"The northernmost tip of the Paradise Sea, the Gate of Departure..."
Lin Yuan opened the Paradise Sea Chart and discovered a gate symbol at the very top, marking the Gate of Departure.
He himself was at the bottom, toward the right.
Starting from the bottom, hundreds of sea routes extended along different paths toward the Gate of Departure at the top.
They continually merged along the way, finally converging into a single route in front of the Gate of Departure.
Each route had several islands, labeled with their names and opening times.
These islands were all instances, which would seal themselves off from the outside when they opened.
Unlike the beginner instance, none of these islands had a player limit, so players would not be alone.
Judging by the distances marked on the chart, the southernmost tip of Paradise was not particularly far from its northernmost tip. An ordinary ship could reach the Gate of Departure in two weeks.
The extra time was probably meant for exploring instances.
The system had not mentioned what kind of world lay beyond the Gate of Departure, but presumably, it would only be more dangerous than the Paradise Sea.
With that in mind, exploring instances was very necessary. Their yields far exceeded what one could get by fishing alone at sea.
"In that case, I'd better pick a route that passes through plenty of islands."
Lin Yuan held the chart and studied it carefully.
The chart was truly magical. Although it was made of parchment, it could display Lin Yuan's current location and heading in real time, just like an electronic screen.
There was also a day counter at the top of the chart, showing how many days remained out of the thirty.
With this, as long as he paid a little attention, reaching the Gate of Departure on time would be no problem.
"No wonder the system strongly recommended that players get the Paradise Sea Chart. When you're traveling across the ocean, a map is the most important thing!"
Lin Yuan sighed in appreciation, then opened the Regional Chat Channel again to see what everyone else was discussing.
As soon as he entered, he saw "I Quit Farming" calling for help:
"Help! I don't have a Paradise Sea Chart! What do I do now? I don't even know where I am, let alone which way to go!"
At those words, the channel immediately fell silent.
After a while, Never Skunked finally replied:
"How did you not get a chart? You get one for clearing the instance."
"I didn't dare fight the boss. I just picked up a few things nearby and came back. That was when I found the Planting Room Blueprint, too."
Everyone, Lin Yuan included, was instantly speechless. None of them had expected Farming Bro to give up on clearing the instance despite the system's pointed hints. They did not know whether to call him brave or timid.
Just then, "Research Institute 3154," who had remained silent before, suddenly spoke up:
"@I Quit Farming, I sent you someone's name in a private message. Contact him. He'll give you a solution."
"Okay, okay! Thank you, bro!" I Quit Farming immediately expressed his profound gratitude.
The channel became lively again.
"You're amazing, 3154! You can even solve this?"
"You predicted the trading unlock so accurately before, too. Were you a beta tester, bro?"
"Carry me, pro!"
Research Institute 3154 ignored them and instead sent Lin Yuan a private message:
"Hold on to that Feather Pen for me. I can get a Steam Core on my end, but it'll take a couple of days."
"No problem," Lin Yuan readily agreed, then asked with some curiosity, "I wouldn't have guessed you were so helpful."
3154 rarely spoke in the channel and seemed uninterested in everything else. Lin Yuan had not expected him to take the initiative to help this time.
"He's worth it. No organization would complain about having too many farming ships."
"So you want to recruit him into your organization?" Lin Yuan said in understanding.
"Of course. Anyone who survives the beginner instance, even without clearing it, has demonstrated the basic qualities needed to survive at sea."
"I see. I thought organizations like yours would keep hiding yourselves. I didn't expect you to start recruiting more people so soon."
"It's not as though we're anything that needs to be hidden," 3154 replied, seemingly somewhat speechless. "In fact, I've already invited everyone in the channel who has potential."
"Oh? Can I ask who they are?" Lin Yuan immediately grew interested, wanting to see who this beta tester considered promising.
"Never Skunked's ship is special. It can rapidly absorb nutrients from the ocean. It's the type that can easily perish but also grow easily. I've already looked into Wind-Ear. He really does belong to another organization. And..." 3154 spoke at length with easy confidence, rather like someone appraising the great heroes over wine, before changing tack:
"Of course, you are undoubtedly the most unusual."
"I still haven't figured out how you managed to acquire five Magical Creatures' corpses in just a few hours. You're the 'unknown' type that interests us most."
"What do you think? Would you be willing to join our organization? Whatever else you might say, we're among the very best organizations when it comes to supplies and information."
"What exactly is your organization like? What rights and obligations come with joining?" Lin Yuan followed up.
"Our organization is called the Research Institute. As the name suggests, we're a neutral organization dedicated to studying this ocean. After joining, members can..."
3154 gave a lengthy explanation, every point clear and rigorous, befitting a rational organization skilled in research.
"It sounds like there are too many rules. Sorry, but I'd still like a little more freedom for now." After considering it for a while, Lin Yuan ultimately declined.
Joining an organization like this certainly offered plenty of benefits, but he had many secrets. Rashly exposing himself to others was still too dangerous.
After weighing it all up, Lin Yuan ultimately decided to develop on his own for now.
"What a shame. The organization actually has a very high opinion of you. If you joined, your clearance would be far beyond that of a farming or fishing ship captain."
"Oh? You think that highly of me? Just because I got five Magical Creatures' corpses?"
"It's mainly the timing. Being able to do that right after entering the game and being able to do it after getting stronger through an instance are two different things," 3154 emphasized.
"Also, what you just traded with Never Skunked should be a Templar Apprentice Lightblade, correct?"
"That's right." Lin Yuan admitted it openly. The name of this supernatural equipment sounded like standard-issue gear, so it was perfectly normal for the other party to recognize it.
"Being willing to trade for equipment like that proves your stats are far higher than those of ordinary players. I'm very curious how you reached that level in just two days."
"Oh, I just got lucky. My health is a little higher, that's all."
"It can't be that simple. We have the stats for that lightblade. Even if you had twice a normal person's health, it would still be less effective to use than an ordinary supernatural weapon."
Research Institute 3154 paused, then continued:
"Yet you still accepted that trade, which proves you're confident you can bring out that equipment's capabilities, perhaps even unleash its full power for an instant as a trump card."
"Taking all of that into account, incredible though it may seem, we've concluded that your health has very likely reached-" Unshakable confidence shone through 3154's words. "500 points!"
"That alone demonstrates your astonishing potential, surpassing everyone else in this region!"
Faced with the other party's impassioned declaration, Lin Yuan thought for a moment, then replied sincerely:
"You're pretty impressive. Your guess was much more accurate than Air Force Bro's!"
Before you continue