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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 40: Demands
"A massive sea fish, and four people died?"
In Arlong Park, Arlong had just returned from a raid at sea when he heard Eight's words. He glared at him and asked, "So what were you doing?"
Eight scratched his head and replied, "I went into the sea and fought with the sea fish. I injured it, but it managed to escape."
"A sea fish, and you got hurt as well."
Arlong glanced at the bandage on Eight's hand and coldly said, "Crocboy, Choo, you two go into the sea and hunt that fish."
"Yes, sir."
Crocboy and Choo followed Eight to the harbor to capture the sea fish.
"Nami, why are you so nervous?" Arlong suddenly looked at Nami beside him.
"I..."
Nami was startled by Arlong's question. She looked at him, afraid to admit that she was anxious because she feared that Crocboy and Choo would kill the sea fish.
"You are very useful to us. As long as you do your job honestly, I won't do anything to you."
Arlong narrowed his eyes, staring at Nami before continuing, "So you don't have to worry about anything."
Hearing this, Nami let out a sigh; Arlong thought she was afraid of him.
"I-I will do my job well," Nami said.
Arlong nodded and asked, "How is your charting going? It's been a month since I asked you to map the current conditions in this area. Is it not done yet?"
Nami looked at Arlong and replied, "The current changes here are too complex. To measure them accurately requires both Lagrangian methods and Eulerian methods. The Lagrangian method needs buoys, while the Eulerian method requires fixed-point monitoring. Either way, it demands long-term observations at regular intervals."
"Your what? I didn't understand." Arlong stared at Nami, completely confused.
Nami replied directly, "Because the currents here are unpredictable, it's best to use a buoy method that follows the ship. Fixed-point observation requires observation points, which means going out to sea. But right now, there are sea creatures in the water that even the Eight can't defeat, so I can't go out there at all, and I need someone to protect me. And for current measurements, I need to be on the ship, so..."
"So you need to go out to sea, but there are sea creatures in the water."
Arlong nodded and said, "Yeah, I'll have Crocboy and the others handle that."
"And there's more."
Nami continued, "If I want to measure the current conditions in other sea areas and weather changes, I need to go out to sea myself. There's a method called 'follow ship current measurement,' where you follow the vessel out to sea and measure the ship's absolute position and direction relative to the seabed, as well as its relative position and direction to the seawater. Then you can calculate the movement and direction of the seawater relative to the seabed."
"What do you mean?"
Arlong looked bewildered. Just as Nami was about to explain, he waved his hand impatiently and said, "You mean you need to take a boat out to sea, right?"
"Exactly," Nami nodded.
Arlong looked at her and said, "Then next time we go out on the Spaboo, you can come with us."
"But when you leave, you're either going to attack a village or collect protection fees. I don't want to tag along with you," Nami replied discontentedly.
Upon hearing this, Arlong snorted coldly and asked Nami, "If you won't take our ship, how do you plan to get out to sea?"
"A merchant ship or a cargo ship will do," Nami said while looking at Arlong. "You shouldn't worry about me running away."
"Of course not."
Arlong looked at her with a sinister smile and said, "If you dare run away, I'll kill your family, friends, and the villagers in your town."
Hearing this, Nami felt an overwhelming anger inside her, but she did not show it. She shrugged and said, "So, Arlong, do you agree to my request?"
"Yes, but you'll have to finish the sea chart here first," Arlong replied.
He agreed to her request but added, "Also, you're still too young. It's a bit difficult for you to go out to sea alone. I don't want the future Navigator to die out there, so I'll find someone to protect you."
"Zoro."
Nami immediately exclaimed, repeating, "I want Zoro to protect me."
If she had to choose someone, Nami would prefer Zoro. His straightforward personality and simple mind made him easy to deceive.
"You and Zoro seem to get along quite well," Arlong raised an eyebrow and asked in surprise.
Nami coldly replied, "Because Zoro is different from you all."
"Different? He's a weakling. His combat power is decent, but he doesn't want to take action against humans."
