Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe-Chapter 59 - 57: Jinshan, Shi Ming, and Black Society
Michael had his reasons for being confident.
So was Jinshan.
The "Golden Pagoda" organization under his command couldn’t hold a candle to the spy agencies of the pre-Wandering Era in terms of pure intelligence capability. But in this new age, with the backing of the Lighthouse, they acted as information brokers and platform intermediaries, leaving them with few competitors in the Endless Ocean.
If there was a deal they couldn’t handle, it was unlikely any other organization could either.
And even if someone could, would the Black Society be able to contact them? Could they afford to wait?
He had them right where he wanted them.
Besides, they had figured that the Black Society wouldn’t take on a commission that would lose them money. Being willing to spend 150 Pure Dome Crystals to find a supposedly ordinary Silver-level Wandering Ship meant the vessel was anything but ordinary. It probably held a great secret.
Of course, as for how great that secret was, their involvement ended at simple curiosity.
Just as they’d stated, an organization’s reputation was worth far more than 150 Pure Dome Crystals.
Backstabbing a client was something they wouldn’t do.
Shi Ming quietly watched the transaction unfold in the "Let There Be Light" channel, like an unseen observer from behind the curtain.
In the end, as expected, the Black Society compromised.
The result of the negotiation was this: the Black Society would pay 150 Pure Dome Crystals, Jinshan would take a 20% brokerage fee, and the rest would be delivered to Michael in installments. In return, Michael promised to dispatch a B-rank, search-type Awakened to assist the Black Society, guaranteeing they would find their target within fifteen days.
If they truly failed to find it, Michael would only refund the 150 Pure Dome Crystals and cover the brokerage fee. Nothing more.
’As for triple compensation? Why would they ever agree to a deal that loses them money?’
All three parties were satisfied with this outcome.
Jinshan earned his commission, Michael was confident he wouldn’t fail, and the Black Society gained a powerful external ally, compensating for their own lack of search capabilities and raising their hopes of recovering the Map of the Endless Sea to ninety percent.
A win-win-win!
’So who lost?’
Shi Ming put away his communicator.
’He certainly wouldn’t be the one losing out.’
After witnessing the entire transaction and completing his routine patrol of the deck and the nearby sea, Shi Ming went to an open area on the ship and began his daily training.
’Personal strength is the ultimate trump card.’
Physical Strength, Attack Power, and Endurance could be increased not only by allocating points, but also through daily exercise, which made them grow slowly. This was especially true for someone like Shi Ming, who had been Awakened for less than a month; he was still in the "newbie bonus" period for growth. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Over the past few days, he had also finalized the measures for his crew’s promotion and Awakening.
Anyone who earned 100 contribution points could exchange them for the complete cuttlefish carcass he had harvested from the seabed and bathe in its blood to achieve their own Awakening.
Each type of sea beast could only grant him stat points once, so being able to use these otherwise useless materials to raise the overall strength of his crew was a huge help.
As for the vial of Deep Sea Black Shark blood he had obtained from Chunyi, he had already absorbed its power, which had added 2 points to his Physical Strength and Endurance.
[Physical Strength: 58]
[Endurance: 62]
’My combat stamina has increased!’
The Silver ship was currently in an excellent position. The concentration of Sea Crystal Stones was high, and being on the edge of the Lost Sea offered protection. Outside sea beasts didn’t dare enter the Mist Jellyfish’s territory, while the Mist Jellyfish themselves were unwilling to leave the energy-rich Core Area.
This allowed them a temporary period of rest and recuperation.
The daily yield of High-Level Sea Crystal Stones had also reached the expected thirty-seven.
After using seventy High-Level Sea Crystal Stones today, he now had 271 remaining.
The only thing he lacked was more upgrade charges for the Brain of Creation.
For Shi Ming, the daily upgrade and intelligence charges were his most crucial resources. He had a fixed 3+1 opportunities each day with no way to increase them. This was unlike Sea Crystal Stones, for which he could always find ways to acquire more and improve his gathering efficiency.
