48 Hours a Day

“How… how is that even possible? How did that ship manage to maintain full speed the entire journey?” asked Vincent.

“If the book’s records were true, it would mean that the ship was at least one and a half times faster than ships of this era. That is just insane,” said Billy.

Among them, Billy was most experienced when it came to sailing. Having spent the better half of his life out in the oceans, he knew all the factors that could affect a ship’s speed. Even if the helmsman and boatswain were extremely good at what they did, environmental factors were something out of their hands.

“So, right now, we have no idea how the ship’s crew suddenly vanished. Then, there’s the other problem. How did the ship move at such incredible speed?” said Anne.

“I think these two questions have the same answers to them. I need you to translate everything that is written in these three books,” Zhang Heng instructed Vincent.

“Sure thing. I don’t have many things to do anyway.”

“Great! For now, we need to focus on Goddess’ Spear first. I think we have almost caught up with them. Let’s hoist the mainsail when the weather improves,” said Zhang Heng to Billy.

“Understood…”

…..

The mysterious carrack appeared during the storm, and when it was over, she was nowhere to be found again. The watchers looked high and low for any clues around the area, yielded no results.

It was like a phantom that appeared and disappeared without a trace. If it were not for the silverware they got from the carrack, the whole incident would have quickly been passed off as a dream. After that, Zhang Heng inspected the two boxes of silverware. Just like the ring and necklace, he didn’t receive any notifications about acquiring any game items. It was all expected, though. After all, it seemed that the crew of the phantom ship had encountered some kind of supernatural incident. The Jackdaw could be in significant trouble if a cursed object were among the silverware. Still, he did not expect such an outcome.

Zhang Heng’s curiosity wasn’t the only thing that motivated him to investigate the carrack. He still remembered what the old man in the Tang suit told him. He would eventually unveil the truth that was hidden in the real world through the game. Ever since he participated in the game and was given the extra 24 hours, his life had changed entirely. At first, he thought that the real world had changed, but after the appearance of Moresby and witnessing a wall devouring someone alive, Zhang Heng realized that the world was still the same. The only thing that changed was the way he perceived it.

The truth was always there, only people rarely paid attention to them. Except for the Shadow Moment and Shadow Key, information about the game items that he possessed could easily be found on Google or Baidu. This might not be a coincidence as, during his previous quest, Zhang Heng came across some supernatural items but rarely got the chance to know their background information. If only he could find out what actually happened to the carrack, he might gain a better understanding of the real world. It was essential that he knew where they came from and what their purpose was.

Though the two boxes of silverware were somewhat valuable, it wasn’t quite enough to distribute amongst 62 people. Everyone on the ship had high expectations after the Jackdaw’s first huge success, and Zhang Heng knew that his priority right now was to take down the Goddess’ Spear. Twenty-two days had passed since the Jackdaw left Nassau. It would seem that they were in luck this time. While pursuing the Goddess’ Spear, they came across a couple of merchant ships. Due to time constraints, Zhang Heng did not attack them. On the afternoon of the 22nd day, the Jackdaw finally found her target.

However, the situation was a rather delicate one.

“That’s Black Prince Sam’s ship, the Quidah. This is going to be a problem. I bet they know about Goddess’ Spear as well,” said Billy.

The Quidah was as famous as Black Beard’s Sea Lion in Nassau. They were one of the most powerful pirate groups and was a better vessel than the Sea Lion. The Quidah first entered service two years ago in London. Her name came from a trading city in West Africa, Quidah, and she was the best ship in the fleet to transport black slaves to other countries. The type was known as a galley, and it could travel at breakneck speed. Even during a windless day or heavy headwinds, they could make use of the paddles at the ship’s hull to propel it forward. To make matters worse, they were equipped with massive firepower as well.

Roland, their ex-captain, once told the investors that they would be able to earn an unimaginable amount of money if they invested on the ship. To everyone’s surprise, however, the ship was captured by Black Prince during her first voyage. In the end, the captain was forced to surrender. Though he got to keep his life, the Quidah fell into Black Prince’s possession.

After Billy saw that the Quidah was in the vicinity, he frantically scanned the other directions using his bronze binoculars. Ironically, he saw another pirate ship located northwest of the Goddess’ Spear. That explained why the Quidah did not launch any attacks. The black flag of the foreign pirate ship was something Billy had never seen before.

“That pirate ship… it doesn’t belong to Nassau.”

The port of Nassau was the most famous pirate-infested harbor in the entire Caribbean. However, that did not mean that all the pirates would make Nassau their home. There were a large number of pirates outside New Providence as well. From time to time, they would come across pirate ships from other places.

The Quidah and the other pirate ship were now in the hunting zone. Still, the Goddess’ Spear did not do anything about it. The number of pirate ships in the vicinity did not matter to them. After being told how mighty Goddess’ Spear was, none of the pirate ships thought that it would go down without fighting. They were simply waiting for the right moment. The more chaotic the situation was, the better it would turn in their favor.

Three pirate ships surrounded the Goddess’ Spear from three different directions. At the same time, they had to watch out for each other as well. The unknown pirate ship was apparently way weaker than the Quidah, and almost lost when it tried to fight earlier. The Quidah’s only concern was that the Goddess’ Spear might escape if it attacked the unknown pirate ship right now. Initially relieved when seeing a third pirate vessel joining the party, they realized that things were about to become more complicated as their competitors had increased as well.