Witch, I'm really not the Deep Sea Ancient God!

The parasitic Sea Beast, sensing the human scent, suddenly stretched out its tentacles and burrowed in!

"Ah!"

The salvager clenched his teeth and let the Sea Beast infiltrate his body.

The breath of the deep sea—Chen Qi could indeed feel it; as the Sea Beast parasitized, a faint scent of the deep sea indeed began to emanate from the salvager.

Just as Little Crow had said, the aggressiveness of these four parasitic Sea Beasts was greatly reduced, and even ordinary people could endure it for a while.

"Phew!"

Following that, the salvager, guided by the parasitic Sea Beast, slowly moved forward, stepping over the terrifying line of the crack.

One step, two steps, three steps—

He took exactly three steps!

The wall of bloodied eyes still hadn't launched an attack.

Everyone's eyes widened; the wall of bloodied eyes in front of them wouldn't attack him!

This meant that their plan was feasible!

The Black-eyed Captain's hand holding the black blade trembled a bit; that once-unreachable treasure now seemed within reach!

They didn't even need to fight the wall of bloodied eyes to obtain the legendary treasure!

Chen Qi observed the salvager.

He could feel that the parasitic Sea Beast on his shoulder had sensed something amiss and was about to break free from him.

"Keep moving forward!"

The Black-eyed Captain spread his arms, encouraging him.

The salvager slowly ascended the staircase, trying to quicken his pace!

However, the next moment, he distinctly felt the parasitic Sea Beast on his shoulder beginning to detach from him!

In that instant, his mind was completely covered with limitless blood-red eyes.

"No! I can't do this!"

He was struck by a wave of fear.

Driven by instinct, he ignored the captain's order, quickly turned around, and then leaped towards the line of the crack!

The parasitic Sea Beast detached from his body.

Boom!

The tentacles on that wall extended again and viciously lashed out.

In an instant, the man's legs were turned into a bloody froth at the edge of the crack!

He lay on the ground drenched in blood, struggling to crawl in their direction.

Under Little Crow's guidance, Chen Qi, as the ship's medic, stepped forward, pulled him over, then bandaged him, and administered painkillers and healing medicine.

If this were Earth, at this place, with injuries of this severity, it would have been declared hopeless.

But this is the New Sun world, a steampunk world with an explosively distorted tech tree.

Injuries like a severed leg could be treated with extraordinary surgery if one had the money and status.

Of course, normally, even nobility would have to think twice about the cost of such a surgery.

But regardless, there was still a glimmer of hope.

At this moment, under this bloody scene, the Black-eyed Captain couldn't help but curve his lips in a slight smile.

Although it was a failure, the salvager's crossing of the crack line proved that this method was indeed viable!

Moreover, unlike before, this time the wall of bloodied eyes didn't open its eyes after the attack.

Now, they just needed to keep trying!

The Black-eyed Captain once again surveyed all the crew members:

"Is there anyone else willing to undertake this mission?"

He pondered, aside from the salvager, who else had the resistance of a Sea Beast?

At that moment, Little Crow subtly sensed something, silently stepped forward, delicately tip-toed to use his not-so-tall body to block the Black-eyed Captain's line of sight, and shielded Chen Qi behind him.

"Ah..."

Chen Qi was startled by this heartwarming scene, roughly grasping what it meant.

Those infected by the Sea Beast could endure for a longer time.

Wasn't that him!?

And he wasn't just infected; to be precise, he was in the process of being infected!

For others, this was undoubtedly a suicide mission!

But just now, he had confirmed that the Wall of Bloodied Eyes wouldn't attack him.

He truly was the Chosen One!

However, this required some acting skills... Chen Qi looked at the crack line, contemplating.

The Black-eyed Captain eyed everyone present, assessing each person's worth.

As pirates, many had been attacked by sea beasts.

But he needed to choose the most suitable person, one with the highest adaptability, and also one with the least value!

All the pirates were terrified, fearing that the Black-eyed Captain might choose them.

The Black-eyed Captain glanced at Little Raven, shook his head, and his gaze shifted slightly.

And just then, something bizarre occurred.

The parasitic sea beast on the ground twisted itself, slowly moving toward Chen Qi.

All eyes followed the direction in which the parasitic sea beast was moving.

Oh no... Chen Qi had anticipated this scene, watching the slowly creeping parasitic beast.

It wasn't strange, as the parasitic sea beast was also a wild beast and would instinctively attack the weakest person.

No one present was weaker than him, except the slaves.

This was an opportunity...

Chen Qi's heated peripheral vision turned to the stairs above, to the Deep Sea Hunter's treasure.

If he missed this chance, reaching this place again would be challenging.

Why not take this opportunity to check out the Deep Sea Hunter's treasure!

Deep Sea Affinity was his active skill; he could turn it off, but for various reasons, he had not done so.

But first, let's try turning it off... As soon as Chen Qi thought about it, he felt as if he'd lost a layer of aura from his body.

Even after turning it off, the parasitic sea beast continued moving toward Chen Qi at an extremely slow pace.

Seems like it didn't work.

This little thing likes me that much, huh... Chen Qi, speechless, turned the Deep Sea Affinity back on.

At least this way, he wouldn't be killed by a sudden sea beast attack.

Seeing this, the Black-eyed Captain excitedly picked up the parasitic sea beast and suddenly leaped over Little Raven, coming toward Chen Qi:

"Hmm, the new warrior on my ship, have you been infected by a sea beast?"

"Hmm."

Chen Qi nodded, not denying it; his back would reveal everything.

The parasitic sea beast in the Black-eyed Captain's hand extended its tentacles, writhing a few times toward Chen Qi.

It seemed this parasitic sea beast really wanted to infect this person, which might buy some more time... The Black-eyed Captain said smilingly:

"This beast seems quite eager to devour you, but don't worry, it's been defanged.

Young man, I've always thought you were very courageous.

Do you have the confidence to cross that crack line?"

Do you have the confidence, rather than if you're willing to cross it?

Chen Qi felt somewhat emotional inside, as the other didn't even give him a chance to choose.

Although he performed well, exchanging his life for a faint chance at the Deep Sea Hunter's treasure, to the pirates...

No, to many people, this seemed worth it!

It was a bloody good deal!

In the end, he was just a slave who had recently become a crew member, merely cannon fodder.

Leaving the Black Whale Group was the right choice.

Let's do it! Chen Qi took a deep breath.

And just as he did, Little Raven coldly spoke:

"No!

Captain, he's my subordinate and moreover, his body is too frail to reach the stairs under the parasitic influence of a sea beast.

This is just a waste of manpower!"

The icy gaze under Little Raven's mask stared intently at the captain, as a tense atmosphere suddenly spread.

Ah... Chen Qi had never expected, his immediate superior, Little Raven, to openly challenge the captain of the Sawshark.

The pirates didn't dare interject, for in terms of rank, Little Raven was just below the First Mate, only behind the Black-eyed Captain.

The Black-eyed Captain was silent for three seconds, then coldly said:

"Are you suggesting we return empty-handed!"