「Half a day later.」

Xuan Yao’s black King-level Wandering Ship, the *Dayun*, followed Shi Ming’s orders and arrived at the Sea of Boiling.

Shi Ming returned to his vessel.

The remains of the Abyss Lord, along with some of the vile tentacles that had been cleanly severed earlier, were all collected into his Captain’s Space. They joined the Great Black Heaven Dragon, becoming future upgrade materials and "fertilizer" for the three saplings. The bodies of the two Holy Hall-level Sea Beasts took up a significant amount of room, making the originally vast Captain’s Space seem somewhat cramped.

But thankfully, the miraculous plants could make the most of everything.

When it came to utilizing Sea Beast Flesh and Blood, Shi Ming was not one to waste even a scrap.

The planted Fruit of Eternal Youth and Bodhi Tree of Suffering had already sprouted saplings and were growing vigorously.

The Jianmu plant was also flourishing.

The fruit growing on the Jianmu, in particular, had become even plumper after absorbing the Sea Beast Flesh and Blood of the Holy Hall-level beasts. Shi Ming planned to nurture it for a while before eating it to obtain the so-called "traversal" power. Only with this power could he possibly pass through the thick mantle and enter the outer region of the Earth Core that the Three-Eyed Golden Crow had glimpsed, to retrieve the strange object suspected to be "Fenyuan"!

"Fenyuan" wasn’t at the bottom of the sea, but in the outer region of the Earth Core.

It was even deeper than the abyssal depths where the Abyss Lord had resided.

With Shi Ming’s current physical strength, he could easily withstand the water pressure at 10,000 meters or even deeper, moving freely at the bottom of the sea without using the Calm Sea Pearl. However, he wasn’t confident he could traverse the crust and mantle to reach the outer Earth Core, 2,800,000 meters underground.

That place wasn’t liquid seawater, but solid rock and asthenosphere. With the current infrastructure levels of the major powers, they couldn’t even penetrate the interior of Mount Everest, let alone delve into the Earth Core! He feared that only by using the Jianmu’s "traversal" ability could he enter with ease.

As for the "Creation Star Core," it was the very core of this planet.

’Taking it out seems impossible, but I wonder... what strange things would happen if I used the Infinite Brain to perform a Breaking the Boundary upgrade on it?’

...

...

...

As the current primary person-in-charge of Black Gold, Xivier followed the *Dayun* and came to the Sea of Boiling personally.

After three days of cooling, the temperature on the outskirts of the Sea of Boiling was now a normal forty to fifty degrees. Even in the former inner sea, the temperature was barely over a hundred. The spectacle of boiling seawater was gone. Any ordinary Gold-level Wandering Ship with adequate protection could sail here freely.

"Stone Patrol Envoy, the sea beast in the Sea of Boiling...?"

"It’s dead."

Although she had already suspected it, Xivier was ecstatic when she heard Shi Ming’s confirmation! The pressure weighing on her from head to toe instantly vanished, and she felt light enough to float to the sky.

In just a few short days, the Africa Sea Area had been cleared of two major threats. She had been scanning the area on her way here; this former forbidden zone didn’t even have a single sea beast left!

She immediately performed Black Gold’s highest ceremonial bow to Shi Ming.

This was to express the profound gratitude of the King-level Wandering Ship, *Black Gold*.

Coincidentally, Shi Ming also had some questions he wanted to discuss with this scholarly Commander. He had many queries, including but not limited to the whereabouts and appearance of Black Gold’s Grand Commander, whether the young woman with mechanical limbs seen in the prophecy was indeed their Grand Commander, and whether Black Gold had found any leads on other Divine Revelation Steles.

"I have a few questions I’d like to ask."

"Stone Patrol Envoy, please feel free to ask anything."

The two entered the inner cabin of the *Dayun*.

This was Xivier’s third time boarding the *Dayun*, but Shi Ming hadn’t been present on the previous two occasions, so she hadn’t toured the wandering ship in depth. Now, following Shi Ming, she was able to see the *Dayun’s* internal structure and facilities, and the shock in her eyes grew more pronounced.

Perfect layout, exotic materials,

understated yet luxurious.

It wasn’t just a wandering ship, but a work of art. She feared that even the master cabin designers of the Land Era would have found it difficult to create a space that so perfectly blended practicality and artistry.

Crew members brought out a pot of rare, high-quality tea—this was the Dragon Country People’s way of hospitality.

Whether there was business to discuss or not, one first drank tea.

The two fell into casual conversation.

They talked about everything from the Land Era of over thirty years ago to the current Wandering Era.

"I heard from Elder Zhou of Da Yu that the six great King-level Wandering Ships guard the Endless Ocean, securing a safe haven for humanity on the seas. Each King-level Wandering Ship has a ’Navigator’. Da Yu’s is Elder Zhou, Twelve Stars’ is Abraham, and Lighthouse’s is Trellin. Although Trellin has resigned from his position as Supreme Governor, he is still the Navigator."

"But Black Gold’s Navigator... doesn’t seem to be on board the *Black Gold*?"

Shi Ming was inquiring about an internal secret of a King-level Wandering Ship.

Xivier had no intention of hiding it from the Patrol Envoy.

"That is indeed the case."

"Grand Commander Beyoncé left the *Black Gold* many years ago."

"Fifteen years ago, while suppressing the Nameless Cocoon, the *Black Gold* was attacked by another mysterious sea beast. That beast was especially terrifying. It could turn a stretch of sea into a bizarre Light Cone World. Within that world, all actions requiring a check were completely probabilistic. Even for an S-rank Awakened, hitting or dodging the sea beast’s attacks required rolling a Light Cone to pass a check."

"Only on a successful check could you land a hit. On a failed check, all attacks would miss."

A chill went through Shi Ming.

’The number two ranked S-class skill, Destiny Light Cone!’

Ah Jian had told him about it before.

During combat, it forcibly transforms the surrounding area into an inescapable Light Cone Space. All actions and attacks must be determined by rolling a Twenty-sided Light Cone Dice engraved with numbers. The basic logic was very similar to a game Shi Ming had once played: *Baldur’s Gate*.

And the owner of the Destiny Light Cone could cheat!

’It seems *Black Gold* was truly unlucky.’

’Internal troubles and external threats.’

’The number three ranked Nameless Cocoon on the inside, and the number two ranked mysterious creature on the outside.’

"What happened then?"

"The mysterious sea beast’s assault was ferocious. Even sending a distress signal to other wandering ships required a roll of over 19 to succeed. Left with no choice, the Grand Commander played the King-level Wandering Ship’s trump card. She activated the navigation core in a special way to request aid from Wandering Ship 001."

"Oh?"

Shi Ming knew that every King-level Wandering Ship could request aid from Wandering Ship 001 once through the Skynet.

The cost, however, was immense.

When facing the Great Black Heaven Dragon’s attack, Trellin hadn’t taken that step, even when he was at the end of his rope.

"The distress signal reached its destination instantly via the Skynet. The *Black Gold* was briefly controlled by the Skynet, borrowing enough power to match the mysterious sea beast. The beast vanished after being suppressed, and the *Black Gold* was saved from its predicament. But the aid wasn’t free. The *Nirvana* gave Beyoncé two options that only she knew. She chose the latter. Three months later, she left with the *Nirvana*, and her current whereabouts are unknown."