Inside the cluttered houseboat.

A bronzed man held his breath, hiding under the dimly lit bed.

His nickname was "Iron Hand," a very ambitious member of the Black Rabbit Gang.

But yesterday, he came across an opportunity.

A VIP had arrived at the Black Rabbit Gang’s base—the captain of the Blackfin Crew's Sawshark, the honorable Captain Blackeye.

Captain Blackeye was asking around about a young man with Sea Beast Disease. According to him, that person had stolen something from them.

To dig out information, he dragged out everyone in the Black Rabbit Gang who might be connected to that patient—except the higher-ups—and whipped them hard across the butt, interrogating them fiercely!

His words were sharp, his actions hysterical—completely unlike a pirate captain. He was using the gang members like punching bags.

Meanwhile, the Crow, the ship's physician, stood by with a smirk on his face, a smile that gave people the creeps.

But the Black Rabbit Gang was a human trafficking gang, not a kidnapping-for-ransom gang!

Who cared where those low-born slaves came from anyway?

So the Black Rabbit Gang's higher-ups spent the whole day negotiating with Captain Blackeye and ultimately concluded that the target likely came from the archipelago.

With the navy patrolling, storms raging, and sea monsters swarming like fish schools, they had no choice but to play the long game.

But there was one person they forgot to question—Iron Hand.

He was different. He’d had direct contact with Chen Qi, and by chance, learned that he might be from Damarro Town.

Judging from the way Captain Blackeye spoke, the guy had stolen something extremely valuable.

So Iron Hand had a bold idea.

If he could find the item before Captain Blackeye did, he’d strike it rich, get a few wives, and rise to the top!

This was information only he knew!

This was his shot—his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Inside the cluttered houseboat, Iron Hand lay quietly under the bed, still as a corpse.

When he came ashore, he carefully hid in the distant waters and saw the Sea Beast patient—he saw Chen Qi.

There were too many people around now; he couldn’t make a move.

When night fell—that would be his time to hunt.

Iron Hand chuckled to himself. He could already picture it—crawling out from under the bed at night, giving the guy a hard slap to wake him up, and scaring him into tears.

Bang!

That was the sound of the door opening.

He’s back… Iron Hand held his breath. The bed was too small; if the light hadn’t been so dim, he might’ve already been spotted.

Bang!

That was the sound of a fire being lit.

“So tired… Gotta eat something good. With all this food, I might as well cook a meal for Miss An too.”

Chen Qi set down the ingredients and cooking tools.

Enjoy your meal… It might be your last supper. Iron Hand smirked—seemed like his hiding spot was solid.

But the next second, he heard a bone-chilling line.

“Can’t stir-fry without lard. Good thing I left some under the bed—I'll grab it in a bit.”

“!”

Lard… under the bed?

At those words, Iron Hand broke into a cold sweat.

He was the one hiding in the dark—so why was he the one feeling scared?

Was the “lard” a metaphor for him?

Drip. Drip.

Two drops of sweat hit the floor.

The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became!

Nope—he couldn’t hold back anymore. Driven by fear, he burst out from under the bed.

Time to go hard!

Surprise attack!

He planned to use his powerful arms to grab Chen Qi and interrogate him slowly.

But as soon as he emerged—no one was there!

“Behind me!”

Iron Hand reacted fast, whirled around, and threw a punch.

“Not bad reflexes.”

Chen Qi stepped back calmly, dodging the wild punch with ease.

In Iron Hand’s eyes, any slave captured by the Black Rabbit Gang was trash without a will of their own.

Just like how they could abduct people right under the cops’ noses and drag them to the gang.

To him, this was just kidnapping a sickly, weak slave from a backwater island.

Nobody would care. It would be easy.

That was why he had dared to act so recklessly.

But now—he felt fear. Intense fear.

“Tryin’ to scare me?!”

Iron Hand’s fear turned into rage. He shifted into a fighting stance, and steam burst from his mechanical right arm—the air around him changed!

He grinned—this was his signature move in the Black Rabbit Gang:

Charged Blast Punch!

But Chen Qi’s next move surprised him.

The guy stepped forward.

He actually stepped forward!

Seeing my mighty attack—and advancing?!

Fine, then—take this!

Boom!

Chen Qi moved in, his left hand grazing Iron Hand’s incoming mechanical arm.

It was a rusted, brandless mechanical limb—clearly a junkyard mod job.

These rusty steam-powered arms did provide brute strength—but they were easy to read.

Next, Chen Qi bent his right arm and slammed it upward—

An elbow strike. Strong and sharp.

Iron Hand’s jaw took the full hit. His balance shattered!

He was stunned. As a Tier 1 Blade Aspect Transcendent, this was the first time his mechanical arm got treated like that.

A wordless fear surged up. He roared in his mind:

Courage Burst!

Courage Burst—a Tier 1 Blade Aspect skill that let him ignore pain and unleash his physical potential!

Chen Qi activated his own skill—

Burst, the auxiliary skill from the Blade-Body Training Technique.

His current physique, combined with Burst, gave him excellent offense and defense.

Iron Hand’s stance was broken—he was totally under control.

Chen Qi grabbed his head and slammed it into the floor.

Boom!

Iron Hand hit the ground hard, pinned in place.

Coughing blood, Iron Hand stared in disbelief—he’d been one-shotted.

He might be a brute, but he had learned how to detect energy fields.

And now he realized—Chen Qi was also Tier 1.

