Chapter Summaries

After waking in the ocean, Lin Yuan learned that the sailing-game system had mistakenly treated his special ship as a player and fused their panels, leaving him with powerful ship-like abilities. As he celebrated his advantage, he spotted a huge, ominous shadow beneath the water.

• Lin Yuan woke in the ocean and heard the system announce that players had been given ships and placed in the beginner sea area, Paradise.
• The system detected that Lin Yuan’s special ship was unbound, treated it as a player, and fused its ship and player panels.
• Lin Yuan read the World Chat Channel and saw other players’ ships and stats, including a cultivation ship, an exploration ship, a ghost ship, and a raft.
• Lin Yuan inspected his fused panel and discovered enormous durability and strength along with Wooden Armor, Harpoon Attack, and Emergency Repair.
• Lin Yuan sensed pressure from a distant shadow beneath the water and realized it was probably enormous.

Lin Yuan discovered that the sea held separate underwater worlds divided by depth, with different creatures appearing in each layer. After testing his strength against a shark, he descended too far and found himself unable to swim back to the surface as his hull durability began to drain.

• Lin Yuan followed the vanished dark shape underwater and found that schools of fish appeared only when he entered the world beneath the surface.
• Lin Yuan discovered that a fish vanished from sight when he released it above the water, leading him to conclude that the sea’s surface separated two worlds.
• Lin Yuan crossed the ten-meter boundary and found a deeper layer inhabited by much larger, dangerous fish.
• Lin Yuan let a shark bite his arm, then killed it with one blow, confirming that Wooden Armor protected him and his strength was formidable.
• Lin Yuan crossed the twenty-meter boundary and approached a strange fish with a human face before a system warning said his hull durability would be deducted for descending too deep.
• Lin Yuan tried to swim upward, but the surface seemed to rise with him, leaving him unable to get closer to it.

Lin Yuan killed the human-faced fish that had trapped him below twenty meters and surfaced with its corpse and a shell-shaped treasure chest. He discovered his ship blueprint and learned how its weapon room, storage, and other compartments worked.

• Lin Yuan realized the human-faced fish was preventing him from reaching the surface and attacked it with his Steel Harpoon skill.
• Lin Yuan reeled in the harpooned fish, killed it with a punch, and escaped the depths as other figures began approaching.
• Lin Yuan caught a chest-shaped shell on his way up and surfaced with both it and the fish corpse.
• Lin Yuan discovered he did not need to breathe underwater but began losing durability below twenty meters.
• Lin Yuan examined his Lin Yuan (Level One Ship) Blueprint and found that his storage room held the two creatures, his Steel Harpoon was reloading, and his brain contained a mysterious starry room with a box on its central platform.

Lin Yuan discovered that his ship blueprint contained a Treasure Collection Room and learned that the mysterious box bearing his name would not open. After the Regional Chat Channel opened, he confirmed another player had encountered a human-faced fish, but his screenshot reduced other players’ Sanity and drew an offer to buy the corpse.

• Lin Yuan found a mysterious box marked with his name in the Treasure Collection Room, but he could not open it.
• Lin Yuan learned that the room could store powerful transcendent items and suppress transcendent power, then speculated about the creatures he had encountered underwater.
• The system opened the Regional Chat Channel, and the box briefly opened after Lin Yuan’s consciousness left the ship blueprint, releasing a streak of light before closing again.
• Lin Yuan joined the channel as Zero and posted a screenshot of the human-faced fish corpse to confirm Never Skunked’s account.
• The screenshot caused several players, including I Quit Farming, to lose Sanity, while Never Skunked showed that his Sanity had recovered to full.
• Research Institute 3154 asked Zero to sell the fish corpse.

Lin Yuan learned more about sanity, fishing, treasure chests, and trading while gathering supplies at sea. As night fell, the system warned that sanity would no longer recover and advised players to stay in their cabins, leaving Lin Yuan stranded without one.

• Research Institute 3154 predicted that trading would unlock soon, and Lin Yuan suspected he knew more than he admitted.
• Lin Yuan learned that players recovered sanity at different rates aboard their boats, but not while underwater, and that the strange seawater made swimming exhausting.
• The regional chat discussed fishing, Shell Treasure Chests, and player stats; Never Skunked revealed that reaching 11 strength left him constantly hungry.
• Lin Yuan opened a chest, used Emergency Repair to restore his durability with wood, and decided to focus on collecting more chests rather than exploring deep water.
• After hours of searching, Lin Yuan gathered nearly a hundred Shell Treasure Chests and planned to trade them if the market opened the next day.
• At dusk, the system warned that sanity would stop recovering at night and advised players to remain in their cabins, but Lin Yuan had no cabin.

