3. Homeland at Sea

“Thank you… but if I stay here, they’ll come looking for me…” Bella sat on the edge of the bed, her hands nervously fidgeting, unsure where to place them.

For reasons unknown, the other person had brought her to their room and even applied ointment to her wounds.

Even if it was just to toy with her or to see her humiliated, the respect she was receiving now—something any ordinary person deserved—was undeniable.

“It’s fine, I can afford it!” Cen Jiu handed a lemon slice to Bella’s lips. “Want some?”

The lemon slice was one of the small finds from Cen Jiu’s suitcase, a perfect conversation starter. Whether Bella accepted or declined, it would likely prompt further questions.

Especially with food—everyone needs it, and it’s an excellent way to open someone’s heart.

She liked to call this the “food goodwill technique.”

Besides, Cen Jiu had just checked the menu and confirmed that the characters, identified only by avatars and names, had affection bars beneath their profiles.

So giving a gift was a must!

The lemon slice carried a faint fruity aroma. Bella paused briefly, then lowered her head to bite into it in one gulp.

“Ugh…” sour and bitter, terribly unpleasant…

Cen Jiu took a slice herself, the sharp acidic bitterness mixed with the lemon’s unique fragrance making her face scrunch up as if it might collapse.

Seeing Bella’s identical reaction, Cen Jiu awkwardly averted her gaze. “Haha, sorry. This is all we have here. It’s supposed to be soaked in water, but I couldn’t find any…”

Freshwater was a precious resource on the ship. Cen Jiu had searched the room but found no water pouch or anything similar; even the wooden cup on the table was dry and cracked.

Noticing Cen Jiu’s grimace at the taste, Bella managed her first smile in a while, wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes and choking out, “…Thank you for helping me, truly.”

Though the lemon was unpleasant, it was genuinely a gesture of kindness. Bella understood its importance aboard the ship.

Seeing Bella relax, Cen Jiu ventured, “You’ll stay here until we reach shore? I’ll cover for you when we disembark tonight. With me around, you’ll definitely succeed!”

But Cen Jiu’s confident assurance failed to cheer Bella. Her eyes flickered nervously before she broke down in tears.

“I’m their cargo. It’ll be even harder to escape once we reach the new continent’s port—!!”

Cen Jiu hadn’t expected her probing remark to trigger such an emotional response from the character. She could only awkwardly pat Bella’s back.

“Sorry…” Cen Jiu felt a pang of guilt. The in-game reactions felt so real, she wasn’t sure what to make of her own emotions.

“It’s not your fault.” Bella quickly stopped crying and wiped her eyes. “Now’s not the time for tears.”

Still, she felt better having let it out.

She knew Cen Jiu wanted to understand her story. Cen Jiu’s face practically screamed “I want to know.”

“I tried to escape before dawn on a wooden raft when the vigilance was low, but I collapsed from exhaustion on the way to the cargo hold to steal it, which alerted the crew.”

“Heh… Pastor Silva happened to catch me. It seemed like he didn’t even know the cargo included a person. He ended up arguing with that boar-looking guy, and things went the way you saw.”

As if reading Cen Jiu’s thoughts, Bella added, “The spare raft is stored mid-cargo hold on the third deck. If you absolutely want to go, it’s best to go down the stairs at the ship’s stern from the passenger cabin—there are fewer people there.”

“Well then…” Cen Jiu felt eager to try.

“I want to rest now. Even if I make it to shore, there’ll still be chances.” Bella lowered her head, avoiding Cen Jiu’s gaze.

Understanding, Cen Jiu advised, “Then rest well here! Lock the door and don’t let anyone in, not even me unless you’re sure. I’ll go ask for some water and be back soon!”

“Wait!” Bella urgently grabbed Cen Jiu’s sleeve, her voice softening. “Just take a look, be very careful with them… and don’t trust Silva too much…”

“I don’t have proof, but it’s true, really.” Bella sheepishly withdrew her hand, knowing she’d just spoken ill of the pastor who had just helped her.

“I understand.” The game script wouldn’t provide extra text unless necessary. Even interference was information.

Cen Jiu placed the bag of lemon slices in Bella’s hands. “If you get hungry, eat these first.”

She couldn’t resist teasing, “Do you think my suitcase could serve as a little raft? Haha, probably not funny.”

“Pfft—” Bella laughed.

…

The door was firmly shut. Outside, the sunlight had dimmed without anyone noticing; the corridor grew shadowy, though it was still daytime enough to see the way.

Following Bella’s directions to the ship’s stern, there were indeed fewer people about. The crew hurried past, avoiding her as if afraid she carried some contagious plague.

Sigh, when would the novice combat round arrive?

Resigned, Cen Jiu descended the stairs. The cargo hold below was darker still. Wall lamps flickered along the passage, casting shifting shadows as the ship swayed.

