Chapter 439 - 429: Sailing Carnival 31

After hearing the crewman, the players on deck exchanged glances. They hadn’t realized this was their responsibility.

When no one spoke, the crewman continued, "Even if you’re not willing to do it yourselves, we crewmen can, of course. But our primary duty is navigating the ship. If we’re delayed because of this and it affects your mission, don’t come blaming us."

"Also, we’ll be making a full report of this incident. As for what kind of impact that will have... well, who’s to say?"

A threat.

If they had been negotiating before, this was now a blatant threat.

The other players also realized the gravity of the situation. It wasn’t that they were afraid of the crew; it was that they couldn’t risk losing their eligibility to play the game.

"We understand," another player said in a grim tone. "We’ll repair the damage to the ship."

The crewman nodded. "I hope you get a move on. A damaged hull will slow us down."

A flash of anger crossed the player’s eyes, but she forced it down and offered a strained smile. "We know."

The dispute over here didn’t affect Moira Lynch and her group in the slightest.

After snatching the intelligent octopus, Moira Lynch and the others went to the first mate’s lounge.

Gazing at the limp octopus on the table, their eyes lit up with excitement.

Kai York asked impatiently, "How do we eat this thing?"

Hugh Finch looked at Moira Lynch and said, "Moira said she wants to eat it raw and marinated."

"Raw and marinated? Sure, why not. It’s been a while since I’ve had it, and this octopus looks pretty fresh."

While they were preparing the marinade, Shane Rhodes suddenly asked, "Moira, did you have me attack the top of the Gigas Crab’s head just to get this octopus?"

Moira Lynch nodded. "This octopus was the real culprit. The Gigas Crab was just its puppet."

Moira Lynch then explained the story of the intelligent octopus.

After her explanation, everyone looked at the intelligent octopus, now soaking in the marinade.

Caden York looked incredulous. "This thing is that smart?"

"Octopuses are incredibly intelligent creatures," said Joy Rhodes. "Male octopuses die immediately after mating, and females starve themselves to death after laying their eggs. If it weren’t for that genetic lock, who knows what species would be ruling Caelus right now."

Moira Lynch nodded in agreement. ’Octopuses really are a bizarre species.’

"Intelligent octopuses aren’t quite like the ones on Caelus, but their reproductive drive is low. Research shows that most male intelligent octopuses suffer from a congenital dysfunction—they’re naturally sterile, basically. The females are generally infertile. All in all, the odds of a normal, fertile male meeting a normal, fertile female are incredibly small. On top of that, they have a naturally low libido."

After Moira finished, everyone had a complicated look on their faces. They didn’t know whether to feel sorry for the intelligent octopuses or be thankful for their plight.

"Say," Kai York said, his eyes lighting up, "since intelligent octopuses are so smart, do we get some kind of bonus for eating them?"

"Of course you do."

Hearing her say that, everyone turned to look at her, their eyes filled with anticipation.

’Could the meat of an intelligent octopus actually increase your intelligence?’

Then, they heard Moira Lynch continue, "After you eat an intelligent octopus... your hunger will be satisfied."

Feeling all eyes on her, Moira Lynch put on an innocent expression. "What? Am I wrong?"

The optimal time to eat an intelligent octopus was within half an hour of its death, so they only let it soak in the marinade for about twenty minutes before pulling it out.

They sliced it up with a knife.

Moira Lynch picked up a piece and put it in her mouth, chewing and savoring it carefully.

’How to describe the taste... It’s pretty much like regular octopus. There’s no fishy taste at all, probably because it’s so fresh. It’s actually really good.’

"There’s just not enough of it," Joy Rhodes said, smacking her lips, clearly wanting more.

"If you like it, Joy, I’ll go catch more for you," Moira Lynch said magnanimously.

Joy Rhodes looked a little embarrassed. "We’ve been in this game for so long, and this is the first octopus we’ve seen. They must be pretty rare in these waters, right?"

"Not that rare," Moira Lynch said, waving her hand dismissively. "It’s just that we weren’t fishing at the right depth for their habitat, so we never ran into any."

At this, Joy Rhodes’s eyes lit up. "Really? Then I’ll thank you in advance, Moira! You’re the best, so thoughtful. Not like *some* people."

As she spoke, Joy shot a glare at Shane Rhodes, who was currently stuffing his face.

Sensing his sister’s disdainful glare, Shane Rhodes looked up, his expression a mixture of confusion and innocence. His bewildered eyes seemed to ask, ’What did I do now?’

Just then, a commotion erupted outside, followed by a series of sharp knocks on the door.

They opened the door, but before they could even ask what was going on, a group of people barged inside.

The group stormed into the room. Seeing the table and the used plates, one of them asked, "Were you just eating?"

"What else would we be doing?" Shane Rhodes retorted coldly.

"You barge into our room without permission. What is it you want?"

"This is the first mate’s lounge," a crewman declared.

"So what? We have the captain’s permission to use this lounge," Kai York retorted, full of confidence.

He’d given the captain plenty of good stuff earlier, so he wasn’t bluffing in the slightest.

As the two sides faced off, Moira Lynch extended her spiritual power and quickly grasped the situation.

As it turned out, this matter really did have something to do with them.

Back when Moira Lynch first found Theodoric Graham, she had released all the rare sea creatures from the shipping containers—including the Merchild. Now, after all this time, the captain had finally discovered that those containers were empty.

When the two first mates initially disappeared, the captain had been secretly pleased. He thought he could have the entire shipment for himself. But he never expected that, first, everything he’d pilfered from one of the first mates would be stolen from him.

He hadn’t paid it much mind at first. After all, while those items were valuable, they were just a small fraction of the total haul. The real prize was what was inside the shipping containers.

Even before his cargo ship had reached the port, wealthy buyers were already placing their orders.

The deposits alone were enough to set him up for the rest of his life.

At that thought, he’d even started to feel grateful to whoever had made the two first mates disappear.

But he never expected...