Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe-Chapter 86 - 83: 7 Great King-level Wandering Ships
On Shi Ming’s desk, his personal communicator began to ring.
He was a bit surprised. He had only given the contact for this communicator to a very small number of people: Stone Pillar, Lin Hai, Yellow Cannon, and—
"Nailu Ye?"
The 45-year-old female captain who had betrayed the Black Society to side with him was actually contacting him of her own accord? ’I thought she would’ve fled as far as possible,’ Shi Ming mused, ’and never dared to get involved with me again!’
Shi Ming opened the message.
[You’re impressive, handsome.]
[You know, I’m a woman who’s attracted to strength. If the age gap wasn’t so big, I might have even fallen for you.]
Shi Ming frowned, skipping past the pleasantries.
[I heard from a special source that you killed Demon Sword? Don’t ask how I know. The Nailu Clan comes from a long and distinguished line; we have our own special channels.]
[Your strength is beyond my imagination! Thank you for not going for the kill last time. But the Black Society has now put out a secret bounty on you. The reward is a sky-high price you can’t even imagine. Honestly, if you weren’t the one holding my Celestial Net Chip, even I’d be a little tempted.]
[A word of advice: abandon that Silver ship of Chunyi’s. If you just get rid of it, no one will ever find you.]
[You’ll have countless other chances for revenge.]
[But if you do end up in the Black Society’s hands, for the sake of the information I’ve given you, please don’t sell me out.]
[Your true ally.]
Seeing the somewhat familiar sign-off, Shi Ming chuckled.
’Nailu Ye is no simple woman.’
’I should have squeezed more out of her last time.’
Shi Ming didn’t know if the bounty she was talking about was the same one he already knew of.
But there was no doubt the Black Society’s desire for revenge against him could no longer be suppressed. They were known for seeking vengeance over the slightest grievance, to say nothing of suffering such a major loss.
But it didn’t matter.
After the upgrade to a Golden Ship, both the interior and exterior of the *Da Yun* had changed. Although the external changes weren’t huge, there were fundamental differences. Besides, the frame and layout of this type of ship weren’t custom-made but mass-produced. Out on the Endless Ocean, there was no telling how many wandering ships looked similar to his.
’No need to worry too much.’
Since Nailu Ye had reached out first, Shi Ming, in turn, had some questions for her.
He typed into the communicator:
"Since your intelligence network is so impressive, can you tell me where I can accept or post bounties?"
An hour later, he received Nailu Ye’s reply.
[You people from the Dragon Country have an old saying about keeping the good stuff in the family. The high-value bounty on Wandering Ship No. 23333 is only visible to internal factions of the Lighthouse and their allies—and believe me, that’s more than enough. You have no idea how ’valuable’ you are!]
[Of course, if you just want to take on regular bounties, you can go to any King-level Wandering Ship and register for a "Hunter" identity. That will get you access to their proprietary terminal for posting and accepting bounties. Most of the missions are things like killing sea beasts, but a few are for materials, treasures, or special requests...]
[However, only B-rank Awakened or higher are qualified to obtain a Hunter identity.]
[Remember, don’t expose your true strength.]
"A Hunter identity?"
Staring at the message on his communicator, Shi Ming fell into deep thought.
He needed this identity to convert his unneeded items into usable resources.
Possessing the Map of the Endless Sea meant possessing endless resources.
In particular, his biggest problem was figuring out what to do with the leftover high-value materials after he used the Map of the Endless Sea to hunt C-rank and even B-rank sea beasts, bathing in their blood to gain abilities or points.
’Use it all myself? I can’t consume that much.’
’Throw it away? What a waste.’
’Sell it? I don’t have the right channels.’
Perhaps acquiring a "Hunter" identity like this was a good option.
He could sell off unneeded materials to other factions. Although the efficiency of maritime trade was extremely low, it was better than nothing.
The only thing was, to register as a "Hunter," he had to go to a King-level Wandering Ship?
King-level!
In the Endless Ocean, King-level Wandering Ships were high and mighty, holding a special status!
They were Edens, Ideal Lands, and Utopias.
They seemed to be above worldly conflict, silently safeguarding the remnants of human civilization.
Most King-level ships were unimaginably massive, and every voyage consumed endless energy. Barring special circumstances, their positions were fixed, making them veritable floating cities, giant harbors on the sea.
The seven great King-level Wandering Ships were:
[Da Yu], No. 002, belonging to the Dragon Country, guarding the Yinping Sea Region.
[Lighthouse], No. 003, belonging to America, guarding the Great Western Sea Region.
[Twelve Stars], No. 004, belonging to the Twelve-Star Alliance, guarding the European Sea Region.
[Katyusha], No. 005, belonging to Big Ivan, guarding the Zero-Degree Ice Sea.
[Black Gold], No. 006, belonging to Africa, guarding the Sea of Silence.
[Kindling], No. 007, belonging to the South American Andean Alliance, guarding the Earth’s Lung and the Southern Ice Sea Region.
There was also a mysterious King-level Wandering Ship, No. 001. It was the only medium-sized King-level Wandering Ship capable of patrolling the entire Endless Ocean, carrying out special missions. It was extremely mysterious; few had ever seen it. All information about it was unverifiable and not in circulation.
If he wanted to obtain a "Hunter" identity, he would have to go to one of the first six King-level Wandering Ships.
All else being equal, Shi Ming’s first choice would naturally be the [Da Yu].
But his current position was a bit awkward. He was nearly twenty thousand kilometers away from the region where the Da Yu was located. In contrast, the [Twelve Stars], which guarded the European Sea Region, was much closer. The *Da Yun* could reach it in just over a day’s travel at maximum speed. The route would also take him past the location of a B-rank sea beast he had already planned to hunt.
Moreover, the [Twelve Stars] championed freedom, and trade flourished there.
There, Shi Ming could sell off most of his unneeded materials.
...
「In a gloomy, uncharted stretch of sea, dark clouds gathered overhead.」
A lone wandering ship held steady against the waves, as if isolated from the rest of the world.
Inside a luxurious cabin, Nailu Ye, whose right arm was now a prosthesis, rested her head on the lap of a woman of classical beauty, her expression serene.
This beautiful woman looked young, but she was twenty years older than Nailu Ye, already sixty-five. She was dressed in opulent attire, and her every move was elegant and noble, possessing the distinct air of the Royal Family.
"Auntie."
Nailu Ye called out.
"I’ve already warned him about what to look out for. But I don’t understand, how are you so sure he’s an S-rank Awakened? Even if he really did kill Demon Sword, that doesn’t necessarily make him S-rank, does it?"
The beautiful woman picked up a fan, a smile playing on her lips as she arched a brow.
"Do you know what rank Michael’s Edward is?"
"What rank?"
Nailu Ye’s eyebrows shot up. Before this woman, she was like a little girl.
The beautiful woman didn’t answer directly, changing the subject instead.
"I’ve always been fond of a Dragon Country idiom: a rare commodity is worth hoarding. Stay on good terms with him, and never become his enemy. Our plan requires his help."
"But he’s very prejudiced against the Vortex People. He might not be willing to help us."
"That doesn’t matter. As long as he is an enemy of the Black Society’s Renhuang, we are friends. Besides, didn’t you reveal the information about the Great Black Heaven Dragon to him to save your own life?" The beautiful woman smiled. "No S-rank Awakened can resist its temptation."
The beautiful woman took a sip of her tea.
Her smile carried a hint of chilling intent.
"One day, no matter what it takes, I will make Renhuang and the Black Society pay the price."
