Dexter walked fast. Exiting the blacksmith shop, he scanned the surroundings immediately. Seeing no soldiers for the moment, he headed straight for the civilian docks they had arrived at earlier.
Carl was beside himself with excitement. A grin plastered on his little face, he kept pace perfectly, not lagging behind a single step.
Bianca felt a rush of adrenaline she had never experienced before. She was beaming, her steps light and joyful.
Neither Carl nor Bianca said a word, simply following Dexter's lead.
Daijiu, on the other hand, was lazy as ever, showing no particular reaction to the chaos.
The blacksmith shop wasn't actually that far from the docks; a normal walk would only take about ten minutes.
Soon, after dodging a few patrols while acting as "normal" as possible, the three of them successfully reached the docks and stepped onto the wooden pier.
A short walk later, they reached the end of the pier.
Dexter deftly pulled up the System and claimed the Bianca.
Whoosh.
Silently and without fanfare, the Bianca, a single-masted pirate sloop, materialized on the water next to the pier.
Seeing this.
Bianca and Carl were, understandably, dumbfounded. "????"
"Dexter, did you make that?" Carl asked.
"How did you do that?" Bianca asked almost simultaneously.
Dexter grinned. "I seem to have acquired some new abilities. Less talking, more boarding!"
Saying that, Dexter, with Will Turner still on his back, took the lead and stepped onto the ship.
The ship wasn't huge, and more importantly, for the time being, it bore no pirate markings on its hull.
The intelligent System was very thoughtful.
Otherwise, if a ship flying the Jolly Roger just popped up, they'd be in deep trouble—probably unable to even leave the dock before being swarmed.
In moments.
The three people and one dog were all aboard and on the deck.
Dexter strode to the mast, dumped the unconscious Will Turner onto the deck, and didn't waste time. "Bianca, Carl, find a way to tie him up. Don't let him escape!"
Leaving that instruction, Dexter immediately and expertly scrambled up the mast to unfurl the sails.
Bianca watched, jaw dropped. She couldn't believe Dexter was this incredible—he actually looked like he knew how to sail a ship like this. At the same time, her heart pounded uncontrollably; she was falling even harder for him.
To put it crudely, Bianca was wet. She wanted to jump Dexter right then and there.
Carl was also shocked, his eyes wide as saucers.
But unlike Bianca, looking at Dexter in action, Carl's only thought was: So cool. I gotta learn that!
Time flew.
Just a few minutes later.
Dexter stood at the helm, pipe in his mouth, looking for all the world like a seasoned captain as he calmly steered the Bianca.
The Bianca slowly drifted away from the dock, heading toward the endless sea.
At this moment, Bianca and Carl were still standing near the mast, both tacitly staring at Dexter... beside them lay Comrade Will Turner, trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey, looking utterly ridiculous.
Gazing ahead, focused on steering the wheel, Dexter guided the Bianca out a fair distance until they reached open waters. He puffed out a cloud of smoke, then turned to look at the dazed Bianca and Carl.
"What are you two standing there for? Come on over. Come feel what it's like to be a captain."
This was awesome!
Hearing this.
Purely on instinct, Bianca and Carl bolted toward Dexter together.
A moment later.
Oh.
Awkward.
Carl was too short. He could only reach the bottom spokes of the wheel and couldn't actually steer it.
Faced with this reality.
Carl's face went dark instantly. He was furious. "Fxxk!"
Bianca, who had basically let go of her inhibitions, laughed ruthlessly, her body shaking with mirth. "Haha, Carl..."
Dexter was cracking up too.
After laughing for a bit.
"Alright, alright. Carl, go practice your sword fighting. Also," seeing that Carl was genuinely angry and upset, Dexter comforted him. He then withdrew four flintlock pistols from his inventory and handed two to Carl. "Here, take these two guns. Go play. You can only shoot at the ocean."
Carl had already been loaded with the [Pirate Life] card, making him effectively a basic-level pirate, so he naturally knew how to use a flintlock.
Seeing the two pistols, swish, Carl performed a face-changing act worthy of the opera. His expression went from stormy to sunny in a split second, grinning from ear to ear. "Okay, thanks!"
Carl grabbed the guns and marched off, completely ignoring the damn steering wheel.
Dexter handed the remaining two pistols to Bianca, grinning mischievously. "Ms. Greene, effective immediately, you are a pirate!"
"Yes, sir!" This was all too fun. Bianca was in a great mood and gave a playful salute. "So, Captain, do I get an eyepatch? Like the pirates in the movies?"
Dexter was amused. He winked. "Haha, sure. I'll buy you one later."
"Thank you, Captain!" Bianca said playfully again.
"Dexter, I want an eyepatch too!" Carl shouted from not too far away.
"Done," Dexter agreed readily.
In the blink of an eye.
Having learned how to handle the helm, Bianca stood impressively before the wheel, her hands resting on the spokes. "Dexter, this is just like driving a car. It's simple."
"Indeed," Dexter smirked. He stepped up behind Bianca and pressed against her back. "Just like... driving."
Bianca: "???"
Bianca hadn't expected Dexter to pull a move like that. Instantly, she blushed crimson, turning her head quickly to scold him, "You wanna die? There's someone right there!"
Tsk tsk.
If they were alone, they could have christened the ship properly.
Shouldn't have brought Carl along. Little cockblock.
Dexter turned to glance at Carl with a smile, then stopped teasing. He stepped to Bianca's side, retrieved the Captain's Hat, and placed it on her head.
"Congratulations, Bianca. You've been promoted to Acting Captain."
Bianca beamed. "Hehe, thank you, Mr. King."
"Still 'Mr. King'? Isn't it time to change the title?" Dexter teased with a wicked grin.
Bianca's small face turned even redder. She blinked, then quickly turned her head away, pretending not to hear him.
This version of Bianca was just too cute.
Dexter didn't push it. Chuckling, he walked to the railing, leaned against it, and pulled out the nautical chart. He located Tortuga and plotted their course.
The route wasn't complicated.
With the chart and the stars to guide him, Dexter quickly figured out the way.
Before they knew it.
Night had fully fallen.
Under the starlit sky, the Bianca moved slowly forward, pushed by the ocean breeze.
"By the way," Bianca calmed down a little and asked Dexter, "how exactly did you conjure all this stuff?"
"I just suddenly had these abilities. I can't really explain how it works," Dexter lied effortlessly. "Don't overthink it. Just have fun. It's a dream, anyway."
Bianca blinked, feeling like something wasn't quite right.
Just then.
Will Turner woke up. Quickly realizing his situation, he started shouting at Dexter, "What the fxxk do you people want?"
Hearing the noise, Dexter smiled at Will Turner. He strode over to him, drew his sword, cut a strip of cloth from Will's shirt, and decisively stuffed it into Will's mouth.
"Shut up!"
"Or I'll cut your tongue out!"
Will Turner: "!!!!"