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

Chapter 24 The First Houseboat (4K)

Following his memory, Chen Qi trudged along the muddy cobblestone path to his house in Maro Town.

Of course, rather than a house, structurally speaking, it's more like a large, dilapidated wooden barrel, the kind that's been blown open by a storm.

A crunch!
Chen Yong roughly pushed open the wooden door.

The room contained nothing but a wooden bed, an oil lamp without oil, a well-worn copy of "A Guide to Strange Diseases of the World," and a few pieces of clothing.

"The conditions are a bit poor, but at least there's a bed."

Chen Qi comforted himself, took off his clothes, and exposed his back.

The pattern on his back resembled deep blue tentacles, and the tentacle pattern converged to form a terrifying ghost back.

This ghostly back is not something an ordinary person can look at directly!

In this world, there is no care for patients, especially for this strange disease; if it were exposed, it would only cause fear in others.

In short, no normal person would like that back...

Wait a minute, cultists who believe in the deep sea should also like this back. This kind of existence that can be parasitized by sea monsters and not die is the perfect sacrifice to fulfill their desires.

Hmm... and then there's the little crow, who has a rather unusual taste.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Qi picked up the dusty clothes from the ground, patted them off, put them on, and then casually found some old clothes to use as a blanket.

He's currently in the early stages of the game, so he can only make do for now.

As the effects of the yellow needles wore off, he could feel significant muscle soreness.

There's a feeling of exhaustion, like your body has been hollowed out.

"go to bed!"

I went straight to sleep as soon as I woke up in the morning.

A crunch!
The heavy blow caused the already weakened bed to collapse.

The quality of the bed was worse than he had expected.

Chen Qi felt the coldness on his back and slowly closed his eyes.

Once I earn my first pot of gold in the Cracks, I need to get a bed I can really mess around with...

……

……

Night fell, and the storm washed over the island town once again.

When she woke up in the morning, she heard the fisherwoman next door cursing. She no longer wanted to stay in this shitty place and was even preparing to sell the house so she could move to a big city.

The fisherman predicted that with the increasing frequency of storms, Marlowe was becoming less and less habitable, making it a good time to sell houses.

"This timing of entry..."

The Age of Exploration is about to begin, and Maro Town will be a very good starting point.

As Chen Qi pondered this, he arrived at the herbal medicine shop in Maro Town.

He exchanged the painkillers in his backpack for some money.

The Black Whale Gang's painkillers are rare and potent painkillers on the market, with added special medicinal ingredients.

One can of painkillers sold for a full thousand shell coins.

In Maro town, an average fisherman earns four thousand shell coins a month.

One thousand shell coins would be enough to ensure his food and clothing for the next few days.

But for those who embark on the path to the extraordinary, this amount of money is not even worth a ripple.

Chen Qi clutched the crumpled coins and walked straight toward the dock.

Just like on Earth, everything in this world requires money.

But he now has a very troublesome problem: he lacks ships.

The small boat they had taken from the Black Whale Gang was badly damaged by the storm.

Ultimately, it was just a lifeboat for emergency use.

However, taking someone else's boat would waste a lot of time.

He needed a new boat, and the best option was to rent one, which would undoubtedly be a considerable expense.

Hopefully, there will be a decent boat in Marlowe.

The dock was crowded with people: fishermen, fishmongers, ship repairmen, and even Mayor Maro.

Suddenly, he heard people sighing and groaning all around him.

"The weather is completely unpredictable; how are we supposed to go out to sea?"

"What does the weather matter? I heard that someone spotted the Black Whale Pirates' Sawshark in the waters near the coast. How are we supposed to set sail like this?"

"Pirates? Deep-sea beasts are the most terrifying. I heard that a large fishing boat spotted a near-shore overlord in the waters!"
Fortunately, that near-shore predator had no appetite, otherwise the dozen or so people on the fishing boat would have perished.

"The overlord of the near seas? I heard that someone saw a witch and an indescribable monster on a ship from the Golden Flower Bird Kingdom."

"..."

Chen Qi's ears perked up; they seemed to have quite a bit of information.

Coastal Overlords, the Black Whale Gang, the Witch...

The first two were pieces of intelligence he already knew.

And the witch...

The Witch is an important character in the main storyline of Witch Sea, and also an extremely mysterious being. According to some players' speculations, at this point in time, the Flower Witch should have just arrived in Witch Sea, and the Blade Witch should have been born.

But right now, in the very early stages of the game, no one will care about the witch.

With our current strength, getting involved in related matters would be suicide.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the place where the boat was moored.

When I look up at dawn, the sea breeze under the sunlight is always so comforting.

Last night's storm caused many maritime accidents, and everyone is in a bad mood.

