Chapter 8

"Indeed, battleships and big guns are the ultimate romance for men, aren't they!"

Muttering this catchphrase often used by military history enthusiasts, Luo Zhengdao turned his head to examine the second-hand, sixth-grade Yaling battleship lying in the nearby shipyard, which he had reserved. He couldn't help but shake his head and laugh bitterly. Yes! Thanks to the previous owner of this body, Luo Zhengdao didn't have to start from scratch. However, the path to enjoying the romance of being a man seemed long and winding!

Vena Dubov, well-versed in business operations, counted on her fingers. The expense was considerable but still within the budget. Satisfied, she nodded and said to Luo Zhengdao:

"Alright, we have the ship, but we still need sailors."

Luo Zhengdao, puzzled by her words, asked:

"Don't we already have sailors on our ship?"

The half-elf beauty rolled her eyes seductively, perhaps realizing it was futile to reason with this amnesiac. She explained with a headache:

"Please, the Super Brave is just a two-masted sailing ship with a crew of about eighty. We fought the goblins during our breakout, and many crew members were killed or injured. We don't have enough people to operate this sixth-grade battleship."

"Where do we recruit more people?"

Luo Zhengdao, whose knowledge had just been mercilessly belittled, scratched the back of his head and laughed heartily. This was a form of self-mockery; after all, this wasn't the first time he had been embarrassed, and he had grown used to it.

Seeing this, Vena Dubov sighed inwardly and said with a tone of frustration:

"Of course, to the bar! Wil, the old earl is gone, and you are the helmsman of the Flus family. You need to learn how to deal with all kinds of people. Although you are a noble and an earl, the sailors at sea won't be as obedient as those the Flus family has raised for generations. They can rebel at any moment. You don't want to be hanged from the mast, do you?"

Hearing the half-elf's warning, the composed Luo Zhengdao nodded without a word. He had always found it strange that the sailors on the Super Brave were overly polite and respectful. Unlike what he knew about the Age of Exploration, the root of the problem was now clear. These sailors were loyal to the Flus family, which explained why they followed the young, beardless Luo Zhengdao's orders without question, treating him like a god. They had likely entrusted their lives to the fate of the Flus family.

In the modern world, the vast seas remained a lawless and wild place, far from the reach of mainstream society. The Somali pirate issue alone had drawn navies from around the world to the Horn of Africa, driven by various dark motives. The high risks of maritime life were evident.

Confirming his earlier suspicions, Luo Zhengdao was quite pleased and responded:

"I understand. Let's go!"

Wherever there are sailors, there are bars, just as wherever there are addicts, there are drug dealers. The noisy and chaotic bar was filled with the smell of alcohol and a peculiar, moldy odor. The air was thick and suffocating, with smoke swirling around. As Luo Zhengdao stopped at the entrance of the largest bar in Ambon Port, he saw tables of burly men drinking and reveling. Occasionally, a woman's scream or scolding could be heard, usually because a middle-aged waitress had been pinched by a drunk sailor, or a cheap prostitute was flirting with a regular customer.

"Hey, half-elf girl, come have a drink with me! Don't stick with that小白脸. Is his thing bigger than mine? Can he satisfy you at night?"

"Ha ha ha ha..."

As the saying goes, alcohol emboldens the timid. The bearded sailor, who was sitting right by the door, saw Vena Dubov's outstanding appearance and, emboldened by his drink, started to tease her. He rubbed his crotch with his furry, bear-like hand, as if preparing to take action.

Luo Zhengdao, who was looking around the entrance, saw this clearly. He noticed that Vena Dubov's beautiful face turned dark for a moment, clearly about to lose her temper. Half-elves, being the offspring of humans and elves, often possess traits of both races. No one who visits a port bar, a place of mixed company, is a pushover, especially not a beautiful woman like Vena. In the new world, where harmony is not the norm, inexperienced and weak women are often sold into slavery or trained as sex slaves.

"Whoosh—Bang! Buzz..."

In the blink of an eye, Vena Dubov completed the entire process of drawing her bow, aiming, and shooting. She fired a green arrow that narrowly missed the bearded sailor's face and embedded itself in the wooden pillar behind him. The arrow's tail continued to vibrate, emitting a low hum.

The bar, which had been noisy, suddenly fell silent. Then, the half-elf beauty, lowering her bow, said coldly:

"...If you don't shut that foul mouth of yours, I'll sew it shut for you."

