Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe-Chapter 61 - 59: Exploring the Lost Sea Again
This close-in weapon system had eleven barrels and operated on a rotary principle, much like a Gatling gun. It could spin at high speed to fire in rapid succession and was equipped with two primary types of ammunition: armor-piercing and incendiary rounds.
The ammunition could be manufactured using the system’s own equipment, consuming only a small amount of iron ore and Sea Crystal Stones.
’Not bad. Next time we run into an opponent like the Sakura, I won’t even have to lift a finger. This close-in weapon system alone will be enough to make them regret ever provoking us!’ 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
After resting, he prepared to upgrade the Silver Wandering Ship one more time, making the final preparations for another expedition into the Lost Sea.
’I wonder what changes this will bring?’
...
The upgrade from Level 4 to Level 5 took even longer.
Just as Shi Ming’s Spiritual Power was beginning to feel strained, he finally received another prompt from the Brain of Creation, which meant the second upgrade had succeeded.
The next step would be promotion.
[Silver-level Wandering Ship, Serial No. 23333]
[Level: 5]
[This is a top-tier Silver-level Wandering Ship! It could perhaps be called the strongest Silver ship! Its external materials, defensive capabilities, stability, and overall hull quality are on par with, if not superior to, an ordinary Gold-level wandering ship. New equipment added: Sea Patrol Radar. When active, the radar can automatically monitor the sea within a one-nautical-mile radius and issue warnings for any anomalies.]
[Promotion Requirements: 100x High-Level Sea Crystal Stone, 1x Sailing Crystal, 1000g of B-Grade Sea Beast Blood]
Just as Shi Ming had expected, the next step was promotion.
It also required new materials: a Sailing Crystal and B-Grade Sea Beast Blood.
He wasn’t short on B-Grade Sea Beast Blood. Shi Ming had already extracted all the blue blood from a severed arm of that Eight-armed Hunter. While this energy-drained blood couldn’t be used to awaken people, it was still perfectly usable as a material for upgrading equipment or ships.
What he lacked was the Sailing Crystal.
According to information he had gotten from Michael in the "Let There Be Light" intelligence group, there were similar materials called the Sailing Stone, Sailing Crystal, Sailing Heart, and Sailing Star. All of these materials were extracted from meteorites.
He speculated that these four items corresponded to the power sources for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and General-rank wandering ships, respectively.
As for what "Sailing" item corresponded to the King-rank, Michael hadn’t said.
Generally, constructing a Gold-level wandering ship required a Sailing Heart—the very same Azure Crystal Stone Shi Ming had picked up from the Yellowstone.
However, the Brain of Creation’s upgrade function used lower-tier materials to achieve higher-tier results.
Therefore, upgrading a Silver Wandering Ship to Gold only required a single Silver-level Sailing Crystal. Likewise, upgrading a Gold-level canoe to General-rank only required a single Gold-level Sailing Heart.
Right now, Shi Ming only had one Sailing Heart.
The materials should be backward-compatible.
But he wouldn’t do that.
Higher-tier materials were much rarer, and he was saving that Crystal Stone for his canoe’s promotion to General-rank.
He would just have to put the promotion for this Silver Wandering Ship on hold. In any case, the exterior material of a Level 5 Silver ship should be able to withstand the corrosion from those jellyfish.
He prepared to go test his theory. If it didn’t work out, he could always pull back.
Besides, now that the ship was Level 5, it also had the "Sea Patrol Radar" function. Once activated, it could continuously detect all activity within a one-nautical-mile radius. With this, the crew could constantly monitor the sea’s surface and provide early warnings.
"Stone Pillar, cease stabilization. Head on a 191-degree bearing and sail for three nautical miles."
"Yes, sir."
Stone Pillar, the exploration team leader currently at the helm, was a little confused.
They had just left the foggy, dangerous region and were now stabilized in a safe area with abundant Sea Crystal Stone energy. Why would they return to the depths of that perilous sea?
Although he didn’t understand, he didn’t ask questions.
The captain must have his reasons for giving such an order.
’We don’t understand simply because we don’t have enough information.’
RUMBLE...
The massive wandering ship turned around and slowly began to move in the direction Shi Ming had specified. Three nautical miles wasn’t a great distance, so the ship didn’t proceed at full speed. Instead, it sailed at a safe and steady pace toward the heart of the mist.
Even though it was noon, the dense fog in the Lost Sea persisted.
This thick fog was harmless to humans, but it intensified drowsiness. Anyone who remained in it for too long would inevitably fall into a deep sleep.
Therefore, Shi Ming decided to adopt a shuttle-style resource gathering method: during the day, they would travel to the area with the highest concentration of Sea Crystal Stones—as identified by the Eye of Intelligence—and extract them at the maximum rate. Then, at night, they would travel back through the mist to stabilize in a safe zone.
In any case, with the anti-interference navigator, the ship wouldn’t get lost.
This way, he could guarantee both efficiency and safety.
After traveling through the mist for a short while, the ship reached the location Shi Ming had specified. Under his command, it began to stabilize. The Sea Crystal Stone concentration here was 400% that of a normal sea region, meaning the ship’s energy extraction equipment would work at four times its usual efficiency!
If they stayed here for a full day, they could extract 2,000 ordinary Sea Crystal Stones. With a 5% high-grade output rate, that would be 100 High-Level Sea Crystal Stones!
Even if they only worked for 12 hours during the day, that was still 50 High-Level Sea Crystal Stones. Factoring in their gains from the low-efficiency sea region, they could acquire at least 65 a day!
The efficiency was off the charts!
The only drawback was that this [A3-type Energy Production Device], due to its inherent design, had a low ceiling. It was already at its maximum level and could not be optimized any further.
But Shi Ming was still very satisfied!
Once the ship was stable, visibility in the dense fog dropped to near zero. He activated the Sea Patrol Radar and kept an eye on the display panel for any activity.
"Captain! A large number of Mist Jellyfish are approaching."
"Captain, some of the Mist Jellyfish have attached themselves to the hull."
"..."
"Don’t worry. Monitor the hull damage continuously and report to me every twenty minutes."
"Yes, sir."
’Whether this plan works or not depends on one thing: is the corrosive power of these Mist Jellyfish stronger, or is my hull tougher?’
While the crew monitored the situation, he was not idle. He stood in an open space on deck, his hand on his King Slayer Saber, ready to draw it at any moment.
These ordinary jellyfish posed no major threat.
He was on guard against attacks from D-Grade or higher Mist Sea Mothers.
While diving in the deep sea the other day, he had indeed seen several massive sea mothers, suspected to be D-Grade or C-Grade. Furthermore, this was the very location where a giant, A-Grade Mist Sea Mother had fallen in the past. Both the fog and the Sea Crystal Stone energy were at their peak here, and the creatures’ lair was in the depths below.
If they attacked, it would probably disrupt the crew’s efficiency.
As captain, it was his responsibility to eliminate such potential threats.
...
"Captain, the hull is undamaged! The corrosive power of these jellyfish seems much weaker than last time."
"Captain, the equipment is running at high speed! Production of High-Level Sea Crystal Stones has increased significantly!"
"Captain..."
"Captain, the Sea Crystal Stone extraction equipment produced a special item. It’s black, about the size of your palm..."
On the deck, Shi Ming opened his eyes, roused from a light doze.
’The upgraded energy extraction equipment can occasionally yield a surprising by-product in energy-rich waters.’
’Could this be that by-product?’
