Meanwhile, aboard the Nightmare Star.
Yang Yi contacted Yu Dawei, and after exchanging information, obtained intelligence on Rust Disease and Steam Island, including numerous photographs of infection cases and data on the disease's progression.
In return, he shared information about the Death Plague Sea, the Deathbirth Society, and Crystalline Disease with Yu Dawei.
"...If our deductions are correct, Steam Island should be on the outskirts of the Death Plague Sea.
"But Crystal Island-a provisional name-is most likely inside the Death Plague Sea, because the sky isn't black," Yang Yi concluded.
"Yeah, then we can get together and have a proper drink.
"After all, the last time we met was in the Sea of Storms. Nearly a year has passed since then.
"You'd never imagine what a freak I look like now," Yu Dawei said, half joking.
"Uh..."
Yang Yi did not know how to respond, because his appearance was not particularly friendly either.
But if he kept his weight under control, dressed properly, and wore his eye patch, Yang Yi still looked very much like a human from the outside.
The two chatted a while longer, maintaining a tacit understanding and neither pressing for the finer details.
Things like how Steam Island had been discovered, its exact coordinates, why Yang Yi knew so many secrets, and why he even knew so much about the distant Crystal Island.
"Then it's settled. I'll bring my own booze. I'm not drinking motor oil."
"Hahahahaha..."
Yang Yi ended the conversation.
He sorted through the intelligence he had obtained, primarily the information about Rust Disease.
It was another Death Plague subtype, but unlike Crystalline Disease, it only infected living organisms and metal machinery, giving it a relatively narrow range of transmission.
But it might be even more dangerous than Crystalline Disease.
That was because