[Congratulations, Host, for completing the World Quest!]
The instant Fang Yuan's reputation hit 150, the panel chimed in.
The reward was automatically issued—exactly the long-awaited panel upgrade.
[Company Panel Upgrading…]
[Upgrade Successful!]
Fang Yuan exhaled; it was finally done.
The upgrade quest had taken him several years—though most of that time he'd spent playing with witchcraft, Black Slaves, witches, the Governor's daughter, and mermaids—still exhausting.
He hurriedly checked the major changes after the upgrade.
[Contracted employees can now break through World limits.]
[Panel authority increased; details available during use.]
"Yay, I can finally sign my dear old baby Satan!" Fang Yuan was elated.
All this Effort was so he could have fun with Satan.
[Current World power limit has been removed!]
The next second his grin widened even further.
It's all back—everything.
He clenched his fist, feeling the surging strength, and marveled at how tough his recent years had been.
Playing with witchcraft, Black Slaves, witches, the Governor's daughter, Mermaids… ahem, not exactly hardship.
He'd merely been an ordinary pirate who sank the Royal Navy.
He'd merely had dozens of Mermaids flirting with him.
"Fang!"
Elizabeth's shout snapped him back; she pounced and delivered a bony tackle.
Under moonlight she still turned skeletal.
So Fang Yuan swiftly used the trident of poseidon to lift the aztec gold coin curse on Elizabeth and Governor Swann.
With his power restored, wielding the trident for individual cures was effortless.
Once the little beauty returned to normal, Elizabeth hugged him again—hard.
Still… decidedly bony.
Pretty as Elizabeth was, she lacked assets; ten planes could land simultaneously on that flat runway.
Keira Knightley's odd charm—square face, short legs, airport chest—yet together unmistakably iconic.
With a flick of his fingers, the seawater surrounding London receded and the Navy stood down, but the pirates stayed.
He channeled the Space Stone, teleporting distant pirate ships into the harbor, stunning every buccaneer.
Jack and Barbossa looked left and right, then fixed their wide eyes on Fang Yuan.
Everyone called you Sea God in courtesy—never thought you'd take it literally.
"To rule the seas, a navy alone won't do; pirates are indispensable," Fang Yuan spouted nonsense.
His core idea was clear: dominate the ocean.
Though this World's power level wasn't high, he'd invested years and wouldn't just walk away.
These pirates were key characters; experience taught him plot figures get local buffs—controlling them might yield surprises.
"Will you help me rule this World?" Fang Yuan asked outright.
Even power-sealed he'd flooded London; now unstoppable, he already deemed the World his.
"Of course!" Sakazuki barked.
He'd been top lackey when Fang Yuan was merely a pirate Captain; now that Fang Yuan ascended, Sakazuki wouldn't lag behind.
"I'm in!" Jack raised his hand.
He hated the idea of an open-ended boss.
But Jack Sparrow knew how to read the wind.
With Fang Yuan's near-unchallengeable status—even if Calypso broke free she'd be no match—surrender early was wiser.
Better to yield sooner than later.
Besides, Fang Yuan was a hands-off boss offering fat paychecks for little work; Jack could live with another long-term employer.
Barbossa, Sao Feng and the rest were even less inclined to refuse.
Jack might fret over freedom, but seasoned pirates like Barbossa excelled at currying favor and opportunism—classic pirate virtues.
"Good." Fang Yuan nodded and produced several invitation slips. "Then sign these."
As chairman of the All Heavens Vought Company, he dutifully recruited for the firm.
The pirates lacked flashy special powers, but their character halos were what he wanted.
They were vital plot figures after all.
Sakazuki signed at once.
Other pirates exchanged glances, turning the invitations over, pens hovering.
[Vought Corporation cordially invites you to join.]
[Inviter: Fang Yuan.]
[Signatory: ______]
"Strange—I can't read the words yet I understand every line," Jack muttered.
That made the pirates even more hesitant.
Fang Yuan read their worries easily via Telepathy.
Seasoned pirates had seen every betrayal and trap; Fang Yuan's contract looked like a classic sell-your-soul deal.
Take Jack, for example—he's been utterly ruined by that contract.
So Fang Yuan kindly explained to the crowd: "You think by not joining, you can escape my control?"
Er, very kind—nuclear kind.
The Pirate Kings recalled the water giant wielding a trident, and their minds suddenly conjured images of their own ships being smashed to splinters by it.
