The captain of the Hope wasn't lying; he was right at the given coordinates.But his ship was no special vessel. It was a perfectly ordinary, run-of-the-mill galleon with absolutely zero distinguishing features. The word "Hope" painted on the sails was probably his own handiwork. He must have changed the ship's name himself, since normal ships got one free name change. Special ships, on the other hand, couldn't be renamed unless they were merged…Several other ships were tethered to the Hope with ropes. The crystal ball's image couldn't show them all clearly, but Yang Yi could still make out a few of them.One ship was huge, with what looked like fields on its deck where people were farming—that had to be the Farmer.Another was dark and covered in iron plating, with a massive, sharp battering ram on its bow. That was probably the Iron Head.Then there was another ship that just happened to surface from the sea as he watched. Its hull was completely sealed, and it seemed to be capable of diving… Yang Yi had no idea what this one was called, so for now, he'd just call it the "Submarine."Yang Yi also got a look at the captain of the Hope himself. He was an imposing man dressed in a pristine white captain's uniform, not a single thread out of place. It was a mystery how he managed to unite all these people…Yang Yi couldn't see Shen Guan-quan's talents. If he could, he wouldn't be so confused.Shen Guan-quan had two talents.[Psychological Suggestion: Through verbal stimulation, you can increase or decrease your own or a target's attributes and sanity. Attribute changes are limited to ±1 (excluding Spirit), and sanity changes are limited to ±20. Individuals with high Spirit can resist this suggestion. This effect can be used once every 24 hours and lasts for 24 hours.] (Cannot exceed mortal limits)[Great Leadership: You are a natural-born leader, easily gaining the favor and trust of others, causing them to lower their guard. The growth rate of your followers is increased by 25% (excluding Spirit). Individuals with high Spirit may be immune to this effect.]How long had the Great Sea Chart been open? Less than a day!It was impossible for Shen Guan-quan to have gathered so many players in such a short time. The only possibility was that they had all banded together long before the sea chart was even available. Maybe they ran into each other by chance, or maybe they were all caught up in the same event. Yang Yi had no way of knowing.At the moment, he had zero interest in joining a gang. Without cannons, he didn't want to get tangled up with other players. It would put him at a huge disadvantage. Not to mention the requirement of handing over all his equipment and supplies. That was basically putting his entire life and fortune in someone else's hands.Yang Yi had his detailed sea chart, which allowed him to effectively avoid other players. This was one of the reasons he’d agreed to build the Witch Lab first.But now, the world channel was flooding with various organizations, all trying to recruit members. This put a ton of pressure on Yang Yi. It was fine for now, but as these organizations grew, the resources and living space for solo players like him would be squeezed.I have to get strong enough on my own… or maybe join a fleet, but only if I have absolute freedom…Yang Yi was used to holding his own fate in his hands.He found Shen Guan-quan's message and sent him a private message. The guy probably had a ton of resources, making him a good trading partner. And as it happened, Yang Yi had a blueprint he could sell him."Your ship is a normal one, right? I've got a blueprint for a special ship. Interested in buying?" Yang Yi attached the information for the Pirate Ship blueprint."Who are you, and how do you know so much?""Don't worry about that. I'm just here to make a deal," Yang Yi replied, having contacted him anonymously.The other side went silent for a few minutes before responding."Since you have a blueprint, you should understand that normal ships upgrade faster than special ones. I'm not in a hurry to use a blueprint. Besides, this Pirate Ship blueprint isn't what I'm looking for."That one simple sentence had a shit-ton of hidden meanings.First, this wasn't the first ship blueprint he'd ever seen… which implied he had killed players before, and that they'd had special ships. A sudden chill ran down Yang Yi's spine. Those special ships around the Hope… maybe their current captains weren't their original owners.Second, he was saying the Pirate Ship blueprint wasn't his ideal choice, so he wasn't going to offer a high price.Things like blueprints hadn't been sold openly on the world channel yet, so their market price was unknown. Yang Yi thought for a moment and decided to test the waters with a ridiculously high price. With the Farmer in his fleet, the guy was probably rolling in resources."I want two months' worth of long-lasting food, 200L of fresh water, 1200 wood, 800 cloth, 400 stone, 100 crystals, 100 steel, 5000 Conch Coins, and a fire-starting tool from your ship, like a lighter."A minute later, Shen Guan-quan's reply came."You've got some fucking nerve! I don't want it. That blueprint isn't worth as much as you think!""Fine by me. See ya!" Yang Yi shot back immediately.The blueprint wasn't valuable? Bullshit! He could bullshit a ghost with that line. Special ships were limited, and the bigger the gap between them and normal ships grew, the higher the level they reached. The further into the game they got, the more valuable blueprints would become! He wasn't worried about finding a buyer.Sure enough, a moment later, a friend request from Shen Guan-quan popped up.