Hearing Lin Yuan's reply, 3154 thought he had guessed correctly and sighed with feeling.
"I wonder what your beginner dungeon reward was, to let you strengthen yourself to this extent."
"From what you're saying, the rewards from different people's beginner dungeons can vary a lot?"
"Just like ships, they vary from person to person. Both the difficulty and the rewards differ enormously."
"I see. I did think my dungeon was pretty hard," Lin Yuan recalled.
Although the dungeon boss hadn't been difficult, neither of the two hidden bosses had been easy pickings, and they had been extremely easy to run into.
He and Lilia had only been moving through the woods when the Undead Tree came after them and blocked their way out.
"Oh? Would you mind giving me a rough account of your dungeon?" 3154 asked curiously. "You don't have to reveal any details you'd rather keep to yourself. Just consider it satisfying my personal curiosity."
Lin Yuan had intended to refuse, but 3154's next words changed his mind. "Of course, I won't ask you to tell me for nothing. You wanted rubber, didn't you? I know which islands have it. How about that in exchange?"
"Deal!" Lin Yuan had just checked the World Exchange. Rubber seemed to be a very high-grade material, with astonishingly high prices, so naturally he wasn't going to pass up this opportunity.
He only needed to leave out the crucial details and avoid revealing his true strength anyway.
"First, I reached the outskirts of the island and killed a few Skeleton Pirates," Lin Yuan began.
"A few? Normally, a beginner dungeon should only have one monster slightly stronger than an ordinary person guarding the entrance. It seems the dungeon increased its difficulty based on your strength," 3154 remarked.
He wasn't surprised, though. He seemed to think this was the difficulty a "powerhouse with 500 HP" ought to face.
"After killing those skeletons, I entered a jungle, but I ran into some particularly tall trees and got lost."
"How could ordinary tall trees make you lose your way? You must have encountered an animated forest that could actively grow, right?" True to his extensive knowledge, 3154 immediately identified it.
"That should have been a puzzle to test your intelligence. I'm guessing you got through by using light to find your direction or navigating with geomagnetism?"
Lin Yuan fell silent for a moment.
Wasn't that supposed to be a test of strength?
"Anyway, after passing through the woods, I met the Skeleton Pirate Captain. I killed it and got quite a few rewards."
"The Skeleton Pirate Captain? It's no weakling! And it always has plenty of underlings around it. That stage should have tested your overall combat abilities, including stealth, assassination, escape, and recovery."
Lin Yuan fell silent again.
That weakling could test all that?
3154 concluded, "I see. Your dungeon really was very difficult!"
"...I don't know how difficult anyone else's dungeon was. If you say it was difficult, then sure."
Out on the boundless sea.
Aboard a small, finely crafted, all-metal boat with a distinctly science-fiction design, "Research Institute 3154" sat at a desk, writing furiously.
He had just finished his conversation with "Zero" and needed to record the relevant information while his memory was clearest.
"The above is a general account of Zero's dungeon."
"This shows that he experienced a rare, comprehensive dungeon involving typical stage scenarios such as head-on combat, survival, intelligence, and overcoming stronger opponents."
"This indicates that Zero is not a brute with nothing but martial strength. He is equally capable in other areas and is a well-rounded talent."
"Therefore, even though Zero declined recruitment, I recommend continuing to maintain good relations with him and granting him access to higher-level information and resource repositories in future cooperation."
"It can also be essentially confirmed that Zero is this Paradise's 'seeded contender.' After passing through the Gate of Departure, we must promptly report him to headquarters for inclusion in the talent database."
"-Researcher 3154"
Meanwhile, after ending the call, Lin Yuan had successfully obtained the coordinates of several rubber-producing islands.
"The nearest one doesn't seem far from me. It's the starting island of a route, so I might as well choose that route!"
He checked his bearings against the map, then headed toward that island.
Now that he had the Shell Pump, he finally didn't have to swim himself. He could sit on Lilia's coffin and use the propeller on his foot to travel like a speedboat.
"This is pretty fast. At this rate, I should reach the first island in about two days, just in time for the island dungeon to open."
Lin Yuan calculated as he studied the sea chart.
As he worked it out, he sensed that something was off.
This Paradise was a little too small.
"It only takes two weeks to cross this Paradise Sea from south to north."
"And the players should all be at the southernmost end of Paradise, where all the routes begin."
"By that calculation, the sea where the players are is only a tiny area."
"Could such a small area hold billions of players?"
This wasn't like the world of his previous life, where a single enormous ship could carry nearly a hundred thousand people.
Here, every one of those billions of players had a ship of their own!
Something stirred in Lin Yuan's mind as he recalled the prefix of the regional channel-"Paradise Sea 114-514."
Maybe there's more than one Paradise? A realization dawned on Lin Yuan. But what does that mean?
A vague notion drifted through his mind, but remained just short of taking shape.
In the end, he still failed to grasp that spark of inspiration.
"Forget it. As long as I stay alive, these things will gradually come to light."
Lin Yuan brought his thoughts back and continued propelling his "coffin boat" northward.
Two days later.
"Time to catch some fish!" Lin Yuan sighed and sat up on the coffin lid.
His calculations had been a little off.
His earlier estimate of two days to reach the first island had assumed traveling day and night.
At this point, Lin Yuan had unlimited physical endurance and far more mental energy than a normal person. Staying up a night or two was no great problem.
But he had forgotten that the Seashell Pump Propeller was biologically active.
In other words, the Shell Pump needed sleep too.
Not only did it need sleep, it also needed food.
He had never used the Shell Pump for an extended period before. Only after doing so had he discovered that its appetite was even bigger than he had imagined.
The fish and canned food he had obtained from opening treasure chests on the first day had all been eaten before the second day was halfway through. Now the Shell Pump was sending him feelings of hunger again.
Considering that he was moving a little slower than expected, Lin Yuan decided to dive into the sea and catch some Magical Creatures to feed the Shell Pump so he could reach the first island before the dungeon opened.
Magical Creatures were the equivalent of a nitro boost for the Shell Pump, so arriving on time shouldn't be a problem.
"Good thing Lilia and I don't need to eat. Otherwise, food for the trip alone would be a huge problem."
At times like this, Lin Yuan truly appreciated the value of a nuclear-powered workhorse like Lilia, who could go without food or water and work around the clock without rest.
Unfortunately, this incredibly useful workhorse had a fear of water.
Pulling him out of trouble in the water at a critical moment was one thing, but at ordinary times like this, Lilia would sooner die than willingly get into the water to catch fish.
Lilia had spent the past two days lying like a corpse in her coffin.
"Ah, my crewmate won't work, my propeller is crying to be fed... Being captain isn't easy."
Grumbling, Lin Yuan dove underwater.
Suddenly, a familiar sense of pressure came from an unknown depth below.
This time, however, Lin Yuan didn't panic. Instead, he bared his teeth in a grin.
"It's been a little over three days. I was just thinking you were due to show up."
"Come on. This time won't be like last time!"
Before you continue