Grand Voyage : Surviving on a Ghost Ship-Chapter 255 - Searching the native ship’s hold

“This is how the locals fight back against the darkness…”

Yang Yi held the black oval container in his hand and tested its mechanism.

The structure was simple. A twist of both ends revealed a transparent glass window in the centre. Once the black casing no longer blocked it, the broken light-fairy pieces inside shone through the glass and pushed the darkness back.

It worked almost like a glow stick used for emergency lighting, only far brighter.

A small metal ring was fixed to one end, so the container could be hung on a belt or equipment like a handheld spotlight.

There were three in total. Judging by the fragments, there were probably six or seven originally, but he had stepped on half of them.

He distributed them briefly, letting Suna carry one while the other two went into his Charred Worm Ring.

He didn’t need to activate them yet. The scattered fragments of the light-fairies on the floor were still glowing well enough for visibility.

He pinched up a thin finger-sized fragment to use as a lamp and began searching the cabin.

There were barrels, coils of rope, cloth sacks and other small supplies piled across the floor. Yang Yi opened one of the barrels. Inside was stale, spoiled oil that smelled unpleasant and held almost no value anymore.

Inside one of the cloth bags was something like potatoes, only with dark skin. He picked one up.

【Name: Black-skin Potato】

【Description: Potatoes soaked in alchemical preservative fluid. Their shelf life is greatly extended. The skin turns black and they taste slightly astringent. They do not rot easily even when exposed to darkness. Can be stored for around 300 days, though eating them continuously leads to malnutrition. 】

“These were probably their staple food.”

Yang Yi guessed, sweeping all the sacks into storage, just under two hundred kilograms total.

Fish bones lay scattered on the floor along with dried meat that might once have been sausages. Most of it was no longer edible. Either reduced to bone or rotted beyond recovery.

He reached a row of clay jars. One was empty, but two had been sealed with wax. He cracked one open. Clear liquid shimmered inside.

System identification confirmed it, freshwater, still drinkable thanks to the seal.

A total of 192 liters.

He stored both jars immediately.

Then a notification appeared before his eyes.

【You have successfully claimed this magic vessel. It may be dismantled in one hour.】

“Even native ships can be dismantled?”

Yang Yi was surprised and glanced at Suna.

She must have received the same message, though she barely reacted. Her attention was fixed on the cabin’s front section, where beds and a desk suggested this was once a living area. She was flipping through the books left on the desk.

Yang Yi didn’t disturb her and headed towards the stern instead.

Splitting up meant faster searching. They could sort everything later.

…

He found little of real value. Most tools were rotten, food ruined, everything eaten away by decay.

Judging by appearance alone, one might assume this ship had been abandoned for years.

But the storage life of black-skin potatoes suggested otherwise. It had likely been here less than a year, maybe only a few dozen days.

The severe decay must have come from the darkness itself, which had eaten through supplies, tools and even the hull, making it fragile enough to collapse under his weight.

Yang Yi found two more black containers.

They hung from the support beams, but the glass slots were already cracked open, the light-fairies inside had long since gone dim and vanished.

He twisted the containers open to their limits and dropped the exposed light-fairy fragments inside. Now he held two more sealed black containers in his hands.

“Each container holds roughly ten grams of fragments.”

Yang Yi weighed them, giving a rough estimate. It wasn’t precise.

The fragments were volatile; their mass diminished over time. Sealing them in the container controlled the light’s intensity and extended its usable duration. That seemed to be the principle.

He intended to head back to Suna, since the aft section was mostly a storage room with little of value.

But as he turned, something caught his eye.

A wooden chest showed signs of frequent movement, and the floor around it bore clear scratches.

Yang Yi moved the chest aside and discovered a hidden door beneath.

It had a keyhole, but there was no way he had the key. He tapped the floor, then chose to dig beside the door.

Flame Serpent’s Fang appeared in his right hand. Like slicing soft tofu, it carved a small window in the floor. The edges were slightly charred, smoke curling up.

Inside was dark, but the black mist hadn’t penetrated, the compartment was well sealed.

Yang Yi twisted open a sealed light container and tossed in one of the fragments. The lower layer lit up immediately, and a chill ran down his spine.

“… Dismembered bodies?”

Several severed limbs were visible, hands and feet among them.

After confirming there were no magical traps or immediate dangers, he reached in and pulled out a fairly intact arm. It was cold to the touch, radiating a faint chill.

The storage compartment was in the bottom hold, a deliberately constructed space for storing items.

Yang Yi received information on the limb, his expression shifting slightly.

“Limb Spider Cult?”

【Name: Adult Male Right Arm (Health 38%)】

【Attributes: Strength 5, Agility 5】【Description: Right arm severed from an adult male, treated with potions to resist decay. Can be used for trade. 】【Note: Limbs below 10% health lose 50% of their attributes; at 0% they have no value and cannot be reattached.】

He pulled out more limbs. All were human, with health ranging from 20% to 70%.

In total: seven arms, four legs, several clay jars, and one magical item.

The jars contained coins, each weighing heavily. Each held 1,000 Shell Coins, nine jars in total, adding up to 8,952 coins, fully accounted for in Yang Yi’s inventory.

The magical item was a portable fan:

【Name: Cooling Fan】

【Type: Treasure】【Quality: Fine】【Description: A magic fan that senses ambient temperature and blows cold air. Requires magical stones as a power source. One unit of magical stone powers it for roughly a week. 】

Yang Yi rummaged a bit more and found the compartment nearly empty, touching only a single bottle.

Just then, Suna arrived. She picked up a severed hand from the floor, her eyes lighting up.

“Just as I thought, these people are connected to the Spider Cult.”

She had made other discoveries as well, handing Yang Yi a book. Written in the world’s common language, its title read: Appendage Handling Manual.

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