Chapter 194: 194

With that, Zhang Heng tasked Carina with finding the mole . Ever since the Jackdaw returned to Nassau, Zhang Heng hadn’t managed to get any sleep . As promised, he made the announcement to Nassau’s residents that he would defend the fortress with Honegg . When that was done, he retreated home to get some well-deserved rest .

It was late in the evening when he opened his eyes . Zhang Heng took a look at Anne, who was sleeping next to him . She had a questionable sleeping position, with an arm and a leg placed on Zhang Heng’s body . She was drooling like a baby as well . The most ironic part was that Anne had her leg placed on Zhang Heng’s chest while her hand was on his thigh .

Zhang Heng had no idea how she managed to turn herself upside down while she was sleeping . The reason why he suddenly woke up suddenly because Anne kicked his chin accidentally . Trying his best not to wake her up, he spent quite a bit of effort to remove her contorted limbs from his body . However, it seemed like he overthought it . Once Anne was asleep, waking her up was a challenge, to say the least .

On the flip side, she had this feral instinct when it came to threats . Even when she was in a deep sleep, she would automatically wake up if something dangerous happened around her . Zhang Heng had no idea how to explain a phenomenon like this . He guessed that it had everything to do with her personality, a beast-like nature that automatically allowed her to detect any incoming threat .

What she told him that night reminded him of the little fox of Little Prince . Due to the little fox taking a liking toward Little Prince and it knew that goodbye was coming, it was willing to be domesticated . The little fox did that because it wanted to remember the color of Little Prince’s hair when it gazed upon the wheat field .

Zhang Heng took a jacket from a nearby chair and covered Anne with it . He went proceeded downstairs to his little farm, where he plucked the vegetables that were ripe and dug up a few potatoes . While he was tending to his garden, he saw the little girl living next to him and gave her a barbary fig . Before entering the game, Zhang Heng had never tried Barbary figs before .

It was the fruit of a cactus and was native to the north and south of America . It could typically be found above the cactus plant . Like the main tree, the fruit was also covered in thorns . One had to cut off its tail and remove its skin before it could be eaten . It was essential that the octagonal thorn within the fruit was picked out as well . As for its taste, there was a tinge of sweetness coupled with sour parts . Zhang Heng was weirded out when he first ate this fruit . He had once heard that Indians favored the fruit a lot, regularly using it as medicine .

As usual, the little girl ran away the moment Zhang Heng approached her . He wasn’t too bothered by this, knowing that the parents of kids her age would usually advise them to steer clear of strangers . When he was done with the harvest, he brought the Barbary figs and vegetables back in . Instead of eating the fruit just like that, Zhang Heng preferred to scoop out its flesh and add a little honey with it .

When Anne finally woke from her slumber, Zhang Heng was already done preparing dinner for the two of them . He sprinkled some salt on the fishes that he’d just grilled over a flame . The 18th century wasn’t as exciting as the modern world where there were no cellphones or computers . Even books were a rarity . Each time they returned from a voyage, they would be distraught from the harsh life out at sea . Hence, different people had different ways to relieve their stress .

For Anne, she preferred picking fights as a stress relief method . As for Billy, he preferred to spend his time with his family . Zhang Heng, on the other hand, liked to cook and tend to his little farm . It helped him to take his mind off things when he wasn’t on the raging oceans . Farming was a hobby he acquired when he entered his very first quest . When he was on the island alone, he needed to survive . Thus, he looked for something to do to keep him going . Not only did farming bring him game points, but it also provided him with satisfaction and joy .

To see the seeds he sowed finally bear fruit was a great healing process . Cooking had the same effects as well . Unfortunately, the pace of life in modern society had gotten a lot faster, and a good amount of devotion would be needed for these things to succeed . It was possible to reap happiness if the person involved managed to calm their heart down . Unfortunately, fewer and fewer individuals from the modern world chose to embark and commit to these kinds of activities .

After becoming a pirate of the Caribbean, Zhang Heng realized that he had more time for activities like this . Now, he was required to stay in the game for an unprecedented amount of time . After reaching LV2 on his saber and sailing skills, Zhang Heng was thinking of learning other skillsets . Learning other languages had become a priority . After completing a few rounds of the game, Zhang Heng realized that it was vital for him to speak various languages . After all, communication was the most important skill a human could master . During the Mannerheim Line quest, many people took advantage of him as he didn’t know how to speak their language .

Though he now spoke two foreign languages (plus a couple of Finnish words), he was better than most around him . However, every quest was unpredictable, and knowing only two languages wasn’t quite enough . Zhang Heng quickly realized the advantage of the formation of teams, where each member could choose to learn a different language . If there were six people in a team, they would be able to communicate in six languages .

However, a single-player like Zhang Heng could only rely on himself . Fortunately, he had ample time to learn other languages . Now, he planned to learn French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, and Latin throughout the ten-year tenure in this game . He wanted to be able to understand basic speech at the very least .

If his memory served him right, Zhang Heng remembered that Latin was only used up until the early 18th century . As the official language of Rome, Latin was widely spoken throughout Europe during the 1st century BC . French, Italian, and Spanish were considered as local dialects . Along with the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Renaissance Era, Latin started to lose its place as the essential language of Europe . In the end, the Vatican was the only country that remained using Latin in their day-to-day business . Although languages of this era and languages of the modern world varied slightly, Zhang Heng figured it shouldn’t be a problem for him to master some simple ways of communication .

……… . .

Zhang Heng was still waiting for Black Prince Sam to vouch for him so he could join the meeting that was to be on this island . The next morning, he received an unexpected notification telling him that his main quest of the game had been completed . After eliminating a few possibilities, Zhang Heng figured that Billy must have recruited a new batch of pirates . There were at least 70 pirates on the Jackdaw right now . Thus, when the game instructed him to build his own force, it meant that he had to recruit a certain number of people to work under him .

It seemed that his quest was complete . After living in this world for one year, it was only logical that his main quest was completed . Zhang Heng had no intention to give up on anything after achieving so much in this game . After all, he had to stay here for another ten years . Everything that he did right now was preparation for a bigger goal . Be it joining the meeting, helping Carina fight the black-market alliance, becoming Honneg’s ally, or helping Laeli, Zhang Heng was building a strong foundation for himself .