Zachary had thought Chester would continue to set conditions, persuading him to act upon the Blood-Colored Mysterious Core, but unexpectedly, the other party simply skipped over this matter and began to inquire about his personal life.

Caught off guard by Chester’s abrupt change of topic, Zachary was at a loss for what the other was thinking; still, he responded directly, "My parents are currently living on a friend’s ship, and as for me, I’m still single. Why, big brother, are you looking to set me up?"

When Chester heard that Zachary’s parents were still alive, he suddenly remembered that when Zachary was allocating houses, he insisted on buying the house outright. It appeared it was not only for fear of a future increase in housing prices but likely also to prepare a place for his parents to live in advance.

Chester was quite aware that for someone like Zachary, living in this environment, it’s quite difficult to stay settled in one location for a long time.

After all, they don’t encounter attacks from Mysterious Ships every day, and Zachary needs to hunt Mysterious Ships continually to obtain Mysterious Cores.

Actually, after everyone understood the abilities of the Companion Spiritual Treasure, their actions had already divided the survivors into two major categories.

One is the conservative group that is content with the status quo, like Chester and all those living on the large ships and water platforms, who regardless of whether they agree with it or not, belong to this faction.

Though they would attack Mysterious Ships, they only targeted those that came close to their dwellings, not venturing away from their places to proactively hunt Mysterious Ships.

Some ships would concentrate the Mysterious Cores to be used by one person, but this passive method of enhancement was too inefficient, even though it was very safe.

The other type was the adventurous group like Zachary, who forsake the comfort and ease of large ships to take the initiative to hunt Mysterious Ships.

Because of the upgradable nature of the Companion Spiritual Treasure, they would forsake a comfortable life and actively search for Mysterious Cores elsewhere in order to rapidly enhance and evolve their Companion Spiritual Treasures by obtaining more Mysterious Cores.

Indeed, everyone was aware that although it seemed Companion Spiritual Treasures could evolve indefinitely by devouring Mysterious Cores, the reality was that after each upgrade, the amount of Mysterious Cores needed for the next evolution would double.

Once the Companion Spiritual Treasure evolved to a certain level, trying to upgrade further would become extremely difficult; to put it plainly, it enters a bottleneck state.

Adventurers like Zachary actually understood this too, but they were gambling on the idea that even though Companion Spiritual Treasures would hit a bottleneck after upgrading to a certain extent.

By that point, the Companion Spiritual Treasures would surely no longer be as feeble as they are now and would have strong practicality; not to mention, they should at least reach the size of thousands of tons.

Otherwise, unless it had a very strong specialty, the Companion Spiritual Treasure would still occupy a very weak and awkward position.

Especially now, at the initial stages of the flood, putting other aspects aside for now, there weren’t even any edible fish to speak of in the water, let alone discovering any living organisms.

At this moment, all the survivors’ food supplies relied on previously prepared stockpiles, with only some large ships and the water platforms built by the Imperial Court having Plantation Areas and breeding areas.

Regardless of whether the Plantation Area was growing mushrooms or the breeding area was raising cockroaches and earthworms, the point was these places could not only be self-sufficient but could also potentially provide food for other survivors.

Though it was also possible to integrate a Mysterious Ship with one’s own ship, turning an ordinary vessel into a Mysterious Realm, and after eliminating the Mysterious Realm, retain the food ingredients and other resources that appeared. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

But once such an action was taken, the difficulty of destroying the Mysterious Realm would increase several times.

It is understood that there are roughly two methods to overcome a Mysterious Realm; the first is the brute force method, which doesn’t take into account the rules of the Mysterious Realm, but causes irreparable damage to the entire realm, ultimately destroying it.

This method, using overwhelming power to defeat the monsters within the Mysterious Realm, first requires one’s own strength to far surpass the monsters’ power, making it a strategy usually employed against micro or small Mysterious Realms.

Another approach is to weaken the monsters in the Mysterious Realm by exploiting the rules within, ultimately eradicating them and by extension, the Mysterious Realm itself.

This method also requires some martial support, yet it emphasizes individual intelligence over brute force.

If one faces a Mysterious Realm that has not merged with a normal vessel, destroying it violently isn’t particularly consequential, but by solving the Mysterious Realm in the second manner, one can reap greater rewards.

However, if facing a Mysterious Realm that has already merged with a normal vessel, using the first method to forcibly destroy it will result in the vessel being badly damaged after the Mysterious Realm is eradicated.

On the other hand, the second method of solving the Mysterious Realm not only ensures minimal damage to the vessel but also yields more resources.

Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, to put it in simpler terms.

It’s like cracking a safe, the first method is to forcefully pry open the safe door with tools, which can potentially damage the contents inside due to the violent process, though this method is straightforward and allows one to check the progress anytime.

The second method involves picking the lock through various means from the keyhole, which won’t damage the contents inside the safe, but its downside is the slower speed and the progression is rather enigmatic.

It might open abruptly or may take days without success.

Dong Tianyu usually resorts to the first method, not requiring the cooperation of normal vessels.

But some survivors, seeking supplies, will use medium-sized vessels to actively merge with the Mysterious Ship, so after resolving the Mysterious Realm, they can acquire more materials.

The reason for choosing medium-sized vessels is quite straightforward: only they are equipped with kitchens, ensuring a definite procurement of food ingredients.

Those tiny or small vessels, even after merging, will only have some fruit plates and snacks, unless they’re incredibly lucky.

Nevertheless, enabling a Mysterious Ship to fuse with a normal vessel and create a Mysterious Realm, unless it’s an empty vessel specifically for fishing, means that after merging, everyone on board will enter the Mysterious Realm.

More people entering the Mysterious Realm means a more complex situation, so most of the time, no matter the vessel’s carrying capacity, they won’t allow Mysterious Ships to get near.

Only those survivors who desire materials will use an empty vessel to merge with a Mysterious Ship and then deploy a professional team to crack the Mysterious Realm, thereby obtaining the desired supplies.

Even though this method can procure materials, it cannot avoid various casualties; even the vessels used for merging might get damaged, so not many people use this method to acquire supplies.

Once Chester learned that Dong Tianyu’s parents were still alive, he understood why Dong Tianyu bought the house and thus directly encouraged him to bring his parents to live on the Platform.

After all, once Dong Tianyu brought his parents over, even if he wasn’t going to settle there for long periods, he would inevitably have to return to visit his parents from time to time and, for the sake of their future comfort, would certainly bring out some goods for trade.

At that point, it would be a win-win situation in terms of safety and other aspects.

Regarding Chester’s invitation, Dong Tianyu did not decline, considering Madeline’s awkward position on that ship, unable to secure a comfortable life for his parents in the future; after all, picking the wrong side always leads to punishment.

So rather than living awkwardly there, it’s better to leave that place sooner.