The new world is not a lawless place, but the laws and order exist only within the territories of the major powers, such as the Yaling Empire, the Elven Federation, and the former Light Dynasty. These scattered islands in the seven seas are, by the standards of ancient China, considered uncivilized and barbaric. Since they have chosen to live in such places, they cannot expect to encounter law-abiding citizens. In this lawless land, the stronger one is, the more respected they are. The rules are simple: the stronger and bigger your fists, the more you can get away with.

The disturbance caused by this incident did not last long. The bar owner, clearly of dwarven descent, emerged from behind the counter, his stout and muscular body not filled with useless fat. Could someone who runs a bar in Ambon Port be a pushover? Without real skills, they wouldn't last.

The bar owner, showing off his skills, wielded a heavy double-bladed steel battle-axe as if it were a light feather. He glared at the guests and shouted:

"This bar is for drinking, not for fighting. If you have any disputes, settle them outside. Do you want to spend a few days in the city guard's jail with cockroaches and rats?"

The pure outsiders didn't matter, as they were just passing through. But those who frequently visited Ambon Port dared not offend the bar owner, who was known to be a powerful figure in both the legal and illegal worlds.

At this moment, the bearded man who had nearly been shot through the throat stood up, his face showing a fawning smile. He bowed to the bar owner and said:

"Hehehe, boss, you misunderstood. I was just joking with these new faces."

It was clear that his words were not entirely truthful. The bar owner wasn't there to uphold justice; he just wanted to protect his own interests. He looked at the half-elf beauty and the young nobleman standing at the door, leaned on his battle-axe, and said in a rough voice:

"What do you two want? If you're not here to drink, please leave my bar."

This biased attitude was expected by Vena Dubov. She moved to Luo Zhengdao's side and whispered:

"Wil, you speak."

Hearing this, Luo Zhengdao nodded slightly, straightened his chest, and stepped forward, saying loudly:

"I am Captain Wil Needham, and I need to recruit some sailors. Who wants to join my crew?"

Hearing Luo Zhengdao's words, the bearded man, who had just suffered a setback, couldn't resist the opportunity to vent his frustration. He burst into laughter and mocked:

"Ha ha ha ha, a beardless boy can be a captain? Then I can be the governor of Ambon, right?"

Another sailor at the same table, drunk, chimed in with a laugh:

"My noble governor, can you give us poor guys a cup of ale?"

Seeing this, Luo Zhengdao's anger flared, and a murderous intent flashed in his eyes. The environment shapes a person, and the transformation can be faster than you imagine. After several brushes with death since his穿越, Luo Zhengdao quickly adapted to the brutal rules of this new world. He knew he couldn't show weakness and stared at the bearded sailor, saying:

"Shut up, bastard! Do you want to settle this outside with swords?"

This was not an empty threat. Luo Zhengdao indeed had the intention and ability to kill the man. This confidence came from the previous owner of this body, Wil Needham, whose years of sword training gave Luo Zhengdao great confidence. The valuable legacy of these skills was something the穿越者had to genuinely appreciate.

Although from a hereditary noble family, the young Wil had put in a lot of effort and developed excellent sword skills. His techniques were slightly flashy, but his fundamentals were solid. Even though Wil Needham was long gone, the body's new owner, Luo Zhengdao, still retained the skills. Holding the sword hilt, Luo Zhengdao felt confident, knowing that having the skills to kill gave him the courage to face any challenge.

As the saying goes, a good person is often taken advantage of, and a gentle horse is often ridden. Being kind in real life is often an unrealistic ideal. Those who choose to be your enemies may not have a clear goal; they might just want to gain a cheap sense of satisfaction by oppressing others.

After graduating, Luo Zhengdao had seen many sycophants in society. For these scoundrels, oppressing the good is a vile instinct, like a dog that can't stop eating feces. The more you yield, the more they push. Conversely, if you stand up and fight, they will back off, though they might gossip behind your back. Knowing this, Luo Zhengdao understood that yielding wouldn't earn him respect, so he adopted a tough stance, ready to draw blood if necessary.

The tense atmosphere in the bar was palpable. The noisy chatter disappeared, and the bearded man's face turned even uglier. His life of bloodshed had taught him to recognize when someone was not bluffing. Knowing that Luo Zhengdao was serious made the situation even more difficult to resolve.

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