Jason and his companions hadn't expected this.
They had only learned a few days ago that outsiders might arrive here soon.
They hadn't expected to encounter one today.
And this was their first encounter with such a large ship; it was arguably the largest they had ever seen.
The entire hull was black and gray, with the center of the white sails painted light gray. A hand holding a gold coin was painted on it.
It wasn't clear whether this symbol represented a fleet of merchant ships or a larger power.
Jason looked over and saw only a single row of gun muzzles on either side of the ship, indicating a single gun deck, which clearly didn't fit the ship's size.
But considering this was a merchant ship, such firepower seemed excessive.
After all, for a ship this size, even a single row would be impressive enough.
The combat capability on board was certainly considerable.
However, the gun ports were currently sealed, so Ajax couldn't tell what the guns inside were like.
He was very curious about the ship's guns on the Infinite Sea, but no matter how he thought about it, they seemed to be significantly more powerful than those on the Home Sea.
As Jason watched,
A tall, thin, and somewhat frail man stepped down from the small boat.
Judging from his attire, he must be the captain of the ship, and the crew followed behind him.
The town's mayor approached him and gave him a smile and a hug.
The two looked familiar.
However, they were too far away for Jason to hear.
The tall, thin captain suddenly pointed at the Voice of Dawn nearby, as if asking something.
The mayor smiled and explained.
Then, people from both sides began to carry supplies.
The captain and the mayor, escorted by their respective guards, entered the town.
"Lucelia, what do you think of that captain's strength?" Jason asked, watching the two men depart.
Lucelia stood on a nearby barrel and shook her head. "I'm just a puppet right now, I can't tell. You should ask Sofia or Julia. If that doesn't work, Alka will do."
Zero and One nodded in agreement.
Watching the three figures' actions, Jason sighed.
So, while they were gathering intelligence together, it was clear that he was the only one doing it.
Lucelia, just a translator.
Zero and One were just pendants.
Never mind, let's just keep gathering intelligence.
He immediately looked around the crowd and found an old hunter who had been drinking in the tavern last night.
The kind who speaks the common language of the Home Sea.
He walked over and said with a smile, "Hi, Gangyan, good friend, I didn't expect to see you here. Wanna go for a drink tonight?"
The old hunter's nose was slightly red, and he seemed a bit dazed, clearly a longtime alcoholic.
He turned around when someone called him.
The man in front of him seemed familiar, but for a moment, he couldn't place him.
Seeing Jason's enthusiasm, he smiled and replied, "Your treat?"
"Haha, of course I'll treat!"
"My friend, I'm glad you said that, but I might not be able to tonight." The old hunter seemed to remember Jason and shook his head regretfully.
Jason nodded in understanding, but didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he looked at the weather and said, "So... now?"
"...now, not very good." His tone was hesitant.
"Haha, come on, good wine is worth every penny."
And so, Jason smiled as he entered the town's tavern with the old hunter he had just met the previous night.
Lucelia watched in silence, watching Jason, as if he were out drinking with a good friend.
"Honestly, I'm starting to admire him."
How on earth had he become so familiar with a stranger in just one night, in just a few hours?
Even their communication was somewhat choppy.
I couldn't understand it.
It turns out everyone has their strengths.
Lucelia sighed, and then the three puppets disappeared into the shadows beneath the wine barrel.
As someone who could understand these people's language, Lucelia knew that gathering intelligence didn't necessarily require communication.
Eavesdropping was also a very useful method.
The main reason was that this opportunity was rare. Lucilia, who was already on the trail of assassins and thieves, certainly wouldn't miss such a rare opportunity.
As the white birds on the island took flight, returning to their nests once again,
Arka's men also began their return journey.
However, this time they didn't return empty-handed. They carried a variety of prey.
These weren't specifically hunted, but rather had stumbled upon by the blind.
It would be a shame to lose them.
Since they were going to attack them, they naturally had to leave something behind.
As Arka's men entered the town, dragging a large pile of prey, they attracted the attention of the surrounding islanders.
But that was all; it seemed they were already accustomed to it.
After staying on the island for a while, outsiders always brought back piles of prey like this.
Given the island's environment, this was inevitable.
Meanwhile, Jason, who was drinking in a tavern not far away, observed this scene and took the opportunity to question the drinker next to him.
Never missed a chance.
Until night fell once again.
