Chapter 1 [Eye of the Secret Sea]
"Captain Shane? Captain Shane?"
"The process of signing the loan contract has ended, you can leave now."
Xia En sat on the hard solid wood seat, looking at the medieval-style room in front of him and the old man who looked like a butler, his eyes full of confusion.
What loan contract?
Why did it end?
Also, where is this place?
He remembered that a second ago he was at home waiting for the fried chicken takeout to be delivered, and he just heard "Open the door, Ken..."
As soon as he closed and opened his eyes, he came to this ghost place. .
Without any time to think about it, chaotic memory fragments were violently inserted into my mind, and countless pictures were forcefully shoved in.
Xia En quickly understood that he had traveled through time.
This is a mysterious world that seems to be similar to the earth.
There are supernatural beings such as secret paths, witches, and forbidden relics.
However, one day hundreds of years ago, the sea level suddenly began to rise sharply. The ruthless seawater submerged land and cities one after another, and the space for human survival continued to shrink.
The extraordinary beings of the past era tried every means to preserve the fire of civilization.
The Great Migration, "Noah's Ark", submarine shelters, racial transformation...people are struggling to find a way to survive.
To this day, a new order has been established, and the entire world has entered the Age of Discovery.
This captain, who has the same name as Shane, inherited his father's inheritance - a ketch called the "Black Swan"!
He originally wanted to make a career at sea, but he encountered a shipwreck on only his second voyage.
Not only did the sailors on the ship suffer heavy casualties, but all the cargo transported was destroyed.
Such a huge loss naturally made the supplier furious and demanded compensation.
Of course we can’t afford to pay.
Just repairing the cabin and paying pensions to the relatives of the dead sailors had already emptied his small treasury.
In fact, at this point, Captain Shane has one last option, which is to sell the ship and go to the island to make a living.
But perhaps because of his deep feelings for the ship, or because he was young and energetic and unwilling to be mediocre, he made a bold decision.
Ask Duke Nova on the island to borrow money!
As we all know, once some money is borrowed, it is hard to get it back.
The contract in front of me is more like a gambling agreement than a loan contract.
Once Shane cannot pay off the debt the next time he returns, he and his boat will be packaged and sent to the Duke.
“No, brother, don’t take me with you if you don’t want to!”
With his last hope, Xia En glanced at the parchment not far away.
On it, his name is clearly written in another language.
According to the "Seven Seas Convention", this contract has become effective. If it is not fulfilled, all city-state ports will be prohibited from opening to him, and he will be included in the list of wanted persons at sea.
Everything is a foregone conclusion.
Xia En looked at the old housekeeper in front of him, his lips moved, but in the end he said nothing.
Even if he said he didn't sign it, no one would believe it!
"Captain Shane, I sincerely suggest you..."
The old butler stood up and said meaningfully: "Not going to sea may be a better choice."
"After all, the Duke is very fond of handsome men like you."
Yes, this Duke of Nova is a woman.
To be honest, if she was a beauty with fair skin and long legs, Xia En wouldn't mind reluctantly selling her body, letting money taint her pure soul, and embarking on a legendary path that started with a rich woman.
But the problem is that in his memory, the size of Duke Nova is 300X300X300.
Moreover, it was such a big and expensive game that her male favorites had to be replaced every three months, and the casualty rate was higher than that of sailing.
Xia En's hair stood on end when he thought of the image of the mountain of flesh pressing down on him, and he shuddered and said.
“I want to try again.”
"Okay, then, I wish you good luck."
Seeing this, the old housekeeper stopped trying to persuade him and watched Xia En leave.
He had a smile on his lips, but his eyes were full of mockery.
He has seen too many people like this.
These captains are like cornered gamblers. They always take chances, thinking that they can turn around the next time they go to sea.
The result is that he just slipped into the abyss step by step, and finally fell into a point of no return.
This time, there will be no exception.
At the same time.
Xia En walked out of the room, and the salty sea breeze blew in his face.
Looking around, there are thousands of blue waves not far away. The waves on the sea rise and fall, like fine floating gold in the sun.
It wasn't until this moment that Xia En finally had the real feeling that he had traveled to another world.
He couldn't help but think with some anticipation: "By the way, I still have the boat and the sailors on it, maybe I can turn over?"
