The Tier 2 Island Core looked no different from a Tier 1 Core, except that its glowing orb was a little larger.
Ling Chu dripped a drop of her blood onto the orb. A pleasant system chime rang out.
[You obtained an Island Core (Tier 2).]
[You have become the owner of this island. Please name it.]
Ling Chu was concise and named it "Volcano Island."
[Island successfully named.]
[Volcano Island is a Tier 2 Island. Every three days, it produces 800 pieces of Sulfur Ore, 800 pieces of Volcanic Charcoal, and 100 pounds of figs. (The resources have matured and are ready to collect.)]
Ling Chu couldn't hide her delight.
Sulfur, charcoal, fruit.
Every one of them was something she needed.
Ling Chu glanced at the panel. The resources on Iron Ore Island had matured as well, so she collected everything from both islands at once.
After she tapped the harvest button, the fruit-laden fig trees and the Sulfur Ore on the island vanished. What a pity she was short on time; otherwise, she could've squeezed a little more out of them.
After the Sulfur Giant Lizard had been dismantled, its body disappeared. All that remained on the ground was the skeleton of the lion, half-eaten by the lizard.
Ling Chu tried using the Bone Revival skill on the lion's skeleton.
[Skill use failed! This skill can only be used on humanoid skeletons!]
The skill's failure was within Ling Chu's expectations.
If the skeletons of any living creatures could be revived, this skill would be far too overpowered. Beast Bones could be revived, and even the bones of fish she'd eaten—wouldn't that mean she could produce a whole school of undead fish in no time?
Ling Chu gathered all her Skeleton Henchmen and returned to the shore where the ship was moored.
Her first priority was to upgrade the ship. If she didn't, her henchmen would soon have nowhere to stand.
After deducting the upgrade materials—50 Iron Ore, 500 Cloth, 500 pieces of wood, 50 bones, 10 Glass, and one drop of Tear of the Ghost—her ship instantly disassembled and reassembled on the spot. A gleaming Three-Masted Sailing Ship, five stories tall, appeared before her.
[Ghost Pirate Galleon (Tier 3)]
[Durability Value: 35]
[Crew Capacity: 1/5 people]
[Speed: Maximum wind-powered speed of 20 km/h; up to 35 km/h with a Steam Engine]
[Warehouse Capacity: 0/150 slots]
[Durability: 100/100]
Compared with the ordinary Two-Masted Sailing Ship whose stats A Silly Bird had once posted in the Public Chat Channel, her ship had 15 more Durability Value, five of which came from the Pompom Sea Urchin ornament. It also had fifty more warehouse slots, while its sailing speed was the same.
As for the crew capacity, it probably referred to players. Her Skeleton Henchmen weren't counted. The ship had enough room for fifty people, easily.
The ship was powered by a combination of sails and steam. Propellers were mounted on both sides of the hull, driving it forward with the Steam Engine. When the engine wasn't in use, they could lower the sails and travel by wind.
When Ling Chu saw the ship's speed, she felt a quiet sense of relief.
At least it was fast enough to handle the next disaster, the Meteor Shower.
Ling Chu couldn't wait to explore her new ship.
The first floor, connected to the deck, held the crew's quarters and a storeroom for supplies and the Steam Engine. The second floor was the private Captain's Cabin. It came fully furnished, with a double bed, a bedside table, a small desk that doubled as a dining table, and a large wool rug. It was far more luxurious than her old cramped cabin.
The only drawback was that the table and bed legs were all made of bones. At first glance, they gave the room a rather eerie feel.
Behind a partition in the bedroom was the control room. A curved wall of glass offered a panoramic view of the deck, and a huge map lay on the table by the window.
The map was mostly blank. Only a small area showed a ship, its icon sailing across the seawater. Not far away were two illuminated islands: Iron Ore Island and Volcano Island, both of which she owned.
Looking closely, she saw that the little ship was moving slowly. The coordinates in the map's upper-right corner changed along with the ship's icon, just like the Marauder's Map in a famous fantasy movie.
Before she had the map, only the System Panel showed the ship's real-time coordinates. But as for where to sail, she'd been completely in the dark—and sometimes she'd even gone around in circles.
The Marauder's Map made things much easier.
The ship's category menu also had a new option for expandable facilities.
When she opened it, she found only two facilities listed.
Lookout Tower: A raised platform that extended the field of vision and could accommodate two people.
Construction cost: 10 Iron Ore and 50 pieces of wood.
Ghost Lantern Figurehead: Could illuminate darkness and help find the right direction in the fog.
Construction cost: 5 Iron Ore, 20 Glass, and one drop of Tear of the Ghost.
(Recruiting crew members from different professions unlocks more expandable facilities.)
She had all the materials for both facilities, and she happened to have one drop of Tear of the Ghost left. It could be used for upgrades in plenty of places, so it looked like she'd have to make Hemlock cry more often from now on.
As for the note in parentheses, Ling Chu ignored it for the moment.
People in this game were dangerous, as she'd already learned over the past few days. Unless she trusted someone completely, she wouldn't let them join the crew and come aboard. She was perfectly content on her own, and she had enough resources for now. Being a lone wolf suited her just fine.
Once the required resources had been deducted, a Lookout Tower and a Ghost Lantern Figurehead appeared on Ling Chu's new ship.
Titch had said that their ship's former Lookout was Flat Head, so Ling Chu handed the important job back to him. She also gave him the Monocular Telescope.
The Ghost Lantern Figurehead looked like the oil lamp carried by demons who roamed by night in Western fantasy films. Its eerie, dark-green Ghost Fire glowed even in broad daylight.
The ship looked even more like a Ghost Ship now.
The Skeleton Henchmen could finally board the ship, and they eagerly felt their way around.
"This ship's great. It looks sturdy, even if it's a little smaller than our old one."
"I like the design on the flag. It's much cooler than that Wine Barrel we had before."
"I can feel the Sea Breeze again at last. I feel alive..."
Hearing her henchmen chatting, Ling Chu casually asked Titch, "Was your old flag decorated with a Wine Barrel?"
"That's right."
Titch nodded, looking rather proud.
They'd originally been called the Barrel Pirate Crew and had a great deal of influence in the surrounding waters. He'd made his fortune brewing and selling wine, and he and his crew loved to drink. Fine Wine had been the ship's heaviest cargo, and they'd carried more of it than anything else.
Even his death had come about when he was stuffed into a Wine Barrel and thrown into the sea. How was that not a full-circle moment?
After exploring her new ship, Ling Chu quickly organized the Skeleton Henchmen to raise the anchor. She planned to set sail and leave the island. It was too hot, and having a volcano there made it unsafe.
Besides, she had things to do.
"Full speed ahead!"
After Ling Chu gave the order, four or five Skeleton Henchmen worked together to raise the mast, which stood more than ten meters tall. The Sea Breeze was strong that day. Ropes whipped through the air, and the moment the mast rose, the sails billowed like a whale's back. Meanwhile, several Skeleton Henchmen hurried back and forth between the storeroom and the deck, feeding Volcanic Charcoal into the Steam Engine.
Ling Chu stood by the railing on the second floor, watching the Skeletons bustle about on deck. She felt a little moved and pleased.
She wasn't a lone commander anymore. This was what a pirate ship was supposed to look like, and this was the kind of life a captain deserved!
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