Chapter 406: Qiaoyan Island

The destination of Xia Nan and others this time is a remote small island named "Qiaoyan Island," about a five-day voyage from Shoal Islands.

The island itself is not famous. Although a certain number of sea people have settled here all year round, its geographical location far from popular shipping lanes makes it so that on this vast ocean, except for those pirates wandering around, very few people pass by here.

Before setting out, Xia Nan had also inquired about some information regarding "Qiaoyan Island" in the Sanzu Haigou tavern, but gained almost nothing.

He only knew that a considerable number of islanders lived here, the fishing industry was not bad, and occasionally he could see a few lucky fishermen who claimed to be from Qiaoyan Island coming to Shoal Islands to sell rare fish species they had caught.

Regarding detailed and specific news such as the specific population on the island, the scale of towns or villages, or whether there were any well-known figures worth paying attention to... no one could give him an accurate answer.

Even when inquiring from the tavern owner Hela, that middle-aged woman with a charming temperament also appeared to know very little, making Xia Nan, who was accustomed to making detailed preparations before traveling, feel uneasy in his heart.

But after all, it was just an ordinary cargo escort mission: rushing on the road, arriving at the destination, unloading cargo, resting, replenishing supplies, and then he could set sail for the return journey.

If he didn't want to have any contact with the locals, he didn't even need to get off the ship, so he didn't need to consider too much.

But it just so happened that such a remote small island, where even in a place like the "Sanzu Haigou," the intelligence gathering place of Shoal Islands, it was difficult to inquire about detailed news, had now become the common target of both the *Black Gull* and the "Flying Fish Oil Barrel" pirate ship.

When the sailors on the *Black Gull* were searching for loot on the pirate ship, they discovered the sailing chart of Ba En and others, and the destination was exactly "Qiaoyan Island."

There was even a mission commission from the Adventurer Association placed on the table in the captain's cabin.

【Mission Number】: d-89367

【Type】: Investigation/Hunting

【Reward】: 500-1000 Gold/15-30 Points

【Mission Brief】:

In the past month, cases of islanders living on "Qiaoyan Island" going missing have surged, and monster footprints have been found around the village. Now, Adventurers with corresponding handling experience are needed to go and investigate. The commission reward will be issued based on the completion of the mission.

【Time Limit】: 30 days

Xia Nan looked at the mission commission handed over from Captain Gregori, his brows slightly furrowed.

He hadn't heard about monsters attacking people on Qiaoyan Island in the tavern.

But the news came from the Adventurer Association, so the accuracy was extremely high.

With the Association's exaggerated information channels that could even mark out the detailed location of a Goblin lair, it was normal for them to be better informed than the Adventurers in Shoal Islands.

Considering the situation where they and the "Flying Fish Oil Barrel" squad happened to meet during the voyage.

It was possible that the commission had just been released when the other party took it, and the relevant information hadn't had time to ferment among the Adventurer community before both sides left the harbor one after another.

Xia Nan certainly wouldn't have the idea of taking the mission and continuing it himself.

On one hand, he didn't know the specific situation of the monsters mentioned in the commission and didn't want to take risks for no reason;

On the other hand, it was because even if he had this idea, or even completed the hunting of the monsters, he wouldn't be able to get the Association's commission reward at all.

This belonged to the regulations explicitly listed by the Adventurer Association.

For missions that have already been registered in the Association—specifically those professional-level commissions with corresponding level numbers on the second floor of the Association—unless it is a type of bounty with a very long time limit, for short-term missions like the current one limited to completion within one month, a squad member must be present at the time of delivery.

Otherwise, even with the squad badge, the reward cannot be claimed.

Xia Nan remembered that when he first crossed over to this world, he had borrowed the "Rotten Fish and Shrimp (Mountain Bow)" squad badge to claim the mission reward, thus earning his first pot of gold.

Now that he had been promoted to a professional, he no longer had such loopholes to drill.

It could be considered a kind of invisible protection by the Association for senior Adventurers who have already obtained professional levels and are worth cultivating.

Otherwise, it would be easy to nurture "Hunter-type" gangs specifically eyeing commissions, waiting for other Adventurer squads to complete the mission before intercepting and killing them halfway to efficiently seek wealth.

Affecting the development of the Adventurer Association on the Aifala Continent.

In summary, Xia Nan didn't need to think about the several hundred gold coins on the mission commission.

However, what he cared about right now was not this.

Regarding that unknown monster, or group of monsters, active on Qiaoyan Island, for some reason, the commission didn't explain it in detail.

Although it was also possible that information could only be further obtained from the Association receptionist after taking the mission.

But for Xia Nan, all he could know was the mission commission he saw right now, and there was no more information.

Fortunately, the Association had a clear level division for mission difficulty; one only needed to look at the characters in front of the mission number.

The investigation/hunting mission for the unknown monsters on Qiaoyan Island had a difficulty of "d."

Taking Xia Nan's past experiences as a reference, the bounty for the Red Dragon "Kelaogebali" who stole the Morton family's heirloom treasure was mission level b; the source of 【Tears of Spring Breath】, the Beast-kin "Bo He" hidden in the Adventurer squad, had a commission level of e.

And as for d-level missions, it wasn't that he hadn't taken them.

The Shihua Xiyi that almost created a revolving lantern for him and later became the material for the 【Ember Meteor】 straight sword had a mission level of this grade.

Knowing clearly that the Association had a very complex and difficult-to-explain way of evaluating commission levels, synthesizing a large number of factors, one could not crudely interpret the mission level as its danger level.

Even if he didn't intend to get involved, he still subconsciously raised his vigilance.

A seemingly ordinary cargo transport mission, but there were inexplicable twists and turns in the middle.

This sense of déjà vu made Xia Nan feel a bit strange in his heart.

Subconsciously turning his head, he looked toward the edge of the deck not far to the side.

There, Alton the Halfling was standing on tiptoe, leaning against the railing, trying his best to poke his head out, staring with wide eyes at the sea surface where pirate corpses were floating and blood was spreading.

"Hey hey, there's movement, Xia Nan!"

"Wait another two minutes and I can cast the line, guaranteed to catch a big one!"

With a calm expression, he withdrew his gaze from the other party and turned his eyes to Captain Gregori of the *Black Gull*, who looked somewhat hesitant in front of him, and said:

"The mission of these pirates has nothing to do with us. We won't participate; just follow the original plan."

"But you need to explain the specific situation to the crew. Be careful when you get there; it's best not to leave the village."

Hearing this, the dark-skinned man in front of him was visibly relieved.

"Understood!"

He nodded heavily.

Xia Nan ultimately failed to catch the so-called "big one" in Alton's mouth.

The meat chunks and limbs floating on the sea surface were indeed quite effective for baiting, and before long, they attracted many fish. He even saw several massive shadows swimming past on the water surface, looking like sharks.

But perhaps precisely because of this, the baiting effect was a bit too good, which was counterproductive and instead affected his fishing. ===== CHAPTER 407 =====