"Captain! So you are here!"< br>
At this moment, Xia En heard someone calling him.
He turned around and saw several sailors walking towards him.
Xia En recognized them as his crew members, but the expressions on their faces made his heart skip a beat.
"Captain..."
The first mate Renate, who had a beard and a round waist, hesitated to speak, his face seemed a little ashamed. But the other nigger sailor was not so polite and said directly: "Hey, Shane, I heard that you are going to be kept by the Duke?"
"That's right, we don't want to either. It’s done, let’s get together and relax!”
"Hey, Jason!"
Renate glared at him, and then looked at Shane: "Captain, I'm old and want to settle down on the island, so..."
Shane kept a straight face, his eyes swept over the faces of Renate and other sailors, trying his best to keep his tone calm.
“You all mean this?”
“Yes.”
"Sorry Captain, I have to support my family."
The sailors responded one after another, most of them sounded a little ashamed, but some said bluntly.
"Captain, let me be frank. I think there is no future in hanging out with you. If the old captain is still alive, I will definitely not leave, but now..."
"I can I don’t want to risk offending the Duke by continuing to play childish sailing games with you.”
The person who said this was a thin man with a hooked nose named Fried.
His twin brother died in a shipwreck not long ago, and he obviously placed part of the blame on Shane.
After hearing these words, Xia En quickly understood everything.
Although these sailors are old men on the Black Swan, the captain they are loyal to is not Shane, but his dead father.
In their eyes, Xia En is just a pretty boy who has not grown up and does not have enough prestige.
The two failures at sea and his performance in the face of shipwrecks showed that he was not capable enough.
Insufficient prestige and insufficient ability.
No one would be willing to work hard under such a leader, let alone a high-risk profession like a sailor.
Xia En was silent for a moment and said: "Okay, I understand."
"Is there anything else?"
To his calm reaction , Jason and Freed were a little surprised.
If it had been in the past, Captain Shane would have been so panicked when encountering such a situation, he might even have cried and begged them to stay.
But now, he seems to be calmly accepting the status quo?
It seems that suffering is the most tempering thing.
Unfortunately, it is too late.
Renate sighed in his heart, turned around and left with the other sailors.
In the blink of an eye, only Xia En was left standing alone.
"Huh...I am really alone now."
Xia En took a deep breath.
It sounds sad, but it’s not.
After all, he was not familiar with these old crew members at all. He only knew them through the memories of the original owners.
What's more in my heart is actually confusion and helplessness.
Suddenly transported to this strange world, he owed a huge sum of money at the beginning, betrayed his relatives, and was helpless.
This feeling is really uncomfortable.
More importantly, what to do next?
“I still have thirty silver snake coins with me. Although they are borrowed, it shouldn’t be a big problem to recruit a few sailors.”
Xia En comforted himself: "If the old one doesn't go away, the new one won't come! Just start over!"
...
...
Half an hour later .
Xia En, who walked around the pier, frowned and felt very heavy.
Can't recruit people, can't recruit people at all!
On weekdays, those sailors who could be recruited with just a few silver snake coins chose to refuse without exception after hearing his name.
There is even an attitude of avoiding it.
"Most likely, it has something to do with Duke Nova."
Xia En thought about it carefully and quickly came to a conclusion.
Duke Nova is the governor of this island, and his position is extremely respected.
No need to use any tricks. As long as the news of the gambling agreement between Shane and the Duke is leaked, no sailor on the island will dare to board his ship.
"Damn, I really don't give you a way to survive..."
Xia En couldn't help but think of the old butler's meaningful smile, and felt that the future was bleak.
Without sailors, he couldn't even go to sea. How could he make a comeback?
"Why don't you just let her go?"
Xia En had a wry smile on his face.
Suddenly, he felt something in his heart. He looked up and found that he had unknowingly walked to the place where the "Black Swan" docked.
When he saw this ship that belonged to him, Xia En's mind roared, as if a red-hot iron stick had been inserted into his temple.
Hot!
Severe pain!
Immediately, deep in his consciousness, an eye made of blue lines opened!
The name is——
[Eye of the Secret Sea! 】
Newcomers and new books, please recommend, collect and invest!
(End of this chapter)