Chapter 443 - 433: Sailing Carnival 35

Shane Rhodes and his group had dealt with everyone, but they had missed MoonlitTears.

Of course, this wasn’t intentional. They simply couldn’t find any trace of her.

After searching for days without success and with other matters to attend to, they gradually put the issue to the back of their minds.

No one expected that MoonlitTears, after hiding for so long, would pop up again.

"If I’d known this would happen, I should have just dealt with her back then," Caden York said with a frustrated frown.

Hearing this, Moira Lynch just shrugged, saying nothing.

After all, the incident wasn’t what it seemed. She and Kai York had been prepared; even if they fell into the sea, they wouldn’t have actually been in danger.

Under those circumstances, it was understandable that Caden York hadn’t gone for the kill.

"Right, you said MoonlitTears was the one who pushed you. Where is she now?" Kai York pressed.

At his words, Moira Lynch glanced at him. "Do I look like the type to get pushed around and not fight back? I took her down with me."

Hearing Moira Lynch’s words, Shane Rhodes and the others didn’t find anything wrong with it. On the contrary, they looked at her with approval.

"So you ran into this big bird when you fell in the water?"

Moira Lynch nodded. "It’s called a Ghost Cat Owl."

She then recounted the story of the Ghost Cat Owl.

When they heard that Moira Lynch had managed to win over the Ghost Cat Owl with just a few strips of dried fish, everyone present couldn’t help but look envious.

"Shane Rhodes told me you were lucky, and I didn’t really believe it at first. Now I do."

Hearing Joy Rhodes’s words, Moira Lynch wore a proud expression.

She certainly had reason to be.

From then on, the Ghost Cat Owl stayed by Moira Lynch’s side.

And she had no intention of storing it away in her dimensional space.

Mmhmm, that’s right. She was deliberately showing it off to the other players.

Publicly, Moira Lynch wasn’t a combatant. She was a girl who looked very young. Unlike Joy Rhodes, she wasn’t related to Shane Rhodes by blood. Nor was she like the others, who shared the bond of having grown up together. It was like she had every vulnerability buff stacked against her.

So, whether out of resentment or jealousy, even with Shane Rhodes’s group proving how formidable they were, some people still came up to Moira Lynch to make snide, backhanded comments.

While she didn’t take their words to heart, that didn’t mean she wasn’t angry.

That was why she deliberately kept the Ghost Cat Owl by her side. First, to intimidate the other players and get them to stop looking for trouble. Second, the Ghost Cat Owl’s ability was perfect for their current mission, so keeping it with her would be advantageous.

The Ghost Cat Owl could detect dangers that lay ahead.

For a ship at sea, the Ghost Cat Owl was like a guardian angel.

In fact, their mission was to scout a safe shipping route, not to charge headfirst into danger.

When the captain heard that someone on board had tamed a Ghost Cat Owl, he sought out Moira Lynch immediately.

After some brief pleasantries, the captain stated his purpose.

"You want me to sell you the Ghost Cat Owl?" Moira Lynch asked, her brow furrowing slightly as she looked at the captain before her.

Before coming, she had assumed the captain just wanted her to use the Ghost Cat Owl to scout the route ahead.

Who would have thought his opening move would be to ask her to sell it?

’Forget about whether I’d even agree, the price he’s offering is far below market value. Does this captain take me for a fool?’

’Or does he see how young I am and think I’m an easy mark?’

"Since you were able to tame a Ghost Cat Owl, you must know its ability. While the price I’m offering may seem low, allow me to be blunt: the quality of this particular one isn’t very good."

The implication was that his offer was more than reasonable.

"Furthermore, this Ghost Cat Owl is still young and hasn’t learned many of its abilities. I would have to invest time into teaching it various skills."

The subtext was clear: if she sold it to him, he wouldn’t just fail to make a profit, he’d actually lose money. He was the one taking a huge loss on this deal.

"Moreover, I’ve checked your adventurer rank. You’re just a novice. For someone of your standing, the burden of raising a Ghost Cat Owl is immense. You’re too young to handle it. Even with companions, would they really be willing to share that cost? Don’t forget, you’re just teammates."

The underlying message was that she was too weak to afford it. Even with teammates, they might not be willing to help. She had to consider their feelings, didn’t she?

The captain acted like a concerned elder, genuinely considering things from Moira Lynch’s perspective, explaining to her just how fanciful it was to think she could raise a Ghost Cat Owl with her current means.

Rather than being dragged down by the Ghost Cat Owl, turning against her companions, and eventually parting ways, it would be better to sell it now before any of that happened and get a nice sum of cash.

In the captain’s eyes, the girl before him was young. All he had to do was exaggerate the facts a little, and she would easily agree to his terms.

However...

"Captain, let’s not even get into whether what you just said is true or false. As for my companions, I’m confident they’re willing to help me raise the Ghost Cat Owl. Besides, you shouldn’t forget, Captain—the Ghost Cat Owl chose *me*. If I trade it to you, are you certain it will obey you?"

The captain automatically ignored the first part of her statement, assuming she was just worried the Ghost Cat Owl wouldn’t be obedient under his command.

A confident smile spread across his face. "You can rest assured on that point. I’ll make sure the Ghost Cat Owl behaves."

With that, he produced a Black Gold Card. "There’s ten million on here. Once you accept it, the Ghost Cat Owl will no longer have anything to do with you."

Moira Lynch didn’t even glance at the Black Gold Card. ’It’s only ten million. Big deal.’

"Captain, do I have to spell it out for you? I don’t want your ten million. I just want my Ghost Cat Owl. As for all those problems you mentioned, we’ll deal with them if they happen. For now, I just want to enjoy the moment."

Moira Lynch said, feigning the tone of a petulant little girl.

She had no choice. They had reached the final, most critical stage of the mission—the point where things were most likely to go wrong. She didn’t want to risk mission failure by offending the captain.

She had already reported the captain to The Adventurer’s Guild. Once the cargo ship docked, he would likely be taken in for questioning. So, she just had to wait a little longer.

Without giving him a chance to respond, Moira Lynch stood up and hurried out.

The captain watched Moira Lynch’s retreating back, a flash of anger in his eyes.