Watching Irvin Holden and her father finish planning the route and get everything set up in the cockpit, Flora calculated that the journey to Morhaven would take well over half a month.

The two men then followed Flora toward the yacht’s cabin.

The reason was simple: they had been busy all morning, and it was now time for lunch.

The yacht had a small, simple kitchen. When Flora went in, Ethan Monroe and Jade followed. The couple had unilaterally decided to take charge of the three daily meals for the duration of their time at sea.

Watching Flora pull out pots, bowls, ladles, and other tableware, and then, like a magic trick, produce an induction cooker and a yin-yang pot for hot pot, left Irvin Holden completely stunned. It was quite a sight.

Then, he saw Flora produce numerous fresh vegetables out of thin air. It wasn’t just the tomatoes he had eaten before, but also green beans, eggplants, peppers, and cauliflower. They were even still glistening with dew, looking as if they had just been picked.

Next, Flora took out the remaining evolved pheasant from her space. She then used her spiritual power to retrieve a few chicken and goose eggs from the coop. Finally, she took out a portion of the beer and soft drinks she had stored around the thatched hut and put them all in the kitchen refrigerator.

The main reason Flora had chosen this not-particularly-large yacht was that it was the only one with a self-contained power generator. In other words, of all the vessels of a similar size, only this one had electricity.

Of course, she could have chosen one of the larger naval vessels, but there were too many unknowns in the seas now. Large ships required too many people, were slow to start up, and their massive size was not necessarily an advantage at sea.

At first, Irvin Holden was merely surprised watching Flora take out vegetables and utensils. But when he saw her produce beer and soft drinks, he couldn’t help but swallow hard.

"Flora, Auntie, is there anything I can do to help?" Cynthia Grant bounced to the kitchen doorway, her face full of excitement, trying to squeeze in.

"No, this kitchen is tiny. Just leave it to Old Monroe and my mom. You’d probably just get in the way."

Cynthia Grant wasn’t the least bit offended by Flora’s jab. Her eyes fixed on the drinks in Flora’s hands, and she pounced like a starving wolf.

"Wow! I haven’t had orange juice in forever! Get in my belly!"

Speechless, Flora tossed the beer and soft drinks to Irvin Holden and Cynthia Grant. Then she ushered the two of them out of the kitchen and into the first-floor dining area.

Meanwhile, in the cabin, Sherman Lynch and Caleb, one old and one young, were locked in a staring contest, neither willing to back down.

The reason was that as Caleb was riding Great White down the corridor and passed Sherman Lynch, Great White had spotted the Crystal Cores in Sherman’s shirt pocket. With a snap of its beak, it swallowed two of them. Then it ditched Caleb and ran off on its own.

Sherman Lynch’s superpower had only recently awakened, and the Crystal Cores he had were for upgrading and restoring his body. He had been trapped in the well for too long, and his bodily functions had been completely depleted. If it weren’t for Flora’s miraculous spiritual water, he would have been a dead man even if someone else had rescued him.

Although his bodily functions had now recovered and he was out of mortal danger, his Gold Ability was much weaker than that of a typical Gold Ability User. His physique, which had been enhanced and evolved by his superpower, still hadn’t returned to its former robust state.

Flora guessed that his foundation was too weak from excessive depletion before his superpower awakened. He needed a major boost or a quick upgrade to fully recover.

But two of the Crystal Cores meant for his recovery and upgrade had been swallowed in an instant. The culprit had fled, so he couldn’t just let the child in front of him get away. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Kid, your goose ate my Crystal Cores. How do you plan on compensating me?"

Caleb glared at Sherman Lynch. "I didn’t take them. Great White did. Go ask Great White for them." With that, Caleb tried to leave, but Sherman Lynch blocked his path.

"Kid, you should know to be polite to your elders, shouldn’t you? Your Great White stole my Crystal Cores. Aren’t you going to do something about it?"

Faced with Sherman Lynch blocking his way, a sly look appeared on Caleb’s little face. His round eyes darted about, and he yelled, "Flora, help! This old geezer is bullying a kid!"

"You!" Sherman Lynch hadn’t expected the kid to pull a stunt like this. He hadn’t even let go of Caleb’s wrist when he heard footsteps approaching from behind.

"What’s going on, Caleb?" Flora walked over, followed by Caleb Bloom and Neal Wallace. She looked at Caleb, then at Sherman Lynch. The old man and the young boy—one pouting and glaring, the other with a cold face, also glaring.

