Captain Shen Guanquan had spent a huge amount of supplies and food — and even traded a rare relic — just to obtain the Pirate Ship Blueprint.“Boss, why don’t we just set up a meeting with that kid and rob him afterward?”asked a burly bald man with a scar across his face.“Rob, rob, rob — that’s all you ever think about!”Shen Guanquan smacked the man’s shiny head in irritation.“If I hear you say the word ‘rob’ one more time, I’ll toss you overboard to feed the fish!”“You’re ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ right, boss! I’ll never say ‘rob’ again!”“You just said it!Men, throw him overboard to feed the fish!”No one even had to force him — the bald man obediently leapt into the sea himself.He was Captain Zhao Tie, of the Ironhead, nicknamed Zhao Ironhead.True to his name, he was a thick-headed idiot — but also Shen Guanquan’s most loyal subordinate.“Alright, once you’ve cooled off, go back to your Ironhead, you moron,”Shen muttered helplessly.Truth be told, he had also considered meeting Yang Yi in person —but that guy was extremely cautious, not even adding friends, so there was no chance of a meeting.Shen looked down at the Pirate Ship Blueprint in his hand.“Now… how should I use this?”He pondered.He didn’t intend to use it himself — being the captain of a pirate ship clashed with the righteous, noble image he wanted to build.A normal ship made him seem more approachable — and that suited his plans.What he wanted to establish… was a maritime empire.The first step was to cement his reputation as a great and virtuous leader,making it easier to recruit followers early on...One day later — aboard the Nyxstar.Yang Yi was fishing.【You caught a Long-Legged Sardine】【You caught a Long-Legged Sardine】【You caught a Rotten Log】【You caught an Eyeball Fruit】【You caught...】【......】Yang Yi tossed his fishing rod aside and flopped onto the deck in defeat.Beside him lay a pile of long-legged sardines and several eyeball fruits.Why was it all junk fish!?He began doubting life — but only for a few seconds before regaining his composure.After so much fishing, Yang Yi had figured it out:In this sea region, you’d mostly catch long-legged sardines,sometimes eyeball fruits or swollen pufferfish,and very rarely, a Redlip Eel.“Maybe I should try the deep-water zone?”He acted on the thought immediately — baited his hook with a long-legged sardine, removed the float, and began deep-sea fishing.He’d once caught a Hammerhead Devil Shark —if he could land another one of those, he’d make a fortune.Those things were basically gacha eggs!He had upgraded his gear, upgraded his ship,and with Suna’s archery, they could easily take one down now.While waiting for a bite, he browsed the world channel,hoping to buy some kind of fire-making tool.Those were in huge demand right now — he’d already seen them listed twice,but failed to snag either.Meanwhile, many new organizations were recruiting.For example, the Sakura had formed a group called New Humanity,recruiting only people from the Sakura Nation.There were others — New Rome, Eden — clearly formed by foreigners.He checked Eden’s public coordinates — they were very far away.It seemed survivors from different regions had spawned vastly apart;it’d probably take ages before any real contact.Unable to buy a fire-making tool, Yang Yi posted his own wanted ad:“Buying fire-making tools at high price.Also purchasing down jackets or other warm clothing.”Not long after, his inbox was flooded — mostly people selling clothes.“Down jacket, 150 fabric each — buy 4, I’ll give you a 5% discount!”Yang Yi ignored it immediately.More messages came in one after another.After browsing through them, he found the cheapest down jacket was 120 fabric,meaning 480 fabric for four pieces.Cotton coats were a bit cheaper —he decided to wait a few more days to see if prices dropped.Suddenly, the reel on his fishing rod started spinning rapidly — something had bitten!Yang Yi tightened the line and pulled hard.Not a huge catch — the strength wasn’t great.Within eight minutes, he’d hauled it up.It was a human head —to be exact, a human-headed octopus.The “head” was just a disguise; the body below was all tentacles.“Excuse me... can I trouble you for a moment—”Before it could finish, Yang Yi stomped it to death.“Disgusting.”He cursed, rebaited with another long-legged sardine, and kept fishing.Fishing in deep water was much slower.By the end of the day, he had caught three things:a human-headed octopus, a redlip eel, and a bronze treasure chest.Normally, catching a bronze chest would be reason to celebrate —but Yang Yi felt a sense of dread instead.He’d fished up dead things before — like the Farmer’s Three Punches.Those corpses never tugged at the line.But this Bronze Treasure Chest had struggled fiercely —it had taken him half an hour of pulling before it came up.The chest was about half a meter wide, covered in heavy corrosion,with saltwater marks and a patch of red coral growing in one corner.He read the info window:【Name: Waterlogged Bronze Chest】【Type: Treasure Chest】【Description: There might be treasures inside… but maybe not…】It looked just like that Waterlogged Rottenwood Chest he’d opened before —the one that released a human-headed octopus and nearly scared him to death.So this one might also hide a monster.Staying cautious, Yang Yi didn’t open it by hand.He noticed the fishing line led directly into the chest,meaning the bait had been swallowed by the chest itself!He took a step back — flintlock in his left hand,and a wooden spear in his right — and tried to pry the chest open.“It’s tight!”The lid wouldn’t budge, and the spear tip snapped.He tied a sea serpent fang to the spear,then jabbed the short blade into the seam.Suddenly, he felt like he’d stabbed something soft —the chest let out a strange screech and burst open.A jet of black water shot out, but Yang Yi had been ready and dodged aside.“What the hell — a mimic?”【You are frightened. Sanity -5.】Inside the chest was pale, fleshy tissue.He must have cut something vital,because the thing writhed violently —then, after spitting that black water, went still.Just in case, Yang Yi stabbed it several more times.A clear fluid seeped out, and finally it stopped moving.The water jet, he realized, was its only attack,slightly corrosive — it left white smoke where it hit the deck.【Name: Clam Mimic】【Type: Food】【Description: A bivalve mollusk that takes over treasure chests as its shell after maturing.It spits a corrosive acid to catch small fish.It loves collecting shiny objects —you may find conch coins and other sparkling treasures inside it.Non-toxic. Edible after removing the organs.】“So it’s basically a sea clam…”Yang Yi slit open the flesh with the serpent fang and dug inside.The meat layer was thin —underneath was a pile of shiny trinkets the clam had collected,and a fist-sized pearl.【You obtained: Conch Coins ×600】【You obtained: Healing Pearl】【You obtained: Crystal ×50】【You obtained: Stone ×20】

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