Alka and his companions dismembered the bodies near their rented cabin, piling the various materials and cloth into a pile, but would not transport them to the ship until daybreak.
"By the way, Alka, some outsiders arrived on the island today. They're driving a large cargo ship," Lucelia said suddenly, a thought coming to her mind.
"Outsiders?" Alka piqued.
"Is it the group we learned earlier who regularly come to the island to trade?"
Lucelia nodded.
"Then tell me what you saw today."
According to Alka's question, Lucelia began to tell him what they had seen and heard at the port. After listening, Alka rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment.
Jason also returned, drunken.
"How's it going? Did you get any intelligence?" Alka asked suddenly, looking at him.
Jason washed his face with water, then shook his head.
"Many veteran hunters don't know much about these ruins, even though they often deal with the problems they cause.
However, there are some clues. I'll go and learn more about them tomorrow, but don't get your hopes up. They rarely study these ruins, and even if they do know something, it's beyond the reach of ordinary hunters like them."
Hearing this, Alka nodded, not forcing him, and didn't ask any more questions.
After all, when it comes to intelligence gathering, no one on the ship is more expert than Jason.
If Jason can't gather any information, then he'll just have to spend more time asking in his dreams.
"But I'm a little curious about those outsiders. I'm curious about the entire Infinite Sea. I need to find a chance to talk to them," Jason said, leaning against the fire, watching the sparks drifting in the flames.
Since most of the islanders on these islands have never left, they know very little about the specific conditions of the entire Infinite Sea.
Hearing this, Alka nodded.
Then he said, "I plan to spend the whole night in my dreams, seeing if I can find those outsiders' dream bubbles."
Clearly, gathering intelligence from strangers is the best method.
Hearing this, Jason nodded.
"If you get any information, remember to tell me tomorrow morning so I can write it down and see if I can find another opportunity to get more."
Alka nodded, indicating no problem. After finishing a barbecue feast made from the day's catch, Alka couldn't wait to return to his room and sink into a dream.
Awakening from his dream bubble.
He could see numerous golden energy balls dancing around within the giant crystal floating in the center of Alka's dream bubble.
He could also see a significant amount of silver energy, certainly much more than before.
Alka already knew how to obtain this silver energy.
Every day and night, when Alka first entered the dream bubble, he would bring with him some silver energy.
Alka had checked the refresh time, and it seemed to refresh every night.
Other than that, he hadn't discovered any other way to obtain it.
Furthermore, the amount he gained wasn't always the same each time he entered, and he had no idea what factors determined the difference.
But having a stable source of supplies was definitely a good thing.
Additionally, around the floating crystal lay a variety of dream materials. Arka, finding them useful, didn't transform them into dream energy, but instead piled them around, hoping they'd be useful someday.
The main reason was that after arriving in the Infinite Sea, despite having acquired a wealth of materials on the island, he didn't have much free time to focus on them.
After leaving his dream bubble, the first thing he did was naturally clear out the dream creatures surrounding his teammates.
In this town's gathering place, the number of dream creatures surrounding them was simply outrageous.
No matter how hard he tried, there was no way to clear them all.
Alka generally cleared the area once every night when he came in and again when he returned.
Sometimes he'd cleared it again midway.
However, it was completely useless. After clearing it once, he'd return to find a new swarm of dream creatures trying to destroy the dream bubble to obtain the energy within.
The larger the concentration, the more creatures it attracted.
Alka had no good solution, so he could only clear them out over and over again.
In the end, he only cleared out those that looked powerful enough to potentially break through the bubbles and disturb his dreams.
As for the weaker ones, forget it; let them scratch them. Even if they woke up, they might not even break their skin.
Looking at the dream bubbles gradually increasing in number as night fell, Alka scratched his hair in annoyance.
To Alka, dream bubbles were essentially the same as long as they were strangers, save for size and glossiness.
But thankfully, he didn't have to search through them one by one today.
When Jason had just returned, he had told Alka where the arriving merchant crew were being housed in the real town.
Although the distance between dreams and reality fluctuated, Alka couldn't determine the exact location, knowing the specific direction would significantly reduce Alka's repetitive work.
Thinking of this, Alka began searching in the opposite direction of the direction Jason had provided.
He peered into each bubble to see if the dreamer had gray skin and orange-red eyes.
Luckily, the two races looked somewhat different.
The islanders were clearly a branch of a unique race, while the caravan members looked more like ordinary humans.
At least that was their appearance.
