This aura is deadly

Endurance, 1:12 p.m.

The ship was sailing at a constant speed on the inland commercial shipping lanes of the United States. The sea was much hotter than the land. Moreover, after leaving the shallow water area, the sea was no longer calm. If you stood on the deck without grabbing something, you would really fall down.

Conrad took Chen Ke into the cabin. This kind of modern fishing boat does not require many sailors. If you look at it by the standards of a smuggling boat, there are a little few people.

After scanning the hull of the ship with his spiritual vision, he counted them carefully. There were 26 members in total on the ship. Only four people were needed to maintain the normal navigation of the ship. The remaining sailors were actually gunners. Chen Ke knew them very well. All were armed.

"This is the kitchen, this is the crew lounge... these are the two places you need to remember, by the way... this is the bathroom, which is gender-neutral, and the lock is broken... so knock on the door before going in." Conrad said.

He led Chen Ke slowly forward in the aisle. Although it was Heinard's personal connection, Chen Ke felt that Conrad didn't really want to help, and his tone was full of impatience and disgust.

"Are there any women on this boat?" Chen Ke couldn't help but ask.

"Yes." Conrad replied simply.

Chen Ke didn't ask anything. After all, no one stipulated that women could not be smugglers. Besides, Lucina was a maritime smuggler before she joined the postman.

Conrad took Chen Ke to a small cabin with a wall-mounted folding bed that could be pulled down to curl up on. Sitting on it, one could also see the sea view through the porthole.

"You can rest here. Although it's not particularly spacious, it should be enough unless you want to sleep." Conrad said.

"So...is there anything else I need to know?" Chen Ke stood at the door of the cabin and asked.

"Mr. Chen, your journey will not be particularly long, at most seven or eight hours, so there is no need for us to be friendly and talk politely. To put it simply, I don't want to give you a ride, but I owe Heinard a favor. "Conrad said coldly.

Chen Ke looked displeased, but he couldn't get angry on the other party's ship. After all, he still expected Conrad to take him to Norton City. It would not be wise to turn against him now.

"I will try my best to prevent you from noticing me, if it makes you feel better." Chen Ke said lightly.

"That would be great." After Conrad said this, he turned and left.

Chen Ke sighed, pulled the folding bed down from the bulkhead, and then carefully sat on it. In fact, even if he didn't want to sleep, sitting on it seemed a bit cramped, with his knees firmly pressed against the opposite bulkhead. There was nowhere to put the calf, so it had to be crossed up. Coupled with the inexplicable high temperature inside the ship, this small room was like a steamer.

"It's so fucking amazing... Heinard... He must not have a good relationship with you." Chen Ke said to himself.

It was really uncomfortable here, and Chen Ke couldn't hold it in any longer, so he had to come out of the small cabin and stand by the door to straighten his pants.

He opened his spiritual vision and saw that Conrad and the sailors were busy, and most of them stayed on the third floor below the cabin. If he guessed correctly, this should be the place where they transported goods.

Smuggling ships generally undergo a certain degree of modification based on needs. The bridge of the Endurance has only two floors. Behind the deck is a large boom for casting nets, and fishing nets and other equipment are also piled on top.

The main structure of the entire ship is concentrated below the deck. The first floor is the crew rest area. A U-shaped corridor contains more than a dozen cabins. Chen Ke's place is at the stern.

Below the crew rest area are three fish cabins for storing fish. These fish cabins will not be used by Conrad and others to smuggle goods, because if they want to smoothly dock for security inspection, this is a place that will definitely be inspected. It would be unwise to hide sacred objects here.

The real hiding place of the sacred objects is the space under the fish tank, near the ballast water tank and fresh water tank. Those spaces are hollow and can be stuffed with anything.

Ballast water tanks are distributed at the stern and bow of the ship, and the middle part is the engine room, which is also the power source of the entire ship. Generally, only a few maintenance personnel will stay there.

Chen Ke didn't know why Conrad was so rude to him. He guessed that he must have delayed Conrad's work. Looking at the sailors busy in the fish cabin, he guessed this.

Instead of staying in the cabin, it would be better to go to the deck to see the sea view and enjoy the breeze. Chen Ke made up his mind and walked along the corridor and climbed up the stairs to the deck.

The sea breeze blew across his face, and the scorching sun burned his face. He could still vaguely see the coast, but at the same time, the deep blue sea and the blue sky on the other side met at the far end of Chen Ke's sight, and several birds flew by from time to time. A big white bird made a cry of "Oh~oh~oh~".

Chen Ke had no research on birds, but he guessed that this might be the seagull he had seen in the animal world. It has white fur and a yellow beak. From time to time it plunges into the water to pick up fish close to the surface and devour them.

He was lying on the side of the boat, looking at the coastline, enjoying a moment of tranquility. At this time, the sound of quarrels came from the bow of the boat.

Chen Ke followed the sound and saw a man wearing military blue short-sleeves and brown overalls arguing with a woman with a ponytail wearing a black vest and jeans.

"You are wrong, they can't be there, no way!" the woman said while shaking her head.

"Impossible? Then can you explain the instructions of this ancient badge? You put it in the southeast corner of the map according to the angle of the mural, turn it 45°, and that's where it points!" The man spread his hands and made a helpless gesture Actions.

"This may just be a misunderstanding. The ancient prophecy mentioned that the Holy Seal was split into six pieces and held by six guardians... Their descendants established six sects and were scattered around the world." The woman retorted.

"So what?" The man spread his hands.

"This means that either this is just a mythical story, or these sects are in the civilized world, and there is absolutely no way they are in a forest in South America." The woman laughed.

"You are too superstitious about those historical stories and prophecies. I only believe in the clues of the puzzle that have been solved." The man said, holding his chest.

"This is why you always come back empty-handed." The woman said with her hands in her waist.

Although Chen Ke couldn't understand their argument, he couldn't help but stepped forward and said hello, because judging from their clothes and their conversation just now, it was obvious that they were not Conrad's subordinates, but just like him. A hitchhiker.

"Hey... the weather is really nice." Chen Ke ventured forward.

When the two saw Chen Ke, they were stunned for a moment. They probably didn't expect someone to talk to them.

"Actually, I'm almost dying of heat." The woman picked up the ponytail that was blown by the north wind and shook her head.

"It seems that you are also a hitchhiker?" the man asked.

Chen Ke stretched out his hand and said: "Chen Ke, I am just a traveler who is late for the cruise ship. I have to reach Norton City tonight no matter what."

The man shook hands with Chen Ke and said, "Nathan, a photographer from the Discovery Channel."

The woman followed closely behind, shook hands with Chen Ke, and said, "Laura, a university history teacher."