Early morning.

Ed's eyes snapped open to find Vanessa examining him.

He sat up abruptly, his first fear that this unpredictable woman was up to something. Then he realized he could move again—the paralysis was gone. He raised an arm and turned his head, confirming his freedom.

"Alright, you're fine now. You can get out of bed and walk around if you want," Vanessa said with a smile beside him.

"Thank you," Ed replied, immediately jumping out of bed to put some distance between them. It wasn't that she wasn't his type, but everyone except their blind and, in his opinion, somewhat mentally ill captain knew she liked him. To avoid future complications, he had never tried his luck; though with her playful character, he might have had a chance if he could get his hands on some good wine.

Ed was a little unsteady but quickly regained his balance. A lingering weakness persisted; the poison's effects hadn't fully left his body.

He and Vanessa walked out of the infirmary. As soon as they emerged, they saw the deck covered with the treasures Ed had taken from the vault the previous night.

Some time earlier, the ship had stopped beside the island where the other, unaffected crew members had waited. Those unofficial members had reboarded and were now cleaning the treasures under Elena's command. Bobby, Jason, and even Andre were also working, tidying the various items.

Seeing Ed emerge, Elena turned and smiled at him with concern. "How is it? Everything alright?"

Ed shook his head and gave her a thumbs up. "Don't worry, everything's fine now."

Elena looked at the deck and explained, "These treasures have been stored in the vault for too long. They need to be cleaned, and some things need to be resealed and preserved properly. That way, we can sell them for a higher price." As she spoke, she smiled and winked at Ed.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Ed asked casually, his eyes scanning the pile for anything beautiful he could save for Raila when he returned home.

"Of course, come here, I'll teach you." Elena, apparently taking him seriously, quickly handed him a set of tools and began instructing him on preservation techniques. Sighing helplessly, he got to work, cursing himself for having a big mouth.

The crew spent most of the day cleaning the treasures on the deck. Though Ed was forced into the work, he used the opportunity, while others weren't paying attention, to also clean the treasure he had hidden in his inventory. As for why he hadn't taken more: before he woke, Elena had already catalogued most items. It was too risky to assume everyone was a fool.

When the work was finished, Ed looked at the piles of shiny treasures with deep satisfaction. His eyes gleamed as he wondered how much they would fetch, especially the items hidden in his inventory. Now, they truly looked like treasures. The dust of time had settled, and they once again revealed their original glory.

"This haul is really good; Thaad took excellent care of protecting these things," Elena said happily from the side. She then couldn't help but grumble, "If only all the treasures could be preserved like this."

Ed, who now understood the situation, knew what she meant. Many treasures weren't intentionally buried; they were left in vaults due to their owners' deaths or other misfortunes. Over time, paintings, calligraphy, fragile statues, ornaments, and even unprotected armor could deteriorate, causing significant loss in value.

This was an unavoidable heartbreak of treasure hunting, to find something extremely valuable, only to see its price plummet due to damage. So, encountering such a well-preserved trove was genuinely exciting. The last time they felt this way was during a hunt from another of Thaad's vaults.

At this point, Andre spoke up. "Let's store these treasures for now. I'll find a way to sell them to the politicians on Meister Island later."

"But we're still wanted criminals on Meister Island," Jason felt compelled to remind him.

Hearing this, Andre patted Jason on the shoulder. "You're still too young. We're wanted now, but that doesn't mean we always will be. And it doesn't mean I can't do business with them." However, Andre's eyes narrowed slightly, a dangerous glint in them. "But this governor is rather annoying; we need to find a way to get our revenge."

Andre hadn't forgotten the wanted poster that had caused them so much trouble and wasted time. The treasure-hunting team wasn't exactly composed of saints, though most members were decent people. They did, however, have bad tempers, especially Andre. Just his face and cold eyes gave off a "not easy to mess with" vibe that deterred most trouble.

Andre then changed the subject. "We've got two keys now. It's time to explore the final treasure vault on the island."

"What about the Shark Bite Gang and the others?" Jason continued asking. He was a bit naive, which was reasonable considering he, like Ed, came from a normal island without any background and lacked worldly knowledge. That he was a pervert in such conditions could only be called a natural talent.

"Don't worry, they've completely lost. If they have any sense, they should already be preparing to leave Meister Island."

Just then, a blue bird sketched from light fell from the sky, landing near Andre's ear before dissolving. After hearing its message, Andre smiled coldly. "Looks like they've admitted defeat. They left Meister Island this morning and are now wanted criminals there themselves. Get ready, everyone. We are going to collect our treasure tomorrow."

After Andre and the others returned to work, Jason and Elena approached Ed.

"How did you take down that madman Nivek all by yourself?" Elena asked curiously.

Hearing this, Ed pointed to his head with a smug smile. "You little guys have a lot to learn," he said proudly, patting their heads, a gesture they quickly slapped away.

"Tsk." The two curled their lips in disdain, clearly not buying his nonsense, and stared at him, waiting for the truth.

Seeing this, Ed smiled helplessly, shrugged, and spread his hands. "You bastards have no trust in your friend. Fine. It's thanks to the [Mirror] spell I've mastered."

Hearing this, the two looked puzzled. They were fairly familiar with Ed's abilities from months of training together, but they had no idea how the [Mirror] spell could be used in combat. Their rigid brains couldn't conceive how a mirror could help in a fight. It couldn't be that he used it as a shield or a throwing object, right?

"I can't demonstrate it for you now because I'm running out of cards. Relying completely on mana is a bit too exhausting," Ed said, reaching to his waist. His original deck had dwindled to only six cards after last night's battle, and he had used all three cards left by Jack.

Hearing this, Jason remembered something and rushed over to pat Ed on the shoulder. "That card you gave me yesterday was really useful. Without it, I would have been seriously injured just holding that woman off."

"Is that so? Then I don't mind if you give me a share of your wealth. I'll consider it your genuine gratitude," Ed said with a smile.

"Piss off! Don't even think about laying your dirty eyes on my share, you bastard!" Jason instantly put distance between them, wary of Ed's not-so-honest character and weird ideas. He was genuinely worried the other man would try to snatch his money.

"Stingy," Ed cursed and shook his head. Thinking about exploring the last treasure vault tomorrow, which supposedly contained a trial, like in the movies from his previous life, he couldn't help but feel excited.

I need to prepare. Who knows what kind of traps will be there? With that thought, he waved to Jason and Elena. "I'm off. I'm running out of cards, and I can't afford to be without them if there's a battle tomorrow. I have to make more."

Hearing Ed's words, Elena nodded with understanding.

Jason, still standing a bit apart, asked worriedly, "Those guards on the island won't put much pressure on us, will they?"

"Who knows? Better safe than sorry. Being well-prepared will let us perform better in battle. Bullets have no eyes," Ed said, waving his hand as he headed toward his room.

Elena also went below deck.

"Alright, alright, I guess I'll have to get prepared as well," Jason said reluctantly before returning to his room to train his abilities.

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