Chapter 23: Staggering Wealth

Outside the wealthy district.

Gunie moved swiftly through the dark and quiet alley.

Gunie's teleportation point was far away; the fifth-rank shadow expert had no possibility of tracking him.

Reaching the bustling street at the end of the alley, Gunie casually hailed a carriage.

"To Seventh Dock Street."

Only after the carriage started did Gunie breathe a sigh of relief.

"Perfect!" A faint smile appeared on Gunie's face.

As the carriage moved forward, Gunie, seated inside, began to inspect his spoils from this venture.

Feathered Serpent Edward was richer than Gunie had anticipated.

He possessed a full four supernatural storage devices.

Two bracelets and two rings.

When he opened the first supernatural storage ring, a pleasant surprise greeted him.

What met his eyes were stacks of crisp ten-pound gold notes.

Each bundle was ten thousand gold pounds, and there were twenty-four bundles in total—meaning a full two hundred and forty thousand gold pounds.

"Just this two hundred and forty thousand gold pounds alone makes this risky assassination worthwhile."

Inside the second supernatural storage ring were some food, clothing, and a scattering of gold pounds, silver dragons, and a few copper yuan. This was a daily-use storage ring, and its contents were of little value.

In the third supernatural storage device, a bracelet, Gunie found what he needed most this time.

Sea demon ships—two of them.

Both sea demon ships were sealed within sea demon bottles.

Gunie connected his touch demon channel to the sea demon bottle and began to carefully sense the detailed information about the sea demon ships inside.

After a minute, he cut off the source power and pondered briefly.

"One is forty meters long, probably the one meant for sale. Double-masted, three decks. It can comfortably accommodate seventy to eighty crew members."

"The other is fifty-five meters long—that size is already a large sea demon ship. Double-masted, four decks, easily holding over a hundred crew members."

"But I don't need that many supernatural sailors; thirty-odd will be enough."

"This forty-meter sea demon ship will be more than sufficient."

"As for the fifty-five-meter one, I'll sell it when I get a chance. It should fetch at least two hundred and fifty thousand gold pounds."

Gunie wasn't worried about anyone recognizing the forty-meter sea demon ship.

After nurturing it with source power for a while and then modifying it, he could transform this pirate demon ship into an adventure sea demon ship.

By then, no one would know that Gunie had killed Feathered Serpent Edward.

Besides these two sea demon ships, there was also a certain number of "sea demon ship deck planks," which would save Gunie some repair material costs for the sea demon ship.

In the fourth supernatural storage device, a bracelet, Gunie found spells, potions, equipment, materials, and many other things.

These miscellaneous supernatural items could probably sell for thirty to fifty thousand gold pounds.

Among them, many powerful spell scrolls were quite suitable for Gunie, so he naturally kept them all, replenishing his stock of spell scrolls considerably.

After briefly sorting through today's gains, a smile bloomed on Gunie's face.

"Truly a staggering haul."

"All told, it amounts to seven or eight hundred thousand."

"The wealth of a pirate king is no lie."

"And this is just a minor pirate king. If I were to rob a major pirate king, wouldn't it be millions of gold pounds, or even tens of millions?"

"These mobile treasures on the sea are truly enticing."

"No rush. I'll sail steadily and slowly across the sea, gradually seeking treasures. If I come across a nice island, I might even take a few days' vacation there."

"When my strength is sufficient, I'll take care of these pirates one by one."

As the owner of the idle system, time was always on Gunie's side.

For now, with his strength not yet formidable, Gunie's main goal was to accumulate wealth and power.

...

Half an hour later.

In a quiet little room.

The dim kerosene lamp illuminated only the small area of the coffee table and the surrounding sofa.

Gunie and Yasen, sitting on the sofa, were half-shrouded in darkness.

"No one followed us!" Jason's voice was very low.

"They didn't even catch a glimpse of my shadow," Gunther said lightly.

"Then... did you get the thing?"

Jason's eyes narrowed slightly, with a hint of urgency.

Gunther's relaxed and natural manner had already given him a clue.

"Got it, and the harvest is substantial."

Hearing this, Jason Howell's heart clenched suddenly.

If the thing was obtained, that meant... Feathered Serpent Edward was likely dead.

A fifth-rank transcendent protected by two fifth-rank guards, the Little Pirate King Feathered Serpent Edward, dead like that? Killed by a third-rank transcendent?

Jason Howell, half-hidden in the shadows, looked at Gunther with a sharp glint in his eyes.

"How did this third-rank guy do it?"

But Jason Howell didn't ask further; he naturally wouldn't inquire about things he shouldn't.

With a flip of his hand, Gunther produced the Sea Demon Bottle containing the forty-meter-long Sea Demon Ship and placed it horizontally on the table.

Immediately, Jason Howell's gaze was drawn to the Sea Demon Bottle and the ship within.

This Sea Demon Bottle looked no different from an ordinary glass wine bottle.

But in reality, it was a sealed magical bottle.

It required touch-magic contact to unseal and release the Sea Demon Ship inside.

However, the next moment, Jason Howell's attention was caught by something else: two bundles of gold pounds.

One bundle of ten-pound notes was ten thousand gold pounds, so two bundles were twenty thousand gold pounds.

Gunther slowly pushed the bundle of gold pounds toward Jason Howell.

"This?"

Jason Howell looked at Gunther in confusion.

"This is what you deserve," Gunther said softly.

"You contributed to this adventure, even at the risk of being discovered."

"Participating in an adventure brings rewards—that was my promise to you as captain when we signed the contract."

"Now that we have the harvest, I won't be stingy when it's time to share the spoils."

Looking at such a generous sum of gold pounds, it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted.

In his best years, his annual income was only this much.

And in bad years, he not only earned nothing but nearly lost his life.

"Thank you!" After a moment's thought, Jason said sincerely.

As he spoke, Jason Howell stored the reward into his storage equipment.

Previously, Captain Jack had shown his strength and wealth, but no one knew if he could truly find fortune at sea.

But today, Captain Jack proved it with his own strength.

Even at a harbor on the edge of the ocean, he still had the ability to amass vast wealth.

"Even if there's no gain at sea, waiting to hunt at harbors where pirate kings might appear would be a good choice."

"More importantly... Captain Jack is still young, and only at third rank."

Jason Howell thought to himself.

"My First Mate, this is just the beginning of our ocean exploration for wealth," Gunther said in a leisurely tone.

"In the future, more wealth will be swallowed up by our Whale Demon Adventure Group, and you need to learn to master wealth."

Jason Howell paused; he could hear the deeper meaning in the captain's words.

If one cannot master wealth, they will be mastered by it, and then greed and evil will breed and twist the mind—the consequences are self-evident.

There are many stories of curses on wealth at sea; he didn't want to become such a tragic protagonist.

"I will, Captain," Jason Howell said solemnly.

Then Gunther looked at the Sea Demon Ship inside the bottle, pondered for a moment, and spoke softly.

"Once this pirate ship is taken out, it will definitely be recognized. You touch-magic contact the Sea Demon Ship, modify it, and find a way to remove all its pirate ship characteristics, like the sails and flags."

"The expenses incurred can be reimbursed from me."

Gunther said.

"Alright, Captain Jack, I guarantee I won't let you down."

Jason Howell nodded solemnly.