Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe-Chapter 44 - 42: Right Arm Red Pattern
In the Wandering Era, the ocean was the greatest pasture.
With seafaring survival fortresses like the Wandering Ships, aided by food production equipment, sea fish could be used as raw material. Then, with the wondrous power of Sea Crystal Stones, they could be miraculously converted into programmed food items like steamed buns, beef, noodles, and even pizza.
Barring major disasters like storms or fish tides, the crew had no problem getting enough to eat on a daily basis.
But eating the meat of a B-rank Sea Beast? Many people wouldn’t even dare to entertain such a thought!
B-rank Sea Beasts were a rare sight to begin with. If one were truly encountered, just escaping would be a luxury for the average person, let alone cutting off a leg for a meal. Therefore, everyone on board was in high spirits and full of anticipation for this post-battle feast.
The only one suffering was Old Yang in the kitchen.
At this moment, he was in the Wandering Ship’s kitchen, using a knife to painstakingly peel the sanity-draining, flesh-bud-covered octopus skin. Then, he took the most exquisite, tender meat, sliced it into pieces as thin as a cicada’s wing, and slowly arranged them on a metal platter.
This platter of sashimi was for the captain.
The slightly tougher meat was cut into one-centimeter cubes, coated in a powder made from dried sea fish protein and dried shrimp, and then rolled into balls. This was "Octopus Takoyaki."
As for the flesh-bud-covered skin, after being cleaned, it was cured with sea salt and then tossed with sour tree fruits picked from New Island. This dish was "Sour-Tossed Skin."
The ring-shaped suckers were cut off one by one and arranged on a plate with berries in the center. This was called "Stargazy Pie."
This one massive octopus leg was enough to feed everyone on board for a month.
After a long period of busy work, the creative and grand octopus banquet began amidst the evening breeze. The crewmen even started singing into the sea wind, celebrating their narrow escape from right under the nose of a giant Sea Beast.
And they even got to eat its meat.
Before long, plates of special hot food were brought out. These weren’t the pre-made meals produced by the machine, but dishes personally cooked by Old Yang, each one steaming hot.
"Grilled Octopus."
"Octopus Takoyaki."
"Steamed Octopus with Dried Shrimp."
"Stargazy Pie."
"Sour-Tossed Skin."
Shi Ming picked up a piece of his octopus sashimi with his chopsticks and placed it in his mouth.
’As expected, the meat of a Sea Beast is also filled with a mystical power. Though it can’t cause an Awakening, eating it regularly can definitely improve one’s physical constitution!’
Shi Ming savored the smooth tenderness of the octopus meat. In terms of value, this meat was no less precious than blue trout!
The crewmen, naturally, were overjoyed.
Plate after plate of strange-looking dishes were quickly devoured. The Wandering Ship drifted aimlessly on the sea as the crew celebrated their survival...
Live for today, and let tomorrow’s worries be for tomorrow.
...
「Captain’s Quarters.」
Shi Ming sat cross-legged on his bed, looking at the blood-red pattern on his right arm.
At first, he had thought this blood-red pattern was merely an external manifestation of the "Arm of Power."
Now, however, as he came to understand his body better, he realized that it was the red pattern, formed from the fusion of the ancient pendant and his own blood, that had brought about the system—not the other way around.
The power of this red pattern permeated his entire body, from his arm to his eyes, to his brain...
Three parts, three skills.
The red pattern could also domineeringly and rapidly plunder the power within Sea Beast Blood, greatly increasing the efficiency of Awakening.
’A cheat!’
Spanning two lifetimes, Shi Ming still had no idea about the origin of that ancient pendant. Where did his Employer get it? Why did they go to such great lengths to find him for the mission? Why was the confidential mission leaked, leading to him being hunted down with overwhelming force?
Shi Ming shook his head. His past life was over, and now he was reborn. Even if he wanted to investigate, he had no leads.
But at the very least, because of this red pattern, he now possessed the foundation to become one of the strong in this difficult, oceanic apocalypse!
The strong strive for greater strength.
’Right now, I have two S-rank defensive skills and a Golden Wandering Ship to save my life.’
’I have defensive skills, but my only means of attack is the 10x strength bonus from the Arm of Power. My methods are too limited. If I encounter an enemy who excels at long-range attacks, I’ll be at a huge disadvantage.’
’And if I come up against a giant Sea Beast, it’ll be even harder to win.’
’I need to acquire some powerful long-range attack methods... Hmm, for now, I can forget about gaining skills by bathing in Beast Blood. Any skill below A-rank will just be devoured. But A-rank Sea Beasts are incredibly hard to find, and hunting them is even more difficult.’
’My only option is to rely on external items.’
He glanced at the pistol hanging from his belt.
’I need to upgrade the level of my weapon as soon as possible.’
After pondering many plans, the night deepened, and Shi Ming drifted off to sleep.
BEEP...
BEEP...
The walkie-talkie crackled to life.
It was Lin Hai, the deputy leader of the exploration team in charge of the night watch.
"What is it?" Shi Ming asked.
It was around 11:30 PM. At night, one-third of the crew was scheduled for rotating shifts and guard duty. Shi Ming had also authorized the team leaders to wake him directly if anything came up.
"Captain, the monitoring system has detected an abnormal concentration of Sea Crystal Stones in our current sea region!"
"Oh?"
Shi Ming rolled over, sat up in bed, got to his feet, threw on his sailing coat, and walked out of the captain’s quarters.
An abnormal concentration of Sea Crystal Stones was a good thing. What he needed most right now were High-Level Sea Crystal Stones.
However, sea regions with excessively high Sea Crystal Stone energy often concealed anomalies.
Having just fought a B-rank Sea Beast, Shi Ming had a clear understanding of how dangerous High-level Sea Beasts were. He wasn’t worried about himself; worst-case scenario, he could escape using the Golden Wandering Ship. But he couldn’t afford to lose this Silver-level Wandering Ship and its equipment. Without this ship, he would lose his only way of acquiring resources and High-Level Sea Crystal Stones.
Without resources, the Brain of Creation would be useless.
He arrived at the monitoring room.
"When did the seawater’s energy levels become abnormal?"
"Ten minutes ago. The concentration has been increasing slowly. It has now surpassed the warning threshold."
"What’s the current operating efficiency of the ship’s energy production equipment?"
"256%."
Shi Ming calculated in his head. ’256%... that means the energy production equipment, which normally produces 300 Sea Crystal Stones per day, can now produce 750. At the same time, with a 2% probability of High-Level Sea Crystal Stones, I can expect about 15 of them.’
’But what’s the price?’
"Captain, should we consider withdrawing from this area for now?" Lin Hai asked for Shi Ming’s opinion.
It was no wonder Lin Hai was being cautious. It was common knowledge that areas with excessively high ocean energy were often accompanied by unknown dangers, much like exploring a New Island. But while there were many ways to avoid and minimize risks when exploring a New Island, being in a high-energy sea region meant you were already in the eye of the storm.
"First, find a position to observe where the seawater’s energy is balanced. A spot where we can advance or retreat at any time. We’ll make a decision after assessing the danger level of this region."
Shi Ming gave the order.
It was almost midnight.
The intel provided by the Eye of Intelligence depended on Shi Ming’s current coordinates. If there was any danger or opportunity here, Shi Ming believed the next piece of intel from the Eye of Intelligence would likely be related to it.
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