The midday sun hangs high over the turquoise sea, and the sparse coconut palms creep on the edge of the beach like a group of worshipping saints.

The harbor of Truf is bustling with people, large cargo ships are full of people, flocks of seagulls and egrets are grabbing on abandoned octopus stumps and fish falling from fishing nets, and the faint smell of fishy wafts over the mountain of cargo boxes, attracting more and more seabirds.

Many navigators in white-soaked sailors' suits constantly drove away these "thieves", and the creaking trestle was full of traders and horse-drawn carriages, and the noisy shouting made the otherwise cool air feel a little hotter.

The base camp of the Maritime Chamber of Commerce is close to the Truf harbor, and the shell-shaped buildings are unique, like a giant clam lying on the coastline, guarding the tranquility of the junction of the land and the sea in Xinlancheng, it is like a lighthouse in a storm to give every crew member who has returned from a voyage alive hope and warmth.

The first floor of the Maritime Chamber of Commerce is a trading platform, including cargo transportation transactions, cargo ship transactions and crew employment, etc., the second floor is the circular office platform of the Chamber of Commerce, where a wide variety of departments of all sizes are scattered here, and the third floor is a ship scheduling platform. The busiest place on weekdays is the office platform on the second floor, where the daily transaction volume is extremely huge, so the staff is also the most numerous.

On the outermost side of the second-floor office platform is a classically decorated room, whose function is indicated by the words "Ship Management Department" in large letters in the upper right corner of the door.

"Is Deputy Secretary Lawrence here?" a hurried voice called out the door.

Lawrence was reading the Xinlan Daily a few days ago with a cup of iced coffee, and although the weather was warming up a little, he still wore the somewhat unfashionable black long-brimmed hat on his head.

"Didn't I say you weren't allowed to disturb me during my lunch break?" said Lawrence, who was staring intently at the front page of the paper, seemingly interested in the news that took up almost the entire front page.

"I'm sorry, Deputy Minister, to disturb your rest," the voice outside the door said apologetically, "Yes, there is a customer who said he wants to charter a medium-weight cargo ship, but he does not have permission to go to sea, and he is not willing to hire sailors accompanying him. ”

"Troublemaker, do you need me to teach you how to do this?" Knock him out!" Lawrence took a sip of iced coffee, which was bitter because it was not sweetened.

There was silence outside the door for a moment, and the clerk seemed to be thinking about what to say next in order not to anger the strange-tempered deputy head of the ship management department, who had fired several of his staff members in succession in the last month.

"Deputy Minister, I wanted to do that at first, but the man said he knew you and asked you to receive him personally. The staff's voice grew weaker and weaker, as if he was about to die, "Look..."

A muffled "thump" came from the room, the sound of a cup slamming down on the table, and the clerk took two steps back in fright at the sudden noise.

Immediately after a series of heavy footsteps approached, the door of the "Ship Management Department" was suddenly opened, and Lawrence's eagle-like eyes peeked out from behind the door, revealing a small part of the silver-gray metal skull under the brim of his hat, which made people feel a little frightened even in the daytime.

"Vice... The clerk bowed his head nervously, not daring to look Lawrence in the eye.

"Take me to meet the man. Lawrence's tone was not strong, as if he had successfully transformed into a calm and ruthless businessman as soon as he came out of this room, the kind that could not be seen in anger.

"Okay, I'll take you. ”

Trembling as the clerk led the way, he walked around the uniformed co-workers towards the trading platform on the first floor, and with the guidance of the clerk, Lawrence quickly found the alleged buyer of the ship.

Instead of crowding around the first floor of the Maritime Chamber of Commerce like the other traders, this man chose to meet at a casual bar outside the Chamber of Commerce, which was far away from the noisy crowds and a good place to meet except for the scantily clad beach beauties.

Under the aqua blue parasol, a man in a floral pants vest is lying on a beach lounger, drinking coconut water leisurely with his legs crossed, flip-flops hanging on his toes, and black sunglasses almost covering most of his face.

"Here it is, Lawrence. ”

Lawrence had just come behind the man, and before he could speak, he was aware of it, and the man's voice sounded familiar.

"Excuse me, who are you?" asked Lawrence, smiling.

"What, you don't know me anymore?"

The man stood up with his back to Lawrence, his bronzed skin looking vibrant in the sun, and his short black and white hair stood up meticulously, making this back look strong and capable, especially the huge fists, which made people a little daunting.

"You're that—" Lawrence's brow widened, the figure he'd seen countless times, "Mr. Douglas, why are you here?"

Douglas turned around, took off his sunglasses, and dressed up in a cool and casual manner, if no one had seen it with their own eyes, no one would believe that this was Douglas, the stern vice principal who usually did not smile.

