Chapter Ninety-Four: Stirring Up Trouble

Some of the crew members were stunned. The pirates were letting them go? But then, realization dawned—it must be that someone had paid the ransom, and so they were free. Suppressing their excitement as best they could, they quietly reminded each other of this fact. Two young men armed with AK rifles led them to the town’s docks.

They were not the only ones released; other fishermen and cargo ship crew members from various countries were gradually freed from different parts of the town. Those escorting them to the beach docks were only one or two per group. Only then did they notice that Hobio, the town, was much quieter than usual. What was different? After thinking for a moment, they realized that the armed men who used to patrol the streets with guns were mostly nowhere to be seen.

Some women, children, and ordinary men emerged from dilapidated houses, many of them with bewildered expressions. Though this confusion lingered in the hearts of many of the freed captives, none dared ask questions at such a critical moment.

The rundown dock was soon reached. Naturally, it couldn’t accommodate massive cargo ships or oil tankers—only speedboats and modified fishing boats equipped with speedboat engines were moored here. Some fishing boats belonging to other nations’ fishermen were also docked, and their crews hurried aboard, eager to start their engines and depart.

The larger vessels were anchored farther out at sea, requiring speedboats to ferry their crew. Thirty-six tanker crew members crowded onto two modified speedboats, which took them one by one to their respective ships. Only when the speedboats turned back did the cargo ship crews truly believe they had been rescued. Earlier, while aboard the speedboats, they had feared this might be their execution, since it seemed unlikely that ransom had been paid for every single captive.

Once their ships were underway, the crew excitedly used the satellite communication systems to contact home.

"White Whale Pearl calling headquarters, White Whale Pearl calling headquarters."

"This is headquarters. White Whale Pearl? Have you been released?"

"Yes, thanks to the company's prompt ransom payment and the nation’s rescue efforts, we are returning home according to the planned route."

The operator at the Ocean Freight Company headquarters was baffled, and barely half a minute later, another operator received a similar message from the Eastern Queen.

Both hijacked cargo ships reported they had been released and were heading home. The two operators exchanged glances—after all, they hadn’t paid any ransom!

...

At this moment, Abdullah Hassan was no longer who he had once been. But he was not the second Mischievous Beast; he was a shark-man—not the graceful mermaid kind, but a battle-type shark-man with underwater breathing and a powerful physique. He had been alchemically created using a small shark, a Chinese mouse-eared bat, and the original Abdullah Hassan as materials.

In appearance, he resembled Kisame from Naruto, but Abdullah Hassan now had a pair of fleshy wings on his back that could serve as paddles underwater or lift him in flight. From the results of the previous Mischievous Beast and last night's alchemy, Wu You discovered that, in humanoid alchemical creations, visual deception was almost inevitably an inherent ability—provided he intended it.

Hobio had lost nearly five hundred armed men, mostly men but also some women, and a significant number were mistakenly "killed." The town itself had thousands of residents, but the armed men were the most active, so their absence made Hobio feel much emptier.

These pirate members were, in varying degrees, related to the townspeople, and piracy had become the main source of income here. As for the sudden disappearance of so many, Abdullah Hassan explained to the residents that last night, an unidentified armed force attacked the town, capturing or killing many "Coast Guard" members. The attackers used them as hostages and demanded the release of the hijacked ships and crews.

Most of the townspeople believed this explanation; some wept, others were expressionless. Someone asked if they would continue the piracy business. Abdullah Hassan answered, "Yes." Not only would they continue, but they would change their strategy—not merely kidnapping for ransom, but shifting their focus to luxury cruise ships and targeting the wealthy.

He spoke of "expanding the market" beyond the common misconceptions—who said they had to operate only in the Gulf of Aden, or couldn’t venture into other seas, or pirates couldn’t start side businesses on land? Previously it was impossible, but now, with a dozen shark-men, several vampires, and a certain number of mimic mantis demons, what couldn’t they accomplish?

Bronze-level creatures wielding guns—probably something many Hollywood directors would love to put on screen.

...

Wu You had not yet returned home, but was traveling with Ao Guang, slowly moving toward Southeast Asia, following a tropical ocean storm. Occasionally, they would dive deep to enjoy the wonders of the seabed.

It was a magical experience, making Wu You feel as if he had a direct connection with nature. By tonight, at full speed, he would finally reach home.

The vampires were Wu You’s theatrical creation this time—intended to stir up trouble in the West. On the journey, he sent out a few here and there, dispersing them across various Western locales to live in hiding. As for issues like identity papers, they would have to find their own solutions.

The constraints of legal consciousness on Wu You were steadily weakening; only education and moral principles kept his nature intact—and that, solely regarding his homeland.

These vampires borrowed many elements from novels and films, created from humans, vampire bats, and a viper species with divine-level toxins and heat-sensitive organs.

The sense of immersion was so intense that the mental energy Wu You expended far exceeded that used in creating the shark-men.

The final vampires possessed, to some extent, the uncanny feeling that had accompanied the creation of Qiongqi, though not as strongly, and the mental drain was much less. Yet, the toxin ability mutated.

Ordinary neurotoxins purely destroy nerve cells and coordination, causing organ failure, respiratory paralysis, and death. The vampires’ innate neurotoxin, injected via their fangs, instead allowed limited control over the target’s nerves and affected memory neurons.

It was almost as if, like in legend and film, vampires could create puppets. But this control was temporary, depending on the amount of toxin, lasting from a few days to a few weeks, and increasing the dose could prolong it, though at the risk of killing the target.

This wasn't the most legendary aspect. Wu You’s vampires, during the act of feeding, could release a unique biological signal, causing the target to burn through their own proteins and energy, with organs flooding the blood with adrenaline and other powerful hormones, so the vampire would absorb more high-quality blood.

Through this intense hormonal stimulation and energy absorption, they could slowly strengthen their bodies.

Due to the infusion of spiritual power, the vampires were generally quite attractive, and changing skin color was child’s play for alchemy.

Wu You was reluctant to send away the rare female vampires he had created, keeping a few around for their beauty.

But Wu You could already foresee that, should any vampire advance to the silver rank, the process of transcending the mundane would inevitably demand the absorption of vast amounts of fresh blood.