Grand Voyage : Surviving on a Ghost Ship-Chapter 241 - The Living Darkness and how to deal with it

The Nightmare Star sailed through the No-Light Zone for nearly a full day without encountering any accidents or dangers, apart from the darkness that slowly crept along the hull like maggots gnawing at bone.

During this time, Suna conducted more detailed experiments to test the nature of the darkness.

For example, when she applied ice eggs (white fragments) to the darkness, its activity decreased, indicating that low temperatures could hinder its spread.

She also tested whether the darkness was a living organism. She placed a vial of the darkness into a life furnace, but no flames appeared. This suggested that the clustered darkness was not a sentient life form.

“This substance consists of countless black particles that spontaneously aggregate. It resembles a microorganism, but it isn’t killed by alcohol or disinfectants, and it resists extreme temperatures.”

“Whenever it comes into contact with other materials, living or non-living, it corrodes them, resulting in effects like decay, aging, or rot.” 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

“Metals and wood are affected as well, though much less than living or organic matter; short exposure shows almost no change.”

“Less reactive metals, like gold, are highly resistant, and high-quality wood similarly so. Bones show no noticeable effects.”

Yang Yi was reading the experimental report Suna sent, which included images of rusted metal mesh, strength tests on wood, decayed meat chunks, and intact gold mesh.

“When it corrodes, the amount of darkness increases, almost like reproduction. Contact with living or organic matter accelerates this proliferation… It’s as if it’s alive,” Suna concluded.

“Also, regarding the bloodstains on the portal exchange coupon, I haven’t examined it closely yet. Judging by the condition, it appears to be human blood, fairly fresh, either recently deposited or exceptionally well-preserved…”

“All right, you should rest first!” Yang Yi instructed, letting Suna stop her experiments and return to her room.

During this period, Yang Yi continued thinking about ways to resist the darkness, eventually settling on fire.

If the Penitent Armour had not been corrupted, its inherent radiance might have been able to disperse the darkness.

But after the corruption, the armour no longer attracted darkness, and its associated radiance spells were completely tainted, becoming profane.

According to prior intelligence about the Radiant Church, most of the armour they produced emitted light, likely designed to repel darkness.

Thus, the most practical and cost-effective way to counter the darkness would have been through Radiant Church methods. For now, fire had to suffice.

Yang Yi spent over 800 units of wood setting up several bonfires in the deck courtyard. These could be lit as needed to block the spread of darkness, buying Yang Yi and Suna time to climb the mast.

He also cleared the area around the bonfires, including the mast and nearby vines, to prevent accidental fires from spreading to the Nightmare Star.

In about half an hour, the world chat trading channel would open. Yang Yi planned to buy more wood and basic supplies, including food, to build a stronger defensive line.

The bonfires in the courtyard would serve as the penultimate line of defense.

Yang Yi went to the edge of the deck to monitor the darkness’s spread. Its speed was not constant; it had gradually increased, from less than 1 cm per hour to 1.5 cm per hour.

The deck of the Nightmare Star was 4.2 meters above the sea. If the spread continued accelerating, the darkness could reach the deck in under a week.

“I should have bought more wood. I wonder if the items I ordered will arrive in time,” Yang Yi muttered, frowning.

He checked his stamina, only 42 remaining since he hadn’t rested since teleporting. Suna’s was even lower, at 35, so he told her to sleep first.

The Nightmare Star was currently sailing automatically. The old captain’s fishing rod had been confiscated, leaving him in protest.

Fishing in these waters could be risky, and Yang Yi hadn’t tested it yet, so the rod was taken as a precaution.

The safe zone offered system protection, but that didn’t apply here.

Yang Yi drank a bottle of energy coconut juice to regain some stamina.

“Better ration these…” he thought, calculating that with their current stock, including stored coconuts, they had fewer than 20 bottles of energy juice remaining.

Suna emerged from the cabin, looking tired, and headed to her room to sleep. Yang Yi planned to rest after she woke.

Once awake, he still had many tasks, including testing fishing and trying out the previously acquired gourmet potted plant, which had been unused until now because its destination wasn’t yet confirmed.

Now, he could finally give it a try.

If there was danger, he could just kick it into the sea and let the darkness deal with it.

Yang Yi rested on the deck for a while, then checked the sea chart in the crystal ball before heading to the captain’s cabin.

Before 11 p.m., he spent another 100 points to buy ten micro blind boxes. The main goal was to see whether the guaranteed reward included small blind box exchange coupons.

Out of the ten boxes, three were empty, three contained small snacks, and the remaining three had basic resources, each only a single unit.

The guaranteed reward was a 100-minus-20 point deduction coupon, which covered 20 points, exceeding the price of that blind box.

“So it really is a trap.”

Yang Yi tested another ten micro blind boxes. This time, he received two small blind box exchange coupons, from the fifth draw and the tenth draw as the guaranteed reward.

This showed that drawing a lower-tier blind box could yield a next-tier blind box exchange coupon, and the probability wasn’t negligible.

This kind of setup was also what made blind boxes addictive because probabilities sometimes defied logic, tied instead to the fleeting whims of luck.

Small probability could equal 100%, while high probability might turn out nearly zero; he had seen this many times.

Yang Yi used the two small blind box exchange coupons to get ten units of wood and an empty box.

After the initial ten draws, the chance of getting an empty box clearly increased. The small blind box guaranteed reward remained at 2/10, so he stopped drawing, after all, the guarantee would remain.

He decided not to touch the blind boxes again until he had a full 100,000 points.

By 11 p.m., the world chat channel came online.

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