Chapter 139 - - 139 Source of Happiness_1

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In this world, nobles possess absolute authority in speech.

Baron Ramon had barely been taken away by Duge before he changed his tune and joined the Sea Fish Pirate Group, much to the shock of the crew members, who thought their captain must have been threatened or mistreated.

But they had to rely on the Dufei family for their livelihood and thus dared not defy Baron Ramon’s orders.

In some ways, Ramon Dufei was the real slave master, who could decide the fate of most people, much more effective than the fake slave master Duge.

Mill Azi Dory, Cas Gao Qiao Cod, Thomas Moran Yellow Croaker…

Very soon.

Forty to fifty people, each had acquired a fish suffix of their own.

With a limited number of common fish names available, it was inevitable that some folks would end up with duplicate names, but Duge didn’t care. As long as there was a fish in the name, he wouldn’t mind if everyone was called Dory.

Every time someone changed their name, Duge would be sure to warmly shake their hand and offer a sincere welcome to the Sea Fish Pirate Group.

This scene left the original crew of the Giant Bird utterly baffled.

They couldn’t understand why their captain was so enthusiastic about a group of people he had just met.

Could Paul truly believe that by changing a name, they would actually join the pirate group and fight for them?

What exactly had Selma stuffed into Paul’s head?

Ever since he lost his memory, everything had become weirder and weirder.

Wayne, Barry, and the others once again fell into anxiety about the future.

Except for Vito, who knew the truth about Duge, no one considered that Paul might have had a soul switch. This was beyond their comprehension.

Of course, we must not forget about the parrot Wendy, who probably forgot about the ghost and has been calling herself Wendy Parrotfish for the past few days…

…

After becoming members of the Sea Fish Pirate Group, Ramon Dufei and his crew still couldn’t escape the fate of dancing at the port.

Duge was a man who pursued efficiency; he didn’t even go to a second port. Instead, after subduing them, he immediately returned to Madock Port and had them perform for the navy at the shore and for the residents on land.

It must be said.

The sight of the sailors dancing in pink dresses was very effective.

The people on the shore didn’t care whether they were from the Dufei family or not.

There wasn’t much in the way of daily entertainment.

The burly sailors, with their faces darkened, danced awkwardly and out of sync, looking more like a farcical comedy than anything else.

Adults and children alike loved it, laughing so hard they bent over, and at the end of the performance, they gave the most enthusiastic applause…

At the time.

The permanent population of Madock Port was over fifty thousand people, but in just one hour of performance, at least three thousand had gathered at the port.

All in all.

Ramon Dufei and his crew had brought happiness to many people, resulting in a substantial increase in Duge’s attributes; a single performance had propelled his rank from 223rd to 178th.

Of course.

The naval forces stationed at Madock Port realized something was amiss and even sent someone to investigate the situation.

After all.

The Smile Angel looked unmistakably like pirates, and the Dufei family’s merchant ship had just finished unloading goods at Madock Port only to turn around and come back, just to perform a dance for everyone. It was highly unusual.

However.

Ramon Dufei, now a little fish in Duge’s pond, though extremely unwilling, managed to hold his temper without betraying his master. He scolded the helpful navy officers while dancing with a darkened face.

The self-defeating navy leader didn’t linger around, leaving embarrassedly and without creating a conflict with the Smile Angel.

Upon returning to their base, the naval leader immediately dispatched someone to report Ramon Dufei’s experience to higher-ups.

He understood the hint from Baron Ramon.

The enemy was powerful, beyond what his small port garrison could provoke. Ramon scolding him away was to ensure that the message would be passed on.

He even included his own speculation in the report, suspecting that Lord Dufei might have been held hostage by Mahamadu’s men…

…

Fountain of Happiness: Happiness can be built on the suffering of others; when you spread happiness, there must be someone nearby who falls into misfortune.

Ramon Dufei and his party finished their performance, and Duge awakened the second advanced skill of the “Happiness” keyword.

Duge, who had been looking forward to the second skill, was very disappointed.

Because he found out that the second advanced skill was just as unreliable as the first one, what does it mean that there will definitely be someone around him who falls into a streak of bad luck?

The skill doesn’t allow him to choose the target, it’s random…

Duge hates skills that are out of control.

