Chapter 9

Since he had decided to go to Rhod Island to make a big deal, Lin Taiping, upon waking up the next morning, began to lead Christina and the minotaur tribe into the preparations like a ruthless boss who exploits his employees.

The first thing to do, without a doubt, was to repair the ship. After inspecting the extent of the damage, Christina took a deep breath and announced that the problems with the pirate ship were not severe. As long as the leaks and holes in the hull were fixed, it could勉强 sail to Rhod Island.

This immediately turned dozens of unfortunate pirates into voluntary ship repair workers. Following Lin Taiping's specific instructions, they painted the new name of the ship on the hull—the Black Pearl... In fact, this was entirely due to someone's perverse sense of humor.

On the other hand, dozens of minotaurs had to learn various basic navigation skills, including how to control the rudder, use the compass, raise and lower the sails, and clean the deck... Well, you have to admit, for minotaurs whose brains are mostly muscle, this was more terrifying than challenging the God of Light.

However, with Christina around, none of this was a problem!

In fact, this somewhat silly beauty, once she entered work mode, immediately transformed into a fierce queen. Under her powerful aura, any creature had to obediently follow her orders, or they would be crushed by a massive iron anchor weighing hundreds of pounds.

So, after just two days, the poor minotaur tribe completely broke down. In the end, Turu even rushed over in the middle of the night, hugging Lin Taiping's leg with tears streaming down his face: "Lin, we can't take it anymore. That woman is brutally ruthless. Honestly, we'd rather challenge the God of Light."

"Relax, relax," Lin Taiping put down a navigation chart and patted his shoulder to comfort him. "I've already talked to Christina. Starting tomorrow, she won't force you to learn navigation anymore. I promise."

Really? Turu wiped away his tears, half-believing and half-doubting, and went back to sleep. The next morning, the entire beach echoed with his angry cries: "Wah! Lin, I curse you to only have daughters for the rest of your life!"

Yes, just as Lin Taiping promised, Christina didn't force Turu and the others to learn navigation anymore. Instead, she brought a large group of minotaurs to the ship and kicked each one into the water: "The boss said you must learn to swim within two days... By the way, the sharks around here have been hungry for a long time."

Tears streamed down their faces. At that moment, dozens of minotaurs were crying in the seawater, watching the distant shark fins appear. They finally understood one thing: "So, creatures like Lin and Miss Christina are destined to be together!"

Thus, after ten whole days, the Black Pearl was finally repaired, and Turu and the others had become qualified sailors. With all the preparations completed, Lin Taiping decided to set sail the next day. However, before that, there was one important issue that needed to be resolved.

In fact, Christina had already realized this and came to talk to him that night: "Boss, I think we need to have a good talk. We have the ship and the crew, but I still don't know what we plan to sell on Rhod Island?"

"Don't worry, I've been preparing for this," Lin Taiping replied with a smile, then stood up and took off his clothes. "Look at this. What do you think the merchants on Rhod Island... Hey, what's that look on your face? Do I look like someone who would do something perverted to a female secretary?"

Very powerful indeed. Seeing the boss suddenly take off his clothes, Christina couldn't help but think that if he dared to touch her, she would have to use the big iron anchor to pay tribute.

However, the next moment, when she saw a certain part of Lin Taiping's body, she suddenly had a very strange expression, even opening her eyes wide in surprise: "This is... This is..."

"What do you think?" Lin Taiping smiled and beckoned with his finger, as if trying to lure Christina to look at goldfish. "Come on, you can get closer. This took Turu and the others a long time to get right."

Thus, a few minutes later, in the dimly lit tent, a strange conversation between a man and a woman suddenly began—

"Ah, so hard, does it never get soft?"

"Of course not, it's very durable. Do you want to touch it? It can get even harder!"

"Really? If you don't mind..."

"Meow, don't use so much force, it really got soft this time!"

Well, who knows what they were talking about, but after this inappropriate conversation, Christina finally believed that the upcoming trip to Rhod Island would be very profitable. Thinking about the six percent that would be hers, this hardworking beauty immediately imagined baby formula and diapers raining from the sky.

With the biggest issue resolved, when the sun rose the next day, Lin Taiping officially set sail, exploring the trade route between Demon Island and Rhod Island, and took all the minotaurs with him.

What? Leave some people to guard the tribe? Don't be ridiculous. Do you think there's anything worth guarding, especially with a group of dark elves eager to have children on the north side of the island?

A few hours later, under the angry gaze of the abandoned pirates, the Black Pearl slowly sailed away from the shore. The white sails flapped in the sea breeze, and the vast blue ocean stretched endlessly ahead. The salty sea wind gently blew, and a few seagulls circled the ship's stern.

"My goal is the vast ocean and the stars!" Facing the sunrise and the sea breeze, Lin Taiping spread his arms with enthusiasm, looking at the vast ocean before him. "Ladies and gentlemen, please look forward to it. This will be the beginning of our first big profit... Ugh!"

Well, in fact, it wasn't that beautiful. Not long after leaving Demon Island, he tragically discovered that games are games, and reality is reality. Even though he was once a hardcore sailing game player, he couldn't prevent certain things from happening, such as—seasickness!

Two hours later, he was vomiting like a shrimp; one day later, he saw double; three days later, the only thing he could do was hang over the ship's rail like a dead fish, with a group of equally seasick minotaurs swaying beside him.

"If I had known this, I should have exercised every day," Lin Taiping, swaying and holding the ship's rail, couldn't help but shed tears. What made him even more tearful was that Rhod Island was still a long way off, meaning his suffering would continue.

