Ch. 11 - Astrologer

The trade was almost complete. All that was left was to confirm the details in the log and throw the traded items into the Monster Vending Machine. Next, they would get transported to the other party's ship.There was no need to worry about the other party breaching the contract — the Vending Machine guaranteed the trade's completion!

Yang Yi threw in the agreed-upon trade items. As for the materials, the system directly deducted them from the ship's hold.

Before long, the Octopus Vending Machine spat out two bottles of holy water.

These were pure, colourless liquids contained in reagent bottles.

Yang Yi opened one bottle, sniffed it, and found no smell. He then drank it in one gulp.

Immediately, he felt as if his body was on fire, a scorching pain searing through him, even emitting a burnt smell.

At the same time, his mental state improved significantly, and he felt refreshed.

“It’s effective!”

Yang Yi was overflowing with joy and checked his status.

The corpse poison infection had downgraded to moderate, and his health began to slowly recover. He drank the second bottle to consolidate the treatment.

Afterwards, he spent 50 Shell Coins to buy five emergency bandages. These seemed to be made of cloth, and since Yang Yi didn’t have the recipe, he had to buy them.

He pulled out the arrow from his left arm, the intense pain making him grit his teeth. But the pain was a good sign, it indicated the corpse poison had lessened!

After cleaning the wound with a small amount of freshwater, Yang Yi bandaged himself and then checked his status panel again.

Name: Yang Yi

Status: Injured/Corpse Poison Infection (Mild, Improving) (A human figure appears, coloured light yellow, with the wounded areas slightly darker)

Sanity: 93/100

Energy: 35/100

Health: 19/100 (Slowly Recovering)

He exhaled deeply. Finally, he was alive again.

The remaining materials could be used to upgrade the Nightmare.

【Materials are sufficient. Do you want to upgrade?】

He decisively chose to upgrade and clicked to confirm.

The Nightmare emitted a queer green light, as if ghosts were floating around the ship, and the hull began to expand.

【Upgrade complete. The Nightmare has been upgraded to a Tier 3 ship. You can check the specific changes in the ship interface.】

【Sailing Announcement: The number of Tier 3 ships has exceeded ten thousand. A new change will occur. In three days, an unprecedented storm will hit this sea area. Please prepare accordingly!】

As soon as the announcement was made, the chat channel exploded.

"Ten thousand Tier 3 ships... Damn! I'm still short of 8 pieces of wood. Anyone selling wood?"

"Guys, can anyone explain? I'm in the game world now, but it's still so competitive!"

"Buying wood and cloth at high prices; message me if you're selling!"

A wave of upgrading swept through the channel, and the prices of wood and cloth skyrocketed.

However, those who suffered the most were those with special ships that required additional materials to upgrade...

Iron Heart: "Trading fish meat for steel. Message me if you're interested. Fresh fish is available in large quantities!"

"Don't buy from him; his fish has a gunpowder taste, it's disgusting!" Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴøvᴇlFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“I only guarantee it's freshly killed and sold!"

"Anyone got a low-tier wind essence? Price is negotiable!"

The speaker was from the Swift Wind, and Yang Yi had him as a friend, so the channel was no longer anonymous.

"Organic cucumbers, organic cabbage, organic apples, and organic bananas — rich in vitamins and water. You know the deal. Also buying seeds at high prices." 1

"Where did you get vegetables and fruits? Can your ship grow crops?"

"Smart guess, you got it!"

He then attached his ship’s information.

【Farmer, Tier 1, Durability: 600/600, Capacity: 1000 units, Speed: 25 knots】

【Ship Skill: Efficient Planting: The ship has farmland. The harvest time varies depending on the seeds.】

【Description: Farmer? No, now you're called Dad!】

Yang Yi was a bit surprised.

He hadn’t expected a ship that could grow crops. This really was.. incredible wealth!

Every special ship had its own unique advantages!

Yang Yi glanced at the blueprint in his hand. This thing must be a treasure!

