After sending off Wright and his group, Shi Ming returned to his captain’s quarters with a bag full of Pure Do Crystals.
’What a massive haul!’
’No wonder everyone says being a Hunter is profitable. Slaying a single A-rank Sea Beast and selling just the corpse brought in over forty Pure Do Crystals. Talk about a huge return on investnt. If I’d had the blood, wouldn’t I have beco filthy rich overnight?’
’But this isn’t a thod I can use often.’
Shi Ming had no intention of readily selling the A-rank blood to anyone else. ’In the Wandering Era, personal strength is what matters most! Besides, selling such high-level sea beasts one after another would undoubtedly draw unwanted attention.’
’The fear isn’t a thief who steals, but one who covets.’
Having the Black Society and Lighthouse already on his tail was exhausting enough.
He put away the Pure Do Crystals and looked at the "Honeycomb" that Wright had gifted him. This Honeycomb was more symbolic than practical. With it, he could now hide the existence of his system’s warehouse. He could retrieve items from the warehouse at will, pretending they ca from the Honeycomb, and no one would be the wiser.
After taking care of everything, he felt for the communicator hanging at his waist, concealed beneath his clothes.
While he was negotiating outside, he had felt the device vibrating nonstop. With everything settled, he finally had ti to see what sches were being hatched within the "Let There Be Light" group.
He turned on the communicator.
A backlog of ssages had already accumulated.
[Divine Cody: Sir, "Miss Yan" has successfully gained Wright’s trust, thanks to an introduction from a high-level figure in the Twelve Stars. She has joined the squad under the guise of an A-rank Awakened. Any word on how communications with Jinshan and the Black Society are progressing?]
???
’That’s a lot to take in!’
’A high-level introduction? Gained his trust? Joined Wright Squad?’
All Shi Ming knew before this was that Wright was putting together a team to hunt a powerful A-rank Sea Beast.
’He just hadn’t realized how deep this rabbit hole went.’
What he found even more baffling was that Lighthouse had actually taken notice of Wright’s A-rank mission. ’And they’d even sent this so-called "Miss Yan" to infiltrate the squad?’
’Could it be the mission isn’t that simple? Is there sothing—so treasure—that even Lighthouse has its eyes on?’
’"Miss Yan"?’
’That na just screams codena...’
’As an A-rank Awakened? Does that an this Miss Yan isn’t actually A-rank? S-rank, then?’
’Damn it, Lighthouse is supposed to be the legacy of a great nation, so why are they always up to these shady, underhanded sches instead of doing anything productive?’
He continued reading the ssages.
[Jinshan: I’ve contacted the Black Society’s Admiral of the Sea, Yan Dao Lin, and disclosed Wright’s plan to hunt an S-rank Sea Beast. Yan Dao Lin says he has sent an A-rank Awakened to join them. They should have reached the European Sea Region by now, but their exact status is unknown.]
[Divine Cody: Excellent. The more chaotic the situation becos, the higher Miss Yan’s chances of success.]
[Lighthouse: Miss Yan’s strength is undeniable, but we must prioritize caution. She is one of our hidden assets. It is imperative that she conceals her identity during this mission. We cannot afford any diplomatic incidents that could worsen our relationship with the Twelve Stars. If necessary, use the Black Society to stir up trouble and divert the Twelve Stars’ attention.]
[Divine Cody: Understood.]
’So it’s true. Wright isn’t just targeting an A-rank. Or perhaps that A-rank beast was just a warm-up.’
’The real target is an S-rank Sea Beast!’
Using his Map of the Endless Sea, Shi Ming had only detected two S-rank Sea Beasts in the European Sea Region. ’I wonder which one Wright is after?’
’The Rotting Whale near Greenland Island?’
’Or the Deep Sea Titan in the ruins of Mount Olympus?’
’And the Black Society is getting involved too?’
’Things are getting this intense?’
He recalled what Wright had told him, "This temporary squad not only has experts from the Twelve Stars joining, but also a Fighting Master from the Black Gold Country, and a Great Swordsman from the Vortex Country..."
