me. After it's done, get on my boat."

After sending the message, he closed the control panel.

Wang Yao leaned closer. "That's it? You didn't even explain the background?"

"No need." Su Qing's gaze fell on the dark entrance to the construction site. "Those who want to come don't need an explanation, and those who don't want to come won't be bothered by explanations anyway."

The two of them stood outside the construction site, waiting patiently. The construction site was unusually quiet, without the slightest sound.

Su Qing wasn't in a hurry, and neither was the other side; everyone understood the unspoken agreement.

About half an hour later, I heard footsteps behind me.

The first person to arrive was a man wielding two swords, who stood behind Su Qing without saying a word.

Then a few more arrived, some with knives, some with spears, scattered together, making a total of seven combat professions.

Chen Pingzhou was the last to arrive.

He was panting heavily, bent over and supporting himself on his knees, his sallow and emaciated face flushed red.

Wang Yao glanced at him. "What are you doing here, a navigator?"

Chen Pingzhou, panting heavily, straightened his back upon hearing Wang Yao's question. "Captain Su said... we can board the ship after the fight."

"What are you hitting? Are you really that good at it?"

"No," Chen Pingzhou said seriously, "but Captain Su asked me to come, so I came."

Wang Yao paused for a moment, then said nothing more.

Su Qing glanced at the people behind him; there were eight, plus himself and Wang Yao, making ten.

I sent out a dozen or so messages, and eight of them came back.

enough.

As for the rest who didn't come, they either saw the message and didn't dare to come, or they're still on their way.

But regardless of which one, there's no need to wait.

Whether there are enough people to fight is not important; what matters is that they came.

"Walk."

Su Qing turned around and stepped into the construction site, with Wang Yao following closely behind.

The eight people behind him exchanged glances and followed him inside.

The inside of the construction site looks bigger than the outside.

The foundation pit was like a sunken plaza, surrounded by steel bars and gravel, with a flat open space in the middle. Apart from the sound of the wind, there was no movement at all.

Su Qing stood in the center of the open space, with Wang Yao and eight crew members behind her.

The construction site remained unusually quiet, and those troubles still hadn't occurred.

Su Qing waited for more than ten seconds before speaking, her voice neither too loud nor too soft.

"It's dinner time. If you don't come out soon, I'm going back to the boat and sail away."

As soon as he finished speaking, applause rang out from the darkness, slow and steady, one after another.

A man emerged from the shadows.

He was of medium build, wearing a long gray overcoat, and had a menacing smile on his face. He clapped his hands, as if applauding the actors on stage.

"As expected of Captain Su."

He lowered his hands and casually put them into his trench coat pockets.

"With just one message, you can bring so many people to their deaths for you. I, Zhou An, certainly don't have that kind of face."

Su Qing sized him up. He hadn't heard of this name in the past few days at Midway, but the man's aura was unlike that of some nobody.

Standing there casually suggests either that the person is very confident and has him figured out, or that they are deliberately putting on an act.

However, it is more likely to be the former.

Zhou An's gaze passed over Su Qing and landed on the group of people behind her, his tone as casual as if he were talking about the weather.

"Gentlemen, what I have to do with Captain Su is none of your business."

"Even if he manages to leave alive today, he can only recruit one crew member, while there are eight of you. Those who are not selected will have to stay on the island to make a living afterward."

"Leave now, and I, Zhou An, will not pursue the matter further."

The eyes of the crew members on the periphery began to waver.

Chen Pingzhou stood on the outermost edge, his sallow and emaciated face expressionless, but his feet did not move.

There was a two-second silence.

A crew member holding a knife stepped forward.

"I don't care what others think." He gripped the hilt of his knife, his voice soft but steady. "Captain Su called me here, so I came. Even if I die here today, I'll accept it."

Zhou An glanced at him and said "Oh".

"Commendable courage."

Then he raised his hand and clapped his hands twice.

Footsteps came from all directions in the darkness.

One, two, five, ten...

Behind the piles of steel bars and sand and gravel, figures kept emerging, each holding a weapon and with fierce eyes.

Twenty, thirty...

It finally stopped at a number that left people breathless.

At least forty people surrounded Su Qing and her group.

However, a gap less than two meters wide was left directly opposite the construction site exit.

That was the last chance for the eight people.

Zhou An tilted his head slightly, his smile undiminished.

"And now?"