Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer

In a realm of pitch darkness.

On the tranquil black surface of the sea, a clearly abnormal current flowed. If there were light, one would notice that the color of this current was distinctly different from the surrounding pale black. This current kept moving forward, its speed extremely fast. And ahead, in the darkness, there appeared to be a small island.

The current rushed straight toward the island. Then, a surge of water crashed directly onto the beach. It spread out swiftly, like a pool of seawater, after hitting the shore. It seeped into the sand. Carried along by the current were Alka and Chadite.

"COUGH, COUGH... UGH!" Alka coughed violently, spewing a considerable amount of seawater from his mouth. His throat was hoarse as he gasped for fresh air.

Chadite was in the same state. After vomiting, they both breathed heavily and lay powerlessly on the beach.

Alka lay on the beach, steadying his breathing and regaining his strength. But his mind was a blank. Today's events had overwhelmed his spirit; he needed to take a moment to sort out the current situation.

Lucilia's soul, unbeknownst to Alka, had flown out. She was now sitting silently on the sand beside him, watching him.

"SOB, SOB..."

The sound of crying and choking nearby startled Alka, and he quickly climbed up. A Lighting Stone appeared in his hand, emitting light that dispelled the surrounding darkness.

Chadite lay drenched on the beach, her right arm covering her eyes. Tears mixed with the seawater drenching her, but her grief was so overwhelming she couldn't hold back her sobs. Alka was at a loss as to how to console her.

Andre's fate was unknown, and Sang Kaka's was even more uncertain. Based on what they had witnessed, the chances of Sang Kaka surviving were extremely low. Hammer and Liboka had died right before his eyes. With the ship's destruction, the chances of any secondary crew members surviving were practically zero. He had only just begun to feel like he was assimilating somewhat into this world, that his sense of unfamiliarity and dread was lessening. And all of this was because of him. Thinking of this, his previously blank mind was now filled with grief.

He took a deep breath, gathered his spirits, and spoke.

"The Captain might still be alive."

Upon hearing this, Chadite sat up, wiping her tears amidst her sobs. As she wiped her eyes, she inadvertently smeared the grime and sand from her hands onto her face.

"Are you... are you sure?" A tinge of hope was evident in her voice.

Alka nodded. He soothed his emotions once again, slightly tilting his head. Only then did he lower his voice and say, "I saw clearly. The man dressed as a Pirate Captain—I recognized his face."

Before Chadite could speak, Alka continued, "He is none other than my father."

"Your father!" Chadite's voice, which had just steadied, rose involuntarily, a hint of anger audible in it. She instinctively grabbed Alka's arm. She gripped his arm tightly, her eyes blazing with a trace of fury. The sudden information made it difficult for her to control the surge of anger and grief. Yet, despite this, she managed to hold back from any further action, saying, "Didn't you say your parents died when you were around ten?"

Alka nodded. "Yes, I've always believed that. Do you know about some of the peculiarities of Golden Wheat Island?"

Without waiting for Chadite's response, Alka said, "All islanders and children born on the island receive the Stone Mother's blessing. Their lives are represented by a stone, placed within the great monolith of the island's Stone Mother.

"When the stone cracks, it signifies the passing of life.

"When I was ten, my mother's stone cracked. My father, however, was not a native of the island; he was an outsider.

"It's quite common for islanders to marry outsiders; it's not particularly rare, and there are no rules against it."

At this point, Alka turned to look at Chadite. By now, Chadite's initial agitation had subsided, and she had managed to calm her emotions. Her pointless anger wouldn't solve any problems.

"Have I ever told you why I joined the Treasure Hunting Team?"

Chadite shook her head. "No."

"Just a month before joining the Treasure Hunting Team, I found the treasure that had been rumored on our island for nearly two hundred years." Alka extended his left hand, the ring on his little finger shimmering. "This item and my Magic Techniques are part of the treasure. They also formally introduced me to the Extraordinary world.

"But there, I found my mother's remains. Yes... she lay before the treasure. She too was a descendant of the treasure's original owner.

"She was ambushed from behind and died there."

At this point, Chadite couldn't hold back. She asked, "So, did your father do it?"

It was a natural assumption, easily made.

Alka clutched his head, his expression pained, a reaction stemming from his troubling memories. "I initially suspected so, but later, based on my memories of my father's habits and character, I dismissed it.

"He had loved his wife so dearly; their sweet affection was the envy of the islanders. He would even secretly hide away his own money, just to use it to buy gifts for my mother and surprise her.

"He often did this. To outsiders, he might have seemed like a brute and a ruffian, but within the family, he was very good at controlling his temper."

"'But...'" At this, Alka abruptly closed his mouth.

