[Templar Apprentice Lightblade activated. Current health drain: 8 points/second]
Lin Yuan activated the armguard, forming a faint light blade at the front of his right hand.
The light blade was about forty centimeters long and very dim.
Its sharpness was decent, roughly on par with a fine blade made of refined steel.
Then, with a thought from Lin Yuan, the health drain began to increase slowly.
[Increasing power...] [Increasing power...] [Increasing power...] [Power has reached maximum]
The light blade extending from the front of the armguard on Lin Yuan's right hand was now nearly two meters long, giving off brilliant yet undazzling white light.
Swish!
Lin Yuan took a unit of steel from his storage and tested the light blade on it.
The steel block, twenty centimeters on each side, split in two like tofu.
"That's some decent power!"
The light blade now cut through iron like butter. Combined with its ability to attack intangible things, it truly qualified as a formidable weapon.
And its maximum health drain was only 100 points per second.
A rate that could drain an ordinary player into a dried corpse in a second was no problem at all for Lin Yuan.
He could sustain this level of output in combat for over eight minutes.
If he activated Emergency Repair, he could last even longer.
"I can absolutely use this as a regular attack."
Satisfied, Lin Yuan put away the light blade.
With this, his previously weak offensive capabilities had improved considerably.
"Sure enough, one good trade can save who knows how much effort. I'll have to pay more attention to this in the future."
With that thought, he opened the regional channel again and posted screenshots of the ornate Feather Pen and the Mutant Treant Fruit.
"Anyone interested in these two items? Looking for rubber, Steam Cores, or transcendent items."
Since Air Force Bro had just compensated him with 200 units of steel in their trade, Lin Yuan now had 380 units of steel in storage. He was only one Steam Core and 100 units of rubber short of the Production Workshop's material requirements.
No sooner had he finished speaking than two people responded in succession.
Never Skunked: "Brother Zero, you really struck it rich in that instance! You've still got so much good stuff! I'll take that Mutant Treant Fruit! An ingredient like that would definitely land a big catch as bait!"
I Quit Farming: "Um... I could use that Mutant Treant Fruit, but I don't have a Steam Core or any rubber right now."
Never Skunked: "Then why are you wasting words? That thing's mine!"
I Quit Farming: "Do you have rubber or a Steam Core?"
Never Skunked: "Neither!"
Lin Yuan was speechless and sent Never Skunked a private message:
"Why are you making noise in the channel if you don't have either? Besides, that Jade Fishing Rod of mine can only use jade as bait. What do you want this transcendent ingredient for?"
"Hehe, Brother Zero, I never said I could only use one fishing rod."
As he spoke, he sent a photo. It was still the same dark-skinned, muscular man, but the background had changed to a tall-masted sailboat with a lookout platform.
All sorts of fishing rods lined both sides of the boat, and a water tank in the center was filled with various fish he had caught.
He truly lived up to his reputation as a veteran angler. With so many rods going at once, his fishing efficiency probably wasn't much lower than Lin Yuan's direct harvesting.
Meanwhile, after replying to the private message, Air Force Bro continued calling out in the channel:
"I might not have those, but I do have all kinds of weapons with special abilities, and fish that boost stats."
"None of them are transcendent, but I've got plenty! Farmer, what have you got to compete with me?"
I Quit Farming wasn't as talkative as Air Force Bro and simply posted an image:
"This is all I've got. Young Zero, trade if you like it. If you don't, there's nothing I can do."
Lin Yuan looked closely. The image showed a compartment blueprint:
[Blueprint: Special compartment 'Planting Room'] [Once all construction materials are ready, consume this blueprint and the materials to convert a compartment awaiting modification into a 'Planting Room'.] [As long as the required nutrients and water are supplied, any plant can be grown and harvested in the Planting Room, with greatly reduced growth time.] [Required construction materials: 100 units of wood, 1,000 units of fertile soil]
This was useful. Lin Yuan still had a Life Tree Sapling in storage.
Ever since he had brought it back, the Life Tree Sapling had been looking wilted. Lin Yuan was quite worried it might die if left too long, so having a Planting Room would make things much better.
Compared with this, what Air Force Bro could offer was far less appealing.
"I really like this blueprint, but how do I get fertile soil?"
"I've got plenty of soil. I'll throw it in."
"Then it's a deal!"
Although Air Force Bro had failed to make the trade, he wasn't discouraged at all and immediately found a new target:
"Farmer Bro, are you planning to plant that fruit?"
I Quit Farming was honest: "I want to give it a try, but I don't know if it'll work. I've farmed all my life, but I've never planted anything like this."
Air Force Bro: "Hey, I can tell you're a skilled farmer, bro. It'll definitely work. Let me know when you've got a harvest, and I'll trade you for the fruit!"
Wind-Ear, who hadn't spoken for a while, joined the conversation:
"Farmer Bro, if you're farming yourself, why did you trade away the Planting Room Blueprint?"
"I don't need that thing. I can plant anywhere on my boat!"
As he spoke, he sent an image showing a huge flat-decked boat. A thick layer of soil covered the deck, with all kinds of seedlings growing in it.
Seeing the photo, Lin Yuan suddenly had a thought.
Air Force Bro's boat specialized in fishing, while Farmer Bro's specialized in farming.
It seemed everyone's boat had something special about it.
And players who made good use of those special features would undoubtedly have an advantage as the game progressed.
Then what was special about his Lin Yuan?
The unity of man and ship? The treasure collection room?
Neither seemed right.
The unity of man and ship was a bug. He wasn't actually a ship.
As for the treasure collection room, it certainly seemed special, but Lin Yuan had a feeling that it wasn't the room itself that was special, but the mysterious little box inside it.
It was only because that little box had decided to take up residence aboard the Lin Yuan that the treasure collection room existed.
As he pondered this, the system's voice suddenly rang in his ears.
[Congratulations to all surviving players. You are now qualified captains.] [The Main Quest will now be issued-Step Out of the Cradle.] [Paradise is a cradle for beginners, but players must learn to grow up.] [Reach the northernmost point of the Paradise Sea and pass through the 'Gate of Departure' before the night of Day 30 ends, or bear the consequences.] [Several routes leading to the 'Gate of Departure' have now been marked on the 'Paradise Sea Chart'. Players may choose any nearby route to set out on.] [Warning! Once a route is chosen, it cannot be changed. The waters between different routes are far more dangerous than you can imagine.] [Finally, may all players pass safely through the 'Gate of Departure' and truly begin their own legendary ocean journeys.]
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