Hope
Escape from the Eldritch Sea: Shipwright of the Apocalypse
Biodata
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Hope |
| Original Name | 希望号 |
| Type | Sailing ship; the name is used by two distinct vessels 9 24 26. |
| Affiliation | Each vessel belongs to a separate fleet called the Hope Fleet 9 26. |
| Captain | Wang Tai commands the first vessel; Yang Fan commands the later namesake 2 25. |
| Role | Wang Tai’s ship shelters the remnants of a devastated fleet. Yang Fan’s ship leads a separate survivor fleet 9 25 38. |
| Status | Wang Tai’s Hope: destroyed by Qin Mao. Yang Fan’s Hope: operational through the latest provided appearance 19 26 49. |
| First Appearance | Wang Tai’s vessel: 2. Yang Fan’s vessel is encountered with its fleet in 24 and explicitly identified in 25. |
Wang Tai’s Hope
History
According to Wang Tai, his Hope Fleet set sail on July 9, 2040, after anomalies forced humanity off the land. It comprised three large ships carrying Sequence Transcendents and a smaller ship crowded with ordinary survivors. The fleet originally had nearly 400 people and five Transcendents 9.
After more than half a year of sailing, the fleet reached the Blood Moon Sea. There, another fleet and a hundred-meter-tall anomaly joined forces against it, destroying all three large ships. The smaller Hope escaped, but the battle’s aftermath tore a huge gash in its starboard side. Wang Tai claimed that the last surviving Transcendent entrusted him with Just Verdict and leadership before dying of his injuries. Different rates of time flow across the seas accounted for the apparent inconsistency in his voyage’s duration 9 10.
Qin Mao encountered the damaged Hope while transporting the unconscious Uncle Zhang in his canoe. Wang Tai ordered both newcomers killed, and Zhang Qing stabbed Uncle Zhang. Qin Mao survived by claiming to be a shipwright capable of repairing the hull, concealing his hatred while accepting a place aboard 2.
After demonstrating his ability by transforming his canoe into a raft, Qin Mao became first mate and Wang Tai’s sworn brother. He repaired the starboard breach for 400 Kill Points. Although structurally sound, the repair looked unusual enough to attract Wang Tai’s scrutiny 6 7.
The Hope later stopped at Stone Ape Island for supplies. An encounter with a coconut eerie entity cost the expedition three lives, but Wang Tai and Qin Mao recovered the Thousand-Faced Eerie Coconut material. Back aboard, Wang Tai tortured a survivor accused of attracting the entity 12 14.
During a subsequent feast, Qin Mao stole an oval bone fragment, a parchment scroll, and Wang Tai’s damaged Sequence Potion from a hidden compartment. Their confrontation exposed Qin Mao’s deduction that Wang Tai intended to destroy the ammunition magazine—and everyone aboard—if his planned awakening failed 16 17 18.
Qin Mao ultimately blew up the Hope. He salvaged its wreckage to upgrade his raft into a twenty-meter wooden sailing ship, while Wang Tai survived the initial explosion and attacked him in the water 19 26.
Layout and Facilities
| Area or equipment | Details |
|---|---|
| Hull | Relatively small wooden vessel; its starboard breach was repaired by Qin Mao 6 8 9. |
| Living quarters | Cabins were essentially full with 45 people, including Qin Mao. Roughly twenty more could be squeezed aboard, at considerable cost to supplies 8. |
| First mate’s cabin | An interior room on the second level, approximately six or seven square meters, containing a bed and narrow wooden table 7. |
| Captain’s Quarters | Contained a hidden compartment used for valuable materials, a Sequence Potion, and the ship’s log 15 16 17. |
| Storeroom | Held materials not currently needed 8. |
| Galley | Included a concealed food-storage room 8. |
| Ammunition magazine | Padlocked and accessible only with Wang Tai’s permission. Held cannonballs originally reserved for the fleet’s larger ships 8 16. |
| Infirmary | Had exhausted its stock of common medicines 8. |
| Freshwater equipment | One remaining Solar Still supplied only the minimum drinking water needed aboard 7. |
| Cooking equipment | An integrated solar cooker heated food and water; solar storage batteries provided backup during poor sunlight 7 21. |
| Armament | No cannons were installed. Wang Tai attributed this to the absence of anyone capable of repairing or modifying the ship before Qin Mao arrived 16. |
Rations and Discipline
- Pooled supplies: Food and other supplies were collected and distributed equally, rather than remaining the property of individual scavengers 7.
- Daily ration: Each person received three wild fruits, with one coconut per week. Fish were distributed according to the catch 7.
- Severe water shortage: Freshwater production did not permit bathing, leaving most survivors dirty and disheveled 7.
- No leaving: Attempting to leave the ship or fleet was punishable by death. Qin Mao was forced to execute four captured escapees 3 4.
