Bai Ling did not know how to describe that specific sensation to Lin Yuan either, so she could only give him a rough account.
"Boulders, mountains, the earth?"
Lin Yuan was just as confused after hearing her out. He understood those words, but without experiencing it himself, the subtleties were too difficult to convey through language alone.
One thing was certain, though: Lilia's coffin was extraordinarily unusual.
Lin Yuan had known that for a long time. Even now, he had never seen so much as a scratch on the coffin.
It seemed as though the coffin would never be damaged.
But even Lilia herself did not seem to know much about her coffin. All she knew was that it was part of her, and the two would never be separated.
Whenever Lilia went too far away, the coffin would instantly teleport to her side.
And after Lilia died, she would respawn directly inside it.
Could the coffin be her real body? Lin Yuan could not help wondering.
Unfortunately, there would be no answer to that question anytime soon.
They ran a little farther, and only after they were certain the Tree King could not catch up did Lin Yuan return to the coffin to recover.
Outside, Bai Ling took Lilia with her, planning to look for more opportunities on the island and, along the way, find the "captain's cabin" that matched the key.
But she had barely taken a few steps before she ran into Spotlight and his teammates.
"I knew you'd make it out safely," Spotlight said, quite delighted.
"Were you waiting for me?"
"Of course. Our deal isn't finished yet, is it?"
"You mean the ship's Land Travel Device? You can give it to me now?" Bai Ling was a little surprised.
When they first made the deal, Spotlight had mentioned that this land-traveling ship was specialized for adventuring and carried few supplies. He would have to wait until the instance ended before finding a way to provide her with the Land Travel Device.
Considering that the Adventurer Group was a long-established organization, Lin Yuan had thought they were unlikely to break their promise, so he had not worried about it.
Why could they make the trade now? That would contradict what he had said before.
Spotlight naturally anticipated her doubts and hurriedly said:
"There's definitely no way to complete the Land Travel Modification right now. What I mean is, at the end there, you didn't hold the trouble we caused against us, and you even covered our retreat. You helped us a lot, so I think we ought to show our gratitude."
Bai Ling raised an eyebrow without correcting this well-intentioned misunderstanding.
Then she heard Spotlight say:
"Here's what I'm thinking. Modifying a ship for land travel takes time and effort. If you really need one, we could actually give you this ship. Of course, you'd have to pay the difference."
"This ship? You're willing to transfer ownership of a ship?" This time, Bai Ling was genuinely startled.
The system had emphasized on the very first day that ships could only be repaired, not built. Every ship could be called a player's lifeline. How could anyone transfer one so readily?
Spotlight smiled. "We always operate as a group. One of our teammates became a member of my crew a long time ago, and this ship was modified from his. This sort of thing is quite common."
"You'll understand once you pass through the Gate of Departure. Ships are indeed an extremely precious resource on the ocean, but powerful organizations also use them as currency for high-level trades."
"Of course, if you really want to buy this ship, the price will be extremely steep. You'll even incur a considerable debt and need to do some things for us in the future."
Bai Ling frowned without answering.
Lin Yuan was the one who actually needed this modification. She could not make such a crucial decision on his behalf.
So she pretended to consider it while secretly looking toward Lilia. Sure enough, the doll girl was silently mouthing something.
"May I test this ship?" Bai Ling asked, following Lilia's prompting.
"Of course. How would you like to test it?"
Before Spotlight had even finished speaking, the coffin lid behind Lilia opened from within. Then Lin Yuan stood up out of the coffin and stepped aboard the adventuring ship.
A teeth-grating creak rang out. The adventuring ship's frame began to tremble, and several cracks appeared in the deck beneath Lin Yuan's feet.
[Warning: "Lin Yuan" has been involved in a ship-crushing collision. Durability deducted...]
The instant the system's voice rang out, Lin Yuan stepped back off the adventuring ship.
In just a few short seconds, Lin Yuan had lost over a thousand points of his fully restored durability. Diving and running aground were not even comparable.
What he had been worrying about all along had come true. As a ship, he simply could not board other ships.
Am I really going to have to swim everywhere from now on?
Lin Yuan felt rather glum and had no interest in saying anything else. He merely shook his head at Bai Ling before lying back down in the coffin.
Meanwhile, Spotlight and the others had stared wide-eyed the entire time, their jaws practically hitting the ground.
They had seen Lin Yuan before and knew he was a powerful being Bai Ling had summoned from the coffin.
But they had never expected Lin Yuan to be this strong!
Merely stepping aboard had caused considerable damage to the adventuring ship.
Just what level of monster was he?
Now, Spotlight looked at Bai Ling in an entirely different light again.
At first, he had thought Bai Ling was a powerful solo player, crazed and ruthless.
Later, when Bai Ling had volunteered to cover their retreat, he had felt that she was actually a generous, helpful person.
And now, in his eyes, Bai Ling had become mysterious and unfathomable.
How could a monster like this turn up among the newcomers? I have to tell the organization afterward. We absolutely have to build a good relationship with her!
While thoughts surged through Spotlight's mind, Bai Ling did not dwell on it. Following Lin Yuan's instructions, she said:
"Sorry. As you saw, this ship might still be a little too weak."
"Let's stick with the original deal."
The Adventurer Group's ship could hardly be called bad. It could travel on land, turn invisible, and surely had other exploration-related functions as well.
If Lin Yuan truly had not been unable to use it, he would have been rather tempted to buy it.
All he could say was, "Sorry, you're a good ship, but we're not right for each other."
Bai Ling's words snapped Spotlight out of his thoughts. Looking at the cracks in the deck, he swallowed and said:
"All right, all right. We'll stick to our previous agreement, then. Once we're out of the instance, bring your ship alongside ours, and someone from our organization will come modify it for you..."
"Huh? Weren't you going to give me a blueprint for a Land Travel Device or something?" Bai Ling froze, then hurriedly pressed him.
She and Lin Yuan had both assumed that Land Travel Modifications worked like cabin modifications: a blueprint and materials would be enough. That was why they had not discussed this detail.
Spotlight paused, then realization dawned on him. "Sorry, that was my oversight. When you said you wanted a Land Travel Modification, I assumed you knew the basic procedure for hull modifications."
"Here's how it works. Diving and Land Travel Modifications are large-scale modifications involving the entire hull. They're completely different from adding a Special Cabin to a ship."
"Even in Paradise, modifications on that scale require someone with the 'craftsman' ability to take detailed measurements of your ship before modifying it manually."
"Also, depending on how strong the 'craftsman's' ability is, there are limits on the level of ship they can modify. The craftsmen our organization can currently contact can, at most, modify ships below level 3."
"Of course, inside Paradise, if you can get a 'blueprint,' you can modify it directly too. But hull modification blueprints are even rarer than advanced hull upgrade blueprints, and our organization doesn't have any at present..."
So that was it. Only after hearing this did Lin Yuan understand why Spotlight had quoted such a low price for the Land Travel Modification.
The price had not been based on a blueprint at all.
For an organization with the appropriate craftsmen, modifying someone else's hull really would not cost much if the other party supplied the materials.
But this put Lin Yuan in a difficult position.
He could hardly run up to a "craftsman," strip off his clothes, and say:
"Come modify me!"
Even setting aside the risk of exposing his secret, he seriously doubted whether an ordinary craftsman could modify a ship like "Lin Yuan."
Before you continue