Gu Rong wasn’t being picky; it was just that these foods smelled foul, like rotting corpses.

The crew members had tried their best to remove the stench, but Gu Rong’s sensitive nose easily detected it.

Gu Rong fanned his nose with his small hand, his milky voice complaining: “Zaizai is going to faint from the stink!”

Isaac waved his hand, instructing the crew members to immediately take the dishes away.

“Little Captain, should we formulate a battle plan?”

Gu Rong asked: “What battle plan?”

Gu Rong’s task happened to align with the Phantom Ghost Ship’s battle plan, so the crew assumed he was here to lead them into battle against the Pharaoh.

But having experienced Gu Rong’s steering skills, the crew members were still traumatized, fearing they’d be wiped out before even reaching the other side.

Regardless, the battle plan had to be changed.

Isaac thought for a moment and said, “Does the Little Captain have any ideas?”

Gu Rong raised his short little hand and said crisply: “Drag the Pharaoh into the Phantom Ghost Realm!”

Gu Rong was a cub of action. As he spoke, he immediately wanted to go steer the ship again. Mainly because steering was fun, like driving bumper cars.

The crew members were terrified: “Absolutely not, Little Captain!!!”

Gu Rong tilted his little head, blinking his big eyes, his face full of innocence.

The livestream chat erupted in laughter. Other captains cost money; Zaizai cost lives.

“Dragging the Pharaoh into the Phantom Ghost Realm is the result we want to achieve.” Isaac calmly analyzed, “However, we don’t necessarily have to get close to the Pharaoh to drag her into the Phantom Ghost Realm.”

Gu Rong, still sitting on the skull-shaped swing car, tilted his little head up to look at Isaac.

Isaac: “Little Captain, why don’t we send an undercover agent to lure the Pharaoh over?”

In short, anything was fine as long as they didn’t have to move the Phantom Ghost Ship again.

Gu Rong: “But, who should be the undercover agent?”

The crew members fell silent for a moment, their gazes uniformly falling upon the Little Captain.

The Little Captain was naive and adorable, looking like prime material for an undercover agent. After all, who would suspect a two-year-old cub of being a spy?

Besides, he was the enemy’s second prince.

–

On the Pharaoh, the Little Prince had been unconscious for most of the day, showing no signs of waking up.

The King, amidst war preparations, had to take time out to visit the Little Prince.

Since everyone previously misunderstood that Xie Lingjiu had awakened the Little Prince, Xie Lingjiu also followed along.

Daisy and Anna were frantic with worry. Seeing the King arrive with a group of ministers and the Wizard, they immediately bowed in greeting.

“Has Rongrong not woken up yet?”

The King spoke faintly, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

Daisy lowered her head, her voice filled with worry: “Replying to Your Majesty, His Highness the Little Prince has been sleeping continuously and has not woken up.”

This wasn’t the first time. It had happened before; no matter how they called him, he wouldn’t wake up, and they could only wait for the Little Prince to wake up on his own.

However, this time the sleep duration was much longer than before.

The King looked towards Xie Lingjiu.

After being slapped by Gu Rong, Xie Lingjiu’s snake became timid whenever it saw Gu Rong. At this moment, it hid behind Xie Lingjiu, only cautiously poking out its snake head, its beady eyes looking at Gu Rong.

The black snake’s head turned left and right, seemingly puzzled.

Xie Lingjiu stepped forward and felt Gu Rong’s little forehead.

The child’s skin was soft and tender, his little head smaller than Xie Lingjiu’s hand. He indeed looked like a cute cub.

Xie Lingjiu wasn’t someone who liked children, nor did he understand why this NPC cub, merely being a bit cute, had such high popularity. Although he didn’t understand, he respected it.

As a player, he naturally knew that Gu Rong was playing two NPC roles simultaneously. At this moment, Gu Rong must be busy playing Zaizai on the Phantom Ghost Ship, and the one before him was just an empty shell controlled by the system.

He was just putting on a show.

However, as his hand rested on Gu Rong’s little forehead for a moment, pretending, just as he was about to withdraw it, the Little Prince slowly opened his eyes, blinked his big eyes, and woke up again.

Seeing the Little Prince awake, the ministers beside him couldn’t help but lavish praise on the Wizard.

