Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe-Chapter 62 - 60: Tide Stone

Shi Ming looked at the black crystal before him.

It was reserved and understated, without the slightest hint of an energy signature, like a piece of obsidian from a volcano.

’Brain of Creation!’

To Shi Ming’s surprise, it could actually be upgraded.

Information about the black crystal appeared before Shi Ming.

[Tide Stone]

[Level 1]

[Single-use item. A peculiar crystal formed over ten or more years from the mixture of Sea Beast Blood energy and Sea Crystal Stone energy. After injecting Awakening energy, it can replicate the signature ability of the respective sea beast, reaching up to 30% of the original ability’s power. Upgrading it can increase the ability’s strength.]

[Upgrade Requirement: 100 grams of Sea Beast Blood from the same type of sea beast.]

’A single-use item, huh?’

Shi Ming rubbed the sea beast ability stone, feeling the texture of its surface.

The powerful sea beast that died in this sea region was undoubtedly the A-class Mist Jellyfish from over a decade ago. It and the Huangshi had fought, and both had perished, taking two A-class Awakened on the ship with them.

An A-class sea beast held an absolute advantage over A-class Awakened in its home turf of the ocean. It wasn’t surprising that if a Gold-rank or lower vessel was caught by it, the result was often catastrophic.

’But what would its signature ability be?’

’Summoning mist? Corrosion? Or something else?’

’I can test one out later if I get a spare.’

In any case, this was a good find.

Shi Ming was lacking in offensive methods to begin with.

His S-class Awakening had granted him S-class growth potential and two S-class defensive abilities, but he hadn’t had much time to develop. When facing powerful sea beasts or certain strange types of Awakened, he couldn’t guarantee he’d always come out on top. He needed more ways to fight his enemies.

He put away the sea beast ability stone, planning to hunt a few Mist Jellyfish to upgrade it later when he had more opportunities.

"Very good. If you find any more items like this, report to me immediately."

"Yes, Captain."

Dressed in his sailing attire, Shi Ming continued to stand guard at the bow, exuding an air of "one man holding the pass against ten thousand jellyfish." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The Lost Sea was windless, damp, and cold.

The Mist Jellyfish swarming below the hull were like a host of stars paying homage to the moon, surrounding the Silver vessel. If one ignored their dangerous nature, the scene was actually quite romantic.

Shi Ming didn’t proactively hunt them for the time being. He was waiting for a big one, a D-class at least.

Because the information he’d obtained today via the Eye of Intelligence was that a D-class Mist Jellyfish, once dehydrated and served as a cold salad, was not only delicious but would also increase one’s resistance to dizziness. Even in a great storm, one would remain completely composed and not get seasick.

It was the nemesis of motion sickness.

Some people feel seasick when playing 3D games, which is a symptom of motion sickness.

Shi Ming didn’t have this problem.

He just wanted to eat some cold jellyfish salad.

’Sigh, these Mist Jellyfish are treasures from head to toe.’

...

degrees west longitude, 40 degrees north latitude.

After seven hours of sailing at full speed, the *Demon Sword* finally arrived at the rendezvous point with the *Michael*. This place had once been the most prosperous port in America during the Land Era, but now it was a vast ocean, with no trace of its former glory to be seen.

It was said that only the Statue of Liberty remained, fixed to an Artificial Floating Island, having become a spiritual symbol for the Lighthouse People on the sea—one of the world’s ten great wonders, comparable to the "Hai Sheng Ying."

There was also a Gold-rank drifter ship named *Liberty* that battled in the Great Western Sea Region.

But the statue was nowhere near here, so of course Demon Sword couldn’t see it, and the *Liberty* was off in some unknown distant waters.

At this moment, the sea was calm and deserted.

Demon Sword frowned.

They were supposed to gather here, but there wasn’t a single ship or sea beast in the surrounding waters.

"Hmph."

"So much for the *Michael*. They accepted the commission and still managed to be late. Their discipline is clearly lax!"

"If this were my Black Society, they’d be dealt with by military law."

Her schedule was tight. The rendezvous was the simplest part; the subsequent search would require a great deal of time.

She had no time to waste on something like waiting for people.

Demon Sword took a communicator from her pocket, preparing to try and make contact based on their prior arrangements.

Suddenly, a large number of bubbles began to surface in the water not far away—dense and growing larger.

Immediately after, a small drifter ship burst out of the water!

It was a submersible drifter ship!

Submersible drifter ships were extremely rare. After all, everyone knew that diving and drifting were two operations of vastly different difficulties. To build a submersible drifter ship, the other resources required—beyond the necessary materials for a conventional drifter—were more than twenty times that of an ordinary one.

Therefore, during the Great Flood Era, plans for such ships were exceedingly few.

The drifter ship’s air shield slowly deactivated, and a blond young man in his late twenties stood at the bow, smiling as he gazed at the cold Demon Sword from a distance.

He was wearing formal attire, which sailors rarely wore, but his white shirt was untucked, giving him a roguish and unrestrained look.

He waved, calling out a polite greeting from afar, and as he raised his hand, a sliver of skin was even visible at his waist.

Although he didn’t have any flab, he also lacked defined lines. He was plain and unremarkable, clearly lacking exercise.

"Hello there, Miss Demon Sword. My name is Edward. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

Demon Sword snorted.

’This kind of greeting is something I’ve only ever seen in old-fashioned novels.’

’Am I supposed to reply with, "Nice to meet you, too"?’

This Edward was the Awakened mentioned in the intel—the one with the B-class Awakening ability "Navigator." Demon Sword’s first impression of him was that his looks were average and his behavior was flippant. If she didn’t need him to lead the way, she wouldn’t have given him a second glance. He was a complete dud.

The two drifter ships, roughly the same size, gradually drew closer.

"Miss Demon Sword, please come aboard."

Edward gave a slight bow, like a "gentleman" from a novel.

But Demon Sword didn’t like this type of bow.

She preferred the Black Society’s bow.

’When I have a bad first impression of someone, I won’t like anything else they do either.’

She leaped abruptly, landing on the submersible drifter ship.

The powerful downward force of her landing made the entire ship rock violently.

Another crew member following behind her boarded the ship in a normal fashion. He then took an envelope containing the intel from a case he was carrying and handed it to the blond man, Edward.

"This is the detailed information on the target. Explain your plan," Demon Sword said, her voice devoid of any emotion.

’This Edward might seem polite, but as a partner, he didn’t even invite me into the cabin to sit down.’

’Not that I would have stayed long on this unfamiliar ship anyway.’

Edward produced a hat from somewhere and placed it on his head, covering his medium-length blond hair.

"Our plan is simple—

"Drift with the currents in this boundless sea.

"The stars will guide us in the right direction."