Pirates' Max Level System

"I just went out for a while, how come all the customers are gone?"

"I heard there was an explosion nearby and all the guests ran away. Didn't you go out to see it? What happened?" Taotu asked boredly while lying on the bar.

"I don't know the details. The tragedy had already happened when I went there. It seems to have been done by a doomsday cultist who believes in the Lady of Death."

Qin Luo told everything he knew. Except for Red-Haired Shanks, there was nothing else to hide.

The staff in the flower shop and cafe were all sighing and feeling sad for the innocent people. The manager's expression was the same as everyone else's, and nothing could be seen.

Throughout the rest of the day, the number of tourists in the Bridge Market dwindled due to the morning's events. By 5 p.m., the number of people in the Bridge Market was almost as low as it would have been at closing time. Many shops simply closed early, including flower shops and cafes.

But the lack of customers wasn't necessarily a bad thing. At least because of the lack of customers, Olivia and the store manager had more conversations. By the time she got off work, Olivia had already successfully maxed out the store manager's favorability.

Qin Luo was invited by the store manager to visit her home. Of course, he was just a guest. The real invitee was "Vio". The store manager's home was an old house with a long history. Basically, since the emergence of South Hill Raff, the house and this flower shop and cafe have been passed down in the store manager's family.

It would be great to be invited to her home by the target person to dig out further clues. But what is he, a younger brother or a housekeeper? Qin Luo complained in his heart.

"Why did the store manager choose to invite us to her house eight days later?" Eight days is a long time, and Taotu couldn't understand why the store manager didn't just invite them over that day.

"Maritime Festival." Olivia and Miss Nakano said in unison.

In the puzzled eyes of Qin Luo and Taotu, Olivia felt that it would be better to let Miss Nai, a local, explain.

"You're not here for sightseeing, so you don't know. Actually, the Nanshierlaf Maritime Festival is quite famous in the South China Sea. Nanshierlaf is a trading city that developed due to navigation and trade. It's known as the City of Trade and the Water City in the South China Sea."

"But in the early days, South Hilllove was just a small island inhabited by fishermen. To survive, the fishermen began trading. On a certain day, they would collectively offer sacrifices to the sea god and then set sail. Perhaps it was the sea god's blessing, but that year all the merchant ships returned with full loads. This day has become customary as the South Hilllove Maritime Festival."

With the explanation provided by the naval officer, the group quickly understood the significance of the Naval Festival to Lady Nanshila. On that day, most shops in the city would close to participate in the festival.

I don’t know if Qin Luo is overthinking it, but he feels that this maritime festival will not be peaceful.

According to the plan, the next day Olivia and Taotu temporarily put aside their "part-time job" at the flower shop and cafe, and accompanied Qin Luo and Miss Nai to three other places that might be the remains of the Guardian Family.

First, there was an antique shop in the center of South Hilllove. With the presence of Qin Luo, a "big shot", Miss Nai was finally able to enter the shop and take a look.

As soon as he entered the antique shop, Qin Luo saw a well-maintained telescope. This was also the reason why Miss Nai Na was sure that the antique shop was related to the Guardian Family.

At the bottom of the telescope, Qin Luo saw the very hidden family crest of the Guardian family, which was enough to show that this telescope was most likely the one that was originally installed on the lighthouse.

In addition to the telescope, some ancient wooden furniture and armor sculptures bear the emblem of the Guardian family.

What surprised Qin Luo the most was that he even saw the wooden box that kept the seal talisman in the antique shop. But after some research, Qin Luo announced disappointedly that it was just a fake that looked very similar.

The owner of the store enthusiastically introduced the goods to Qin Luo and his friends. According to his introduction, these were genuine antique furniture sold to his ancestors by a once wealthy family after they fell into poverty.

The boss was not lying. Qin Luo used his Sharingan to quietly set up an illusion and confirmed that what the boss said was true. He also confirmed that the boss was not a descendant of the Guardian family.

But this doesn't make sense. Some time ago, the Guardian Family was fighting against the 933 Undead Fleet in the Lost Sea. How could they have fallen on hard times?

With doubts, Qin Luo and others continued to go to another place, the South Hilllove Library in the Eastern Islands.

Although it's called a library, the South Hill Rough Library isn't actually a single building, but rather a complex of buildings. The small islands to the east of the South Hill Rough Library are small and close together, making them unsuitable for residential or commercial development. That's why the library was chosen as its site.

