I Don't Agree to the Terms

He was beginning to understand the sentiment now, too. If only he had believed Gu Shanhai when he said, "Out of sight, out of mind." Why did his fingers itch to save someone, and why did he irritate himself in the process?

The sense of superiority emanating from the other person really irked him, as if displaying a shred of disrespect by knowing even a little would be an affront to their dignity.

Here they were, clearly in trouble, yet they couldn't even get a grip on their own state of mind.

"How dare you?!" The person's expression carried shock, then they said, "Do you know who I am?"

"I don't know, and I suppose you won't tell me who you are, because I'm not supposed to know, right?" Wang Qi was ready to take action and shoo them away. Usually, after the whole 'do you know who I am' spiel, the threats followed.

"I am the best navigator in the entire Azure Sea Region, capable of guiding ships through the most dangerous waters, recognizing all the sea beasts in the world and their behaviors. With me, you can go anywhere."

"As long as you're willing to help me, I can temporarily be the navigator on your ship on the way to Wangjing Island so you can learn from me." The woman's demeanor radiated arrogance.

"What to do, calling her fat and then she huffs and puffs, I think there might be something wrong with her head." Wang Qi felt somewhat helpless internally. He previously thought they were just clueless, but now he felt they might be mentally ill.

"How would I know? Otherwise, just make a Tribute to my true form. She's probably going to Wangjing Island to find my true self anyway, might as well get it over with in one step." Even Gu Shanhai was expressing helplessness, finding the person indeed a bit problematic. Whether or not they were truly the best navigator wasn't the issue, their self-confidence was tainted with arrogance.

"That's not a good idea; your true self doesn't like taking people as Tributes either. If she's offered up, and it results in some more terrifying dark cuisine, I won't be able to handle it." Wang Qi nonchalantly claimed not to worry about being on the blacklist, but he was also thinking about getting off that blacklist to enjoy good food in his lifetime.

"That's true, but my advice is to run fast because the Godslayer Alliance is catching up. If you're even a bit slower, your tub of a ship will be smashed to pieces by them." Gu Shanhai interjected a reminder.

They had been delayed at the port of this island for quite some time, so it was normal for the Godslayer Alliance to send someone to assassinate them.

"So what should we do with this woman, throw her into the sea?" Wang Qi didn't dawdle and asked directly.

"Let's first get rid of the pursuers; after that, just dispose of her by throwing her into the sea, and no one will find her." Gu Shanhai indicated that Wang Qi should know how to clean up his mess.

"That makes sense!" Wang Qi approved of Gu Shanhai's method and then, under the confused gaze of the woman, he hoisted the sails and swiftly departed from the island.

"You can't go in that direction if you want to go to Wangjing Island. You need to..." The woman thought Wang Qi had agreed and stood up to observe the sea conditions and their bearings, offering Wang Qi a completely new sailing route.

"Don't say, this person is quite capable, maybe that claim of being the best navigator really isn't false." Gu Shanhai listened to the plan, then extracted data for comparison, concluding that the viability of the plan was very high.

"Really?" Wang Qi was somewhat surprised; Gu Shanhai conceding this implicitly confirmed that the other person indeed was an excellent navigator.

The only issue was that the person might be a bit mentally challenged and also not very emotionally intelligent.

Of course, even if that were true, Wang Qi wouldn't follow their suggested route. Instead, he'd run away on his own.

"People from the Godslayer Alliance are coming after us!" While observing, the woman noticed several large ships swiftly approaching from behind, flying the Godslayer Alliance's flag, indicating they were there to capture him.

"Quick, speed up or we'll be caught." She then urged him.

Wang Qi, however, remained calm and unhurried.

He would have liked to speed up, sure, but his little tub of a ship didn't have that capability. The ship's overall design didn't have a hint of Transcendence.

"No hurry, no hurry," Wang Qi declared confidently.

It wasn't that his ship couldn't be caught by the other party; it was that Gu Shanhai said he'd have a seventy percent chance of victory. How he would win he didn't say, but apparently, he could emerge victorious just by following a strategy.

