"Captain, the Awakened is awake."

...

"What’s your name?"

"Shentu Kuo."

Shentu Kuo had calmed down from his grief. He knew the crew of this ship had saved him, so he was no longer agitated like before, when he had been constantly calling out "Jia Ming" in his delirious sleep.

"From Da Yu?"

Shentu Kuo didn’t answer.

Shi Ming paused.

"I can give you a small, ordinary boat. With your abilities, you should be able to get back to your destination with it."

"However, not long ago, the *Renhuang* and the *Black Society*, along with their subordinate drifting ships, blockaded this sea region. They’re indiscriminately attacking all drifting ships and wild ships that survived the tsunami. They’re probably looking for you."

"It’ll be hard for you to evade their detection."

Shentu Kuo’s fists clenched involuntarily.

His grandfather had been killed by the Wo Kou over twenty years ago while on a mission. That was why his father had given him such a name.

Shentu Kuo!

’I can die on a ship like Jia Ming, but I have to deliver this intelligence myself.’

’But right now, what can I do?’

’This drifting ship that saved me is a Silver-class at best.’

’This young man before me doesn’t look very old—in his early twenties, even younger than I am. He’s probably worried about how to get through this encirclement himself... If I were at my peak, I could put up a fight. But after the shipwreck, after soaking in the sea for so long, my body is in terrible shape. I don’t even have a tenth of my strength left.’

’And on the *Renhuang*, there’s that powerful S-class Awakened.’

He forced his body upright, considering whether to risk everything on a single gamble.

Shentu Kuo understood perfectly well that the *Renhuang*’s target was him, the one who had obtained the intelligence.

’If I turn myself in, draw the *Renhuang*’s attention, and sacrifice the pawn to save the king... if I entrust the intelligence to this young man, there might be a sliver of hope. The encryption on this intelligence stealer is excellent. Even if someone had ill intentions, they couldn’t read its contents, so I don’t have to worry about leaks.’

’But the Endless Ocean is a world driven by profit.’

’I have nothing right now. How can I entrust this to someone else?’

’I have to at least try.’

He opened his mouth,

but before he could speak, a crew member walked in from outside.

"Captain, charging has reached its limit."

"Excellent."

The 100 Pure Dome Crystals obtained from the Black Society and Lighthouse bounties had accumulated enough kinetic energy to allow the *Da Yun*’s Admiral Trait, "Momentum Break," to capsize a drifting ship of the same class!

Shi Ming rose from his seat and walked toward the deck.

Shentu Kuo’s plea was cut short. Helpless, he also stood up and limped toward the deck.

He was stunned before he even left the cabin.

At the edge of his vision, three massive Admiral-class drifting ships were anchored ten nautical miles away. One was the *Renhuang*, one was the *Black Society*, and the third had come from afar. A single glance at its appearance told him it was the *Michael*, a ship under the Lighthouse’s command!

’This... Have I walked right into the lion’s den?’

Shentu Kuo suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He was even more terrified than the moment he had sensed the S-class Awakened outside the intelligence room on the *Renhuang*.

’Who on earth is this young man!?’

’How can he be so fearless at such a close distance, evading the detection of three Admiral-class drifting ships?’

During the blockade, the patrol capabilities of the *Renhuang* and the *Black Society* were nothing to scoff at. They also had two Golden Ships, the *Beheading Great Saber* and the *High Celestial Plain*, and dozens of ordinary drifting ships under their command, enough to fully patrol the entire Fujing Mountain Sea Region.

’Is he one of the Vortex People?’

’No! The crew members on his ship all look like Dragon Country People. They speak the fluent Dragon Country language, and that disdain for the Vortex People in their eyes... it’s not a match at all! Without a doubt, he’s not one of them!’

The drifting ship beneath his feet was moving faster and faster.

Shentu Kuo could barely keep his footing.

The aftereffects of soaking in the seawater for too long rushed to his head. A wave of dizziness nearly sent him tumbling onto the deck.

Shi Ming glanced back.

"Hold steady."

Shentu Kuo felt increasingly dizzy, as if he were on a rocket. ’It seems I really was in the water for too long; I’m starting to hallucinate.’ He forced himself to muster his Physical Strength and stood up again. But when he raised his head, he was shocked to discover that the drifting ship’s speed had reached an unimaginable level in just a few breaths.

And what’s more, in just five nautical miles, they were going to crash into the *Black Society*!

’This...’

’Does this guy know he can’t escape and wants to take everyone down with him?!!!’

...

...

...

A lavish welcome banquet was underway on the *Renhuang*.

Renhuang himself was attending the ceremony. The red wine and champagne from legendary vintages were all treasures from the Land Era. On silver platters was true "Vortex Beef," raised by the ship’s husbandry department, its fat marbled as finely as snowflakes, making one’s mouth water.

This wasn’t synthetic food, but truly top-tier, hall-of-fame beef.

"Thomson-san, please try our Vortex Beef!"

"Brilliant!"

Thomson gave a thumbs-up.

"Your Excellency, Renhuang."

Thomson addressed the Renhuang of Vortex Country without using titles like "Your Majesty," but Renhuang didn’t mind. On the contrary, he was quite humble, as if facing an old and cherished friend.

"The Yinping Sea Region needs a true leader."

"There’s a great secret beneath Fujing Mountain, and Lighthouse can unearth it. This is a win-win situation. As the saying goes, you provide the resources, we provide the muscle! Cooperation is a win-win!"

"But this is just the first step."

Thomson hadn’t had a drink in a long time and was already a bit drunk.