Despite this, people still have to fish to make a living, and they still have to live their lives.

Many people are preparing to go to sea.

Chen Qi glanced at the ships before him.

The immediate priority is to find a suitable ship to travel to the rift.

"A bulky, large ship won't do; this ship is already dilapidated. This ship looks expensive..."

Chen Qi muttered to himself.

"and many more!"

Just then, a small steel travel boat caught his attention.

It is a steel-powered boat, not large, consisting of a houseboat and a hull.

Smooth curves, a robust steel hull—

Chen Qi walked toward the ship with great interest.

Beside the boat, there was a sign that clearly read "Boat for Sale".

Not only that, he also wrote about some of the ship's advantages.

It was converted from an abandoned ship, and the only direction of the conversion was speed!

It is also equipped with a power engine from the crack, so under normal circumstances, its sailing speed is twice that of a regular cargo ship.

It also has an overclocking function that can instantly increase the speed by more than three times.

It's a real speedboat racer, and also a must-have for robberies!
Chen Qi felt a little tempted.

Those who frequently commit murder should know that killing is easy, but disposing of the body is difficult.

But it's different at sea. You can just shout "Praise the sea god!" and then throw the body into the sea and that's it.

Therefore, the crime rate on the Witch Sea can be described as extremely high.

The grand stage at sea—come if you're sick.

When the two ships approached each other, they would exchange a glance, and it was common for them to start fighting immediately.

Even official actions often happen.

He is not afraid of sea monsters, but he will inevitably encounter friction between people.

But as a pitiful and helpless newcomer at sea, in order to avoid getting involved in these cruel conflicts and to be able to cause trouble more efficiently.

He desperately needs a clipper.

Chen Qi looked around excitedly and estimated that the ship was worth about 100,000 shell coins.

Small, fast enough, and a bit old, it's the kind of boat he dreamed of.

The only drawback is that the ship doesn't belong to him.

An old man sat by the dock; he was the owner of the boat.
Old Pele, the trash collector.

A wifeless, very unconventional old salvage worker who enjoys collecting trash at sea and assembling it into all sorts of strange things.

He happened to catch a glimpse of a small black boat with lights on while he was at sea, and there was a skeleton with tentacles on it.

He was terrified by that voyage.

Given his advanced age, he no longer goes to sea and is preparing to move to Moonstone City, so he has been looking for a buyer for his ship.

With yesterday's storm adding to his resolve, he was even more determined to sell the boat. Nobody wanted to go out to sea anymore; if he didn't sell it soon, he might never be able to!
However, due to the high cost of the boat's warranty, a suitable seller has not yet been found.

He was sitting on the dock, alone, feeling the lonely sea breeze.

Chen Qi walked over, squatted down, and said:
"Old Pele, how about renting the boat for a day, two hundred?"

"two hundred!"

Old Bailey, who hadn't had any income for a long time, suddenly raised his bald head and looked at Chen Qi.

Isn't this the young man who got marine mammal disease? Why is he back?
His attitude changed instantly, and he said in an annoyed tone:
"No! This boat is my companion, my beloved wife. Would you rent your companion to someone else for a day?"

"..."

Chen Qi looked up and was taken aback by what the other person said.

Do all the people in Witch Sea talk like this...?

This way of rejecting him is too forceful; unless he's a psychopath, it's really hard to retort.

Pelé continued:

"Young man, don't be so pessimistic. Keep the money for yourself and buy yourself something nice to eat."

"what?"

Chen Qi was completely stunned and thought for a while.

On the high seas, there is a custom of sea burial, in which the deceased is placed on a small boat, covered with flowers, and then sent to the sea, so that they can receive the blessing of the sea goddess after death.

Does the other side think I'm throwing my ship to my death?

Helpless, Chen Qi could only say calmly:

"Four hundred."

"Four hundred!"

"Double it all at once?!" Old Pele swallowed hard; the other party had given him quite a bit.

But after hesitating for a moment, he still said:

"No."

Even if the other party isn't throwing their ship to their death, handing it over to a penniless young man is absolutely unacceptable.

If something goes wrong, I'm afraid we won't be able to find the person.

Would raising the price again be of any use...? Chen Qi frowned.

Admittedly, his impoverished start made it very difficult for him to get the other party to rent him a boat.

At that moment, a deep, resonant voice rang out; it belonged to the highest-ranking man in Maro Town, the Maro Town Mayor.

“Old Bailey, rent it to him. He’s a spiritual awakener and needs money.”

Moreover, he has decent talent; in the future, he might even be able to buy your dubious junk ship.

The portly mayor of Maro squatted on the dock, looking at the distant sea, and smoked a cigarette.

