blogombal Chapter 198 Brando, the Strongest Man in the Five Seas
Chapter 198 Brando, the Strongest Man in the Five Seas
Chapter 198 Brando, the Strongest Man in the Five Seas
The past two days aboard the "Golden Dream" have been unusually calm.
However, Lorne always felt that there was a subtle, scrutinizing gaze that would occasionally fall on him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced casually at the source of the gaze and spotted an unexpected "acquaintance".
He was a man with brilliant blond hair and a somewhat cynical look. It was Anderson, the man he had met briefly on that shipwrecked passenger ship.
Anderson? What's he doing on this ship?
Just as Lorne was feeling puzzled, Gadriya quietly came to his side and called him aside.
"What's wrong?" Lorne asked.
"Be careful," Cattleya warned, watching the blond man's retreating figure in the distance. "That man isn't a good person."
"Anderson Hood is a treasure hunter."
"Treasure hunter?"
"Yes, he's also a bounty hunter." Cattleya nodded and continued, "Moreover, he's known by some as the 'strongest hunter'."
"I never expected him to appear on 'Admiral Iceberg's' ship."
The strongest hunter—this guy must be incredibly strong—Lorne thought to himself.
"With the captain around, he shouldn't do anything out of line, right?" Lorne said somewhat uncertainly.
Cattleya pushed up her glasses and said calmly, "Those two might very well be in cahoots."
That can't be, right?
Seeing Lorne's incredulous expression, Cattleya added, "The world at sea is far more dangerous than you imagine."
You're too trusting.
According to your logic, aren't you yourself quite suspicious? — Lorne silently complained to himself.
She paused for a moment, then continued, "If you encounter any problems you can't solve, you can come to me."
"Oh—" Lorne nodded.
"Um."
Cattleya adjusted her glasses, seemingly satisfied with his reaction, and turned to leave.
That's strange—why do I feel like she's harboring a lot of malice towards the captain? Is it simply because they're colleagues?
Also, why does this lady seem so serious, yet so approachable? Lorne looked at her aloof back and felt somewhat confused.
On the other hand, Anderson also noticed Lorne's spying on him.
He had originally intended to go up and greet this interesting "old acquaintance." However, the sudden appearance of "Admiral" Cattleya forced him to temporarily abandon this plan.
"Never mind," he muttered to himself, "as long as I can confirm that he is still alive and well, I can give the old man upstairs an explanation."
However, as he looked at Lorne, who was talking to Cattleya in the distance, a playful expression appeared on his face.
First there was "Iceberg Admiral" Edwina, and now we have "Star Admiral" Cattleya. Previously, they also provoked "Disease Admiral" Tracy, and it seems they are currently being hunted down by her—
Anderson couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"This guy, does he have a nickname like 'Wild Rose of the Five Seas'?"
It seems that a new legend will soon emerge on the high seas.
Monkey Brando, the strongest man in the Five Seas.
Later, Edwina called Lorne to the captain's cabin alone.
Lorne subtly brought up the matter of Anderson to her. But Edwina said that she and Anderson had some personal ties, and that he was just hitchhiking this time, so he didn't need to worry.
Another one hitching a ride? Just like me? Lorne was slightly surprised, but didn't say anything.
Then, Edwina handed the compiled information to Lorne.
"This is the information from the notebook you asked me to help you study last time. I have already deciphered the parts written in ancient Hermes."
The Antigonus family's notes! Captain, you're still the most reliable!
"Thank you." Lorne sincerely thanked her, took the thick stack of documents from Edwina's hand, and immediately began to look through them.
The two chatted for a while longer. Lorne then asked if there were any new leads regarding the giant bronze key that had been salvaged from the seabed last time.
Edwina shook her head and said, "The specifics are still unclear. All we know is that it's highly likely a relic of some giant from the Tertiary period..."
Lorne wasn't disappointed. It's normal that these kinds of mysterious items involving ancient history can't be fully understood in a short time.
at the same time.
Outside the cabin, several sailors were chatting idly.
"Hey, who's that new pretty boy?"
"I don't know, what's wrong?"
"He just went to the captain's cabin again."
"Just the two of you?"
"Yes! Just the two of them."