The cabin doors along the corridor were sealed tight. Cen Jiu tried pushing them open one by one. None were locked; a simple push revealed rooms filled with miscellaneous, worthless items.

No room for anything else—sorry to disturb.

She tried opening every door on the route, soon encountering one that wouldn’t budge.

This door was in the midst of the quarters; the outside door opened like the others, but what lay beyond was unusual.

The space behind was only a third the size of a normal cabin. Candles stacked on the counter flickered softly with her entrance, while the only other furniture was a wooden chair toppled on the floor. Nearby lay a worn old book with a faded cover, matching the plain white silk cloth hanging on the opposite wall.

Three interlocking triangles, impossible to separate.

This room clearly held significance.

Closing the wooden door behind her, Cen Jiu picked up the fallen book and bent over to inspect its contents. Unfortunately, it was written in an unreadable script, though she felt she recognized a few characters; together, they made little sense.

She opened the skill menu to check—indeed, her general language proficiency in the El region had silently risen to eighty percent.

She guessed it had improved through conversations; reading books might have the same effect.

There was still some space in her backpack. The book was a keeper. It was hers now.

Perhaps from bending her head down on the ship, Cen Jiu felt a bit dizzy. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind.

She searched the counter—aside from the candles, it was empty.

Turning to the wall with the cloth, Cen Jiu lifted a corner of the white fabric.

The dim light didn’t matter; she could still feel her way.

Her hand touched the wall and found a secret door.

Wow! A major discovery!

But no matching key was found in the room…

Cen Jiu brandished her dagger and stabbed at the door’s seam.

[Special Secret Door Durability -1]

[Special Secret Door Durability 1999/2000]

Good news: the door had a health bar.

Unwilling to give up, Cen Jiu jabbed repeatedly.

Her energy bar visibly dropped in response.

Bad news: she couldn’t break through the door.

“…Hah, haha.” Cen Jiu pressed her back against the wall, breathing heavily.

This was illogical! Why did stabbing the door consume so much energy? If she kept going, her energy would deplete before the door was even half damaged.

Running out of energy wouldn’t bode well. No, she couldn’t risk it.

“Maybe I should check other rooms first?” Cen Jiu wiped sweat from her brow, started to pry the door open to leave when footsteps approached from the opposite direction down the corridor.

“Pastor Silva? Heading to your prayer room again?”

“Don’t rush off, Pastor. How about a little ‘confession’ from me~”

“Sorry…”

It turned out the subtitles appeared even from this distance. Clearly, an important character.

Cen Jiu was drenched in sweat. She was indeed standing outside the pastor’s prayer room.

Thanks to the minor character’s well-timed disturbance—such a clever harassment—it gave the player a huge hint.

Cen Jiu saw it as the mercy of the Seven-Colored Strings. It was practically an explicit warning: hide and avoid being caught. Being discovered would mean nothing good.

No! Losing affection was bad enough, but breaking the quest line was worse!

That went against her habit of triggering every non-exclusive event possible.

Oh, and she’d also taken someone’s book.

Returning it was impossible; once something was in the player’s inventory, it wasn’t easily relinquished.

Cen Jiu opened the menu and despairingly found the auto-save was from when she first stepped onto the deck. There was no option to save manually.

Was this some kind of brutal “one-save” game?!

Well, it was what it was. She’d have to use the key from the starting equipment.

It wasn’t much of a loss; the door would open eventually, and the item was meant to be used. But wasn’t it a bit wasteful in such an early stage?

She already planned that if the room beyond was worthless, she’d reload the save.

At least for some psychological comfort.

Grumbling internally, Cen Jiu carefully opened the secret door and slipped inside the hidden chamber before Silva arrived.

Darkness—pitch black.

Honestly, when she saw that the candlelight didn’t penetrate inside when she opened the door, she was mentally prepared.

Still, her legs felt a bit weak.

Unease crept in as she touched the walls, waiting for her eyes to adjust before moving.

A warm light suddenly appeared without a sound, illuminating the surroundings.

It was the oil lamp hanging from her waist.

[Adventurer’s Oil Lamp: A faithful companion through the night.]

So that was its purpose! But she hadn’t lit it. What if she wanted to ambush someone?

Sensing her thoughts, the lamp instantly extinguished itself silently, returning the chamber to darkness.

“…” Thoughtful, indeed.

The warm light flickered on again. Cen Jiu tried to tread lightly on the wooden floorboards, raising the lamp to survey the room.

The cabin’s window was sealed with wooden slats. The only object inside was a massive rectangular coffin in the center, with a slender wooden stake driven straight into its top.

Step by step, as she approached to about five feet away, Cen Jiu noticed the floor felt different beneath her feet.

She stopped and looked down.

A thin layer of earth was scattered evenly around the coffin.

She smelled it: decay, the scent of death.

[Achievement Unlocked: Secrets of the Merchant Ship]

The sound of a hidden achievement notification.

…