Two choices?

The Nirvana gave two choices, and Black Gold’s Grand Commander, Beyoncé, chose the latter?

Shi Ming was starting to get the picture.

Fifteen years ago, Black Gold was facing internal and external crises. Its founder, Beyoncé, used a final resort to obtain aid from the Nirvana. The price was that "three months later," Beyoncé had to leave Black Gold with the Nirvana. She has been missing for all these years, and her current whereabouts are unknown.

The "three months" timeline was intriguing.

’Could it be that it takes the Nirvana three months to travel from the stars back to Earth?’

There was something else that puzzled Shi Ming.

The Grand Commander’s appearance.

"I wonder, second-in-command, do you have a photo of your Grand Commander?"

"A photo?"

Although Xivier didn’t know why Shi Ming was so interested in these old matters, she still nodded.

From her personal honeycomb, she took out a device that resembled a Land Era cellphone and, in just half a minute, pulled up a photo. It showed a woman with wheat-colored skin and all four limbs intact. She looked like a mix of African and European, and indeed she was.

It was said that she was a descendant of the Fengdan People who had remained in Africa during the Land Era.

Aside from the age not matching up, the appearance was remarkably similar.

’Could mechanical modification also make someone younger?’

Since her limbs had been amputated and replaced with mechanical ones, a change in age wasn’t that hard to accept. With just one glance at the photo, Shi Ming could confirm it: the woman standing behind the Nirvana’s captain in the prophecy was Black Gold’s Grand Commander!

And she called the Nirvana’s captain "Master"!

’Is this the "price"?’

’This Grand Commander would rather lose herself than choose the other path. It’s clear the alternative price must have been even more unacceptable.’

Xivier, in turn, was also growing puzzled.

The Stone Patrol Envoy was only twenty-two or twenty-three years old, undoubtedly born in the Wandering Era. Fifteen years ago, he would have been just a child of seven or eight. Why was he so interested in these old matters that no one talked about anymore?

Could it be that he had a related clue?

Or was he just curious why Black Gold had no founder?

She didn’t press the matter.

The two chatted for a while longer.

As for the remaining Divine Revelation Steles, Black Gold had no leads either. In their normal state, the scattered smaller steles looked just like ordinary rocks. It was hard to discover their value without close observation or detection.

The probability of finding them on the Endless Ocean was simply too low.

During this exchange, after Black Gold promised not to conduct any dangerous experiments on the Abyss Lord’s remains, Shi Ming agreed to sell them more of the remains.

They would be stationed in the Sea of Boiling region in the future to explore and excavate this Lost Sea.

They also promised to inform Shi Ming immediately of any other research discoveries.

After seeing his guests off,

Ah Jian’s voice appeared in Shi Ming’s mind.

"Master."

"Her Spiritual Power showed no unusual fluctuations, so she probably wasn’t lying. During the two years I was suppressed, I used my Spiritual Power to view the Black Gold Files. They did record that their Grand Commander left on a mission fifteen years ago; after that, there were no further records."

"As for the Destiny Light Cone."

"Because of the seal from the Sealed Prison, I had not awakened my consciousness fifteen years ago. Therefore, I can’t confirm if such a sea beast truly attacked Black Gold, and I can’t sense its presence now. I only understand the essence of that skill through some memories from a past life."

No one would turn down the chance to be a favorite of destiny.

To have all your wishes come true, to be favored by fate.

And no one could refuse the chance to play a hacked version of *Baldur’s Gate* on the Endless Ocean, where you could cheat the dice rolls at any time.

Even Shi Ming, who possessed three Holy Hall Tier skills, coveted the Destiny Light Cone. However, since Black Gold had sought help from the Nirvana back then, the sea beast had likely already been killed by the Nirvana, which could interfere with the Endless Ocean via its Skynet.

But destiny was a wondrous thing.

The Wheel of Destiny could find low-probability tributaries of fate to turn defeat into victory; perhaps the Destiny Light Cone also had a way to escape.

’If it really did escape, and I run into it, I’ll just kill it.’

With matters in the Sea of Boiling concluded, Shi Ming now needed to return to the Sea of Silence to meet Ptolemy’s envoy and obtain Tutankhamun’s Golden Mask.

The Dayun set sail on its return journey.

The Three-Eyed Golden Crow stood on the Dayun’s watchtower, radiating golden light as it watched over the sea.

Ah Jian remained curled up discreetly in Shi Ming’s collar.

The Dayun’s crew were now all A-rank or B-rank Awakened. This group of his longest-serving crew members could each now be considered an elite on the Endless Ocean. Unwittingly, the forces under his command had become first-rate.

In terms of top-tier combat power, they were second to none.

"Stone Patrol Envoy, this is Ptolemy’s apology."

"He sincerely apologizes to you."

"He, too, was deceived by Jia Fang. Now that the main culprit is dead, Ptolemy will, as per your previous agreement, offer up all his personal wealth. The Pharaoh will abolish its captain system, establish a command center, and become a general-class wandering ship under Black Gold."

"We hope you can forgive his transgressions, which were born of ignorance."

Shi Ming looked at the treasures the "apology delegation" brought forward.

A golden mask resting on an ornate tray—the Tutankhamun’s Golden Mask. Thirteen Golden Boxes contained the Ptolemy Clan’s wealth. The 20,000 Pure Dome Crystals would be delivered in installments.

"Ptolemy is a smart one."

"He knows he’s offended too many people and is afraid of retaliation, so after taking this huge loss, he’s throwing his lot in completely with Black Gold. I won’t bother with these matters. Yellow Spear, Yellow Cannon, go and take inventory of these Pure Dome Crystals and treasures, then report back to me. Captain Ah Bu, you may also return and report that your task is complete."

Ah Bu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you for your mercy."

Once the treasures were handed over, Shi Ming picked up the mask and returned to the captain’s cabin.

Tutankhamun’s Golden Mask, the 54th-ranked Wonder.

"Eye of Destiny, acquire intelligence."

Shi Ming needed its detailed information.

[BEEP... BEEP...]

[Compiling intelligence...]

[Searching... Confirming detailed coordinates... Search successful. Summarizing intelligence... Intelligence report generated:]

[Tutankhamun’s Golden Mask]

[The golden mask worn by the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun after his death. He hoped it would allow him to enter the kingdom of the dead and obtain the power of eternal life. After the dawn of the Wandering Era, the deathly aura that lay dormant within for a millennium began to stir, granting it new powers and abilities.]

[The wearer of the mask can hide all traces of a living being’s aura, allowing them to walk in the realm of the dead as if they were an inanimate object.]

[The wearer of the mask no longer needs to rely on air, food, energy, or any other sustenance. Their current state is fixed, allowing them to continue surviving.]

[The wearer of the mask can, through the mask’s eyes, see the last three seconds of a creature’s life from its perspective.]