Shi Ming’s demand for a one-third share wasn’t him being greedy. It was far from an excessive request.

The whaling capabilities of the *Dream of Salmon* weren’t exactly an essential commodity in this day and age.

They lacked a core competitive edge.

But the combat power of an A-rank Awakened was universally useful on any ship. Furthermore, the friendships and connections forged by collaborating with an A-rank Awakened on a mission were an additional bonus. Thus, Shi Ming’s demands were not harsh at all.

On the contrary, they were quite generous.

Besides, the *Dream of Salmon* wasn’t his only option.

There were plenty of whaling ships in Northwest Europe.

He had chosen them simply because it was a convenient opportunity for some practice. Finding A-rank Sea Beasts wasn’t difficult for Shi Ming, but A-rank whale-type Sea Beasts were a rare encounter. That was the only reason.

"Understood, Captain. I’ll reply to them right away."

Shi Ming tapped his index finger on the desk, resuming his study of the Dusk Whale’s abilities.

He had witnessed the Dusk Whale’s S-rank skill, "Ragnarok," once before when he was being hunted. When the skill activated, everything as far as the eye could see turned a desolate, graveyard-like yellow. Even the moonlight became as thick as flowing corpse water. Creatures infected by the dusk aura would inevitably begin to decay and wither away.

This matched the information from the Nameless Cocoon.

In addition, Shi Ming learned that the Dusk Whale also had two other abilities: "Gulp" and "Entropy."

"Gulp" was a biological instinct.

It would open its massive, half-decayed, half-intact mouth, dripping with slime, and swallow a creature whole. Its maw was large enough to devour other creatures up to thirty meters long. Once inside, the prey would be corroded and softened by the dusk aura, allowing for rapid digestion without any need for chewing.

"Entropy" was an external manifestation of the Dusk Whale’s condition.

The whale was in a constant state of decay, causing any creature that came into contact with it to also fall into disorder, chaos, decay, and collapse.

As for its other attacks—such as biting, ramming, and spewing slime—they weren’t considered true skills. However, when employed by a colossal sea beast over 200 meters long, their power was not to be underestimated.

Notably, the 34th-ranked skill obtained from killing the Dusk Whale was a "parallel skill," meaning the ability one received depended on the creature’s state of decay.

If it was undecayed, the skill was "Pillar of Dawn."

If it was half-decayed, the skill was "Ragnarok."

If it was fully decayed, the skill was "Lightless Heat Death."

They all shared the same rank, but their manifestations were completely different.

According to the memories from the Nameless Cocoon, Pillar of Dawn was a light-attribute skill. It symbolized hope and vitality, representing a creature’s youthful energy in its prime, much like the warm, uplifting rays of the rising sun.

As for "Lightless Heat Death," ’is it an ice-attribute skill? Or maybe its attribute can’t be defined at all.’ It represented the final reckoning, the return of all energy to zero, the very end of life.

"Ragnarok," on the other hand, was likely a death-attribute skill. It represented the inevitable decay of all things, the inescapability of chaos, and the process of heading toward that final end...

At this stage, killing the Dusk Whale could only yield the "Ragnarok" skill.

As for how it combined with "Formless Pure Ice"... Shi Ming had no idea. He only knew from information previously obtained from the Eye of Intelligence that if the Dusk Whale were to swallow the Formless Pure Ice, it could suppress the inexorable decay within its body and avert its own demise. Furthermore, if it were to completely digest the Formless Pure Ice, it could evolve into an entirely new and unknown form.

Not even the Nameless Cocoon had ever witnessed what form that would be.

But the outcome was certain to be positive, a case where the whole would be greater than the sum of its parts.

Based on his knowledge of physics, Shi Ming guessed it might symbolize a state of stability.

’Or perhaps... there’s a small chance it could even reach the threshold of the Holy Hall?’

...

...

...

"Captain, we’ve received a reply from the *Dream of Salmon*."

Over two hours later, Yellow Cannon knocked on the door again and entered the captain’s quarters.

