I, Zhao Yuechuan, concede!

"It's repaired to absolute perfection!"

Just like new!

Qin Mao leaned against the cabin wall and rested with his eyes closed for five minutes.

Seeing that the time on his watch was nearly up, he picked up the Ram's Horn Hammer and a plank and wandered aimlessly around.

He tapped here and hammered there, waiting for the time to pass.

The system's ship repair process was too fantastical. The later anyone noticed it, the better.

He still vividly remembered being surrounded by spectators while repairing the Hope last time. That had greatly increased the risk of exposing the system.

Part of the reason he had ultimately chosen to blow up the ship was to hide the system.

Everything... was just to stay alive safely!

"Strange, hasn't it been ten minutes yet?"

After wandering around the cabin for ages without anyone coming in, Qin Mao raised his wrist in confusion and checked.

"It's already been fifteen minutes... My watch isn't broken, is it?"

He decided to wait a little longer.

Another five minutes passed. The ship was silent, and still no one came down.

"What the heck? What's going on?"

A sense of unease swiftly rose in his heart. Just as he was about to head up to the deck to take a look, he suddenly heard footsteps tapping from deep in the passageway.

"Finally, someone's here!"

Qin Mao was already prepared for the other person to be shocked.

The footsteps drew closer and closer.

The newcomer rounded the corner and poked its head out of the shadows, meeting Qin Mao's eyes.

"Holy shit, a ghost!"

It shuddered in fright and instinctively threw a punch.

Someone had come? No, it was clearly a white skeleton!

The punch knocked the skeleton's head off, leaving its headless frame to stumble away.

The skull fell to the floor. Its empty sockets stared at Qin Mao for a second, and its jaw clacked twice.

A short while later, led by Yang Fan and the other two Transcendents, everyone returned to the second-level cabins one after another.

But they ran into the still-shaken Qin Mao in the passage between the first and second levels.

"There's... there's a ghost on the ship!"

"Ahem! Buddy, that's my [Undead Bone Master] ability..."

Yan Qi gave an embarrassed cough, stepped forward, and carefully picked up the skull.

Ignoring Qin Mao's reproachful gaze, he led the way inside, then let out a loud curse.

"Hey, buddy! You were supposed to repair the ship. Who told you to replace it with a new one?"

His words seemed to flip a volume switch. Everyone who saw the repaired area cried out in disbelief.

For a while, curses filled the crowded cabin.

Ye Xuanyin's beautiful eyes widened, and she clamped her small hands over her mouth.

Yang Fan looked expressionless, but his wide, staring eyes showed that he was not as calm inside as he appeared.

"Huh? Where's the gash in the ship?"

"Where's that huuuge hole the anomaly bit out?"

"Wasn't this supposed to be a repair? How come not only is the gash gone, but even this cabin that was flooded and sealed off before has been repaired?"

"That's weird. Did we end up on the third level?"

The crowd buzzed with disbelief.

Only Xu Ran, Zhao Yuechuan, and Su Miaomiao looked deathly pale, as though they had lost their parents.

Zhao Yuechuan and Xu Ran needed no explanation. They had clearly realized Qin Mao was no ordinary person.

They had failed to recognize who he really was and had offended this important figure with their many disrespectful remarks.

In this perilous apocalypse, if he put a few small obstacles in their way, whether they could survive would be another question.

As for Su Miaomiao, her expression was even uglier. Yet mixed into that ugliness were indescribable secret delight, anticipation, and calculation.

Zhao Yuechuan stepped forward and gently touched the repaired cabin. He even ran outside to inspect the ship's exterior. After pondering for a while, he finally returned, his face flushed.

Not daring to show the slightest displeasure, he respectfully bowed to Qin Mao before everyone. "Sir, your craftsmanship is superb! A work of divine artistry! I, Zhao Yuechuan, concede!"

"You concede?" Qin Mao sneered.

"So that means you don't have to be live bait anymore?"

Zhao Yuechuan instantly turned deathly pale.

There were anomalous creatures in the sea. One careless moment could mean death! Back then, he had only... Who could have known it could actually be repaired!

"Rest assured, I'm a man of my word. I'll be your bait whenever you want!"

Zhao Yuechuan was quick-witted. His greatest assets in the fleet were his shipwright skills and experience.

But now that Qin Mao was here, he had suffered a crushing defeat in ship repair. With nothing left to justify his arrogance, if he still refused to bow his head, even Yang Fan and Miss Ye probably would not protect him anymore.

