The Nightmare Star welcomed its first expansion building-the Witch Laboratory.
Once construction was confirmed, blue light shone through the hull, followed immediately by the system notification announcing its completion.
[Witch Laboratory construction complete. Please enter the hull to inspect it.]
The two entered the cabin from the stern and found an extra room there.
The room was large, taking up almost half the cabin. The floor was clean, not rotten, moldy wooden planks, but smooth, dark stone slabs that felt solid underfoot.
The room was bare, with only two large metal tables. It seemed to have built-in lighting, though Yang Yi could not see where the lights were.
Rows of metal shelves lined the walls, cold to the touch and holding many empty glass vessels.
"There's nothing in here..." Yang Yi felt the materials had not been worth spending.
But Su Na's face was full of excitement. Only she knew what the room could do and how to use it.
Her journal had one more page than an ordinary player's-the Occultism interface.
She could use Conch Coins there to purchase laboratory equipment and conduct occultism research.
The Witch Laboratory's information was as follows.
[Witch Laboratory: A special building that can only be constructed by a witch who covets forbidden knowledge. Within the laboratory, stamina consumption from research is reduced by 50%, Sanity loss is reduced by 25%, and Otherworldly Demon specimens will not decay. Displayed Otherworldly Demon specimens will increase the witch's inspiration. Current specimen count: 0. Inspiration occurrence rate increased by 0%. Warning: Occultism research carries risks, including but not limited to Sanity loss.]
After reading the information, Su Na immediately took the Otherworldly Demon remains out of her Treasure Bag and placed them in the glass vessels on the shelves.
These pieces of flesh and organs had been on the verge of rotting, but after being placed in the vessels, they gradually regained vitality, as though freshly harvested.
The sight was somewhat Sanity-draining.
[Your Sanity decreased by 2.]
Yang Yi frowned.
He felt he would be better off staying away from this laboratory!
At that moment, the Demon Hammerhead Shark's corpse, which should have been covered, had also been taken out, divided into three large pieces and awaiting dissection.
Along with it came a dried Merman specimen only thirty centimeters long.
This was Yang Yi's first time seeing this monster, but it was not unfamiliar to him.
Su Na must have killed a Merman before meeting him.
With the three items added together, the laboratory's specimen count reached 3, increasing the inspiration occurrence rate by 3%.
"I also need a lot of Conch Coins. I don't have any money on me!" Su Na held out her hand to Yang Yi, looking exactly like a researcher asking for research funding.
Yang Yi was the sucker footing the bill.
"What do you need so many Conch Coins for?"
"The laboratory equipment has to be bought with Conch Coins," Su Na explained.
"Huh? We still have to pay for the equipment in this laboratory?"
Yang Yi suddenly realized that this laboratory might be a huge bottomless pit.
But he had already spent the supplies, so he could not give up. The sunk cost was too high.
So he transferred 1,000 Conch Coins to Su Na.
That was already a "huge sum"! After giving it to her, Yang Yi had only 1,050 Conch Coins left!
Su Na seemed to find it insufficient, but she said nothing and bent over to begin dissecting the Devil Shark, a handy scalpel now in her hand.
Yang Yi swiftly slipped away to the deck to avoid being asked for more money.
Besides, he did not want to stay in the laboratory. He kept feeling that he, too, could easily become one of the specimens.
"Prioritize researching the Stamina Recovery Potion and Healing Potion. Ideally, don't use Vitality Coconuts as an ingredient. Those things are hard to find."
He sent Su Na a private message, then began making his own plans.
To enter the Extreme Winter Sea, he would have to prepare enough cold-weather supplies.
Besides winter clothing, Yang Yi felt fire was indispensable.
Fire could provide not only hot water and cooked food, but also warmth and light in the bitter winter. It was a lifesaver.
Next, he needed to stockpile enough supplies and prepare plenty of food that would not spoil easily, along with fresh water.
Food and supplies were bound to be scarce amid the ice and snow.
Then... ideally, he would upgrade the ship to level 3 and build cannons.
But a level 3 ship required too many materials, so Yang Yi put this at the bottom of his priority list.
Through the World Channel, Yang Yi learned that upgrading an ordinary ship to level 3 required wood ×500, cloth ×300, stone ×100, and steel ×20.
The Nightmare Star, however, required wood ×1,200, cloth ×500, stone ×300, steel ×50, crystal ×100, and ten Otherworldly Demon corpses.
Never mind the vast quantity of materials-Yang Yi had no idea where to get those ten Otherworldly Demon corpses. He could only try his luck.
He would follow the plan.
Yang Yi opened the chat channel and searched through it to see whether anyone was selling fire-starting tools.
He would never have known without looking, but there really were some.
"Lighter for sale. Private-message me with an offer if you want it."
[Name: Longevity-brand lighter] [Type: Tool] [Quality: Good] [Description: An ultra-durable lighter, the best choice for setting fires. You will never have to worry about it running out of fuel in your lifetime!]
Yang Yi immediately sent the seller a private message.
"How much for the lighter?"
"You're too late. It sold ages ago. I need the one I have left for myself."
Yang Yi was a little disappointed.
At the same time, he realized something. Other players had probably thought of what he had thought of too...
Everyone was searching for fire-starting tools, leaving demand outstripping supply!
As he fretted, Yang Yi suddenly noticed the World Channel becoming lively, with new messages constantly appearing.
He immediately scrolled to the latest messages. Someone was recruiting players.
"I am Shen Guanquan, captain of the Hope and commander of the New World Fleet.
We already have more than a dozen like-minded captains, including several special ships such as the Farmer and the Ironhead."
"Our New World Fleet has no entry requirements. Anyone can join, but players who join must grant boarding access to their ships, disarm, follow assignments, and hand over all equipment and supplies for the fleet to redistribute and allocate!"
"In return, however, your safety will be guaranteed!
We have Guards responsible for combat, Fishermen responsible for fishing, farmers responsible for farming... There will be more and more specialized roles in the future. Together, we will work hard to rebuild human civilization!"
"I, Shen Guanquan, guarantee that as long as I have a bite to eat, none of you will starve or freeze to death!"
"If you wish to join, please come to these coordinates: X:38201, Y:53182."
"Make sure you disarm and grant boarding access, or you will face a lethal strike!"
"The New World Fleet will remain here for half a month."
These statements had probably been prepared in advance and then typed out all at once.
They caused quite a stir, and the vast majority thought it was a trap.
"Disarm and give you all our supplies? Wouldn't that leave us completely at your mercy?"
"Why should we trust you?"
"Only an idiot would go!"
The doubts kept coming, but Shen Guanquan did not respond.
Some people would always come, and those players were his target.
After all, the player base was so large that even if only 100 people came, his New World Fleet would grow as never before.
Still, the Hope-the name of his ship sounded quite impressive, though it was unclear whether it was a special ship.
But Yang Yi had a way to confirm that.
He ran to the Nightmare Star's central courtyard and picked up a small crystal ball nearby.
After the merger, there were now two of these small crystal balls, placed beside the large crystal ball. Both Yang Yi and Su Na could check the Sea Chart whenever they wanted.
[Activate Peering. Searching... Hope, Shen Guanquan.]
Soon, an image of the Hope appeared in the crystal ball.
Shen Guanquan could never have imagined that a player could use a skill to spy on him.
Before you continue