"They say that whale oil, ambergris, and the whale’s heart are sacred to a Whaler. They can’t divide the sea beast’s carcass into a one-third share, so they can only offer one-fourth, and they get to decide which part. However, in addition to one-third of the blood, they’re willing to offer an extra 2 tons. All compensation will be paid after the mission is complete. And if you violate the terms of our cooperation or act against business ethics, you’ll become a common enemy of the Whaling Alliance."

’An enemy of the Alliance... everyone knew that kind of threat was meaningless.’

’As long as they didn’t try to backstab him, he had no intention of backstabbing them.’

’An extra two tons of blood?’

’Two tons might sound like a lot, but the blood of whale-type sea beasts was a real scam.’

’The energy in its blood is diluted, so ordinary people have to soak in it for a long time to Awaken. A detailed research report from the Lighthouse even showed that, for an average whale-type sea beast, its entire blood supply—even if it amounted to dozens of tons—could only provide enough for six people to Awaken at most.’

’Considering how hard giant sea beasts are to kill, providing for six Awakenings was an acceptable return, I suppose.’

The compensation offered by the *Dream of Salmon* was more or less fair and constituted an acceptable basis for cooperation.

’But wait, blood is obviously more valuable than the carcass. So they’re offering more blood and less of the body?’

’What’s their angle?’

’"Sacred?"’

Shi Ming didn’t buy it for a second.

There was no such thing as faith in the Endless Ocean.

Just as the Winter Country didn’t believe in tears.

Whatever their reason, his objective was clear: gain practical experience hunting large, whale-type sea beasts as a rehearsal for his hunt for the Dusk Whale. An A-rank Sea Beast might be a treasure to ordinary people, but it held little appeal for him. Still, he couldn’t just accept a losing deal, could he?

’Accumulating too many skills puts a strain on one person’s body, but I have a crew!’

’So when it comes to Sea Beast Blood, the more, the better.’

"Hm?"

"No, wait."

’That sea beast... could it be the White Dragon Whale?!’

Shi Ming’s mind leaped from one idea to the next, and he had a vast store of information at his disposal.

In a sudden flash of insight, his thoughts landed on the Heart of the White Dragon Whale, ranked 103rd on the Endless Sea Region’s "List of Marvels!"

The White Dragon Whale was an A-rank Sea Beast. Bathing in its blood granted the A-rank skill "Whale Burst."

But if one swallowed its heart raw, they could use their own digestive system to acquire another of its powers, slowly transforming their body and achieving a new Awakening. The skill obtained through this method was the S-rank skill, "Whale Fall"!

This was the one S-rank skill that held almost no interest for Shi Ming.

The process of obtaining it was time-consuming, exhausting, and emotionally draining. For someone from the Foodie Country, especially, it would be sheer torture.

Take an ordinary whale, for example. Its heart weighs over 300 kilograms on average. If you were to eat one kilogram a day, you would have to eat nothing but whale heart for 300 consecutive days!

And it had to be eaten raw!

Not to mention the White Dragon Whale was an A-rank beast. Its size was unknown, but it was certainly larger than an ordinary whale! The mere thought of eating its heart was enough to make one lose all hope in life.

The price of power! It was too absurd!

Even with his Right Arm Red Pattern, which could only absorb energy from substances like blood, bone marrow, and slime, Shi Ming couldn’t shorten this process. The slow transformation of the body via the digestive system could not be accelerated.

He couldn’t exploit this particular loophole.

He mulled it over for a moment, weighing the potential pros and cons.

’I can agree to their terms.’

’If it really is the White Dragon Whale, then I have a feeling this mission won’t be so simple. As far as I know, ever since the "List of Marvels" from the Endless Ocean became common knowledge, many whaling nations have been searching for the White Dragon Whale’s whereabouts.’

...

’No matter.’

’I’ll just have to provide some "value-added services" when the time comes.’

’I can’t allow myself to come out on the losing end.’