Slap—slap—slap!

Qin Xie held a wooden racket, playing a vigorous game of solo cricket against the wall of the captain's room.

He was waiting for the return of the Ridge Hunter.

The teddy bear lay on the chair beside him, legs crossed, "Do you really think your idea will work?"

"I think it's worth a try."

Qin Xie caught the ball with one hand and grabbed a water bottle from the table, taking a sip, "I simply fused your method with my own approach."

"The joint statement by the Seventh Fleet survey team, which I represent, and the Wasteland Development Company, which specializes in studying extraterrestrials, claims that the 'Moon Tooth' has no safety hazards."

"The Seventh Fleet judges from the perspective of ships and navigation, believing that its presence does not affect the normal navigation of surrounding ships. This has always been a fact; if the 'Moon Tooth' had any sort of affinity for ships, ours would have been attacked a long time ago."

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel, "The Wasteland Development Company owns and operates the Dead Sea Alien 'Jade City.' Their employees have personally demonstrated that the 'Moon Tooth' does not harm normal life; their daring recovery proves this point."

The plush bear sat up, "So you want to pull them together for mutual assurance? But do you really think they can take this thing away?"

"Who knows?"

Qin Xie said, "But we don't lose anything."

"Their people being here sends a signal to the surrounding fleets that the recovery is ongoing, like soldiers to a city wall, providing reassurance. The Seventh Fleet can't afford to permanently station warships here due to the enormous cost, not to mention the personnel shortage and numerous conflicts in the Dead Sea this season."

"If that Zhou Yi really does have incredible powers and can take away the alien, I'm essentially doing them a favor and going with the flow."

The young ship captain smiled slightly, "Most importantly, I can complete my report. By bringing in the Wasteland Development Company, I'll have proven I made enough effort to try."

"Isn't that your buddy, didn't you say you wanted to fix the problem?" Teddy snickered.

"Of course I do, but I'm not powerful enough to do it."

Qin Xie sat on another chair, "I have at my disposal only three warships and two supply ships; do you think this lineup can take on the 'Moon Tooth'?"

Teddy jumped onto the table, "Wasn't it said that the Dead Sea Alien is worth a fortune, and all the knight orders are vying for it? Why does the Seventh Fleet seem completely indifferent, as if just going through the motions?"

"That's only if you can capture it."

Qin Xie chuckled bitterly, "Teddy, the 'Moon Tooth' is not some no-name creature."

"About 11 years ago, the Mechanical Knights attempted to capture it. They gathered a whole fleet and secretly invited two sea lords to blockade the surrounding seas."

"Their method was straightforward: they intended to weaken it by continuous heavy bombardment and attacks, to reduce its energy and life, coaxing the alien back to its most primal, hungry state. Then, using Light Seeds and Energy Packs, they led it to land where it could be locked down and secured."

"During the assault, it suddenly released a rank A Death Light Cannon, sinking four B-class and seventeen C-class ships from the Mechanical Knights' fleet on the spot..."

"To make a move against the 'Moon Tooth' is like facing a top-tier sea lord, even a Skywalker. But the information is highly classified, and not many outsiders know about it. Regardless of how stable and gentle it looks now, if a fight breaks out, we'd be lucky to escape from here."

Qin Xie's face was filled with helplessness.

The toy bear hissed, "What kind of background does this thing have..."

"Who knows?"

Qin Xie continued to hit the ball against the wall, "There's a rumor among the Mechanical Knights that the 'Moon Tooth' hunts advanced electromechanical ship-life. It's picky and shows no interest in ordinary ships."

"It looks like the Wasteland Development Company might be out of luck then."

Teddy paced back and forth on the table with hands behind his back, "But what exactly is the 'Moon Tooth' up to?"

Qin Xie played cricket energetically back and forth against the wall, "How would I know?"

Suddenly, the ship shook violently, and a voice came over the intercom, "Captain, the 'Moon Tooth' is fighting an electromechanical life form!"

Qin Xie immediately rushed to the observation deck.

Through the Light Imprint Device here, he saw something lurking in the foggy sea, seemingly confronting the 'Moon Tooth.'

The creature was large, resembling a columnar or shuttle-shaped electromechanical life form, its thick fin-shaped head protruding from the Dead Sea, seemingly observing its surroundings.

After a standoff, the electromechanical life form could not restrain itself and took the initiative to attack.

It released beams of light, bombarding the surroundings indiscriminately. Even the shockwaves impacted the outer fleet's position.

But this was useless against the 'Moon Tooth.'

Its attacks completely failed to affect the alien, as if a higher-level force restrained it, allowing the sea electromechanical life to attack furiously but unable to aim directly at its true enemy.

Seeing that the situation was dire, the electromechanical life began to flee in panic, but it seemed to be caught by invisible lines, circling the 'Moon Tooth' rapidly, only to be gradually reined in, and finally, it was sucked into the gaping maw.

