[Name: Black Iron Supply Chest] [Type: Treasure chest] [Description: Open to obtain a moderate quantity of supplies]
The second capsule prize was not equipment, which left Yang Yi a little disappointed.
But supplies were also urgently needed right now.
Rebuilding the ship earlier had practically emptied their reserves.
Yang Yi opened the chest.
[You obtained wood ×200, cloth ×200, stone ×200, steel ×50, crystal ×50, sulfur ×50]
"This much?" Yang Yi could hardly believe it.
Wood and cloth were one thing, but he had never expected so many advanced materials.
The Black Iron Supply Chest was truly terrifying!
No wonder the Iron Will had handed over 100 wood without batting an eye. They simply had no shortage of wood.
Suddenly, a private message arrived from Xu Da, captain of the Gale.
"Brother Yang, I'm planning to put together a fleet. Would you be interested in joining?"
Yang Yi had not expected to be so popular, but he still turned him down.
"Sorry, I'm not planning to join a fleet for now."
"All right. If you change your mind, message me anytime.
"There'll always be a place for you in my Gale Brigade!"
"Thanks!"
After politely declining, Yang Yi marveled at how quickly these people moved.
The large-scale Sea Chart had only just become available, yet these people were already impatiently establishing their own fleets.
Should I put together a fleet too? Yang Yi suddenly wondered.
He did not want to serve under someone else, but organizing a fleet meant troublesome management, and it could grow too large to control.
As he pondered this, Su Na came running over excitedly, her small face flushed, and called out.
"Did you just get a huge batch of supplies?"
"That's right. I just opened a Black Iron Supply Chest."
"What's this on the ground...?"
Su Na's attention was immediately drawn to the giant Bobbit Worm head on the ground.
Before installation, the worm head was only palm-sized and could easily be picked up. It was exquisitely crafted and lifelike.
Su Na picked it up and examined it closely, touching it here and prodding it there, then took out a notebook to record her observations.
When she pulled out a dagger, Yang Yi finally had to speak up and snatched the worm head back.
"Stop! This is rare equipment! What if you break it?"
Su Na: "..."
After Yang Yi stopped her with a shout, she abandoned her plans to use the dagger and explained why she had come.
"I want to build an expansion building."
"Which one?"
Su Na made a flurry of selections in her logbook, and Yang Yi promptly received a request.
[Crew member Su Na requests permission to construct the Witch Laboratory. Construction requirements: Expansion space ×2, wood ×200, cloth ×200, stone ×100, steel ×50, crystal ×50, sulfur ×20. Once constructed, this building cannot be demolished. Please consider carefully.]
"The Witch Laboratory?"
Yang Yi was utterly baffled.
He remembered that there had been no such option in the Expansion Buildings list.
And it required so many supplies, plus two expansion spaces...
Yang Yi immediately checked the Expansion Buildings list.
Besides the extra cargo hold, Ancient War Room, and Grand Statue originally available on the Nightmare, there were two expansions from the Astrologer.
[Lookout Tower: Can scan the surrounding 1,000 nautical miles. Any islands will be displayed on the Sea Chart. Usable once every three days. Construction requirements: Expansion space ×1, wood ×200, cloth ×100, stone ×100, crystal ×30] [Glass Cannon: An immensely powerful cannon, but unstable and easily shattered. Construction requirements: Expansion space ×1, crystal ×100, sulfur ×20]
"Where did you see this Witch Laboratory? Why isn't it on my list?" Yang Yi gave her an odd look.
"It's an extra expansion granted by my talent! Building it will definitely be worth it," Su Na said confidently.
"Well..." Yang Yi hesitated.
He had originally planned to build a cannon.
That way, if they encountered another large creature like the giant Bobbit Worm at sea, they would at least be able to put up a fight.
His next priority was the lookout tower.
Islands had more resources than the sea and might even contain treasure chests. Being able to gather resources from islands frequently would give them an enormous advantage.
But the Witch Laboratory's functions were still unclear, and it required two expansion spaces.
That meant the Nightmare Star would have no spare expansion space for a cannon until it reached level 3.
If they encountered a ship armed with a cannon, they would be at a disadvantage.
"No!" Yang Yi refused decisively. "The cannon comes first. Everything else is all talk. We'll discuss it later!"
"Come on, build it!" Su Na persisted, tugging at him. "This is my only request. After this, I won't question anything you build, okay?"
"Uh... just talk. Stop tugging at me!" Yang Yi said sternly, putting a stop to her actions.
This woman was no simple character. Her wheedling was just a disguise!
At the same time, Yang Yi realized something.
He had to manage his relationships with his crew properly. Any conflicts could lead to endless trouble down the road... like getting stabbed in the back!
So he began asking about the building's functions.
"What exactly does this Witch Laboratory of yours do?" Yang Yi asked.
At his question, Su Na's red eyes lit up. There was a chance!
She had been ready to give up.
Now she began explaining in detail.
"This laboratory can provide all kinds of research tools.
"They'll make it easier for me to study the anatomy of Otherworldly Demons and develop new formulas!"
"You can develop formulas?" Yang Yi's interest was piqued too.
Su Na struck while the iron was hot and produced a bottle of liquid.
"Take this bottle of Vitality Coconut Juice Refresher. Are its ingredient ratios necessarily the best?
"What if we added something else?"
She handed Yang Yi a reagent bottle. Rather than showing specific information, the system displayed...
[Name: Unknown potion] [Type: Consumable/Potion/Unique] [Quality: ??] [Description: You won't know what it is until you drink it...]
"Try it! With a laboratory, I could make something better," Su Na urged.
"Are you sure you haven't poisoned it?"
"This bottle definitely isn't poisonous!"
"So the others are?"
"Every medicine has its side effects. Just drink it!" Su Na grew annoyed, snatched the potion back, and drank half of it on the spot.
After she had gone that far, Yang Yi felt too embarrassed to keep dithering.
Apprehensive, he downed the reagent in one gulp.
It was smooth and thick on his tongue, and a familiar fishy stench shot straight to the top of his skull.
Yang Yi was about to curse, but stopped short.
The potion now had a name too.
[Energy restored by 10. Energy recovery rate increased by 50%.] (Only half consumed) [Name: Vitality Siren Juice] [Type: Consumable/Potion/Unique] [Quality: Fine] [Description: An original potion created by the witch Su Na, formulated from mucus secreted by a Siren's skin, salt, and Vitality Coconut. Restores 15 energy upon consumption and increases energy recovery rate by 75% for 8 hours. Excessive consumption may cause poisoning.]
"You... you made this?" Yang Yi asked in surprise.
"Yes. With a laboratory, I could make even better potions!"
Yang Yi was astounded!
Even without thinking, Yang Yi could understand how incredible the ability to develop original formulas was.
Su Na... was a walking mountain of gold!
With her around, he would no longer have to worry about how to recover energy once the Vitality Coconuts ran out.
Couldn't he simply ask her to develop a brand-new potion?
He was the captain. Making a few demands of his crew was perfectly reasonable, and crew members had to obey!
"Then we'll build the laboratory!" Yang Yi agreed, then approved Su Na's request in his logbook.
Little did he know... he might regret it in the future!
Regret having swallowed that woman's sweet talk!
Before you continue