A gale suddenly rose over the quiet sea.
The young man crouched in the canoe, Ram's Horn Hammer raised, as immovable as a reef.
Yet the dense hammering and wood-planing sounds around him proved he could not possibly have been motionless.
Fast. Far too fast.
Wood shavings flew, and the hammer rang.
In just a few breaths.
Right before the eyes of the people aboard the Hope, a small canoe fast-forwarded into a large wooden raft, 3.5 meters wide and 8 meters long.
Besides the oars, it even came thoughtfully fitted with a triangular tent made of waterproof canvas.
Zhang Qing rubbed his eyes in disbelief, his mouth hanging open for ages as though someone had stuffed a light bulb into it.
"He... he didn't move just now, did he?"
Wang Tai's Adam's apple bobbed.
"No, he was moving so fast that even afterimages couldn't keep up. That's why we couldn't see anything."
Qin Mao took a deep breath and stood up, his expression calm, then raised his head proudly to look at Wang Tai.
He played the part of a master artist supremely confident in and proud of his craft.
He knew all too well how profoundly a scene like a sped-up video would shock someone seeing it for the first time.
His own reaction the first time had been little better than Zhang Qing's.
"Boss Wang, do you believe I'm really a Shipwright now?"
"Come now, Brother Qin! Your big brother never doubted you!"
Wang Tai personally hauled on the rope to pull Qin Mao aboard the Hope.
He knew the value of a supernatural Shipwright.
He resolved to tie this treasure to his ship for good.
Once aboard, Qin Mao looked down at the raft and felt a little more secure.
This big wooden raft was much better than his old canoe.
Not only could it shelter him from wind and rain, but he could also lie down to sleep.
There was more room to move around and store supplies, and unlike a canoe, it would not capsize so easily in wind and waves.
Apocalypse survival rate +1!
But he also understood.
Now Wang Tai would be even less willing to let him leave.
They exchanged a few more compliments.
Seeing Wang Tai quietly steer the conversation toward the great gash in the Hope's starboard side, Qin Mao had no intention of letting all his value be squeezed out in one go.
He simply said he was sleepy and darted back to the cabin to sleep.
It wasn't his ship. What was the rush?
He slept all the way until noon the next day.
After simply drinking the juice from a coconut and eating every last bit of its flesh, he left the cabin feeling thoroughly satisfied.
Only, something seemed off outside...
Some thirty or forty survivors stood on deck, gathered around Wang Tai.
They seemed to be discussing something.
The moment Qin Mao emerged, everyone made way for him.
Putting on an affectionate manner, Wang Tai pulled him to the stern.
He took Qin Mao's hand and laid it over his own on the helm, then swept an authoritative gaze from side to side.
"I hereby announce-from today onward, Qin Mao is the First Mate of our Hope!"
Qin Mao: ?!
Cheers of uncertain sincerity rose around them.
His lingering drowsiness vanished instantly.
Before he could process that declaration, Wang Tai dropped another bombshell.
"Since today's such a fine day, I, Wang Tai, have another happy announcement. Qin Mao and I are becoming sworn brothers!"
"To celebrate, everyone in the fleet gets one extra piece of fruit in today's food ration!"
The cheers grew louder, and this time they were clearly much more sincere.
Qin Mao: !!!
Kneeling, swearing oaths, drinking wine... it all happened in one smooth sequence!
Only when the survivors aboard began singing "Brother, you've lost weight, you look so tired" in unison.
Did Qin Mao finally have to accept that he had acquired a brother.
"Mom, with the world this unstable, getting married will probably be difficult, and you won't get to hold that chubby grandson you wanted. You'll have to make do with an extra adopted son. I'll send him over to look after you in a couple of days."
Qin Mao gazed into the distance, toward where he remembered the land being.
He let out a quiet sigh.
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
Wang Tai had both promoted him and become his sworn brother.
Wasn't it all to make him work like a beast of burden?
Accepting someone's food left you beholden to them. Qin Mao understood that.
Now that he had gained standing aboard the Hope, he naturally had to make a gesture in return.
"Boss Wang, I've had enough rest. I'm not someone who eats for free without doing any work. Let me fix up our ship first!"
"Hey! Why are you calling me boss? Call me big brother!"
"Sure, big brother!"
Wang Tai feigned anger, but his actions were honest enough as he called his underlings over to bring a pile of lumber and sheet metal.
It was all piled beside the breach in the starboard side.
"To tell you the truth, brother, I had people try fixing this ship before. But my men were useless, and the hole was just too big. They couldn't make the repairs hold. Whenever the sea wind picked up a little, it broke open again."
"So I stocked up on plenty of wood, thinking we might get lucky and run into a Shipwright who could fix it. Heh."
Qin Mao nodded, walked over, and touched the hideous scar.
He had no idea what sort of monster had left such a huge gash.
If his big wooden raft encountered a monster like that, it would probably fall apart after two hits at most.
His upgrade system could pass for more than one kind of supernatural ability.
The reason he had called it [Apocalypse Shipwright], rather than weapon upgrading, imagination manifestation, or something similar... was precisely because he had discovered this breach in the ship last night.
Only by seizing on the other party's pain point could he take the initiative.
He had 1,200 Kill Points left.
Last night, he had secretly tested the system while touching the ship.
Compared with [Upgrade], [Repair] did not require many Kill Points. He should have enough for this repair.
He focused his mind on the breach and the materials around it.
[Ding-ordinary vessel detected. Repair/upgrade?]
"Repair!"
[Ding-host's Kill Points balance: 1,200. Spend 600 Kill Points to repair the vessel?]
A whole 600 points... Qin Mao's heart ached again.
Would 400 do?
He tried bargaining inwardly.
But the system was like a program without feelings or thought.
It remained cold, without a single extra word.
[Ding-host's Kill Points balance: 1,200. Spend 400 Kill Points to repair the vessel?]
Holy shit, Qin Mao thought.
Damn! That actually worked? If I'd known, I'd have offered only 100!
"Yes! Repair!"
Soon, before everyone's eyes, a miracle took place out at sea.
The huge tear in the Hope's starboard side was successfully repaired at a visible pace, leaving it solid and sturdy.
"Good lord! Good lord! How're you so darn capable?!"
Zhang Qing shouted with exaggerated excitement.
The other crew members were utterly astonished too.
Having the ship repaired was good news for everyone, and everyone's complexion seemed a little better.
"Good things come in threes! Hahaha! Zhang Qing, give everyone another extra... Green Fruit today!"
Everyone: ヾ(@^▽^@)ノ
Only Qin Mao wore a perfunctory fake smile, his heart shrouded in gloom.
The system was his greatest secret. The fewer people who saw it, the better.
He was currently telling outsiders that his ability was [Apocalypse Shipwright], but what if that Sequence really existed?
His ship-repair methods would definitely differ from theirs.
It would be bad if a comparison set someone with a scheming mind wondering.
One careless move could bring death upon him.
What worried him even more was how many people were here.
If word of his identity as a Shipwright spread, there was no guarantee some villain even more vicious than Wang Tai would not abduct him.
Then he would be locked in a dark little room with no daylight, forced to work for someone.
Strength. He still wasn't strong enough!
Qin Mao desperately wanted the strength to protect himself!
Just then, Wang Tai approached the freshly repaired side of the ship and examined it closely.
"Huh? Wait, why is this repair..."
He abruptly raised his head and looked at Qin Mao, his tone strange.
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