286: Ride! Party time!

"What happened?"

A young man with blonde hair and blue eyes hurried onto the deck and asked the captain, who was constantly peering downward.

"We aren't sure of the specifics, but a large hole was ripped into the hull, as if it had collided with something."

The captain frowned and began to ponder carefully.

The most likely cause of the hull damage was hitting a reef.

However, as an experienced captain who had sailed this route for decades, he had never encountered any hidden reefs here.

Even stranger was that many sailors had already gone down into the sea to investigate, yet they couldn't find a trace of any reef.

"I don't care about the rest. You are the captain, and I want you to tell me how long it will take for this ship to resume sailing."

The young man furrowed his brows, his tone carrying an unquestionable authority.

"Such an accident would have been a disaster in the past, but it's nothing major nowadays."

The captain shook his head, casting aside the doubts rising in his heart.

Faced with this trivial truth, the order from the young man in front of him was far more important.

"I have already ordered the crew to repair the hull; it won't be long before we can continue our voyage."

"Very good."

The young man nodded and gave a look to the subordinates behind him.

Having received the order and failing to find anything that threatened the life of their superior, this group of burly men, who looked extremely out of place to others, understood the signal and vanished from the sight of everyone on the deck.

"Ahem, passengers, please do not panic."

"This unexpected collision was just a minor incident encountered during our voyage."

"It won't be long before the Titanic resumes sailing; it will absolutely not delay your journey."

After the young man disappeared, the captain once again took control of the situation.

"Interesting."

Within the crowd, a youth with black hair and black eyes narrowed his eyes.

Lu Chen had already mingled into the crowd at some point, sizing up the captain who was giving a passionate speech.

After the hit-and-run, he had once again discovered something extraordinary.

On this ship, which looked no different from an ordinary sightseeing cruise, there were several auras of powerful Martial Artists' Qi and blood.

If these auras came from the captain or the tourists, Lu Chen wouldn't find it strange.

On such a large cruise ship, it was acceptable for a few martial arts experts to be out for a trip.

But for them to appear on those ordinary-looking crew members was a bit strange.

"Over ten crew members, including the captain, are all Sixth-Order Martial Artists. How interesting. I didn't know when Martial Artists became so common."

Lu Chen's eyes flickered as he gently pushed aside the crowd beside him and walked toward the interior of the deck.

It was as if there was an invisible force field around him, interfering with the perception of ordinary people.

Even when he pushed others aside directly, no one reacted to this impolite behavior.

At most, they just glanced over with some confusion, wondering if they had fought too hard last night, causing their footing to be unsteady.

Walking through long corridors and passing by a luxurious hall, Lu Chen walked all the way to the door of the room on the top level.

The powerful Qi and blood constantly emerging from within told him he hadn't come to the wrong place.

Inside that extremely spacious and luxuriously decorated room, the young man who had been giving orders on the deck was lying on a recliner with his eyes narrowed.

"Joseph, I hope you haven't forgotten your mission."

A slightly mature voice rang out in the room, and a middle-aged man, also with blonde hair and blue eyes, slowly walked out from the inner room.

"Merton."

Joseph raised the wine glass in his hand, signaled to the other person, and then drank it all in one gulp.

"Relax, my friend."

"This is just an ordinary transport mission, no different from usual."

"Besides, don't we have the two of us sitting here?"

The other person's attitude made Merton frown slightly, but he relaxed immediately afterward.

Just as the other person said, this was just a simple transport mission.

There was nothing to worry about.

They were only responsible for sending this group of people who yearned for the God-Given Land to the place they were supposed to go.

"There was some commotion on the deck just now. Did something happen?"

Merton stepped forward and poured himself half a glass of red wine.

"Small matter, the hull just hit a reef, and the captain has already led the crew to repair it."

"It won't be long before the cruise ship continues to sail; it won't delay much time."

"That would be best. After all, the higher-ups are in need of this batch of test subjects right now."

Lu Chen stood quietly outside the door, taking in the conversation between the two.

A strange glint flashed in his eyes.

Test subjects; no wonder they needed so many Martial Artists to act as crew members.

It seems that these crew members aren't just responsible for maintaining the hull; they also act as necessary armed personnel. This is clearly an armed escort.

"This is even more interesting."

Lu Chen's consciousness expanded further, probing beneath the deck.

Sure enough, beneath this glamorous sightseeing cruise, there were more weak and chaotic auras.

Test subjects, plus the route of this ship.

If he guessed correctly, this so-called sightseeing cruise was heading toward that so-called Hall of All Gods.

"In that case, that's quite a coincidence."

Lu Chen's figure gradually faded.

Through the System, he knew that the God-Given Land and the so-called Hall of All Gods were in the exact same place.

This hitchhiked ride saved him the trouble of drifting along the way; now, he just needed to wait for this cruise ship to arrive at its destination as planned.

"Hmm?"

Just as Lu Chen left, Merton suddenly looked at the door with suspicion, a vague sense of unease in his heart.

"What's wrong?"

Joseph sipped his red wine nonchalantly and asked his companion.

"Nothing, maybe I'm just too sensitive."

"I keep feeling like someone is spying on something in the shadows."

Merton couldn't perceive any suspicious aura and shook his head in response.

"Is the pressure that high, Merton?"

"This isn't our first mission; you should be used to it by now."

Joseph teased, deliberately putting on an exaggerated expression: "With two Eighth-Order Grandmasters like us here, who could hide from our eyes? A god?"

"If it were really a deity, that might be possible, but those beings have long severed their humanity. How could they possibly care about such trivial matters?"

"Don't think so much; let's have a drink."

Faced with Joseph's teasing words and the raised wine glass, Merton nodded.

"Clink!"

A clear clinking sound rang out; the two looked at each other and smiled, draining the red liquid in one gulp.

Soothing music began to play in the room; several young women draped in graceful veils, with bare feet, walked out from the inner room. It was party time.