Chapter 5: You Will Never Be Able to Leave

“So we were all just bait in the end.”

Back in his own cabin, Liu Zhi did not, like the original Sandro, rush to check whether any of his cargo had been stolen during his absence.

He sat on the hammock, replaying in his mind the words the sailor had said as he came down.

No wonder this ship hadn’t sailed back with the Silver Fleet of Sisei during the monsoon season, but instead struck out alone at this time.

It seemed, then, that Sandro’s body truly had been abandoned by others. Otherwise, how could he have failed to learn even this much? Even if the goal was to put on an act and lure out the Black Sail pirates who were about to be destroyed, some of the higher-ups surely knew the truth. Hadn’t he noticed that all the other cabins were rented out to small-time merchants who might not even survive the voyage?

He mulled this over and couldn’t help but sigh. “I really must have fallen on hard times. But it’s a good thing we’ll soon return to Sisei. Once I sell all this useless junk, I’ll finally have some money to start fresh.”

“I’m afraid your plans may not come to fruition.” Just then, Liu Zhi’s cabin door opened abruptly. A middle-aged man, who looked every inch a noble, entered, accompanied by the captain.

The man wrinkled his nose at the strange odor in Liu Zhi’s cabin but said nothing. He simply fixed Liu Zhi with a steady gaze.

“I’m here to inform you: the ship will change course and return to port at Tortuga.”

With that, the nobleman left, taking the captain with him—a subordinate remained behind as they exited.

“Explain it to him.”

Only after the nobleman had gone did the subordinate finally lift his head and look at Liu Zhi.

From the look in his eyes, Liu Zhi immediately recognized the type. He spoke directly, “I am a nobleman—my family name is Ellance.”

That took the subordinate aback for a moment. “Alright, so you’re a noble. If you think that means anything, you can take it up with the commander of the Silver Fleet. Let me tell you, this change of course is the commander’s decision. I’m just here to let you know: the ship will not be going to Seville.”

In truth, the middle-aged noble had already said as much. The subordinate’s repetition served only to further enrage the merchants on board.

Liu Zhi didn’t really understand why the nobleman had done this, but unlike the other merchants, he didn’t weep and wail, nor did he attempt to bribe the subordinate. He merely listened calmly, as if the cargo in this hold didn’t belong to him at all.

Instead, it was the subordinate who grew increasingly irritated as he spoke. Finally, losing his patience, he slammed the cabin door and pointed at Liu Zhi. “Are you even listening?”

“Yes, but you keep going on about how vigorously the navy is fighting the pirates and how not reaching Seville is just an accident. What’s the use of that? Are you going to overturn the higher-ups’ decision?”

That left the subordinate speechless. He pointed at Liu Zhi and could only sputter, unable to say a word.

“Alright, if you’ve nothing more to say, please leave. As far as I’m aware, this cabin is still mine until we reach Tortuga.”

Fury flashed in the man’s eyes, but he suppressed it in the end. He jabbed a finger at Liu Zhi, “Fine, you just wait.”

He turned to leave, but as he reached the door, he suddenly spun back.

Liu Zhi noticed the man’s eyes rolling upward, showing only the whites. His voice took on a strange, hollow tone. “You will never escape. It is your fate—fate itself bars your way out of here.”

Liu Zhi paused, then understood. He flipped his hand, revealing the golden pendant from Atahualpa, letting it dance between his fingers.

“Is this what you mean? Believe me, I could throw this into the sea at any time.”

“No, you won’t. It is your destiny. No one can escape destiny’s grasp.”

“If what you say is true, then it wouldn’t be a useless lackey like you telling me this. Honestly, I don’t believe a word you say.” Unfazed by threats, Liu Zhi gripped the golden pendant tightly, as if he might toss it overboard at any moment.

The possessed man finally softened, his voice still strange. “There is everything you desire there.”

“And what do you think I desire?” Liu Zhi replied disdainfully. He saw through the man’s attempt to tempt him once threats failed. But there was nothing he truly wanted here—this world wasn’t his, and there was nothing in it that he sought.

“Wealth, power, authority…” the man recited a litany of temptations, but Liu Zhi appeared not to hear, not even raising his head.

The more the man spoke, the more desperate he became. Blood vessels bulged at his temples—a sign that the body’s possession was slipping out of control.

As the possession neared its end, he finally shouted, “The City of Gold!”

At those words, a tremor ran through Liu Zhi, as if something deep inside him had been awakened. He looked up, his voice suddenly strange.

“What did you say? Say it again?”

“The City of Gold, the city that belongs to Kukulkan, slumbers in that place. As long as you find it, everything will be yours…”

Before he could finish, the possessing force dissipated. The man staggered, bracing himself against the doorframe. Looking at Liu Zhi, he asked in confusion, “What just happened?”

Liu Zhi gave him a withering look. “If you get seasick, you shouldn’t be at sea. If you’re going to vomit, do it elsewhere—just don’t do it in my cabin.”

The man, convinced he really was seasick, hurried out, though confusion clouded his eyes.

Once he’d gone, Liu Zhi lay back in the hammock, the golden pendant turning in his hand as he sifted through the memories of the necromancer Sandro.

“So that’s how it is. After three consecutive failures, he’s truly desperate. That Sandro fellow, wherever he heard the legend of the cursed City of Gold, has pinned his hopes on it. I wonder how their graduation exams are graded—could finding this city really help him that much?”

He sat up, holding the golden pendant before his eyes, studying it closely.

“But for me, it’s all the same. I don’t even know what’s really going on, or what kind of world Sandro came from. Magic? Technology? A game?”

“All I can do is take things one step at a time. Let’s hope Sandro’s choice to come here was the right one, that the City of Gold contains what he needs to pass his graduation exam. Until then, let me study this so-called golden cheat—one that I don’t know belongs to me or Sandro.”

“Come forth, status screen.”