Ryder shook his head with a bitter smile, “Only my parents know how to draw this magic array, but how could they abandon my brother?”
Sules continued to pry, “But if you know where they learned this magic array, then you can go to the same place to learn. Then you can restore your talent yourself.”
Ryder hesitated, “That’s true, but I only know that my parents obtained this array by chance when they were young, and I don’t know anything else.”
Sules snapped her fingers with a smile, “It’s okay. When we return to the mainland next month, we can go to your house and investigate. I’m sure your parents still have a backup of something so important.”
Ryder looked at Sules in confusion, “Captain, why are you helping me so much?”
Sules said naturally, “Of course, it’s because I feel sorry for you and want you to get away from your brother. Don’t worry, I definitely won’t tell your brother about this conversation.”
Ryder nodded vigorously, “Captain, you’re such a good person.”
Sules smiled and watched him leave, her eyes instantly growing cold.
She gave a self-deprecating laugh.
A good person?
She certainly wasn’t.
If she were a good person, she wouldn’t be scamming this poor kid here.
Her goal was to get the magic array blueprint from Ryder’s home.
As for what would happen to Ryder after she got the blueprint, that wasn’t within her consideration.
Of course, out of humanitarian spirit, Sules would still try her best not to reveal this matter.
After all, when you get a treasure, you should keep a low profile.
Regardless, her trip to Leyland Ryder’s home to find the blueprint was a must.
***
The days at sea remained dull and boring.
As a captain with no skills, Sules’s only task each day was to supervise the crew and ensure they weren’t slacking off.
However, among her crew, only Adolph and Ryder would slack off.
But Adolph only slacked after finishing all his tasks, which was reasonable.
Ryder currently had something Sules needed, so she couldn’t scold him too harshly.
This led to her having nothing to do during this period.
Until the first rain of summer arrived.
***
May already marked the beginning of summer, and summer was always a season of abundant rainfall.
One of the characteristics of the Mordoria sea area was distinct seasons, each with its unique features.
And the characteristic of summer, needless to say, was abundant rainfall.
This was understandable for the book, but it was tough on Sules and her crew.
Sules’s ship was originally built in its most basic form for this class, so it naturally lacked any rain-shelter equipment.
This meant that during this period, not only was the time Sules and her crew spent fishing outside the cabin greatly reduced, but they also had to constantly guard against their ship being too soaked by rainwater.
Moreover, it was only May, and the rain in May wasn’t too frequent.
Each time, it would suddenly start and then stop after a while.
But when June and July arrived, the East Sea would have a specific season – the monsoon season.
This was very similar to Earth’s, where the monsoon season meant ten-plus days of continuous overcast and rain, followed by a few clear days before more continuous overcast and rain.
During this time, except for large ships with better equipment that could go to sea, most others would go ashore or to tourist ships to seek shelter from the rain.
This was also why Sules had set a two-month contract for her crew.
It was early April then, and two months later, it would be exactly June, when everyone would return home to avoid the rain.
June was still far away, so it wasn’t a concern for now.
What made Sules anxious was the situation in May.
She needed to quickly build a canopy to give the crew space to move and opportunities to fish.
In the upcoming June and July, there would be no way to earn money, but since they were going to the mainland, money would surely be spent like water.
So Sules had to seize the time to earn money for a rainy day.
***
Claire clearly understood this as well.
Seeing Sules standing by the window watching the rain, she quietly walked up to her, “When it clears up tomorrow, let’s build a canopy on top using the ship’s planks.”
Sules nodded, “That’s what I was thinking too; this can’t go on.”
At this moment, all seven of them were huddled in the two-room cabin.
Upon hearing this, Adolph immediately looked up and lazily said, “Don’t ask me for this; old folks can’t do this.”
Annabella sneered, “You’re thirty or forty years old. How dare you call yourself an old person? If you get older, will you carry a coffin lid with you?”
Saying that, she volunteered, raising her hand, “Sules! Let me do this. I’ve helped my parents build many eaves.”
Before she could finish, Sam and Leyland interrupted her together, “If we let a girl do this, we two men would be laughed at if it got out.”
Ryder took the opportunity to say, “Captain, speaking of which, if we help you add a rain canopy, can the previous medicine fees be written off?”
That was a month’s worth of their wages, and Ryder still felt a little heartache thinking about it.
If they could get it back, it would be great.
How could Sules easily give up profit?
She sneered, “If you say that, then during this rainy period, if you don’t work, can I also not pay your wages?”
Ryder immediately shut up.
They immediately got to work.
The next day, when the rain stopped, a few of them began repairs using the ship’s wooden planks.