【Name: Pirate Ship Blueprint】

【Type: Blueprint】

【Quality: Special】

【Description: It can transform your ship into a Pirate Ship, giving it greater speed, more grappling hooks, and even...cannons!】

Yang Yi hadn’t seen any cannons on the Pirate Ship yet, so they were probably something that could only be added after upgrading.

And as he suspected, using the blueprint didn’t consume materials. This meant using the blueprint on a high-tier plank ship would result in significant savings.

For example, a Tier 3 plank ship using the blueprint would turn into a Tier 3 special ship, saving a lot of upgrade materials.

The higher the tier, the more you'd save!

So this blueprint wouldn't lose its value even in the later stages!

He then checked his ship interface.

【Nightmare, Tier 3, Durability: 600/600, Capacity: 1000 units, Speed: 50 knots】

【Ship Skills: Nightmare: Sleep quality on the ship is extremely poor, causing nightmares, with energy recovery efficiency reduced by 75%. The Angler's Curse: Normal fish are rare on this ship, but the chances of encountering abnormal things are increased.】

【Description: The ship has grown bigger, but it can't change its dilapidated state!】

The ship’s durability had doubled, but it was still low and couldn't withstand much damage! The ship’s length had increased to around 30 metres, with a skull chained to the bow — likely the remains of the previous captain...

There was also a new expandable room in the cabin with three upgrade options:

Extra Cargo Hold: Increases ship capacity by 100%, requires 300 units of wood.Ancient War Room: Provides two waterlogged cannons for attack, requires 200 units of wood, 10 units of steel, and 10 units of sulphur.Great Statue: Can intimidate passing ships, causing panic, requires 300 units of wood, 300 units of cloth, and the corpse of an otherworldly creature.

After some thought, Yang Yi decided to aim for the Ancient War Room.

Nothing made him feel safer than cannons!

Naval combat was impossible without cannons!

His current supplies were as follows:

Capacity: 102/1000

Wood x39, Cloth x58, Fresh Water x5L

Steel and sulphur were likely advanced resources that he hadn’t encountered yet.

The upgrade interface for Tier 3 ships wasn't available yet, probably because it required completing the expansion first.

After sorting everything out, Yang Yi started fishing. He still needed to prepare more food...

Behind the Nightmare, several nautical miles away. There was a unique ship, about 20 metres long, with a massive crystal ball over three metres in diameter on it.

【Astrologer, Tier 1, Durability: 500/500, Capacity: 800 units, Speed: 50 knots】

【Ship Skills: Astrology: Displays the sea chart for one nautical mile around, showing ship names. Scrying: Displays an image of a selected ship on the sea chart, but cannot view islands. Limited to one target per day.】

【Description: Just because you can see the map doesn’t mean you’re cheating!】

The captain was a beautiful woman with black hair and brown skin, her eyes a rare red colour.

She had noticed the Nightmare earlier. After all, it was unusual for two ships to be neck and neck.

Later, there was a change — the Pirate Ship’s icon suddenly disappeared from the sea chart...

“Was it taken down...?”

The woman stared at the crystal ball, now the size of a palm, which displayed a sea chart of the surrounding area, including ship names.

She manipulated it and used the scrying skill to view the Nightmare’s image.

She saw Yang Yi on the ship, fishing.

A long-legged sardine was caught, and before it could hit the deck, it went straight into Yang Yi’s mouth.

The woman’s red eyes widened in shock, filled with disbelief.

Not long after, he caught an eyeball, which was also eaten...

Finally, a bloated puffer fish was caught, which Yang Yi discarded in disgust.

But when the woman saw this highly toxic fish, her eyes lit up.

“How did he catch these treasures?” she wondered with envy.

She didn’t lose any sanity but became even more curious because she had a special talent.

【Talent: Witch's Bloodline: You crave knowledge. Your red eyes are your mark and your curse. Spirit +2. You have a much higher resistance to strange creatures and phenomena. But remember, those who touch the forbidden will be hunted by the Holy Light and burned by sacred fire...】

Notes

Literally what a market day sounds like -Simply↩