"Boss, drink this, it will make you feel better," Christina, holding a rope, jumped down from a white sail over ten meters high. Even on the swaying deck, she was full of energy, dancing like a tango, and the medicine in her hand didn't spill at all.

"Especially prepared for me?" Lin Taiping was taken aback, looking at the steaming bowl of medicine and then at the enthusiastic red-dressed beauty.

Since the minotaurs were all seasick and couldn't help, Christina had been busy driving the ship alone for the past few days, staying awake for three days straight, her eyes red from lack of sleep. Despite this, she still found time to boil the medicine, with black residue still on her face, making her look silly and funny.

"Maybe I can be a little nicer to her, except for a raise..." Feeling the warmth of the medicine, Lin Taiping suddenly felt a warm feeling in his heart, and he drank the medicine in one gulp. "Hmm, it's a magical medicine. I feel much better. What's it made of?"

"Of course, it's a family secret recipe," Christina raised her swan-like neck and proudly counted on her fingers, "Scorpion tails, spider legs, wasp stingers, frog saliva, plus..."

Very powerful indeed. Lin Taiping immediately vomited over the ship's rail, deciding to retract all his previous praise. Turu and the dozens of minotaurs, listening nearby, were so moved that they felt their seasickness was completely cured, and they didn't need to drink this medicine at all.

However, it must be admitted that the medicine, though bitter, was quite effective. In fact, just half an hour later, Lin Taiping felt completely recovered, allowing him to think about some issues again, such as what kind of place Rhod Island would be in a few days.

"Rhod Island? It's one of the most famous commercial islands in the Horn Sea." No one knew this better than Christina, so she immediately took on the role of the narrator, introducing the detailed situation of the entire Contans world.

According to Christina, the entire Contans world can be roughly divided into seven seas based on ocean currents. This vast world of oceans and islands has gone through many changes over tens of thousands of years, with several unified empires appearing and then disintegrating over time.

The most recent unification was about a thousand years ago, when the forces of darkness were extremely powerful. Various dark races, including orcs, undead, and demons, united and almost conquered the seven seas of Contans, establishing a terrifying dark empire and reducing humans and other races to slaves.

However, for some unknown reason, this powerful dark empire disintegrated overnight. The oppressed humans and other races seized the opportunity to form a resistance army of millions and fought a ten-year war against the dark forces, known in history as the Light and Darkness War.

The result of the Light and Darkness War was the complete collapse of the dark empire. The defeated dark races fled and scattered, hiding in remote islands under assumed names. The victorious humans and other races became the new masters of Contans and, after hundreds of years of evolution, formed the current fragmented situation.

In fact, the current Contans world is in an era of multiple powers rising and falling. Taking the Horn Sea, where they are now, as an example, this smallest of the seven seas has about twenty powers, with a wide variety of political systems, including lordship, governorship, and parliamentarism, almost every system is represented.

Of course, although the powers are so diverse, the Horn Sea is generally peaceful. Each power controls several islands, manages their territories, collects taxes, and develops commerce. They both compete and cooperate, gradually forming a loose alliance. The biggest threat they face comes from the major powers in other seas and the ruthless pirates who raid and plunder everywhere.

"Wait, pirates?" Lin Taiping was taken aback when he heard this. "Christina, you mean there are many powerful pirates in this sea?"

"Of course, don't you know?" Christina looked at him in confusion. "For hundreds of years, pirates have been a major threat in all the seas, especially in our Horn Sea, where there are over a dozen notorious pirate gangs. Their strength is comparable to that of the lords."

In fact, as Christina said, in this Horn Sea, pirates are the most terrifying threat. Take Blood Eye, a notorious pirate leader who roams this area, for example. Known for his brutality and bloodlust, he commands four or five pirate ships, two hundred vicious pirates, and even a few powerful evil beings.

Every year, hundreds of merchant ships are plundered by Blood Eye, with losses amounting to millions. Just a few months ago, he even joined forces with several pirate gangs to raid a small island at night, looting and burning it, and even decapitating the lord to make a wine cup, boasting of his cruelty and strength.

"So brutal?" Lin Taiping couldn't help but frown. If he planned to trade in this sea, he would eventually encounter these greedy and brutal pirates, such as Blood Eye...

"Exactly, almost all merchant fleets have suffered at their hands," Christina shrugged indifferently. "However, in a sense, I quite like them, especially when they become bounties."

"Right, right," Turu, who had finally stopped vomiting, pounded his chest. "Lin, don't worry. No matter what pirates, they will be as weak as chicks in front of our great minotaurs. If they dare to come out... Uh?"

Very powerful indeed. The next moment, Turu proved what it means to jinx something!

On the distant horizon, a burning and smoking merchant ship was swaying towards them, its hull damaged in many places. The fat merchant on the deck, pale-faced, was frantically urging the sailors, but no matter how hard they tried, the ship couldn't move any faster.

Chasing behind this merchant ship was a triangular sail ship with a black skull flag. Dozens of pirates crowded the bow, brandishing their curved swords, grinning with sharp teeth, and an old catapult was firing stones, occasionally hitting near the merchant ship.

At this moment, Christina's bright eyes sparkled with gold. At this moment, Turu, who had just been pounding his chest, was stunned. At this moment, Lin Taiping, speechless, rubbed his chin and finally asked seriously—

"Turu, I want to confirm, how is your recent minotaur character?"

---

This chapter mentions the world setting. I'll add a few more words. Although the world setting includes seven seas and many islands, this is not a sailing story. The main story still takes place on land. You can think of those islands as relatively smaller continents.

By the way, can anyone guess what the minotaur tribe plans to sell? If you guess correctly, I will... Uh, what do you want me to do?

Flip to the next page for Flip to the next page for AD end