A big deal

The captain of the Hope had not lied. He really was stopped at those coordinates.

But his ship was not a special ship at all, just a Common large sailing ship with nothing distinctive about it.

He had probably painted the words "Hope" on the sail himself.

He had probably changed the ship's name himself, too, since Common ships had one chance to change their names.

Special ships could not be renamed, unless they merged...

Several ships were tied by ropes around the Hope.

The crystal ball's image could not fully show what these ships looked like, but Yang Yi could still guess a few of them.

The large ship with fields on its deck and people farming them was probably the Farmer.

The black-hulled ship covered in iron armor, with a huge, sharp ram, was probably the Ironhead.

Another ship happened to surface from the sea. Its hull was sealed, and it seemed capable of diving... Yang Yi did not know what this ship was called, so he called it the Submarine for now.

Yang Yi also saw the captain of the Hope himself, a stern-looking man dressed immaculately in a white captain's uniform.

He had no idea how the man had brought all these people together...

Yang Yi could not see Shen Guanquan's talents. If he could, he would no longer have been puzzled.

Shen Guanquan had two talents.

[Psychological Suggestion: Through verbal stimulation, you can raise or lower your own or another person's attributes and Sanity. Excluding Spirit, attributes can change by ±1, and Sanity can change by ±20. Those with high Spirit can resist the suggestion.

Takes effect once every 24 hours, lasting 24 hours each time.] (Cannot exceed mortal limits)

[Great Leader: You are a born leader, easily winning others' goodwill and trust and making them lower their guard.

Your followers' growth rate increases by 25%, excluding Spirit.

Those with high Spirit may resist this effect.]

How long had the World Sea Chart been available? Less than a day!

There was no way Shen Guanquan could have gathered so many players in such a short time.

The only possibility was that these people had joined forces before the World Sea Chart became available.

They might have run into each other, or they might have happened to get caught up in some event. Yang Yi had no way of knowing.

He had no interest in forming factions at the moment.

Without cannons, he did not want contact with other players. It would leave him far too vulnerable!

Not to mention having to hand over equipment and supplies.

That was practically putting his life and everything he owned in someone else's hands.

Yang Yi had a detailed Sea Chart and could effectively avoid contact with other players. That was also one of the reasons he had agreed to build the Witch Laboratory first.

But one organization after another appeared in the World Channel, all recruiting members.

This put Yang Yi under considerable pressure to survive.

Things were fine for now, but as these organizations grew, the space and resources available to lone players would be squeezed.

I have to get strong enough... or join a fleet myself, but I must have absolute freedom...

Yang Yi was used to keeping his fate in his own hands.

He found Shen Guanquan's message and sent him a private message.

The man probably had plenty of resources and would make a good trading partner. Yang Yi happened to have a blueprint he could sell him.

"Your ship is a Common ship, right? I have a special ship blueprint here. Interested in buying it?" Yang Yi attached the information for the Pirate Ship Blueprint.

"Who are you? How do you know so much?"

"Never mind that. I just want to make a deal," Yang Yi replied, contacting him anonymously.

The other side went silent for several minutes before replying.

"Since you have a blueprint, you should also know that Common ships upgrade more efficiently than special ships. I'm in no hurry to use a blueprint, and this Pirate Ship Blueprint isn't what I want, either."

That simple statement carried several layers of meaning.

First, this was not his first time seeing a ship blueprint... which meant he had killed someone, and that person had owned a special ship.

A sudden chill ran through Yang Yi.

The people aboard those special ships around the Hope... might not be their original owners.

Second, the Pirate Ship Blueprint was not what he wanted, so he would not offer a very high price.

Something like a blueprint had never yet been publicly sold in the World Channel, so its price was unknown.

Yang Yi thought for a while, then tentatively quoted an astronomical price.

The other man had the Farmer, so he probably had plenty of resources.

"I need two months' worth of food that can be stored long-term, 200 L of fresh water, 1,200 timber, 800 cloth, 400 stone, 100 crystal, 100 steel, 5,000 Conch Coins, and a fire-starting tool from your ship, such as a lighter."

A minute later, Shen Guanquan finally replied.

"You really are asking for the moon! Forget it. This blueprint isn't worth as much as you think!"

"All right, goodbye!" Yang Yi replied decisively.

The blueprint wasn't worth much?

Who was he trying to fool?

Special ships were limited in number, and the higher their level, the greater the gap between them and Common ships.

The further things progressed, the more valuable blueprints would become!

There would be no shortage of buyers!

Sure enough, before long, Shen Guanquan sent a friend request.

[Shen Guanquan, captain of the Hope, has sent you a friend request.]

Yang Yi rejected it outright. He did not want to reveal his identity.

Once they became friends, the other man would know both his name and his ship's name.

"You really are overly cautious!

