Chapter 276: Chapter 269: A Pie in the Sky for Ah Jian

Shi Ming left a few crew members behind in the Sea of Soaring Dragons to handle the follow-up work on the Moon’s Shadow.

The Moon’s Shadow’s sailing core had already been removed. All high-value items—including its treasure, cannons, art pieces, and other collectibles—had been transferred. All that remained were some sellable pieces of equipment that had yet to be dismantled and the hull itself, floating on the sea, awaiting the right buyer for a deal.

If the Empress could sense her ship’s coordinates, she would probably be very confused:

"How is my ship scattered across the Endless Ocean?"

It was kept within the Dinglan Field of the King-level Wandering Ship, the Da Yu, safe from any troublemakers or retaliation. If any remnants of the Snow Country were to show up and cause problems, it would be nothing more than a free delivery of contribution points for the Da Yu’s Awakened.

"Depart!"

"Set course for the Sea of Silence."

The Da Yun cut a white arc across the sea.

Using another Sailing Heart recovered from the Moon Shadow, along with the Sea Beast Blood of five S-rank beasts, Shi Ming upgraded it by another level. This ordinary-looking wandering ship had now been promoted to a level-four Grand General, with a sailing speed that could rival the Sword-Holding Ship, the Kunwu!

[Grand General-level Wandering Ship - Da Yun, No. 23333]

[Level: 4]

[The young king has taken another step forward! Its medals are increasing! It has successfully advanced to a level-four Grand General!]

[The Grand General Trait "Crown Prince" is beginning to emerge.]

[It is now immune to all Grand General Traits and has increased resistance to the "King Traits" of King-level Wandering Ships. When the Da Yun is suppressed by a King Trait, it will gain 50% resistance. Furthermore, the power of "Momentum Break" will be fiercer and swifter! The dream of ramming through anything and everything is no longer out of reach! In addition to several numerical increases that would take up too much space to list, this upgrade also brings new and practical equipment and functions.]

[New Equipment: Ghost Key]

[After pressing the Ghost Key, the Da Yun will conceal its entire aura and enter a phantom state. It will be untargetable, unmarkable, and undetectable by radar (including the radar of King-level Wandering Ships).]

[New Equipment: Sea-annihilating Photonic Cannon]

[Did you like the "North Wind-Jian JP-1107" from Da Yu’s Treasure Vault? This new Sea-annihilating Photonic Cannon can rival it. Unlike a missile interceptor cannon, the Photonic Cannon charges up to fire a searing beam of light. Depending on the charge time, its maximum destructive power can rival a full-force blow from the S-rank Sea Beast, the Red Marrow Bone Dragon. Its only drawback is its range—a mere 10 nautical miles! But its speed far surpasses any interceptor cannon!]

[...]

[Upgrade Requirements: Pure Dome Crystal x3000, 3000g of Sea Beast Blood from any seven S-rank species, Sailing Heart (or Energy Meteorite) x1]

Excellent!

Now, besides just ramming its enemies, the Da Yun had another primary offensive weapon: a laser cannon. Although its range was only 10 nautical miles, it fired at the speed of light! Just imagine, aiming at a target 10 nautical miles away and letting one loose—an attack moving at light speed would arrive in the blink of an eye.

The enemy wouldn’t even have a chance to defend!

This perfectly compensated for Shi Ming’s lack of long-range offensive options!

Shi Ming already had a complete plan for the Da Yun’s future upgrades. To go from a level-four to a level-five Grand General, it required the blood of seven S-rank Sea Beast species and one Sailing Heart. This wasn’t an insurmountable task. Shi Ming happened to have a Sailing Heart, one he had painstakingly synthesized from the low-grade sailing stones he’d acquired from Prince Atte. As for the blood of seven S-rank Sea Beasts, Shi Ming had already stockpiled five types, meaning he was 80% of the way there!

The difficult part was ascending to King-level.

If he wasn’t mistaken, ascending to King-level would certainly require the blood of Holy Hall-level Sea Beasts. The required quantity and species were both unknown. When the time came, he would probably have to go and fleece the Abyss Lord and the Great Black Heaven Dragon.

Speaking of the Abyss Lord...

He was about to enter its territory again.

Ever since they had become enemies, Shi Ming had to watch out for its sneak attacks every time he returned to the Sea of Silence. The Abyss Lord was, after all, a living Holy Hall-level Sea Beast; it never hurt to be cautious. Although he had the Eye of the World as an early warning system, its performance was unreliable, so he couldn’t count on it completely and let down his guard.

...