Lin Yuan encountered a mysterious coffin drifting across the sea at night and fought to keep its occupant from escaping. The coffin opened from the side, revealing a Gothic doll girl who admitted she had forgotten it had a door.

• Lin Yuan checked the dark sea for supernatural creatures, then fell asleep floating on the surface.
• A knocking sound woke Lin Yuan, and he saw a black coffin drifting toward him despite his attempts to swim away.
• A voice called from inside the coffin, and Lin Yuan decided it could not be a player and prepared to fight.
• The coffin rushed at Lin Yuan, who jumped onto its lid and stomped it shut while the occupant struggled and shouted.
• A side door opened, and a silver-haired doll girl in a black Gothic gown emerged and threatened Lin Yuan.
• Lin Yuan demanded to know why she had fought over the lid, and the doll girl guiltily admitted she had forgotten the side door existed.

Lin Yuan fought the doll girl who kept reviving from the black coffin, then learned she was Lilia, a summoned being seeking a crew contract with him. The chapter ended with Lilia asking for the contract and his ship.

• The doll girl attacked Lin Yuan, and he punched her apart, but she repeatedly revived from the coffin.
• Lin Yuan struck the black coffin and badly injured his left arm without leaving a mark on it.
• Lilia refrained from attacking Lin Yuan while he was hurt, explaining that she only meant to teach him a lesson for blocking her inside the coffin.
• Lilia recognized the scent of a summons on Lin Yuan and introduced herself as someone who had come to make a crew contract with him.
• Lilia dropped her formal manner and asked Lin Yuan to produce the contract and show her his ship.

Lin Yuan obtained a mysterious Contract of Fate and recruited Lilia as his first crew member. Lilia explained the sea's dangerous layers and revealed that the dark shape Lin Yuan had encountered came from the Main Sea, leaving him alarmed by how powerful it was.

• A mysterious box in the Lin Yuan Blueprint opened by itself and produced a Contract of Fate that linked Lilia's fate to Lin Yuan's.
• Lilia signed the contract, became Lin Yuan's crew member, and received her own living quarters in the Lin Yuan Blueprint.
• Lin Yuan questioned Lilia about the sea, but she could not remember why she had felt compelled to join his crew or much about the sea's mysteries.
• Lilia explained that the sea was divided into the Shallow Sea, Main Sea, Deep Sea, and Abyssal Sea, with greater dangers farther down.
• Lilia identified the dark shape Lin Yuan had encountered as a creature from the Main Sea and said such creatures could be a hundred times stronger than Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan learned that the Main Sea held creatures far stronger than him and resolved to grow stronger, while recovering overnight inside his coffin. In the morning, he considered how sanity could warn others of danger, then watched the chat erupt over Wind-Ear’s photograph of Lilia guarding Lin Yuan’s coffin.

• Lin Yuan assessed the enormous shadow’s strength and concluded he needed to grow stronger before facing creatures from the Main Sea.
• Lin Yuan woke after recovering his health and left weapon chamber inside the coffin, then read reports of strange nighttime encounters in the regional chat.
• Lin Yuan learned from Never Skunked’s fight with a fishman that sanity damage could help players gauge an enemy’s strength, though he had no such warning.
• Wind-Ear posted a photograph of Lilia guarding Lin Yuan’s coffin, shocking the chat and claiming the most terrifying thing was whatever lay inside it.

After discussing Wind-Ear’s picture of Lilia, Lin Yuan learned that the trading market and private messages had opened, along with a warning of a surprise after nightfall. He negotiated with Research Institute 3154 over his strange fish corpse and asked to trade it for a powerful shipboard weapon.

• Lin Yuan questioned Lilia about anything unusual during her watch, but she said she had seen no ships or other disturbances.
• Research Institute 3154 warned that the figure inside the coffin might be a player, then asked Wind-Ear to sell him clearer pictures.
• The system opened the market and private trades, and warned players to improve themselves before a surprise arrived after nightfall.
• Lin Yuan found that the market suited ordinary supplies better than valuable items, which were difficult to price in Shell Coins.
• Research Institute 3154 offered information and supplies for Lin Yuan’s strange fish corpse, and Lin Yuan requested a shipboard weapon as powerful as a cannon.

