Conan, I'm an actor

Normally, when you enter the game, you control terrifying upright apes with adult-sized bodies, but they are currently in the bodies of children. Even Genta, the tallest of the children, needs to stand on a wooden barrel to steer the ship.

"How is it possible to beat this game! We can't even leave the starting village." Some children were already starting to have emotional breakdowns.

"Let's wait until the others have cleared the level and then figure out a way to get us out," another child chimed in.

Xiaolan originally wanted to encourage the children, but seeing their current state, she figured verbal encouragement wouldn't work, so she gave up on wasting her breath.

"Conan, what are you looking at?" Mitsuhiko asked, looking at Conan on the watchtower with some confusion.

"Let's look at the stars. I need to determine our direction first." Conan flipped through the ship's logbook. "If those crew members just died, then our current location should be consistent with the last location recorded in the logbook, or at least not by much. After determining our direction, we'll... lie down!"

Mitsuhiko and Genta were still confused about what was happening when Conan climbed down from the watchtower. Two cannonballs landed on the sea not far from them, creating two huge columns of water.

"What's that...? That looks like a warship!" Mitsuhiko looked in the direction the shells came from. "Conan, look! That's an Iowa-class battleship from the US Navy. It must be a friendly NPC. If we get their help, we'll be saved."

"Get your act together!" Conan exclaimed, somewhat exasperated. "The Iowa-class battleships are products of the mid-20th century! These dead pirates' attire is Viking attire; they were active from 800 AD to 1066 AD. The two couldn't possibly coexist. Even in a game, game developers wouldn't make such an obvious mistake..."

He stopped mid-sentence, because the warship heading towards them seemed to be an Iowa-class battleship, and it appeared to be preparing to fire a second shot.

"Run! Genta, turn the ship around!" Conan shouted immediately.

"But aren't those friendly forces over there?" Genta asked, looking bewildered.

"That's the army, we're pirates, how could we be friendly forces!" Mitsuhiko reacted instantly and rushed over to help Genta steer the ship.

Conan and Ran went to the mast and began to raise the sails, but the wind wasn't strong enough, so they were afraid they wouldn't escape their fate this time.

At this moment, Masaaki Okakura and Yusuke Sakata, standing below the turret, felt a bit overwhelmed looking at the shells in front of them. Although most of the work was done by machines, the two of them were too busy to operate them.

"Hey boss, could you let Miss Karen mold some sailors to help with the work?" Sakata Yusuke said, stuffing six powder packs into the cannon barrel. "This kind of work is too..."

“I think it looks very interesting!” Masaaki Okakura asked excitedly, “Boss, when are we going to fire?”

"Let's wait and see," Xincheng said with a smile. "Once they give us some news, I think they'll start negotiating with us."

The warship's situation was already shown on the press conference screen via broadcast. Fifty children certainly couldn't complete the game, but the hackers who infiltrated it could. Those hackers would likely try to get them to protect the children, and he planned to use this opportunity to extort money from them again.

Chapter 222 The Modern Battleship Black Pearl

“I’ve already checked. The mission objective is to destroy the churches.” Yue Shui put the logbook aside. “There are a total of thirteen Christian churches that need to be destroyed. They are located in nine countries across seven sea areas and are considered the most influential churches in Europe.”

“They really dare to design something like this. Although historically the Vikings massacred European monks, these are Christians now…” Xincheng shook his head. “Never mind that. Are all the targets we need to destroy located by the sea?”

"I don't know. The map is over here, take a look yourself. I'm not familiar with this." Yue Shui said with a headache. "I thought it was some kind of fun game, but it turns out to be a war game. I wish I hadn't come."

Hearing Yue Shui's complaints, Xin Cheng also felt a bit of a headache. He hadn't expected it to be a war game. Even the most skilled players would die instantly if they were targeted by a dozen or so soldiers on the battlefield.

The original storyline only included scenes from the London arc, with very little footage of other arcs. The only known information was that Noah's Ark eliminated 20 people in just a few hours.

He had thought the kids were too weak, which was why they were eliminated so quickly, but now it seems that Noah's Ark's inhumane treatment was also a major reason.

Just then, the radar in front of him suddenly changed, turning into a screen similar to a game map.

At this moment, three green cursors have appeared on the map, and these green cursors are approaching one of the red cursors.