Just as the sailors were complaining, Cattleya, who was passing by, overheard their conversation.
"The two of them are having an affair?"
Upon hearing this, a cold glint flashed behind her glasses.
Lorne returned to the small storage room where he had lived on the "Golden Dream".
As he was engrossed in reading the translation of Antigonus's Notebook, he suddenly felt someone standing silently behind him.
Lorne instinctively turned his head and found that Cattleya was already standing behind him.
"Madam, how did you—appear so suddenly?" Lorne's lips twitched slightly.
You're not a vengeful spirit!
"What are you doing?" Cattleya pushed up her glasses, adopting the demeanor of a teacher.
"Research," Lorne replied succinctly.
"Can I take a look?" Cattleya asked.
"Well—." Lorne hesitated for a few seconds before handing her the documents in his hand.
Cattleya took the document and examined it carefully: "Data from the Quaternary Period?"
"Mm." Lorne nodded.
"Was it Edwina who translated it for you?" Cattleya asked in a flat tone.
"Is there a problem?"
"It's nothing," Cattleya said, rubbing her forehead. "The translation is—excellent."
She returned the materials to Lorne, adding, "If you have similar questions in the future, you can come to me. I'm also quite knowledgeable about ancient languages."
"Okay." Lorne nodded.
Why do I get the feeling that you, madam, are always secretly competing with the captain?
"Madam, is there something you need from me?" Lorne asked proactively.
When Cattleya came to her senses, a rare look of hesitation appeared on her usually calm face.
She paused for a few seconds to compose herself before asking, "What are your plans after you came down?"
Lorne thought for a moment and said, "I haven't decided yet. However, with those bounties on my head, I'll probably stick to hiding for now."
After a moment, Cattleya clenched her fist and asked, "If you have nowhere else to go, would you like to become a crew member on my ship?"
"The environment there is much better than here." She looked around the storage room.
"You can at least get a few thousand pounds a year," she offered a very generous deal.
"Madam," Lorne looked at her with curiosity, "are you—trying to recruit me?"
"Um."
Lorne did not reply immediately.
This scene—it feels kind of familiar, doesn't it? It seems like Tracy did the same thing back then. I didn't agree then, but if I don't agree now, will this "Admiral of the Stars" also turn on me on the spot?
Seeing that Lorne remained silent, Cattleya seemed to grow somewhat impatient. She spoke up, "If you're worried about 'Iceberg Admiral,' I can—go talk to her for you."
After all, this was someone else's business, and it was understandable that Lorne would have reservations about poaching her talent.
"Madam, your suggestion is good."
Cattleya's eyes lit up.
"So, what's your answer?"
"I refuse."
"Why?" Cattleya's tone involuntarily rose a few notches.
顺.
Ahem. Seemingly realizing her behavior was somewhat awkward, she coughed twice.
"You want to stay on the 'Golden Dream'?"
"No," Lorne shook his head again, explaining, "It's just—so much has happened lately. I don't want to take any more risks."
Cattleya remained silent, a hint of suspicion in her eyes, as if she were assessing the truthfulness of Lorne's words.
"The captain invited me to stay before," Lorne added, "but I didn't agree."
"Yeah-"
Upon hearing this, Cattleya nodded, her mood seemingly improving slightly.
Seeing Cattleya's reaction, Lorne was a little confused.
Are all women at sea this inexplicable?
After some time, it was time to say goodbye.
Lorne did not choose to disembark at the originally planned port of Damir. Instead, at the joint suggestion of Edwina and Cattleya, they decided to disembark at the port of Tiana, which was closer and less likely to attract attention.
Caldelia happened to have her own contact point nearby, so she planned to leave from there with Lorne.
As for the enormous bounty of 42,000 pounds on "Blood Admiral" Señor, after discussion among the three, it was ultimately decided that Cattleya, with the widest network of connections, would help redeem it on their behalf.
However, due to Lorne's current status, there is no suitable bank account to receive such a large sum of money, and the limit for anonymous accounts is far from sufficient.
Therefore, after some discussion, it was finally decided that the money would be temporarily held by Edwina after the exchange was completed, and then a way would be found to remit it to Lorne in batches.
This can be seen as Lorne giving himself a double layer of insurance.
