The Hunter's Blessing was different from the Lucky Rabbit's Foot. It had a unique function, and Zhang Heng had never found a suitable place to use it.
It wasn't until the fourth round of the game, when he entered the pirate world, obtained the Jackdaw, and started his own hunting expedition that he decided to use it again.
This necklace was very suitable for him now. After wearing it, it could increase his chances of encountering prey every time he went out to sea, and it should be able to stack with the effect of the [Lucky Rabbit's Foot]. However, this kind of probability-based item would generally only show its effect after a period of time, and a single use might not be effective immediately.
In fact, for the past ten days, the Jackdaw hadn't encountered any worthy prey. The Spanish merchant ship carrying perfume that Billy mentioned had never appeared.
Compared to when they left the port, the morale on the ship had dropped. Although the sailors still completed their daily tasks on time, they were not as enthusiastic as before. Some of them even slacked off. Billy and the others noticed this, but as long as they didn't go overboard, they didn't say anything. No matter how good a helmsman or captain was, they couldn't keep the crew in a state of high spirits forever unless there was a special event like Kidd's treasure.
On top of that, the newly recruited cook and carpenter weren't very reliable. The cook's cooking style was monotonous, and the sailors were dissatisfied. Fortunately, the batch of dried vegetables and fruits that Zhang Heng prepared earlier came in handy. The pirates knew how rare these things were at sea, and they could drink lemonade every day. With that, they managed to suppress the complaints on the ship.
Other than that, there were also many problems with the carpenter's side. There was a fellow with a beautiful resume and a good theoretical knowledge, but after boarding the ship, he could not even do the simplest repair of the wooden barrels. He was a far cry from what he had described himself when he was applying for the job.
Zhang Heng, on the other hand, was mentally prepared to face all kinds of problems with the new recruits. In fact, having the old crew members on the Sea Lion as his team was much better than starting from scratch. Just two days ago, he and Billy dealt with a crew fight. Since the old crew members noticed and stopped the fight early, the two involved did not use any weapons. Hence, the fight did not cause any serious consequences. In the end, they were only punished with two weeks of deck cleaning.
The atmosphere on the ship was generally fine, but on the eleventh day, Billy knocked on the door of the captain's cabin.
"Looks like we have to change targets." The helmsman felt a little helpless. Situations like the one they were facing right now were not uncommon. Most of the information about merchant ships came from the intelligence dealers on the island, and the intelligence dealers mainly collected information from the ships docked in Nassau. There was a certain time difference in the transmission process. Other than that, last-minute changes in routes or travel plans were common. Having information didn't necessarily mean that they would be able to find their prey. In fact, it was normal for them to not be able to find their prey.
To be able to survive in these waters, whether it was a merchant or a pirate, none of them were easy to deal with. Many captains would immediately activate their backup plans once they found out that their travel plans had been leaked.
"I have another clue about the Duffy. It's a tobacco ship, but tobacco can be found everywhere in the New World. It's definitely not as expensive as perfume, but the good news is that it's also on this route, so we don't need to change course. We just need to continue chasing it." Billy paused for a moment, probably because he didn't want Zhang Heng to feel too pressured. "We've only been out at sea for ten days. We still have plenty of time. The food and water we brought this time should be enough for us to sail for at least a month and a half. I'm sure we'll be able to return with a full load."
Perhaps it was because the helmsman had just raised a flag, but the Jackdaw didn't reap any rewards for the next week. Not even a shadow of the Duffy could be seen. However, they did encounter two other merchant ships along the way. Basically, they didn't get into a fight. As soon as the Jackdaw raised its black flag, the other party surrendered.
Unfortunately, the pirates weren't happy for long. The two merchant ships were not profitable. One of them was carrying potatoes, and the other was carrying copper ore. Although there were a lot of them, they couldn't fetch a high price in the colony. Once these things were loaded onto the merchant ships, their speed would be greatly affected, and they wouldn't be able to catch any more prey.
After some discussion, the pirates decided to give up on these two shipments. However, the sailors began to feel anxious. As the representative of the sailors, Billy could feel it the most. He blamed himself for it.
He bought the two pieces of information from an intelligence dealer that he was familiar with, and he was the one who recommended this route to Zhang Heng. In the end, the Jackdaw had powerful firepower, but they couldn't find any valuable targets. Factoring in the time it would take to return to the colony, they didn't have much time left to hunt.
On the nineteenth day, Billy had no choice but to look for Zhang Heng again. "This is my mistake. We shouldn't have chosen this unpopular route. You warned me about the risks involved, but I was blinded by the perfume. If we had chosen those popular routes, we might have made a lot of money by now."
"Billy, it's not your fault. We came to this decision together, and everyone agreed to it. You're not responsible for this situation," said Zhang Heng. "Anyone on that island who heard about this would want to give it a try." "But the problem is, this is our first voyage," said the helmsman with a bitter smile.
"But the problem is, this is our first voyage," the helmsman smiled bitterly. "We don't have much room for error now. I thought that two clues would be safer, and there aren't many pirate activities around here. But I don't know why we haven't seen those two ships yet. So, I suggest that we change direction immediately and try our luck on a popular route. The nearest one from here will take about five days. If we're lucky, we'll have about a week to hunt."
"But that's also the place where pirate hunters and the navy frequent," said Zhang Heng. "If you had said that when we first left the port, I wouldn't have said anything. But with the morale on the ship now, what do you think are our chances of winning?"
Billy fell silent when he heard Zhang Heng's words. He knew that Zhang Heng was telling the truth. "If we knew this was going to happen, we should have taken the copper mine. That way, we could have shared some of the profits with everyone."
Zhang Heng shook his head. "Those things are meaningless. We're a warship, and the cargo hold is small. If we want to rob something, we have to get something valuable. Besides, this is our first voyage. Only by winning can we make a name for ourselves."
Billy couldn't understand what Zhang Heng was thinking. Logically speaking, Zhang Heng should be the most anxious person these days. If he didn't get enough loot on his first voyage, it would mean that he would be fired when he returned to land. However, Zhang Heng didn't seem to be panicking at all.
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