He had to admit that, judging from the attitude of his professional mentor An, Chenqi was far more talented than his useless son.

If Maro Town could have one more superhuman with some strength, it would be a good thing, even if word got out.

His child might have a companion too.

Perhaps the Belial government will also provide more resources to Maro Town; of course, this is typical wishful thinking.

Unless a third-tier superhuman appears, the Bei Kingdom government will not provide resources to his small, run-down town.

"Can you afford it? Spiritual awakening?"

Old Pele touched his head and looked suspiciously at Chen Qi's tattered clothes.

"I should buy some clothes first..." Old Pele thought to himself.

But Mayor Maro is, after all, the person with the highest public status here, and he also owes the other party a large sum of money.

He had no right to refuse!

Old Pele turned his head and smiled at Chen Qi:
"Shh, how about four hundred?"

"let me see……"

Chen Qi leaped onto the ship and opened the hatch on the deck to inspect the power engine inside the ship.

The power engine is the most crucial element of a ship.

On the dusty casing of the engine, one can vaguely see a steaming iron hand tightly gripping a steel hammer.

This is……

"The pattern of the steam hand!"

I was startled when I woke up in the morning.

The Steam Hand is the logo of a well-known heavy industrial company in the Kingdom of Shells.

This is a company that makes extensive use of dangerous creations within cracks.

Because it can produce powerful, large-scale mechanical armor, it is a company that many expert players who want to pilot mechs will come into contact with.

However, its clients are mainly large companies and the Belgian government, rather than civilian users.

In this remote countryside, it has almost no reputation.

In this world, brand is of utmost importance. If it's a modified version of this brand, the price could be over 300,000.

If the power core inside is not damaged, it would sell for at least 500,000, or even a million...

Military products, the way they've been modified is really outrageous...

I got up in the morning and looked at old Pele on the dock.

Old Pele immediately broke into a proud smile, and smiled:

"How about it? I modified this from the trash I picked up."

"This converted ship is alright, isn't it? It's a bit dilapidated, but definitely great value for money."

You call the products from Steam Hands garbage?

If this ship can be repaired, it can be used for quite a long time.

Moreover, just based on the 'Steam Hand' pattern alone, buying it is a steal!
Chen Qi swallowed a mouthful of water and asked:
How much does this boat cost?

Old Pelé looked Chen Qi up and down and said with a smile:

"Installment plan: 40,000 per month for four months, totaling 130,000 in cash."

Because the storms have been getting stronger lately, and many people don't like modified items, Pelé's asking price wasn't high.

Installments?

Chen Qi never expected to hear this word from a garbage collector.

The other party has a good business sense.

Old Pele smiled smugly; this installment payment method was a technique he had learned from a shady businessman.

He didn't believe Chenqi could repay the loan on time, and if he couldn't repay it for even a month, he would have a reason to take the boat back.

By then, the ship will still be there, and we'll have made money.

Of course, the worst thing is if the other person dies.

After all, the seas have been rather turbulent lately, and his ship might end up as shark food along with the other party.

The next second, Chen Qi said almost without hesitation:
"I'll buy this boat and give you a four hundred yuan deposit in advance!"

Chen Qi handed the other person two two-hundred-yuan bills, then threw the backpack onto the boat.

He went straight into the cabin and pressed the start button.

Deposit? Old Bailey was stunned for a moment, but before he could speak, the steamship began to rumble.

The propeller blades cut through the water, creating ripples.

At dawn, he grasped the rudder and set sail for the sea.

The extraordinary rank is of utmost importance; he has no time to chat with old Pele right now.

Full speed ahead!
Watching Chen Qi drive away, old Bailey glanced at Mayor Maro and said resentfully:

"Mayor Maro, is this kid really going to buy my boat?"

Even if he sold his body to that generous old lady in the Black Whale Gang, and was exceptionally patient, he still couldn't earn 130,000 a week!
It's only possible for him to do that if he goes to the Cracks to make money.

A crack can kill a person or make them rich overnight.

Remove cracks...

Remove the cracks!
Old Pele thought about it and immediately broke out in a cold sweat:

“Mayor Maro, if he dies on his way to the rift, then my ship will be gone too. It’s a ship that I worked so hard to modify.”

"No, it can't be the Rift. He's not that kind of irrational person. Besides, who would go to the Rift alone? That's practically suicide."

Despite his appearance, he has most likely already caught the eye of Instructor An.

Right now, he's just fulfilling Instructor An's mission.

If he completes enough tasks, he can obtain a rare Apprentice Pro Card that is impossible to buy.

Mayor Maro exhaled a long smoke ring and looked at the small boat disappearing on the horizon.

"Probably not..."

(End of this chapter)