Chapter 91: Heart of Fire Element

Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Heart of Fire Element

[Ding! Congratulations, Captain Lin Ji, on successfully recruiting a new member!]

[A-grade Talent Awakener [Qin Yao] has officially joined the Level 3 Steam Ironclad!]

[Current legal crew count: 8/10.]

[All members have received advanced Bond buff: Permanent 20% increase in fire resistance! Fire Element environmental adaptability and Skill destructive power increased by 20%!]

Hearing this notification, the women in the first-floor cabins were all stunned.

Tang Ling, who had originally been blushing from the indecent sounds coming from above, was so excited that she jumped right out of bed.

"Holy shit! Fire Skill destructive power increased by twenty percent?"

Tang Ling waved her fists excitedly, clearly feeling the Fire Element within her body become more active.

Even Su Qingyue, who had always felt uncomfortable in high-temperature environments, now felt the oppressive heat around her lessen considerably.

This immediate and powerful enhancement instantly made everyone realize the immense benefits of having a high-level teammate.

Second-floor Captain’s Quarters.

Lin Ji stood up and leisurely put on his clothes.

He pointed at Gu Yihan beside him, who was already fully dressed but still had a strong sense of jealousy in her eyes.

"Since you’ve boarded my ship, the rules need to be reestablished."

Lin Ji looked at Qin Yao, who was sprawled on the bed, his tone calm yet authoritative.

"She is Gu Yihan, the Deputy Captain of this ship."

"From now on, you must follow her arrangements for daily shipboard affairs."

Hearing Lin Ji back her up in person.

The bitterness in Gu Yihan’s heart instantly vanished.

She straightened her posture, adopting the demeanor of the primary authority, and walked coldly to the bedside to assert her dominance.

"Since you’ve become a crew member, you must follow the rules."

Gu Yihan looked down at Qin Yao from above and issued her first command.

"The rooms on the first floor are already full."

"You’ll sleep in the kitchen tonight!"

Hearing this arrangement, Qin Yao immediately put on a pitiful act.

Her large, watery eyes looked at Lin Ji with grievance.

Her red lips pouted slightly, trying to soften the heart of the man who had just taken her.

"Captain, the kitchen is so hard, how can I possibly get used to sleeping there..."

But Lin Ji wasn’t having any of it.

To deal with this kind of wildcat, you not only have to subdue her, but also completely crush her with rules.

Lin Ji smiled and added, following Gu Yihan’s lead:

"Do as the Deputy Captain says."

"You’ll squeeze into the kitchen with that newcomer Lin Yurou for the next few days."

Seeing Lin Ji show such favoritism toward her.

Gu Yihan felt sweeter than if she had eaten honey, and her gaze toward Qin Yao held a trace of a victor’s pride.

Seeing that her coquettish act was ineffective, Qin Yao could only bite her red lips with a pout.

"Understood, Deputy Captain."

She somewhat reluctantly accepted the arrangement and began silently putting on her damaged leather jacket.

Lin Ji paid no further attention to the little drama between the two.

He straightened his black tracksuit, pushed open the door, and strode toward the balcony.

Next, it was time to take stock of the huge gains from this trip to the Magma Floating Island.

Lin Ji pushed open the door and, feeling refreshed, descended the stairs to the first-floor deck.

As soon as he went downstairs, Lin Ji saw Tang Ling, Shen Manyun, and the other women gathered together.

Their pretty faces were flushed red, their eyes evasive, and the atmosphere seemed somewhat delicate.

Especially Tang Ling, who was wearing that tight white T-shirt. When she saw Lin Ji coming down, she was so shy that even the nape of her neck turned red.

But she couldn’t help secretly giving Lin Ji a thumbs-up, whispering with admiration:

"Boss, you’re just too awesome..."

"You actually managed to tame that ruthless, murderous madwoman, and she was even screaming so loudly..."

Lin Ji shamelessly grinned.

He casually gave Tang Ling’s perky, fleshy buttocks a pinch, making her let out a delicate cry as her face turned even redder.

"Alright, let’s get down to business."