"Panic won't help, my boat can't go any faster," Wang Qi slowly added another sentence.

Hearing this, the woman's face turned ashen. She hadn't expected things to take such a turn; it seemed this time they were not going to get away.

'What should I do next? I've already boasted too much.' Wang Qi felt this was the time to seek help from Gu Shanhai, who was pretty much omnipotent.

'With all your boasting, you're bound to be struck by lightning someday...' Gu Shanhai quipped. This kid had mastered the art of bragging with a technique of initial suppression followed by a surge, but to his regret, the woman didn't question or mock it, and with no one else around to witness, the effect was reduced by 99%.

'It's fine, as long as your true self doesn't smite me with lightning for my Tribute, I'm okay with the rest.' Wang Qi was not afraid of these things.

"Alright, just use the Fortress +1 stinky tofu eggs and throw them at their ships, one per ship, guaranteeing that few of the ordinary people on board will be able to withstand it," Gu Shanhai suggested a bad idea.

Wang Qi had previously drawn two portions of stinky tofu eggs. He had planned to eat one for enhancement, but he just couldn't stomach it; it was too much of a challenge to his physical limits. Finally, he had no choice but to combine them into a Fortress +1 stinky tofu egg.

Yes, Gu Shanhai had changed the rules; he would certainly not tolerate Wang Qi instantaneously teleporting and using one food item to achieve a +12 enhancement, so he set the requirement to use two identical food items for enhancement. A Fortress +1 stinky tofu egg needed two ordinary stinky tofu eggs, and to reach +2, two Fortress +1 stinky tofu eggs would be required for a Tribute combination.

This action led Wang Qi to comment that it was too evil to update the rules in real-time.

Wang Qi didn't mind using up the stinky tofu eggs; he had eighteen in a clay jar, and there were only three ships pursuing them.

"Go squat in the corner and cover your nose and mouth," Wang Qi instructed as he took a deep breath and held his breath.

He then retrieved a clay jar from the corner.

Although current enhancement fusion now required two materials of the same level, it was not without benefits. For example, a Fortress +1 stinky tofu egg from before would only enhance the egg itself; the storage jar would not be upgraded, so the stink could actually permeate through.

Now it was different. The storage container would also be enhanced, so as long as the container was not opened, there was no concern of the dark cuisine harming oneself.

Upon opening the clay jar, the stench burst out instantly. Even though Wang Qi held his breath, his scalp tingled, and goosebumps covered his body as visible black smoke drifted out.

Luckily, Wang Qi had grown stronger, or even holding his breath would have been futile.

Like the woman, who was initially curious and did not follow Wang Qi's instructions in time, felt the odor the moment it was released. Her hair stood on end. She couldn't cover her nose in time; her head ached, and she fainted, frothing at the mouth and rolling her eyes back.

And that was just from smelling a little of it, not taking a direct hit.

Wang Qi scooped out three stinky tofu eggs and, using his spiritual power to aim, he hurled them at the pursuing ships.

After the throw, his hands trembled. He quickly resealed the clay jar and rinsed his hands, which had touched the stinky tofu eggs, with water.

"If there were resistance to dark cuisine, I'd have at least 10 points by now, but still, I can't resist these Fortress +1 stinky tofu eggs," Wang Qi commented with lingering fear. The power of the Fortress +1 stinky tofu eggs was far beyond his imagination.

Also, having frequently consumed dark cuisine, he had developed resistance; otherwise, contact with it would have been deadly on the spot for others.

Following this, he saw each of the three ships from the Godslayer Alliance enveloped in a black mist.

Cries of agony? Certainly, those wouldn't be heard now; a silent death was spreading.

These three clouds of black mist were the horrendous outcome of the broken stinky tofu eggs. If one bit down and ate them, there might not be any trouble, but once they burst open, it was a disaster. After all, 'dark' cuisine began with the word 'dark'.