Outside, the original second-tier small boat had now upgraded to a third-tier ship.
Su Lesi wasn’t clear on the exact naming conventions for the ships, but she could tell with her own eyes—
The third-tier ship’s area was noticeably larger than the second-tier one.
Moreover, it looked much sturdier.
The hull was relatively short and wide, still a single-mast sailing ship.
The white sail billowed in the wind like a bulging pouch, and a green ship flag flew high above.
Su Lesi opened the system panel to check the results of this upgrade.
She directly opened the panel for her own ship.
“Su Lesi’s Small Boat (one-time naming opportunity)
Ship Owner: Su Lesi Suliya
Fleet Count: 1
Level: Small Kirk Sailing Ship (3)
Treasure: None
Maximum Capacity: 20
Crew Count: 4
Captain: Su Lesi Suliya
Captain Talent: Heart of the Sea God
Crew:
Sailor: Claire Lavenci (click to view)
Fisherman: Adolf Bernard (click to view)
Martial Artist: Annabella Ethys (click to view)
Cook: Amy Hetzipaff (click to view)”
Since all supplies and funds were displayed on the main interface, there was nothing shown here.
The first thing Su Lesi noticed was that the ship, which previously could not be renamed, now could.
Her eyes brightened immediately, and she clicked in.
To be honest, she’d long been annoyed by the default name “Su Lesi Suliya’s Ship”—finally, she could change it.
There were no restrictions on renaming.
If she wanted, she could name it with a hundred characters, no problem.
But Su Lesi wasn’t that idle.
She seriously gave her ship a name—“Legend.”
No particular meaning, just ambition.
After confirming the name, she saw a small line of text below—“At ship level five, you can design your own ship flag.”
Level five?
That was still far off.
Su Lesi shook her head, closed the interface, and clicked to view the requirements for the next upgrade.
Upgrade requirements:
Funds: 15 gold shells, 50 silver shells, 32 copper shells (sufficient)
Wood x700 (insufficient)
Cloth x420 (insufficient)
Vine x220 (insufficient)
Stone x50 (insufficient)
Iron x450 (insufficient)
Crew x15 (insufficient)
To Su Lesi’s surprise, her remaining funds were already enough—she only lacked the materials.
With the money she had now, she could definitely buy enough supplies to upgrade one ship.
The question was, which ship to upgrade?
After some thought, Su Lesi decided to upgrade her main ship.
After all, she was about to venture into a new sea region, and it would be hard to survive without sufficient strength.
A level 4 ship was where the distinction between merchant ships and warships became official.
Transforming her ship into a warship would certainly give her peace of mind.
Previously, because Su Lesi’s ship had suddenly appeared in a fog, many people had gathered around.
Charles, as the steward of the Alvis family, could find out many things just by looking into it.
Naturally, he understood this was Su Lesi’s captain talent at work.
Seeing Charles nearby, Su Lesi immediately approached and asked, “Mr. Charles, can I buy some supplies here?”
She knew such a large family’s territory would definitely have trading ships.
Charles showed an understanding expression: “Have you made up your mind already?”
Su Lesi smiled awkwardly, “I still want to fight hard while I’m young.”
Charles nodded, “It’s just that the young master will be upset.”
Thinking of Aiden, Su Lesi fell silent for a moment.
Charles didn’t intend to make things difficult for her—after a brief mention, he proactively said, “Of course, we have trading ships here. What do you want to buy? I’ll send someone to bring it to you.”
Su Lesi told Charles the materials she needed, then hesitated and added, “I also need some cannonballs. Can I buy those here as well?”
She had seen level 4 ships before, so she knew these ships had three cannon ports on the hull.
Filling them with cannonballs was necessary; otherwise, they’d be nothing more than decorations taking up space.
Charles nodded, “Yes, you can. One cannonball costs twenty silver shells. So…”
Hiss!
That’s expensive!
Su Lesi was shocked and quickly did the math in her head.
She still had twenty-five gold shells left.
The upgrade itself cost fifteen gold shells.
Buying materials required at least two gold shells, leaving her with eight gold shells.
The materials she’d bought for Theo wouldn’t be liquidated anytime soon, so she ignored those for now.
Out of the remaining eight gold shells, she had to give Theo at least two gold as start-up capital.
The leftover six gold shells needed to cover her own start-up funds and wages for new crew members after arriving in the New World.
After thinking it through, Su Lesi said, “Buy ten cannonballs.”
Spending two gold shells on cannonballs was already her limit.
Charles understood she probably didn’t have much money left and kindly said, “I’ll personally gift you five cannonballs. Wishing you a bright future.”
Su Lesi gratefully thanked him, “Mr. Charles, you’re too kind. I really need these cannonballs, so I won’t refuse.”