Lin Yuan negotiated with Research Institute 3154 for the 'Explore the Sea' cannon blueprint and agreed to trade five different wondrous creature corpses for it. With Lilia's coffin helping him recover from the pressure below the shallow waters, he prepared to hunt for the remaining creatures himself.

• Lin Yuan browsed the World Exchange while waiting for Research Institute 3154 to check its weapons.
• Research Institute 3154 offered harpoons, ballistae, and old cannons, but Lin Yuan asked for a stronger weapon.
• Research Institute 3154 showed Lin Yuan the 'Explore the Sea' blueprint, whose power depended on its crafting materials and could become supernatural.
• Research Institute 3154 explained the distinction between wondrous and supernatural creatures and offered the blueprint for five different wondrous creature corpses.
• Lin Yuan agreed to the trade and, with Lilia's coffin to help him recover, prepared to hunt more wondrous creatures.

Lin Yuan hunted magical creatures in the underwater world and discovered that a shellfish lost its supernatural protection when brought to the surface. When he returned underwater, the enormous dark shadow reappeared and dragged him toward the depths as Lilia called after him.

• Lin Yuan learned that Lilia became dizzy and weak in seawater, so he dove alone to hunt magical creatures.
• A strange fish attacked Lin Yuan with powerful water jets, but he killed it with his Steel Harpoon and continued hunting.
• Lin Yuan struggled to harm a slippery shellfish, then carried it to the surface, where its protection vanished and he broke it open to find a silver shell treasure chest.
• Lilia watched Lin Yuan surface and dive again, worried that something had affected him, and followed him underwater with her coffin.
• Lin Yuan saw the dark shadow beneath him, and an invisible chain locked around his ankle and pulled him deeper.

Lin Yuan escaped a powerful Main Sea creature by sacrificing his ankle and hiding with Lilia in her coffin, but learned that it had marked him as prey. He resolved to use the few days before its next attack to grow stronger by upgrading himself as a ship.

• Lin Yuan severed his own ankle with Steel Harpoon to escape the Invisible Chains dragging him toward the dark shape.
• Lilia helped Lin Yuan retreat into her coffin, where they endured the dark shape's attacks until it left.
• Lin Yuan emerged restored by the coffin and learned the creature would likely try again in three or four days.
• Lilia revealed that the creature had placed a Prey Mark on Lin Yuan and would target him once it recovered.
• Lin Yuan realized he had at most half a month to prepare and considered upgrading his weapons, armor, hull, and compartments.

Lin Yuan traded five Magical Creature corpses to Research Institute 3154 for the 'Explore the Sea' blueprint and learned about the dangers of diving, the cannon’s crafting requirements, and the limited duration of Paradise. Research Institute 3154 secretly recorded Lin Yuan as a possible subject of interest, then received a warning to prepare for the coming beginner dungeon.

• Lin Yuan sent Research Institute 3154 pictures of five Magical Creature corpses and completed a trade for the 'Explore the Sea' blueprint.
• Research Institute 3154 explained that diving could carry players into dangerous underwater layers where powerful creatures could follow them.
• Research Institute 3154 explained the blueprint’s difficult material requirements and told Lin Yuan that Paradise was only a temporary beginner benefit.
• Lin Yuan asked for more equipment and blueprints, but Research Institute 3154 declined and ended their chat.
• Research Institute 3154 recorded Lin Yuan as a potential priority subject and requested a search for how he obtained five corpses so quickly.
• A Feather Pen replied that the requests could not be acted upon yet and told Research Institute 3154 to prepare for the coming beginner dungeon.

Lin Yuan examined the “Explore the Sea” cannon blueprint and postponed crafting it while he searched for other ways to fight the dark shadow. He opened his Shell Treasure Chests, upgraded his armor, and found a biologically active propeller in the final silver chest.

• Lin Yuan studied the cannon blueprint and decided to wait before choosing materials, since the dark shadow would not enter Paradise for at least two weeks.
• Lin Yuan opened his Shell Treasure Chests and spent 100 units of wood to double his warehouse’s size.
• Lin Yuan used active wood to upgrade Wooden Armor into Active Wooden Armor, which resisted physical attacks unable to penetrate 20 cm of armor.
• Lin Yuan opened the final silver Shell Treasure Chest and received an E-rank Shell Pump Water-Flow Propeller.
• Lin Yuan learned that the propeller generated underwater thrust by consuming fish and shrimp, but warned that improper feeding could cause unpredictable consequences.