[Hope's Captain Shen Guan-quan has sent you a friend request.]Yang Yi rejected it instantly. He wasn't about to reveal his identity. If he accepted, the other guy would know both his name and his ship's name."You really are overly cautious! Have you considered joining my New World Fleet? I can give you a very high starting position.""Are you trying to get my blueprint for free? Not a chance!""Hehe….." Shen Guan-quan sent a smiley face emoji. "Your price is too high, and I can't afford that much right now. How about this…""I'm stockpiling non-perishable rations myself, so I can only give you one month's worth. The other month I'll have to substitute with fresh food, like vegetables, fruit, and fish. As for the materials, I can give you half of what you asked for, at most. I've got a lot of ships on my end that are in a hurry to upgrade. 5000 Conch Coins is no problem, but the fire-starter… I can't produce those, and I have a limited number. I have to be responsible for the safety of my crew, so I can't sell it to you!""But I'll give you a rare-quality spatial item. Its value is definitely high enough!"He attached the item's information.[Name: Greedy Stomach Pouch][Type: Relic][Quality: Precious][Description: The stomach of an unknown beast, which remains active even after being detached. It has an internal space of 10 cubic meters for storage, but it must be fed food every time it is opened, otherwise it will bite you.][P.S.: Cannot be used to store food. Aberration corpses will be ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) eaten down to the bone and shell, but this does not affect the gachapon drops.]Yang Yi gasped after reading the item's info. This Shen Guan-quan guy was loaded! And this stomach pouch was a pleasant surprise. Yang Yi really wanted it. But an item like this had to have some major side effects, something more than just "biting you." It definitely drained your sanity with each use, which must be why Shen Guan-quan was willing to trade it.So he feigned reluctance. "This stomach pouch of yours is a Relic. Does it drain your sanity every time you open it?""Uhh… I won't lie to you, it drains 20 sanity. If you don't want it, I have other things, but their quality isn't as high.""Never mind!" Yang Yi quickly cut him off. "That's fine, I'll take it! I want the high-quality item. I'll just have to control how often I use it!"The deal was smoothly finalized."Pleasure doing business with you. If you have anything else to sell in the future, you can contact me first. I'll make sure the price is fair!""If I have something, I'll reach out."Yang Yi exited the chat channel. The blueprint was finally sold. In terms of its potential future value, Yang Yi might have taken a small loss. But for now, getting such a price for it was already fantastic!He tossed the blueprint into the octopus-head gachapon machine, and a moment later, a massive amount of resources was credited to his ship. The octopus's mouth kept spitting out food: 20 loaves of black bread, 10 sausages, and a pile of dried fish. In addition, there were fresh vegetables, fruits, and fish, including 5 cabbages, 5 cucumbers, 1 apple, 1 pear, and one huge, fresh tuna. All told, it was enough food to last one person for sixty days.Finally, it spat out a shiny, black, palm-sized pouch. It was smooth to the touch, feeling a bit like a century egg. This was the [Greedy Stomach Pouch].Yang Yi tried to open the pouch, using all his might to just pry open a tiny slit. The bag immediately let out a loud shriek, scaring the crap out of him.[A strange noise. You have lost 5 Sanity.]"How the hell do you use this thing?"He tried holding out a piece of dried fish. This time, the bag reacted, sucking the jerky inside before obediently opening its mouth.Yang Yi tentatively stuck his hand inside. The sensation was a bit tingly, slimy, and very gross. The stomach pouch even let out a little giggle, as if it were being tickled.[You feel inexplicably disgusted. You have lost 10 Sanity.]Yang Yi frowned. The side effects of this thing were no joke. He doubted many people would dare to use it. The space inside was huge, though. Now he wouldn't have to worry about storage, and the pouch was perfect for hanging on his belt.He opened his log and checked his ship's data, confirming the materials had also arrived. The Conch Coins were deposited directly into his account."Did you sell something? Can you give me some more Conch Coins?" Suna's message arrived almost as if she could smell the money.This was the one downside of the shared ship interface; you couldn't hide your inventory.Yang Yi could only reply with a sigh. "I can give you another 1000, max. No more!"He transferred another 1000 over. Hopefully, Suna would produce some results soon. Otherwise, he really couldn't afford to keep her around!Yang Yi moved all the food into the ship's cabin and then went to install the Bobbit Worm's head. As soon as it was mounted, the head grew in size. When its jaws were open, it was a full ten meters wide. It looked terrifyingly lifelike and could be controlled from the helm. The jaws were incredibly sharp, but unfortunately, he had nothing to test them on right now.Next, he cast the red, glowing fishing net into the sea. He’d had this net for a long time but couldn't use it in the storm. Its effect was to automatically catch a certain number of items every so often.With everything set up, Yang Yi picked up his fishing rod and started fishing. There were still four hours until nightfall. He might as well catch a few fish; sitting around would just be a waste of time.

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