Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe-Chapter 92 - 89: Completing the Transaction, Returning to the Da Yun
Time passed quickly.
The last thing Shi Ming did on the Twelve Stars was exchange some of his Dome Crystals for High-Level Sea Crystal Stones.
He had arrived with ten Dome Crystals. After spending one while shopping, he exchanged the remaining nine for 855 High-Level Sea Crystal Stones. The standard exchange rate was 1:100, but the Twelve Stars charged a 5% transaction fee.
With this final task complete, his business there was finished.
The King-level Wandering Ship was massive, its overlapping decks forming a three-dimensional labyrinth. Less than one percent of it was open to the public, and even with ten hours, it was impossible to see everything. Shi Ming could only pick out a few key areas to visit and broaden his horizons.
’Today’s gains were decent. I’ve completed my Ocean Hunter certification.’
’From now on, I can take on bounties and sell off any useless materials through the association.’
’Plus, I have enough High-Level Sea Crystal Stones for the Sun-Shooter’s advancement! As soon as I leave the waters under the Twelve Stars’ jurisdiction, I can immediately try upgrading the Sun-Shooter to General-class. That will give me another ace up my sleeve!’
Carrying his purchases, Shi Ming stepped into one of the ship’s elevators.
It had the surreal feeling of shopping in a mall from a bygone era.
He couldn’t reveal his system’s storage space here.
So he had no choice but to carry his purchases by hand.
The Twelve Stars actually sold a storage device called a "Honeycomb." It was said to be made from the nest of a rare sea beast. Palm-sized, it offered a maximum of one cubic meter of storage space.
The larger the space, the more expensive it was.
Shi Ming gave up the idea of buying one after just a single glance at the price.
’Too expensive, and too small.’
’Since I have my System Storage, I have no use for this thing anyway.’
’Still, if I get the chance, I could buy a fake one to hang at my waist. That way, I can pass off my System Storage as a Honeycomb and use it openly in front of others.’
’I wouldn’t expose my secret, and I could access my items conveniently.’
RUMBLE—
The elevator on the Twelve Stars carried Shi Ming and a few other people down to the sea level.
A dozen or so small boats were moored here, ready to ferry them back to the Dinglan Field.
With that, Shi Ming’s visit to the King-level Wandering Ship was officially over.
The moment the elevator doors slid open, Shi Ming saw a flash of red.
Yize.
It was the woman in the hooded red robe who piloted a wandering ship that could vanish as if erased, the one who had bought a vial of B-rank sea beast blood from him.
’She’s likely an internal member of the Twelve Stars, an A-rank Awakened whose body undergoes uncontrollable bestial transformations.’
The hooded woman, Yize, was clearly taken aback for a moment before she took the initiative to greet him.
"Hi! What a coincidence!"
Her hood was pulled down extremely low, but Shi Ming could still make out the excitement on her face.
"It really is a coincidence."
Standing beside Yize was a man in his forties, clad in heavy armor, with a face that looked as if it were carved from stone. He glanced down at the young woman and asked casually, 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
"And this is?"
"Teacher, he’s the one I was telling you about," the hooded woman replied.
"He’s very kind. He sold me a vial of B-rank sea beast blood for only 20 Dome Crystals."
Hearing this, Shi Ming’s face twitched.
The man looked up and glanced at Shi Ming in surprise.
He wasn’t surprised by Shi Ming’s generosity; he had already heard Yize’s account of their meeting on the ship. ’This young man can easily kill a B-rank sea beast at sea?’
’And that B-rank sea beast was supposedly a Red Tide Sea Parasite.’
The hooded woman looked at Shi Ming again, opened her mouth, then hesitated.
According to etiquette, she needed to call him something, but she realized she didn’t even know his name.
"Stone."
"Ah... Stone, this is my teacher."
"A pleasure."
The man also nodded in response.
...
The chance encounter on the water was uneventful. They only exchanged polite pleasantries, with no deeper conversation.
As they parted ways, Shi Ming vaguely noticed that the woman was also wearing red gloves, hiding the skin on her hands, which was covered in coarse, brown fur.
The small boat from the Twelve Stars started up, speeding Shi Ming away toward the Dinglan Field.
Meanwhile, Yize and her teacher stepped into the elevator on the Twelve Stars.
"Ahem."
The man in heavy armor cleared his throat.
"Teacher, what’s wrong?"
"You’re being awfully quiet. Are you regretting not asking him for his communicator frequency?"
The man’s voice was as deep and resonant as steel.
"Teacher, what are you talking about!"
A blush was visible on the woman’s face, even under her hood.
"I wasn’t quiet for that reason! I was just disappointed that he only had one type of B-rank sea beast blood! If I could just get three more new types of B-rank blood, I could finally concoct the potion!"
The man glanced at his student.
"True. Sea beasts capable of evolving to B-rank are exceptionally cunning. Finding them on the open sea is quite difficult unless you have special tracking methods."
He flexed his wrists, and the steel plates of his armor scraped against each other with a CLANG.
"But don’t worry, we still have plenty of time. We’ve already collected nine types. We only need three more kinds of B-rank blood to solve your problem, and then I can finally give your parents an answer. When we get back, I’ll go to the Ocean Hunter Association and use my highest clearance to post a bounty for you. I’m sure we’ll have them all very soon."
"Thank you, Teacher."
The man sighed.
He could easily kill any kind of B-rank sea beast.
But as he said, B-rank sea beasts were rare and difficult to track. Even if he went to sea to hunt them himself, he could kill a hundred sea beasts in ten days and not find a single one that had reached B-rank.
’The efficiency is too low.’
’Posting a bounty is more reliable.’
...
...
...
"Captain!"
"Captain!"
Shi Ming nodded and handed the various bags from his shopping trip to Yellow Cannon, asking him to take them to the captain’s cabin.
’Carrying all this stuff was a pain, even if it wasn’t tiring.’
The Grand Fortune rumbled to life. Having left the Dinglan Field, it picked a random direction and sped away.
Inside the captain’s cabin, the Map of the Endless Sea lay spread across an antique wooden table. Shi Ming took a drop of blood from the B-rank Eight-armed Hunter and let it fall onto the map.
SHIMMER!
The azure sea chart materialized once more.
’There really are far fewer B-rank sea beasts in the waters patrolled by the Twelve Stars than in other regions!’
’The nearest one is 677 nautical miles away.’
’But it doesn’t matter. I have the Map of the Endless Sea.’
"Set a course, 277 degrees. Sail for 650 nautical miles."
"Understood!"
’Once we’re out of the waters under the Twelve Stars’ jurisdiction, I’ll use the Brain of Creation to upgrade the Sun-Shooter to General-class.’
’I wonder what kind of pleasant surprises a General-class wandering ship will bring.’
As the map’s blue light faded, Shi Ming stared at the antique chart, a sudden curiosity sparked within him.
’In the European Region, besides that Deep Sea Titan... how many other S-rank sea beasts are lurking there?’
He looked at the sea chart and poured his Awakening Power into it.
