Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe-Chapter 121 - 119: The True Purpose of the Dinglan Pearl
Shi Ming sat in the "passenger cabin" of the Abyss Explorer. The lone attendant brought over a cup of Mentras Coffee, a specialty of the Twelve Stars.
Shi Ming accepted it graciously.
Thick steam rose from the coffee. Shi Ming placed it on the table beside him.
The other team members were also in the cabin, chatting amongst themselves. They seemed completely unfazed by a new member joining the team mid-mission.
Shi Ming deliberately acted reserved.
"Mr. Wright, it’s... it’s just one A-rank sea beast, yet so many distinguished veterans are on this mission. It wouldn’t be right for me to just jump in halfway... What if I’m the one who ends up killing it? Wouldn’t that mean I’d be stealing everyone’s credit?"
His tone struck the perfect balance: seven parts sincerity, three parts jest, and a dash of feigned modesty.
"Hahaha!"
"Don’t worry about it, young man! For us Awakened from the Black Gold Country, missions are secondary. Making new friends is what’s most important!"
"Don’t be so modest. We’ve all seen what you can do. With you on the team, the mission is that much more secure! Our objective is its blood. As long as we can get its blood and awaken another A-rank skill, we’ll all be satisfied. No one cares about things like credit!"
"Reyno is right."
"Dragon Country and my Vortex Country have been neighbors for generations. Seeing you, young man, I feel a real sense of kinship... Fighting side-by-side on this trip, maybe we can even strengthen the friendship between us."
Before Wright could reply, the other team members all chimed in.
All of them wanted this young man, who had casually killed a B-rank sea beast, to stay.
In their eyes, the more people on the team, the better. Besides, they needed more clueless newbies like him—the murkier the water, the easier it is to fish.
Shi Ming, however, was scoffing inwardly—
’Listen to all of you talk.’
’If I really did snatch the kill, you wouldn’t be so happy.’
"Brother Shi, there’s no need to be so formal in my team. The team’s goal is to kill the sea beast. Nothing else matters. Besides, with so many Awakened from all over the world participating, even though the beast is huge, our success is guaranteed. Perhaps our chance meeting today was fate, giving us all an opportunity to make new friends."
"Since you’ve put it that way, Mr. Wright, I’ll shamelessly impose and join you halfway through..."
"Hahaha! Let’s all introduce ourselves again and welcome our new member!"
...
The round of introductions concluded in an atmosphere of apparent sincerity. The other seven Awakened now knew Shi Ming, the A-rank Awakened from Dragon Country, and had a rough idea of the A-rank skill, Ice Annihilation, that he’d used to slay the giant crab.
Shi Ming, in turn, learned about the seven other A-rank Awakened.
One support, one defender, and five attackers.
It was easy to tell who the Awakened from Vortex Country was just by their appearance, but Shi Ming couldn’t figure out which one was "Miss Yan" from Lighthouse.
’She’s hidden herself well.’
The Abyss Explorer continued its journey beneath the rippling jade-green waves. Reyno from the Twelve Stars was currently at the helm, which gave Yize a moment of free time. She went to the small captain’s cabin to see her teacher.
"Teacher."
"Is something the matter, Yize?"
"Teacher, our team was already at seven members. We’ve spent days building chemistry, so why add someone new midway? And, although he’s strong, there’s no guarantee he’ll be a help to us. Why let him get involved and take on the risk as well?"
Wright looked down at the notebook in his hands and paused.
"Look at the other members. Aren’t they all welcoming to Stone? That kid isn’t as simple as he looks. He’s at least a dual A-rank Awakened. With him on board, he might be able to restrain the Deep Sea Titan at a critical moment, giving our plan a better chance of success."
"But... we still don’t know enough about him."
"That doesn’t matter. We don’t need partners; we need combat power. Of course, this isn’t us just using him. If this hunt is successful, every member will receive unimaginable benefits. That much is certain. Besides the one-time chance to Awaken a skill, the body of an S-rank sea beast is an incredibly rare resource. For an A-rank Awakened to participate in killing an S-rank sea beast... this is a golden opportunity." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
"Then, what if..."
Yize started to speak, but then paused.
She knew she couldn’t say what she was about to.
Wright looked up from his notebook and glanced at his apprentice.
"You want to ask what happens if we don’t succeed? A person’s life is so short. Most people live and die in mediocrity, never amounting to more than ordinary individuals. They’re like tiny parasites on this Endless Ocean, not knowing for whom they live, nor for whom they die. But those who become top-tier Awakened all rely on the heart of a champion. They don’t fear danger, and they don’t shrink from a challenge."
He closed the notebook in his hand.
"Even if we don’t succeed, this is an adventure that’s absolutely worth it, isn’t it?"
Yize said nothing.
The Abyss Explorer shuddered, and a powerful waterproof shield rose with a roar.
It began to dive.
Its descent was extremely fast. It probably wouldn’t take long to reach the bottom of the Mount Olympus ruins and encounter the A-rank sea beast, the "Cave Mother Insect."
A communicator hidden at Shi Ming’s waist let out an urgent buzz.
BEEP, BEEP.
The buzzing had a rapid frequency. Shi Ming knew from several clandestine meetings that this signal meant "Urgent."
Shi Ming patiently waited for a chance to be alone.
Seven minutes later, he went alone to the ship’s lavatory. After a careful check to confirm there were no listening or surveillance devices, he covered the communicator’s screen with his hand and checked the contents of the group chat.
By this time, four or five messages had already piled up in the channel.
[Lighthouse: Urgent!]
[Lighthouse: After in-depth communication and intelligence exchange with scholars from the Xirang Research Institute, we have confirmed that the Calm Sea Pearl, ranked #109, does indeed grant immunity to extreme undersea environments for 3 hours, allowing one to fight as if on land. But there’s another critical piece of intel—the master of the Calm Sea Pearl can revoke this privilege at any time.]
[Lighthouse: You must warn your department’s Miss Yan at the earliest opportunity. Be wary of Wright. During combat, she cannot rely too heavily on the Calm Sea Pearl’s effects.]
[Divine Comedy: Roger! She has been notified. However, the transmission speed of her communication device is far slower than the Let There Be Light channel. By the time Miss Yan receives the message, an hour may have already passed. According to the intel and plans she sent back earlier, they might already be deep under the sea and engaging in combat by then.]
[Divine Comedy: However, as an outstanding S-rank Awakened, Miss Yan will surely have her own awareness and combat judgment. She won’t be overly reliant on conditions created by other members.]
Shi Ming put away the communicator.
’This pack of foxes,’
’they really spend all their energy scheming against each other!’