"I think you're surprised, don't you?" said Douglas, drinking coconut water, pushing another cut coconut to Lawrence.

"Why are you dressed like this?"

"It's too tiring to dress so formally, so I have to relax once in a while," Douglas said with a relaxed expression, "I have something to discuss with you this time." ”

"Is it for the last time I asked for it?" Lawrence put the coconut aside, and he took out the handkerchief he had brought with him to wipe his hands, "If so, it may be to disappoint you, I don't have the slightest clue here." ”

"No, it's Douglas, the vice-chancellor of the Imperial Military Academy, who is interested in this matter, not Douglas the Freed. Douglas said indifferently.

"Is it true in the newspapers?!" Lawrence looked incredulous, "the royal bunch really removed you from your post." ”

"Wouldn't that be nice, I wouldn't have been bothered to wade into this troubled water if Nolan hadn't begged me for help," Douglas shrugged, munching on the coconut meat rather pleasantly, "and now it seems that the taste of freedom is wonderful!"

"Teacher, you..."

"Stop, Lawrence, don't talk about it," Douglas stopped the conversation, "I'm looking for you this time to ask you something. ”

"Teacher, you say. Lawrence said after a moment's thought.

"First of all, don't call me a teacher until I go back to the academy, and secondly, help me get a middleweight cargo ship, preferably with a permit to go to sea. ”

"What are you?"

"You don't have to worry about this, I'll pay you double the rent, is it difficult?" Douglas stared into Lawrence's eyes, just as he had done in class.

"Mr. Douglas, you're still like that," Lawrence shook his head helplessly, "as domineering as ever. ”

"Wrong, domineering can't solve the problem, you have to rely on your brain. ”

"You're really becoming more and more like Principal Nolan, and even your lines have become more like him," a hint of gloom flashed in Lawrence's eyes, and then disappeared again, "I helped you with this favor." ”

As noon passed, people who woke up from their naps habitually opened their windows, because the humid sea breeze blowing from the direction of the blue sea would wake them up quickly.

At the port of Truf, another group of ships is about to go to sea, including fishing boats, cargo ships for transport, and exploration ships for sea exploration.

In the shadow of the ship, an old steam ship was mixed in, with neither cargo nor caravans on deck, and it sailed away from the harbor empty, except for the captain, chief engineer and other ship operators, the ship was almost empty.

Douglas stood alone on the operating platform at the top of the mast, the howling wind across his resolute cheeks, and although he was still wearing the cool clothes, his aura was already the same as before.

With a black veil wrapped around his left arm, Douglas's gaze looked into the distance, and dark clouds were slowly gathering in the far sea of the blue sea.

Half an hour later, two heads slowly peeked out of the shadows of a huge ship docked in the harbor of Truf, and they stared at the freighter for a long time, and only slowly leaned out of the shadows after confirming that the target was far away.

"I can go back and report to Headmaster Hook, it has been confirmed that Douglas has left Truff Harbor and headed for the Blue Sea. ”

"Well, there are no hidden dangers, and the plan can go smoothly. ”

"Don't talk much, get out of here quickly, the adult's plan can't be sloppy. ”

The two glanced at each other, then took off the Imperial Military Academy badge on their chests and threw them into the sea, and then quickly disappeared in place like ghosts, merging into the flow of people.

In the training room of the Fighting Dojo in the teaching area of the B Department of the Imperial Military Academy, the sound of striking fighting dolls reverberated rhythmically in the room.

Li Shiyi sat quietly by the window, the afternoon sun shining on his face, Li Shiyi leaned against the wall, holding a book in his hand and reading carefully, the voice not coming from him, but from the sweaty young man next to him.

For the essentials of the movements pointed out by Li Shiyi, Al had been practicing for hours in a row, and he hadn't even eaten lunch, but Li Shiyi just sat silently next to him, holding the book that Al didn't even know the title of the book and reading it for hours.

It has to be said that Al's body recovered quickly, and since he woke up, he was told that his body had fully recovered after only one day in the school hospital. When he walked out of the hospital, the doctors who had treated him were dumbfounded, they had never seen a seriously injured patient recover so quickly.

How to explain it to them? Al didn't know, the more he explained, the more troublesome it became, Al simply pushed all this on Max's head, lying that it was because of Max's nutrition that he was able to recover so quickly, and for a while, the mountains of nutrients were sold out by Snow, and the faces of the two were naturally even more happy.

"I can't. Al lay down on the ground and gulped for a rough breath, carefully tugging at the black veil that had fallen off his arm.

"It's not even close. Li Shiyi said lightly.