Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Boarding the Ship for a Tour

After stowing his belongings, Hammer led Alka out.

Back on deck again, Alka finally couldn’t help but ask, ”Hammer, are there really just the two of you on this entire ship?”

Since boarding the ship and entering his room, Alka hadn’t seen anyone else besides Hammer and Andre. Such a large ship, just to operate it, might require anywhere from a dozen to dozens of people. If fully loaded, wouldn’t there be more than 150 people? Yet after boarding, he had seen only two people, which was far too strange.

”Of course, it’s not just me and the Captain; there are three more in the lower cabins,” Hammer said with a laugh.

Seeing Hammer’s expression, Alka was speechless. Is that what I was asking? Even with the three below, that’s still just five people. How do five people operate such a big ship? Could it possibly be fully automatic?

Hammer seemed to genuinely not understand what Alka meant and simply continued to lead him down into the ship’s lower decks.

”This level is the ship’s cannon deck, where ammunition and other weapons are stored.”

Alka observed the environment on this level. A total of ten Vibrating Stone Cannons were arrayed, five on each side. Alka wasn’t very familiar with this type of weapon, possessing only the most basic understanding. However, judging from their appearance alone, they were definitely superior to Hawls’ prized possessions. These Vibrating Stone Cannons were visually distinct. They were encased in an unknown metal, engraved with beautiful patterns and reliefs. Their bases were wider and more robust, firmly fixed to the deck. Alka even noticed a loading port on the right side of the rear half of the cannon barrel, a much more convenient method than Hawls’ way of stuffing cannonballs in from the muzzle. Clearly, they were a more advanced model.

Hammer then added, ”The Breaker-C type Vibrating Stone Cannon. It’s a grade higher than the standard-issue Type B cannon used by the Blood Gold Alliance navy. It’s a large-caliber No. 6 cannon.”

Listening to Hammer’s introduction, Alka couldn’t understand a word. Neither he nor the original owner of his body had any knowledge of these things, much less a different system of standards. Currently, his knowledge was mostly limited to some firearms and their ammunition.

Looking at these cannons, ten in total. Even with a skeleton crew, that would mean at least twenty people, wouldn’t it? And that didn’t even include those needed to transport ammunition or other miscellaneous personnel. It was painfully obvious they didn’t have enough crew for this ship.

”At the fore of this deck is the ship’s library,” Hammer explained, ”and aft are the kitchen and dining area.”

With that, he led Alka toward the front and pushed open a large door. They stepped into a brightly lit area where well-placed windows provided excellent illumination. Rows upon rows of three-tiered bookshelves stood neatly arranged, holding a variety of books and documents. Each tier on the shelves was partitioned by a wooden retaining bar, presumably to keep the books in place. The bookshelves themselves were secured against the ship’s support pillars. Nearby, there were also reading desks and stools.

”Hey! Liboka, wake up, we have a newcomer!” Hammer tapped on the front desk near the doorway. Inside the semi-circular desk, a woman in a white sailor uniform and mid-length trousers lay prone in a hammock.

However, the woman named Liboka remained lying there. She reached down, grabbed a blanket from the floor, pulled it over herself, and waved dismissively. ”Go away, Hammer, don’t bother me. I was up late looking up information for the Captain; let me rest for a while.”

Hammer could only shrug helplessly at Alka and led him out of the library. As they walked, he said, ”That woman just now is Liboka, also a secondary member of the ship. She’s responsible for managing the library and handling information retrieval. You can usually find her there.”

Then they arrived at the aft dining area. This place was entirely open; it wasn’t separated from the cannon deck by any doors. Instead, two simple cloth hangings served as partitions. Pulling aside one of the hangings revealed several long dining tables and rows of benches and chairs. Further aft in the dining area, they could see the kitchen; it was an open-air setup.

A middle-aged man in chef’s whites was handling ingredients. His somewhat portly figure and protruding belly cut a classic chef’s image. His appearance alone suggested his culinary skills were excellent.

Hammer led Alka over. ”This is the ship’s chef, Uncle Matt.”

The middle-aged man looked up, revealing a rather amiable face. Smiling warmly at Alka, he wiped his hands and came over.

Hammer introduced him, ”This is Alka, the new apprentice member on the ship. He’s the one the Captain made a special trip to pick up.”

Matt nodded and reached out to shake Alka’s hand. ”Young man, I’m Matt, Matt Ribb. Since you’re newly aboard today, if there’s any particular type of cuisine you’d like for dinner tonight, just let me know.”

Alka smiled and said, ”Thank you for your kindness, but I don’t have any particular culinary preferences; I can eat anything.”

”Uncle Matt, we’ll chat more later,” Hammer interjected. ”I still need to show Alka around the rest of the ship so he can get his bearings.”

Matt nodded with a smile, waved, and then headed back to his work.

Hammer led Alka away. ”Uncle Matt’s culinary skills are excellent. When it comes to cooking, even the Captain can’t order him around.”

As he spoke, they reached a hatchway leading to an even lower deck.

”Further down are the resting quarters for us secondary members,” Hammer said. ”There are also some peculiar workshops and storage rooms.”

With that, the two headed down. This deck was divided into two main sections, with corridors running along either side and a central passageway connecting them.

”The forward section here is our living quarters,” Hammer explained, ”and the aft section has various fabrication rooms, workshops, and the like.”

At that moment, a CLANGING and POUNDING sound emanated from a room in the aft section.

Noticing Alka turn his head towards the sound, Hammer quickly explained, ”That’s Old Man Bobby, one of our core members. It’s best not to disturb him right now, or he’ll start nagging and won’t stop.”

”What about the other crew members?” Alka asked directly.

”Other crew? They’re on Meister Island right now, on a mission there.”

Saying this, Hammer continued leading the way, and they arrived at another hatchway leading to an even lower level.

”Further down is the hold,” Hammer said. ”Most of the cargo and supplies are stored down there.”

After saying this, he picked up an oil lamp from beside the hatchway and descended. This lowermost section was entirely below the waterline, so there were no external light sources; they had to rely on the oil lamp for illumination.

After a brief tour to familiarize Alka with the ship’s general layout and structure, Hammer led him back to the main deck.