As for the second plan, first changing to a different sea region would definitely keep the Celestial Albatross Guild’s influence out of reach.
As long as she didn’t act too arrogantly, the danger in that regard could almost be said to be resolved.
But there was still the same problem as before—she couldn’t survive in the Western Sea without joining a guild.
If she went to the Western Sea broke and had to find a guild for herself, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t fall into the same trap again.
The advantage, however, was that if she chose this second plan, she would still keep everything she needed and wouldn’t have to start over.
With the funds she currently had, upgrading her ship to level three would definitely be no problem.
A level three ship wasn’t very strong, but joining a guild shouldn’t be an issue.
With that in mind, Su Lesi had already made her decision—she was going to the Sicily Sea region.
However, Su Lesi didn’t rush to tell Alvis her decision.
After all, he had given her two days, and if she left after just one day, wouldn’t that be disrespectful?
Besides, staying one more day here meant one more day of comfort.
There was no need to leave too early.
She still had to wait for Theo!
In the afternoon of the second day, Charles suddenly found Su Lesi.
“Captain Sulia, a captain claiming to be your friend has come to see you.”
Upon hearing this, Su Lesi’s eyes lit up.
It must be Theo!
Aiden, who was chatting with her, looked surprised.
“Your friend? What does he want at a time like this?”
Su Lesi explained, “I asked him to come and transport my ship.”
Seeing that it was a serious matter, Aiden nodded in understanding.
“Then go ahead. I won’t follow.”
Like the guild, the Alvis sea region also had a central island, essentially the base of this family.
Su Lesi had only just learned that the family head usually lived on the base.
There was a dock built on the central island, and Su Lesi’s ship was moored there.
After taking a small boat to the central island, Su Lesi recognized her ship at first sight.
She quickly ran over.
“Theo! I’m here!”
Theo immediately popped his head out of the cockpit, followed by Claire, Annabella, and Adolf, who had come running at the sound.
The moment Claire saw Su Lesi, tears began streaming down her face.
“Waaah, Su Lesi, I finally see you! I thought something bad had happened to you!”
Su Lesi hurriedly got on the ship and hugged her, comforting her, “It’s okay, it’s okay. What could possibly happen to me? I’ve gained a lot from this trip. I’ll tell you later.”
At this moment, the few people who had brought her wisely sailed off, leaving only the group here.
Claire knew time was tight and wiped her tears.
“Because we heard we might have to move to survive, only these two who signed long-term contracts were willing to follow us.”
That was expected.
Su Lesi nodded and said to Annabella and the others, “We’ll probably leave the Eastern Sea soon. If there’s anything we’re not prepared for, we can buy it again in the new place.”
Upon hearing this, Adolf furrowed his brow, seemingly deep in thought.
Annabella, however, frowned and immediately understood what was on her mind.
“No way? Moving to another sea region? Captain, who did you offend? Why do we have to switch seas?”
Su Lesi hadn’t explained the current situation to them yet, so Annabella’s question was natural.
Changing sea regions was like moving to another country—it was understandable why she found it hard to accept.
But now wasn’t the time to explain.
She still had to report back to Alvis.
Things had to be prioritized, and now was the time to deal with more urgent matters.
“In short, I have no choice but to leave. We might be gone as soon as tomorrow. I’ll explain everything to you then. For now, I need to talk to Theo.”
With that, she led Theo back to the cockpit.
This was the safest place to discuss confidential matters.
Once inside, Su Lesi pulled everything from her two bags onto the table at once.
Theo didn’t react at first, but when he saw what Su Lesi had brought out, he stared wide-eyed.
“Captain, these… these are all things you found?”
Su Lesi nodded and pointed at the items.
“Ten Ocean Hearts, twenty-one pink sapphires, fifty-six carats of diamonds, including one big diamond weighing five carats. A pure gold Sri teapot, twenty-seven gold shells, plus the two I already had, making twenty-nine in total. Oh, and a bottle of wine that’s at least a hundred years old.”
This was the charm of adventure—risk it all for a chance to transform a bicycle into a motorcycle.
A thrilling and dangerous journey might cost you your life, but it could also make you rich overnight.
Obviously, Su Lesi belonged to the latter.
Theo was speechless, mouth agape.
Forgive his ignorance; after all, he was only the captain of a level two ship.
Though he hoped to run a merchant ship, he hadn’t succeeded yet. He had never seen such treasures!
Su Lesi calmly knocked on the table.
“These are all things I found in the ruins of that level eight ship. I’ll upgrade your ship later, then you can take these goods on trade routes and develop from there. It’s not a lot, but definitely enough seed money.”
This was more than enough.
Theo was excited.
“Captain, thank you! Without you, I don’t know how long it would take to truly realize my dream.”
For the first time, he genuinely felt that following Su Lesi was not a mistake.
Su Lesi was still unfamiliar with the continent’s prices, so she asked, “How much do you think we can make from these?”
Theo was clearly very knowledgeable about this and immediately answered, “Gems like these are rare in the Southern Sea. If we sell the Ocean Hearts and pink sapphires there, that’d be at least fifty gold shells. Diamonds and the gold teapot can be sold here. At this quality, that should bring in a few hundred gold. As for the wine, I need to have it appraised to be sure, but it’s definitely worth several gold shells.”