After reading the message sent by Karen, Shinjo immediately understood the meaning of the cursor colors: green meant friendly forces, namely the children, while red meant the mission objective.

Soon, the green cursor's image was also transmitted via drone, showing more than a dozen longboats gliding toward the shore. Xincheng recognized the children among the NPCs almost immediately.

On the opposite side, dozens of archers, hiding behind cover, began attacking the longship with their bows and arrows.

At first, the archers' arrows were unable to harm the Vikings due to the distance, but once the longship was within 100 paces, the Vikings began to suffer casualties.

At times like these, the difference between ordinary children and NPCs becomes more apparent. The ordinary NPCs are rowing frantically, trying to reach the shore as quickly as possible, while the children start looking around and gradually fall behind the pace of these Viking pirates.

The children were soon injured or killed. There were five children in the attack, and two unlucky ones were soon hit by arrows and disappeared on the longship. Their places were taken by other NPCs.

At the press conference, the two children's "cocoons" spun and disappeared under the stage, signifying their elimination.

"Inspector Megure, is it possible to cooperate with the robbers?" Yusaku Kudo asked Inspector Megure.

"What did you say? Yusaku, you're not kidding, are you?" Inspector Megure's expression changed. "What's the point of us cooperating with these guys?"

"No, there's still room for cooperation," Professor Agasa said, looking at the screen opposite him. "That Iowa-class battleship named Black Pearl is clearly not something from the game. This cheat team has the ability to rewrite the game content, which means they can cheat."

"A game that's difficult for ordinary green players, but for these cheaters..." Kudo Yusaku changed the subject, "Right now, it seems like only they can save these kids."

Chairman Syndra's face turned pale and then red. Was it really appropriate for these guys to discuss how to cooperate with the cheat development team in front of the game developers? However, considering the special circumstances, he could only grit his teeth and accept it.

Just then, the screen in front of Professor Agasa lit up again.

"Hey everyone, have you made up your minds? How's the $10 billion ransom coming along?" Jack's voice came from the speakers. "If you're not ready yet, I'm about to fire."

“Raising $10 billion will take time, but we can pay a deposit,” Chairman Syndra said first.

He knew very well that this matter had escalated to a major point, and he would have to bleed money, but there were limits to how much he would have to bleed. If the entire Syndra Corporation was a victim, then those guys probably wouldn't go too far.

"That's quite a show of sincerity," Captain Jack said. "Then I'll give you another half hour..."

"Wait!" Yusaku Kudo said, "We have another deal to discuss, I wonder if you'd be willing to talk about it."

"A deal? Interesting. You, a great writer, do business with robbers?" Captain Jack Sparrow said with a laugh. "Would the officer next to you agree?"

"If you're talking about Inspector Megure, I'll handle him," Yusaku Kudo said with extreme arrogance.

Inspector Megure opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing; the embarrassment on his face was obvious to anyone.

“Alright then, great writer, let me see what you want to trade with me,” Captain Jack said with a smile.

"Our game launch event encountered a launch mishap; the game difficulty is too high," Kudo Yusaku began to blatantly lie. "Even if you don't intervene, there's a high probability that these trial players won't be able to complete the game. Therefore, I hope you can act as NPCs to guide these trial players through the game."

"It's possible, but the price..."

Chairman Syndra's facial muscles twitched slightly. After that, no matter what price the pirate offered, he was the one who would ultimately pay the price.

“The price is negotiable,” Yusaku Kudo said, gesturing to the anxious parents below. “I think there are people willing to pay the price, and they won’t refuse my request.”

Looking at the parents with bloodshot eyes, Inspector Megure cursed Kudo Yusaku in his heart as an old fox, threatening the parents with their children. How dare they disagree?

“Them?” Jack’s voice was somewhat mocking. “The one I’m making a deal with is you, the great writer, Yusaku Kudo.”

After a moment of surprise, Yusaku Kudo asked, "The deal you made with me is related to my book?"

“Your next book is probably still in the planning stages, right? I hope to include me and my ship in it,” Jack said with a smile. “My name is Jack Sparrow, and my ship is called the Black Pearl.”

"Okay!" Kudo Yusaku agreed without any hesitation.

There are only about thirty children left now, and if we don't agree, they'll all be wiped out. Besides, adding a character to the book isn't a big problem.

