Chapter 449: Mysterious Past

Xia Nan quite liked the atmosphere on the Oath-Breaker.

In his view, for an adventurer squad to survive for a long time under the high-pressure life full of danger, order and rules were important, but a good relationship between members was also indispensable.

Only when they knew each other's personalities, at least to the extent that even if there was a rift between them, they knew clearly that the other would not betray them during a mission because of it, and could still entrust their backs to each other during battle, could a team go on for a long time.

Otherwise, given the nature of the adventurer industry—high risk and high income—even if the team itself was strong and had persisted through mission after mission, it would eventually disintegrate from within.

Of course, this was just Xia Nan's superficial view of adventurer squads.

He had been transmigrated for less than two years and didn't have much experience.

He had no experience in a fixed squad, and even if he occasionally cooperated with other adventurers due to commission requirements, the teammates' endings were often not very good.

To some extent, for him to make such a summary and say he "likes the team atmosphere" was actually a bit too hellish.

But regardless, from the brief interaction with the other two core members of the Oath-Breaker just now, and only through the information captured by his perception, he could roughly judge that he shouldn't have too hard a time in the team for the next three months; at least there were no terrible teammates who were difficult to get along with.

"Creak... creak..."

Leather boots stepped on the deck, making a sluggish sound.

Led by the Druid Haian, Xia Nan and Alton were on their way to the captain's cabin.

The Oath-Breaker was much larger than the speed-focused Flying Fish Oil Barrel, and Haian took the opportunity to introduce the various facilities in the cabins and on the deck to Xia Nan.

Looking at the Druid in front of him wearing a gray-green linen shirt, introducing the functions of the rooms in the cabin while leading the way, Xia Nan listened carefully while his thoughts flew.

Three days ago, when he heard the words "Twin Oceans" from the other party's mouth with his own ears, Xia Nan felt an incomparably subtle emotion in his heart.

First, he locked onto the Twin Oceans, where a secret realm was suspected to exist, because of the scalpel he found on the "Blood-Nosed Rat"; then there was Edson, who issued a commission to the same destination to him when trading the 【Tide-Surging Lure Rod】; and finally, even the "Oath-Breaker" adventurer squad he just joined was about to head there.

In Xia Nan's view, this could no longer be simply called a coincidence; it was as if an invisible big hand was pulling him toward that sea area called the "Twin Oceans" in a very natural and logical way.

This made Xia Nan feel subtly uneasy.

And truthfully, if he really wanted to be rebellious for once, he could stop everything happening before him right now and just stay in Shoal Bay.

He could also bear the price required for all of this.

But... what good would that do?

Xia Nan had no reason to discard this clue about a suspected secret realm, nor could he just give up participating in the "Moon Tide Feast" and finding the channel to the 【Dream Weaving Corridor】 key.

He could find countless reasons to continue, but only one reason to give up; there was absolutely no logic in choosing the latter.

The only thing he could do was to say a proper goodbye to Alton after three months and temporarily stay away from the possible attention of the goddess behind him.

However, from another perspective, when he, in the past, tossed the 【Fate Coin】 high into the air on that rainy day, perhaps he had already entered the field of vision of those great existences.

This was not necessarily a good thing, nor could it only be a bad thing.

Just like the adventurer industry he knew, danger and opportunity coexisted.

To some extent, that he could grow from a bottom-tier adventurer who was trembling even when killing a goblin to his current level of strength in less than two years—talent and diligence certainly occupied the main reasons, but a little bit of opportunity at the necessary time was also a very important part of it.

While pondering in his heart, Haian, who was leading the way in front, had already stopped in front of a room door.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Come in."

The door was opened from the outside, and the captain's cabin of the Oath-Breaker appeared before Xia Nan's eyes.

The first thing that hit him was a strong smell of tobacco, and even the air was filled with pale white smoke.

This made Xia Nan, standing in front of the door, inhale quite a few mouthfuls of secondhand smoke.

Fortunately, his current physical fitness was far beyond that of ordinary people, so for these smoke fumes, he at most felt it was pungent; even if inhaled for a long time, it would not have any negative impact on his body.

Haian, on the side, was already used to it; she only symbolically waved her hand in front of her nose to disperse some of the white smoke and greeted the inside of the room:

"Captain, I've brought the people to you."

After receiving a response from the other party, she turned and left.

Before leaving, she also patted Xia Nan's arm, signaling him to find her on the deck after finishing to continue introducing the layout of the ship to them.

Hmm... perhaps she didn't notice, but when she patted Xia Nan's shoulder, she used her left hand, causing the silver-and-black bracelet on her wrist to shrink several times, and one could faintly hear an unsatisfied "hissing" sound coming from deep within her sleeve.

The captain's cabin was not large; one could walk through the entire space in a few dozen steps.

The pale white smoke emitted after the tobacco burned drifted leisurely in the air, and at this moment, it was swaying and rippling due to the airflow stirred by the opening and closing of the door;

The room was very quiet; except for Haian's gradually receding footsteps outside the door, one could only hear the faint clamor from the docks further away and the crisp sound of pointed leather boots hitting the floor.

Luo Lin, the captain of the "Oath-Breaker" adventurer squad, was sitting on the leather sofa facing the door, her two long legs under her tight breeches still crossed, just as they were when Xia Nan first met her.

The desktop in front of her was wide and messy.

In the very center, occupying the largest area, was an unfolded sheepskin sea chart, covered with shipping routes and complex symbols of unknown meaning; on the right side sat a tin cup containing cold tea; on the left side was an ashtray made of seashells, with over a dozen cigarette butts piled inside.

"You're here?"

"Sit."

With a cigarette she had just lit held between her left index and middle fingers, Luo Lin stared at the sea chart in front of her, greeting them without raising her head.

Pulling Alton, who had been curiously looking around at the room's furnishings since entering the captain's cabin, Xia Nan stepped forward and sat opposite Luo Lin.

"Have you met everyone?"

After reacting slightly and realizing that the other party was likely referring to the Catfolk and that burly man named "Aken," Xia Nan nodded slightly.

"Met and greeted them on the way over."

"What's your impression?"

Recalling the Catfolk's furry tail curling inward and Aken's flashy tattoos covering his entire body, Xia Nan paused, weighed his words in his heart for a moment, and then replied:

"Uh... they're all quite real."

"Heh." Clearly understanding what Xia Nan meant, Luo Lin chuckled, tapped the ash off her cigarette with her left hand, and looked up at the black-haired youth in front of her. "To be a member of the 'Oath-Breaker' team, strictly speaking, none of them are bad people."

"Once you get familiar with them, even Sasha is quite easy to get along with; usually, there's basically nothing to avoid." ===== CHAPTER 450 =====