- Soul ammunition: Wang Tai used human souls as ammunition for Just Verdict. His performance of fairness and punishment of deserters served the weapon’s requirements while maintaining his control 4 22.
- Divided loyalties: Some survivors wanted Wang Tai dead but still depended on his gun for protection. Zhu Yu’s group had hoped the damaged ship would sink, taking Wang Tai with them, and resented Qin Mao for repairing it 12 16.
Defense and Personnel
- Wang Tai — Captain and wielder of Just Verdict; killed a boarding Rotgill Corpse and drove off a Sound Charm whose music threatened to kill the sleeping survivors 2 7 10.
- Qin Mao — Shipwright and later first mate; repaired the hull before stealing Wang Tai’s valuables and destroying the vessel 6 16 19 26.
- Zhang Qing — Wang Tai’s subordinate; enforced shipboard rules and killed Uncle Zhang when the newcomers were brought aboard 2 3.
- Zhu Yu — Assigned to attend Qin Mao; attacked him out of resentment over his wife’s execution and the hull’s repair, then was killed by Qin Mao 8 12.
Salvage and Legacy
- The Hope’s remaining hull, timber, sails, and other ship materials were incorporated into Qin Mao’s new vessel 19 21.
- The Thousand-Faced Eerie Coconut was also incorporated during construction, producing the wondrous ship Eerie Coconut, later named Ten-Thousand-Li Divine Radiance 21 37.
- Its solar cooker and storage batteries were too large to retrieve and sank with the wreck 21.
- Wang Tai had imagined Qin Mao eventually turning the Hope into an anomalous-object vehicle, but this never occurred before its destruction 11 19.
Yang Fan’s Hope
Founding and Command
Yang Fan named his own vessel Hope and the group sailing with it the Hope Fleet. Ye Xuanyin and Yan Qi accepted him as fleet leader because of his Navigator abilities and foresight. This ship is separate from Wang Tai’s destroyed vessel, despite sharing both its name and its fleet’s name 25 26.
The Hope leads the fleet at sea, sounding its horn to signal departure. Yang Fan’s navigation allows the group to locate islands for supplies rather than depending entirely on chance 38 39.
Facilities and Uses
- Captain’s Quarters: Hosts meetings between Yang Fan, Ye Xuanyin, Yan Qi, and Qin Mao, including discussions of fleet rules and the declining availability of normal fish 36 49.
- Emergency accommodation: Received survivors evacuated from the Yaximu when the captains mistakenly feared Qin Mao intended to blow it up 28.
- Temporary loot storage: Held the Chang-Driving Pufferfish’s skin after the Transcendents agreed on its distribution 47.
Fleet Rules
| Rule | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Absolute Obedience | Trust the captain’s judgment and the Hope’s guidance, and obey the captain until his death 36. |
| Survival Above All | The fleet’s survival takes priority over any individual or ship. Transcendents are valued above ordinary survivors, and sacrifices may be made to preserve the group 36. |
| The Extraordinary Must Not Be Insulted | Added as the third iron law, ranking above ordinary shipboard rules alongside the first two 48. |
| Night discipline | Avoid unnecessary bright lights and loud noises that could attract uncanny beings 36. |
| Unknown distress signals | Treat them as uncanny traps, especially when they originate in the deep sea. Remain silent, record, report, and avoid them 36. |
Notable Events
- Bread judgment: Qin Mao intervened in a couple’s dispute aboard the Hope, repeatedly divided their naan, and claimed it as his fee. Their frightened acceptance advanced his ownership ritual for Just Verdict 34.
- Corpse infiltration: A disguised corpse was present aboard the Hope. Its disguise fell away after Qin Mao’s gunshot broke the mental interference affecting the fleet 44.
- Fishing crisis meeting: The fleet’s leaders gathered aboard to discuss mutated sea creatures and the sharp decline in edible, normal catches 49.
Personnel
- Yang Fan — Captain, Navigator Sequence Transcendent, and leader of the Hope Fleet 25.
- Zhang Licheng — First mate and day-to-day fleet manager; organizes survivors and summons Qin Mao to meetings on Yang Fan’s behalf 40 49.
- Qin Mao — Allied captain and fleet shipwright who attends leadership meetings aboard the Hope 29 36 49.
- Ye Xuanyin — Captain of the Rose and participant in the fleet’s leadership meetings 25 36 49.
- Yan Qi — Captain of the Yaximu and participant in the fleet’s leadership meetings 25 36 49.
Naming
- Yang Fan chose Hope to express optimism and humanity’s prospects of survival 26.
- Qin Mao privately considered the name a jinx after destroying Wang Tai’s Hope and hearing how its fleet had been devastated. He nevertheless praised Yang Fan’s choice aloud 26.
- Qin Mao recognized that “hope” was a common enough sentiment in the apocalypse for unrelated ships and fleets to share the name 26.