"Captain, we've expanded the crew to 100 people. Among the 50 newly recruited crew members, 37 are above level 30, and their average salary is 200 Silver Coins/month. The other 13 crew members are about to reach level 30, with an average salary of 150 Silver Coins/month."

"Including the 100 copies of Soul Contracts you asked me to purchase earlier, the 20,000 Silver Coins you gave are all used up..."

On the Salted Fish, Ma looked at Fang Yu eagerly and then spoke up.

"Hiss... all used up?!" Fang Yu widened his eyes, looking incredulous.

"It's all used up... Captain, now we're a top-level sea ship, the budget is maxed out, so of course, the money burns quickly."

Ma scratched his head and spoke softly.

"Alright then..."

Fang Yu felt a pinch in his heart but didn't say much.

He glanced at his interface space.

When he returned to Qiyun Port, he still had over 50,000 Silver Coins. Fang Yu thought he was somewhat wealthy and wouldn't have to worry about money for a while.

But as the Salted Fish upgraded from a large cargo ship to a warship, the crew size could be expanded to 100 people.

Being a semi-perfectionist, Fang Yu naturally wanted to enhance every possible aspect of the sea vessel that could be improved.

He directly gave Ma 20,000 Silver Coins to recruit and fill the positions.

This time, the recruited crew members were all 30+ levels, naturally raising the recruitment salary to a skyrocketing 200 Silver Coins/month.

The pain of a capitalist became apparent; the huge salary pressure for 100 personnel every month still made Fang Yu feel a pinch.

Added to the expenses of going to sea, preparations, and the money spent on enchanting.

The original deposit of 50,000 Silver Coins was now reduced to only 15,000 Silver Coins.

And this 15,000 Silver Coins is simply not enough for future salaries and enchanting costs.

"I'll find a way to make money later."

Fang Yu thought to himself, and then said to Ma: "Distribute the Soul Contracts to each crew member, and require every new recruit to sign a Soul Contract."

Hearing Fang Yu's words, Ma nodded and immediately gathered all the crew on the deck.

Subsequently, each person was given a copy of the Soul Contract.

The basic Soul Contract isn't expensive; it only costs 100 Silver Coins apiece.

This Soul Contract was the special tool Fang Yu signed during the investment agreement with Lu Kun earlier.

It is an ancient witchcraft, a special technique passed down, mastered by some magic-cultivating Transcendents, and produced in batches.

Once the Soul Contract is signed, it ensures that the crew will keep secrets about certain things on Fang Yu's sea vessel, otherwise, they will suffer the backlash of the Soul Contract.

Currently, there are quite a few secrets on Fang Yu's sea vessel.

Things like Soul Transformation, Mirrored Warships, and Ocean Law Codex Fragments are all top-level treasures coveted by others.

Moreover, in the future, there will be more secrets on Fang Yu's sea vessel, and he needs to ensure that the crew will keep their lips sealed and won't reveal any information about the sea vessel.

One by one, the crew took the Soul Contract handed over by Ma, and after contemplating for a moment, they all signed them.

This tool, to be honest... belongs to the top captain's exclusive tool.

Usually, only by joining a top captain's sea vessel would there be a requirement to sign a Soul Contract.

For ordinary captains, firstly, there's no need for secrets, hence no need to sign, and on the other hand... signing them in batches is... expensive!

As the crew signed the Soul Contracts one by one, pale green chains extended from the Soul Contracts, binding one end to the Salted Fish and the other end to the signing crew members.

After a while, these chains gradually faded and soon became invisible.

Though invisible, Fang Yu felt a new connection formed between the crew and his sea vessel.

If it's a normal termination, then it's fine; they just need to keep the secrets afterward.

But if it's for betrayal, leaking information, and other vile behaviors, they will suffer the backlash of the Soul Contract.

Mild cases lead to disability, severe ones lead to death.

No one is willing to tread on this red line.

After confirming that the crew had all signed the Soul Contracts, Fang Yu nodded in satisfaction, and then ordered the sea vessel to swiftly head towards the East Ring Sea Region.

...

The mission this time was very clear.

To prevent a large-scale attack by the Divine Hall Sinful Domain Alliance Army, a battle line needed to be established on the outer seas of the East Ring Sea Region.

This battle line is composed of a large number of naval battle walls, interconnected and combined.

Fang Yu and others had seen such naval battle walls before while defending Lvchun Island.

Once activated, the naval battle walls would rapidly absorb energy from the seawater, forming a shield, effectively defending against incoming artillery.

They are excellent weapons for defending against enemy attacks.

When Fang Yu and others arrived at Southeast Stone Island, it was already that night.

However, this speed still surprised Fang Yu and the others.

Previously, traveling to the East Ring Sea Region would take a day and a half, but now evolving to a warship increased the speed significantly.

The voyage started in the morning and arrived by night.

"Lieutenant Fang Yu, over here!"

As Fang Yu and others stationed at Southeast Stone Island, a man in military uniform soon emerged from the island, waving and smiling at Fang Yu.

Fang Yu looked over and was a bit surprised by the rank on this person's shoulder: "What's this Captain's name?"

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