Chapter 529: 53. Flying Fish_4
The Flying Fish was a whole size smaller compared to the wooden steamships of its time that had been retrofitted with steam engines, because the problem of severe lack of horsepower was common among early steam engines, so decreasing the size of the ship had become the best method to increase its speed.
Back in that era, there were no pirates ruling the seas with impunity as there are today, of course, there was no need for heavy cannons either, which further reduced the weight of the Flying Fish, turning it into a ship of that age that soared through the seas like a flying fish.
Even in this age of advanced steam engines and navigation, its speed was still not the slowest of the lot.
“Quick, quick! We need to get aboard and haul up the anchor, or we’ll be turned into sieves by the pirates’ cannons on the island… You go, there’s a mechanical device on deck, it can be operated by one person, there should be instructions on it. I’ll go start up the ship; they shouldn’t have taken the coal from the ship.”
No sooner had Fisher boarded than Jesse was already anxiously looking at the noisy shore and speaking to Fisher in this way.
Fisher nodded, watching Jesse take the keys and head to the Captain’s Room first. He gave Emhardt, resting on his shoulder, a glance to follow and then nodded in agreement,
Fisher walked over to the mechanical device beside the deck, which resembled a horizontally positioned roulette wheel, with a rusty chain extending all the way down from the wheel to the surface of the sea, which was the anchor of the Flying Fish.
Fisher placed the Handcane beside him, grabbed the handles of the steel wheel with both hands, and with a fierce effort, the device, which had not been used for a long time, emitted a piercing noise, like the crisp sound of bones from a person who had not exercised in a long time.
As the once silent anchor on the sea floor slowly moved towards the surface, the sound of the chain rubbing against the hull was like some kind of alarm clock waking up the ship that had been asleep for so long. At the same time, Jesse seemed to have started the engines of the ship, and after the whole ship trembled violently several times, the flickering lights on the ship also became brighter, illuminating the pitch-black deck.
It turns out that the ship was fitted with Light Magic linked to the steam engine. In that age, only a rich organization like the Nali Exploration Company could afford to equip a ship with such high-spec magic.
This indeed was a ship from the exploration company.
As the lights suddenly brightened, the huge insignia of the Nali Exploration Company on the deck also caught Fisher’s eye. Back in the day, it was the ships bearing the insignia of the Nali Exploration Company that had forged the bridge between the Western Continent and the South Continent, continuously bringing back everything from Bian to the Western Continent.
“We did it! We did it! The Flying Fish can still move; we can leave Patulshen Island right away! Hahaha!”
Jesse’s ecstatic cheers came from the Captain’s Room, and the entire ship responded by accelerating forward. The gang on the shore seemed to have just noticed the Flying Fish moving on the water, but by now it was too late to give chase.
A ragged Jesse appeared at the door of the Captain’s Room, looking at the gangsters who remained on the ship but could not start it, and laughing, reveling in infinite satisfaction,
“Haha, now they don’t stand a chance at catching up. It’s too late now; the other gangs on the island won’t help them chase down an old friend from decades ago. We’ve succeeded, Mr. Fisher!”
Fisher leaned against the ship’s rail, looking at Patulshen Island gradually receding from view, and turned to Jesse with a smile,
“Yeah, just remember to keep your promise.”
“Promise? Oh… right, the promise! Wait, I’ll go find the sea chart right away, I guarantee I’ll get you to the Northern Realm!”
Jesse slapped his forehead and then turned back into the Captain’s Room to look for something, while Fisher on deck took off his gentleman’s hat and placed it on his chest. The moonlight illuminated his expressionless face, making even the condition of the deck in front of him crystal clear.
Right before his eyes, on the wooden floor near the deck cabin, large patches of dried bloodstains were all too conspicuous.