Sea Storm

After the system announcement was released, the sky visibly darkened. The thick clouds seemed to be brewing some great disaster.

A huge bolt of lightning suddenly streaked across the sky, as if it would split it in two. Thunder roared deafeningly, and the ship sailed alone across the turbulent sea. The sight was so shocking, it felt as though the apocalypse had truly arrived.

[Public Channel]

Little Bitter Gourd: "Buying Iron Ore! I'll trade anything for it—even everything I own. Is there any big shot who can sell me one piece? Sob, sob... I really don't want to die..."

Moyudawang: "Who isn't short on Iron Ore right now? Upgrading to a Level 3 Ship takes fifty pieces."

Little Bitter Gourd: "I only need one! If anyone has a spare, please sell it to me. I think my raft's about to fall apart, and there's a shark right beside me. I don't want to become fish food..."

Sad Egg Yolk: "I'm just waiting to die. When I think about it, maybe dying like this wouldn't be so bad. Then I wouldn't have to keep racking my brains just to survive..."

Ling Chu still had sixty pieces of Iron Ore. Fifty of them were listed in exchange for a Tear of the Ghost. But that item seemed far too rare. Ever since she put up the offer, not only had no one traded with her, but no players had even provided her with a lead.

She figured that she would be able to collect more supplies from Iron Ore Island in two days anyway, so she'd never run short of Iron Ore. She listed all the rest of hers on the Trading Post at the same price as before, but added a restriction: one piece per person.

"Sixty pieces of Iron Ore are now available on the Trading Post. Buy them while you can."

After Ling Chu posted the message, the Public Chat Channel fell silent for two seconds. Everyone was probably rushing to buy the Iron Ore.

Two seconds later, [Public Chat Channel]

Invincible and Handsome: "Someone's really making a killing off people's lives at a time like this? Aren't they afraid it'll shorten their own?"

Squid Ball: "? What the hell are you talking about? The people selling Iron Ore right now are saviors."

Lulu Loves Eating Melons: "Exactly! Sixty pieces of Iron Ore mean sixty lives saved. How can anyone be so blind to what's right and wrong?"

Little Bitter Gourd: "Thank you, big shot Ling Chu! I got one piece of Iron Ore. I'm going to live!!!"

Sad Egg Yolk: "I got one too! Oh my god, does this mean it wasn't my time to die? Thank you for saving my life, big shot..."

Anyone with eyes could see that Ling Chu had put up the Iron Ore to help those who needed it, and she was charging the same price as before.

If she'd really wanted to profit from people's desperation, she could have raised the price two or three times over. She could even have had the system draw up a debt agreement.

This Sea Storm would destroy every raft that hadn't been upgraded. No matter how many resources people had, they'd be useless. Those who needed Iron Ore to upgrade their rafts would be willing to trade anything to stay alive.

Moyudawang: "Why's there a purchase limit? I only got one."

Squid Ball: "How many did you expect to get? Shameless."

Moyudawang: "I can buy as many as I want. It's a normal trade. Why are you insulting me?"

Squid Ball: "Insulting you is my freedom too. Go on, ask the system to mute me if you've got the guts."

Moyudawang: "No manners."

Squid Ball: "You'd steal a couple of pairs of underwear off an old man drying them by the street. And you're talking about manners?"

Ling Chu remembered that Moyudawang had placed second in the Ocean Scavenger Public Challenge. He should have upgraded to a small Sailboat long ago and wouldn't be short on Iron Ore. She was most worried about people like him, who weren't in urgent need but still wanted to hoard supplies. Good thing she'd set a purchase limit.

Unusually violent waves surged across the sea, crashing onto the deck as the ship rocked violently. The lightning flashed and thunder boomed louder and louder, then the rain came pouring down.

Ling Chu immediately closed the Public Chat Channel.

The Sea Storm was coming.

She quickly gathered up the potted seedlings and the Water Purifier on the deck and put them in her Ring. The rain was so heavy; if it drowned the seedlings she'd planted, she'd be heartbroken.

Once the seedlings were put away, they stopped growing. The storm probably wouldn't last too long, so she wouldn't lose much growing time.

After putting everything away, Ling Chu was soaked through. She couldn't even tell whether the water splashed across her face was rain or seawater.

The waves were like a giant hand, lifting the ship up and then dropping it. Ling Chu felt as though she were riding a pirate ship back before she'd crossed over.

Well, this really was a pirate ship now.

Her small Sailboat had a Durability Value of 13. She knew the storm couldn't destroy it, but the violent rocking made her so queasy she thought she might throw up.