Currently, the islands have a total of sixteen library buildings. The largest is five stories high and can accommodate a thousand people reading at the same time, while the smallest is not even as big as a flower shop or cafe. These buildings are connected by bridges.

The place where Miss Nai mentioned the Guardian Family crest was exactly that small library, a two-story cabin. There were two wooden owl statues at the door of the cabin. This time, it was in the owl's eyes that Qin Luo found the Guardian Family emblem.

After easily dodging the patrolling librarian, Qin Luo and his group appeared in the wooden house. The wooden house was locked, and it seemed that it was not open to the public.

This did not pose a problem for Qin Luo at all. With a slight pull, the chain was broken, and the secrets of the cabin were all revealed to them.

Chapter 551 Manuscript

It looked like a typical cabin, but rather than a library, it felt more like someone's own small residence. A kettle, stove, table and chairs, bookshelves, a bed—everything a person would need for daily life could be found inside. The second floor was used as a study by the cabin's previous owner.

Compared to these, what is truly eye-catching is something else.

When Qin Luo and others came in, they had only one feeling, that is chaos.

There were footprints everywhere on the dusty floor, and furniture and bookshelves had been turned over. Not a single book had been left on the shelves, and only traces and a fallen sheet or two of manuscript paper showed that something had once been placed there.

Someone had been here before Qin Luo and the others came. And it should have been in the last month or so. This is what Olivia said after touching the dust on the bookshelf where books used to be placed.

There wasn't much newly accumulated dust, and considering the sealing level of the cabin, Olivia felt her guess was pretty close.

Is this trip going to be in vain again?

Not really, through the rolling eyes, Qin Luo discovered something interesting.

"Wait, I found something." As Qin Luo said, Olivia and Taotu showed expectant eyes, while Na was frightened by Qin Luo's cataract eyes.

"Mr. Qin Luo, what's wrong with your eyes?"

"Is there a basement here?"

Miss Kaname and Momotogi asked respectively.

"This is one of my abilities, Miss Xina, there is no need to worry." After answering Miss Xina, Qin Luo shrugged at Taotu to indicate that he had nothing.

The small island where the wooden house is located can barely accommodate one wooden house. If a basement is dug deeper, sea water will probably be dug out directly.

Qin Luo didn't keep the secret. He walked to the bottom of the suspended wooden stairs and knocked gently. A secret compartment was revealed under one of the stairs. A manuscript was stored inside. The previous owner of the cabin must have hidden something important.

After obtaining the manuscript, Qin Luo and his companions left quickly. If they stayed any longer, the library administrator might come over, and Qin Luo didn't want to take the blame for the previous person.

The manuscript was given to Naka and Olivia to study together. Naka fully supported this decision, having never known Olivia was a woman. Being able to study the Guardian Family's work while also being with Vio was like heaven to Naka.

Alas, I can only hope that Miss Nai won’t be too sad after knowing the truth. Qin Luo thought with anticipation.

Qin Luo went to the last cross-sea bridge, the South China Sea Star Bridge, alone. Even Miss Xinai, who had always said that she wanted to participate in the search for the guardian family, refused.

The reason is simple. Clues can be found almost everywhere on the bridge, but it is difficult to find them.

The South Sea Star Bridge connects the south and east sides of South Hill Raff. By laying foundations on a few small islands, they managed to build the largest cross-sea bridge in the South China Sea, which was incredible at the time.

And on every piece of steel on the bridge, Qin Luo saw the family emblem of the Guardian family.

This is pure bullshit! When did the Guardian family crest become so worthless that it could be printed everywhere? Those who didn't know the truth probably thought it was the trademark of that steel mill.

That day, Qin Luo rolled his eyes and scanned the entire bridge from beginning to end. When Qin Luo felt like he was going blind, he realized that there were no secret compartments or clues at all.

Qin Luo did find some secret passages on some small islands. However, these secret passages led to some shelters, and at this time, there was nothing in the shelters except dust.

When Qin Luo returned, Olivia was still studying the manuscript with Miss Nai. The first few pages of the manuscript were written in modern language, easily comprehensible. The owner of the manuscript was undoubtedly from the Guardian family, and in these pages he revealed his helplessness at the heavy shackles his family was burdened with.

But from then on, the text was converted into the text of thousands of years ago.

