bookpower Chapter 245: Selecting Crew
Chapter 245: Selecting Crew
"very well! you're in, stand behind me!" long xuan said.
"yay!" miao peipei beamed with a sweet smile, walking over cheerfully, her innocent demeanor showing no hint of deceit or malice. her appearance truly matched her heart, as she did not seem like someone capable of great evil.
long xuan then turned his gaze to a sultry beauty among the gu cultivators behind him and smiled, "what special skills do you have?"
nie qingcheng shot him a glance and said, "i used to be the captain of the 'rose', and i’ve sailed more than ten times. but the 'rose' has now sunk, and i lost all my crew."
"as a captain, i have extensive experience with long-distance voyages."
"i think i can handle the role of your first mate. is that skill enough?"
long xuan nodded; she was just the type of talent he needed. a former captain becoming his first mate seemed perfectly fitting.
"have you ever done anything bad?" long xuan asked as he looked at her again.
this was the most important question. if someone had ill intentions, no matter how capable they were, he wouldn’t want them.
nie qingcheng smirked playfully, "who in this world hasn’t done something bad? have you never done anything wrong?"
hearing this, long xuan immediately thought of all the wrongs he had committed, like embezzling many things from the long clan, deceiving his senior sister, or damaging the sacred tree of the long clan—too many to count.
thinking of this, he realized he truly had a long list of sins, which filled him with guilt.
nie qingcheng continued, "i've done many bad things, but i can assure you that i will never harbor any malice towards my teammates. i think that's good enough for you!"
she glanced at the integrity gu, which remained still.
long xuan also looked at the integrity gu and then nodded, "you're right, you pass. stand behind me!"
he then turned his gaze to another beautiful gu cultivator, her eyes mischievous, revealing a playful spirit. this girl clearly had a restless nature.
before he could speak, she introduced herself, "my name is ye qingluan, i’m eighteen! i have many special skills!"
"but for the sea, the most useful one would be my pet dolphin. my dabu can pull the ship and increase its speed."
"dabu can also search for treasures underwater, scout ahead for dangers, and scare off many sea beasts. it's incredibly versatile!"
"and i only do bad things to bad people, never to good ones. since your ship will be full of good people, you have nothing to worry about from me."
after speaking, she confidently glanced at long xuan’s integrity gu. as expected, its eyes did not glow, and she smiled.
long xuan nodded. this was indeed a useful skill. having control over a dolphin at sea could avoid many dangers.
using it to pull the ship would be an underutilization of its abilities, especially since he didn’t lack that bit of power.
he was determined to recruit her.
long xuan smiled, "your surname is ye? i like the surname ye. since you're surnamed ye, you're in! stand behind me."
after that, long xuan continued to interview a few more people.
a scar-faced man named qiu tiandao became his fourth crew member, with a special skill in hunting sea beasts, and experience hunting whales and sharks.
since he could ensure a steady supply of seafood on the ship, long xuan recruited him without hesitation.
the fifth crew member was a handsome man named shangguan wuwo, a skilled cook who applied for the chef position. long xuan, being a foodie, couldn’t resist, which explained his attention to miao peipei's abilities. so, he accepted the chef without a second thought.
the sixth crew member was a burly man named xiong dali, who claimed to have been a gunnery officer in the xuanyue empire and was said to have never missed a shot in his life.
given how boastful he was, long xuan decided to recruit him.
the rest were gu cultivators with combat strength but no particular special skills. those who passed the integrity gu test were assigned as sailors by long xuan.
at this point, long xuan had recruited nine crew members, which was quite few. his high standards for his crew—requiring that they hadn't committed any major wrongdoings—had eliminated the majority of gu cultivators in this world.
even the crew he did recruit had committed minor wrongdoings, though they were within his acceptable limits.
so, long xuan sent his clones to various locations around starsea city to continue recruiting crew members. after a day’s effort, he barely managed to recruit 100 people who passed the integrity gu test.
however, only two had special skills: one was an elderly ship doctor named shi jiefu.
this man had extraordinary medical skills and was the only crew member who hadn’t done a single bad thing, according to the integrity gu. long xuan was extremely pleased with him.
the other was an unparalleled beauty named leng yan, who was known as the most beautiful woman in starsea city. she hailed from the leng clan, one of the five major clans of starsea city.
she was a scholar with vast knowledge about the sea, including meteorology, so she applied for the position of navigator.
besides her, the rest of the recruits were mostly male gu cultivators.
despite many vacant positions remaining, such as shipwright and helmsman, long xuan didn’t plan to wait any longer. he could handle those roles himself.
with this crew, the living quarters on the shenlong ship were almost fully occupied, as it wasn’t a particularly large ship.
at this moment, long xuan waved his hand and shouted, "let's set off!"
immediately, everyone behind him became excited and hurriedly followed along. everyone was eager for the journey at sea.
with smiles, the group walked to the shore. under the watchful eyes of all, long xuan quickly placed the enormous shenlong ship on the water.
