When Alka reached out to touch it...
He felt a strong repulsion, and the treasure [Mirror] on his body also reacted with repulsion.
Feeling this repulsion, Alka's eyes widened.
This is actually a treasure?
He stood up, slightly dazed.
Could this thing be the missing treasure?
"What is that?" Jason asked, squatting down.
Everyone looked over. That thing must be the high-energy item Julia had mentioned. Everyone could feel the magical power it exuded.
"That's... a treasure."
Hearing this, everyone's eyes widened. They turned to look at him, then turned back to look at the object.
"Another, another treasure?"
Jason was incredulous and tugged at his flesh.
Julia stood nearby, observing the treasure, and quietly asked, "Treasures...are they so common?"
Arka wasn't overly surprised. He simply hadn't expected the treasure, for which he had already given up hope, to appear in this place.
Judging from the level of rejection just now, the treasure had already been taken control, meaning it belonged to the man with the missing arms before him.
Simon.
The lack of another blip on the map also confirmed this.
If it existed, but wasn't considered a treasure, then it must have an owner.
Seeing the surprised and incredulous expressions on everyone's faces, he explained, "It's normal for this treasure to be here. I communicated with this person in my dream, and the two ships were previously at war, engaged in a fierce battle."
"The leaders of both sides possessed a treasure. Since they died, the treasure naturally remained.
But he said he wasn't the leader, and based on the previous battle, I'm certain of that. But why did this treasure appear on his person?"
Everyone shook their heads, no one offering an explanation.
But now, a choice lay before them.
Everyone present was silent.
Because they had all thought of it.
Sofia opened his mouth and asked, "So what should we do?"
He turned to look at Alka.
At this question, everyone turned to look at Alka, observing his deep contemplation.
Now, it was his decision.
This would undoubtedly be a difficult decision, and everyone was eager to see what it would reveal.
Alka looked at the frozen man before him and shook his head.
"This treasure belongs to him, not us. Save him."
As the words fell...
Julia smiled slightly, Sofia nodded, and Jason, stroking the egg on his back, also smiled.
As for Pororo, he hadn't considered that.
Lucelia was already crouching beside the man, studying something.
But regardless of outward appearances, everyone felt at ease inside.
No one present could be considered a truly good person, but neither would they deliberately seek evil.
They weren't gathered together solely for self-interest.
For a treasure-hunting group, the most important thing was mutual trust among the members, because the temptations they faced were far greater than those faced by other groups.
They constantly battled the allure of wealth, power, and even more.
Having a leader who could resist the allure of treasure was a surefire blessing for them.
If they could resist the allure of treasure and fulfill their promise to a stranger they barely knew, then their long-standing, trusted partners would be even less likely to betray them.
At this moment, the team's cohesion strengthened.
Alka had no regrets about making this decision.
It was just a treasure; its allure wasn't enough to make him compromise his principles.
He had the right to say such things.
Because it was just a treasure.
It was the sixth treasure he had handled. Humph, nothing special.
"How can we save him in this state? Once the spell on him is removed, his condition will worsen if he doesn't receive treatment, easily leading to his death."
Lucille said after studying the scene for a while, her attention focused on the gray, transparent membrane covering the man.
She had never seen such spell effects in books before and was deeply curious.
Alka observed the man's condition. If the stasis effect were removed, blood would surely gush from the massive wounds on his hands.
Alka had become emaciated, with even his bones sticking to his skin. It was clear he was starving.
With such severe injuries in this state, he would be unlikely to survive if he were to be removed.
The stasis state was his last layer of protection.
Furthermore, there were no professional doctors on board.
Thinking of this, Alka turned to Julia. Seeing the look Alka was giving her, Julia nodded and said, "I can only help stop the bleeding from the broken arms. If he has any other injuries, I can help stop the bleeding as well.
But he's very weak right now. Simply stopping the bleeding won't save him from life-threatening danger. Healing his wounds and saving his life are beyond his capabilities in his weakened state."
"Let Juanlu try and see if we can quickly replenish his nutrients. Maybe we can even save him," Jason suggested.
He was quite familiar with Juanlu and knew some of his interesting abilities.
Looking at the man's condition, Alka nodded. This was the only way.
"Can we touch him in this state? What if we're not careful and the spell on his body is broken? That would be the end of him," Sofia said.
Pororo looked at the metal wall the man was leaning against and the metal floor he was sitting on, and said, "Then dig out the entire section of floor he's sitting on."
