Chapter 293: Chapter 286: The Only Land in the Endless Ocean

It was already past eleven in the morning when Rong Bing woke up.

As an S-rank Awakened, captain of the Kunwu, and leader of the Sword Team, he had a private, fully-equipped cabin on the King-level Wandering Ship, the Da Yu.

A rare day off.

He washed up, changed into casual clothes, and picked up the communicator from his bedside table. He turned it on, but there were no messages. Puzzled, he was just about to send one to Shi Ming when the device vibrated in his hand.

It was almost twelve o’clock sharp.

Since the Da Yu and the Da Yun weren’t very far apart, the transmission delay was minimal.

’Shi Ming is always so punctual!’

He tore open a pack of synthetic breakfast and began eating it cold. With his other hand, he picked up the communicator and tapped open the message.

[Rong Bing, I’ve made the arrangements.]

[We can depart for Mount Everest in the coming days.]

’Just as Elder Zhou predicted. He was sure to agree.’

Rong Bing swallowed his breakfast as he typed a reply: "Shi Ming, come to the Da Yu, Deck 11, Area T03 at 4 PM. We’ll sign the formal commission agreement. I’ll also share all the intelligence we have on Mount Everest with you and Li Jiuyuan there."

On the Endless Ocean, a formal commission was more about the "ritual" than anything else.

You don’t employ those you doubt, and you don’t doubt those you employ.

A few moments later, he received another reply from Shi Ming.

[Okay.]

...

...

...

The deal for the Moon Shadow had been settled with Eliza.

Shi Ming had left the final payment and the ship’s delivery entirely in the hands of Stone Pillar and Yellow Spear. The crew of the Da Yun was now capable enough to handle things on their own, so he no longer needed to oversee every detail. He could just sit back and reap the rewards.

’That’s what you train subordinates for, after all—to use them.’

Thanks to the A+ terminal from Da Yu’s Treasure Vault serving as his status symbol, and with Rong Bing having smoothed the way for him, Shi Ming reached Deck 11, Area T03 without any trouble. Along the way, he passed the new crew training area on Deck 10. There, he caught a glimpse of how the Da Yu trained its next generation—boys and girls between the ages of thirteen and sixteen were undergoing rigorous training, preparing to take up the torch.

Even in this day and age, passing on the legacy was the most crucial task of all.

"Shi Ming, over here!"

From a distance, Shi Ming heard Rong Bing calling out to him.

Area T03 appeared to be the archives. The three of them entered a cabin filled with rows upon rows of files. The first thing that caught their eye, however, was a screen, two meters high and three meters wide. It looked a lot like the "movie" screens from Shi Ming’s past life.

Unlike a typical screen, its default background was a light blue.

"The intelligence I’m sharing today is classified internal information of the Da Yu. Only personnel involved in this mission are authorized to receive it. It must be kept strictly confidential."

After these instructions, Rong Bing pressed a button he was holding. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

WHOOSH~

A hyper-realistic ocean filled the screen. Amid the surging waves stood a majestic mountain peak, so tall it seemed to pierce the heavens and anchor the sea. More than half of it was submerged, yet it still rose over 3,600 meters above the surface. Even the greatest of calamities could not topple it.

The only "land" in the entire Endless Ocean!

Also known as the Sky Vault Pillar! God’s own domain!

"Ahem. This is a structural map of Mount Everest. The Xirang Research Institute currently divides it into four zones."

As if he were briefing them over a sand table, Rong Bing began to relay the intel his superiors had authorized for sharing.

The mountain is divided into four zones, based on the sea level, the snowline, and the summit line:

The Submerged Zone;

The Land Zone;

The Upper Snowline Zone;

The Summit Zone.

The Submerged and Land Zones make up 80% of the mountain. Xirang and [Jiu Ding] have already explored them countless times, so they aren’t worth the attention of three S-rank Awakened. Our targets this time are the Upper Snowline Zone and the Summit Zone. The Summit Zone, where the great stone monument stands, is especially important. A Sub-Blade Storm rages there, making it impossible for ordinary Awakened to linger. To explore it safely requires the perfect combination of timing, location, and personnel. We have all three right now, which makes this the perfect opportunity.

"The Xirang Research Institute is located near the snowline."

Rong Bing paused.

’It seemed he was about to get to the important part.’

"The Xirang Research Institute answers only to the Jiuzhou Platform. It’s under the Da Yu’s jurisdiction, but not part of the King-level Wandering Ship’s direct command structure. Many of its researchers have never left Mount Everest since the dawn of the Wandering Era. For thirty years, they’ve lived at Xirang, never once setting foot on the Da Yu."

???

’They’ve never boarded a ship in the entire Wandering Era?’

’Affiliated with the Da Yu, but not the King-level Wandering Ship?’

Shi Ming’s mind seized on this information.

The implication was obvious. You needed a chip to live on a wandering ship, which meant this group also existed outside the Skynet system. They were like the people from the wild ships—chipless.

But someone like Shi Ming, who had lived his whole life on a wandering ship without a chip, was the true anomaly.

Rong Bing continued with his briefing on their destination.

"Above the snowline, the environment deteriorates rapidly. It’s even harsher than during the Land Era! Blizzards mixed with the Sub-Blade Storm are relentless. An A-rank Awakened can’t withstand them physically. By the time you reach the area of the great stone monument, the storm is like a flurry of tangible blades, moving with incredible force. Even an S-rank Awakened can’t hold out for long."

"Even I can only last for thirty minutes at most when the storm is at its peak."

"Don’t underestimate these storms."

"Back then, to install the [Holographic Projection] equipment on the great stone monument, Xirang could only work during lulls in the storm. As a result, the project took two full years of intermittent work to complete."

After explaining the mountain’s structure, Rong Bing pressed the button again.

The screen switched to the next image.

"The environment is harsh, but it’s also a treasure trove."

"As the only land in the Endless Ocean, it has produced numerous treasures and wonders, mostly with [Life] and [Ice and Snow] affinities."

"For example,"

"This is Snow-Crested Jade, ranked 102nd on the registry of wonders in the Endless Ocean. It’s rich in Ice and Snow Power and Life Power. It can heal any external injury, including severed limbs. As long as you can withstand its extreme cold, you can even regrow a lost arm. Not a lost head, of course."

"The other day, Lu Ping from the institute survived after ingesting a Sea-Rising Cherry Root by consuming a single leaf from one of these plants."

’Snow-Crested Jade?’

Shi Ming had come across information about it before. When he first arrived at Twelve Stars, he’d found a travelogue in a trading post that seemed to contain a relevant entry.

The author of the travelogue was unknown, but he suspected it was a female explorer dedicated to charting the great perilous regions of the Endless Ocean. She had been to Mammoth Cave, the Undersea Pyramid, Fujing Mountain, the Fichaz Sea Abyss, the Earth’s Lung, and Mount Everest... all in search of unknown, powerful creatures.

The journal noted that the explorer had once been caught in a Sub-Blade Storm and found a green branch, rich with life force, on a mountain ridge. Her companion took a bite and nearly froze solid. Fortunately, they were rescued by a Xirang researcher and took three days and nights to recover.

’That verdant green plant was, in all likelihood, Snow-Crested Jade.’

’Ice, life...’

’It seems to be related to that Holy Hall-level Sea Beast.’

"Unlike other wonders, Snow-Crested Jade isn’t a unique specimen. There’s more than one."

"The areas where it grows are rich in Ice and Snow Power and Life Power. If you think of the mountain as a treasure vault,"

"then the places where Snow-Crested Jade grows are the cracks where its riches leak out."

"We can use this to our advantage during the expedition."