"stop right there!"
long xuan quickly stopped the burly man poisoned with the spirit seal gu. to his surprise, this person was still following him.
"i need to board the ship too. otherwise, if you sail away and never return, how would i find you in such a vast world?" yang zhan said while staring into his eyes.
long xuan sighed helplessly and had no choice but to take out the integrity gu from his insect bag once again. he pointed it at yang zhan and asked, "have you ever done anything bad in your life?"
with a stern expression, long xuan looked at him. this man exuded a fierce and murderous aura, clearly having killed many people. the number of people who had died by his hands could probably pile up into a mountain.
moreover, there was a vicious scar on his face, making him look far from being a good person.
yang zhan smirked and looked at long xuan with a smile. "what is good? what is evil? can your integrity gu really tell the difference?"
"take, for instance, the people you just recruited. they claimed they’ve never done anything wrong, but does that really mean they've never done anything bad?"
"in order to refine their gu insects, they let a group of spirit insects slaughter each other. the number of creatures that died by their hands is countless. to those spirit insects, they are bad people."
"when they eat chicken, duck, or fish, they think it's perfectly natural, but to the chickens, ducks, and fish, they are all bad people."
"so, good and evil are entirely subjective. they can evade the integrity gu's detection simply because they believe they are good people. as long as they don’t lie, the integrity gu won’t glow."
"though the number of people i’ve killed could indeed form a mountain, i consider myself a good person. i’ve never done anything bad!"
yang zhan glanced at the integrity gu, and sure enough, it didn’t glow after hearing his words. he smiled, brushed past long xuan, and boarded the ship.
long xuan was dumbfounded. the integrity gu really didn’t glow! this notorious killer, who had taken countless lives, actually turned out to be a "good person"? how absurd!
"absurd to the core!" long xuan thought, feeling utterly flabbergasted. he couldn’t believe this situation.
"is defining good and evil really just a matter of personal perspective?" this statement was profound and philosophical.
long xuan began to reflect. he suddenly recalled a question that people often asked in his previous life: "are there more good people or bad people in this world?"
his instinctive answer was "half and half," but if eating chicken, duck, and fish counted as doing something bad, then there wouldn't be any good people in this world at all!
shaking his head, long xuan finally proceeded to board the ship.
at this moment, the crew excitedly wandered around the ship, exploring the various cabins and admiring this strange and peculiar vessel.
the ship incorporated many designs from the modern world of long xuan's previous life, making many aspects of the ship entirely out of place in this world.
for example, the modern toilet, water heater, and showerhead—these were things they had never seen before.
everything on the ship was new and intriguing, sparking the curiosity of the crew. like little children, they looked around, eager to explore every corner.
especially leng yan, a scholar with a keen interest in knowledge. she was particularly fascinated by the ship, meticulously studying every part of it.
after docking for about ten minutes and after the crew familiarized themselves with the ship's basic operations, long xuan, as the captain, gave the order. the sails slowly rose under the hands of the sailors, and the ship finally set sail.
long xuan stood at the prime spot on the bow, with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance, letting the sea breeze tousle his hair.
this was his first time venturing to sea, and he was full of anticipation for the life ahead. he hoped the upcoming journey would not disappoint him...
just as he was dreaming about the exciting life at sea, the sky suddenly darkened, and the sound of chaotic vibrations filled his ears.
he furrowed his brow and immediately turned around. what he saw shook him to his core.
a massive seven-story treasure ship was swiftly approaching from behind!
this giant ship was enormous, far exceeding the size of the largest five-story treasure ship in starsea city’s port.
compared to this enormous ship, the shenlong was like an ant next to an elephant. the highest point of the shenlong was nowhere near the deck of this colossal ship.
the massive ship slowly passed by the shenlong, causing the smaller ship to rock violently in the resulting waves.
at this moment, the railings of the giant ship were packed with gu cultivators—so densely packed that a rough estimate suggested there were at least ten thousand of them. judging by their clothes, they didn’t seem to come from a single faction or even the same region.
what were they all up to? and why were they heading in the same direction as him? could it be that this was another ship bound for sky island?
long xuan felt a chill run down his spine. he suddenly realized that his hundred-man crew seemed far too small in comparison.
with just one spit from each of those people, his entire group would be drowned.
encountering such a terrifying competitor right at the start of his journey made long xuan uneasy. how many more of these colossal ships would they encounter when they reached sky island?
at this moment, everyone on the shenlong raised their heads and stared at the giant ship in shock. even though they lived by the sea, it was the first time they had ever seen a ship this enormous, one so large that it made everyone tremble.
meanwhile, the people on the railings of the giant ship looked down at the shenlong below, pointing and laughing. whistles and jeers rang out from the crowd.
"hahaha... what a tiny boat! you dare sail to sky island in something this small? you’re just going to your death!"
"haha... where did this little guy come from? you’re better off not rushing to your death."
"hey, little beauties on that ship! this vessel is unsafe; it could easily capsize. how about coming up to this big brother’s ship? i’ll take care of you!"
"hahaha..."
more laughter erupted from the giant ship...