"Okay, let's do it," Alka nodded.
This was the best protective measure they could take.
Alka then said to them, "First, clear out the remaining zombies in this ship and the surrounding area. I'll cut this area off and move it out."
Everyone nodded and turned to leave.
Alka looked at the others as they left and said, "Wait, Lucelia and Zero will stay and help."
Their small size allowed them to see more problems in this complex environment.
Everyone then went to their respective duties.
Alka had two small figures peer through the gap to see if the entire area was connected. If not, he would weld the metal blocks together to form a single piece and then cut it off.
Then they began planning their route, cutting away any metal blocks blocking the path, revealing a hole leading outward.
The others were already clearing out the zombies.
It was soon afternoon.
Arka had already cut through all the metal plates surrounding Simon's position and welded them around the perimeter to make it more secure.
At this point, Arka was wearing a mirror, reflecting the silver sea monster.
Two fingers on Arka's hands had transformed into silk threads.
These threads were the limit of Arka's control. With the excellent conductivity of his magic power, he exerted the strength of his arms to hold the V-shaped iron plate steady in the air.
After all, the surrounding land was uneven, and only by lifting it high could it be stabilized. If any contact caused the frozen state to break, it would be difficult to deal with.
When he arrived outside, he could still hear ping-pong noises coming from both sides.
Pororo was carrying out work in the wreckage of the wooden ship.
He needed to clear the debris covering the original treasure vault before he could successfully open the ship's vault.
This was the spot marked with a white dot on the map.
Similarly, on the steel ship, Jason and the others were also trying to open the vault.
The area surrounding the vault was also deformed and twisted by the impact.
Thankfully, the two ships were already scrapped, and the protective spells had long since worn off. All they needed to do was rely on brute force to open the two vaults.
It wasn't long before Pororo, not far away, waved his hand.
Alka turned to the two men on his shoulder and said, "Guard this guy. I'll go help."
Then he hurried over. By now, a path had been cleared through the ruins, revealing a massive metal object beneath.
A small cut had been made into the object, but it was clear that Bororo couldn't possibly penetrate it.
And if he tried to enlarge the hole, it would take too much time, making it more difficult than it would take.
"I'll go in and take a look," Alka said, dropping down through the hole.
The moment he landed, his feet touched the metal object, making a clattering sound.
The lantern lit up, and following the light from outside, he examined the interior.
A large pile of coins lay huddled in a corner at the bottom, beneath Alka's feet. Nearby lay some valuable books, parchment, and other items.
Alka also spotted two metal boxes.
But none of them contained spells, otherwise this wouldn't be a white spot.
But the pile of coins beneath his feet and the jewelry and gems in the two metal boxes were more than enough.
Alka took out an empty purse and stuffed the golden sail and silver snake he was standing on into it.
This purse is similar to a pocket ring, but it can only hold coins that meet the requirements.
Soon, the purse was full. There was no way around it; most of it was silver snakes; there were too many.
But there were still some silver snakes left, so Alka stuffed them into the pocket ring to separate them.
He then stuffed the surrounding ornaments into the same place, leaving only the two metal boxes.
Alka's pocket ring, already stuffed with so many things, was now full.
He had no choice but to lift the metal box and pass it through the gap, then he left the treasury.
When they emerged, Sofia and the others were already waiting for Lusilia and the others. Jason was waving a two-meter-long pure gold scepter, showing off.
Bororo also walked over, carrying a metal box in one hand.
"Guess which is more valuable, the contents of your box or this stick in my hand?"
Before Bororo could say anything, Alka, who had come up from behind, tapped the golden scepter in Jason's hand.
"It's not pure gold. It's a gold coating with metal underneath," Alka said.
Despite that, the scepter's top was also adorned with a large sapphire, surrounded by a fine ring of diamonds.
Even if the underlying core wasn't pure gold, it was still valuable enough.
But upon hearing Alka's words, Pororo smiled and said, "It seems the box I have might be more valuable."
Alka said with amusement, "Alright, alright, let's get back to the ship. Don't you want to divide the loot properly?"
Everyone smiled at this.
This time, the harvest was exceptionally bountiful, and everyone's faces were filled with satisfaction.
Pororo handed the two metal boxes to Jason and Alka, then squatted down and lifted the metal v-plate containing Simon.
The group began to return along the same path they had come.
They soon reached the beach and boarded the Flying Swallow back to the Voice of Dawn.
