Note: 1. Obey order, queue in an orderly manner; 2. Do not spit or relieve yourself anywhere; 3. If you have any questions, please contact the guard for resolution; 4. Under no circumstances should you open a Wolf Fish can!
Inside the ticket hall of a ferry company, Luo En stared at the last rule on the notice board, his brow furrowing unconsciously.
"I can understand everything before that, but what is a Wolf Fish can?" Luo En muttered with a hint of confusion.
"You don't know? That's one of the most famous foods at sea."
A question came from behind Luo En.
Seeing someone proactively strike up a conversation with him, Luo En was a little surprised and turned to size up the person.
It was a slightly aged middle-aged man. His cheeks, palms, and every exposed part of his skin were deeply tanned, with a rough, sandpaper-like texture.
He wore a faded uniform, and the badge on his chest was already blurry—clearly one of the guards mentioned on the notice board.
He looked at Luo En with a smile, speaking very familiarly:
"Wolf Fish cans are a legend at sea; everyone who goes out to sea knows about them."
"But I don't know!" Luo En spread his hands in a gesture of not understanding.
"So, at a glance, you're a novice. If you want to make a living at sea, you always need to know this basic knowledge."
The guard, in the tone of a seasoned veteran, introduced to Luo En:
"It's a food popular on the east coast of Fossa, the Galgas Archipelago, and other places. It's salted Wolf Fish, but it retains blood, and the smell is very, very, very stimulating—stinky and disgusting."
Luo En suddenly understood; wasn't this the Different World version of surströmming… Hearing the other party's description, he immediately thought of the famous Dark cuisine from his original world.
"Is it that terrible?"
Luo En was a little confused. Although in his former world, surströmming was also known as the world's stinkiest food, that was basically commercial promotion, to some extent a gimmick.
"Terrible? That's not terrible, that's a disaster."
"You don't believe me?" The guard asked again when he saw Luo En's expressionless face.
"No, I believe you. Since there are clear regulations, it just means that someone has indeed done something stupid like that."
Every rule is interspersed with blood and tears; Luo En understood this principle.
"That's right. The reason for this rule is that more than ten years ago, several shipping companies, in order to snatch business, specifically hired people to open Wolf Fish cans in their rivals' companies, and as soon as a Wolf Fish can was opened, not a single person would remain in the entire ticket hall…"
"Biological weapon…" Luo En muttered to himself.
'I wonder if Lachi would like this kind of thing. Don't cats like fish?' Luo En glanced at his satchel, a hint of mischievous thought flashing through his mind.
'Speaking of which, if I use Wolf Fish cans against those Monsters with sensitive noses, would it work?
After all, surströmming can make dogs throw up from the smell, so Wolf Fish should be able to as well…'
After a brief chat with the guard, Luo En went to the ticket window to see if there were any suitable flights.
He planned to go to Bayam, the legendary "City of Generosity," and also the capital of the Loen colony, the Rorsted Archipelago. There should be more opportunities there.
But after seeing the prices on the notice board, Luo En's face darkened.
This was too expensive; a first-class ticket cost over 30 pounds… Luo En gasped. Looking at those not-so-beautiful prices, Luo En suddenly began to doubt whether this trip was worth it.
30 pounds was enough for him to rent a house for 3 years.
"Excuse me, are there any second-class tickets left for Bayam?" After calming himself down, Luo En walked to the ticket window and asked the ticket seller.
Compared to the first-class ticket that cost over 30 pounds, the second-class ticket, which cost less than 10 pounds, seemed much more affordable. As for the third-class ticket, which only cost four or five pounds, Luo En didn't consider it much, because it would most likely mean sharing a bunk with multiple strangers, which was very unfriendly to Luo En, who was carrying a cat.
"Hmm… You're very lucky. The Velan still has one last second-class ticket, 9 pounds."
Lucky, I always seem to have good luck with small details… Luo En didn't speak, just smiled in response to the ticket seller, then pulled out his wallet, counted out 9 pounds, and handed it over.
…
The next day at dusk, the outline of the Velan appeared at the dock. This steam-powered hybrid sailboat had a slender hull and a towering chimney, with dark muzzles neatly arranged along both sides of the ship's hull.
In this world, it was considered an advanced ship, but from Luo En's perspective, it had a retro beauty.
Many passengers, upon seeing these cannons, not only felt no fear but instead showed expressions of relief.
'Civilian ships in this world can even install weapons. If they are purely for self-defense, then it only means that the sea is indeed not peaceful!'
Seeing those weapons, Luo En felt an unspeakable strangeness; this world always managed to give him enough shock in certain details.
Moreover, his purpose for going to sea, besides gaining more knowledge of mysticism, was largely because he encountered danger and wanted to avoid the limelight. If the risks at sea were that great, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?
"Forget it, I'm already here…"
He didn't dwell on it for long, carrying his luggage unhurriedly along with the flow of people into the cabin.
He arrived on the second floor, reaching his purchased Room 201.
Luo En opened the Door, scrutinized it for a few moments, and found the environment cleaner than he expected, but the decor was clearly not as good as the hotels on land.
His second-class cabin was a small room of ten square meters, with only a narrow bed and a severely worn desk.
This was fine for Luo En; he wasn't very picky about where he stayed.
The only slight dissatisfaction was the lack of a private washroom; he had to go to the public restroom on the second floor to use the toilet.
But thinking of the crowded third-class cabin, Luo En still breathed a sigh of relief.
"Forget it, compared to a third-class ticket, at least there's some privacy here."
"Meow~" Lachi poked her head out of the satchel, curiously surveying the new environment.
…
Night,
Luo En tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. He couldn't stand the rocking of the ship.
Getting up and sitting on the edge of the bed, he pondered for a while, then put on his clothes and went to the deck, intending to feel the sea breeze.
The deck was very quiet; apart from the sound of rolling waves all around, there was no other sound.
Long-lost tranquility…
Luo En looked up and saw a Blood Moon hanging high.
"The pollution in this era is really too severe."
"The Moon at sea is just different from the one in the city."
Without the haze blocking it, the crimson Moon was clearer and softer than in the city.
"What a pity. If it were a bright Moon, I might recite a few poems by Li Bai, though no one would understand them anyway."
Luo En's lament did not last long. He suddenly felt that the crimson Moonlight seemed to become brighter, dazzling him somewhat.
The moment he raised his hand to block it, an inexplicable palpitation struck him.
"Strange, why do I always feel uneasy?"