Chapter 515

Hearing Philip's answer, the gaze Gochia cast toward him instantly became ardent, her worship overflowing in her expression.

Ran away? Lumian's mouth twitched slightly; he didn't know how to evaluate the behavior of the "Black Octopus" turning around without hesitation and diving again.

This was beyond his expectations, leaving him unable to react in time.

Such a cool and magical underwater sailing ship, such a great pirate with such a high bounty—they didn't even try to fire their cannons for a forceful attack before choosing to retreat in a panic?

With such a small amount of guts, why become a pirate?

And what about the 250,000 Vergold bounty, what about the fierce reputation of "Bone-Breaker"? Don't mix in the sea anymore!

After habitually cursing a few times in his heart, Lumian seriously thought about the reason why "Bone-Breaker" Luo Lei had the "Black Octopus" turn around and run without even showing his face:

"If I had triggered the residual aura of the 'Blood Emperor,' it would be understandable for you to run so fast, but why now?

"It couldn't be that he discovered he had found the wrong target, that the 'Flying Bird' wasn't the merchant ship he wanted to rob, and he was in a hurry to intercept the real prey?

"Did he have some kind of premonition, feeling that if he really robbed the ship, the outcome might be quite miserable?

"If he were truly of a pathway adept at divination and prophecy, he could have confirmed beforehand that he shouldn't have come, and wouldn't have had to lose face and make a fool of himself under the gaze of so many crew members and passengers, performing what's called 'sea drifting' and 'turning around and advancing backward' for everyone...

"Danger premonition? Without actual contact, a 'Hunter's' danger intuition wouldn't have a strong reaction..."

Thinking of this, Lumian suddenly remembered a sequence, a sequence that had made him stay on guard for a long time:

The Sequence 6 "Devil" of the "Criminal" pathway!

Beyonders of this sequence possess a special ability called "Malice Perception."

If someone can cause them fatal harm within a certain period and has taken action, and both parties are within the effective range of the ability, they can directly sense it and perceive where the danger comes from and who it comes from.

"'Bone-Breaker' Luo Lei is a 'Devil'? His title and style are quite similar...

"When I was formulating a hunting plan for him just now, intending to 'Teleport' over once the situation was confirmed, did he perceive my malice, confirm the level of danger, and quickly decide to flee?

"Hey, you're a 'Devil,' aren't you going to run without a fight? I don't even have absolute certainty of killing a 'Devil' myself, and you're still on your own alchemical ship, surrounded by a large number of subordinates, and you shouldn't lack magical artifacts yourself; do you have to be such a coward?

"The plan I envisioned had a very high success rate, to the extent that the level of danger Luo Lei could perceive exceeded his ability to withstand it, so he chose not to take the risk and chose the most effective and safest response—running away?" The more Lumian pondered, the more he felt this guess was close to the truth.

This also made him feel amused.

Frankly speaking, his plan just now was actually quite idealistic; he hadn't considered the "Bone-Breaker's" sequence, nor the abilities of the surrounding pirates, and he hadn't even figured out how to use the "Bottle of Fiction" to pick Luo Lei out for a one-on-one duel. These all depended on subsequent observation of the "Black Octopus" to decide.

A "Hunter" isn't necessarily the one who rushes up to fight at the very beginning; they could also be the character who appears last and is responsible for the harvest.

But could such a simple plan and his own malice scare a "Devil" away in advance?

Lumian suspected that Luo Lei might not have been able to perceive the specific plan, but because he had things on him like the Fate Angel, the "Blood Emperor's" aura, Mr. "Fool's" seal, and the slight contamination of "0-01"—things that, regardless of whether they had power, were of a high enough level—they combined with a feasible plan and clear malice to strongly stimulate "Bone-Breaker," making him feel that the impending danger was something he couldn't cope with, leading to the scene just now.

Are you "Devils" all this cowardly? Lumian cursed silently, left the deck with a sense of disappointment, and returned to Room 5 of the first-class cabin.

At this time, the exclusive waiter had already delivered lunch. Ludwig was focused on dealing with the delicacies, while Lugano paced by the window, his face full of excitement.

Seeing Lumian return, this "Physician" said excitedly:

"A great pirate appeared just now, 'Bone-Breaker' Luo Lei, the most powerful captain under 'Admiral of the Deep' Hal Constantin. He was even driving the 'Black Octopus.' You, you've heard of the 'Black Octopus,' right? That's a magical ship capable of diving into the seabed!"

"I heard people talking about it in the bar last night," Lumian answered honestly.

Before this, he really didn't have much understanding of the "Admiral of the Deep" and his pirate crew; he only knew there was such a pirate admiral. After all, Hal Constantin was quite mysterious and rarely appeared in newspapers and magazines that recorded stories of the sea. In the *Great Adventurer* series of novels, there was only his title and name, making him a background board without any plot lines.

Lugano didn't hide his emotions:

"I saw that magical pirate ship with my own eyes just now. It really floated up from the seabed and could bloom like a flower!

