Sir! Don't close the net!

“That’s right,” Bert walked to a full-length mirror whose frame was filled with full-body photos of all sorts of people, turned his body from side to side, and sighed with regret. “My height is different from Joshua’s… Is this why, even after I drank the potion and wore Joshua’s face, I still couldn’t mediate the conflicts between those people like Joshua? I guess I’m not suited to be Joshua.”

"So Joshua's potion doesn't need to be replenished?" Bert pinched the tube with Joshua's name on it.

“This…” Bert hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, “It is necessary.”

"All right--"

Zigela drew a long note and pulled up the small bag containing various tubes.

"Zig, you seem very happy today..."

Bert turned around to look, but Zieg had already pushed the door open and left. He could only shake his head helplessly and turn back to continue examining himself in the full-length mirror.

With a small bag on his back, Zig hummed as he jumped over puddles full of sewage, stepped on protruding stones and crossed the muddy ground, and arrived at a two-story shop in the center of the Maosai district.

I was lucky today; there weren't many people in line, so Zig only had to wait a short while before I got to the counter.

"Hello sir, fill them all up," Zig said, pulling open the small bag at his waist and neatly arranging the empty tubes in front of the somewhat bulky and disheveled middle-aged man behind the counter, who was wearing an ill-fitting apron.

“McCarthy, the best salesman,” the middle-aged man said mockingly, picking up McCarthy’s tube and waving it from side to side. “Why are his potions so popular?”

"Because he is an excellent person with dreams," Zieg said, holding up his finger and speaking in a serious tone, "striving to give everyone in Instas a home."

"Is that so?" The middle-aged man laboriously bent down to pick up a new vial of McCarthy's drug and placed it on the table. "A real estate agent with dreams? He's nothing more than a lackey who tries every means to squeeze as much hard-earned money as possible out of ordinary people's wallets and hand it over to those beasts. Dreams... that's what makes this lackey so motivated."

“Sir, you shouldn’t have said that about Mr. McCarthy,” Zieg protested, raising his fist at the middle-aged man with some dissatisfaction.

“You’re about to turn sixteen, right?” The middle-aged man, as if ignoring Zig’s protest, placed tubes filled with strange liquid on the table, pointing to the names of those whose tubes were empty. “When you come of age, you will have to shoulder the responsibilities of an Instass, just like every Instass-born person. It’s unfortunate, but also very fortunate.”

"Huh?" Zig tilted his head.

"I hope you will become an ordinary, unremarkable Indian."

After saying that, the middle-aged man turned around, clutching the empty tube in his hand, and stopped looking at Zig.

"Hmph—who gives blessings like that? You're so beautiful now. I'll definitely become as good as McCarthy and Joshua, and then no one will be defective anymore."

Zig slung the backpack containing various tubes over his shoulder and placed the money on the table.

"Sir, give me a discount when you sell Sieg Slow."

After saying that, Zieg waved his arms vigorously and left full of energy.

The middle-aged man shook his head, bent down, picked up a vial of McCarthy's potion, tilted his head back, and drank it down.

"Ugh—it tastes like sludge from a sewer."

Chapter Twenty-Five: Miss Heidi, have you ever heard of the Seven Captures of Meng Huo?

evening.

The pirates on the Mercury Queen put down their mops and looked into the distance. A lone shadow stretched out, and the chilling aura that seemed to threaten to blow someone's head off at the slightest blink made them involuntarily swallow hard, frozen in place, too afraid to move.

Jones's fingers trembled at his sides. He swore that if the other party tried to make a move, he would cut off their head first.

Hey everyone! Have you eaten yet?

Li Yili smiled brightly and raised the barbecue in her hand.

Jones stumbled and nearly fell headfirst into the bucket.

Calm down, I'm a great pirate after all.

After taking a deep breath, Jones leaned over the edge of the ship and shouted at Li Yili, who had already arrived below the Mercury Queen, "Mr. Li Yili, what are you doing here!"

