Charles, alone, made his way to the Explorers’ Association, leaving Lili at the inn. The young girl was still feeling down, but he hoped time would heal her wounds. As he entered the association, Charles instinctively looked towards the sofa in the corner.


    This time, there were fewer captains present, only four, among them the giant beauty, Elizabeth. “Dear Charles, I’m here,” Elizabeth waved continuously.


    Charles didn’t go over immediately. Instead, he pointed towards the counter and headed there first. “Here’s the intelligence on that island,” Charles handed the written record to the staff behind the counter.


    “Did you really go there?” the woman behind the counter looked incredulous.


    “Quickly, I don’t have time to waste,” Charles said impatiently to the new face in front of him.


    “Yes… sorry, I just started today. Please wait, I’ll ask my superior,” she replied.


    Shortly thereafter, a middle-aged man with round glasses and a suit approached. He smiled at Charles, then picked up the paper and examined it in detail, even pulling out several books as if to cross-reference something.


    After a long while, he exhaled and spoke respectfully, “Thank you for your significant contribution to the association. Another part of the mystery of the sea has been cleared.”


    “How much is my income for this trip?” Charles asked.


    “For exploring a level five island, plus the detailed intelligence, your total reward is 1.6 million echoes. After deducting the governor’s tax, you’ll receive 1.45 million echo coins,” the man replied.


    Charles was genuinely surprised by this number. He hadn’t expected exploring an island to be so lucrative. That amount could buy a two-story house with a front yard on Coral Island.


    But thinking about the several life-threatening situations he faced on the island, Charles felt it was justified. After all, he had earned it with his life.


    “Mr. Charles, you filled out a bank account on the previous application form. We can directly transfer the reward to that account. Is that acceptable?”


    “Go ahead and do that,” Charles said, turning towards the sofa. He had other business today.


    “What happened to your eye?” Charles pointed at Elizabeth’s left eye, which was covered with a pirate-like black eye patch.


    “I lost an eye. That island was too dangerous. I’m lucky to have survived. It was terrifying,” Elizabeth said, naturally leaning in close, showing no signs of fear.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    “Why are there so few people today?” Charles asked, looking at the other three new faces.


    “Captains who return on Saturday afternoon gather here. Usually, it’s just a few cats like this. Hmm? Why are you wearing a ring on your ring finger? Are you married? My heart is broken,” Elizabeth said, running her finger over Charles’s ring.


    Charles raised his left hand and shook it, “It’s just a keepsake. Elizabeth, how do explorers trade keepsakes?”


    Upon hearing this, the curious eyes of the other three immediately turned to Charles.


    “Usually, trades happen on Saturday afternoons, but you can show it now. If it’s useful, I can offer a fair price,” said a disheveled young man holding a bottle of liquor, his clothes stained with booze. Even from two meters away, Charles could smell his sour odor.


    Charles took out the remaining two keepsakes and placed them on the table. The four of them, including Elizabeth, examined them closely. After a while, the drunken young man spoke up.


    “Unidentified keepsakes don’t have a fixed price, but let’s be friends, hiccup~ 300,000 each, I’ll take both,” he said.


    This was a gamble, as no one knew what these keepsakes were capable of. If they had significant side effects, it would be like paying for trouble.


    “The price is fair,” Elizabeth whispered in Charles’s ear, her red lips blowing air as she spoke.


    “Okay, deal,” Charles moved aside.


    “My name is William. If you have other keepsakes in the future, you can continue to cooperate with me,” the young man said, pouring a packet of red powder into his bottle and taking a swig.


    Watching William begin to convulse, Charles gave Elizabeth a puzzled look.


    “It’s okay, just joyfruit powder. He’s been using it for six months,” she explained.


    Some kind of addictive substance? Seeing William start to sniffle and cry, Charles had a suspicion.


    Not concerning himself with the other captains’ affairs, Charles turned to the giant beauty beside him.


    “Do you still have that jelly that eliminates hallucinations? I need to buy some,” he asked.


    Although the hallucinations didn’t occur frequently, they were still annoying when they did.


    “I still have some. It’s really addictive, though. If you stop taking it, you’ll die a horrible death,” she warned.


    “Do you have any other way to get rid of this problem?” Charles inquired.


    “Yes,” Elizabeth replied quickly. “As long as you go ashore, this problem can be solved quickly.”


    Charles immediately dismissed this option. There was no way he was going ashore.


    After chatting with the other captains for a while, Charles looked at the clock and stood up. “Miss Elizabeth, please bring some on Saturday. I’ll buy from you. It’s getting late, let’s talk next time.”


    As soon as Charles left, Elizabeth stood up, a faint smile on her face, and followed him.


    Standing at the dock, watching the laborers busily moving cargo in the distance, Charles wondered what to do next.


    “Right, I should buy a pocket watch.”


    By the time Charles returned to his room, there was a shiny gold pocket watch in the inner pocket of his coat.


    Pushing open the door to his residence, Charles saw rats scurrying everywhere.


    “Mr. Charles, you’re back…” the once cheerful Lili said listlessly from the bed.


    After patting her head, Charles went to his desk and began writing in his diary. Lili came over curiously to look, but soon lost interest and left. The square characters written in circles and hooks were incomprehensible to her.


    “Bang, bang, bang.” The sound of knocking echoed in the small room.


    At a nod from Charles, the rats scattered to various corners, and within seconds, the only living creature left in the room was Charles.


    Opening the door, full breasts bounce in front of the face。 He looked up to see the giant beauty, Elizabeth.


    “Dear, why do you live here? The soundproofing in this place isn’t very good,” she said.