While he was at it, doing a good deed, Shi Ming had no intention of remaining an unsung hero.

Even Zigong was criticized by his master for ransoming a man.

After performing such a great service, how could he not leave his name?

At Shentu Kuo’s earnest request, he conveniently exchanged communicator contacts with him under the alias "Minglong." Sometime in the future, when he traveled to Da Yu, he might be able to use this A-class Awakened to save himself some trouble.

This was a win-win situation.

It wasn’t a matter of mutual exploitation.

But for now, he needed to lie low until the storm blew over, then return to the Twelve Stars to complete his commission.

He didn’t particularly care about the title of Honorary Knight, but the status would give him the opportunity to access the Mysterious Stele within the Twelve Stars, which might hold some important information. Besides, with such a major incident stirring up the Fujing Mountain Sea Region, the Lighthouse would certainly begin its expedition ahead of schedule, and the blockade would come sooner than expected.

For the time being, staying away from the eye of the storm was the wisest choice.

...

...

...

More than a day had passed since the "Black Society Overturning Incident," an event that had shocked every major power.

Because Shi Ming had disguised his appearance, altered his ship’s structure, and barely taken any direct action during the event, the various powers could only speculate, unable to confirm anything.

Some powers speculated that the Black Society, having committed countless atrocities in the Yinping Sea Region, had finally faced covert retaliation from Da Yu. The discovery of bodies belonging to Dragon Country Awakened who had infiltrated from the Renhuang seemed to corroborate this theory.

Da Yu offered no comment.

Other powers speculated that the mysterious wandering ship’s ramming of the Black Society was strikingly similar to a previous incident in the Sea of Yellow Sand. There, a young man named Shi Ming had rammed the Pharaoh. Jia Fang, who was on the Pharaoh, had once used despicable means to entrap and kill Awakened, which had enraged Shi Ming and provoked his retaliation. Since Shi Ming also held a grudge against the Black Society, perhaps this was his counterattack.

Still other powers held opposing views.

Their reasoning was simple.

Changing one’s appearance was easy, but altering the fundamental structure of a wandering ship was deemed impossible with current construction technology, which had regressed by thirty years. The force with which this ship struck the Black Society’s vessel far surpassed the impact on the Pharaoh. Perhaps the power didn’t come from the ship itself, but from some unknown and powerful Awakening ability.

Some even wondered if the ship that so easily capsized a vessel of the Black Society’s magnitude could be the legendary Wandering Ship 001, a King-level ship.

The theories were endless.

But amidst all the speculation, there was no definite conclusion.

Apart from the Renhuang, no one spoke up for the Black Society.

The Lighthouse, for its part, once again began its expedition ahead of schedule. It left the Columbia Sea and, after a day’s journey, arrived in the Fujing Mountain Sea Region. The moment this domineering, miles-long floating city settled over Fujing Mountain like a shadow eclipsing the sun, any other powers that had been coveting the Sea-Rising Cherry Root abandoned all hope.

Little did they know, the treasure had already fallen into someone else’s hands, without so much as a scrap left behind.

Virus remained out of contact.

The Celestial Net Chip did not indicate that he was dead.

In the partially collapsed Fujing Mountain, researchers found traces of a fierce battle, along with the remains and fragments of an offspring from the "Infinite Mother." Beyond that, they found nothing else.

The Great Black Heaven Dragon also remained in its slumber, just as before, showing no signs of waking.

...

...

...

「European Sea Region.」

Abraham received another message from Shi Ming.

A weight was finally lifted from his shoulders.

"Mr. Abraham, I have completed your commission. Before the Lighthouse’s arrival, I obtained a portion of the flesh and blood from the slumbering great dragon deep within Fujing Mountain. I will return to the European Sea Region within a day. I hope our subsequent handover will be as pleasant as ever."

"—Shi Ming."

"Hahaha, Brother Shi! I knew I wasn’t mistaken about you!"

Abraham said with a laugh, smugly typing a line into his communicator.

"This is wonderful news. Upon your return, Brother Shi, you will become the thirteenth Honorary Knight of the Twelve Stars and gain our most sincere friendship."

There was no need to beat around the bush when talking to a smart man.

Some things were best handled directly, with a tacit understanding between them.

Others might not know the full story and could only make wild guesses.

But Abraham knew the truth.

’The Tear of the Earth Sea—I had personally retrieved it from the Twelve Stars’ treasury and secretly delivered it to Shi Ming. The mission to Fujing Mountain was one I had personally commissioned. I had even contributed to the planning and intelligence. Besides a single, completely trusted bodyguard, no fourth person knew.’

’There are no such coincidences in this world.’

’The "culprit" who capsized the Black Society was, in all likelihood, this very Brother Shi. As for how an ordinary wandering ship could topple an Admiral-class Ship? Perhaps the key wasn’t the ship at all, but the man’s ability. This Brother Shi had fought Quert to a standstill and even killed the Dusk Whale. Compared to that, wouldn’t flipping over an Admiral-class Ship be child’s play?’

’I’ve grasped the key to the whole affair.’

’But how could I possibly share this secret with anyone else?’

’A free and powerful S-class Awakened is an incredibly rare ace to have in my network! Thanks to my own discerning eye, this will be an exclusive asset for the Twelve Stars—a trump card to be leveraged for mutually beneficial cooperation in many important and clandestine matters.’

Abraham was immensely pleased with himself.

After ending his private communication with Shi Ming, his assistant, having compiled a new intelligence summary, knocked and entered to hand it to Abraham for his review.

The woman, who was in her forties, was also quite curious about the incident that had occurred thousands of miles away.

"Mr. Secretary-General, this wandering ship managed to easily break through a blockade of three Admiral-class ships and capsize the Black Society’s vessel, which is over 600 meters long. Could it truly be the mysterious Wandering Ship 001, the King-level one?"

"001? Perhaps!"

Abraham did not elaborate on the topic.

’001?’

’Impossible!’

’If 001 had been involved, the Black Society’s ship wouldn’t have just been capsized; it would have been obliterated without a trace. Not a single crew member would have survived.’

...

...

...

Shentu Kuo returned to Da Yu.

After submitting the valuable intelligence that had been acquired at the cost of his comrades’ lives, and after mourning the fallen Jia Ming with his fellow soldiers, he received an invitation to meet with the deputy director of the Xirang Research Institute’s Da Yu branch.

Dr. Chongwen. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

He was in charge of research into mysterious ancient scripts and anomalous objects.

’Why would such an important figure want to see me?’

He accepted Chongwen’s invitation. After a few moments of pleasantries, Chongwen took out a photograph.

The image was rather blurry, a single frame extracted from the files on the Black Society’s capsizing. But when magnified, one could vaguely make out Shi Ming standing on the ship’s bow, as well as the Nine-Strand Pattern on the side of his neck.

Scientists are incredibly perceptive about such details.

This Nine-Strand Pattern was the very reason Chongwen had sought out Shentu Kuo!

"Dr. Chongwen, the Awakened who saved me is named Minglong. His neck... I think it did have a faint Nine-Strand Pattern on it."

"Like this one?"

Chongwen produced another photo.

Shentu Kuo took the photo and glanced at it.

The photo showed a young researcher lying in a monitoring room, his body covered in raised patterns. He looked like a piece of lightning-struck wood. Those patterns were identical to the one on Minglong’s neck.

The only difference was their intensity.