’Is this a chat group for Lighthouse and its affiliated wandering ships?’
Shi Ming was shocked. This communicator could directly access the communication channel used by Lighthouse and other wandering ships.
’Lighthouse... one of the King-level Wandering Ships!’
’Any channel it’s part of has to be incredibly exclusive and important.’
He glanced at the group mbers.
The channel had a total of 13 mbers. Aside from Lighthouse and Huangshi, which Shi Ming knew, there were also Michael, Liberty, Noah, Jinshan, Divine Cody, Olden Days... and others.
But what he hadn’t expected was—
This channel was still in use!
It didn’t have an online status indicator, so he couldn’t tell who was active, but in the short ti the communicator had been on, Shi Ming had already received several past ssages.
It was like turning on a phone that had been off; a flood of recently missed ssages poured in.
["Michael" has spotted an A-class sea beast at 116°E, 21°N! Requesting support.]
[The Golden Pagoda Organization, affiliated with "Jinshan," recently brokered a deal. The buyer was "Black Society," and the item traded was intelligence from the Xirang Research Institute’s translated stele: *Catalog of the Endless Ocean’s Curiosities*. Received a 100 Pure Do Crystal commission. Wish to hand over to Lighthouse in exchange for the following supplies...]
...
’The Huangshi sank so long ago, yet this channel is still active?’
Shi Ming mulled it over, considering whether it made sense.
’I guess it makes sense. The long-range communication technology Lighthouse established is nearly impossible to replicate in this Wandering Era. There’s no reason to scrap the entire system just because one Golden Ship sank. Besides, everyone knows the Huangshi sank. The communicator was buried at sea for so long that even if soone fished it out, they’d never be able to repair it. And that’s not even getting into the problem of the decoder.’
’As for why they never removed Huangshi from the channel... maybe they were confident the system couldn’t be cracked. Or maybe it was out of sentintality.’ It was like how soldiers who fought side-by-side would never delete a fallen comrade’s contact info.
But they hadn’t accounted for an anomaly like Shi Ming.
Shi Ming had dived into the Lost Sea, found the wreckage of the Huangshi, retrieved the communicator, and even managed to safely open the corroded safe to get the decoder.
Shi Ming’s Brain of Creation could completely repair items while upgrading them.
That was the anomaly.
He stared at the device in front of him and smiled.
’This is a nice little intelligence network you’ve built. And now it’s mine.’
’And as one of the "departed," I don’t have to contribute anything to get information.’
’All I have to do is lurk quietly...’
He now had another channel for gathering intelligence—and one established by Lighthouse, one of the seven King-level Wandering Ships in the world!
’I hope they don’t notice "Huangshi’s" return and just keep chatting on this channel.’
...
「The day passed without incident.」
Dinner was rice stead with dried shrimp, accompanied by a dish of canned tender beef stewed with sea fish.
After eating his fill, Shi Ming leaned back on a chair by the window, looking through the various docunts he had obtained from the forr captain’s safe on the Huangshi.
From these docunts, he learned so information about Lighthouse.
Sea beasts ran rampant and disasters at sea were frequent. Even a power like Lighthouse could only hold down one corner of the world, relying on a union with its three subordinate Marshal-level, nine Gold-level, and other Silver and Bronze-level wandering ships to share intelligence and resources.
Of course, there were also inevitable internal conflicts and competition.
But in most cases, a superficial harmony was maintained.
Each ship had a high degree of autonomy, much like the special economic zones and fifty states of the past.
Lighthouse had once tried to mass-produce S-class Awakened through technological ans, but they had yet to succeed. The project had instead led to many sacrifices, including the deaths of nurous researchers.
As for Lighthouse’s strength, it currently had at least three S-class Awakened, at least publicly.
One of them possessed the ability "Eye of Dream Weaving," which they had gained by killing an S-class sea beast called a Sea Jade and bathing in its blood.
The Sea Jade was a Three-headed Sea Serpent that carried as much as three tons of blood. Lighthouse had originally intended to use it to create three S-class Awakened, perhaps even more. But after the first person successfully awakened, the remaining blood failed to trigger an awakening in anyone else—even though the blood hadn’t lost its vitality and the energy within it was still imnse.
’Does that an one S-class sea beast can only awaken a single person?’
’If that’s true, then for the opportunity I got from Xuanwu... even if it bleeds profusely again, no one else will be able to awaken an ability from it?’
Shi Ming rubbed his chin, speculating.
In a single afternoon, he had read through all the docunts from the safe, gaining a general understanding of the power of a King-level Wandering Ship.
The power of Lighthouse’s Awakened might not have been the strongest among the seven king ships, but it was by no ans weak. Furthermore, it had perfectly inherited the military armants and advanced technology of Arica from the Land Era. All of its past research achievents had been transplanted onto the Lighthouse, turning it into a perfect, colossal fortress.
Compared to his Silver ship, it was a missile to a hunting rifle.
’I can’t get ahead of myself. This ship of mine is already amazing.’
’Besides, I have a Sailing Heart now. I just need to collect 1,000 High-Level Sea Crystal Stones, and I can upgrade my canoe into a Marshal-level wandering ship.’
’A small, nimble, Marshal-level wandering ship... it might be the only one of its kind in the entire world.’
’This Silver ship can also be upgraded continuously. Then I’ll have one big and one small, and they can complent each other.’
’Even though I’m just one person, I might not be weaker than so of the major powers!’
He closed the intelligence report in his hands and looked out the window.
The sunset over the ocean was srizing,
but his eyes were full of conviction.
The conviction to beco stronger.
...
...
...
「Black Society.」
"Baka!"
"You bastard!"
"You should be in the ship’s Shrine, committing seppuku!"
Yan Dao Lin’s eyes blazed with boundless fury, as if he wanted to incinerate Great Wilderness where he stood.
If he didn’t still need Great Wilderness to take responsibility for this whole affair, the bullets in the pistol at his hip would have already beco an extension of his rage, blasting into Great Wilderness’s head—
...
「Two hours earlier.」
Yan Dao Lin had been ecstatic. He’d summoned his subordinate, Great Wilderness, the ship’s Third-level Governor, to his office. With a voice trembling from excitent, he told him the news. That treasure he’d "confiscated" from so backwater ship—the nautical chart his researchers had rated as rely "C-class"—was actually the Map of the Endless Sea, ranked 108th in the *Catalog of the Endless Ocean’s Curiosities*!
Ranked 108th!
Only five ranks lower than the White Dragon Whale, which could allow soone to awaken an S-class ability!
Yan Dao Lin’s tone held unconcealable joy.
’What does that an?’
’This is a golden opportunity to earn great rit!’
But he was puzzled. When his subordinate heard the news, his body had begun to tremble slightly.
As the ship’s General of the Sea Expedition, Yan Dao Lin was a seasoned veteran; not the slightest hint of anything unusual escaped his notice.
This didn’t look like joy.
It looked more like panic...
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