This scene enlightened Qin Xie.

"Moon Teeth" was left here specifically for this creature—it must be right underneath this part of the Dead Sea.

Finally, there was material for a report!

After the turmoil subsided, he found that the Sheng Snakes were still on "Moon Teeth." They had formed a black fortress, seemingly prepared for a long-term station, and even the previous war of that magnitude couldn't drive them away.

Qin Xie's curiosity intensified.

How did Chairman Zhou Yi manage to make the proud and valiant Sheng Snakes so obedient?

…

After listening to Lie Hai's report, Zhou Yi's first thought was that it was a trap.

He asked Red Kestrel, "Is there any chance this is a trap set by the Seventh Fleet?"

Because it sounded too far-fetched.

This ship captain of the Seventh Fleet, Qin Xie, was actually welcoming him to recover the Alien and willing to work together to move it out of these waters, even stating that it was to keep the sea routes clear and prevent disruptions to the trade routes above the Dead Sea.

After all, he had previously sunk one of their ships, the Wind-Organ.

Red Kestrel said, "I can't evaluate human issues."

So Zhou Yi called over the strategist Qian Su.

"I know him."

The young weapons dealer's eyes lit up, "Qin Xie is no ordinary person; his family has a strong background."

"His father Qin Qiang is a senior member of the Mechanical Knights, and his uncle, Yan Zibing, commands the Dead Sea Knights' Second Fleet. That's insider information amongst us arms dealers."

"He Jiu and him are not of the same circle; persuading him would be unlikely, and Ji Zhang also couldn't really direct Qin Xie. Though Qin Xie is young, he always conducts himself with humility and restraint; he's being groomed as the next family successor."

Zhou Yi suddenly realized.

With the backing of two major Knight Orders, he turned out to be someone with connections.

In the fleet hierarchy, the ship captain is the commander of each warship; apart from the Commander, Deputy Commander, and Chief of Staff in the Seventh Fleet, the four ship captains of the B-grade Heavy Cruisers had the highest status.

Though young, Qin Xie was already a power broker in the Seventh Fleet.

"Although I'm not sure why he's inviting you, I think it's probably not a bad thing."

Qian Su explained, "Qin Xie is leading five ships, clearly executing a mission from the Seventh Fleet. This is distinctly different from the private maneuvers that He Jiu had done before, and it represents a formal order from the Seventh Fleet, or rather, Commander Feng."

"The southern region you mentioned, if it's 1700 kilometers from here, then it's very close to 'Coral Port.'"

"That's a very important trade port. Many goods are transshipped through Coral Port, then sent out to various locations, and the nearby sea area is maintained by the Dead Sea Knights, also accounting for a significant part of their earnings."

"That area falls under the jurisdiction of the Seventh Fleet."

"Rather than fighting tooth and claw, Knight Orders actually value the attitudes of their financiers more. Sinking a ship, losing a battle, is just skin-deep; there are no undefeated generals in this world. However, if the important clients leave, opting for competitors, then that loss could cause deeper harm."

From a merchant's perspective, Qian Su analyzed Qin Xie's actions, concluding that the Dead Sea Knights were in a hurry to appease merchants, seeking to diminish the panic caused by the Alien's presence there, and thus they dispatched a ship captain like Qin Xie, with his robust identity and strength, to handle it.

In other words.

Qin Xie indeed wanted to cooperate with Wasteland Development Company, leveraging the well-known reputation of the company's Jade City, capable of restraining and managing Aliens, to handle public relations.

"If he makes a joint statement with your company, it would serve as an endorsement of each other to the outside world."

Qian Su analyzed, "The advantage is that afterwards, the Seventh Fleet would have an overt partnership with your company. The issues from before become insignificant in face of major interests, and it could also serve as an opportunity to promote Wasteland Development Company's Jade City."

"The drawback is, if something goes wrong there, if Aliens harm people or cause a major accident with many casualties, Wasteland Development Company would also be tied to the Seventh Fleet, becoming a subject of skepticism, with damaged credibility... and the worst-case scenario, is a credit downgrade for Mechanical City."

Zhou Yi thought for a moment.

In that case, making a joint statement with Qin Xie wasn't entirely out of the question.

However, since he was going to try to recruit this living structure anyway,

it was better to seize the day and negotiate the price with it on site now.

As for safety concerns, Zhou Yi was not particularly worried.

The biggest threat to him would be the several warships led by Qin Xie. C-grade weapons couldn't breach his defense, B-grade could, but it wouldn't be lethal, and his Life Value was high enough to give him ample time to enter the Deep Sea below.

Once on the sea floor, that was his comfort zone.

Zhou Yi immediately rode Lie Hai, flying towards the destination alongside Red Kestrel.