’It looks like that Great Swordsman from the Vortex Country is the Black Society’s plant.’
’Interesting. Very interesting.’
It almost made him want to join in on the fun.
’But honestly, Wright, your operational security is terrible.’
’Do you have any idea that your mission has been completely infiltrated? That it’s beco a battleground for other factions to play their gas?’
’Or... is this exactly what you wanted?’
For now, Shi Ming had no intention of getting involved in the convoluted sches of these major powers.
Even if he wanted to intervene and warn Wright, out of the friendship forged over crystals, he might just end up making things worse. ’Who knows, maybe this was all part of Wright’s plan. Perhaps the forces he could muster from the Twelve Stars alone weren’t enough to kill an S-rank Sea Beast, so he needed to leverage the strength of other factions.’
The line between using and being used is often blurry.
’And as for who would erge the victor?’
Anyone could co out on top.
And everyone thinks they’re the ultimate hunter.
Wright and his team would be preparing for a while longer within the Twelve Stars. The main event hadn’t started yet.
What he needed to do now was make money and increase his strength...
Especially making money.
He was desperate to get his hands on 1,000 Pure Do Crystals to upgrade and restore the still-unford "Phaseless Pure Ice." The thing was currently unusable. Forcing it into his system warehouse had dropped the internal temperature to freezing. And while he’d confird it wouldn’t damage the other items for the ti being, it was still a major inconvenience.
’Ways to make money...’
Selling another A-rank Sea Beast was off the table for now. Finding and killing one A-rank Sea Beast so quickly was already a rare feat; if he started doing it repeatedly, everyone would know he was hiding a major secret.
He could probably sell a few B-rank beasts now and then.
But B-rank Sea Beasts didn’t fetch a high enough price.
’If only so rich, clueless wandering ship, like the Sakura, would try to rob him.’
...
In his free ti, Shi Ming took stock of his recent gains.
Before selling the A-rank Sea Beast, the Glacier Dragon, he had used the equipnt on his ship to drain all of its inert blood. This blood couldn’t be used to make soone an Awakened, but it was excellent material for the Brain of Creation to upgrade other things.
Like upgrading The Providence.
’Sea Crystal Stones, check. Iron ore, check. A-rank Sea Beast Blood, check...’
’Now I can finally upgrade The Providence again.’
’And then there’s the Do Crystal extraction equipnt for the ship. That was all part of the plan. One step at a ti.’
He went out onto the deck.
His eyes fixed on the helm, and information began to appear.
[Gold-Tier Wandering Ship, Serial No. 23333]
[Level: 1]
[A miracle! After thirty years, another Golden Wandering Ship graces the world! Its hull is impossibly tough and has acquired a new ability: Invisibility! It has also received massive upgrades in many other areas...]
[Upgrade Requirents: 200x High-Level Sea Crystal Stones, 200x Iron Ore, 2,000g A-rank Sea Beast Blood]
[Upgrade materials detected. Proceed with upgrade?]
’Yes!’
The materials were sufficient.
’Enough to level up twice in a row!’
He’d never had such a wealth of resources to work with!
[Gold-Tier Wandering Ship, Serial No. 23333]
[Level: 3]
[A Silver ship in appearance, but a Golden Ship in essence! Perhaps this ship has perfected the art of being a wolf in sheep’s clothing!]
[The ship’s new "Invisibility System" can now evade detection from even more powerful creatures! The ship’s firepower system—the close-in cannons—has also undergone a qualitative upgrade! Even without an Awakened on board, it can now obliterate a common C-rank Sea Beast in a single shot.]
[New Ship Equipnt Added: Food Workshop!]
[Food Workshop: Simply input keywords for any food you desire, and the workshop will do its best to synthesize it for you!]
[Upgrade Requirents: 500x High-Level Sea Crystal Stones, 500x Iron Ore, 5,000g of blood from two different A-rank Sea Beasts]
...
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