[Since they might be pirates, why are you helping them?]
Roy was somewhat puzzled.
Logically speaking, the islanders should have avoided pirates like the plague, so why did Lina have such a calm attitude?
Upon hearing this, Lina explained on Roy's behalf.
It turns out that the five seas all belong to a unified maritime nation, the Kingdom of a Thousand Islands.
Within the five sea areas, pirates who stir up trouble and plunder islanders will be wanted and pursued by the kingdom's fleet. Therefore, ordinary pirates will not plunder islands at will, at most they will rest on the island.
Of course, there are also some vicious and lawless pirates who are unafraid of the kingdom's fleet, but the probability is relatively small.
From this perspective, the five major sea areas are still relatively peaceful.
It really is a beginner's village.
Roy seemed to be deep in thought.
[However, once you leave the five great seas, you must be careful at all times. Pirates outside the five great seas don't have as many scruples.]
After Lina finished bandaging Roy, she reminded him.
Roy nodded, chatted with Lina for a while longer, and then left the clinic.
Before leaving, Roy deliberately switched perspectives to take a look at Lina.
She has short, smooth, azure-blue hair, an intellectual and sweet appearance, and long, slender legs that even a white lab coat can't hide.
This further solidified Roy's belief.
My bed… oops, my ship needs a doctor!
Roy thought to himself.
After treating his wounds, Roy went to Felix's shipyard to continue learning his skills.
-
After one night, the sun rose as usual over the peaceful sea, the sun was shining brightly, and the sea breeze was gentle.
At the dock, Roy was about to set sail when old Nelson called him back.
[Roy, how long can you hold your breath underwater?]
Roy scratched his head in surprise, wondering why old Nelson had suddenly asked this.
After thinking for a moment, he still gave a conservative figure.
[About five minutes.]
Old Nelson paused for a moment after hearing this, glanced at Roy several times, and then said in a deep voice.
[Could you do me a favor?]
[Okay.]
Upon hearing this, Roy nodded without asking what Old Nelson needed him to do.
Old Nelson helped him a lot; Roy would do his best to help whenever he could.
Seeing that Roy agreed so readily, old Nelson didn't say anything, patted him on the shoulder, then went to his small boat and picked up the oar.
[Let's go.]
Roy thought for a moment, then took Big Orange off the boat, intending to leave it in the cabin.
But to everyone's surprise, as soon as Roy closed the door, Big Orange squeezed out through the crack in the window and came to Roy's feet.
"Meow~"
The orange cat meowed angrily, as if to say, "You think you're all grown up and want to fly solo, huh?"
Then she jumped back onto the small boat, found a comfortable spot, and curled up to sleep peacefully.
Roy was somewhat speechless, but he didn't insist on staying and boarded the small boat as well.
Seeing this, old Nelson smoked his cigarette, seemingly lost in thought.
Before long, an old man, a young boy, and a cat rowed their small boat and drifted off in one direction.
[Aren't you curious about what favor I need from you?]
Old Nelson, with his back to Roy, exhaled smoke.
[Of course I'm curious, that's why I'm waiting for you to tell me.]
Roy replied honestly.
Old Nelson remained silent for a moment, but did not say much, and slowly opened his mouth.
[There are actually two people guarding the pier on Sea Snake Island.]
[One is me, the other is Holly, an old woman who likes to court death, and also my wife…]
Then, old Nelson began to tell stories from the past.
He and Holly grew up together; they were childhood sweethearts.
Holly is outgoing, cheerful, and loves adventure, while old Nelson is shy and kind.
They were sailors together, went to sea together, fought pirates, and searched for treasure.
In the end, they returned to their native island to guard the docks, watching young people like Roy set sail towards the rising sun…
Seemingly because of the mention of his wife, the usually concise old Nelson became rambling, occasionally offering his own opinions.
[Holly, that old woman, loves to drink and always makes the house smell of alcohol. She's also unkempt, careless, and always manages to lose money…]
[She also loves flowers, especially sunflowers. I once planted a few for her, but she kept pouring alcohol into the flower bed, and the sunflowers all withered and died…]
[And the old woman especially liked doing dangerous things, like fishing for sea snakes with her bare hands.]
Old Nelson laughed heartily.
Although his face showed disgust and helplessness when Holly was mentioned, his sadness and love were impossible to hide.
After a long while, old Nelson remained silent for a moment.
[However, one day five years ago, she excitedly told me that she had discovered a underwater cave near a small island and insisted on exploring it.]
[I was busy taking care of Lina at the time and didn't pay attention to what she said.]
[But the very next morning, she left a letter, packed her gear, and set off alone.]
I never saw her again after that…
[A year later, I found her wine bottle on a small island, but I didn't find the cave there.]
At this point, old Nelson lowered his head and gazed at the surging waves of the sea beneath the small boat.
Upon hearing this, Roy understood.
No wonder old Nelson asked him how long he could hold his breath.
The goal was to find the location of the cave Holly had mentioned.
At the same time, a small island slowly appeared in Roy's line of sight.
This island is really small; its diameter looks to be no more than a dozen meters.
However, the island has several exposed, hard gray reefs with algae growing at their base, and a few pebbles buried on the outer beach.
The two moored their small boat on the island's shore and packed their things.
[Roy, you're a good boy. Although I really want to find Holly, your safety is more important.]
[If you can't find it, get ashore quickly, understand?]
Old Nelson looked serious.
Upon hearing this, Roy didn't say much, but simply nodded and said okay.
He then took a deep breath and plunged into the sea.
After entering the water, Roy took an octopus from his inventory, controlled it, and then split into two groups to search the sea.
Soon, Roy had a general view of the entire area beneath the island.
Actually, calling it an island is not accurate.
To be precise, it is just a big rocky mountain in the sea.
As he ventured deeper into the sea, Roy saw steep, exposed limestone cliffs and, in one direction, an abyss-like underwater precipice, bottomless, dark, and cold.
Roy believed the cave was most likely located below this abyss.
However, he didn't rush in, and instead explored the area around the island.
Not long after, the octopus clone discovered a very well hidden, dark cave entrance in another dense seaweed thicket.
Found it!