Level 3 Ship

This Tier 2 island core looked no different from a Tier 1 core—just a larger sphere of light.

Ling Chu dripped a drop of blood from her fingertip onto the sphere, and a pleasant system chime sounded.

[You have obtained an Island Core (Tier 2).]

[You are now the owner of this island. Please name it.]

Ling Chu kept it simple and named it "Volcano Island."

[Island naming successful.]

[Volcano Island is a Tier 2 island. Every three days, it produces 800 units of sulfur ore, 800 units of volcanic charcoal, and 100 jin of figs (resources are mature and ready for harvest).]

Ling Chu couldn't hide the delight in her eyes.

Sulfur, charcoal, fruit.

Every single one was something she needed.

Ling Chu glanced at the panel and saw that the resources on Iron Ore Island were also mature. She collected everything from both islands in one go.

After she clicked harvest, the fig trees laden with fruit and the sulfur ore on the island vanished. It was a pity she was pressed for time—otherwise, she could have squeezed out a bit more.

After the Sulfur Giant Lizard decomposed, its corpse had disappeared, leaving only the half-eaten lion skeleton on the ground.

Ling Chu tried using the "Bone Revival" skill on that lion skeleton.

[Skill use failed! This skill can only be used on humanoid skeletons!]

The skill failure was within Ling Chu's expectations.

If any creature's skeleton could be revived, the skill would be way too broken. If beast bones could be resurrected, and even fish bones eaten away could come back, then she'd be spawning an undead fish swarm in no time.

Ling Chu gathered all her Skeleton Henchmen and headed back to the shore where her ship was docked.

First thing's first—upgrade the ship. If she didn't, her henchmen wouldn't even have room to stand.

After deducting the upgrade resources—50 iron ore, 500 cloth, 500 wood, 50 bones, 10 glass, and 1 drop of Tear of the Ghost—her ship instantly disassembled and reassembled on the spot. A gleaming three-masted sailing ship, a full five stories tall, appeared before her.

[Ghost Pirate Galleon (Level 3)]

[Durability Value: 35]

[Maximum Crew: 1/5]

[Speed: Maximum wind speed 20 km/h; with Steam Engine, up to 35 km/h]

[Warehouse Capacity: 0/150 slots]

[Durability: 100/100]

Compared to the stats of an ordinary Two-Masted Sailing Ship that A Silly Bird had once posted in the Public Chat Channel, her ship had 15 more Durability Value—5 of which came from the Pompom Sea Urchin ornament—50 more warehouse slots, and the same speed.

As for the maximum crew, that probably referred to players. Her Skeleton Henchmen weren't counted. The ship's deck space was more than enough to comfortably hold fifty people.

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This ship was a hybrid of sail and steam power. Propellers were mounted on both sides of the hull, driven by the Steam Engine. When the engine wasn't in use, the sails could be lowered to rely on wind power.

Seeing the speed, Ling Chu breathed a faint sigh of relief.

At least the speed could handle the next disaster: Meteor Shower.

Ling Chu couldn't wait to tour her new ship.

The first floor, connected to the deck, held the crew quarters, a storage room for miscellaneous items, and the Steam Engine room. The second floor was the Captain's Cabin, fully furnished with a double bed, a nightstand, a small desk that doubled as a dining table, and a large wool rug—far more luxurious than her cramped previous cabin.

But the legs of the tables and bed were all made of bone, giving them an eerily grim look at first glance.

Behind the bedroom partition was the control room, with a full curved glass wall offering a panoramic view of the deck. On a table by the window lay a massive map.

The map was mostly blank, except for a small area where a tiny ship was drawn, sailing across the seawater. Not far from the ship, two islands were already illuminated—her Iron Ore Island and Volcano Island.

Looking closely, the tiny ship was slowly moving, and the coordinates in the upper right corner of the map shifted continuously along with the ship's icon, much like the Marauder's Map from a certain famous fantasy film.

Before she had the map, only the System Panel showed the ship's real-time coordinates. Without knowing where to sail, she was completely in the dark, sometimes even going in circles.

With this Marauder's Map, things were much more convenient.

Under the ship's classification, there was also a new option for expandable facilities.

Opening it, she found only two facilities.

Lookout Tower: Provides a wider field of vision, a High Platform that can hold two people.

Crafting requires 10 iron ore, 50 wood.

Ghost Lantern Figurehead: Can illuminate the darkness and find the right direction in the fog.

Crafting requires 5 iron ore, 20 glass, 1 drop of Tear of the Ghost.

(Recruiting crew members of different professions can unlock more expandable facilities.)

She had all the materials to build both facilities, and she happened to have one drop of Tear of the Ghost left. This stuff was useful for many upgrades, so it seemed she'd have to make Hemlock cry more often in the future.

As for the content in the brackets, Ling Chu ignored it for now.

The treacherous hearts of people in this game—she had already glimpsed a corner of it over the past few days. Unless she trusted someone completely, she wouldn't let them become a crew member and board the ship. She was happy enough on her own, and with sufficient resources for now, being a lone wolf suited her just fine.

After deducting the corresponding resources, Ling Chu's new ship gained a Lookout Tower and a Ghost Lantern Figurehead.

Titch said their original Lookout on the ship was Flat Head, so Ling Chu handed that important task back to him, along with the Monocular Telescope.

The Ghost Lantern Figurehead looked very much like the oil lamps carried by those nocturnal demons in Western fantasy films and dramas, emitting a faint, ghostly green Ghost Fire, still glowing even in broad daylight.

It made the ship look even more like a Ghost Ship.

The Skeleton Henchmen finally got to board the vessel, touching this and that in rare curiosity.

"This ship is really nice, looks sturdy, even if it's a bit smaller than our old one."

"I like the flag design, way cooler than that barrel we had before."

"Finally getting to feel the Sea Breeze again, I feel like I've come back to life..."

Hearing the henchmen chatting, Ling Chu casually asked Titch, "Your old flag design was a barrel?"

"That's right."

Titch nodded, his expression quite proud.

They were originally called the Barrel Pirate Crew, with considerable renown in the surrounding area. Because he had started out by brewing and selling alcohol, he and his crew loved to drink, and the deepest draft and heaviest cargo on the ship were all Fine Wine.

Even his death came from being stuffed into a barrel and thrown into the sea—how could that not be considered karma?

After touring her new ship, Ling Chu quickly organized the Skeleton Henchmen to raise the anchor, intending to set sail and leave the island. The island was too hot, and with a volcano, it wasn't safe.

Besides, she still had things to do.

"Full speed ahead!"

After Ling Chu gave the order, four or five Skeleton Henchmen worked together to hoist the mast, which was over ten meters tall. The Sea Breeze was strong that day, ropes flying, and the moment the mast went up, the canvas swelled like a whale's back. Meanwhile, several other Skeleton Henchmen scurried back and forth in the storeroom, adding Charcoal to the Steam Engine.

Standing by the railing on the second deck, Ling Chu watched the skeletons bustling on the main deck, feeling a mix of emotion and relief.

She was no longer a commander with no troops. This was what a pirate ship looked like when it was starting to take shape. This was the life a Captain should enjoy!