According to the information that Olivia has researched, the latter part of the manuscript records the development history of the Guardian family in South Hillraf in the early years and their research on the objects of protection.

However, this person did not seem to be proficient in using characters from thousands of years ago, which made deciphering the manuscript much more difficult.

A week actually goes by very quickly; it basically passes in no time.

During this time, Qin Luo and his companions, apart from occasionally visiting flower shops and coffee shops, basically stayed in their residence to continue studying the manuscript. During this period, Qin Luo also sent a copy of the manuscript back to Sky Island, asking the scholars of the O'Hara Scholars Group to help decipher the contents.

Just because Qin Luo and others can stay at home peacefully doesn't mean that everything is peaceful outside.

On the contrary, as the Navigation Festival approached, chaos grew in South Hilllove, except for some countries and forces that came to join in the fun under the guise of congratulations.

The main reason was that the attacks and infiltrations by the Doomsday Cult were becoming more frequent. Their purpose was clear: to create panic and force the descendants of the Guardian family to come out.

Whether it is capturing members of the Guardian Family and sacrificing them to Lady Death, or obtaining the Guardian Family's secret techniques, it is a good choice for them.

Moreover, there is probably more than one sect coming to Nanshierlaf. Qin Luo encountered two groups when he was looking for the remains of the Guardian Family.

A group of relatively mild ones were just holding a meeting, so Qin Luo pretended not to see it. Another group was making bloody sacrifices with the lives of innocent people when Qin Luo encountered them. Qin Luo, in a bad mood, simply sacrificed all these cultists and sent them to meet their master.

Qin Luo finally made some progress in his work with the Nanshierlaf Management Organization. He met a Chamber of Commerce official. It was said that he was the heir of a large family in the Chamber of Commerce Management Organization. He was the kind of person who failed in his dream of becoming a writer and was forced to be captured and brought back to inherit a billion-dollar fortune.

People are indeed different from each other.

Perhaps because his "experience" was extremely similar to Qin Luo's, after chatting with him once, the heir felt like they were old friends at first sight.

"Derek, is this the good deal you were talking about?" Qin Luo looked helplessly at the old bookstore in front of him. Ever since he told Derek last time that he wanted to be a self-made traveling merchant, this familiar friend took the initiative to help Qin Luo find goods.

But it was never reliable at all. Derek had introduced him to fake and deceptive jewelry and the slave trade hidden by selling clothes.

This time, the antique Derek was talking about was actually a bookstore. Oh, this kid is a bit clueless, but what's with that bloody smell?

Chapter 552: Knocking Out His Attacker

The smell of blood was very faint, and most people might not notice it, but Qin Luo was different. Since obtaining the ability of the maximum level of physical body, various parts of Qin Luo's body have been strengthened, including his sensory organs. This should be the invisible benefit of the maximum level of physical body.

Not only could he smell the blood, Qin Luo could also determine that the source of the bloody smell was the old bookstore in front of him.

So the question is, what brought this bloody disaster to this old bookstore that you wouldn't want to enter at first sight?

Doubts lingered in Qin Luo's heart, but he didn't show it on the surface. Because Derek was right in front of him, Qin Luo couldn't show much more sensitivity than a businessman's son.

"Drek, if you don't give me an explanation I will never waste any more time with you." The implication was that Derek should tell the peculiarities of this bookstore, and the attack on the bookstore must be related to these peculiarities.

"I'm definitely not lying to you this time. This is my best kept secret. When I was a writer, I happened to come across this bookstore while searching for inspiration. It's filled with many old books I've never even heard of. I think you could sell them as antiques."

Derek said this with a look of longing on his face. It seemed that he was reminiscing about his days as a writer.

I shouldn't have expected anything from this guy, Qin Luo covered his face with one hand, full of helplessness. This Derek is a complete nerd. If he lived in a TV drama about palace fighting and house fighting, Qin Luo dared to guarantee that he would be a weakling who wouldn't survive a single episode.

Not all old antiques are valuable. Compared with those famous paintings, the prices of ancient books are simply incomparable.

I don’t know what Derek was thinking. After he finished his recollection, he didn’t wait for Qin Luo to react and directly pulled him inside.

"Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?" Before Derek could enter the bookstore, a figure blocked them outside.

"What can we do in a bookstore? Buy books, of course. Get out of the way." Derek pushed the person in front of him and tried to get him in, but with his thin arms and legs, there was no way he could push him in.