Clinging to the railing with difficulty, she shouted to Titch, who was still at the helm, "The waves are too big! Let's get inside the cabin first."

She and Titch hurried into the cabin. It was cramped and windowless, but well sealed, keeping the thunder outside.

Ling Chu's seasickness eased a little. She took out the barbecue grill, lit the coals to warm herself, and dried her soaked clothes.

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She thought to herself that she had to find that Tear of the Ghost soon and upgrade the ship again. Being stuck on such a tiny boat was miserable.

Titch and she sat by the fire, staring at each other.

With nothing else to do, Ling Chu found a topic to talk about. "By the way, Titch, how did you die?"

She clearly remembered that when she'd found Titch, he'd been curled up inside a Wine Barrel. That was such a bizarre position—he couldn't have killed himself, could he?

The Ghost Fire in Titch's eyes flickered twice. He spoke with a hint of sadness. "My most trusted first mate betrayed me. The bullet from his gun hit me right in the heart."

He pointed to a spot just left of his breastbone. Ling Chu took a careful look and saw a clear bullet wound beneath his third rib.

"Why did he betray you?"

Titch shook his head. "I don't know."

"That day, we were celebrating a victory. Joseph roasted a whole lamb, and everyone on the ship gathered to drink. He slipped Sleeping Pills into the drinks."

"While I was drifting in and out of consciousness, I saw him shoot me. After I died, he must have put me in the Wine Barrel and thrown me into the sea."

Titch sighed again. "I don't know whether my other crew members survived. I guess they probably met an equally horrible end."

Ling Chu felt sorry for what Titch had gone through.

At least after he died, he'd had a chance to be brought back to life by her. If she died, there probably wouldn't be anyone to bury her.

Ling Chu's question had opened the floodgates, and Titch began talking at length about the days he'd spent sailing with his crew.

Between the rocking pirate ship and the real pirate skeleton's stories, Ling Chu began to doze off.

About four or five hours later.

Ling Chu, who had fallen asleep, was woken by Titch.

"Captain, it looks like the rain has stopped outside."

Ling Chu wiped her face and came around a little. She got up and left the cabin. Sure enough, the sky had cleared, and the waves had calmed considerably. Seaweed had caught on the ship's railing, and she found two oysters and a dead Horse Mackerel on the deck.

She checked the ship's condition. Its Durability had dropped to 64/100. Her ship's Durability Value was probably fairly high, yet it had still lost that much. Other players must have fared even worse.

Repairing the ship would take 30 Wood and 10 Cloth. Ling Chu chose to repair it, and the system said the job would take two hours.

She and Titch cleaned the seaweed off the ship and put the Planting Pots back in their places.

Meanwhile, the Public Chat Channel was still bustling.

[Public Channel]

Little Bitter Gourd: "My ship's Durability has only got 13 points left. That scared the hell out of me. Thanks again, big shot Ling Chu. If I hadn't upgraded my raft, I'd definitely be going to meet my great-grandma by now."

The World Is Not Worth It: "I remember there were a hundred thousand people in our region. Now there are only a little over ninety-two thousand. Did nearly eight thousand people die in one storm?"

Squid Ball: "You're remembering wrong. There were only a little over ninety-eight thousand before the storm. More like five thousand died."

Driving a Ferrari with One Hand: "Trading food or Freshwater for Wood! Damn it, there's a huge hole in my deck. I'm desperate for Wood to repair my ship!"

A Silly Bird: "When I was cleaning my ship, I found a Giant Clam on the deck. There was a pure white pearl inside!"

Lulu Loves Eating Melons: "I'm jealous, bro. Your Luck must be really high. My ship only had trash and seaweed."

Some players were relieved to have survived, while others were still shaken. The storm had driven up the price of Wood.

Ling Chu had over five thousand pieces of Wood, all of it collected earlier in exchange for Iron Ore. She had more than she could use, so she decided to take advantage of the high prices and put half of it up on the Trading Post in exchange for food, prioritizing fruit and meat.

Over the past three days, she'd observed that food prices were the most stable. Iron Ore prices would probably keep dropping, so she might as well turn her surplus resources into food and stock up. Food wouldn't spoil in her Ring anyway.

[Congratulations to all players who safely survived the Sea Storm. The next disaster will be a Meteor Shower, arriving in seven days. Players are advised to increase their ship speed to 30 kilometers per hour.]

[The Ranking and Shop features are now fully available. You can view them in the System Panel.]

[You have made it onto the rankings. Would you like to hide your profession information?]

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