Lin Ji set aside his playful mood, clapped his hands, and gathered everyone’s attention.

"Tang Ling, take out all the loot we scavenged from the Magma Floating Island and the cave this time and take stock of it."

Upon hearing the order, Tang Ling immediately switched into work mode.

Excitedly, she opened the Expansion Pouch at her waist.

Clatter!

A large pile of loot instantly poured out, filling the center of the deck!

At the forefront were over a dozen translucent red ores emitting scorching heat, as if flames were flowing inside.

These were the premium energy ores they had risked their lives to dig out from the outer areas of the cave—[Moltenheart Source Crystals]!

Following that.

There were materials from the corpses of Level 2 mutated poisonous insects hunted in the floating island’s jungle.

Including the bulging venom glands of poisonous spiders, the iron-hard carapaces of mutated centipedes, and some insect wings with Concealment properties.

In addition.

There was also a pile of extremely rare auxiliary forging materials like Fire-Resistant Crystal Sand and Fire Lizard Bone Shards!

Looking at these abundant and dazzling gains, the women’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

With these items.

Not only would the ship’s power issues be completely resolved, but Tang Ling could even start crafting basic shipboard weapons!

Just as everyone was cheering over this bountiful haul of resources.

Tang Ling suddenly seemed to remember something.

Mysteriously, she pulled out from the pouch the stone she had pried from a crevice in the cave while escaping.

As soon as this stone was taken out, the surrounding temperature strangely rose once again.

It was only the size of a fist, with a deep purplish-red hue all over.

Inside the stone, it seemed as if real magma was slowly flowing, emitting an extremely pure, even heart-palpitating, fire-elemental fluctuation.

Everyone was instantly drawn to this peculiar stone.

Lin Ji’s pupils contracted slightly, and he immediately activated the [Eye of Insight] to perform a deep scan of the stone.

Several lines of premium data, shimmering with dark golden light, slowly appeared before Lin Ji’s eyes:

[Item Name: Heart of Fire Element (Incomplete)]

[Description: An energy crystal nurtured for a thousand years deep within the veins of the Magma Floating Island. It can automatically absorb energy from the world (including polar day solar energy, geothermal heat, etc.) for infinite recharging.]

[Special Effect 1: The wearer’s fire-element and light-element Skill power is doubled, and Spiritual Power consumption is greatly reduced.]

[Special Effect 2: Can serve as a super auxiliary energy core for a Vessel, providing an endless, surging power source.]

[Hidden Attribute: When it absorbs specific extreme flames to saturation, it will unlock an advanced form.]

Seeing this string of information, Lin Ji’s heart raced wildly!

This was practically a super power bank capable of endlessly harvesting energy for free!

Whether used to power a Vessel, or combined with his [Volcanic Magma Burst] and Tang Ling’s forging, it offered terrifyingly immense benefits!

Just then.

Qin Yao, who had just changed into a barely decent tight black leather pants and a cropped tank top, happened to come downstairs from the second floor.

Her eyes immediately fell upon the [Heart of Fire Element] in Lin Ji’s hand.

Those peach-blossom eyes instantly turned red, her breathing becoming rapid.

Her ample chest heaved violently with each panting breath, threatening to burst the seams of that tight tank top.

As an A-grade Fire Element Awakened.

She understood the value of this item better than anyone present, coveting it so fiercely she almost lunged forward to snatch it right then and there!

If she had obtained this stone earlier.

Not only could the Fire Poison within her body have been suppressed, but she might even have glimpsed the opportunity to break through to S-grade with the aid of this crystal.

Lin Ji clenched the [Heart of Fire Element] tightly in his palm.

He could not only keenly feel the [Volcanic Magma Burst] Skill he had just copied within his body.

Under the stimulation of this pure Fire Element energy, it was wildly rejoicing and surging.

Even more...

A special, secret prompt from the system suddenly appeared in his mind.

This seemingly naturally-formed stone.

Its origins seemed to be connected to a certain vaster, more mysterious deep-sea secret hidden within this Forbidden Sea...