Jones didn't know why he used honorifics when speaking to Li Yili. Usually, when he used honorifics for others, they were often in jail, and he only used them to be sarcastic or sarcastic. Jones was certain that he wasn't being sarcastic or sarcastic towards Li Yili.

"Uh... a follow-up visit?" Li Yili tilted her head.

“Back—cough cough cough…” Jones coughed heavily and waved to the pirate next to him.

The pirates around him scratched their heads and swung the rope ladder down. They didn't understand what was going on, but since Jones had waved, they could only let things take their course.

Li Yili grabbed a section of the rope ladder with her left hand, stepped onto it with her left foot, and waved, "I'm standing firm!"

The pirates, who were just about to turn back to continue mopping the floor, stumbled and looked at Jones.

Jones rubbed his forehead and waved his hand. The pirates could only grimace and grab onto the rope ladder on each side, pulling Li Yili up.

"Thank you for your hard work. You don't need to say anything more. I know the process," Li Yili patted Jones on the shoulder and turned to walk towards the prison gate in a very familiar manner.

Jones's lips twitched violently, and he forced a smile, looking up and shouting, "Mr. Li Yili is here!"

The other pirates immediately realized what was happening and shouted back.

"Mr. Li Yili has arrived!"

"Mr. Li Yili has arrived!"

"Mr. Li Yili has arrived!"

Welcomed by the pirates, Li Yili pushed open the damp door and went down to the bottom of the Mercury Queen. The other two cells were the same as when he left, with several deformed skeletons lying there, while the third cell was empty.

Li Yili whistled, opened the iron door of the third cell, and walked in as naturally as if she were going home. She picked up the shackles and sniffed them; the beauty was gone, but a fragrance still lingered on them.

"crunch-"

The sound of shoe heels clicking against the wooden board came from behind Li Yili. Li Yili raised her head slightly, smiled, and turned to look.

Outside the cell, Heidi Sera stood with her arms crossed, watching him with interest. However, unlike her earlier appearance in tattered clothes, Heidi Sera outside the cell was now wearing a red jacket, and her white shirt, whether too small or intentionally unbuttoned, revealed her fair and smooth skin to Li Yili. A pearl-embellished belt was tied diagonally around her waist, and her white tight pants perfectly outlined her legs. Her feet, clad in brown ankle boots, were bouncing leisurely.

"Oh my—Miss Heidi, you were a prisoner during the day, and by evening you've become their leader? I only brought you food because I felt sorry for you, a weak woman, and I risked being kidnapped by the pirates again."

Li Yili smiled and shook the bag in her hand.

"Do you like rum? I specially stole—cough, specially brought it."

Heidi glanced at the bag in Li Yili's hand, her arms crossed in front of her but not moving. "Unfortunately, I don't like drinking, and all pirates are forbidden from drinking."

“Hey—does that mean there are no pirates without rum?” Li Yili’s eyes widened.

This time, Li Yili was really frightened. In his mind, pirates were basically associated with rum.

“You’ve never been to sea before,” Heidi said, sitting on a wooden tub with her right leg crossed over her left, her right foot, clad in a brown ankle boot, slightly raised. “Once you’ve been to sea, you’ll know how terrible it is to lose your composure while at sea.”

"Then take me out to sea once."

"..."

“Mr. Li Yili, I don’t dislike your persistent nature,” Heidi leaned forward, resting her chin lightly on the back of her hand, “but you have to answer one question for me first.”

"single."

“Ha… Levi’s Est. Richard, why did you deliberately let us kidnap you?” Heidi narrowed her eyes. “Twice.”

The damp wooden planks creaked, and the ice on the iron railings began to spread at a visible speed.

“The chosen one…” Li Yili grinned, slightly raising the thumb of her left hand, which was adorned with a black thumb ring. “Miss Heidi, have you ever heard of the story of Meng Huo being captured seven times?”

Heidi was stunned, and the ice spreading through the cell shattered.

Seven captures of Meng Huo?