Adding a canopy didn’t require much technical skill; they just needed to extend a portion from the original cabin roof and then cover it with wide palm leaves.
Mercury’s palm leaves were no different from Earth’s, except most grew in the sea. They weren’t rare, costing one copper shell per large bundle.
Sam climbed onto the roof, and Ryan handed him materials from below; the two worked very well together.
However, summer weather always changed quickly.
One moment it was sunny, the next it was overcast.
Large raindrops pounded on the deck.
Sules looked up at the sky and decisively shouted, “Knock off, knock off! Let’s finish the rest once the rain stops!”
If someone got sick working in the rain, she’d have to pay for treatment, which wasn’t worth it.
The two on the roof immediately climbed down and huddled back into the cabin with Sules.
However, this time the rain was clearly not like a child’s playful drizzle that simply stopped after a while.
After waiting for a long time, the rain didn’t stop; instead, it grew heavier.
The drumming sounds made everyone in the cabin uneasy.
Claire nervously looked at Sules, “This rain… isn’t it too heavy?”
Sules also felt this rain had lasted a bit long, but having never experienced anything like it on Mercury, she felt nothing and didn’t know what it meant.
So she asked in confusion, “It’s fine, why?”
Claire, seeing Sules’s normal expression, suspected she might be overthinking.
At this moment, Adolph, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them, “You think this rain is fine? Do you want to take us and add some fertilizer to the East Sea?”
Sules was stunned, then connected it to reality and finally realized what Claire was worried about.
Yes, with such heavy rain, it was highly likely a sea storm would follow.
Their ship definitely couldn’t withstand such an impact; it might even be directly sunk by the heavy rain.
She was insensitive to it because she hadn’t encountered it before.
***
It’s a merchant’s nature to correct mistakes and cut losses in time.
Sules immediately made a decision, “I was careless. Prepare to set sail; we’re going to the nearest trading ship for shelter.”
She slightly opened the cabin door.
The moment a crack appeared, strong winds carrying heavy rain poured in.
Sules quickly shut the door, her voice heavy, “The rain outside is very heavy. Now, someone needs to go out in the rain to drop anchor. I’ll go to the bridge.”
Sam, the honest man, actively raised his hand, “I’ll go, Captain. Be careful when you go to the bridge too. The wind and rain are too strong outside; don’t get blown away.”
Sules nodded.
The two rushed out the moment the door opened, heading straight for their destinations.
The rain was indeed heavy; Sules could even clearly feel the raindrops heavily hitting her back, like someone was repeatedly punching her.
By the time she reached the bridge, her back and hair were soaked.
***
Soon, Sules heard Sam’s shout, knowing he had finished preparations.
Only then did she let the system take over, starting their small boat towards the trading ship.
The trading ship’s location was publicly announced to all ships, marked clearly on the map with a red symbol, so there was no worry about finding it.
The trading ship was now in Sector 3 of the sky, not too far.
The ship set sail, swaying. Because the bridge had an external display, Sules could clearly see how turbulent the sea was at that moment.
The terrifying nature of the sea was fully displayed at this time.
The nearly inky black sea surged violently, and large raindrops continuously pounded the surface, fueling its intensity.
The sky was covered in oppressive dark clouds, with lightning flashing.
Each lightning bolt was like God turning on a light, illuminating the sky.
Combined with the surging sea, it looked like some kind of apocalypse.
Sules’s ship was small, navigating with difficulty on such a sea.
There were no other ships around, like a Noah’s Ark, lonely yet dangerous.
***
Sules, being in the bridge and having her body controlled by the system, felt nothing.
But the few people in the cabin were miserable, tumbling all over the place.
There was no helping it; the sea was surging too violently, causing their small ship to be inevitably tossed left and right by the big waves.
The five people inside, with nothing to hold onto, huddled together, rolling to the east one moment and to the west the next.
The tables and chairs, which had been neatly arranged in the cabin, had long since toppled over, and cups and other items on them rolled everywhere in the room, making clattering sounds.
Amidst the chaos, only Adolph remained as steady as a mountain.
He had foresightedly placed a small stool in the corner and sat on it, then braced himself against the wall with both hands.
Years of sailing experience allowed him to handle such situations with ease, watching the young people’s disheveled state with a smile.
Adolph grabbed the hip flask at his waist and, taking advantage of a moment when the swaying wasn’t as bad, opened it and took a sip.
Then he shook his head with a smile, looking down at the old square flask and muttering to himself, “It’s been a long time since it was this shaky. I actually miss it a bit. Don’t you think so, Eve?”