Meat Ticket

"You need a ticket to board the ship."

Xu Hao looked Chen Yuanzhi up and down, a look that made Chen Yuanzhi feel uneasy.

"Brother Xu, you wouldn't be thinking of handing over the gold you just got your hands on, would you?"

"The gold is mine, and no one can touch it." Xu Hao pulled a rope from his pocket, his smile somewhat sinister. "Young Master, please bear with me. From now on, you are my hostage, and I am a pirate."

"What?"

Before Chen Yuanzhi could react, Xu Hao had already made his move.

After a series of dazzling maneuvers, Chen Yuanzhi was bound hand and foot, his mouth stuffed with a rag, and thrown to the ground like a rice dumpling.

Immediately afterwards, Xu Hao's bones cracked and popped, his body became even more muscular, and the muscles on his face twisted and shifted, transforming him in the blink of an eye into a ruthless outlaw with a face full of scars and a fierce look in his eyes.

"Waaah!" Chen Yuanzhi's eyes widened. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that the fierce-looking, burly man in front of him was Xu Hao.

"Behave yourself, and if you want to live, cooperate with my act."

Xu Hao roughly grabbed Chen Yuanzhi by the back of his collar and dragged him toward the edge of the reef.

In the thick fog, a black sailboat flying a skull and crossbones flag could be seen indistinctly.

Xu Hao took a deep breath, pulled out a copper whistle from his pocket. He had taken it from the members of the Hai Sha Gang and, according to the rules of the underworld, blew out a long and two short whistles.

This is a common phrase used by the underworld: "Got some good stuff, looking for partners."

Xu Hao learned these rules from the jailer and death row inmates when he was working in the city's death row.

The thick fog was cleaved by the sharp bow, and a medium-sized ocean-going vessel with tattered black sails cut through the waves. On both sides of the ship, seven or eight shirtless men with tattoos of sea monsters held powerful crossbows, their eyes colder than sharks in the sea, and were pinned to the two men on the reef.

"Which water ghost are you from? Report to Wan'er!" someone shouted from the bow of the boat, his voice sounding like sandpaper being rubbed against sandpaper.

Xu Hao raised Chen Yuanzhi's hand higher and, in a low voice, replied in fluent Shengzhou slang, "He's under the command of the Jiang Taisui. He's committed a crime and is just passing through Shengzhou to lay low. This fat sheep is a gift for them; it's worth a lot of money."

Although Chen Yuanzhi was tied up like a dumpling, his mind worked quickly. He immediately cooperated by wriggling his body like a maggot, making terrified "woo-woo" sounds in his throat. The despair and fear in his eyes were half acting and half genuine fear of these pirates.

The rope ladder swung down and slammed onto the slippery rocks.

Xu Hao lifted a person weighing over 100 pounds with one hand, stepping on a rope ladder as if walking on flat ground.

In a few breaths, he flipped onto the deck and landed silently.

This seemingly effortless move caused the pirates who had surrounded them, intending to intimidate them, to pause in their tracks, and the contempt in their eyes lessened somewhat.

A pirate with a pockmarked face saw Chen Yuanzhi's fair skin and a lewd glint in his eyes. He reached out to touch Chen Yuanzhi's face: "Oh, this hostage is quite handsome..."

"Click."

The crisp sound of bones cracking silenced the noise on the deck instantly.

Xu Hao's hand had somehow grabbed Ma Zi's wrist and twisted it in the opposite direction.

Before Ma Zi could even scream, Xu Hao kicked him in the back of the knee, sending him crashing to his knees.

"My goods, whoever touches them dies." Xu Hao released his grip, tossing Ma Zi aside like trash, his tone indifferent.

The crowd parted automatically, and a woman wearing sharkskin armor and blind in one eye stepped out.

She toyed with two lumps of iron in her hand, her gaze sweeping over Xu Hao twice before revealing a set of teeth stained yellow by smoke: "Ruthless enough, you've got something. I'm the captain of this 'Black Shark,' and people in the underworld call me the Ghost Woman."

Xu Hao cupped his hands in greeting: "I know the rules, and I'll still have to pay the toll."

"It's good that you know the rules." The old hag grinned, her single eye gleaming with greed. "But my boat doesn't ferry poor people. Tickets aren't based on the number of people, but on the weight. If you want to take this hostage, you'll have to pay extra."

Without saying a word, Xu Hao reached into his pocket, and two "little yellow fish" drew a golden line in the air.

The old hag caught it steadily, took a bite, and her wrinkled face instantly smoothed out: "Take them to the lower deck."

The lower deck is the closest place on the entire ship to hell.

As soon as the cover was lifted, a stench, a mixture of sweat, foot odor, vomit, and the smell of the sea, rushed out as if it were real.

Chen Yuanzhi almost fainted on the spot.

The narrow, dimly lit space was crammed with all sorts of desperados, fugitives, and vagrants, their eyes all numb.

Xu Hao found a relatively dry corner, threw Chen Yuanzhi on the straw mat, sat down cross-legged, and untied the rag from Chen Yuanzhi's mouth.

"Brother Xu... is this a place fit for a human?" Chen Yuanzhi gagged twice, his face turning ashen as he watched a huge rat scurry past his feet.

"It's good enough to have a place to stay." Xu Hao pretended to pull out a handful of rice from his pocket and stuffed it directly into Chen Yuanzhi's mouth. "Eat."

"I don't……"

"Eat if you don't want to die." Xu Hao tossed a handful into his mouth, chewing loudly. "There's not much left, but you have to eat. If you starve to death, no one on this ship will collect your body; they'll just throw you into the sea to feed the fish."

Chen Yuanzhi looked at Xu Hao's nonchalant demeanor and chewed on refined rice with his eyes closed, which reminded him of the days in prison when he relied on this stuff to prolong his life.

As night fell, the sound of the waves lapping against the hull became rhythmic, and the snoring from the lower decks rose and fell.

Xu Hao leaned against the blackened wooden board, the listening talisman on his chest slightly warming up.

His hearing traveled along the wooden planks, through the noisy hold, and up to the captain's cabin on the upper deck.

"Boss, this batch of goods is pretty good, especially the new ones. They're generous with their money, so they're bound to have some extra cash on them."

"No rush." ​​The old hag's chilling voice came. "This man is tough; he won't be easy to deal with. The night before we arrive at the Floating Corpse Island black market will be the most relaxed time for everyone. Then, seal off the hold, release sleeping gas, and clear out half of these two-legged sheep. Keep only the strong laborers and the valuable ones; the rest... chop them up and use them as bait."

Xu Hao slowly opened his eyes, his gaze icy cold.

As expected of a black ship, they've already started plotting to slaughter the passengers like pigs.

Just then, the silent scene in my mind suddenly jolted.

[Found a Blessed Land for Binding: Black Shark (Mobile)]

[Condition 1: Survive on the ship for seven days and avoid the "purification." Reward: Mastery of Water (Minor).]

[Condition Two: Defeat Captain Witch and seize control of the Black Shark. Reward: The Blessed Land is upgraded to a "Ghost Ship," unlocking the water route.]

Xu Hao looked at the two options and a cruel smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

To survive for seven days? That's too passive; it's like sticking your neck out to someone else's knife and gambling with your luck.

Since these people want to double-cross us, don't blame him for turning the tables and turning the ship into his own private property.

He turned to look at Chen Yuanzhi, who was wide awake, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Young Master, we have a job."

Chen Yuanzhi looked up blankly: "What?"

"Get plenty of rest." Xu Hao lowered his voice, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "In a couple of days, change the ownership of this ship."