Charles admired her straightforwardness and smiled, “Of course. Now, come back with me to report to the family head. By the way, have you thought about the crew situation? A Caravel can’t sail the seas without at least a dozen people.”
A Caravel was the specific name for a level 4 ship—a kind of adventure ship with three masts, the basic form of a warship.
The two of them walked back while discussing these matters.
Although Su Lesi’s soul was mature, she was indeed a rookie in this area and hadn’t considered these things deeply yet.
After Charles’s reminder, she frowned and shook her head, “No, I haven’t figured out what to do yet. You can’t possibly sell me crew members here, right?”
Charles chuckled, “Of course not, but I can summon some people from the continent for you. Changing sea regions might be difficult for most, but as long as your wages are high, recruiting won’t be hard.”
Su Lesi, always sharp, immediately thought of other issues, “Because it’s a different sea region, a contract of only two months won’t work. At least six months is necessary. Since this is a level 4 ship, recruiting apprentices would hold us back, so we can’t take too many rookies. The usual wages on the continent are paid daily. Formal crew members, the cheapest sailors, earn at least eight copper shells a day each. I need six sailors, which is forty-eight copper shells a day. A martial artist of at least level 3 costs ten copper shells daily. I need one gunner, about ten copper shells a day. I already have one fisherman; I want two more, totaling thirty copper shells. A level 4 ship must have at least one ship doctor, who costs fifteen copper shells daily. That’s over one silver shell a day. With the money I have now, I can’t support this for long!”
After arriving at the Western Continent, she definitely needed to join a guild.
But an outsider joining wasn’t easy—it would require bribing with gold shells.
This meant she’d only have four gold shells left, leaving barely anything in reserve.
Charles froze, surprised by Su Lesi’s calculation skills.
Even he would need a moment to figure out these numbers, but Su Lesi could spout them without hesitation.
He checked her math and found no mistakes—it was all based on maximum limits.
Such calculation ability was impressive for a captain.
If Su Lesi knew what he was thinking, she’d probably tell him this was just basic knowledge for Chinese elementary students.
She was just more familiar with it because of her background as a big boss in finance.
Charles pondered for a moment, “A six-month contract is paid monthly. You only need to settle the wages for the first month there, then you’ll earn enough for the rest. I’ll try to find you some cheaper sailors; it shouldn’t be too hard.”
After their conversation, Su Lesi entered the captain’s cabin where the Alvis family head was.
She knocked and was surprised to see Aiden opening the door. Inside sat the Alvis family head.
Aiden blushed in a way that left Su Lesi puzzled.
Seeing her staring at him, Aiden immediately complained, “Why are you looking at me like that? I know I’m handsome, but you don’t have to…”
The man inside quickly stopped Aiden’s vanity, beckoning Su Lesi inside but didn’t ask Aiden to leave.
He directly asked, “You came to see me on your own. You’ve made your decision, haven’t you?”
Su Lesi nodded firmly, “I want to go to the Sicily Sea.”
Upon hearing this, Alvis showed a predictable expression, then gave a half-smile while glancing at Aiden beside Su Lesi.
Following his gaze, Su Lesi saw Aiden’s face turn pale, full of disbelief and embarrassment.
Uh-oh, trouble.
Judging from Aiden’s expression, Su Lesi knew something was wrong.
He had been sure she would stay, so her sudden decision to leave must have felt like betrayal.
“You…” she was about to say something when Aiden snorted angrily and turned to run off.
Su Lesi hesitated and didn’t immediately follow him, instead turning to Alvis.
“Aiden came to see you earlier… was it about me?”
Alvis smiled, “Smart girl. That kid told me you’d definitely stay, and asked me to give you a rich sea region beside him so you wouldn’t have to be forced into an arranged marriage.”
Hearing this, Su Lesi did feel a bit guilty.
Aiden truly cared for her and had arranged everything for her future.
A proud young master who was willing to plead with his own father for someone he’d only had a friendly chat with—he was sincere.
Alvis said, “Now that you know what Aiden did, I’ll give you another chance to reconsider.”
Su Lesi didn’t hesitate for a moment, “I want to go to the Western Sea.”
Alvis laughed, “Why?”
Su Lesi replied, “I really appreciate what Aiden has done for me. If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll repay him. But I won’t change my decision out of gratitude. If I regret it later, I’d end up blaming Aiden.”
That’s human nature.
Even if the final decision is ours, when regret comes, we tend to blame the person who influenced our choice.
It’s a flaw that lets us push responsibility away and keep ourselves clean.
Alvis didn’t get angry at Su Lesi’s words; instead, he laughed heartily.
His rich laughter, paired with his appearance, always gave off the aura of a golden or red-maned lion king.
“Alright, I respect your decision. I’ll give you two more days to prepare. The day after tomorrow, you’ll follow our merchant ship and set sail for the Western Sea.”