“May I ask your identity?” Reno’s voice was cautious.

  “My ship is an exploration vessel. You’ve arrested my chief engineer,” Charles said, gently patting Lily’s back to calm the anxious young gunner.

  “Uh, an exploration vessel…” Reno’s hand, which had been gripping a gun under the table, relaxed, but his expression turned troubled. People from the sea were already hard to deal with, and those from exploration ships were even more so. Each of them possessed considerable skills, having ventured to dangerous islands. He wondered why he, a mere administrator of civilian crimes, had to get involved in such trouble.

  Usually, it was the governor’s navy that dealt with troublesome characters like these.

  After hesitating for a moment, Reno hurried to close the door, his expression bitter. “If it were just a random person without backing, I could let him go for your sake. But your crew member killed the brother of the Dagger Gang’s boss. If I release him, we’ll be in huge trouble.”

  “Where is my crew member? I need to see him,” Charles asked.

  “He’s in the detention room. I’ll take you there right away.” Reno stood up and quickly opened the door.

  Entering the holding area under the watchful eyes of armed, dark-skinned guards, Charles felt the tension in the air.

  When James, suspended from the ceiling, saw Charles enter, he instantly began to struggle excitedly.

  Charles swiftly pulled the dirty rag from James's mouth. “What’s going on?”

  “Captain! That guy was undressing Mosika in front of me! I... I just couldn’t hold back!” James’s eyes were bloodshot.

  Charles drew his black blade and cut the handcuffs off James’s wrists, causing the big man to drop to the ground.

  “Sir, you can’t—!” Reno exclaimed, panic evident on his face.

  “If anyone gives you trouble, just mention my name. I’m staying on the third floor of the Bat Hotel in the port district.”

  As Charles led James out, he sensed the eyes watching them from behind. Clearly, the Dagger Gang had people keeping tabs on them.

  “Take your wife and come to my place,” Charles said calmly to James.

  “Captain, I... I killed someone... What should I do? I don’t want to go to jail; Mosika needs me.” The big man’s face was filled with despair.

  “Do as I say, don’t panic. This will blow over quickly.” Charles patted him on the shoulder.

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  James nodded, forcing himself to calm down, and rushed toward Mosika’s bakery.

  Soon, Charles’s room felt a bit crowded. Deep was squatting on the floor, gnawing on a cold beef shank.

  Audrick stood in the corner, shaking a glass filled with red liquid.

  “Captain, this place is too small. Why not buy a bigger house?” Deep said after swallowing a mouthful of beef.

  Charles ignored the first mate’s complaints and turned to Lily. “Why did you call them over?”

  “I was worried about danger! More people means more strength! I had my friends come too; they should be on their way.”

  “No need; send them all back. This is just a small matter and will be resolved soon.”

  Holding his wife’s hand, James deeply bowed to Charles. “Captain, I’m sorry. It was my impulsiveness.”

  “You weren’t impulsive. If you can’t even protect your own woman, I would truly look down on you,” Charles replied, glancing at Mosika.

  She wasn’t a stunning beauty but had a pleasant, simple appearance that was comforting to behold.

  At that moment, a commotion erupted outside the window. Deep stood up and pushed it open. “Captain, some guys are clearing the streets.”

  Charles walked over and saw a group of menacing-looking individuals brandishing various firearms, driving people off the streets. Each of them had the same dagger tattoo on their necks.

  From the crowd emerged a burly man with tattoos on his face. As he opened his mouth, revealing a mouthful of rotten teeth, he shouted, “You motherf***ers! You dare come to the port district after messing with my people? Today, I’ll let my brothers have their way with your women right in front of you! Get your asses out here!”

  Seeing the gang’s arrogance, Charles felt somewhat uninterested; they were far less intimidating than the creatures of the sea.

  Raising his revolver, he fired several shots, extinguishing the oil and gas lamps on the street.

  Deep donned his mask and jumped out the window, screams erupting from below.

  Audrick swiftly transformed into a bat and flew down.

  Inside, Mosika was terrified by the outside noise, her face pale as she clutched her husband tightly, eyes shut tight.

  James gently comforted his wife, his tenderness contrasting sharply with his imposing exterior.

  Standing by, Charles felt oddly out of place. He pushed himself off the window and flipped down.

  Seeing his captain leap out, James felt anxious and wanted to help, but he couldn’t let go of his wife.

  “What... what do you do? You said you were just an ordinary sailor on a fishing boat. Does your captain look like a fisherman?” Mosika cried, her eyes red.

  James sighed, a hint of bitterness on his face. He gently embraced his wife. “Dear, I’m sorry for lying to you, but if it weren’t for the captain’s help today, we wouldn’t have made it back. We should be grateful to him.”

  With his dark vision, Charles could see everything clearly. Under Deep and Audrick’s coordinated attacks, the so-called Dagger Gang quickly fell apart. Just moments ago, those gang members, who had been so arrogant, now shot in fear at the empty darkness.

  Deep confidently maneuvered through the hail of bullets, arriving right in front of their leader. With a flash of his dagger, the man’s gun-hand fell to the ground.

  The Dagger Gang’s leader clutched his wrist, retreating while screaming in agony.

  “You island trash, do you not understand the situation? You dare to provoke the crew of an exploration vessel?” The masked youth tilted his head, questioning him with a hint of pride.

  Sensing danger, the leader stammered, “I... I didn’t know! This isn’t my fault! That big guy never said he worked on an exploration vessel! If my brother knew he worked on an exploration vessel, he would never have dared to mess with him—”

  Before he could finish, a black blade flew through the air, embedding itself in his neck, spraying crimson blood everywhere. The man’s eyes were wide with disbelief as he died.

  “Captain, can we wait for him to finish?” Deep complained before executing a backflip away.