Entrusting the money to Edwina for safekeeping seemed to make Gadriya, who was standing nearby, feel a sense of distrust. However, she didn't say anything and agreed to the request, silently keeping the matter in mind.
Subsequently, Lorne offered to transfer 20% of the profits directly to Danitz.
This decision even surprised Danitz himself, who rushed to the scene upon hearing the news.
He leaned close to Lorne and said incredulously, "Bullshit! Really?! A bounty of forty-two thousand pounds, even after deducting all the fees, 20% is still nearly eight thousand pounds!"
Lorne looked at him and said with a smile, "Isn't this just right? It's a little more than your seven thousand pounds bounty, isn't it?"
Upon hearing this, Danitz's face instantly darkened.
After finishing his jokes, Lorne seriously stated that Danitz had been somewhat helpful in the hunt for the "Blood Admiral." Moreover, he acknowledged that Danitz's involvement in getting into so much trouble was partly his own fault. Therefore, this was a form of compensation.
"You piece of shit—Brando, you bastard!"
Upon hearing his words, Danitz suddenly felt his eyes welling up with tears.
He jokingly punched Lorne on the shoulder: "Brando, if you were a woman, I might actually fall for you."
"Of course," he immediately added, "you're definitely still not as good as the captain."
Lorne's face instantly darkened, but he still sighed and instructed, "Use this money to find a way to advance as soon as possible. Otherwise, with your current strength, you'll get into trouble sooner or later."
"Also, stop putting all your money into Bayam's houses. I have a feeling that the real estate there is going to collapse sooner or later."
"Okay—okay—." Danitz agreed verbally, but in his heart he was still muttering to himself.
Unless the Rothschild Islands suddenly declare independence, how could Bayam's property market possibly collapse?
Port of Tiana.
Lorne and Cattleya disembarked in a small boat at a nearby, extremely secluded private harbor.
"Laki, we'll be home soon," Lorne said softly to the still somewhat listless orange cat in his backpack.
The previous battle, which exceeded the usual standards, had a significant impact on Laki, causing it to be somewhat listless lately.
"Meow--"
"Madam, it seems—it's almost time to part ways," Lorne said to Cattleya, who was already disguised, beside him.
Cattleya nodded.
Just as Lorne was about to turn around and leave the port.
"Wait," Cattleya suddenly called out to him.
"Is there anything else?" Lorne turned around, puzzled. "There's one more thing," Cattleya said after a moment, her voice tinged with uncertainty. "Could you... let me see your true appearance?"
this--
Lorne suddenly froze.
Since Edwina had recognized him immediately, he maintained his disguise and did not revert to his original appearance during his time on the "Golden Dream" as a precaution.
As a result, the sailors on the ship who did not know his true identity complained a lot in private, saying that the new guy, who had no background, was always hanging out with the captain.
"Lady" Lorne thought for a moment and said, "You should have seen my bounty poster, right? In that case, this request seems—unnecessary."
“No, there’s still a difference,” Cattleya insisted. “As a friend, I think it’s necessary to confirm for myself—or perhaps,” she added, “that you don’t consider us friends?”
Although Cattleya's tone remained calm, a hint of panic crept into her heart.
This reason...even she herself didn't believe it.
Lorne nodded. He knew perfectly well that Cattleya's words weren't entirely true.
Perhaps it was the pirate's characteristic caution or his intuitive instincts that failed to warn him of any danger. Besides, his identity had already been exposed; he might as well consider it a favor.
After confirming that the current environment was absolutely safe, Lorne reached out and removed the cufflink that he used to maintain his disguise from the collar and cuff of his clothes.
A moment later, his facial muscles began to twitch and distort slightly. Except for his hair color, which couldn't be changed immediately due to the hair dye, everything else returned to his original handsome appearance.
Caldelia quietly looked him over a few times before softly saying, "Thank you for your trust."
"We are friends," Lorne replied.
Before parting, they exchanged their secret means of communication for sending and receiving letters.
"If you ever come back to sea in the future and encounter any problems you can't solve," Cattleya said, "you can come to me anytime."
"Um."
After they parted, Gadriya stood there, watching Lorne's receding figure, a smile appearing on her usually serious face.
"We will meet again."