Interested in joining my New World Fleet? I can give you a very high starting position."

"You want my blueprint for free? Not a chance!"

"Hehe..." Shen Guanquan sent a smiling emoji. "Your asking price is too high. I can't offer that much at the moment. How about this..."

"I'm stockpiling nonperishable dry rations myself, so I can only give you a month's worth. I'll replace the other month's worth with fresh food, such as vegetables, fruit, and fish.

As for materials, I can give you half of what you asked for at most. Quite a few of our ships urgently need upgrading, too.

The 5,000 Conch Coins are no problem, but I can't produce fire-starting tools, and their numbers are limited. I have to take responsibility for my crew's safety, so I can't sell you one!"

"But I'll give you a rare spatial item. It's definitely valuable enough!"

He attached the item's information.

[Name: Greedy Stomach]

[Type: Relic]

[Quality: Treasured]

[Description: The Stomach Pouch of an unknown exotic beast. It remains alive even after being removed.

Contains 10 cubic meters of space for storing items, but it must be fed every time it is opened for use, or it will bite.

PS: Cannot store food. Otherworldly Demon corpses will have all their flesh and blood eaten, leaving bones and shells behind. This does not affect gacha draws.]

Yang Yi sucked in a breath after reading the item's information.

Shen Guanquan really was loaded! This Stomach Pouch in particular was an unexpected bonus! Yang Yi wanted it badly.

But this thing had to have considerable side effects. It could not be as simple as biting people. Using it would definitely cost Sanity, which was why Shen Guanquan was offering it for sale.

So he hedged. "This Stomach Pouch of yours is a Relic. Doesn't opening it cost Sanity, too?"

"Uh... I won't hide it from you. It costs 20 Sanity. If you don't want it, I have other things, but their quality isn't as high."

"Never mind!" Yang Yi hurriedly stopped him. "Let's settle on these. I want high-quality stuff. I'll just limit how often I use it!"

The deal was successfully concluded.

"A pleasure doing business with you. If you have anything else to sell in the future, you can contact me first. I won't shortchange you!"

"If I do, I'll contact you."

Yang Yi left the chat channel.

He had finally sold the blueprint.

Judging by its potential value, Yang Yi might have taken a small loss.

But for the moment, getting this price for the blueprint was already quite good!

He tossed the blueprint into the Octopus-Head Gacha Machine, and before long, a large quantity of resources came in.

Food kept pouring from the octopus head's mouth: 20 loaves of black bread, 10 sausages, and a pile of dried fish.

There were also some fresh vegetables, fruit, and fish, including five cabbages, five cucumbers, one apple, one pear, and one fresh Giant Tuna.

Altogether, this food was enough to feed one person for sixty days.

Finally, it spat out a shiny black, palm-sized pouch. It felt smooth, a little like a century egg. This was the Greedy Stomach.

Yang Yi tried to open the pouch, using every ounce of his strength before he managed to pry open a crack. But then the pouch let out a howl, startling him.

[A strange noise. Your Sanity decreased by 5.]

"How do you use this thing?"

He tried bringing over a dried fish. This time, the pouch reacted. After sucking in the dried fish, it obediently opened its mouth.

Yang Yi tried putting his hand inside. The sensation was a little numbing, and it was disgustingly slippery. The Stomach Pouch even laughed, as though it were being tickled.

[You feel inexplicably nauseated. Sanity decreased by 10.]

Yang Yi frowned. This thing's side effects really were severe. Probably few people would dare use it.

There was plenty of space inside. Now Yang Yi no longer had to worry about having nowhere to store things, and the Stomach Pouch was suitable for hanging from his waist, too.

He opened the log and checked the hold's data, finding that the materials had arrived as well.

The Conch Coins had all been credited to Yang Yi's account.

"Did you sell something? Give me some more Conch Coins!" Su Na sent a message almost as though she had sniffed it out.

That was the downside of sharing the ship interface. He could not hide his goods.

Yang Yi could only reply helplessly, "I'll give you another 1,000 Conch Coins at most. Not a coin more!"

He transferred another 1,000 to her.

Hopefully, Su Na would produce results soon. Otherwise, he could not afford to support her!

Yang Yi moved all the food into the hold, then installed the Bobbit Worm's head.

As soon as it was installed, the head grew larger. With its bladed jaws open, it spanned a full ten meters. It looked lifelike and could be controlled while steering.

The bladed jaws were incredibly sharp. Unfortunately, there was nothing to test them on at the moment.

He then cast the Red-Light Fishing Net into the sea.

He had owned this fishing net for a long time, but it was unsuitable for use in a storm, so he was only using it now!

Its effect was to catch a certain number of items at regular intervals.

Once everything was done, Yang Yi picked up his fishing rod and began fishing.

There were still four hours until dark. He would catch however many he could. Sitting idle would only waste time.