...
「Black Society.」
Yan Dao Lin stood ramrod straight by the office window, gazing at the sea not far away. The sunken Fujing Mountain would occasionally release bubbles and a pale, cherry-blossom-colored mist from the surface, creating a peculiar spectacle.
People called it "Hai Sheng Ying."
Four or five meters behind him, Great Wilderness stood obediently, reporting on the progress of their collaboration with Michael.
The two of them were alone in the vast office; all secretaries and clerks had been forbidden from entering.
"General, the contract has been finalized. Should we dispatch a vessel immediately to rendezvous with Michael’s party at the designated coordinates?"
"Immediately."
"Yes, sir."
Yan Dao Lin pulled his gaze away from the distant Hai Sheng Ying and turned to face Great Wilderness.
"The other high-level officers on board, including the Lord himself, have reviewed the intelligence report on the artifact. Thanks to some deliberate obscuring of the facts, no one has yet connected Artifact #108 to the nautical chart in our ship’s warehouse."
"This means you and I still have a chance to distinguish ourselves."
"However,"
His voice grew cold.
"You can’t hide a fire with paper. I can’t cover for you for long. Once they figure this out, the only way for you to atone will be with your life."
Yan Dao Lin’s gaze was piercing.
A desolate chill swept through Great Wilderness’s heart.
Originally, this #108 ranked treasure should have been his ticket to a meteoric rise. After all, the nautical chart was a prize he’d plundered from a rogue ship; most of the credit would have been his. But because of his damn nephew—who died without even knowing how he’d been played—he got screwed over one last time from beyond the grave, losing a priceless artifact to the outside world.
What should have been a monumental achievement had turned into a sin so great that even death could not atone for it.
’The bitterness was overwhelming!’
"Rest assured, General. I will go personally this time. I will not fail this mission."
Yan Dao Lin shot him a look.
"You’re staying here."
Hmph!
’Thinking of running?’
’I won’t give you the chance.’
’This collaboration is a near-certain success. But what if the Map of the Endless Sea isn’t recovered, and you conveniently disappear? Who’s going to be the scapegoat for this massive screw-up? Even if I have control of your Celestial Net Chip and can execute you remotely, a dead man can’t take the fall.’
’You’ll stay on this ship where I can see you!’
"I’ve already assigned Lord Demon Sword to take full charge of this operation. You will remain on the ship and coordinate from here."
"With Lord Demon Sword on the case, success is assured, of course."
Great Wilderness seethed internally, but he couldn’t voice a single objection.
’Coordinate. That just means I’m the one who will be held fully responsible.’
’But how can I coordinate anything while stuck on the ship?’
’When the treasure is recovered, the lion’s share of the credit will naturally go to Lord Demon Sword. He’ll be hailed as the hero of the Black Society who took command in a crisis and saved the day—a first-class merit, no doubt.’
’If it’s not recovered, Lord Demon Sword will get a slap on the wrist at worst before conveniently fading into the background, perhaps even earning some pity points for his ’hard work.’ But the full, thunderous weight of the failure will fall squarely on my shoulders.’
’I’m just like a temp contractor or a team intern.’
’No credit, all the blame.’
’But what could he do about it?’
The only thing that gave him a sliver of comfort was that Yan Dao Lin had fronted the cost. All the Pure Dome Crystals for this collaboration with Michael were temporarily requisitioned from the military’s armory; Great Wilderness wasn’t being asked to foot the bill. Of course, his entire net worth wouldn’t have been enough anyway.
An A-rank Awakened, plus Michael’s external support and guarantee...
’It really is a near-certain success.’
’At least my life is safe, for now.’
’When this is all over, hopefully I can leverage my status as the original discoverer of the Map of the Endless Sea to snag a few minor benefits.’
’Sigh. I guess I’ll have to be content with what I can get.’
