Along the broad and opulent old gallery, Yang Ying found himself once more in Naboo’s presence. This time, the location was not yesterday’s room, but a fountain plaza.

The entire plaza spanned perhaps ten thousand square meters, paved entirely with snow-white marble, presenting a vista of immaculate white as far as the eye could see. The lighting arrangement was clearly the work of a master, causing the light and water to interact in a captivating display, creating an intangible atmosphere.

There were four large fountains situated at the four corners of the plaza, and one colossal fountain at the center. Several artificial streams, each two meters wide, connected them, while over a dozen narrow stone bridges spanned these channels.

As Yang Ying walked across a stone bridge, he saw towering jets of water rising alternately on either side. Illuminated by the lights, the spray refracted into rainbows, giving the scene an otherworldly beauty. The sound of the flowing water, crisp and ethereal, was exceedingly pleasant to the ear.

Naboo’s position was on a high platform at the plaza’s edge, affording a panoramic view of the entire square. Two chairs and a small coffee table were set upon the platform, arranged for morning tea. Naboo was seated in one chair, while the other was clearly reserved for Yang Ying.

“Captain Naboo, you truly know how to enjoy life. This plaza is like a celestial realm; it truly astonishes me,” Yang Ying remarked as he approached and took a seat in the empty chair.

“Captain Yang Ying flatters me. I hear you acquired an estate city from that super-conglomerate—an entire space city, no smaller than Paradise City, all yours as a residence. How could my humble spot possibly catch your eye?” Naboo gently set down the beverage in his hand. Yang Ying saw that it was, once again, a glass of Naha liquid.

Simultaneously, a server approached and presented another glass of Naha liquid to Yang Ying. Yang Ying smiled faintly. “I’ve barely visited that estate city a few times; it hardly counts.”

“Visited only a few times? Heh, Captain Yang Ying is quite diligent, then.”

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Naboo spoke, “The proposal from yesterday was rash of me. Even if I hadn’t mentioned it, regarding the assassination of the Ten Ministry Heads—since both our sides share a common enemy in the Baiyuan Cult—I will naturally keep that secret.”

“What secret? What does the assassination of the Ten Ministry Heads have to do with me? Captain Naboo, keep your secrets if you wish, but don't drag us into it.”

Yang Ying snorted, offering an immediate and firm denial. Although he knew perfectly well that he was behind the act, there was no way he would admit it in front of an outsider.

“No secret? Then my old age must be playing tricks with my memory. Let’s just consider that secret unspoken,” Naboo shrugged, seemingly unconcerned.

He raised his hand and tapped the armrest of his chair. With a series of electronic beeps, the entire chair instantly levitated. A holographic touchscreen materialized on the armrest, which Naboo used to guide the chair to the edge of the high platform.

“Captain Yang Ying, my original intent in inviting you to Paradise City was to discuss cooperation against the Baiyuan Cult, and borrowing your reconnaissance equipment was meant to target Hulas—that was the utmost priority. However, since you firmly refused, I had no choice but to drop it. After all, we share a common enemy, right?”

Naboo turned back, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes. “But Captain Yang Ying, it’s fine if you say this secret doesn’t exist. However, if someone were to falsely accuse your Tran Mercenary Group of carrying out the assassination of the Ten Ministry Heads, I imagine that would be quite troublesome for you. After all, the methods used by the organization that killed the Ten Ministry Heads are too similar to those used to purge the Caesar family. If some of the sharp-nosed old dogs in the intelligence departments got wind of it, even if they couldn't prove anything, it would still severely impact Tran Company’s business. They have plenty of ways to manufacture trouble and vex you within the bounds of legality.”

“Furthermore, once those politicians get agitated, they’d rather execute an innocent than let a guilty party go free. If there is even a sliver of possibility that you masterminded the assassination of the Ten Ministry Heads, they will move against the Tran faction. Even if the Tran faction has already allied themselves with the Singer and Earth United Industrial Group, dealing with those troubles won't be simple.”

Suddenly, Naboo’s tone shifted, and he smiled. “But as I just said, I will keep your secret. It doesn’t matter if Captain Yang Ying denies the secret; I will remain tight-lipped. And such slander would certainly never escape our lips.”

Yang Ying watched the performance coldly. Naboo’s mercurial shifts, alternating between threats and amiability, left Yang Ying momentarily unable to guess his ultimate intention. However, one thing Yang Ying was certain of: Naboo would not blab about the Ten Ministry Heads matter. If he did, any cooperation would end before it even began, plunging them into a state of unending war.

