Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe-Chapter 89 - 86: King-level Wandering Ship "12 Stars
C-rank Sea Beast Blood is worth 100 High-Level Sea Crystal Stones.
B-rank is worth 1,000 High-Level Sea Crystal Stones, a tenfold increase.
A-rank is worth at least a thousand times more than that!
The price of Sea Beast Blood rose exponentially like this with each rank, which only served to highlight the rarity and value of high-level Awakened.
This was also why a single A-rank Awakened could form their own maritime faction.
They possessed the ability to hunt B-rank sea beasts.
If you followed them, you’d be well-fed.
...
Shi Ming was taken aback by the hooded woman’s reaction.
’So she’s actually loaded?’
’Looks like I asked for too little.’
In the market, many things with a suggested price of 100 might sell for much more. It was like some of the trendy collectibles from his past life—they cost only a few dozen to make but could be sold for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands.
Moreover, prices fluctuated based on supply and demand.
A bottle of water in the desert could sell for a hundred times its normal price.
If you were selling it to some tech billionaire, you could charge even more...
But since Shi Ming had already quoted a firm price, he had no intention of going back on his word.
Besides, this woman seemed to be a member of a faction affiliated with the Twelve Stars. Trading with her might allow him to make contact with the Twelve Stars sooner and get what he wanted—like their current coordinates.
"This is the only kind I have. I don’t have any others. I’m not a [Hunter], so how would I get my hands on so much B-rank Sea Beast Blood?"
He deliberately mentioned the term [Hunter] to set up his next question.
"So, can we make the trade?"
"Of course. Anytime."
Hearing this, the hooded woman returned to her cabin and brought out a box.
The box opened to reveal twenty Vault Crystals.
She seemed incredibly confident in herself. She simply placed the Vault Crystals—something a common Silver-level ship couldn’t hope to obtain even one of—right in front of Shi Ming, completely unafraid that he might try to snatch them.
It was strange.
Everyone Shi Ming met was so self-assured.
"I need to verify the B-rank Sea Beast Blood. Once the verification is complete on my end, we’ll make the exchange," the hooded woman said.
"Fine. But aren’t you going to ask what kind of sea beast this blood came from?"
Shi Ming was a little curious.
Many people bought Beast Blood to facilitate their own awakening. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
But that didn’t seem to be the case for this woman.
"It doesn’t matter what kind of blood it is. It’s just one component of a medicine."
’Fair enough.’
’You’re the buyer. You call the shots.’
This sudden transaction was simpler than Shi Ming had imagined, with no unexpected hitches. It seemed both of them were the lawful-good type, or perhaps neither of them cared about such a small amount of supplies?
If every trade was like this, Shi Ming believed the Endless Ocean would be filled with love.
As he handed over the Eight-armed Hunter’s blood, Shi Ming saw that the woman’s outstretched hand was covered in coarse brown fur.
He suppressed his internal questions and showed no reaction on the surface, completing the transaction naturally.
The woman seemed very pleased.
Finally, Shi Ming asked casually, "Do you know how to become a [Hunter]? The kind that can post and accept bounties?"
"Sail 210 nautical miles at a heading of 198 degrees. The King-level Wandering Ship, the Twelve Stars, is located there. The Ocean Hunter Association is on the seventeenth floor. For a fee of 10 High-Level Sea Crystal Stones, you can register and receive a terminal with a three-hour data delay. Of course, you also need to be a B-rank Awakened or higher."
"Since you can kill a B-rank sea beast, you naturally meet the requirements."
She said no more and leaped from the temporary trade skiff back to her own wandering ship.
Without any visible commands, her wandering ship started up on its own.
Then, the woman and her ship faded from view, bit by bit, like a pencil drawing being erased—just as she had appeared.
"Tsk, tsk."
"She’s really something else!"
Shi Ming exclaimed in amazement.
"Piloting a wandering ship all alone, hunting B-rank sea beasts by herself."
’Do I have some kind of magnet for powerful people? I just randomly run into an Awakened, and they turn out to be A-rank?’
’Since when are A-rank Awakened a dime a dozen?’
He shook his head, took the Vault Crystals—which he had already inspected and found no issues with—and returned to his cabin.
"Set course for the Twelve Stars. Heading 198 degrees, 210 nautical miles."
"Yes, Captain."
...
With the exception of a few special zones like Turtle Island and the Lost Sea, the scenery everywhere on the Endless Ocean was remarkably similar.
Waves and water, all monotonous.
As humans sailed through the pure blue expanse, they would increasingly feel their own insignificance, which in time would breed a sense of despair. Even the most powerful S-rank Awakened found it difficult to dispel this feeling of desolation.
Temperature was perhaps the most noticeable difference one could feel.
The Grand Fortune was now at a very northern latitude, and a slight chill could be felt in the sea breeze. For Shi Ming, however, this coolness was merely a change in sensation, one he even found a bit refreshing.
After two hours of smooth sailing, he noticed that the number of wandering ships seemed to have increased.
The sense of desolation was gradually fading.
Previously, he might not have encountered a single other vessel in a full day of sailing. But now, in just one hour, he had spotted four or five different wandering ships, one of which looked identical to his own.
’Looks like the ocean has its prime real estate, too.’
The area where a King-level Wandering Ship was located was a Gold-tier zone.
It was like an oasis in a vast desert.
This was one of the few areas where humanity held an absolute advantage. For nearly a hundred nautical miles around, powerful sea beasts dared not approach.
’Looks like I’m almost there...’
Shi Ming stood at the bow, gazing at the distant horizon.
Finally, the endless blue began to recede.
A massive, blurry shadow hung low on the horizon like a Mirage, gradually solidifying.
Even though he had anticipated it, seeing it for the first time still left Shi Ming in awe of the divine craftsmanship born from humanity’s do-or-die determination in the early days of the Wandering Era.
This was more than a miracle.
It was so enormous that it surpassed Shi Ming’s very concept of a "ship."
It towered like a mountain range. Its steel-forged body resembled an endless medieval castle built upon a mountain, with layers of decks stacked upward, forming a dazzling, three-dimensional structure.
Like a mythical ark, it carried an unshakable majesty, plowing through the sunset-gilded waves to form an indestructible ocean fortress.
A flag bearing twelve stars arranged in a circle flew high at its very peak.
It was like the olive wreath worn by a Divine Spirit on Mount Olympus.
The moment he saw it, Shi Ming understood.
Totem, Lighthouse, fire-seed, order, memory, hope, the way home...
Utopia, the Ideal Land...
At this moment, all these abstract nouns were made manifest.
Humanity had never truly lost its home. Every tiny, lonely boat, every wandering navigator could find a temporary haven here.
This was a King-level Wandering Ship.
One of only seven King-level Wandering Ships in the entire world.
Registry 004, the [Twelve Stars].
Civilization will never sink.