He couldn’t believe it. How could someone with Sea Beast Disease overpower him in both strength and speed?

Sea Beast Disease, in later stages, made just standing up a struggle.

His eyes widened like bronze bells.

“Why?”

“How could a mechanical arm possibly beat my trained, powerful flesh?”

Chen Qi smiled and casually pulled out the Collector.

The barrel pressed against Iron Hand’s forehead.

Chen Qi questioned:

“Tell me. Where are you from, and why are you here?”

Iron Hand's resistance faded. He spilled everything about Captain Blackeye and the Black Rabbit Gang.

…

“So that’s how it is…”

Chen Qi processed the intel.

Captain Blackeye had gone to Moonstone City looking for him.

But finding someone in the vast sea was no easy task.

To have already reached Moonstone City—clearly, Captain Blackeye and the Crow were working hard to track him.

This was the first time in his life he’d been hunted like this.

There were two key takeaways.

First, so far, Captain Blackeye hadn’t shared his identity with the entire Blackfin Crew—it was still limited to the Sawshark.

Even after hundreds of questions, he only told the Black Rabbit Gang that someone had stolen something.

Captain Blackeye clearly wanted to keep the Deep Sea Hunter’s treasure all to himself.

Second, Captain Blackeye had no clue where Chen Qi actually was—he wasn’t even sure he was alive.

Since they were wanted by the navy, they had to move carefully with the help of the Black Rabbit Gang.

All in all, his situation was still relatively safe.

But if they confirmed he was alive, Captain Blackeye might spill the info to the rest of the Blackfin Crew.

If that happened, everything would change.

The Sawshark was just a small ship in the Blackfin Crew’s fleet—above it were far stronger monsters.

And those monsters weren’t something Miss An or the Lighthouse Keeper could handle.

Just the Deep Sea Hunter’s treasure map in his possession was enough to mobilize half the Blackfin Crew.

Chen Qi chuckled helplessly—so this was what it felt like to be “popular.”

But there was good news.

His next goal was to find the Deep Sea Hunter’s treasure and hang out with sea beasts—he wouldn’t be in Damarro Town for a while.

With Deep Sea Affinity, he could gather all kinds of rare ingredients from sea beasts!

He was about to head off and live it up!

Even if the Black Rabbit Gang found out he was from Damarro, they’d have a hard time catching him.

Captain Blackeye and the Crow would need a miracle to track him down.

Chen Qi smiled and said to Iron Hand:

“Thanks for the info.

Oh, and hand over anything valuable. I’m not interested in digging through your body.”

Iron Hand might be trash, but anyone with a mechanical arm probably had some cash!

Iron Hand reluctantly pulled out a card from under his clothes.

“It’s all here.”

A card? A skill card?

Chen Qi took it and looked at the back—a backpack icon.

A prompt appeared before his eyes:

【Type-20 Backpack Card】

Description: Produced by White Dove Travel Company of the White Tower Federation. Perfect for hiding money at home or traveling abroad.

Capacity: 1×1×2 (rectangular cuboid; 2 cubic meters)

A backpack card...

Chen Qi was stunned. He hadn’t expected to come across something so valuable!

Backpack cards were storage items made using special crack tech by major companies in the White Tower Federation.

In the Goldenfinch Kingdom, even a basic 1-cubic-meter card cost at least 300,000 Bei coins!

Each extra cubic meter multiplied the price several times.

This one was worth at least a million Bei coins!

And with White Dove Travel Company’s “hunger marketing”—limiting supply on purpose—

This could easily be resold for two to three million!

Robbery—wait, no—self-defense was really this profitable…

Chen Qi couldn’t help but sigh. He barely made anything on his last crack run.

But he couldn’t carry a backpack forever—it would cripple his combat ability.

He looked at the front of the card.

It showed the stored contents: knives, a Collector pistol, over 200 bullets, and some gun oil.

Not bad at all.

Jackpot!

Chen Qi pocketed the backpack card and looked down at Iron Hand.

This guy wasn’t here to kill him—he was here to hand over free loot!

Just then, Iron Hand, pinned to the floor, twitched and asked:

“I told you everything. I’m really curious—what the h**l did a backwater guy like you steal to make Captain Blackeye so desperate?!”

Iron Hand gritted his teeth. His mechanical arm subtly shifted, steam hissing out.

Chen Qi didn’t reply. He silently pulled out the Black Knife.

Seeing the ashen blade, Iron Hand’s pupils contracted.

That was clearly Captain Blackeye’s knife!

Everything clicked. This kid—he actually took Blackeye’s blade and ran!

How the f**k did you dare?!

A spark of greed flashed in Iron Hand’s eyes. If he got that knife, he could live the good life too.

Steam blasted from his mechanical arm—he planned to strike while Chen Qi was distracted and grab the knife.

Bang!

A gunshot.

Before he could swing, a bullet tore through his chest. Blood poured out. His vision blurred.

“Phew.”

Chen Qi pulled the trigger of the Collector.

In any world, human traffickers deserved to die.

That guy was a wanted criminal—this was perfect self-defense.

The commotion had already drawn attention from nearby people.

Chen Qi grabbed Iron Hand by the leg and dragged him out of the houseboat.

He was a wanted man—there’d be a reward!

Whoosh!

Hearing the gunshot, An leapt from the merchant ship like a cat.

“What happened?! Are you okay?”

She rushed to Chen Qi, concerned.

But when she saw the corpse in his hands—her pupils shrank sharply.