Journey Through the Storm

The storm has intensified. Be cautious of floating debris in the sea.

Location: The Sea of Origins (Storm Zone)

Sunlight: Unknown

Temperature: 13-18°C

Wind Strength: Level 9

Lucas Hall and Seraphina have been traveling together as a fleet for two days now.

During these two days, they've not seen the sun even once. The sea is pitch black, with visibility limited.

The wind has also increased, and the waves are turbulent. The ship's speed, which would usually be dozens of knots, is barely holding half of that.

When the storm began, the wind was at level 4, which was the perfect time to travel. However, Lucas was mesmerized by a sea siren and missed the golden opportunity to move ahead. As a result, they were far behind, now at the tail end of the main group.

From the chat channels, he learned that his friend, Captain Xu Da of the Swift Gale, had already broken free from the storm zone last night.

His ship was the fastest in the game, reaching speeds up to 70 knots—if it were level two, it would likely be even faster.

He had sent out a message: Outside the storm zone, it's calm, with bright sunshine! Over the next two days, many faster ships will break free from the storm zone.

Unfortunately, Lucas and Seraphina were stuck in the middle of the storm.

"Damn it!"

Lucas hadn't slept in days, his eyes bloodshot, his temper short.

He drank a bottle of vitality coconut juice, regaining some energy, and then sent Seraphina a private message.

"Seraphina, are there no islands or reefs ahead?"

He didn't want to foolishly crash into an island or get stranded on a reef.

"No, stop bothering me. This is a critical time!"

Seraphina hadn't shown her face since returning to the Astrology ship two days ago.

"What are you actually doing?" Lucas asked.

But Seraphina didn't reply.

She was in the cabin of the Astrology, sitting at a wooden table. Nearby, there was a crystal ball the size of a basketball, displaying a map of the surrounding sea area within a 100-mile radius.

However, her attention wasn't on the map. Instead, it was focused on the corpse of a sea siren on the table.

Using a witch's dagger as a scalpel, Seraphina carefully cut open the siren's skin, inspecting its intricate vascular and neural structures. She was trying to determine the organ makeup, and taking detailed notes.

Some organs had already been completely removed, including the brain and eyeballs, which were now preserved in glass jars.

She had used quite a bit of material to obtain those jars, but it was all worth it now.

"This sea siren… its body has many flaws. It's more like a half-mermaid. Inside, there's a rejection response, as if someone forcibly combined human and fish organs. They're rejecting each other. The siren needs to eat humans to ease this rejection…"

She murmured to herself, continuing to write.

"But it seems this rejection is weakening over time. If it fully disappears, the siren's body might undergo new changes…"

Meanwhile, Lucas was still at the helm, carefully dodging floating debris pushed by the sea currents.

Under normal circumstances, many would gladly use grappling hooks to collect these floating objects. But right now, everyone was avoiding them like the plague.

The debris was large, fast-moving, and some even appeared to be shipwreck fragments—perhaps from some unfortunate player.

Lucas couldn't afford to relax for even a moment, his nerves constantly on edge as he steered the ship clear of the hazards.

His Nightmare ship was fragile, with only 600 durability. The ship was made of rotten wood, far from sturdy.

Just three collisions had already reduced its durability by over 100 points!

If this continued, his ship would fall apart in no time!

Lucas was starting to think about using the Pirate Ship blueprint to make some repairs.

But the system warned that the current environment was unsafe and didn't allow for modifications.

With no other options, he continued to push forward.

At the same time, Lucas was monitoring the world channel, keeping an eye on any developments in the sea.

Mostly, there were bad news and complaints from other players.

"Dammit... The wind's too strong. I think I turned the wrong way. Can anyone tell me the direction?"

"How much longer?! I'm in a hurry!"

"Buying wood at a high price! I've got millions in my bank account, I'll give you all of it for just 10 units of wood!"

"Idiot!"

"Shit, my ship is leaking! Who's selling wood? I'll buy it for 30 Conch Coins per unit!"

Wood was highly valuable right now because it could be used to repair ships, and it was extremely hard to come by.

Sometimes, 1 unit of wood could sell for 50 Conch Coins—an astronomical price!

"Something's attacking my ship from below!"

Suddenly, a message caught Lucas' attention.

This could be a new change in the sea—monsters are attacking!

The incident quickly drew the attention of other players. They were all asking questions.

"Bro, did you really hear that clearly? Are you sure it's not a collision with something?"

"No, I'm already in the cabin. The ship keeps shaking, something's definitely hitting it!"

"My god!"

"Haha, here come the monsters! You guys have fun, I can already see the border! I'm out!"

"Help! It's a fishman..."

The message was abruptly cut off. The person likely died, and the system broadcasted their unfinished final words.

Lucas grew tense.

A spray of seawater hit his face, cold to the bone.

He immediately contacted Seraphina.

"Seraphina, there might be monsters in the sea. We need to prepare! What's going on with your side?" Lucas asked.

Seraphina had just finished her dissection. Her face was flushed from excitement, her eyes bloodshot.

She let out a deep breath, calming herself, before responding.

"Just a second…"

She took another breath and then spoke into the communicator.

"What's up?"

"How's your ship's durability?" Lucas asked.

"Almost no damage."

"Good. Head to the Nightmare ship. I'll give you permission to repair it and restore its durability. Stay there, though. It could get dangerous if we're separated!"

"Understood!"

Seraphina agreed.

She gathered her precious organ specimens, then grabbed the crystal ball and made her way to the Nightmare ship.

The two ships were tethered together by ropes and grappling hooks, with the distance between them close. Under normal conditions, they could easily move between them by placing a plank.

But now, the ships were both rocking in the waves, so it was safer to climb across instead.

Seraphina climbed over the plank, stepping onto the Nightmare ship. Lucas immediately called her into the cabin.

"I've given you the permissions. Use stone to craft a stone hammer, then repair the Nightmare to full durability. Stay here after that. We may encounter monsters soon, and it's dangerous to be separated!"