The "Explore the Sea" Blueprint

"Weapons? Give me a moment to take inventory."

After saying that, "Research Institute 3154" went silent.

Lin Yuan guessed that "Research Institute 3154" had companions in this region and had probably gone to check their weapons with them.

There were probably several thousand people in his region, including more than one member of this "research institute." They made no attempt to hide their affiliation in their names, either.

From the look of things, this "research institute" probably counted as a major force among all the organizations.

Hopefully, they can offer some good stuff.

Seeing that the other party still hadn't replied, Lin Yuan wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he browsed the World Exchange.

Things there had settled down somewhat by now.

Lin Yuan noticed that the exchange's item listings were sorted by trading volume.

Currently in first place, and also the most actively traded commodity on the exchange, was wood, holding steady at 2 shell coins per unit.

Next came cloth, various edible fish, and fresh water, generally at 1-2 shell coins per unit.

Then came steel, gourmet canned food, alcoholic drinks, and medicines. These items were scarce, and their prices fluctuated sharply, with no stable market yet.

Last came all sorts of strange things.

Among them were materials with impressive-sounding names, such as living wood and transparent cloth, as well as tools like fishing rods and cooking pots.

The list was almost endless. Who knew how many things were on it?

As Lin Yuan browsed, "Research Institute 3154" finally replied.

"Sorry that took so long. We were mainly debating whether to include one particular item among the trade options."

The other party then sent a string of pictures.

Most showed harpoons of varying sizes, all with iron heads and wooden shafts, far inferior to Lin Yuan's own Steel Harpoon.

There were also some ballistae and several rusty old-fashioned cannons with muzzles roughly a fist in diameter.

"You can choose any three of these." "Research Institute 3154" also knew these items weren't worth much and was quite generous with the quantity.

But Lin Yuan wasn't satisfied.

His left and right weapon rooms were both level one and could each hold only one weapon, so quantity meant nothing to him. What he wanted was quality!

"Do you have any more powerful cannons? Just one will do."

"We have very few cannons of that caliber, and we need them ourselves. We can't put them on the trade list."

"In that case, I'm afraid this deal will be difficult to complete."

"Research Institute 3154" sent a helpless emoji:

"I figured that would happen, so I discussed it with my companions just now and specifically added this."

Another picture followed, but this time it wasn't an actual weapon. It was a weapon blueprint.

"This is..."

"A blueprint for a special cannon, 'Explore the Sea.' In Paradise, you only need to gather all the materials to manufacture it directly."

"How powerful is it?" That was Lin Yuan's greatest concern.

"That's precisely what makes 'Explore the Sea' special. Its power changes depending on the materials used to make it. If you use supernatural materials, it can even display Transcendent Power!"

Those words set Lin Yuan's heart racing. "That's the one!"

"Wait, I'm not finished." Research Institute 3154 continued:

"Although it isn't a full-fledged supernatural weapon blueprint, it's still worth far more than an ordinary weapon. A single strange fish corpse isn't enough."

It sounded as though there was an enormous gulf in value between supernatural and ordinary supplies.

Lin Yuan immediately frowned:

"But that strange fish was a Transcendent Creature, wasn't it? Doesn't that make its corpse a supernatural material? That still isn't enough for an incomplete supernatural weapon blueprint?"

Research Institute 3154 explained:

"That strange fish wasn't a Transcendent Creature. At most, it could be considered a 'Magical Creatures,' an existence somewhere between ordinary and supernatural creatures."

"These 'Magical Creatures' can draw on the sea to produce certain eerie phenomena, but they possess no Transcendent Power themselves, so their value is limited. They can't compare to 'Explore the Sea,' which has a real chance of becoming a supernatural weapon."

"I see." Lin Yuan found that explanation quite convincing.

The strange fish had merely trapped Lin Yuan in an underwater world twenty meters below the surface. It hadn't displayed any other special abilities, which did fit the description of "drawing on the sea to produce eerie phenomena."

Research Institute 3154 continued:

"When you caught that strange fish, did things feel rather eerie underwater, while the fish became ordinary once it left the water?"

This time, however, he had guessed wrong. No one could have imagined that Lin Yuan had dived underwater and beaten the strange fish to death...

Lin Yuan didn't intend to reveal what made him special, so he played along:

"That's right, but how do you know so much about it? Do you know exactly what that strange fish is?"

"I don't, but I'm certain no one can encounter a true Transcendent Creature right now. They're all more than a hundred meters below the surface."

"The Main Sea? Transcendent Creatures all live in the Main Sea, while the Shallow Sea has only Magical Creatures at most?" Lin Yuan pressed.

The other party fell silent for a while before replying:

"I didn't expect you to know about the 'Shallow Sea' and the 'Main Sea.' Which organization do you belong to?"

"I just happened to learn about them. I'm not a member of any organization." Lin Yuan told the truth. Whether the other party believed him was none of his concern.

"Never mind, that's not the point. Anyway, you should understand how precious anything 'supernatural' is now. Besides, a blueprint involving the supernatural is itself part of the finished product and can't be reused, so there's no way we'd charge you only one strange fish corpse."

"Then what would it take for you to sell it? Surely you didn't bring it out just to let me look at it?"

"Five wondrous creature corpses, with no duplicates. If you can offer that, you can take the 'Explore the Sea' blueprint anytime."

"No problem." Lin Yuan agreed without hesitation. He was determined to get it.

"There really is something special about you. No wonder you managed to get a Magical Creature's corpse so early on the first day. Do you have a special fishing rod? No ordinary fishing rod, however long, can reach the places where Magical Creatures live."

The other party had inadvertently revealed another piece of information: crossing the boundary ten meters underwater wasn't so easy with ordinary fishing methods.

Of course, Lin Yuan wouldn't reveal his real technique. He simply replied:

"You don't need to worry about that. I'll get the wondrous creature corpses ready as soon as possible and contact you then."

"All right. I'll hold on to it for you in the meantime."

From his tone, he seemed to think Lin Yuan would need several days to complete the task.

But he had clearly underestimated Lin Yuan.

Yesterday, Lin Yuan had later restricted his activities to the top ten meters of water because he saw no benefit in continuing to explore the world twenty meters down.

Now things were different.

Besides, he now had Lilia's coffin as a means of recovery. The stamina loss caused by the water pressure twenty meters down no longer posed a problem for him.

Who said Magical Creatures could only be caught by patiently fishing for them?

"Lilia, get ready to hunt!"