"make a deal!"

Inside the game world

"Conan, why aren't they firing?" Mitsuhiko trembled all over.

Their pirate ships were no match for the speed of the opposing steel warships, and it was only a matter of time before they were caught up.

However, their opponent continued to follow them, tailing them without firing, like a cat toying with a mouse. This situation put immense psychological pressure on everyone, even leading some to consider being eliminated.

Chapter 223 The Game of Winning Without Lifting a Bottom

Conan took out his binoculars and peered at the opposite deck, his expression not very good.

"What's wrong, Conan?" Ran asked, somewhat puzzled. "Isn't this a good thing?"

“There’s no one on their deck,” Conan said. “If they were planning to capture us alive, there should be soldiers on deck. As far as I know, battleships only clear their decks when they’re about to fire their main guns.”

“This…” Genta’s face turned pale.

However, at that moment, the battleship in the distance moved, or rather, began to accelerate.

Meanwhile, crew members began to appear on the Black Pearl.

These are all crew members created by Karen, but it's unclear what she referenced. Some of the crew members are undead with barnacles covering their faces, while others have octopus heads, which is quite sanity-draining. Hopefully, it won't scare the children.

As it turned out, Xincheng's concerns were justified. Two little girls fainted upon seeing the octopus-faced crew member. Not only them, but some parents in the viewing area at the press conference also screamed.

"Welcome to the Black Pearl! Pirates, you are now prisoners of the Black Pearl. I am your captain, Jack Sparrow." Newtown's voice came over the loudspeaker. "From now on, you will work for me on this ship for 100 years as the price for my saving you."

"100 years!" Ayumi's face turned deathly pale instantly, and she looked like she might faint at any moment.

"Is this some kind of pirate legend?" Mitsuhiko also took a step back. "Could this be the legendary ghost ship?"

"A ghost!" Genta exclaimed in fright.

"Conan, where are you going?" Ran asked, looking at Conan as he climbed the gangway with some confusion.

"I just felt it was necessary to meet the captain, after all, he's our boss for the next hundred years, right?" Conan said with a terrifying smile.

“I’ll go with you,” Xiaolan said immediately.

"No need, Ran-neechan, you can stay here and take care of them," Conan said with a smile.

He went to the captain's cabin not only to gather intelligence, but also to confirm something else.

This Iowa-class battleship shouldn't exist in the game; it's highly likely that it was given to them by external forces. Of course, another possibility is that it's a mischievous prank by the game designers, or that they deliberately left it for the players to acquire.

He had already read the game's questline. The quest involved finding Viking pirates, following them to destroy churches, and killing monks—an extremely difficult task. Even seasoned history game players might not be able to complete it in one life, let alone children like them.

While he was thinking, he had already arrived at the door of the captain's cabin, and then, without warning, an octopus tentacle wrapped around his waist.

The hideous octopus face was right in front of him, and the stench of rotting seafood assaulted his senses—no, it was even more disgusting. Conan could even see the white worms wriggling on that face. His stomach churned, and he felt like he might vomit at any moment.

"That's enough. Didn't you see Conan's face turned pale with fright?" A familiar voice rang in Conan's ears.

"I don't think it's enough. He hasn't thrown up yet, has he? Who told him to be so bold?"

"Uncle Shinjo! Why are you here? And this is too much!" Upon hearing Shinjo's voice, Conan immediately began to struggle violently, looking like he wanted to fight to the death.

Shinjo snapped his fingers, and the octopus monster that was binding Conan vanished instantly.

Just as Conan looked in the direction from which the sound came, an octopus-like face appeared in front of him and spoke in Shinjo's voice, "Who is this Uncle Shinjo you were talking about?"

"Ah~" Conan couldn't hold back any longer and screamed. After being startled repeatedly, he fainted.

Hearing Conan's scream, Ran, who was already worried about Conan acting alone, rushed in, followed closely by the three children. The children behind exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, and then caught up with the group in front.

Although I hate to admit it, that kid named Conan is indeed very talented. Only by following him can we hope to complete this game and return to the real world alive.

A few minutes later, they found Conan unconscious at the door of the captain's cabin.

Before they could figure out what was going on, a strange man with a face covered in barnacles took them back to their room.

Although those guys looked terrifying, their rooms were very clean and spotless.