"Flora, he’s bullying me."

"I’m bullying you? That big fat goose is yours, isn’t it? Even if you are a child, it ate my Crystal Cores. You’re the owner, so you have to take responsibility, right?"

"Great White ate them, not me."

"Well, well. For someone so young, you’re quite good at shirking responsibility. Come, come, let this old man teach you a thing or two about respecting your elders!"

"Hmph! You old geezer! Flora would never let you bully me!"

The standoff between the old man and the boy, all puffed cheeks and glares, was interrupted by the sudden sound of Ethan Monroe and Jade’s voices.

"Hey! This big fat goose is stealing food! Shoo, shoo! Get away from here."

"Ah! It can’t eat that! Quick, Old Monroe, grab it!"

"Oof, my old back! Jade, quick, go get help!"

By the time Flora and the others arrived, the kitchen was a complete mess. The vegetables and other ingredients she had just taken out were gnawed down to just a few leaves. Even the evolved pheasant had its rump bitten off.

Flora frowned at the Great White Goose Leader, now trapped in the kitchen by Ethan Monroe’s earth wall. She looked at Caleb and asked, "Caleb, can’t you make it stop?"

Caleb shook his head blankly. "Flora, Great White is hungry. And... it won’t listen to me." He wrung his hands nervously in front of his chest.

Flora patted Caleb’s head. "Concentrate. Look at Great White and make it stop."

Caleb nodded. The familiar magnetic field appeared around him again, and its energy washed over Great White, trying to bind it like a spiritual chain. But a golden light rippled across Great White’s feathers. With a shake of its wings, it actually broke free from Caleb’s magnetic field. Then, it opened its beak, and a jet of water shot out toward Ethan Monroe’s earth wall. The wall crumbled instantly under the blast, and the Great White Goose Leader spread its wings and flew out.

The group chased after it, but they couldn’t even touch a feather. They watched as the Great White Goose Leader beat its wings and soared into the sky. It even turned its head back and let out a series of strange "HEH HEH HEH" cackles, as if mocking their foolishness, before flying further and further away.

By now, the yacht was far from shore, with nothing but sea in every direction. There was no telling where the Great White Goose Leader would fly.

Watching Great White quickly disappear from sight, Caleb’s little face fell, his eyes filled with sadness.

Flora frowned as she watched. ’What a waste,’ she thought. The Great White Goose Leader’s combat power was impressive. ’If I had known it would try to escape, I would have just thrown it into my space.’

She extended her spiritual power toward Caleb. His superpower was exceptionally active right now; with enough Crystal Cores, he could probably upgrade soon. ’But why would the goose, which was under Caleb’s control, suddenly disobey orders and even escape?’

"Caleb, can you still feel the spiritual link to Great White?"

Caleb closed his eyes. His magnetic field rippled for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "I can, but Great White isn’t listening to me." The more he spoke, the more desolate his little face became, looking utterly pitiful.

Flora understood. She knelt down, smiled at Caleb, and asked, "So, do you still want Great White?"

Caleb nodded eagerly. "Yes! I like Great White."

"Let me tell you, Great White only flew away because it was hungry and went to find food. As long as you work hard and upgrade, Great White will come back to you soon." In reality, she thought, the goose probably disobeyed because its level had surpassed the limits of Caleb’s control. When Caleb had first awakened his superpower, there had been no issue subduing the Great White Goose Leader; it was easily controlled by his spiritual power.

Back then, the goose had easily broken through her Second Level Water Ability, which meant its own strength was at least on par with a Second Level being. The fact that a Level One Caleb could subdue it suggested their levels weren’t far apart.

The intelligence of evolved creatures was unpredictable. Perhaps Great White had already been close to leveling up, and after devouring Sherman Lynch’s Crystal Cores, it finally broke free from Caleb’s control.

It seemed that while Caleb’s superpower was formidable, he could only control creatures one or two levels higher than himself at most. However, even though the Great White Goose Leader was out of control, the spiritual link with Caleb hadn’t been broken. As long as Caleb upgraded now, he could regain control and bring the goose back.

Not wanting to lose such a powerful combat asset, Flora immediately gave all her Crystal Cores to Caleb. "Here, Caleb. These Crystal Cores are all for you. Keep them safe. Raise your Superpower Level as soon as you can, and Great White will come back, okay?"

After speaking, she shot a glare at Sherman Lynch. "Getting serious with a child at your age. I’m already being generous by not kicking you off this yacht. Consider those two Crystal Cores payment for your food."