Hearing such detailed information, Su Lesi finally relaxed.
A merchant who knew the prices everywhere and understood how to exploit arbitrage could bring her great profits.
Su Lesi nodded and motioned for him to leave first, then opened the system panel herself.
Player: Su Lesi Sulia
Fleet number: 2
Owned ships: Su Lesi’s small boat (non-upgradable) (click to check)
Theo’s small boat (upgradable) (click to check)
Funds: 29 gold shells 45 silver shells 77 copper shells
Basic materials:
Wood x360
Food x423
Vines x289
Cloth x250
Iron x150
Stone x112
Treasure: Small statue of the sea god
Total crew: 14
Main Captain: Su Lesi Sulia
Captain Talent: Heart of the Sea God (Level 2)
Hired Captain: Theo Victor (click to check)
Mission: Pending activation
Su Lesi clicked on Theo’s ship information.
“Theo’s small boat”
Temporary Captain: Theo Victor
Ship Level: Single-mast triangular sailboat (2)
Passenger Capacity: 10
Crew Number: 10 (click to check)
Su Lesi left the cockpit, gathered everyone on the island, and directly upgraded both ships together.
She had enough materials on hand, especially with funds far exceeding what should be available at this stage, so there was no need to be stingy.
The upgrades would take ten minutes, giving them time to chat about what had happened recently.
First to speak was naturally Su Lesi, who briefly explained the course of events to the others.
Upon hearing that the Celestial Albatross Guild had falsely accused her despite her having proven her innocence, Annabella was the first to get angry.
“That Celestial Albatross Guild is going too far! Such a prestigious guild pulling these dirty tricks—so disgusting!”
Adolf chuckled, but his smile didn’t look happy at all.
“Hmph, haven’t guilds always been like this? Profit-driven and unscrupulous.”
Su Lesi glanced at Adolf. From what she knew of him—a man who didn’t care about anything—it was clear his grudge against the guild ran deep.
No wonder she had suspected this all along.
Theo asked, “Captain, since you’re heading to another sea region, am I coming with you?”
Su Lesi shook her head.
“I’m forced into this. You have no official ties to us, so you don’t need to abandon everything.”
She had thought this through carefully.
“To the outside world, I’m using the alias ‘Su’. The fact that ‘Su’ is actually ‘Su Lesi’ won’t remain hidden for long and will be discovered soon. That’s when you can use this to your advantage.”
“Use it?”
Theo was puzzled.
A gleam flashed in Su Lesi’s eyes.
“Exactly. Everyone in the guild already knows you and I don’t get along. Now that I’ve betrayed the guild, it’s the perfect opportunity for you to rise. When we return to the Celestial Albatross Guild, you can subtly leak this information to make your rise more legitimate.”
Adolf sneered and applauded.
“You really know how to use your identity to the fullest—even thinking of getting him into the guild’s upper ranks. Those people who messed with you probably won’t get off easy.”
Obviously, Adolf already understood Su Lesi’s plan from just that one sentence.
He understood, but Theo and the others were still confused.
“Wait, wait, what? How do I get to the guild’s upper ranks? I get that you want me to use our opposing sides to curry favor, but how does that make me a high-ranking official?”
Su Lesi calmly explained, “You won’t become a high-ranking official immediately, but with the Celestial Albatross Guild’s close ties between superiors and subordinates, you can ally yourself with a high-ranking member. Then, using their influence, grow your own power quickly and become the new generation of guild leadership.”
Now Theo finally understood Su Lesi’s meaning and smiled bitterly.
“Captain, you’re giving me too much credit. I might be decent at business, but politics? I’m totally clueless.”
Su Lesi smiled meaningfully.
“Business and politics aren’t separate, especially in a corrupt guild like this. With money and backing, what are you afraid of? Then you use money to win over the lower-ranked captains. Given enough time, you’ll eventually become a high-ranking official. And it shouldn’t take too long.”
“Whoa!”
Theo gasped, finally understanding what Adolf meant earlier. He couldn’t help but admire her.
“Captain, you’re too smart. I never thought about bribing my way into the Celestial Albatross Guild.”
But a wave of fear washed over him.
Luckily, they were now allies on the same ship.
If Su Lesi were his enemy, could he have possibly fought her?
In fact, when he was tricked into becoming Su Lesi’s hired captain earlier, he had already felt how terrifying she was.
But only now was the full picture beginning to emerge.
Theo suddenly realized that when he had been in such a tight spot before, Su Lesi might have been pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Otherwise, even if the crew had become disloyal, they wouldn’t have acted so decisively.
But it was useless to think about that now—the die had been cast.
Theo smiled bitterly, only glad that he had been sensible back then.
Otherwise, he might already be a corpse.
Su Lesi, unaware of his thoughts, noticed his silence and thought he was feeling guilty for not anticipating this. She comforted him.
“You’re a pure merchant, so naturally you wouldn’t think about these things. But it’s okay—I’ve got it covered.”
She paused, then continued,
“From now on, I’ll work hard to provide you with treasures. You use that money to build your influence inside the guild, then take control of key shipping routes. Money will generate more money, profits will multiply, and eventually you’ll be able to support me in return.”
As she was elaborating on her plan, a “ding” sounded in her ear.
Su Lesi stood up and smiled.
“Let’s go check out our newly upgraded ships.”