"Though you look younger than me, as your junior, I'm utterly in awe of your ship repair skills. Even the grade-eight shipworkers at the big shipyards aren't worthy of carrying your shoes!"

"We practice the same craft, so from now on, I'll be bold enough to call you Grandmaster. If you need anything done, just give the word!"

What a torrent of flattery!

Qin Mao thought, He really knows when to bend and when to stand tall!

They had been at odds, yet with just a few words, he had used that very conflict to establish a connection with him instead.

Sure enough, none of those who had survived fleeing the apocalypse were simple. He could not underestimate them.

Yang Fan smiled too. He shook Qin Mao's hand and said with a laugh, "Brother Qin, our fleet really struck gold this time!"

Qin Mao laughed heartily. "No problem. We're all family from now on. Just come to me for ship repairs! You'll definitely get the friends-and-family rate!"

On the surface, they had become as close as brothers. How much they actually trusted one another was another matter.

News of the [Yaximu]'s repair spread like the wind, sweeping back and forth among the three large ships. The stories about Qin Mao's repair work grew more fantastic with each retelling.

Riding that momentum, Yang Fan announced on deck that the Hope Fleet had a new companion-Qin Mao, a Shipwright.

Everyone learned that the fleet had gained a Transcendent of the Shipwright Sequence.

People stood at the bows and watched curiously, engraving that young figure deep in their minds.

But when Qin Mao stepped out of the cabin, something puzzled him. Had the other two ships moved farther away from the [Yaximu]? Had their positions changed too?

Had something happened just now? He was completely baffled.

As agreed, Zhao Yuechuan was tied to the fishing rod and cast into the sea to serve as Qin Mao's live bait.

The man was deathly pale, his teeth clenched and eyes tightly shut. Submerged up to his neck, he braced himself for sacrifice.

Although it was daytime and the chances of encountering an anomaly were low.

A bite from one of those sea creatures could still kill him if the wound became infected or it struck a vital spot.

...Ten minutes later.

Qin Mao lifted the fishing rod and hauled Zhao Yuechuan up.

A large, hideous fish swam furiously through the sea, seemingly unwilling to accept that the snack almost in its mouth had escaped.

As for Zhao Yuechuan, he had already wet his pants in terror, and his hands and feet were trembling.

Had Qin Mao been any slower, those two rows of sharp teeth, each four or five centimeters long, would have bitten him!

"Fifty minutes left. What do you say?"

Qin Mao asked with a faint, ambiguous smile.

Zhao Yuechuan dropped to the floor with a thud and begged for mercy over and over.

"Grandmaster, I was wrong! I failed to recognize your greatness! I don't want to be bait anymore! I'm willing to trade supplies for the remaining time!"

"Fine, supplies work too." Qin Mao nodded lightly.

He did not want to kill someone as soon as he arrived and sour his relationship with Yang Fan and the others.

Besides, this man had backed down quickly and knew when to bend.

Soon, a soaking-wet Zhao Yuechuan delivered three bottles of purified water, three packets of instant noodles, six compressed biscuits, and a small seawater desalinator.

...He also threw in an extra bag of expired bread.

"Um... well..." He rubbed his hands nervously. "Grandmaster, a component in that seawater desalinator is broken. There's no electricity on the ship right now, and we can't get gasoline or diesel either, so it might not work..."

Well, then. No wonder he had handed over something as important as a seawater desalinator so readily. It was just for show.

"No matter. I'll use it once we find an energy source."

Qin Mao sent Zhao Yuechuan away with a few words, without voicing a single complaint, leaving Zhao Yuechuan deeply moved.

"Mr. Qin is such a good man! He's so capable, and a Transcendent too, yet he doesn't hold anything against an ordinary person like me."

Soon, Yan Qi also came as promised to ask Qin Mao what he wanted as payment for the repairs.

"Take me to have a look at your ship's storerooms."

After a moment's hesitation, Yan Qi agreed.

"To make everyday life easier, the survivors only keep some supplies with them. Most of their supplies are registered and stored in these two storerooms."

"The Hope Fleet respects every survivor. Everyone's supplies are private property. When they need something, they take it according to the register, and they aren't allowed to take anyone else's belongings."

When discussing these serious matters, he spoke in standard Mandarin, without the slightest trace of joking.

"Yes, that's reasonable. One monk has water to drink, but three monks have none."

Qin Mao nodded and followed Yan Qi to the first storeroom.

"This one holds food and water. The one next door holds miscellaneous items."

Yan Qi turned the key and slowly opened the door.

"Come take a look! See what you need."