Chapter 172 - - 172 Decisive Moment_1

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I’m such an idiot!

Really!

If I had known that the Destiny Sea Map could be collected this way, I would’ve done it myself a long time ago…

Now look at me, making the wedding dress for someone else!

Mans stared fixedly at the complete sea chart in Duge’s hand, and then suddenly raised his hand and gave himself a hard slap across the face.

Good slap!

Safra secretly cheered.

“What are you doing?” Duge asked, feigning ignorance.

“Just fixing my brain a bit,” Mans grumbled.

You can’t fix it without opening your mind!

Duge muttered to himself and decided to soothe the wounded spirit of his newly acquired subordinate, “Don’t regret it, even if you knew the sea chart could be repaired, Safra wouldn’t have given it to you. Because she doesn’t trust you. Unless you beat her to death and took her sea chart, earning her trust would take a lot of time.

The premise is that you know she has the sea chart, but can you still gain her trust while finding out whether she has it?

Keep in mind,

Safra is the King of the South Ocean, I’m afraid the moment you give the slightest hint, she’ll suspect you.

And even if she doesn’t suspect you, you need to reveal your abilities to gain her admiration before she would hand over the sea chart to you.

But revealing your abilities puts you in danger, someone might kill you for that XP boost. Or maybe, you get the complete sea chart after much effort, only to be killed by someone else, who then takes the sea chart from you. You don’t have enough power to protect yourself, do you?

It’s an unsolvable problem.”

“…” Mans thought about it carefully and indeed, it made sense; if it were just him, he most likely couldn’t have secured the complete sea chart.

“So, meeting me was already the perfect outcome. You have the ability to repair the sea chart, and I have the formidable military might. Together, we are invincible,” Duge said with a smile to Mans, “Brother, your luck has arrived. Add a sea fish suffix to your name, and together, we’ll conquer the world.”

“Mans Eel.”

Mans looked at Duge and compliantly added a sea fish suffix to his name.

He knew that there was a problem with the sea fish suffix, but now that Paul had obtained the complete Destiny Sea Map, his role was theoretically done. At this point, complying was the best option.

Survive, don’t worry about not coming first, there are rewards even for the top ten.

“Mans Eel, welcome to my team,” Duge extended his hand warmly and clasped it firmly with Mans’s.

“Mmhmm,” Mans’s tense mood also relaxed.

Duge then looked towards Safra.

“Safra, Sword flag fish, Safra,” Safra caught on quickly, changed her name fast, and squeezed out the most sincere smile she could muster on her face.

…

Fuck!

Destiny Sea Map.

The candidates on Phoenix Tail Island were paying close attention to Duge while Safra submitted and handed over the Destiny Sea Map, and they already had a bad feeling about it.

When Mans stepped forward and fixed the mast with a few hammer blows and restored the Destiny Sea Map with another,

the candidates were all stunned!

What’s going on?

It’s not even been a month yet!

The Destiny Sea Map has been collected?

Next, if Duge finds the golden Compass, and then uses it to find the Sea God Scepter, handing it over to Jannie, the simulation could very well end right there!

What’s the point for them to keep playing then?

It’s not even been a month yet!

All their attributes are lower than one another, how could they fight against Duge?

What’s next?

The signal officer aboard the Nautilus issued an order, and Safra’s pirate ship sprang into action, beginning to cooperate with Paul’s pirate ship to blockade the entire Phoenix Tail Island. The candidates aboard the pirate ships sensed the danger acutely.

Paul obtained the Destiny Sea Map, and it was certain he’d start eliminating them.

Taking advantage of their weakness, he could eliminate everyone, and naturally, there would be no one to obstruct him from completing the main quest. Moreover, by eliminating them, he could also block the news…

Run!

Before he could blockade Phoenix Tail Island, escape from here and spread the news, there was still a chance!

…

“Buddy, no fighting for now, I need to take a leak.” On one of the gun decks, a gunner suddenly stood up and said with a smile to the loader next to him.

“Be quick about it.” The loader didn’t even lift his head. “Safra surrendered, and I feel like we’ll be getting new jobs soon, probably putting on skirts to dance on the ship, damn this Paul…”

Paying no attention to the loader’s prattling, the gunner climbed down from the gun deck and ran towards the back hill of Phoenix Tail Island as fast as he could. The back hill was a cliff that even monkeys couldn’t climb, normally left undefended, but that was no problem for them.