But now, that man had appeared right in front of him, obviously targeting him. The methods he used were so aggressive. But why? Alka couldn't understand it at all. Even if his father had really killed his mother and escaped with the treasure... over the past ten years, he had formed a powerful Pirate Gang, even acquiring a Treasure. He had become a renowned figure in this world, albeit an infamous one. But why choose to return at this specific time? Why seek him out now? He couldn't understand it at all. Why? Those cannonballs aimed at him had clearly been intended to kill him. If he really wanted to kill me, why not do it back then? Why wait until I'd grown up to kill me? Why? Yet his subsequent actions seemed aimed at capturing me.

Beside him, Chadite listened to Alka's account, looking at Alka's confused and puzzled face. When she heard that the man was Alka's father, anger had involuntarily surged in her heart. But considering the time she had spent with Alka and listening to his story, she still believed him.

"Although I don't know why, my father seems to want to capture me," Alka said. "But we escaped. That means the Captain has a high chance of surviving. After all, he's a very tempting bait, isn't he?"

Hearing this, Chadite nodded. She rallied her spirits, stood up from the sand, brushed off her clothes, and wiped away the remaining sand and tear stains. The grief had passed. Now, they had to figure out a course of action.

"We need to find a way... a way to find Father. If he's still alive, we have to rescue him."

Hearing Chadite's words, Alka stood up. He gazed ahead at the pitch-black surface of the sea and the surrounding darkness.

"Not only that, but we also need to make my father pay."

Alka himself didn't have much affection for this so-called father. Any fondness he'd felt was purely a product of the filter of his memories. Now, that filter had been completely shattered. The supposed affection was naturally gone, leaving only anger and hatred.

"Alka..." Chadite called out his name, but then didn't know what to say. Patricide was a difficult thing to accept.

Alka looked at his collarbone. There was a tattoo resembling a fish scale. It was the mark Sang Kaka had pressed onto them, the one that ensured they could breathe underwater. It had allowed them to escape safely.

Seeing Alka's action, Chadite couldn't help but look at her own left shoulder, where there was a similar fish scale tattoo. Even more hatred surged in her heart. She could only pray in her heart that Sang Kaka had either escaped or been captured to be used as bait.

Seeing Alka recovering, Lucilia, who had been beside him, silently returned to her Mirror. The surrounding darkness was not suitable for her to remain for long; she wouldn't have, if not for her concern for Alka.

At this moment, Alka looked at Chadite and said, "Let's analyze the current situation. Firstly, Gami and the others are definitely safe. When we were escaping, all the enemy ships were drawn to us, so they very likely took the opportunity to flee successfully."

Chadite nodded. If so, Jason Gami and Vanessa were likely safe. For them, this was good news.

Chadite added, "They were already on the periphery then. If their small boat didn't encounter any mishaps, there's a high probability they managed to leave the Realm of Pitch Darkness safely. They will certainly go to the Church as soon as possible to inform them of our situation, because..." Chadite looked at the metal box beside her.

"Yes, that's right," Alka said, understanding her unspoken thought. "Under normal circumstances, they would definitely assume the Prayer for the Dead was chasing us because I was carrying this box." Alka crouched, patted the metal box in front of him, thought for a moment, and asked, "Chadite, do you know how to open it?"

Chadite nodded and crouched down. A faint Holy Light appeared on her hand, and she pressed it onto the box. The box opened, layer by layer, revealing the blade within, before closing again.

"That's good. This is our strongest guarantee." Having used the Sword of Love before, Alka knew its power well. It wasn't just effective against those undead; it was an absolute death-dealer for villains like these too. This would give them the ability to fight back if they were caught.

"Is it possible for us to leave the Realm of Pitch Darkness?" Chadite couldn't help but ask. If they too could find a way to leave the Realm of Pitch Darkness, they could quickly reach the Church. That way, they could achieve much more.

Alka shook his head, sighed, and said, "Though I don't know why, I'm certain my father has some way to locate me. Otherwise, he wouldn't have just so happened to run into us in the Realm of Pitch Darkness and attack us without any hesitation." The Realm of Pitch Darkness was already inherently difficult to navigate, let alone trying to intercept and blockade a specific target within it. To be surrounded so precisely... it was very hard to believe it was a coincidence.

"He's your father. He has countless ways to find you. Even I know a few methods," Lucilia's voice transmitted from the Mirror at this moment.

"What methods?" Alka couldn't help but ask.

As soon as he spoke, he felt a hand touch his head.

"Are you okay? Who are you talking to?" Chadite looked at him with concern. She thought that perhaps being in the darkness for so long had caused him to be affected by its elements.