"Sorry, the bookstore is under renovation, so it's temporarily closed."

After pushing for a few times without any results, Derek said in irritation, "Who are you? You said we're closed, so we're closed. Manager, I'm Derek. Is this your new employee? You don't even recognize me."

At the end of his speech, Derek started shouting towards the bookstore. Derek's behavior successfully attracted the attention of countless people around.

Qin Luo just watched the show quietly on the side until Derek started yelling. Qin Luo knew that something bad was going to happen. This Derek was really asking for trouble.

After learning that Derek was a regular customer and was yelling at someone, the man pretending to be a clerk gave way. Firstly, he didn't want to be exposed and attract too much attention, and secondly, he had already murdered Qin Luo and Derek.

The moment Derek and Qin Luo entered the bookstore, the man disguised as a clerk pulled out a hidden blade from his sleeve and pointed it at Qin Luo and Derek's throats.

As for the results?

A scream of "Ah!" and the sound of someone hitting the wall were the result.

Qin Luo just took a step back and grabbed Derek who was walking forward. So the killer disguised as a store clerk lost his target and performed a self-indulgent show in front of Qin Luo and the others.

If anyone is to blame, it's that this person was too greedy. In order to slash the throats of Qin Luo and Derek at the same time without giving the other person a chance to react, he rushed out at an incredible speed.

Wait until the target is missed before trying to regain speed. Sorry, Qin Luo will tell him what it means to touch porcelain. Just step forward a little and you can easily create an aerial trapeze.

The killer fell face first into the wall and was knocked unconscious, the hidden blade in his hand falling to the ground.

Derek's shouting alarmed everyone around, and the killer's accomplices and Derek's bodyguards all moved at the sound.

The assassins who wanted to rescue their accomplices were repelled by Derek's bodyguards. After leaving behind several bodies, some of the assassins managed to escape.

As expected of the sons of the Chamber of Commerce manager, Drake's bodyguards also served as law enforcers. They quickly searched the entire bookstore and found the bodies of the bookstore manager and his clerk on the second floor.

Judging from the condition of the bodies, the waiter had been dead for several days, and the store manager had just been killed. The sharp-eyed Qin Luo noticed a blood-stained page among the evidence collected by Derek's bodyguards, and the text on it was exactly the same as it was a thousand years ago. The killer's purpose was self-evident.

Derek, who survived the disaster, felt that nowhere was safe. He was immediately surrounded by bodyguards and taken back to his mansion, along with Qin Luo.

Afterwards, Derek thanked Qin Luo profusely and invited him to have dinner at his house. During this time, Derek's father, who came after hearing the news and is now one of the senior executives of the South Hill Raff Management Chamber of Commerce, also expressed his gratitude to Qin Luo.

"Have you finished talking with your father?" Before dinner, Qin Luo was taken by the butler to visit the mansion alone, while Derek and his father were talking in the study. The content of the conversation was naturally the group of people who attacked the bookstore.

"Yeah." Derek was a little bored.

"Has the identity of that group not been investigated yet?" Qin Luo asked deliberately. Although Derek and his father were talking secretly in the study, Qin Luo could not stop them from eavesdropping.

The reason why Derek was unhappy was not because he had not found out the identities of these people. On the contrary, it was because he had figured out who that group of people were but could not do anything about them.

This group of people was sent by the newspaper. Even if the Chamber of Commerce announces the results, the newspaper that controls the media will say it is slander.

The Chamber of Commerce had already clashed with the newspaper several times over the Guardian Family's affairs. Currently, the three most powerful forces in South Hilllove were the Chamber of Commerce, the newspaper, and the Doomsday Cult.

Perhaps out of apology for having concealed something from Qin Luo just now, Derek told Qin Luo everything else he could answer when Qin Luo asked about it.

Qin Luo also figured out one thing. The Guardian Family was once a member of the Chamber of Commerce's upper echelons, but for some reason they withdrew hundreds of years ago.

The Chamber of Commerce’s attitude towards the Guardian Family is rather subtle now, but because the families of the Chamber of Commerce’s top leaders have all received favors from the Guardian Family, they still stand on the position of protecting the Guardian Family.

In addition, Qin Luo also obtained an additional piece of information that the high priest of the annual nautical festival is a member of the Guardian Family.

Chapter 553: The Eve of the Festival