“Truly worthy of being the Wizard! Every time he just touches the Little Prince’s forehead, without even doing anything, the Little Prince wakes up.”

Xie Lingjiu: “…”

Pure coincidence.

Happening twice like this, so coincidentally, he almost suspected this little cub was doing it on purpose.

Gu Rong saw Xie Lingjiu clearly in front of him and pointed with his little finger: “Braids Big Brother.”

Xie Lingjiu: “…?!”

Braids Big Brother… refers to…?

Him?

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Xie Lingjiu’s usually composed face cracked for an instant.

The King and the ministers also visibly flinched.

Even more outrageous than “King Big Brother” was “Braids Big Brother.”

Everyone glanced, intentionally or unintentionally, at the Wizard’s head full of dreadlocks. It had to be said; the nickname certainly captured the main feature.

[Hahaha, Braids Big Brother, Xie-dalao couldn’t escape after all!]

[Xie-dalao: Is it too late to cut off my braids now?]

[Xie-dalao is the introvert of introverts. Facing Zaizai, this little social butterfly, he’s probably powerless hahaha]

[Putting other things aside, Braids Big Brother is quite cute! [Affirmation from Little Jerry]]

[No matter how cute, nobody wants to be mistaken for a pile of… [Dog head emoji]]

–

Gu Rong needed to act as the little undercover agent, so naturally, he wouldn’t use Zaizai’s identity. He switched his identity card and became Rongrong again.

He hadn’t eaten anything on the Phantom Ghost Ship. Looking at King Louis XIII, he clutched his little tummy and said in a milky voice, “King Big Brother, Rongrong’s tummy is flat hungry. Can we eat first?”

006: […]

Wait, little host, what exactly are we here for?

King Louis XIII raised an eyebrow.

Oh, so he woke up because he was hungry.

–

Gu Rong sat in the dining chair, swinging his two little feet dangling in the air, holding a knife in one hand and a fork in the other, waiting for the meal to be served.

A small bib was tied around his short neck.

The ministers and Xie Lingjiu had already left. Xie Lingjiu, due to the “Braids Big Brother” comment, was questioning his life choices and kept looking back at Gu Rong as he left.

Gu Rong waved his little hands holding the knife and fork: “Bye Braids Big Brother, bye Big Black Snake!”

Both the man and the snake flinched simultaneously, turned around, and left immediately.

King Louis XIII stayed behind. He sat opposite Gu Rong, a faint smile on his face, watching the little dumpling eat.

Gu Rong speared a piece of small steak with his fork and put it in his mouth. He was initially focused on eating, but seeing the King constantly watching him, he looked confused: “King Big Brother, why are you watching Rongrong eat?”

Thinking the King might also want some, he pushed his own plate forward a bit, “King Big Brother, eat!”

King Louis XIII’s usually superficial fake smile reached his eyes. He shook his head gently, his voice warm: “I have already dined. Rongrong can eat by himself.”

Gu Rong wasn’t polite. Hearing this, he buried his head in his food bowl, completely absorbed in eating.

The King: “…”

He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but ever since boarding the Pharaoh, everyone had lost their appetite due to not adapting well to life at sea and had become thinner. But Gu Rong seemed completely unaffected, even getting quite a bit rounder.

King Louis XIII had excellent patience. He waited until Gu Rong had eaten his fill, patted his round little tummy, and let out a satisfied burp before smiling and speaking: “Rongrong slept for a long time. Do you want to go out for some fresh air?”

Gu Rong remembered he was here to be a little undercover agent and nodded his little head: “Yes, fresh air!”

Louis XIII took Gu Rong’s small meaty hand and squeezed it: “Rongrong might not know yet, but Zaizai accidentally fell onto the Phantom Ghost Ship and has now become its Little Captain.”

Gu Rong was young, but not stupid. He knew to pretend ignorance, looking innocent: “Mm, Rongrong sleeping, Rongrong bu ji dao (don’t know).”

[What Nicholas Zaizai did has nothing to do with me, Nicholas Rongrong! [Dog head emoji]]

[Zaizai isn’t blushing or skipping a beat haha, his mental fortitude is top-notch!]

[Technically, Rongrong really doesn’t know. Although Zaizai plays both roles, they are indeed two separate NPCs. Can’t break character.]

