Ch. 326 - Forming a Fleet and Giving Chase

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“What situation are you in right now? Are you locked in a prison cell?” Yang Yi asked after gradually calming down.

“I don't know.”

“You don't know?”

“That's right. I think I'm on some kind of moving ship, but I can't open my eyes. I can't see or hear anything, and I can't even speak. I keep falling asleep from time to time. I think I'm being controlled by some kind of drug!”

The player replied before launching into another string of curses directed at the evil natives who had captured him. He then sent over a photo, presumably taken shortly before he was captured.

Everyone in the picture wore identical loose black robes that concealed their bodies beneath heavy fabric. However, ordinary human hands and feet weren't the only things visible. The image also revealed giant octopus tentacles, crab pincers, and even the claws of some unknown beast protruding from beneath the robes.

There was no need for any further proof.

Yang Yi was now certain that these people belonged to the Limb Spider Cult.

The robes were most likely worn to hide the grotesquely mutated limbs growing beneath them.

“Share your Sea Chart with me. I'll figure out your location,” Yang Yi said.

“Sure thing! Right away!

“I knew Boss One-Eye wouldn't just stand by and do nothing!”

The player immediately shared his Sea Chart through the Regional Chat Channel, allowing both Yang Yi and Suna to view it.

From the map, it was obvious that the player had already been separated from his ship, and the distance between them was considerable. It appeared that the Limb Spider Cult had only sold the player himself, while his ship had been towed away separately.

“Zoom in a little more. I can't determine your exact location,” Yang Yi requested.

The player quickly sent another image, this time magnified several times.

Yang Yi compared the enlarged map with his own Sea Chart. Even after studying both for quite some time, he still couldn't determine the route the other party had taken.

The reason was simple.

There were no recognizable landmarks that could be used for comparison. It was as though they were looking at two completely different charts, with most of both maps still hidden beneath the Fog of War.

While they examined the maps, the player introduced himself. His name was Mars, a twenty-nine-year-old male player.

“I'm currently under a special status called Subdued, so even the system's functions have been restricted. Other than the chat interface and the forum, I can barely access anything, and I can't trade at all.

“Even my maximum HP is wrong. It's been reduced to 20. Take a look.”

He then shared his status panel. Most of the information had either been replaced with question marks or omitted entirely.

【Mars】 

Status: Subdued, Senses Sealed, ???

Strength: ??? Spirit: 6 (2281/4000) Agility: ??? Constitution: ??? Perception: 0 (Senses Sealed: Perception reduced to 0) Sanity: 100/100 Stamina: ??? HP: 20/20 Talent: Third Hand (Agility +2. Greatly increases the dexterity of both hands.)

“Only 20 HP...” Yang Yi muttered, his expression growing grim. The player's situation was clearly far worse than he had initially imagined.

Considering that Mars had fallen into the hands of the Limb Spider Cult, and judging by the cult's usual methods...

...there was a very real possibility that all of his arms and legs had already been removed.

The thought crossed Yang Yi's mind, but he decided not to say it aloud.

Telling Mars would only make the situation worse, pushing the relatively calm player into panic.

Besides, it was only speculation. There was no way to confirm what had actually happened yet.

Yang Yi fell into thought, trying to come up with a way to determine the player's location.

If he could pinpoint Mars's position, he would also be able to locate the Golden Chamber of Commerce.

Using the Sea Chart alone was obviously impossible.

His gaze soon shifted to a grayed-out, locked interface—the Fleet interface.

If he established a fleet and invited Mars to join, he would be able to determine his fleet member's exact coordinates through the fleet system.

The moment the idea occurred to him, he acted on it.

Yang Yi immediately spent 100,000 Seashell Coins to register a fleet. Since it was only meant to be temporary, he came up with a name on the spot.

One-Eyed Fleet...

【That name has already been registered.】

“Huh?”

Yang Yi was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected someone else to have registered that exact name.

After a brief pause, he added a few extra words.

Authentic One-Eyed Fleet.

【Registration Successful.】

After completing the registration, Yang Yi spent a few minutes familiarizing himself with the fleet interface before sending Mars an invitation through the Regional Chat Channel.

The other party accepted almost instantly, becoming the fleet's second member.

As for Suna, Yang Yi deliberately chose not to invite her.

It was a precaution.

That way, even if someone investigated the fleet, they wouldn't be able to confirm whether she and Yang Yi were actually traveling together.

After all, this could very well be a trap.

Mars might have reached some kind of agreement with the Limb Spider Cult and was serving as bait.

Once Mars had joined the fleet, Yang Yi reopened his Sea Chart.

This time, Mars's location appeared clearly on the map.

He was positioned to the upper-left of the Nightmare Star, moving slowly at a speed of roughly twenty knots.

Without hesitation, Yang Yi ordered the Old Captain to set sail and pursue the target.

He intended to find out exactly what was going on.

...

Another nine days passed.

By then, Yang Yi had only one Light Container remaining.

No matter what kind of vessel he encountered next, he intended to board it and replenish his supplies, especially Light Containers. They were simply too important, and he planned to purchase as many as he could.

During this time, the Delicious Fertilizer and Delicious Jerky he had ordered finally arrived, along with several other varieties of fertilizer.

He planned to test them all on the Vitality Sardine Tree to see whether any of them would trigger a special mutation.

Meanwhile, Suna had been occupied with another research project over the past few days. She had asked Yang Yi for a large quantity of his saliva, though she refused to explain what she was working on.

“It's finally here!”

Yang Yi held a crystal ball in one hand while casually chewing on a strip of Whip-Tailed Smoke Pipefish Jerky.

According to the Sea Chart, a fleet had finally appeared ahead.

The lead vessel was enormous. On the map, it appeared as a circular marker with an estimated diameter of nearly three hundred meters.

More than a dozen smaller ships accompanied it.

If the Nightmare Star traveled at full speed, it would catch up with the fleet in roughly three hours.

“Suna, prepare for battle. We don't know whether the ships ahead belong to enemies or merchants.”

After sending Suna a private message, Yang Yi walked to the bow and took direct control of the Nightmare Star, steering it toward the fleet at full speed.

His once completely bald scalp had finally begun to sprout new hair, although it was still short and sparse.

As long as he continued eating Whip-Tailed Smoke Pipefish, his hair would eventually grow back.

He had also discovered a rather useless new ability.

Whenever he became excited, nervous, or intentionally tensed his scalp, every strand of his hair would stand on end like the bristling fur of a frightened animal.

It was probably a side effect of eating the fish, but it wasn't particularly troublesome.

“I'm almost there. I should catch up in about three hours. Once I do, I'll try to rescue you.”

Yang Yi left another message in the Regional Chat Channel.

“Okay.

“I'll be counting on you, Boss One-Eye!”

Mars was overjoyed. After waiting for so long, rescue finally seemed within reach.

Moreover, based on their casual conversations over the past several days, Yang Yi no longer believed Mars was lying. He hadn't shown any suspicious behavior and had acted exactly like a player who had genuinely been subdued.

Two hours and forty-five minutes later, Yang Yi gradually slowed the Nightmare Star.

He borrowed the Eye of Greed Telescope from Suna and began observing the fleet ahead.

About twenty nautical miles away, a fleet came into view.

Every ship blazed with brilliant lights, making the formation especially conspicuous through the telescope.

Even more striking, every vessel was golden in color, as though each had been plated with a layer of pure gold.

Leading the formation was a gigantic circular ship.

Its overall structure resembled an enormous bowl or basin. The upper deck formed a vast, flat platform upon which numerous buildings and rooms had been constructed.