Chapter 262: The Lanternfish's Plea for Help
From this moment on—
One year later!
After Roger's retirement, the New World entered a brief era of balance.
Though Evernight City stood unchallenged, Luo Han made no moves to expand its territory, choosing instead to focus on internal development.
Externally, he merely maintained control over several resource-rich islands. Even islands like Bort Island, which had existing populations, were never forced to join Evernight.
In fact, many island nations eagerly sought to join Evernight City in hopes of accessing its trade benefits and strengthening their own countries.
But Luo Han refused. Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't allow governments or national-level powers to be absorbed into Evernight.
Because that would disrupt trade fairness—and as the New World's largest, safest, and freest trading hub, neutrality had to be preserved.
Luo Han wouldn't allow anything to jeopardize that.
The nations, though disappointed, took his stance as reassurance. To them, Evernight remained a neutral force.
This perception, in turn, attracted even more trade and development.
After all, no one liked doing business on territory ruled by an aggressive, expansionist force.
Aside from Evernight City, the Whitebeard Pirates and the Golden Lion's Flying Pirates also rose rapidly in strength.
On the whole, even though pirates still entered the New World looking for a challenge—
Evernight City, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion's three great factions stood like immovable pillars. The New World entered a brief period of peace and development.
Though there were still figures like Red Count and independent pirate crews causing a stir, none could shake the dominance of the Big Three.
...
On this day—
Evening.
Above Ark Island's central lake, as the waves calmed, the Penguin ship settled quietly.
On Akatsuki 's large bed, three towering silhouettes lay still—clearly after an intense workout.
Their chests rose and fell, breath heavy and uneven.
Huff!
Huff!
Huff!
Luo Han lay in the middle, Aishi and Akatsuki on either side, resting their heads on his chest. Their warm breath teased his senses.
"Don't start now… I…" Luo Han suddenly furrowed his brows, holding their smooth, silky shoulders to stop their wandering hands from going any further.
"What's wrong?" Aishi asked, her hands pausing but not withdrawing.
Akatsuki , on the other hand, kept teasing.
Luo Han didn't answer. He sank into his spiritual world.
Following a sudden mental ripple, his projection appeared before the lanternfish—the very one Akatsuki had discovered long ago.
"Yiya yiya yo!" The lanternfish was awake now and immediately began complaining to Luo Han.
It had been calling him through the spiritual link just moments ago.
Apparently, it had been rudely awakened and was furious—but powerless to fight back. So, naturally, it sought out Luo Han for help.
"This must be Zunesha… It really is massive." Upon arriving, Luo Han immediately understood the situation.
No wonder the lanternfish had to come to him. Compared to the titanic elephant in the distance, it was like a slightly oversized piglet.
Having been disturbed by Zunesha's passing, it could only complain to Luo Han.
"Just follow it for now. I'll help you get even tomorrow."
"Yiya yiya yo!"
Heh!
Luo Han chuckled. He understood the fish's meaning.
Hearing Luo Han's promise to help, it was immediately delighted and vowed to stick to Zunesha like glue.
Just like a little kid.
With that, Luo Han's projection returned to Ark Island.
Smack!
As soon as he returned, he felt something stiffening below and slapped away the mischievous hands.
Heh! Both women giggled. Then Aishi asked, "What happened just now?"
They had noticed Luo Han zone out and guessed he'd used his mysterious powers again.
Luo Han smiled. "I found Zou Island."
"Really?!"
"That's amazing!"
The two women were thrilled. It had been a whole year, and despite Sora's intelligence network, they hadn't found a trace of it.
Who would've thought it'd be a Sea King under Luo Han's control that found it instead?
They already knew about Niu Niu and the others, and how Luo Han could communicate with them remotely.
So they weren't really surprised anymore.
"When are we going?" Aishi asked.
"Tomorrow morning," Luo Han replied.
He had promised to help the lanternfish, and a promise was a promise—even to a fish.
"Alright!" Aishi smiled. "Let's get up early and prepare some things."
She finally lifted her upper body from his chest and stretched out on the bed.
Akatsuki did the same.
Luo Han said nothing more and closed his eyes to sleep.
...
The next morning!
On the mountaintop plaza, Luo Han and Cole sat off to the side, enjoying roasted meat.
Sora, Akatsuki , and Aishi were busy prepping supplies.