After searching all the way, he finally found a normal human dream near the end.
Although he didn't see the dreamer, the dream environment was quite different.
The dream took place in a bustling city. Alka observed the surrounding architectural style; it was something he had never seen before.
The main structures of these buildings were mostly constructed of gray, brass, and black, giving the entire city a gloomy look.
However, in certain key areas, they were accented with bright colors, giving the otherwise depressing streets a new sense of vitality.
The buildings were relatively symmetrical, but almost every one of them had a pointed roof.
On this street, Alka saw that the road beneath his feet was paved with almost identical rectangular stone bricks.
A carriage was parked in the middle of the road.
"This is getting difficult," Alka couldn't help but say, standing in the middle of the street.
Although this dream wasn't large, it was composed entirely of various buildings stacked together, connected only by a main road and a few alleys.
Some of these buildings were seven or eight stories high. Who knew which room the dream's owner was in?
Most people who have this kind of dream only do one or two things in their rooms, repeating the same thing over and over again, or even just staring blankly.
I didn't expect that after searching for so long outside, I'd have to continue searching inside.
What a hassle.
But what could I do? After all, it was someone else's dream, so I could only diligently search through each and every one.
Finally, I spotted a young man dressed as a newsboy and wearing a brown fur coat in a third-floor window in an alley.
He leaned against the window, his head propped up by his hand, staring blankly at the sky.
Alka looked at the young man.
His hair was gray-brown, and his face was slightly angular. Judging by his facial features and overall bone structure,
Although he was a normal human,
he was clearly different from the people of the Home Sea.
His skin was slightly darker.
After entering the room, Alka looked at him, thought for a moment, and said, "What's the name of this city?"
He didn't even turn his head.
It had nothing to do with the city.
Alka thought for a moment and asked the simplest question.
"What's your name?"
This time, he responded, saying without turning his head, "Jack. If you don't have a last name, just Jack."
Good boy.
What a name! Hearing it brought back bad memories, and Alka shook his head helplessly.
However, the fact that this man was willing to answer his name showed that he had a strong desire to communicate. As long as the topic didn't deviate too far, he would answer.
Alka looked at the structure of the room he was in, trying to figure out what this man's dream was about.
After all, they were already in the city, and if they didn't even mention the city's name, it clearly had little to do with it.
After looking for a long time, Alka finally spotted a photo in the man's other hand, resting on his chest.
Wait...
A photo?
Alka squatted down and examined it carefully. It wasn't a drawing, but a genuine photo.
It seemed the technology in the Infinite Sea was quite advanced.
The photo was in black and white.
It was a family portrait.
A grown man and woman, seemingly his parents, There was also a younger version of him, perhaps four or five years younger by his looks.
And a little girl.
"What a wonderful family! What happened to them?"
Aka asked.
"They... can't come back."
Seeing the man before him finally willing to answer, Alka began to follow this line of questioning, extending it further.
After questioning him until he stopped talking, Alka left the dream bubble, summarized his findings from that bubble, and moved on to the next one.
However, obviously, not everyone's dream offered Alka the kind of information he could gather.
Almost half of these people's dreams were related to the island, or to various pleasures.
Dreams always reflect daytime thoughts and feelings.
This was inevitable.
However, a small number of dreams were different, and even from these, Alka gleaned sufficient information.
This would at least prevent anyone from immediately noticing he'd just arrived in the Boundless Sea when he met someone in the outside world.
He gained a lot of information that was common knowledge in the Boundless Sea.
But for those of them who had come from the Four Gods Sea, this common knowledge was incomprehensible.
An unknown amount of time passed, and as the night wore on, more dream bubbles appeared around him.
One of them was almost as big as the mayor of this small town.
Clearly, this was the captain of the ship, the leader of this merchant ship.
Arka pondered whether to pick a powerful dream bubble to enter.
It would probably be a member of the ship's leadership.
Logically, he shouldn't have hesitated. After all, aside from the captain's enormous dream bubble, which he wasn't particularly interested in entering,
The surrounding dream bubbles were of similar strength to his own, and were generally smaller than his own, so he didn't need to worry too much about them.
Furthermore, his fear of larger bubbles was simply that those who had reached the third stage might discover some aspects of the dream, which would be a loss.
He was troubled because, as time went on, the surroundings left Alka somewhat bewildered.
It was very unusual.
Compared to the surroundings outside, the contrast between the town and the surroundings was stark.