Killing for the first time, Yang Yi felt no psychological burden—likely due to his high Spirit stat granting exceptional tolerance. He donned the pirate garb and headed for the Pirate Ship's cabin.
[The garment feels icy against your skin. Sanity decreases by 5.]
Thanks to his high Spirit, he ignored the continuous sanity drain debuff.
Entering the cabin, he immediately accessed the ship's info:
Pirate Ship, Tier 1, Durability 1000/1000, Capacity 800 units, Speed 45 knots
Hull Skills:
- Extra Grapples: Two grapples on each side for grabbing objects or other ships.
- Pirate Raid: Increases speed by 25% for 15 minutes.
Description: The skull flag is this ship's soul. Strive to become the Pirate King!
He tried switching ships but found no such function in the logs—apparently impossible. Besides, he had no intention of switching. Though the Pirate Ship's four extra grapples boosted resource-gathering efficiency, it couldn't compare to the Nightmare's prophetic nightmares—a far rarer ability.
Searching the cabins, he discovered a naked female corpse, abused before death: one thigh missing, clear strangulation marks on her neck. The blood was fresh—she'd died recently. Yang Yi realized he'd been the second target; the first was already dead.
[You wonder where the thigh went. Sanity decreases by 2.]
Frowning, he deduced the previous owner's sanity was lower than expected, mental state unstable. He inventoried the loot: two hard black breads (2 days' calories), 5L fresh water, 125 wood, 98 cloth.
System Prompt:
[You have successfully claimed the ownerless Pirate Ship. Choose to dismantle it; basic materials will transfer to your cabin.]
[Ensure your ship has sufficient capacity before dismantling, or excess materials may damage the hull.]
[Dismantling yields: 100 wood, 50 cloth, x1 Pirate Ship Blueprint. Blueprints only drop from dismantling special ships.]
[Each ship can be modified with a blueprint once. Choose wisely!]
(This prompt appears only for the first special ship dismantling.)
No wonder the ship had ample wood—the previous owner must have dismantled a basic vessel. Checking the Nightmare's capacity (400 units, currently 25/400 with 14 wood, 10 cloth, 1L water), he calculated that dismantling the Pirate Ship would just fit, providing enough resources to upgrade to Tier 2—a huge bargain.
After confirming no other valuables, he returned to the Nightmare with a dozen crude arrows. In the logs, he initiated dismantling. The Pirate Ship shattered into pieces, flooding the Nightmare's cabin with materials. Now, he had enough to upgrade—but first, he needed to trade for medical supplies urgently.
Monitoring his status: HP had dropped only 1 point, slowly—likely due to corpse poison halting bleeding. However, sanity fell below 80, presumably from the poison eroding his mind.
He opened the trading channel. Prices were chaotic, with many bartering instead of using Conch Coins. Wood and cloth were hard currency. Spotting a Fine-quality item:
"Selling Holy Water, limited stock. DM for details."
[Name: Holy Water]
[Type: Consumable]
[Quality: Fine]
[Description: Blessed water, usable internally/externally or as a thrown weapon. Essential against mutations! Cures toxins, curses, accelerates healing, slightly restores stamina.]
Perfect. His trade assets included: Drowned Wrath, Pirate Longbow, Rusty Flintlock, Bloodstained Pirate Garb, Vine-Covered Fishing Rod, Pirate Ship Blueprint, resources, and 500 Conch Coins. Reluctant to part with weapons or the blueprint, he messaged the seller:
Yang Yi: How much?
Minutes later, the anonymous seller replied (likely swamped with inquiries):
Anonymous: Need large cloth quantities + survival items: gear, water, food.
Knowing urgency put him at a disadvantage, Yang Yi offered his highest bid immediately:
"Drowned Wrath (item details attached), 400 Conch Coins, 30 wood, 58 cloth, 1 black bread, 4L water."
To his surprise, the seller responded within seconds:
"Your offer is actually serious!"
Along came a friend request:
[Zhou Dai, Captain of Radiant Goddess, requests to add you as a friend.]
Accepting, he received a flood of messages:
"Others were just trolling compared to you!
I have 4 Holy Waters. Your condition sounds critical—1 might not be enough.
Take 2 as a welcome gift!
I'm Zhou Dai. My ship produces Holy Water—let's partner long-term. May the Radiant Goddess bless you!"
Stunned by the smooth transaction, Yang Yi realized she desperately needed Drowned Wrath for survival.
On the Radiant Goddess, a sleek white three-masted schooner with a prayer chamber housing a goddess statue, Zhou Dai—a tall, curvy mixed-race woman with golden hair and jade eyes—faced low Holy Water production and nightly horrors. Drowned Wrath would buy her precious time to reach the prayer chamber.