Sun umbrellas, lounge chairs, sunglasses, a grill—plus plenty of food!
Gulp gulp!
After finishing the meat, Luo Han downed a large glass of milk.
Seeing the three women still lugging gear from the ship, Luo Han sighed. "Why don't I just bring the whole ship? No need to carry everything out."
"..."
Silence.
The three women stared daggers at him.
Clunk!
Aishi loosened her grip, and the crate she was holding dropped to the ground.
The lid popped open—revealing dozens of colorful bikinis scattered across the floor.
"Why didn't you say that earlier?!" Aishi snapped.
Aishi added, annoyed, "We thought you couldn't teleport an entire ship—so we were unpacking everything ourselves!"
"And now, with half of it moved, now you tell us?"
"This is only half?" Luo Han stared at the mountain of gear nearly as tall as he was, his eye twitching.
At this rate, it would've been easier to just bring the ship from the beginning…
Maybe they misunderstood his power. Did they think if they broke everything into small pieces, it'd be easier for him to carry?
Shaking his head, Luo Han said, "I'll bring the Penguin over. Just load everything onto it."
With a thought, the Penguin—previously anchored on the central lake—appeared on the plaza.
"Let's move everything to the Penguin then," Aishi said.
"Fine."
Aishi and Akatsuki agreed. It made sense—the Penguin was bigger.
All this gear had been taken from a 300-meter-long warship—not nearly as spacious as the Penguin.
For travel, they preferred the larger vessel.
Aishi used her power to lift all the gear at once and moved it onto the Penguin's deck.
Cole stayed quiet, occasionally pulling roasted chicken legs from his mouth and munching away.
"Cole , why not just digest it directly? You already stored it in your stomach!" Luo Han said, exasperated. "Why bother pulling it back out?"
"Hehe…" Cole scratched his head. "It tastes better this way."
"..."
Luo Han was speechless. But he couldn't argue.
Food did taste better when eaten properly, not just teleported to the stomach.
"You really are the perfect match for your power," Luo Han sighed.
Cole 's awakened ability gave him a dimensional stomach—a perfect food vault.
It stopped time inside, so hot food came out hot, fresh and aromatic, no matter how long it had been stored.
He had Gourmet City's chefs fill it with all sorts of delicacies. Now, whenever he got hungry, he just reached inside.
If not for everyone being grossed out by the idea of eating food pulled from Cole 's mouth, Aishi and the others wouldn't have bothered packing cookware.
Everything could've been cooked here, and eaten on Zou.
Too bad...
The image of Cole pulling out steaming drumsticks from his mouth was burned into their minds. No one could stomach that.
"All done!" Aishi clapped her hands.
Everything had been moved onto the Penguin.
"Then let's set out. All aboard!" Luo Han leapt onto the deck.
It was clean—everything had already been stored in the cargo bay and kitchen.
Tap tap tap tap!
Akatsuki , Aishi , Aishi , and Cole all followed, boarding the ship.
"Sora's really not coming?" Aishi asked Luo Han.
"She said next time," Luo Han replied. "Don't worry, after this trip, I can always teleport you back to visit again."
He smiled. "Besides, she's crazy busy right now. No time for vacations."
"All that work!" Aishi grumbled. "And it's all your fault for putting her in charge of the intel department."
"Yes, yes, my fault!"
"Let's go!" Luo Han said, and with a thought—
The Penguin and all its passengers vanished from the plaza.
At the same moment—
In a misty sea, a ship with a giant Penguin on its bow appeared midair: the Penguin.
Boom!
Splash splash!
Luo Han guided the ship gently onto the water, creating rippling waves.
The fog was dense, filled with salty sea air that tickled everyone's senses.
Splash!
Suddenly, about a kilometer ahead, a massive fish head emerged from the waves, a glowing golden bulb atop it.
"That's the lanternfish Luo Han's been looking for all these years!" Aishi exclaimed. "It's huge!"
She raised her hands to mimic its size, then licked her lips.
"I bet it'd taste amazing as spicy fish head stew…"
The lanternfish, previously delighted to sense Luo Han's arrival, suddenly felt a chill on its head and instinctively started to dive back down.
"And where's the elephant?" Luo Han asked.
His spiritual senses spread out—dozens of kilometers—and still, no sign of Zunesha.
(END CHAPTER)
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