Qin Mao spoke slowly and deliberately.
As he spoke, he stared fixedly into the other man's eyes.
The moment he said "Transcendent,"
Wang Tai's pupils rapidly dilated. A flicker of wariness crossed his face before immediately turning into stiff laughter.
When he said "Shipwright,"
a spark of delighted surprise gradually grew in Wang Tai's eyes, and his smile instantly became genuine, exposing eight large yellow teeth.
"Oh! So you're a Transcendent, Brother Qin! Forgive my manners!"
Wang Tai hurried back.
Brimming with enthusiasm, he clasped Qin Mao's right hand.
"You simply must join my fleet!"
He looked Qin Mao up and down all over again.
Utterly satisfied, he said, "An Apocalypse Shipwright! You certainly live up to the name!"
Qin Mao was a little uncomfortable with Wang Tai's sudden enthusiasm.
The contrast in his attitude was far too great!
In the apocalypse, the land had become a forbidden zone.
Aside from fresh water and food, the most precious things were undoubtedly their ships.
Only with ships could survivors set sail and scrape by at sea!
It was no exaggeration to say
that ships were their hope of staying alive!
But... for all sorts of reasons, ships always suffered damage.
Ordinary people had no way to repair them.
It took little thought to realize that a shipwright's standing was bound to soar in this apocalypse!
Especially when it came to serious damage.
Without enough materials and core components, even an ordinary shipwright could not repair it.
Then a shipwright with Transcendent Power... would surely be even more welcome!
Feeling the strength of Wang Tai's grip and his burning gaze, Qin Mao could not help feeling a little guilty.
"Have you heard of my Sequence?"
"Apocalypse Shipwright" was a name he had made up out of thin air.
After all, the names of Sequence Transcendents' Sequences were supposedly all sorts of strange things.
But if Wang Tai knew this Sequence well, his cover might soon be blown.
He would have to think of something to patch up his story in advance.
Fortunately, his worries were unnecessary.
Wang Tai answered sincerely, "Never heard of it, but I do know the [Shipwright] Sequence. It's the best Sequence for building and repairing vehicles!"
"Whew..." Qin Mao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He had managed to bluff his way through.
"Brother Qin, let's have a private chat in the Captain's Quarters."
The two men, each harboring his own schemes, walked into the Captain's Quarters with their arms around each other's shoulders, trading compliments.
They were as close as brothers reunited after years apart.
Two coconuts and a few pieces of fruit were soon set on the crude wooden table.
"Times are hard in the apocalypse. Please forgive the poor hospitality!"
"Not at all. Having food at all is already wonderful!"
Qin Mao was surprised.
He had assumed that Wang Tai, as the ship's leader,
would certainly enjoy special meals made from the best supplies aboard.
He had not expected him to eat as simply as the other survivors.
Wang Tai handed Qin Mao a piece of fruit, smiling.
"The first ironclad rule aboard our Hope is that no one is allowed to leave. The second is fairness. Everyone gets the same food and drink."
"Really? What a great fleet!"
Qin Mao spoke indistinctly around his food, half his attention devoted to the fruit.
He could not help it. Having fled through the apocalypse, he had truly learned to fear hunger.
"By the way, Brother Qin, yours isn't a combat Sequence, is it?"
Wang Tai slipped the question in casually.
"Oh?"
Afraid that saying too much would expose a flaw, Qin Mao responded with a question.
"Hahaha! Your Brother Wang might not rule the seas, but I'm one of the few experts who've been to the Blood Moon Sea. I've seen countless Transcendents, so naturally I know a little more!"
"Although Sequence Transcendents come in all varieties, you can judge most of them by their names."
"For example, [General], [Barbarian Warrior], and [Necromancer] clearly lean toward combat. They're Sequences that directly increase physical strength or attack power."
"Sequences with words like healing, medicine, or priest in their names mostly lean toward healing."