They all shuddered, hurriedly grabbed pens to sign the invitation letters; those who couldn't write simply pressed their handprints, instantly giving Fang Yuan a horde of new employees.
[Congratulations, Host, for signing C+-rank employee: Jack Sparrow!]
[Congratulations, Host, for signing C-rank employee: Hector Barbossa!]
[Congratulations, Host, for signing D-rank employee: Sao Feng!]
Much as Fang Yuan expected, these pirates' ratings weren't high; only plot-central figures like Captain Jack and Barbossa scored slightly better.
He checked their Fame: Jack Sparrow peaked at 136, Barbossa at 142.
That's right—old Bar's Fame tops Jack's.
Understandable: Jack's reputation circulates mostly among pirates, and he'd only just reclaimed the Black Pearl a year ago; the previous ten years he'd drifted aimlessly, nearly erased from memory.
In the story, it was Jack Sparrow sailing the Black Pearl alongside The Flying Dutchman to sink the Navy's flagship Effort, crushing the plan to wipe out piracy for good, that restored his infamy across the seas.
Barbossa, on the other hand, had been a veteran pirate, and during the past decade the curse of the aztec gold coin had earned him the title of the Ghost Ship's Captain—naturally his Fame surpassed Jack's.
Both still fell short of the 150 Fame needed to unlock fourth-tier rewards, but now that Fang Yuan's power had returned he could boost them a notch.
After all, he was the Sea God; the Sea God's envoys ought to be known across the World—just like that certain someone's envoys, forever flapping wings to advertise Heaven.
And occasionally planning to destroy a World or two.
As for the pirates' assignments, Fang Yuan already had a mature plan.
Two weeks later—
"The Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
King George II read Fang Yuan's directive and exhaled in relief.
"Basically a step up from a privateering license—acceptable."
He signed the document at once; even if Fang Yuan's terms had been harsher, George II could only have agreed.
Yet he was quite pleased: a week earlier Fang Yuan had teleported him straight into the caverns of Whitecap Bay, and after a few gulps transferred a death-row inmate's lifespan into him.
Now in the prime of life and further invigorated, George II was happy to be Fang Yuan's hound.
Only the Warlord roster looked odd.
Caribbean Sea—Jack Sparrow.
North Atlantic—Hector Barbossa.
South China Sea—Sao Feng.
Mediterranean—Chevalle.
Black Sea—Ammand.
North Pacific—Sakazuki.
South Atlantic—Jocard.
All fairly normal, basically dividing along the former Pirate Kings' territories.
Sakazuki wasn't a Pirate King, but as Fang Yuan's loyal hound he deserved a reward.
Yet two more names appeared on the list.
Indian Ocean—Salazar!
Pacific—Cutler Beckett!
"Beckett's not dead?"
"How come there are nine Warlords?"
"What kind of filth is Salazar?"
Clearly, the last remark came from Captain Jack.
The pirates were stunned: Salazar and Beckett were no pirates—they loathed pirates.
"Hating pirates doesn't mean hating life. Join the Warlords or die; they'll make the sensible choice," Fang Yuan explained to Elizabeth.
As for the Seven Warlords numbering nine—wasn't that perfectly normal?
Thus Fang Yuan spent another shameless two months with Elizabeth and the Mermaids, performing miracles across the globe while having Jack and Barbossa harvest Fame, pushing both their scores straight to 150.
Fang Yuan thereby gained two new auras.
[Freedom Forever Aura (B-rank): Active aura. When the host is imprisoned or restrained, aids in regaining freedom. Cooldown: 10 days.]
Naturally unlocked from Jack Sparrow—the ever-unruly Captain Jack forever oscillates between fleeing and hunting for the Black Pearl.
"Not bad—at least it's not some weird Raise-the-Dead Aura," Fang Yuan muttered in relief.
Next came Barbossa's.
[Pirate Aura (C-rank): When the host's profession is Pirate, fleet performance increases by 50%.]
Old Bar's aura reward surprised Fang Yuan: it boosted fleet performance—something you'd expect from Jack, who adores the black pearl.
Yet Barbossa loves the black pearl just as much, and after a lifetime of piracy a pirate's ship is everything; the reward fit perfectly.
Speaking of auras, after obtaining these two Fang Yuan reluctantly extracted himself from dozens of tender embraces.
If he remembered correctly, he still had two upgrade items unused.
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