On a distinctly Arabian-style wandering ship, two crewmen in headscarves were whispering by the railing.

"Hassan, do you think this fake island the Prince created with his Awakened skill can really fool other wandering ships?"

"Of course."

The crewman named Hassan lowered his head and spoke in a deep voice.

"This is an extremely rare A-rank skill! It’s completely different from those D-rank and C-rank ones. Just look at it—the land is so lifelike, and so are those creatures we’ve never seen before called ’camels.’ They’re perfectly replicated! No wandering ship can resist the temptation. Once those greedy fools fall for it, we can move in, destroy their ships, and take the Crystal Stones from inside. There are big shots from the West who will pay a high price for them."

He glanced around before continuing,

"And let me tell you a little secret: our Prince is an expert at fishing."

"Oh?"

The new crewman leaned in, eager to hear more.

"He found a tattered map in an ancient book from Egypt, modified it a bit, and disguised it as a ’Treasure Map of the Tudor Pyramid’! He made lots of copies, artificially aged them, and had them circulated by merchant ships. And guess what? The fake treasure map is a trap! HAHAHAHA! All those ships greedy for treasure sailed right into the Prince’s death trap."

"Now, the Prince goes to that sea region every six months. Each time, he finds the wreckage of wandering ships and collects their inheritance."

"The Crystal Stones stripped from the ships are all sold for a high price, and we get to keep whatever supplies are left on board."

The other crewman’s eyes lit up as he listened to Hassan’s bragging.

"Incredible!"

"You bet! We get a good cut following the Prince! Of the former King’s twenty-one princes, only our Prince inherited a Golden Wandering Ship and made its name famous throughout the Sea of Yellow Sand! He’s collected countless treasures over the last decade or so. Our ship, the *Son of the Sun*, is almost full!"

"Maybe our Prince will even reach the ’Black Gold’ tier someday and become a major figure in Africa!"

"Whoa, look over there..."

"A ship’s actually coming."

...

The *Dayun* sailed onward.

Shi Ming gazed at the island in the distance. As its details grew clearer, he found it increasingly difficult to suppress the smile forming on his lips.

’How can there be mules in a desert?’

’This Mirage, or should I say, this Illusion Realm, isn’t very realistic at all!’

’Besides, it’s been over thirty years. Could these animals have been breeding on their own?’

It was obviously a trap. If a sea beast were using a skill, it would follow its instincts. It wouldn’t make a mistake like conjuring mules in a desert.

Only an Awakened born during the Wandering Era would get details from old books mixed up and make such a basic mistake. ’Maybe to them, camels and mules look alike? Both are just beasts of burden?’

’Bait? Are they fishing?’

’And no one knows fishing better than I do.’

Shi Ming smirked.

An island was hard currency on the open sea.

It held immense appeal for any captain of a wandering ship.

Every captain knew the immense value of a New Island. Why else would someone use an Awakened skill to conjure an island the size of a continent, if not to fish for victims? Besides, creating a Mirage of this scale couldn’t be the work of some ordinary D or C-rank skill. It had to be a B-rank, or even an A-rank Awakened.

This was the work of an experienced angler.

"Slow down. Match the speed of a Silver-class ship. The few of you who look stronger, get below deck. Stay out of sight. Don’t scare off my prey."

’As the saying goes, if you play with fire, you’re bound to get burned.’

’You’ve really hit the jackpot running into me today.’

’Let me teach you a lesson.’

...

...

...

「In the distant Great Western Sea Region.」

A day later, news of the *Thunder God*’s downfall finally reached the Lighthouse.

After discovering the deaths of three Awakened on his Celestial Net Chip terminal, Robert, the captain of the Jinshan, broke out in a cold sweat. However, drawing on his years of experience as an intelligence chief, he immediately devised a plan: suppress the entire incident.

A-rank Awakened were not low-ranking, but an Admiral-class Ship had a high degree of autonomy. With his influence, he could still cover up the deaths of three A-rank Awakened.

As for the 1,500 Pure Dome Crystals, he could find a way to embezzle them from other accounts.

Once the situation blew over, he could fabricate some other reason for their deaths, declare they died honorably in the line of duty, and the matter would be closed.

The deceased would be honored, and he would be absolved of all responsibility. ’Perfect,’ he thought. ’It would be as if nothing ever happened.’

Besides, the other key figure in the incident, Reinhardt, was also dead. Dead men tell no tales.

Who could have known that the deceased Reinhardt had actually left a contingency plan? Before he died, he sent a recording of the masked Shi Ming fighting the three Awakened to his contact in the Twelve Stars, with instructions to make it public upon his death. It was the escape plan he had prepared for himself, just as he had told Shi Ming: "If I die, this news will spread across the entire Endless Ocean."

Of course, this posed little threat to Shi Ming. He had been wearing a mask; not even Wright, who had spent a fair amount of time with him, would be able to recognize him. From the outside, the *Dayun* also looked like a very common wandering ship, and any distinguishing details could easily be altered later.

The only one truly screwed was Robert.

The incident’s public disclosure completely torpedoed Robert’s plan for a cover-up.

Three A-rank Awakened not only failed their assassination but were killed themselves. The bounty was a bust, and they’d even lost the 1,500 Pure Dome Crystals posted as the reward.

It was the laughingstock of the seas.

The director at the Lighthouse was, naturally, furious. When he recalled the recent string of disasters, his rage boiled over—

Just when they needed the navigator of the *Michael*,

the navigator died.

Miss Yan from the *Shenqu* went to seize an S-rank skill,

and Miss Yan died too.

The A-rank Awakened from the Jinshan went to retrieve a Silver-class ship,

and all three of those A-rank Awakened died as well.

These repeated failures unleashed his pent-up fury, which he vented completely into the "Let There Be Light" system.

"Investigate! Get to the bottom of this!"

"Collaborate with the Twelve Stars! Get the best reconnaissance and decryption experts to meticulously study the data released after the *Chuiyan* sank. Send teams to the Olympus Ruins and the sea where the *Chuiyan* went down. I want every inch of the seabed, every shipwreck, and all biological remains inspected! Don’t miss a single clue!"

"Until the two murderers who killed Miss Yan and Edward are found, all three Admiral-class wandering ship captains are hereby demoted to acting captains."

"If this isn’t resolved by the deadline, they will be dealt with according to naval regulations."

In the oppressive silence that followed, the high-ranking official shut off his communicator.

’Bastards!’

The pressure was immense, but he knew these two killers were anything but simple.

The one who killed Miss Yan and stole the Deep Sea Titan ability is likely a dual S-rank Awakened by now.

The one who survived Edward’s Eyeball Roulette to kill him, and then went on to kill three A-rank Awakened working in perfect concert, is almost certainly an S-rank Awakened as well.

’Why are they all S-rank enemies?’

’Are S-rank Awakened on the Endless Ocean a dime a dozen now?’

He just wanted some peace and quiet, but his secretary knocked on the office door.

"Director, the Doctor is requesting a meeting."

"???"

"He says we’re running out of Sailing Stones and Sailing Crystals."