Ch. 35 - Waterlogged Bronze Chest

New World FleetAboard the Hope, Captain Shen Guanquan had spent a large amount of supplies, food, and even a precious relic just to acquire the blueprints for the Pirate Ship.

"Boss, why didn’t you just arrange a meeting with that guy and then rob him directly?" asked a burly bald man with a scar on his face.

"Rob! Rob! Rob! All you ever think about is robbing!" Shen Guanquan irritably knocked on the bald man’s head and continued, "If I hear you say 'rob' again, I’ll throw you into the sea to feed the fish!"

"Boss is right, I won’t say rob again!"

"But you just said it! Someone, throw him into the sea to feed the fish!"

Without being forced, the bald man jumped into the sea on his own. He was Captain Zhao Tie, also known as Zhao the Iron Head — a man as stubborn as his name suggests, and also Shen Guanquan’s trusted subordinate.

"Alright, once you’ve sobered up, get back to your ship!" Shen Guanquan scolded helplessly.

Actually, Shen Guanquan had considered meeting with Yang Yi, but Yang Yi was very cautious. He didn’t even add friends, let alone agree to a face-to-face meeting.

Shen Guanquan looked at the Pirate Ship blueprints in his hand. "How should I use this?" he pondered. He didn’t plan to use it himself, as the image of a pirate captain didn’t fit the leader persona he wanted to establish.

A more ordinary ship would make him appear more approachable. He intended to create a maritime empire, and the first step was to establish a noble and righteous image to facilitate recruitment…

A day later, the Nightmare Star was sailing on the sea.

Yang Yi was fishing.

【You caught a long-legged sardine】

【You caught a long-legged sardine】

【You caught a rotten piece of wood】

【You caught an eyeball fruit】

【You caught...】

【…】

Yang Yi tossed the fishing rod aside and lay down on the deck in frustration, surrounded by a pile of long-legged sardines and a few eyeball fruits. Why was he only catching junk fish?

He began to doubt his life choices but quickly pulled himself together. After fishing for so long, Yang Yi had figured out that in this sea, you were most likely to catch long-legged sardines, with a smaller chance of catching eyeball fruits and bloated pufferfish, and an even smaller chance of catching red-lipped eels.

"Maybe I should try deep-sea fishing?" Yang Yi thought. He quickly acted on the idea, baiting his hook with a long-legged sardine, removing the float, and starting to fish in deeper waters.

He had caught a twin-finned devil shark before, and if he could catch another one, it would be a guaranteed profit. It was like a gacha game!

Now, with an upgraded ship and Suna's archery skills, dealing with such a fish would be no problem.

While waiting for a bite, he browsed the world channel to see if he could buy some tools for starting a fire. They were in high demand. He had seen them twice but failed to buy them.

During this time, many organisations were recruiting new members. For example, the Cherry Blossom Ship had formed a group called "New People," recruiting only people from Japan. Then there were groups like New Rome and Eden, which clearly were mostly for foreigners...

Yang Yi noticed that the coordinates given by Eden were far from his location. It seemed that people from different regions were also far apart in this world, so it would probably be a long time before they could meet.

Failing to secure any fire-starting tools, Yang Yi posted a purchase request: "Looking to buy fire-starting tools at a high price. Also buying down jackets or other warm clothing."

Soon, he received private messages, but they were all from people selling clothes.

"Down jackets, 150 fabric per piece, 5% off for 4 pieces!"

Yang Yi ignored the message. More private messages trickled in. After reading through them, he found that the lowest price for a down jacket was 120 fabric, meaning 4 pieces would cost him 480 fabric. Cotton coats were cheaper, but Yang Yi wanted the best quality.

Since it was still early, Yang Yi decided to wait a few days to see if prices would drop.

Suddenly, the reel on his fishing rod started spinning rapidly — something had taken the bait!

Yang Yi immediately tightened the line and pulled hard on the rod. It wasn’t a large creature, as it didn’t seem to have much strength. In less than eight minutes, Yang Yi had pulled the catch onto the boat.

It was a human head; more accurately, an octopus with a human-like head, with tentacles below and a head that was actually a form of mimicry.

"Excuse me, could I trouble you for a few minutes..." The creature began to speak, but Yang Yi stomped it to death immediately.

"Disgusting!" Yang Yi cursed, rebaiting his hook with a long-legged sardine, and resuming his fishing.

Fishing in the deep sea was much slower. By the end of the day, Yang Yi had caught only three things: a human-head octopus, a red-lipped eel, and a bronze treasure chest.

Normally, catching a bronze treasure chest would be cause for celebration — a major haul. But Yang Yi was on high alert. He had caught dead things before, like the farmer woman’s three punches.

When dead things were reeled in, they wouldn’t struggle against the line. But the bronze chest was different; it struggled and pulled with considerable force. Yang Yi thought he was reeling in a big fish and had spent nearly half an hour pulling it up.

The chest was about half a metre wide, covered in thick verdigris, and marked by signs of seawater erosion. One corner was even encrusted with red coral.

Yang Yi examined the chest's information: S~eaʀᴄh the nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

【Name: Waterlogged Bronze Chest】

【Type: Treasure Chest】

【Description: There could be treasure inside...but it might also be...】

This reminded him of the waterlogged, rotten wood chest he had opened before. At that time, a human-head octopus had jumped out, scaring Yang Yi half to death.

So, this waterlogged bronze chest might also contain a monster.

Yang Yi remained cautious and didn’t rush to open it. He noticed that the fishing line was still attached to something inside the chest — it seemed the chest had swallowed the bait!

He stepped back, holding a flintlock pistol in his left hand, and used a wooden spear in his right to try and pry open the chest.

"It’s really tight!"

The chest didn’t open, and the spearhead broke off. Yang Yi then tied a sea serpent tooth to the spear and used a short sword to pry it open, inserting the blade into a crevice.

Suddenly, it felt like he had struck something, and the chest let out a strange cry, popping open.

A jet of black water shot out from the chest, but Yang Yi, prepared, dodged it.

"What the hell is this, a mimic?"

【You’ve been startled, Sanity -5】

Inside the chest was soft, white flesh. Yang Yi had apparently cut something vital, causing the chest to thrash violently.

After shooting the water jet, the chest no longer closed, as if it had died. To be safe, Yang Yi stabbed it a few more times, and clear liquid seeped out of the wounds.

Finally, the thing, probably a mimic, stopped moving. The water jet seemed to be its only form of attack, with some corrosive properties, as it left a whiff of smoke where it struck the ground.

【Name: Treasure Chest Clam】

【Type: Food】

【Description: A type of mollusc that likes to use treasure chests as its shell in adulthood, capable of spitting corrosive acid to catch small fish. It enjoys collecting shiny objects from the sea floor, and you can find Shell Coins and some sparkling treasures inside it. Non-toxic, edible after removing the internal organs.】

"So, it’s a sea clam..."

Yang Yi cut open the clam's flesh with the sea serpent tooth and began to search inside.

The clam meat was actually just a thin layer, beneath which were all the shiny objects the Treasure Chest Clam had collected, including a fist-sized pearl.

【You’ve obtained 600 Shell Coins】

【You’ve obtained a Healing Pearl】

【You’ve obtained 50 Crystals】

【You’ve obtained 20 Stones】