In September, the Sea of Soaring Dragons had already become relatively cool, but in September, the Sea of Silence was perpetually scorching.

The air over the ocean gradually grew sweltering.

Ever since the time before last when Shi Ming had returned from the Sea of Boiling, the Awakened and the crews of wandering ships from Africa had been surprised to discover that there seemed to be far fewer Sea Beasts in this region. Their aggression was not as strong as before; it was as if they had gone into hibernation, keeping to themselves and rarely showing themselves.

In reality, this was thanks to the Abyss Lord’s rage, which had pulverized all the Sea Beasts in the center of the Sea of Boiling.

Even the Sea Beasts in the surrounding areas had become much more subdued.

People never saw the so-called "Golden Sun" again. The chain reaction that followed was that Heijin’s demand for Sea Beast Hearts—and the bounty points and prices offered for them—all skyrocketed, rising to 1.5 times their previous value. This spurred an entire industry of Awakened and adventurers in the nearby seas hunting Sea Beasts.

But that was all coming to an end.

Yesterday, Heijin had received the Purifying Marrow sent by the Da Yu from afar. The main body of the artifact, the Sealed Prison—which had been operating continuously for thirty years without a moment’s rest—was finally replenished. The damage it had sustained was repaired, and its efficacy was restored to its peak. It no longer even needed the Heart of the Sea Beast to maintain full suppression. It even had enough surplus power to exert influence on the third-ranked Sea Beast still in its cocoon—the Nameless Cocoon—through the sub-bodies wrapped around it!

Therefore, the sentient Nameless Cocoon was growing anxious.

If this continued, its nascent consciousness would fall back into a deep slumber, turning it into a persistent "Undying Cocoon." While this wouldn’t threaten its life, any hope of escape would become a distant dream. Furthermore, if it were to awaken again in the future, it was debatable whether its current self would even be the dominant personality in the new consciousness!

It was completely isolated and helpless.

And in all these years, the only being who had ever resonated with its Spiritual Power and was able to communicate with it was Shi Ming.

’Perhaps... this human can help me?’

So thought the Nameless Cocoon.

Waiting anxiously, it struggled bitterly against the suppression of the Sealed Prison.

"Strange."

"Why can’t I contact the Nameless Cocoon?"

Shi Ming had already sailed into Heijin’s territory. From 50 nautical miles out, he tried to use his Spiritual Power to communicate with the suppressed Nameless Cocoon, but he received no response. He slowly moved closer, and only when he was a mere 20 nautical miles away did he manage to barely connect to the Nameless Cocoon’s "channel."

This time, the Nameless Cocoon didn’t pull his Spiritual Power into the depths of the sea, communicating with him only from a distance.

[You... have returned.]

The voice of the Nameless Cocoon sounded tinged with anxiety. At its full power, it would have had no fear of the Sealed Prison, but right now, it was still an insect that had not yet emerged from its cocoon. And though it was immortal, the energy it was expending was immense.

"Yes, Ah Jian, I’m back."

"I also brought a gift for you. I hope you’ll like it."

Shi Ming smiled warmly, like a guest visiting relatives from afar, bearing a generous gift. He pulled a corpse out from his storage—it was none other than "Virus," the S-rank Awakened from the Lighthouse who had long been missing.

"This is the 19th-ranked Infinite Virus."

"Ah Jian, the intelligence and help you gave me before were invaluable. As a partner and a friend, I prepared this especially for you. When you successfully escape from your seal, I’ll give this to you in celebration."

The empty promise had been made.

He put Virus’s body away again.

The Nameless Cocoon in the Great Rift Valley sensed the presence of Infinite Virus, and a bottomless craving welled up from deep within it. Its instincts told it that if it could just devour this corpse and digest Infinite Virus, it would gain the ability to "Split." Then, it would be one, yet it would also be ten thousand. It would achieve an evolutionary leap and become a true King Insect.

’I must eat it!’

’This human actually knows how to repay a favor!’

’He’s actually a pretty good guy.’

’It seems there are good and bad people among humans, after all. My previous views were too prejudiced, too narrow.’

’Once I’m free, I’ll spare his life for now and let him become one of my honored subordinates.’

[Thank... you... my... friend.]

[But... in my current state... I cannot... devour Infinite Virus... I only need... your... help.]

"My friend."

"Helping you is helping myself. As I’ve said before, we’re two grasshoppers on the same rope—we’re destined to face the same enemies."

"So how can I help you?"

Shi Ming looked like a sincere child, his eyes pure and earnest, as if his only joy in life came from helping an insect in need.