"I thought we would have a conflict with 'Bone-Breaker' and escape using your teleportation ability. Who knew, the 'Black Octopus' only observed for a dozen seconds before choosing to leave."

A dozen seconds? Are you looking down on "Bone-Breaker" too much? A few seconds! Lumian refuted Lugano in his heart.

Lugano continued:

"When chatting with a few sailors this morning, they told me that the security chief of the 'Flying Bird' is a very powerful retired officer who knows many great pirates. I thought they were bragging, but now it seems that the security chief is really not simple. He might really have a friendship with many great pirates, which is why 'Bone-Breaker' Luo Lei didn't rob the 'Flying Bird'!"

"Yeah, yeah," Lumian echoed.

Rip... Ludwig tore off the oily skin and meat from a duck leg.

Lumian glanced at the little boy focused on food and suddenly had a new thought:

Could the malice and danger that "Bone-Breaker" Luo Lei perceived be more than one, not coming solely from me?

When Ludwig heard the word "bone-breaking," he might have started drooling...

However, this walking bottomless pit is quite similar to me; although he looks high-level, he actually doesn't have the corresponding abilities...

To celebrate the "Flying Bird" not being robbed by the "Black Octopus," at dusk, the captain held a party on the deck with performances by clowns, magicians, and animal tamers, treating everyone to three glasses of beer.

The third-class cabin bar in the middle of the night was even livelier. Philip became the focus here, surrounded by almost all the guests, who took turns praising him and treating him to drinks.

They were all thanking this security chief for relying on his friendship with "Bone-Breaker" Luo Lei to persuade that great pirate to leave, avoiding the tragic events that the passengers on the "Flying Bird" might have suffered.

Lumian, who was sitting at the bar chatting with the bartender Francesco, sipped his Leilongqi, his gaze sweeping casually over Philip's face. He discovered that beneath the frivolous smile of this middle-aged man with golden hair and blue eyes was a solemnity and worry that couldn't be covered up.

In other words, he actually wasn't that happy.

Hmm, confirmed that it wasn't him who scared the "Black Octopus" away... Heh, his mind is still quite clear; he knows that a big trouble approaching your ship and then abnormally choosing to leave is not a particularly happy thing. This often means that a bigger trouble is hidden on your ship... Lumian laughed secretly, withdrew his gaze, and continued to chat with the bartender Francesco about which women in the third-class cabin were beautiful.

After nearly an hour, Philip squeezed out of that pile of drunken guys and sat down beside Lumian with his lover Gochia.

He tapped the table, ordered a glass of golden beer, and said as if casually:

"You actually like to drink in such a noisy and chaotic place."

"The girls here are more enthusiastic than those in the first-class cabin." Lumian could probably guess Philip's purpose for coming over, but he didn't ask.

Philip laughed:

"That's true."

He asked nonchalantly:

"What did you do when the 'Black Octopus' came?"

"You don't remember? I was not far from you at the time. Don't you know whether I did anything or not?" Lumian was very calm.

Philip nodded slightly and didn't pursue the question.

Lumian took a sip of the strong liquor and asked back with a smile:

"Do you think there's a big trouble on the ship that scared away that small trouble?"

Philip turned his head and glanced at Lumian; it wasn't too surprising that he would have such an association.

"What are you guys talking about?" Gochia, who was clearly drunk, couldn't understand the conversation between these two men.

They were like speaking in riddles.

"That's the most reasonable explanation I can think of." Philip ignored his lover's question.

Lumian asked with great interest:

"Who do you think is suspicious?"

From yesterday afternoon to this noon, this security chief should have already warned quite a few people.

Philip put down his beer glass and raised his hand to rub his temples.

After thinking for a while, he smiled:

"I originally wanted to tell you, but now I feel there's no need."

"Why?" Lumian asked with some curiosity.

Philip took another sip of beer and laughed in a low voice:

"As long as that big trouble doesn't erupt on the ship, it's not trouble to me.

"You've seen it too; it didn't reveal itself and is hiding very quietly, which means it might just want to arrive at the archipelago or Santa Port smoothly."

Speaking of this, Philip was quite emotional and said with great experience:

"Many times, when you see an anomaly, you don't need to manage it, nor do you need to figure out the truth. Pretending you haven't discovered it and patiently waiting for the anomaly to leave on its own is the best choice.

"An anomaly that hasn't erupted isn't an anomaly. Your investigation and pursuit might instead stimulate it, making the problem suddenly become serious and letting disaster truly descend.

"As long as that anomaly hasn't truly harmed us, try to maintain awe and not stimulate it. This is one of the important reasons why I can survive at sea until now."

Lumian nodded slightly and said:

"A relative of mine once said that in certain events, people who can't see, hear, speak, or smell are more likely to survive."

Philip smiled and extended his right hand:

"I'm very glad you also have such an understanding."

This was the real purpose of him coming over to talk to Lumian—to let this guy using a fake identity not have curiosity, not to try to figure out what the big trouble hidden on the ship was.

That might implicate everyone on the ship!

Lumian, who understood Philip's meaning, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow:

So, does that mean there's another big trouble on the ship?

(End of chapter)