Arlong snorted and said, "If you want to go out to sea, let him follow you then."
Nami nodded, satisfied with this outcome.
She had to go out to sea. Although she needed these things to complete Arlong's work, the most important thing was that she needed to gather One Hundred Million Berries to save her village. Just drawing sea charts wouldn't be enough.
She had to steal, cheat, and rob to achieve that.
For the sake of her village, Nami was willing to do anything.
Leaving Arlong's side, Nami climbed the stairs with her short legs and returned to her room. She eagerly picked up her telescope and looked towards the harbor.
Zoro stood on the shore, Crocboy floated on the water's surface, while Choo was underwater.
There were no signs of battle for the time being.
Nami prayed that the sea fish would not encounter them and would swim far away.
...
Under the sea, Xiaqiu swam deeper into the vast ocean.
He stayed close to the seabed, but his massive form was quite conspicuous, causing all the fish nearby to scatter in a panic.
Whoosh.
Xiaqiu surged forward, catching up to a fish.
This fish was about three meters long, elongated and laterally flattened, with a slender tail and a pointed head.
Most notably, it had spiny fins on its back.
Spiny Fish.
The size of Spiny Fish was generally limited to under one meter, but in this world, they could grow up to three meters.
Xiaqiu immediately charged at it, biting down and crushing it before swallowing it whole.
Then he continued to swim deeper into the ocean.
Spiny Fish lived at depths between two hundred and three thousand five hundred meters. The area where Xiaqiu was currently located was about three hundred meters deep.
Xiaqiu was searching for Octopus and Squid.
All three were cephalopods belonging to the class Cephalopoda.
Octopus refers to the Octopus, while Squid and Squid belong to the Decapod category. Below are the Squid Order, which includes various types such as Spiral Squid and others.
Squid generally refers to the Squid Order, also known as Cuttlefish, while another type of Squid refers to the Squid Order, commonly called Spear Squid.
Both Octopus and Squid lead a benthic lifestyle, typically residing at the ocean floor. The Octopus is a temperate soft-bodied creature that has higher requirements for water temperature and salinity, whereas the Squid is accustomed to living in deeper waters.
During the breeding season in spring and summer, both Octopus and Squid migrate closer to shore. In autumn and winter, as their young grow to a certain size, they head back to the deep sea.
As for Squid, they generally inhabit the upper layers of shallow seas, capable of vertical movements up to a hundred meters. Most Squid swim in waters about twenty meters deep, although their size can vary significantly.
Larger Squid tend to live at greater depths; for instance, the Giant Squid and Giant Pacific Squid are notable examples.
Now that it is winter, Xiaqiu finds it difficult to spot Octopus and Squid in the nearshore area; their numbers are pitifully low. Occasionally, he might catch one that is less than a meter long.
As for Squid, their numbers are sparse and their sizes vary.
Xiaqiu has consumed a lot but has not yet grown any tentacles.
He is uncertain whether it is due to his insufficient consumption providing enough Evolutionary Energy or if he simply cannot evolve tentacles.
Thus, Xiaqiu swims toward the deep sea in an attempt to catch larger Squid or Octopus.
He opens his mouth and emits sound waves, exploring the depths below and capturing many fish.
What a large one.
Three thousand meters away from him, he spots a gigantic sea fish with an elongated body measuring around fifty meters in length.
It resembles an eel or Belt Fish; despite its length, its weight and combat ability are far inferior to his own.
Xiaqiu saw no need to fight him; killing him would not allow for a complete meal and would only attract more sea fish.
So, Xiaqiu took a detour and continued downward.
The water grew deeper, quickly reaching around four hundred meters.
Suddenly, Xiaqiu detected a signal. Four hundred meters below at an angle, there was a creature. The returning sound waves indicated that its body was soft, similar in frequency to the Squid and Octopus he had consumed.
At the same time, it was about twenty meters long, with a massive head and numerous tentacles, floating up and down.
This should be his target.
Thinking this, Xiaqiu charged directly toward it.
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