Lin Yuan traded his revolver for Man-Eating Shark Teeth and upgraded his harpoon before falling asleep on Lilia’s coffin. He woke to a system announcement that a solo dungeon had opened, and Lilia spotted an island surfacing nearby.

• Lin Yuan installed the Seashell Pump Propeller and tested its thrust until it needed to be fed.
• Lilia said she vaguely remembered that conjuring items and communicating remotely were normal for newly ship-owning humans, then struggled to recall more.
• Lin Yuan traded his revolver to Never Skunked for Man-Eating Shark Teeth and used them to upgrade his harpoon with bleeding and anchoring abilities.
• After resting as night fell, Lin Yuan fell asleep on Lilia’s coffin.
• The system announced a 24-hour solo dungeon and advised players to find a Paradise Sea Chart, while Lilia spotted an island surfacing nearby.

Lin Yuan and Lilia entered a beginner solo dungeon on an island dominated by a skull-shaped rock, where Lin Yuan encountered a pirate skeleton and learned it was one of the mindless Sunken Folk. When skeletal pirates surrounded them on the beach, a system warning revealed that Lin Yuan’s hull was losing durability because he had run aground.

• Lin Yuan spotted the island and propelled his coffin toward shore with Lilia aboard.
• Lin Yuan boarded a rotten dinghy, which collapsed, and a pirate skeleton attacked him with a cutlass.
• Lin Yuan tore off the skeleton’s limbs, learned from Lilia that it was a mindless Sunken Folk, and crushed its head.
• Lin Yuan wondered whether the skeleton had once been a human or a previous player as he and Lilia walked inland.
• More than a dozen skeletal pirates rose from the sand and surrounded them.
• Lin Yuan received a warning that being ashore was reducing his hull durability.

Lin Yuan discovered that lying in Lilia’s coffin restored his durability, so he asked her to drag him while she explored the island. A mysterious mental link let him see through Lilia’s eyes, but their journey stalled when she got lost in the woods.

• Lin Yuan hid in Lilia’s coffin and found that it stopped his durability loss and slowly restored it.
• Lilia fought the skeleton pirates, repeatedly repairing her injured body and defeating them all.
• Lin Yuan asked Lilia to drag his coffin while they explored the island, and she agreed.
• Lin Yuan discovered a mental link that let him see through Lilia’s perspective and communicate with her.
• Lin Yuan directed Lilia toward a giant skull-shaped rock, but she soon stopped and admitted that she was lost.

Lin Yuan and Lilia discovered that the island’s towering trees were preventing them from seeing Skeleton Rock, so they cleared most of the forest. When the last tree revealed itself as an Undead Tree and attacked, Lin Yuan entered the fight, only to find that it could regenerate.

• Lin Yuan realized the trees had grown tall enough to block Skeleton Rock, and Lilia tried climbing one but was repeatedly knocked down by its moving branches.
• Lin Yuan ordered Lilia to chop down the trees, and she cleared the forest until Skeleton Rock came back into view.
• Lilia struck the final giant tree, which revealed a face with green soulfire and smashed her apart with a branch.
• Lin Yuan emerged from his coffin and fought the Undead Tree with Lilia’s scythe, cutting off one of its branches.
• Lin Yuan saw the Undead Tree regenerate its severed branch within seconds and realized the fight could take too long.

Lin Yuan defeated the Undead Tree with a harpoon and explosives, then discovered extraordinary loot and a diary whose writer had failed a main quest. The diary hinted that its writer was a player facing the risk of becoming an Island Dweller or one of the Sunken Folk.

• Lin Yuan used the Seashell Pump Propeller to break through the Undead Tree's defenses, then anchored a harpoon in its trunk and pulled himself close.
• Lin Yuan hacked into the Undead Tree, but it hardened itself and withdrew its roots and branches around its trunk.
• Lin Yuan threw high explosives into the Undead Tree's mouth, destroying it and winning the battle.
• Lin Yuan found an Undead Treant Core, a Mutant Treant Fruit, and several sheets of parchment among the remains.
• Lin Yuan read the parchment and learned that its writer had failed a main quest and feared becoming an Island Dweller or one of the Sunken Folk.