Naboo let his smile fade, his gaze sharpening. “Keeping quiet is the simplest thing in the world. But your unwavering refusal, Captain Yang Ying, has greatly disappointed me. You have caused me to lose face on my own territory and trampled on my goodwill—that is an undeniable fact. As the Captain of the Caribbean Pirates, I cannot let this pass. If I don't discipline my subordinates, how can I expect the unruly pirates beneath me to fear me? I trust Captain Yang Ying understands that sometimes, in my position, one has little choice in certain matters.”

Damn it!

A series of short, sharp sounds of fabric rubbing against fabric echoed as Yang Ying’s four attendants simultaneously drew their weapons and aimed at Naboo in a flash. A moment later, more than ten of Naboo’s men also drew their guns and pointed them at Yang Ying and his group. The tension in the air became so thick it felt ready to explode at any second.

“It’s fine, put the guns away,” Yang Ying waved his hand dismissively.

Instantly, the four Colonels retracted their Gauss pistols.

Naboo made a gesture, and his men immediately holstered their weapons as well.

“Even at this point, I still hope our cooperation can continue. Therefore, I ask Captain Yang Ying to do one thing as an apology to me. This task is very simple: just sit here, and watch,” Naboo said, gesturing toward the fountain plaza below.

Yang Ying grew serious. Naboo had a point; his proposal had been so firmly rejected that Naboo couldn't simply pretend it never happened, both publicly and personally.

Sitting here and watching sounded incredibly simple, yet Yang Ying knew Naboo wouldn't propose anything without an underlying motive.

Yang Ying thought rapidly for a moment, then finally nodded. “Agreed!”

Naboo nodded, made another gesture, and Yanges, standing nearby, immediately raised his hand.

Naboo smiled broadly, as if he had completely forgotten the previous unpleasantness. “Captain Yang Ying, you just said this plaza is like a celestial realm. Heh, you’re right, but such a beautiful paradise erodes ambition and fosters complacency. And I am the King of Pirates—why would I need a fairyland that dulls fighting spirit? Only those ‘upper-class’ people with weak wills would choose this place for retirement!”

Just then, a clamor of voices drifted over. Yang Ying looked toward the sound and saw a large crowd entering the plaza. In the center of the throng were over two hundred raggedly dressed prisoners, men, women, and children of all ages, fitted with electronic shackles on their wrists and ankle restraints on their feet, their bodies covered in wounds.

Surrounding them were more than a hundred heavily armed pirates, wielding low-voltage electric whips or batons, driving the crowd toward the center of the plaza.

Yang Ying looked toward the Pirate King. Naboo pointed at the prisoners and said coldly, “These are all high-ranking figures from the major pirate fleets. They were either bribed or brainwashed, but in short, they joined the Pirate United Fleet and served Hulas. They betrayed the Pirate Confederation and violated the code I established. Now that Hulas has abandoned them, and I have captured them, this is the perfect opportunity to execute them in this plaza!”

Yang Ying pointed at the men, women, and children. “Are all these people high-ranking figures? That would mean the pirate command structure has far too many elites.”

Naboo waved his hand. “Of course not all of them. This group includes their families. I feared they might be lonely in hell, so I’m sending them along too—a gesture of pirate loyalty. Captain Yang Ying, I expect you to sit here and watch. Say nothing more.”

Yang Ying fell silent. The families of pirates—many were pirates themselves or lived off the spoils of pirate raids. There was little point in speaking up for them.

The crowd was divided into five groups, and the prisoners were forced by the armed pirates toward the central and surrounding fountains.

Naboo took another sip of his Naha liquid and explained, “In the Age of Great Navigation, pirates executed traitors by setting a gangplank off the ship’s side. They would bind the traitor’s hands and force them off the ship with a knife. To ensure the traitor died effectively, the execution site was chosen in waters infested with sharks. Some pirates would even cut a wound into the traitor to let the blood attract the sharks.”

By now, the armed pirates had begun forcing the prisoners to jump into the fountains. The pools were deep, at least two meters, meaning the prisoners could not touch the bottom with their feet. With their hands and feet restricted, they could only sink, try to push off the bottom to rise, then sink again, and surface again.

Naboo watched their struggle and laughed heartily. “Captain Yang Ying, you see, this ‘celestial realm’ was created for this very purpose. This is my execution ground!” He suddenly shouted, “Release the fish!”

Yang Ying caught the sound of mechanics and looked around sharply. Water gates around the plaza opened, and schools of thumb-sized fish swam from them into the artificial streams, heading toward the five large fountains.

Yang Ying frowned. “Are those… piranhas?”

Naboo seemed leisurely as he explained, “The water level here is too low to accommodate sharks, so I had to settle for some piranhas as a substitute.” He drained his Naha liquid and chuckled, “Next up, the climax of the execution!”