As soon as they arrived, Juanlu, who had been waiting for them for a long time, came to greet them. A figure slid down from the sky along a silver thread and landed on Sofia's shoulder.
"Tell me quickly, what did you do on the island? Did you encounter anything interesting?"
Sofia smiled and nodded her head. "Don't worry, I'll tell you later."
Juanlu had already seen the metal plate that Porro had placed on the deck, and the emaciated wounded man on it.
Alka pointed at Simon and asked, "He's frozen in place. To save him, we'd have to break this frozen state. Do you have any way to quickly provide him with energy?"
"But these wounds on his body..." Juanlu couldn't help but ask, looking at the man's broken arm and the wounds everywhere.
"Don't worry, Julia will take care of these wounds."
Juanlu nodded at this, then said, "If it's just to quickly restore his energy, giving him the strength and nutrition to fight off the problems that follow, then it's fine.
I have a recipe, it's just unpalatable. But what does unpalatable taste matter if you're dying?"
Hearing that Juanlu did have a solution, Alka nodded. That was good.
"Clean up the infirmary and put him in first."
The ship's infirmary had never been used before, and the man before him would be the first.
Holding a metal plate, he opened the door and gently lowered him inside.
Juanlu had already gone to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients.
Everyone began to change their clothes and wash off the dust and dirt on their bodies.
When they were done, Juanlu had already arrived on deck with two cans of a dirty green liquid.
Jason frowned in disgust as he looked at the liquid in the jar.
"Is this... edible?" he asked in disbelief.
Juanlu nodded. "Although it looks ugly and tastes terrible, it's easily absorbed and can quickly replenish energy."
Hearing this, Alka walked over and squatted, then thought for a moment before opening the lid of the jar.
The moment it opened, a faint fragrance wafted out.
"Although it doesn't look good, it smells quite good." Porro was very satisfied with the taste. He had just covered his nose, but he didn't expect it to taste so good.
Looking at the thing and smelling its fragrance, Alka reached out his finger, dipped a little, and put it in his mouth.
After smacking his lips, he nodded in satisfaction.
Looking at Alka's reaction and his expression of even acceptance,
Juanlu couldn't help but frown and scratch his head.
"That's not right. I remember this thing being unpalatable."
"Really?" Alka looked puzzled, then squatted down, dipped a little bit, and put it in his mouth.
He said with some doubt, "Not bad. Maybe your strength has improved, and your cooking skills have improved a bit, so the taste isn't that bad."
"If you don't believe me, try it."
Hearing this, Juanlu squatted down first, dipped a little bit into his mouth.
His expression froze for a moment, but when he saw Alka's expression, he licked his lips and said with some joy, "It's actually quite good. Why is that?"
Watching Juanlu's performance, Alka immediately squatted down, holding the jar and passing it to the people around him.
"Come on, everyone try it. It's not bad, not as bad as he said."
Alka first let Jason take a large dollop, then passed it to everyone else one by one.
Only after Julia took a little did he nod with satisfaction.
He watched as everyone stared at the gelatinous substance in their hands, hesitant to take a bite.
He said, "Try it! If this stuff can quickly restore energy, I'll have to keep it on hand. It might save my life someday."
Alka wasn't wrong. Ever since Alka learned about the liquid's effects, he'd been thinking along these lines.
After hearing this, everyone shoved the liquid into their mouths, half-believing.
"Ugh! Ahhhh, ugh..." Jason, who had stuffed the liquid into his mouth first, immediately came to the edge of the boat and began to dry heave.
Seeing everyone else stuff their mouths, Alka and Juanlu gave up their pretense and began to dry heave, frantically guzzling water.
"It tastes so bad! I'm going to throw up," Alka said as he gulped down his water.
This was the worst thing he'd ever tasted. He felt like eating dirt, glue, or even gasoline wasn't as bad.
Countless disgusting and bizarre flavors irritated his tongue.
"I shouldn't have believed you. This is just like what I ate before, only worse," Juanlu said, retching.
Sofia pointed at the two men while retching.
"You two, you actually teamed up to deceive me."
Alka and Juanlu smiled in unison, a tacit understanding.
"Damn it, vomit... Alka, and you too, vomit~"
Seeing Jason's expression, Alka smiled and patted him. "Okay, stop talking. Drink some water."
Alka deliberately let Jason get a large amount of it.
So Jason's reaction was the most intense.
Jason gulped down a mouthful of water and then spit it out.
"What the hell is that?"
"Hahahaha!"
"Damn you!"