Ch. 42 - Maritime Weekly

The Nightmare Star had a big hole, and the repairs were quite expensive. It cost 332 wood, 125 cloth, 108 stone, and 20 steel, taking half a day to fix.

The system really understood resource management!

Dismantling ships yielded significantly fewer materials, while ship repairs required double the resources...

However, Yang Yi had no regrets about firing the shot. If he had the chance to, he would still pull the trigger without hesitation again.

Who knew what could happen if those spiders burst out? Maybe they'd bite, or perhaps they'd merge into a big, scary monster.

It was best to be cautious — couldn’t go wrong with that.

The rewards were so great, a little lost material was no big deal!

Three days later, the Nightmare Star was still roaming around the island. Yang Yi had a nautical map, giving him an advantage. He could monitor the island's surroundings through it.

But for three days straight, no ship had appeared nearby. Perhaps because Hu Wei was dead, the other deceived players, after privately messaging each other, found no trace of him and became wary of the location. Of course, it was also possible that Hu Wei didn't deceive many people, and Yang Yi was the last one.

During the three days, Suna had locked herself in the lab. Aside from drawing a few more tubes of Yang Yi's blood, she rarely showed herself, focused on her research.

As evening approached and darkness began to fall, Yang Yi walked into the cabin and loudly reminded her.

"Suna, it's time to rest!"

The eight-hour work rule was a strict policy Yang Yi had set for Suna. That way, she could avoid losing too much sanity and falling into madness.

"Suna!" Yang Yi called again, a bit impatient.

"Five more minutes!"

"Are you bargaining with me? Five more minutes? Come out now, or I'll kick you out!" Yang Yi said viciously.

He had the captain's authority, meaning he could literally kick Suna out of the lab using the system.

"Please don’t! I’ll come out myself!"

After some noise, Suna finally rushed out.

"Any progress?" Yang Yi asked.

"Still a bit more..." Suna looked dazed, seemingly absent-minded.

Yang Yi, used to her being lost in her own world, just urged her, "Fine, rest now. We’ll talk tomorrow!"

Suna, unresponsive, walked to her room like a zombie.

Yang Yi returned to the deck and controlled the ship to stop, keeping a distance of over 100 nautical miles from the island.

The fish he was catching were still the same as before, except for a strange one he had reeled in from the deep sea. It was about half a metre long, covered in coral, and looked like a bamboo basket.

In reality, the fish itself was palm-sized, located in the centre of the "basket", while the rest was all coral.

【Name: Coral Cage Fish】

【Type: Food】

【Description: A species from the abyss, its body is covered in poisonous coral that forms a cage to protect itself. The fish meat is also highly poisonous and not recommended for consumption.】

Seeing the word "poisonous", Yang Yi didn’t want to touch it at all.

He used a wooden spear to kill the fish and sent it to the lab.

His luck was pretty bad — he hadn't seen a single treasure chest. Aside from fish, he only managed to catch 12 wood and 15 cloth.

The weakness of fishing was evident: the rewards were very unstable, depending on luck and skill.

But even the best anglers would sometimes catch nothing, which would lead to them making up superstitions after failing one too many times.

Like casting the line exactly at the right time for a better chance of treasure...

Or just repeatedly pulling the line whether there's a fish or not...

Or marking where they caught a big fish or treasure and trying the same spot again next time.

Some even bowed to their fishing rods, hoping for a stroke of luck.

Yang Yi dismissed all of this as fake — just superstition. After all, he had tried it himself, and it didn’t work at all!

Now, lying on his bed like a salted fish, he browsed the world channel.

"Looking for a lighter!"

Yang Yi routinely left a message, hoping someone would contact him.

He scrolled a few pages, and an organisation called the Great Press Special Fleet caught his attention.

The group had appeared a few days ago and was recruiting members at the time.

The leader seemed to be the owner of a special ship, possibly capable of printing newspapers.

They were planning to start a news agency, gathering the latest sea information, and selling it in weekly newspapers.

After preparing for so long, their first weekly edition was finally ready for release.

“The first issue is complete! Trading sections, maritime events, monster reports…you name it!! With more content in the works, be sure not to miss this hard-to-come-by bargain: 100 Shell Coins per issue, or a four-issue monthly subscription for only 300 Shell Coins. Everyone is encouraged to submit news tips — we’ll reward valuable information with Shell Coins! If you provide fake news, you’ll be blacklisted permanently. Also, ad space is available for rent...”

The newspaper’s leader was a business genius.