The King’s thoughts were hard to guess. He led Gu Rong outside, saying: “Since Zaizai can control the Phantom Ghost Ship and make it acknowledge him as master, presumably Rongrong can also control the Pharaoh.”

Although the Pharaoh was an invincible warship, facing its “twin sister,” the Phantom Ghost Ship, which had already acknowledged a master, it stood no chance.

But if Gu Rong could make the Pharaoh acknowledge him as master and control it, then the combat power of the two warships would be brought back to the same level.

As King Louis XIII finished speaking, the livestream chat exploded, exclaiming, “Good heavens!”

Make the Black Goat of the Woods fight the Black Goat of the Woods! Make Zaizai fight Zaizai!

Hearing this, Gu Rong’s eyes lit up. He raised his little fist and cheered: “Rongrong be Little Captain!”

The King: “…”

This scene of raising a little fist was exactly the same as Zaizai becoming Little Captain. They were indeed twins. Anyone who didn’t know better would think they were the same cub.

–

King Louis XIII led Gu Rong to the captain’s room.

As soon as Captain Alpha saw Gu Rong, a kind smile appeared on his face.

His favorability towards Rongrong and Zaizai was about equal. Seeing the Little Prince, he couldn’t help but think of Zaizai, who had fallen onto the pirate ship, and sighed as he patted Gu Rong’s little head.

Gu Rong also patted his own little head. He was still wearing the wig. Puzzled, he asked: “Captain Grandpa, why are you sighing while patting Rongrong’s head?”

King Louis XIII also smiled faintly at Alpha.

Alpha paused, then chuckled: “Zaizai becoming the Little Captain of the Phantom Ghost Ship, having it acknowledge him as master, and being able to command it freely, makes this old captain of thirty years feel inadequate.”

The Pharaoh couldn’t be commanded freely; it still relied on stokers working 24/7, burning coal to provide steam power.

Saying this, Captain Alpha looked towards His Majesty the King.

King Louis XIII remained composed: “Does General Alpha have any good strategies?”

Captain Alpha pondered: “To contend with the Phantom Ghost Ship, the Pharaoh must be able to be commanded freely, just like the Phantom Ghost Ship.”

King Louis XIII said, “General Alpha is right. What the Phantom Ghost Ship has, the Pharaoh must also have. The Phantom Ghost Ship has Little Captain Zaizai; the Pharaoh can also have Little Captain Rongrong.”

“It just means, General, that you might have to retire early.”

This was Captain Alpha’s final voyage at the helm.

Captain Alpha picked up Gu Rong and carried him to the ship’s helm.

Gu Rong grabbed the helm with both small hands, his eyes sparkling, his little face beaming with joy.

Captain Alpha: “Your Highness Little Prince Rongrong, from now on, you are the Little Captain of the Pharaoh.”

Gu Rong, having steered the Phantom Ghost Ship before, was completely capable of steering the Pharaoh now.

Thus, twenty minutes later…

Under Gu Rong’s steering, everyone on the Pharaoh, from the royal nobles high above to the commoner stokers down below, experienced what the Phantom Ghost Ship crew had gone through earlier.

One by one, they were tossed about violently, their eyes rolling back in their heads.

The players didn’t know what was happening, all utterly baffled.

What was going on? Was it a tsunami?!

King Louis XIII had an excellent constitution and had never been seasick before. But now, his face was deathly pale. He looked at Gu Rong, speechless.

Looking closely, a faint trace of regret seemed to flicker across his handsome face, as if he felt his decision to make Gu Rong the Little Captain had been too hasty.

Captain Alpha had commanded warships his entire life and didn’t even know what seasickness was. Yet, on the verge of retirement, he finally experienced it, and it was a severe case. He lay on the sofa, his breath shallow, looking like he was about to expire.

Gu Rong looked at them: “Eh?”

Why are they just like Uncle Isaac and the others?

The livestream chat was almost dying from laughter.

What the Ghost Ship has, the Pharaoh must also have! And now it does!

After Gu Rong’s round of skillful yet life-threatening maneuvers, the Pharaoh ended up pulling another 200 meters away from the Ghost Ship, stopping at a distance of 400 meters.

Phantom Ghost Ship Crew: “…?!”

Was the Little Captain really sent as an undercover agent? Could it be… he was turned?!