Chapter 322 - 149: It’s Impossible to be Captain
"Red hair? Where’d this piece of scum come from?"
The middle-aged man clapped the tricorn hat that marked him as captain onto his head. His triangular eyes were filled with bloodlust and killing intent, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
He looked at Wei’en as if he were a meal—more specifically, a plate of neatly sliced sashimi, ready to be devoured in a single bite.
[You have been targeted by Ronan Sanchez’s killing intent. Evaluation: In the past, someone of his strength would have been considered decent... Reward: Survival Points +3.]
’Three points isn’t bad?’
’Looks like I’ll have to re-evaluate the power levels that correspond to the Survival Points gained from killing intent and Spirit perception.’
"Oh?" Wei’en watched the captain, a faint, unreadable smile on his face. Paired with Marco’s handsome features, the floral shirt, and the leather pants, he looked all the more dazzling.
Seeing that he was not only free of panic and fear but was actually cutting a dashing, handsome figure, the surrounding dark-skinned, burly pirates grew even more irritated.
"Boss, kill him!"
"Damn it! That bastard dares to provoke our Captain Sanchez! He’s the Mechanical Demon, Ronan, of the Golden Dis!"
"Kill him..."
The triangular-eyed captain raised a hand to silence them, then sneered, "Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance. Jump overboard and feed the fish. It’ll save you a world of pain!"
"Feed the fish?" Wei’en glanced at the relatively calm sea, musing, "That sounds like a fine idea. In that case... you jump."
"Hurry up and jump—huh?" The triangular-eyed captain’s eyes flew wide, and he pointed a finger at his own nose.
The gesture clearly asked, ’Are you telling me to jump?’
Wei’en gave a firm nod. "There’s nothing wrong with your understanding, Captain. I meant you. Jump."
"Ha, haha... You’re courting death!"
The triangular-eyed captain laughed in fury, snatching the pistol from his belt and firing a shot at him.
That wasn’t all. Several mechanical gun barrels sprang from his outstretched arm, firing a volley of bullets simultaneously.
The other pirates opened fire as well, their eyes on Wei’en as if he were already a dead man.
BANG, BANG, BANG...
’Guns?’
’A Mechanical Transformer?’
Wei’en glanced at the captain. As he extended his Spirit perception, the trajectories of the dozens, perhaps hundreds, of bullets became perfectly clear in his mind’s eye.
Then, with the slightest of movements—a twist of his body, a shift of his feet, a dip of his head—he dodged every single bullet.
"This isn’t how you use a gun—"
As his voice faded, a Revolver appeared in his hand, its motion a blur.
A muzzle flash flared from his hand. In less than half a second, he had emptied two full cylinders.
Sixteen bullets carved bizarre arcs through the air, striking sixteen pirates squarely between the eyes. Perfect headshots, every one.
’Grandmaster-level Sharpshooting specialization—Rapid Fire, and Ballistic Control!’
After upgrading his gun skills to the Grandmaster level the previous night, he had obtained a new specialization: Rapid Fire.
Its effect was simple: it maxed out his proficiency with all firearms, allowing him to perform actions like drawing, aiming, firing, and reloading in an incredibly short amount of time.
’A fairly practical specialization, but nothing too stunning.’
[You have killed Frank Hulley with a Revolver. Reward: Survival Points +1.]
[...]
[You have killed Dustin Machado with a Revolver. Reward: Survival Points +1.]
THUMP. BANG. THUMP. BANG...
To the sound of bodies thudding to the deck, sixteen pirates fell one after another into pools of their own blood, their eyes still wide with disbelief. ’How?!’
"He... he dodged bullets just by standing there..."
"They’re... they’re dead..."
The remaining pirates stared at him in disbelief, as if looking at a monster. ’What kind of Gunman could take on dozens of guns with just a single pistol?’
’And he won...’
"A... a Sharpshooter!?"
The triangular-eyed captain looked at the unscathed Wei’en, then scanned the deck, his gaze falling on the dozen or so pirates with bloody holes in their foreheads. He froze.
"How can you possibly be this strong?"
"Can we have a civil conversation now?"
Wei’en eyed the mechanical contraptions on his arm with great interest. ’They look quite sophisticated,’ he thought. ’I wonder if I can glean some knowledge about mechanics from this.’
At the same time, he had also roughly gauged the captain’s strength. ’Minister-level, at best,’ he concluded.
The triangular-eyed captain stared blankly for a long moment before the fierce, cold look on his face slowly melted away. He forced a brilliant, sycophantic smile. "Yes, yes! Please, you... you speak. Go ahead."
"From now on, I’m commandeering you and your crew. Is that clear?"
"Co-commandeering?"
Cold sweat broke out on the triangular-eyed captain’s face. ’Isn’t this just a hijacking?’ he thought.
"If you have any objections, now’s the time to voice them," Wei’en glanced at him. "Not that I’ll necessarily accept them."
If he hadn’t been worried that killing too many people would affect the rest of his journey, he would have instantly killed every pirate on deck just now.
"N-no objections."
The triangular-eyed captain agreed without a moment’s hesitation. ’Damn it, a Sharpshooter this terrifying could wipe us all out with a wave of his hand. Who would dare to disagree?’
"From now on, everyone aboard the *Ronan*... no, the *Red Hair*, will follow Captain Marco’s command."
"So we’re in agreement?"
"In agreement! Complete agreement! Absolutely!"
"Le-let’s all give a warm welcome to Captain Marco..."
Wei’en smiled. He looked at the pirates, their faces filled with terror, and with a mere thought, activated his talent.
’Deception—Psychological Control!’
"Forget the *Ronan* and Captain Ronan. From the day you boarded, remember that he has always been the ship’s First... no, Second Officer, responsible for piloting this vessel."