"That great ship... it guards the great stone monument and the only land in the Endless Ocean, yet it’s not adept at research. In thirty years, it has only translated two lists. Who knows if it’s because they lack the ability, or if they’re just jealously guarding their own meager treasures, unwilling to share their research findings."

"He can be replaced."

Thomson deliberately used a classical phrase.

Renhuang smiled. "But of course."

"Come, a toast!"

CLINK. The crisp sound of glasses colliding, like a note in a symphony, mingled with the aroma of wine and meat, an intoxicating combination that blurred the lines of reality.

...

Shi Ming, who had long since applied the disguise-enabling Tear of the Earth Sea to his face, stood alone at the bow of the *Da Yun*.

The wind howled past, whipping his captain’s cloak.

It snapped loudly in the wind.

The *Da Yun*’s cloaking device was superior to those of the three ships. With its Admiral Traits, "Crown Prince" and "Momentum Break," activated, it closed in on its target in an instant. Yet the radar systems of the three drifting ships detected nothing. In the banquet hall, laughter and cheerful voices still echoed.

However, a patrolman did spot the disturbance in the waves with his naked eye.

The *Da Yun* had no silent running mode. The violent wake created by its high-speed charge across the sea was just barely visible to the naked eye.

A shrill alarm suddenly blared, shocking most of the people in the banquet hall sober.

It was the enemy attack alarm.

Thomson was instantly on alert.

But Renhuang just waved his hand and said with a laugh, "In the Fujing Mountain Sea Region, who would dare launch a sneak attack on the *Renhuang*? Mister Thomson, please, continue drinking. The champagne is good, but sake is needed to accompany the meal. Its aroma is very light, yet it leaves a lasting impression, and it won’t overpower the deliciousness of the Vortex Beef."

Thomson sat back down in his seat.

’He’s right. With three Admiral-class ships standing guard, who would be so blind as to challenge them?’

’It’s probably just some cornered clowns making a desperate last stand. Someone will deal with them. Not to mention, we have two S-class Awakened on board. Even the *Kunwu* from Da Yu wouldn’t dare to attack right now.’

However—

BANG!!!

He hadn’t even settled in his seat when a massive crash made both Renhuang’s and Thomson’s ears ring.

Immediately after, a heaven-shaking wave rocked the *Renhuang*. The six-hundred-meter giant ship tossed unstably on the sea. The red wine, champagne, and sake on the banquet tables all tumbled and crashed to the floor, a chaotic mess of red, yellow, and white.

"This..."

Renhuang was stunned.

A guard burst into the banquet hall.

"Your Majesty! The *Black Society* has capsized!"

"What?"

...

...

...

The *Black Society* was not a survival ship.

Vortex Country was the first to suffer in the Great Flood. Its population was sparse, and its survival ships were mostly the lowest-tier Bronze and Silver-class ships.

Only the powerful and the nobility could reside on Golden and Admiral-class Ships.

For instance, the Gold-class drifting ship *High Celestial Plain* was home to powerful families and nobles, while the *Beheading Great Saber* was personally commanded by a Prince.

The Black Society was the shadow beneath the sun, the giant maw in the vortex, infamous throughout the Yinping Sea Region. For thirty years, it had relied on plunder to quickly assemble its fleets. The predecessor of Shi Ming’s current *Da Yun* was a drifting ship plundered by Chunyi’s uncle, Great Wilderness.

The Map of the Endless Sea was also a wondrous item they had obtained after pillaging a wild ship.

Whether in his past life or this one, Shi Ming felt nothing but disgust for it.

CRASH—

Amidst the violent tremor, the *Da Yun*, empowered by Meteor Power, slammed viciously into the Black Society’s vortex-sun emblem. With the force to smash the withered and snap the rotten, it brutally tore a gaping hole in the massive ship, which was several times its size!

It then burst through, its immense power causing the Admiral-class drifting ship to instantly capsize with a deafening roar, kicking up mountainous waves.

No one could react in time.

Even if they had, they lacked the power to stop the *Da Yun* in its Momentum Break state.

Shentu Kuo gripped the mast tightly, his eyes and heart filled with the shock of having his fundamental understanding of the world completely overturned.

’A Silver ship just capsized the infamous *Black Society*?’

’Could it be that I’m already dead?’

’Is this a dying hallucination?’

’This...’

He slapped his right cheek hard and felt a sharp, searing pain.

...

As the *Black Society* met its fate, Shi Ming sensed two abnormally powerful auras rise from the *Renhuang* and the *Michael*.

These were the Lighthouse experts stationed on board.

Codename: Deep Abyss.

Codename: Colorless.

Originally, Lighthouse had dispatched three S-class Awakened to participate in this event. They took the matter very seriously, mobilizing their hidden forces. Three S-class Awakened was already half of their current strength, but the one codenamed "Virus" was now lying in Shi Ming’s warehouse.

Shi Ming felt the sudden emergence of the powerful auras but paid them no mind.

Instead, he stood firmly on the deck as the *Da Yun* shot out from amidst the shattered fragments of the *Black Society*.

Then, he ordered the *Da Yun* to press the attack, using the residual power from the "Momentum Break" Admiral Trait to charge violently toward the nearby *Michael*.

Admittedly, while he coveted the *Black Society*’s Sailing Star, the difficulty of searching for it and escaping unscathed with the *Da Yun* under the noses of three Admiral-class drifting ships, two S-class Awakened, and many other experts was immense.

But today,

you’re all going to have a run-in with the *Da Yun*.