The gunner quickly moved through the crowd, and as he stepped onto the hill, he saw the bartender he often visited at the bar, also carrying a huge bundle, sneaking into the woods.

The moment they saw each other, both men stopped in their tracks.

The gunner’s reflexes had him draw his cutlass.

The bartender did not hesitate: “Decisive, my keyword is decisive.”

The gunner froze for a moment: “My keyword is yielding. I’m not a match for you.”

The bartender breathed a sigh of relief and said, “You’ve seen what’s happening with the Destiny Sea Map. We have no chance on our own, let’s join forces. That’s our only chance.”

The gunner thought for a moment, then sheathed his knife. “Okay, I’ll do as you say.”

The bartender grinned: “I’ve got a boat prepared on the back hill. While Paul is gathering forces on Phoenix Tail Island, let’s hurry and leave, spread the news, and unite more people against Paul.”

The gunner nodded: “I was thinking the same thing.”

“Let’s go, we need to hurry,” the bartender said, glancing at him.

“You first,” the gunner said with a smile, stepping back to physically demonstrate his willingness to yield.

“No problem,” the bartender walked ahead unabashedly. “Brother, I still don’t know your name.”

“You tell me first,” the gunner continued to yield.

“I’m also called Paul, Paul Loram,” the bartender glanced at him with a smile. “I must say, our skills really complement each other. A little yielding from you, and I can make decisions immediately.”

“Yeah, too bad they aren’t any main combat skills,” the gunner laughed. “My name is Henry, just call me Henry. At this point, names don’t mean much anymore.”

“You can call me Loram, to distinguish from that Paul,” the bartender said. “By the way, what is your advanced skill? We’re in the same boat now; we should trust each other.”

“Why don’t you go first?” the gunner humbly suggested. “I think you’re better suited to be the leader.”

“…” The bartender gave him a look and said, “My skill is called ‘Decisive Action’; it helps others make quick decisions. You’ve been to my bar for drinks, didn’t you notice how fast ordering and paying were when you saw me?”

The gunner was taken aback: “So, I was influenced by you just now?”

“No, that was a choice from deep within you,” the bartender replied. “I can help you decide, but I can’t change your thoughts.”

“You still changed my thoughts,” the gunner frowned.

“Henry, Paul has the Destiny Sea Map now, and dwelling on this is pointless. If we don’t stop him soon, we’ll all be eliminated in a few days,” the bartender shook his head. “So, why not freely share our skills? It’s beneficial for both of us.”

“It’s every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost,” the gunner glanced at the bartender, saying, “When facing danger, I can designate someone from the same faction to take risks or fight on my behalf.”

“…” The bartender stopped in his tracks abruptly and looked at the gunner warily, “Damn, how did you awaken such an absurd skill, talk about being yielding! That skill should be used to surrender to Paul and then backstab him. I feel it’s too dangerous to be with you.”

“Buddy, don’t be so tense,” the gunner shrugged with a smile. “You can make decisions for me, right? As long as our team is big enough, I’ll never be able to harm you. Unless you told me a fake skill. The premise of cooperation is honesty, isn’t it? If we fight among ourselves now, there will be nothing to gain from this simulation field.”

“You’re right,” the bartender said. “But I still think you should surrender to Paul, the profit would be greater…”

“Sure, I could have Paul go face death, or fight in my stead,” the gunner said. “But, can you guys stop him? Once he has wiped you out, who do you think his blade will turn towards? If we find more people with more skills to cooperate, we have a chance to beat that strong guy.”

“Alright!” the bartender looked at the gunner and nodded. “Henry, but I think you should disguise your skill a bit, or no one will want to team up with us.”

“I’ve thought about this before,” the gunner smiled. “Do you think if I changed it to ‘A Step Back Opens A World of Opportunities’, others might find it more acceptable?”

“That name is actually nice,” the bartender said. “But for some reason, I still feel a chill down my spine when I’m with you.”

“Loram, you keep thinking I’ll target our own people,” the gunner said. “Paul got the Sea Beast, but don’t forget, there’s also a Sea Demon. If we find the Sea Demon, we might stand a chance. Maybe you could recruit her into our team, and then I could have her take our place in death.”

“I doubt that information about the Sea Demons is real; finding her isn’t easier than finding the Sea God Scepter,” the bartender sighed.

“Don’t be so depressed, there are still over four hundred participants in the simulation field,” the gunner smiled. “Someone might have awakened an ability to locate people! Paul is too powerful, this is an opportunity. All we need to do is raise our banner and attract more people to our side…”

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