A cook, vice-captain of the Rocks Pirates?

"Interesting! Let me join in the fun!"

Charlotte Linlin, seeing a fight breaking out, excitedly rushed over and urged Prometheus and Zeus to join the battle.

In an instant, the three engaged in an earth-shattering melee on the volcanic island.

Flameflower's strength was beyond imagination. She fought against two opponents, Newgate and Linlin, and was not at a disadvantage at all.

Her domineering aura seemed boundless, and every attack was precise and deadly.

The aftershocks of the battle turned the entire island upside down, causing the volcano to erupt even more violently, with lava flowing down from the mountaintop like tears of blood.

"What a... nice welcoming ceremony."

Lox's voice rang out lazily. He had somehow appeared at the edge of the battlefield, watching the fight with great interest.

He glanced at Raine and Wang Zhi, who were equally calm beside him, and grinned.

"It seems it's time to end this farce."

Rocks took a step forward, and a will far deeper and more domineering than the Flame Flower soared into the sky, instantly enveloping the entire battlefield.

The three people who were engaged in fierce fighting suddenly stopped moving, as if their bodies were being pressed down by an invisible mountain.

As if teleporting, Locke appeared in front of Flameflower, extended a finger, and casually tapped her forehead.

Flameflower's pupils contracted sharply. She tried to dodge, but found her body bound by an irresistible force, unable to move.

She could only watch helplessly as the finger grew larger and larger in front of her.

At this critical moment, an indescribable, warm, and mellow fragrance, as if it had a life of its own, silently drifted out and precisely entered the nostrils of everyone.

The aroma was unlike any dish that Renne had ever made before.

It wasn't domineering or intense, but like a gentle hand, it soothed everyone's tense nerves caused by the fierce battle and calmed their wildly beating hearts.

It was a wonderful flavor that combined the purest sweetness of rice, the crispest taste of spring water, and a touch of sunshine-like warmth.

Newgate and Linlin, who were engaged in fierce fighting, stopped what they were doing. Even the arrogant Rocks stopped in mid-air with the finger that was about to touch Fireflower's forehead.

Everyone's gaze involuntarily turned to the distance not far away.

There, Raine had set up a small pot on the open ground, and a simple white porridge was bubbling inside.

Wang Zhi stood to the side, using his prized fishing rod to slowly grill several bright red fire-scaled fish that he had just caught from the lava stream over the charcoal fire.

That aroma that could quell all disputes came from the seemingly ordinary pot of white porridge and the few grilled fish.

For the first time, a look of astonishment appeared on Flameflower's usually icy face.

This smell... it was so familiar... so familiar that it made her long-frozen heart tremble.

It was a scent that could awaken memories deep within the soul.

For the first time, a ripple appeared in Flameflower's eyes, which had been frozen for countless years.

She stared blankly at the small figure not far away, and the pot that was emitting a warm, fragrant aroma, and the attack in her hand unconsciously dissipated.

Seeing this, Lockes withdrew his finger and stepped aside with interest.

He knew that the stage ahead did not belong to him, but to his unfathomable head chef.

Ignoring the tense atmosphere around him, Ryan focused intently on the white porridge in the pot.

When the porridge was cooked to its perfect state, with the rice grains just about to open, he extinguished the flame.

He filled a bowl, added no seasoning, and carried it step by step to the Flame Flower.

"Please use."

Ryan tilted his head back and handed the bowl over.

Flameflower looked down at the plain white porridge, then at the child in front of her with clear eyes and an unusually calm expression, and inexplicably took it.

The bowl was very hot, and that warmth traveled from my palm all the way to my heart.

She hesitated for a moment, then gently scooped up a spoonful and put it into her mouth.

The moment the porridge entered its mouth, the Flame Flower's enormous body shuddered violently, as if struck by lightning, and froze on the spot.

It was a feeling that cannot be described in words.

It's not some earth-shattering delicacy; it lacks complex layers and a fancy texture.

All that remains is the purest sweetness of the rice grains, and the warm aroma of rice brought to its fullest potential by the precise control of the heat.

It was such a simple and pure taste, yet it was like a key that suddenly unlocked the floodgates of her long-sealed memories.

She seemed to see her younger self, sick and without appetite in the palace of Amazon Lily, and the bowl of white porridge that her mother cooked for her.

The same taste, the same warmth, the same clumsy yet sincere love.

She saw that man again. During the days when they were in love, she clumsily tried to cook porridge for him, but it was always either burnt or bland. Yet he would always drink it with a smile and say that it was the best porridge in the world.

Chapter 49 New Companion, Flame Flower

Memories flooded my mind like a tidal wave.

Those tenderness and happiness that she had deliberately forgotten, that she had disguised with coldness and strength, were now exposed in front of this bowl of porridge.

"Woo..."

A long-suppressed sob, filled with endless grievances and longing, escaped from the throat of the former empress.

The next second, two streams of hot tears uncontrollably slid down from her resolute eyes, dripping into the bowl and mixing with the scalding hot porridge.

she cried.

She cried like a lost child, her cries were heart-wrenching.

She sipped the porridge slowly, as if she wanted to swallow this belated warmth along with all her sorrow.

On the deck, everyone watched this scene in silence.