What is that?

What unknown heritage?

Seven? Capture?

Does it mean that capturing him seven times will trigger an effect called Meng Huo?

Heidi became wary.

She could tell that Li Yili was just an ordinary person. Yet, she couldn't believe that an ordinary person could stand so calmly in the cell and confront her, the chosen one, without any means of retaliation.

"Mr. Li Yili, would you mind explaining... what does 'Seven Captures of Meng Huo' mean?" Heidi smiled slightly, her hip-length silver hair silently tangling together as if it had a life of its own.

"It means being able to convince people wholeheartedly," Li Yili said, placing one hand on her waist.

Completely convinced? The ability to directly control a person?

Heidi raised an eyebrow sharply.

Judging from Li Yili's confident demeanor... could it be that she can directly control the other party just by being captured seven times?

Heidi sneered.

There's such a dangerous legacy.

What good luck that someone would use such a dangerous legacy is an arrogant guy.

“But if it’s Miss Heidi, I’ll be completely convinced of your loyalty even if you don’t let me go seven times,” Li Yili said earnestly, giving Heidi a thumbs up. “If you don’t believe me, Miss Heidi, you can stick your leg in here to test my loyalty.”

Four strands of silver hair shot out toward Li Yili, the intertwined strands forming sharp teeth that bit down like a giant shark emerging from the sea. However, instead of biting Li Yili's body, they bit a strange dog that emerged from behind her, dripping with viscous liquid.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Li Yili shook the ring on her finger. “As long as you hold this thing, you will be attacked by these blasphemous pursuers. But Miss Heidi Serra, you are also a chosen one of the gods, so you were going to be attacked anyway.”

As soon as Li Yili finished speaking, the other two cells

The deformed skeletons began to tremble, and thick liquid flowed from their eye sockets.

Heidi slowly raised her hand to her forehead.

"Seven captures of Meng Huo" means that I capture you seven times and release you seven times, and then you will be completely convinced of my worth.

"Do I look like I have the ability to catch you seven times?" Li Yili smiled and held up her finger. "Of course, if I catch a beauty like Miss Heidi, I will absolutely not let her go."

As her silver hair danced in the air, the strange dog behind Li Yili was torn to shreds, and viscous liquid splattered all over the cell.

Chapter Twenty-Six: What Kind of Pirates Are You?

A low growl seeped into the cells through the cracks in the deck. The deformed skeletons swayed as they rose, staggered a couple of times, and then crashed to the ground with a thud. Thick, black liquid splattered from their eye sockets and the gaps in their bones. One after another, monstrous dogs emerged from the viscous liquid with low growls, their limbs on the ground, but before they could make a move to attack, their massive, silver-haired maws slammed down, tearing the monstrous dogs to pieces on the spot.

Heidi rested her chin on her hand, her beautiful face looking somewhat melancholy due to her slightly furrowed brows, a stark contrast to the way her hair was being violently shredded.

“Miss Heidi, your hair is really amazing,” Li Yili said, chin in hand, watching with interest the silver hair fluttering in the air.

Given its ferocious state, one would expect the entire cell to be torn to pieces, but from beginning to end only the desecrated pursuers were pulverized.

Li Yili tried to block the attack trajectory of a strand of silver hair. The silver hair shot straight into his palm, not as hard as steel, but incredibly smooth and silky. It slid directly out of his palm and then gathered into a huge mouth, viciously biting off the head of the desecrated pursuer.

"What kind of legacy is this? Or is it the power of some legacy you absorbed?"

"Sif".

Heidi raised her right hand, flicked her index finger, and all her silver hair receded like a tide. "You knew those strange dogs would attack you today, so you specifically came here to see me..."

“Group buying,” Li Yili said, raising a finger and bending it towards Heidi. “Miss Heidi, killing these trackers is as easy as killing chickens. Killing a couple more is just a matter of lifting a finger. Lifting a finger can earn you a favor and boost my goodwill. Isn’t this a win-win situation?”