The paper wasn’t expensive, but it could sell in high volumes. If they got thousands of customers, the money would roll in fast!

That was, as long as they established a good reputation.

Yang Yi was interested in the paper and sent a private message, expressing his desire to buy an issue.

He soon got a reply.

"Pay first, then leave a note with the language you want. The newspaper will be delivered via the trading system for free.

You can also add me as a friend and subscribe for 300 Shell Coins a month, which includes at least four issues. There’s currently a promotion — subscribe for three months and get one extra month free!”

“No need for a subscription, just send me one issue!” Yang Yi quickly transferred 100 Shell Coins.

He wasn’t keen on adding a friend just for a subscription, no matter the cost.

He anonymously bought an issue, planning to see what it was like first. If it had valuable content, he would consider buying more in the future.

The newspaper's efficiency was high. Even at night, they delivered quickly, and within minutes, the paper arrived via the trading system. It was a crude, ink-printed paper — you rubbed it too hard, and it would smudge.

But right now, no one cared about that. What mattered was whether the content was valuable!

The Nightmare Star had no lights or fire, except for the witch's lab and Suna's room, which were illuminated. Yang Yi didn’t intend to barge into Suna’s room just to read the newspaper, so he slipped into the witch's lab.

It was eerily quiet inside, like he had stepped into another world. The air was filled with an indescribable smell — a complex mix of stench and the distinctive scent of otherworldly organs.

The walls were lined with jars filled with various organs. Yang Yi didn’t bother to look closely, as seeing too much would lower his sanity, and that wasn’t necessary, was it?

He opened the paper and began reading.

It had two sides. The front was the trading section, with both wanted and clearly priced for-sale items, along with player names, ship names, and IDs for direct contact.

Most items were self-produced and self-sold.

Yang Yi quickly spotted an old acquaintance, Zhou Dai, captain of the Radiant Goddess. She was selling holy water for the hefty price of 2,000 Shell Coins per bottle, or bartering for equipment.

The price she gave him was indeed a friendly, internal one. It also reflected the chaotic early-game market, with basic materials still scarce.

Yang Yi skimmed through and noticed a troublesome relic.

【Name: Cannibal Cult Introductory Guide】

【Type: Relic】

【Quality: Rare】

【Description: This book records eighteen ways to consume corpses, allowing you to "eat what you need" with real results! Except it can’t help your brain.】

Yang Yi felt dizzy after reading that.

The newspaper would definitely need to be destroyed, Suna couldn’t find out about this. Otherwise, the crazy woman would go to any lengths to buy it and try out its contents.

Just the thought of Suna eating corpses gave him goosebumps, so he immediately disabled her trading permissions, cutting off this possibility.

Other things weren’t as disturbing. Yang Yi browsed through, noting that many items were either overpriced or ineffective.

If something was a good deal, it would’ve already been sold in the chat channel.

However, Yang Yi still found an interesting piece of ship equipment.

【Name: Barbarian Catapult】

【Type: Ship Equipment】

【Quality: Good】

【Description: Can launch objects for long-range attacks. Effective range: 0-500 metres (If the object is too heavy, the range will be 0). Requires one square metre of space on the deck for installation.】

What the Nightmare Star was lacking most were long-range attack capabilities. The catapult could be bought as a temporary fix, provided it wasn’t too expensive.

When Yang Yi saw the price — 2,000 Shell Coins — he thought it was daylight robbery!

Once the ship was upgraded, it could install cannons, which would be far more useful than hard-to-aim catapults.

Cannons would also have greater firepower!

The only advantage the catapult had was its slightly longer than the average cannon range, but the stone’s speed was much slower and easily dodged.

So, Yang Yi concluded it simply wasn’t worth 2,000 Shell Coins at all!

If it were 500, that would be acceptable.

He sent a private message to the seller.

"500 for one catapult. Interested? Message me!"

The other party didn’t reply, probably asleep. He’d check again in the morning.

Yang Yi then looked at the “Wanted” section, where familiar organisations like New World, New Humans, and the Iron Brotherhood were buying up materials, equipment, and fire-making tools.

The prices were generally slightly below market value, aiming for quick sales and fast cash.

"These groups are all buying fire-making tools. No wonder I couldn’t get any..." Yang Yi clicked his tongue.

Personally, he couldn’t financially compete with ship fleets; his warehouse was only so big...

After reading, Yang Yi flipped the newspaper to the other side.

The page was divided into two sections: Maritime Events and Monster Reports. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.