Grand Voyage : Surviving on a Ghost Ship-Chapter 226 - Expansion and upgrade

Yang Yi and Suna walked a lap around the deck, gaining a deeper sense of how much the Nightmare Star had changed.

It wasn’t just that the hull had grown larger. The ship itself felt different, and even the way the deck felt underfoot. There were also new plants growing on it, mostly vines and weeds.

Suna pulled one out.

【Name: Bone Mound Weed】

【Description: A common weed, but this one grows on bones. Slightly poisonous. Ingesting it causes diarrhoea.】

Suna picked a few to take back to her lab to see if they had any potential use. She also cut a few vines, which made the living ones start deliberately avoiding her.

The central courtyard had expanded as well, almost twice its previous size. In the middle stood the familiar giant crystal sphere covered in thick roots and vines that anchored it firmly to the deck.

The mast had split into two, and the sails were made of green vines, leaves, and the ancient skeletal arms entwined within them.

The sails now had a new trait: they turned towards the light like sunflowers.

At the stern, a large new room had appeared. It was no longer a door that opened straight into the cabin. The room itself was empty and could be used for storage or to keep tools and supplies that were often needed.

The hatch leading to the cabin was now set into the floor, like a cellar door, with a staircase going straight down.

“Two levels?”

Suna immediately sensed something was off. She opened the ship’s interface and checked the cabin layout.

Yang Yi followed the stairs down.

Each individual deck was shorter than before, about five metres high, but with two levels, making the overall space much greater.

He inspected both decks carefully.

The ancient combat room was on the first level, with gunports set higher along the sides, allowing cannon fire to travel farther before hitting the water.

Supplies like food, sea salt, oil, and tar wine had all been moved to the second level. Nothing was missing.

It was a practical layout, one level for storage, the other for movement.

But the witch’s laboratory had changed the most. It had two levels and was connected to the main cabin, with doors on both floors.

Yang Yi opened the door and entered.

Suna was already there; the first thing she had done after coming down was inspect her lab.

The first floor looked almost the same as before. Everything was in its place, except for a new opening in one corner.

At its centre hung a vertical vine that led to the floor below, wide enough for a person to slide down.

It worked like a fireman’s pole, meant for a quick descent.

But since it was alive, it could move on its own, raising or lowering itself. All one had to do was hold on.

Yang Yi followed Suna down into the second level of the lab.

The floor was mostly empty except for a single metal table.

“This lab is almost twice the size of the old one,” Yang Yi said, impressed.

Among all the expanded buildings, the witch’s lab had changed the most.

Suna agreed but then shifted the topic.

“If the lab’s size has doubled, its maintenance budget should double too, don’t you think?”

“Uh…”

Yang Yi froze, realising he had just walked into a trap. Still, he had never been stingy with Suna’s research funds. He immediately transferred 500,000 Shell Coins and hurried out.

...

Yang Yi checked the list of expandable structures.

Aside from the witch’s lab, the ancient combat room and the lookout tower could both be upgraded to level three.

Upgrading the ancient combat room required: Wood x300, Stone x300, Steel x500, Sulphur x500.

Upgrading the lookout tower required: Crystal x1000, Stone x200.

The materials could all be bought from other players, and he had enough Shell Coins on hand.

Instead of upgrading right away, Yang Yi checked the list of new structures that could be built.

Along with the Great Statue, Extra Warehouse, and Glass Cannon, there was now one more building, a special structure that couldn’t be upgraded.

【Execution Rack: A special structure of the Nightmare. Different trophies can be displayed on the rack to gain various bonuses. (Trophies can be swapped at any time.) Construction requirements: Expansion slots ×2 Wood ×, Cloth ×, Steel ×5000.】

…

“The Nightmare’s special structure…”

Yang Yi fell into thought.

Ever since the two ships merged, the Astrologer’s features had almost completely vanished, only the crystal sphere remained. The Nightmare had essentially taken over.

And with the upgrade, a special structure unique to the Nightmare had appeared.

‘Could it be that the Astrologer’s abilities have been completely absorbed?’

Yang Yi couldn’t be sure, as there weren’t any other merged ships to compare it to. But someone could know more about special structures, such as Shen Guanquan, who had already upgraded his Farmer to level 4.

Yang Yi sent him a private message.

“Special structure?” Shen replied.

“The Farmer has one too: the Sunlight Breeding Chamber. It unlocks once you reach level 3.”

That cleared things up.

Each special ship unlocked its special structure at a different level. So the Astrologer’s unique building probably just needed further upgrading to appear.

Yang Yi ended the chat and started gathering materials for the next upgrade.

Naturally, he planned to build the special structure first: the Execution Rack.

Such buildings were usually far stronger than ordinary expansions and deserved priority, just like the Witch’s Laboratory.

Back on deck, he began buying the required materials.

Since resources were harder to get now, mostly through fishing or capsule draws, their prices had risen. Basic materials like wood, stone, and cloth were up to 7 Shell Coins per unit. Higher-grade ones like steel, crystal, and sulphur had reached 32 Shell Coins per unit.

Yang Yi bought a little extra, spending a considerable sum to secure everything he needed for the upgrades.

After also giving Suna her 500,000, he had 820,000 Shell Coins left.

He’d need to start being more careful with his spending.

Then he began the upgrades.

Once the Ancient Combat Room was upgraded, the number of cannons doubled, from two on each side to four, and their calibre increased as well, extending the range to 400 metres.

Upgrading the Lookout Tower expanded its scan radius to 1,800 nautical miles and added island data, including shape and size.

Yang Yi tested it and found it quite effective, like having a temporary sea chart.

Once he left the Bountiful Sea, the tower would make exploration much easier.

Finally, it was time for the Execution Rack.

Yang Yi built the special structure and discovered it appeared at the top of the second mast. Its peak had become an inverted cross, stained with blood and wrapped in rusted barbed wire.

He decided to test it out, hang something there and see what effect it had.

At the same time, he unlocked the condition to upgrade the Nightmare to level 5. There was only one requirement: thirty thousand crystal shards.

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