Then, his gaze fell on the price tags behind those technologies.
Forecastle and Aftcastle Structure: Requires 12,000 gold coins to unlock.
Cannon Deck Prototype: Requires 15,000 gold coins to unlock.
greek fire Projector: Requires 50,000 gold coins to unlock.
Magnetic compass: Requires 8,000 gold coins to unlock.
Roger's smile gradually froze.
He glanced again at his pitiful balance.
Gold Coins: 532
...
Silence was the Cambridge of this evening.
Roger felt his heart was colder than Elizabeth's after ten days in solitary confinement.
Damn it.
Roger cursed under his breath.
He needed money!
He needed a lot, a lot of money!
Seeing Roger's predicament, the system finally couldn't hold back.
It had encountered many Hosts: brave, cunning, outrageous, lustful... but it had never seen one like Roger.
Not only did he combine all the "virtues," but he also wouldn't invest even a single gold coin!
The previous two times Roger upgraded his ship, he did it purely by hand, without using any of its abilities!
It was truly tired of having such a stingy Host.
Gold coins were its energy; if it didn't get any more gold coins, it would be gone!!
To save its own skin, the system had to give in.
Ding! As long as you unlock the technology, the system can help you upgrade and build ships for free. The Host only needs to pay double the material cost!
Roger's eyes lit up when he heard this.
Now that's what he called talking sense!
The previous 500, 5999, weren't those just pure scams?!
Roger's heart burned with excitement.
"Gibbs! Jack! And those two Barrabas! All of you get in here, now!"
"Don't bring that damn monkey in here, I'm sick of seeing it!"
Roger's roar made even Billy, who was playing with his own head on the deck, shiver.
Soon, the core crew members gathered in the Captain's Cabin.
"Captain, what's wrong?"
Gibbs asked cautiously.
Roger didn't speak. He walked to the giant world sea chart and picked up a baton, a symbol of authority.
"Brothers, our chance to get rich has arrived!"
Roger tapped the sea chart heavily with the baton.
"We now have the fastest ship in the world, and a crew that cannot be killed!"
"But we have no money!"
"Without money, we can't buy the best cannons! We can't build the biggest ships! We won't have endless rum and countless women!"
Roger's speech was highly inflammatory.
It instantly ignited the simple-minded fellows like Billy and Hanson.
"Captain! Just say the word! Who are we fighting?!"
"That's right, Captain! Even if you told me to punch my own mother, I wouldn't hesitate!"
Roger nodded in satisfaction.
He liked these honest, good employees.
His baton swept across the sea chart.
"Europe? No, too many navies there, and the kings are poorer than each other. The return on investment is too low."
"America? Even worse, it's been plundered clean by the Spanish and the British. What's left are just poor devils."
Finally, his baton landed heavily on the distant East.
On a long, narrow island nation.
"Here!"
Roger's tone suddenly rose.
"According to ancient Eastern legends, this place is overflowing with gold!"
"Their generals live in palaces made of gold! They use toilets made of gold! A million times more luxurious than my toilet!"
"Their samurai's swords, each one is priceless!"
"We are going there for a friendly, benevolent... cultural exchange!"
The Captain's Cabin was silent.
Gibbs and the two Barrabas looked at Roger with an idiotic gaze.
Go to the East?
That was crazier than going to the end of the world!
"Captain... you... you haven't had too much to drink, have you?"
Little Barraba bravely asked.
"That place is tens of thousands of miles away from us! It would take a long time to sail there!"
"Yeah, Lin."
"I heard there's a Captain Zheng Zhilong over there who's causing a lot of trouble in the Western seas. If we run into him, it seems... we might not be able to beat him..."
Jack Sparrow, for once, put away his flamboyant demeanor.
"We are Caribbean pirates, not Eastern explorers."
"Besides, we can't stay at sea for too long..."
"Especially not in the open, deep sea without any islands for too long..."
As Jack said this, he subconsciously touched his chest, as if there was something there that terrified him.
"Why not?"
Roger keenly caught the information in his words.
"Because... because of an ancient contract."
Jack's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.
"I made a deal with a devil."
"He helped me retrieve the black pearl from the seabed, and I, in thirteen years, have to serve on his ship for a hundred years."
"In another 5 months, the deadline will be reached..."
Jack, who was usually fearless, even had a hint of fear in his voice.
"That guy... his name is Davy Jones."
"He can track every soul on the ocean that owes him a debt."
"My time is almost up."
Davy Jones?
Roger's eyes lit up instantly.
That face covered in octopus tentacles immediately appeared in his mind.
And that the heart's chest containing a beating heart!
Ding! Detected a new 'Ancient Holy Relic' clue: the heart's chest!
Mission Objective: Obtain Davy Jones's the heart's chest and embed it into the heartwood of the explorer.
Mission Reward: Upon submission, the tech tree will advance to the 'Modern Age' and unlock brand new Modern Ship Technology!
The system's notification sound was like heavenly music!
"Oh, my dear Jack!"
Roger threw an arm around Jack's shoulder, so excited he almost knocked off his precious hat.
"Why didn't you say so sooner!"
Jack was bewildered by his sudden enthusiasm.
"Say sooner... say what sooner?"
"Say sooner that you know such an important figure!"
Roger's smile was so bright it made Jack's heart pound.
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