Gatz scratched his head, realizing for the first time that women were truly incomprehensible creatures.

Lingling pouted; she thought the porridge didn't look as good as her cake, but seeing Flame Flower crying so sadly, she unusually kept quiet.

Newgate and Wang Zhi exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of understanding in each other's eyes.

They understood that what Ryan was cooking in that bowl of porridge was no longer just food, but the human heart.

Lockes crossed his arms, his face beaming with pride and admiration.

It's not a skill to conquer a strong person by force.

His unique and irreplaceable power as a head chef lies in his ability to melt a frozen heart with a bowl of porridge.

After finishing the bowl of porridge, the Flame Flower stopped crying.

She wiped away her tears. Although her eyes were still red and swollen, most of the deep sorrow and coldness that had clung to her for years had dissipated.

She handed the empty bowl back to Ryan, her voice no longer cold, but hoarse and weary: "Thank you... and I'm sorry."

"It's okay, just wash the dishes."

Ryan answered calmly, as if he had only done a trivial thing.

Flameflower looked at him for a long time before giving a bitter smile.

She walked up to Lox and re-examined the man who had almost killed her.

"Who exactly are you? What are you doing on my island?"

"My name is Lox."

Lox grinned, a smile that was arrogant and domineering.

"I've come here to invite you aboard my ship."

"invite me?"

The Flame Flower was stunned.

"Yes."

Rocks' eyes were burning.

“I saw your strength, and I also saw your resentment. You hide on this broken volcano and cry because of a man. Don’t you think you’re wasting all your abilities?”

Lockes' words were harsh, but they hit the nail on the head.

"This ocean is vast, far more exciting than your love affairs. Instead of rotting here, come with me to see the real scenery of this world and burn all the things that make you unhappy to ashes."

He offered no comfort, no sympathy, but instead laid bare a completely new path, one filled with destruction and conquest.

The Flame Flower fell silent.

She glanced at Lox, then at the group of monsters behind him, each with a different expression, yet all exuding a terrifying aura.

There is an incredibly powerful whitebeard who could easily defeat her without using his full strength, a giant woman who can control the weather, a drunken but unfathomable Wang Zhi, and a mysterious child who can make her lower all her guard with just a bowl of porridge.

There are no weaklings on this ship.

Here, she might truly be able to forget the past and start anew.

"Why should I trust you?"

she asked.

"You don't need to believe me."

Lockes laughed loudly, “You just need to believe in your own strength, and... my chef’s skills, and you will never taste sadness again on the ship.”

This sentence became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Flame Flower raised its head, and flames reignited in its eyes—not flames of sorrow, but the indomitable fighting spirit of the strong.

"Okay, I'll join you."

And so, the former emperor of Amazon Lily, Flameflower Gloriosa, officially boarded this ship of hegemony destined to overturn the world in a way that no one could have predicted.

"Great! We have another partner!"

Gatz shouted excitedly.

"Um... Your Majesty, are you hungry? Brother Wang Zhi has a few grilled fish left, they're delicious!"

Flameflower glanced at him, then looked at the fire-scaled fish that Wang Zhi had handed her not far away, roasted to a crispy exterior and tender interior, and her stomach growled involuntarily.

She took the grilled fish, took a bite, and her eyes lit up instantly.

Spicy, piping hot, and full of life.

This may be the taste of her new life.

With the addition of Flameflower Gloriosa, the monster density on the Behemoth has surged once again.

This top-secret naval warship has now become a veritable mobile hellhole.

The first person on the ship to feel this pressure was the shipwright, Dorum.

His daily work is no longer simple maintenance and upkeep, but rather he takes a special ruler that can measure energy fluctuations and taps around the ship, muttering incantations, like a mentally unstable fortune teller.

"The energy resonance index of the mainmast has exceeded the limit again! It's caused by the domineering aura released when Lord Whitebeard and Lord Wang Zhi were drinking together!"

"The alloy armor on the port side of the hull shows barely perceptible signs of metal fatigue! It must have been caused by Miss Lingling accidentally bumping into it while turning over after eating!"

"The keel is crying! It's saying it can't hold on much longer! My God, how many monsters are on this ship?!"

Dorum, clutching his little notebook, squatted in the corner drawing circles, his face a mixture of happy and painful frustration, like that of an old father dealing with his troublesome child.

He began to study the structural diagrams he had copied from the abandoned ship of the Nine Serpents with great fervor, trying to incorporate the unique and highly flexible shipbuilding technology of the Women's Kingdom into the modification plan for the Giant Beast.

Daily life on the ship has become increasingly colorful.

Flameflower and Lingling, two equally powerful women, quickly established a peculiar competitive relationship.

They would argue about whose training session resulted in the bigger dent in the deck, or bicker about who got more dessert from Ryan's cooking.

But more often than not, they would team up to beat up Gatz and Wang Zhi, who came to challenge them, leaving them with black eyes and swollen faces.

Wang Zhi's Drunken Fist was no match for Flame Flower's exquisite and targeted martial arts. His prized wine gourd was almost kicked away by Flame Flower several times.

Every day, scenes of epic battles unfolded on the deck, the aftershocks of which caused sea kings within a hundred meters of the behemoth to disappear and detour around it.

At the heart of all this chaos, however, remained Renn's small kitchen.