"An [Apocalypse Shipwright] like you, Brother Qin, is probably like a [Mechanic] or [Divine Smith]. It offers limited improvement to your own combat strength, with abilities focused mainly on repairing ships."
So that was how it worked.
Qin Mao gave a wry smile, affirming Wang Tai's words.
"That's right. My Sequence mainly repairs and upgrades ships. All my strength lies in the ship, while my personal strength is about the same as an ordinary person's."
"That's fine, Brother Qin. Becoming a Transcendent already puts you far ahead of most people!"
Wang Tai appeared to be offering concern and comfort, but Qin Mao keenly noticed that he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
He was afraid this shipwright might be too strong.
Afraid the local boss could not keep a powerful newcomer in check!
"Then, brother, since you're a shipwright, why is your boat..."
...The scoundrel was probing him again.
"To tell you the truth, I only awakened recently. I haven't had time to upgrade my boat yet."
A shipwright riding in a crude wooden canoe
was like a farmer going hungry or a charcoal seller freezing to death.
None of it made sense.
"I see."
Wang Tai tapped the table lightly twice with his fingers and said nothing more. A brief silence fell.
Qin Mao sighed.
This fellow still did not believe him.
Sure enough, anyone who survived in the apocalypse had to be cautious.
He stood and took two steps toward the cabin door.
"Boss Wang, my canoe is really too small, and it's unsteady at sea. I'm planning to make it a bit bigger. Our fleet might find a use for it later..."
"Would you like to come take a look?"
That single word, "our," made Wang Tai's heart bloom with joy.
Seeing how accommodating Qin Mao was, Wang Tai felt even more satisfied.
"Of course! I've never seen the [Apocalypse Shipwright] Sequence in action. This'll be a real eye-opener-I have to come see!"
The two went out of the cabin.
When Qin Mao had been rescued while drifting at sea earlier, the crew had secured his upgraded canoe to the side of the ship with ropes.
It was still in the same place.
Qin Mao jumped onto the canoe.
Suddenly, he cried, "Ah!" and smacked his forehead hard.
"This memory of mine! The timber I prepared earlier got scattered by the current. This..."
"No problem. We've got some aboard!"
Wang Tai waved a broad hand.
Soon, crew members brought over some logs and planks, along with nails, hammers, and other ship-repair tools.
"Thanks, Boss!"
Qin Mao picked up a Ram's Horn Hammer that felt right in his hand.
First, he focused on the hull and pressed his right hand against the bow.
[Ding-canoe detected. Repair/upgrade?]
Qin Nan silently said to himself, Upgrade!
[Ding-upgrading requires 5,000 Kill Points. Insufficient Kill Points. Unable to upgrade.]
Qin Mao looked thoughtful.
This time, he focused on both the canoe and the materials Wang Tai had supplied.
[Ding-canoe detected. Repair/upgrade?]
"Upgrade!"
[Ding-host's Kill Points balance: 2,000. Spend 800 Kill Points to upgrade the canoe?]
"Yes!"
With that pile of materials, the Kill Points cost had dropped from 5,000 to 800.
It seemed that upgrading items out of thin air with Kill Points was very poor value.
The direction of the upgrade might also be uncontrollable. It would be more cost-effective to upgrade using existing materials.
Aboard the Hope, Zhang Qing craned his neck to peer down. Unable to resist scratching his head, he tried to make his presence felt before Wang Tai.
"Boss, this kid's been standing there forever without moving. Could he be a fraud?"
Wang Tai's lips spread into a cruel smile.
"Who knows? If he really is a fraud, he can forget about dying an easy death..."
"Yeah, this ain't right... Transcendents are so rare. I reckon this kid probably just knows a bit of handiwork and wants to use the Transcendent name to freeload food and drink on our ship."
While declaring his loyalty, Zhang Qing disparaged Qin Mao without the slightest hesitation.
Just then, a strong gust swept across the ship.
Qin Mao, standing on the canoe, moved!
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