Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 48 New Criminal, Eighth-Rank Spirit Pearl

Chen Ye breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the two professions listed side by side on the panel.

He had been worried that the Nightwalker class he brought back would conflict with the Tanka class, and that it would be troublesome if it overwrote the other class.

After all, in this Blackwater Lake, the skills of the Tanka people are crucial, as they are the foundation of their livelihood.

Now it seems I was overthinking it.

This career panel seems to have no upper limit; it can be stacked infinitely, accommodating countless possibilities.

The next two days were uneventful.

As expected, the disappearance of Zhao Qiu and the other two did not cause the slightest ripple.

Chen Ye's life returned to its former tranquility. He went out on the boat every day to collect pearls and complete his tasks. His days passed without any major upheavals.

Until this day, the once lifeless dock town suddenly became noisy.

It turned out that another batch of criminals had been brought here.

Chen Ye stood on the periphery of the crowd, watching the familiar scene before him with a cold expression.

Most of the new men had blank expressions and empty eyes, as if their souls had been ripped out.

The women sobbed softly, their faces filled with fear and bewilderment.

Soon, a group of high-ranking criminals surrounded the women, pointing and whispering about them as if they were selecting livestock at a market.

Strangely, although these women looked humiliated, they all stood obediently. Some of the more attractive women even showed a relieved expression after being chosen, as if they had grasped a lifeline.

Those who weren't chosen were rather anxious.

Chen Ye was already used to this scene.

These women thought that being chosen would free them from their misery, but in reality, they were just jumping from one fire pit into an even deeper one.

Once those high-class criminals get tired of playing around, their fate will only be worse than it is now.

But it was none of his business, and Chen Ye didn't bother to care.

Just as he turned to leave, a voice suddenly came from the crowd, tinged with surprise and uncertainty.

"Chen Ye?"

Chen Ye paused, looking in the direction of the sound.

My gaze pierced through the numb crowd and landed on a face that was fairly pretty, but now looked haggard and panicked.

Chen Ye recognized the man.

Liu Chan.

A name that once held a significant place in the memories of its predecessor.

The Liu family and the Chen family were old friends, and Chen Ye's predecessor and Liu Chan could be considered childhood sweethearts.

However, when the Chen family lost power, the Liu family not only failed to offer assistance, but instead turned against them first, even taking advantage of their misfortune and joining forces with the Chen family's enemies to severely undermine them.

Chen Ye never expected that after so many years, he would see the Liu family again here in this way.

His gaze swept across the crowd.

Sure enough, he saw several familiar figures in the corner, such as Liu Junshan, the head of the Liu family who had once been on friendly terms with his father and shared drinks with him.

At this moment, the Liu family members also recognized him, but as soon as their eyes met, the men lowered their heads in shame, not daring to look him in the eye.

Just then, Liu Chan, her face full of hope, squeezed out of the crowd and ran quickly to him.

"Brother Chen Ye, it really is you!"

As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and two lines of tears slid down her cheeks at just the right moment. Her voice choked with emotion, and her expression was even more pitiful.

Liu Chan had noticed Chen Ye's clean and tidy clothes long ago, which proved that Chen Ye was doing well here.

When she recalled the kind-hearted boy who always did her best for her, hope instantly rekindled in Liu Chan's heart.

In her view, as long as she lowered her pride and used a few tricks, she would definitely be able to have him completely under her control.

However, none of her expectations came true. Chen Ye simply looked at her quietly, his gaze as calm as a bottomless lake, without the slightest ripple.

Then he turned around and was about to leave.

Liu Chan was stunned.

This reaction was completely different from what she expected!
Seeing that Chen Ye was about to walk away, Liu Chan could no longer care about her reserve and face. She rushed forward and grabbed the hem of Chen Ye's clothes.

"Brother Chen Ye, don't go! You can't abandon me!"

She burst into tears, her face covered in snot and tears, no longer resembling a proper young lady.

"The Liu family... the Liu family is finished. My whole family has been exiled here. If you don't want me either, I really won't be able to survive. Please, for the sake of us growing up together, take me in. I can do anything—wash clothes, cook, serve tea and water, I can do it all!"

Her cries drew the attention of many people around her. The high-ranking criminals watched the spectacle with great interest, while the Liu family members all looked ashen-faced.

Chen Ye stopped and looked back at Liu Chan.

A glimmer of hope and pleading appeared on Liu Chan's face.

But Chen Ye simply said in an extremely calm tone, "What does that have to do with me?"

After saying that, he gently shook off Liu Chan's hand and left without looking back.

Liu Chan stood there dumbfounded, her mind completely blank.

Since her family's downfall, it's been like a nightmare for her. Now, she finally saw a glimmer of hope, only to have it shattered in an instant.

The Liu family's plight did not stir up the slightest ripple in Chen Ye's heart.

There was no thrill of revenge, no smug satisfaction, not even a trace of emotion.

To him now, these people are like stones on the roadside, not worth wasting any of his emotions on.

Back on the ship, Chen Ye continued working.

His current goal is clear: to find a high-quality spirit pearl to prepare for his next time travel.

The ninth-grade spirit pearl from last time caused Chen Ye to start out as a lowly pageboy who was framed and killed, with a lowly status and a life full of difficulties.

The quality of the offering determines one's initial status. The higher the status, the smoother the start.

Of course, it can't be too high either.

If sacrificing a first-grade spirit pearl directly sends me to a top-tier world where immortals and demons roam freely and powerful beings are as insignificant as dogs, then with my current strength, I probably wouldn't even qualify as cannon fodder, and the possibility of dying at the very beginning is extremely high.

After careful consideration, Chen Ye finally set his sights on the seventh or eighth rank.

A spirit orb of this grade can ensure a good start without sending him to an overly dangerous world.

So in the following days, Chen Ye increased the frequency and depth of his dives.

With the help of the spirit clam's senses and his now powerful physique, Chen Ye is extremely efficient.

He even found several Rank 9 spirit pearls, but Chen Ye didn't take any of them.

Because wealth should not be flaunted.

Previously, it was because he had stood out a little that he attracted the covetousness of Zhao Qiu and others.

Now, Chen Ye is naturally even more cautious.

Until this day, when Chen Ye dived into a deep body of water he had never been to before, a sensation far stronger than ever before suddenly came from below.

There's a big one!

Chen Ye's spirits lifted, and he immediately dived down, clearing away the silt from the bottom of the lake.

Sure enough, below was a giant clam the size of a millstone. The clam's shell was covered with the marks of time and emitted a faint spiritual light.

It took Chen Ye a great deal of effort to pry open a crack in the tightly closed clam shell with his spirit shovel.

The moment the clam shell opened, a soft, non-glaring radiance shone through it.

Chen Ye looked closely and saw a spirit pearl the size of an egg, radiating a purple halo, lying quietly inside the clam meat.

It's an eighth-grade spirit pearl!
(End of this chapter)