Fortunately, the skill description stated that the random targets do not include him.

So let bad luck be bad luck then!

At worst, he’d just use the “Happiness” keyword to boost his attributes, which currently seemed to increase his attributes much faster than Muddy Water Touch Fish; Duge felt his strength gradually returning.

Moreover.

Happiness was obviously something that could last, and Ramon Dufei’s performance at Madock Port would suffice to keep the people there happy for several days.

…

After leaving Madock Port again, Vito came to Duge worrisomely and asked, “Captain, are we being too conspicuous? Having the Dufei family dance at all the ports makes too much of a scene. Selma might trade you strength but won’t allow your behavior to become odd. Our current approach is clearly that of an examinee.”

“They will only suspect me, not you, so you’re still safe,” Duge said with a smile. He had now transferred over to a Dufei family merchant ship and had to admit that a big family’s ship was indeed luxurious, much more comfortable than his Smile Angel.

“What I mean is, before your attributes have grown, by drawing others over, we are very likely to be eliminated ahead of time,” Vito said with a frown. “Shouldn’t we keep a low profile? The chaos caused by dancing in the ports is too minor to bring much attribute growth, why not bide our time a little and then make a big move all at once?”

Although she had agreed to cooperate with Duge and inexplicably had done some things for him, Duge’s words and actions were in severe conflict with her values, which made her deeply uneasy.

Low profile?

Duge furrowed his brows.

The game started with giving him a pirate ship and forced him to drift at sea for five days, effectively giving everyone else a fifty-meter head start.

In that time, he swam in the sea and touched some fish - that’s not too much, right?

When he encountered a tavern owner who trafficked in information, surely he couldn’t be blamed for letting him spread some news, right?

When he met with the Dufei family’s merchant ship, as a proud pirate, surely he couldn’t just watch them provoke him and then sneak away in defeat, right?

Since he had caught them, having them dance on the shore to gain some strength for himself wasn’t too much, was it?

Duge felt his actions were quite justified.

Even now, he hadn’t revealed any other examinees’ identities, and after so many days, he was still dutifully playing the role of a native pirate captain.

In the previous simulation field, the one before that, by this time, he had already been ranked first. Now, being just ranked over 170, he felt no sense of security…

Wasn’t this low-profile enough?

Duge thought about it and couldn’t find anything wrong with his actions.

If he wasn’t wrong.

Then it must be the other person who was wrong.

He had to correct the other person’s misguided way of thinking.

Duge looked at Vito and earnestly explained, “Vito, this is a good thing for us, and it’s all part of the plan. After all, we are partners. If both of us hide in the shadows, we’ll only become more passive as time goes on.

I’m in the spotlight, attracting everyone’s attention, which can draw more people out. You hide in the shadows, mark them, and further ambush them; this way we can seize absolute initiative in this simulation. Don’t forget, our skills can be used in tandem.”

“Is that so?” Vito looked puzzled.

“That’s right.” Duge looked at Vito and continued to instill his ideas. “Vito, this is the elite preliminaries, and everyone around us is an elite. Not those amateurs who don’t even know how to perform.

In such a world, if you want to achieve good results, you can’t do it the old way.

The Art of War says to feign the real as false, and the false as real; ‘all warfare is based on deception.’ We can only win if we make it impossible for the enemy to understand our true intentions.

Furthermore, I think your understanding of low-key is a bit biased.

Being low-key is one thing, but developing strength is still necessary. Otherwise, when faced with danger, without the ability to resist, you are as good as out. Just like when you met me, luckily I’m kind-hearted, otherwise, you would have already been eliminated. Without any strength, if the ship sinks and you fall into the sea, you wouldn’t even be able to swim back…”

“Hmm, I seem to understand now,” said Vito, looking at Duge thoughtfully. “Paul, when will you take me to see Mahamadu?”

“We have to wait until after the battle at Herd Island at the least. Right now, our strength is nowhere near qualifying us to meet Mahamadu. To get there step by step, by the time we do, the ship would have sailed,” Duge said with a laugh.

To be honest.

After seeing the efficiency with which Vito got Ramon to change his name, he was a bit reluctant to let Vito go. Forcing Ramon Dufei to change his name by himself would involve threats and bribes, which would be too troublesome.

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