Destroying the place would not leave Lan Jin without somewhere to sleep. The problem was how to explain it to Captain Zhang. And what if, by accident, they damaged the ship…
Better to be careful.
It was hard to blame Ling Jiang. Even Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe had excitement shining in their eyes, though compared to Ling Jiang, they held it together better.
"As long as everyone keeps this in mind, that is enough. If you want to test your abilities, wait until a school of fish attacks us. Then try."
Sometimes a jinx really works. The moment Lan Jin finished saying they would wait for fish to come, the ship was rammed by a school and began to rock in the water.
Feeling the motion, the four of them grew excited again and rushed up to the deck in a flash.
Seeing them, Captain Zhang frowned. "Didn't I tell you to rest? Why are you up here?"
"Just woke up, could not sleep again. Felt the movement and ran up," Lao Gao said dryly. His jittery hands made Captain Zhang's mouth twitch. "Fine. Whatever you say."
Captain Zhang had just finished speaking when the ship lurched harder. People on deck staggered. Around the hull, fish kept leaping, sending up sheets of spray.
The school drew closer and closer. With a single leap, the fish lunged straight toward the people on deck.
On normal days they had seen big fish and small fish without blinking, but the fish surfacing now had a nose nearly a meter long, sharp as a spear. If that spike hit a chest, it would kill on the spot.
Faced with that sight, everyone on deck did the same thing at once. They dodged first and thought later.
While others ducked, the four of them got excited. Ling Jiang most of all. Ling Jiang used her not-quite-teleport step to rush to the front. Ling Jiang's ice ability surged, freezing the fish midair into a rigid block, then sheathed it in a thick crust of ice.
The fish's nose was as long as its body. Counting the nose, the whole thing was about two and a half meters. Add the original weight, and when it froze, it hit the deck with a booming thud that left everyone stunned.
People knew Ling Jiang was strong, so they did not think much of it at first. Someone muttered, "It is only a fish. Why use such a strong blast?"
In truth, Ling Jiang had not used much power at all.
When Ling Jiang first moved, She meant to go all out to avoid accidents. But as she was about to unleash full strength, the surge of energy inside warned her. She immediately dialed it down. Even reduced, the power was still overwhelming. That result said it all. The boost to her ability was more than a little.
One test like that was enough. The other three did not dare to make a mess. In the end, with everyone on deck working together, they passed through that stretch of water safely.
…
After another day on the surface, they finally left the city's reach. After the ship sailed another full day and night, they arrived at N City.
But N City was not the final destination. The group detoured, leaving the city center behind. Two more days later, their ship was circling near a hill-like rise.
A place like that should have had a base, if it were not so far from any city. There was none. The terrain looked so much like H City's that Lan Jin quietly told the other three, "Why does this feel like H City's layout? Do not tell me the mission is to blow up Maolin again?"
Lao Gao shook his head. "If it were really Maolin, our team alone would be enough. Why call in elites from so many bases? Must be a coincidence. Captain Zhang said before that Maolin sites were never only in one spot. H City's was just the closest to that base."
"That may be, but do you not think the ship slowed down when we got here?" Huang Jinghe had been watching the surroundings closely and had felt the change in speed. In fact, not only had the ship slowed, its range of travel seemed to shrink. "Look there." Huang Jinghe pointed at a structure-like silhouette ahead. "I feel like I saw that yesterday. Most of my attention was on the speed, so I was not certain. But the impression is there. That cannot be fake."
So either they were mistaken, or they had really been here already. Either way, once the thought appeared, they had to watch for it.
"How about I ask Captain Zhang," Lao Gao said.
"How do you ask," Lan Jin asked.
"Straight to the point. I ask if we passed here yesterday." Lao Gao paused, then grimaced. "Even if we did, he might not tell the truth."
"Exactly. Forget it. No matter what happens, keeping to our own arrangements is the most important."
The nearer they got to the goal, the tighter Ling Jiang's chest felt. Ling Jiang had a sense that something was coming. But what could happen. The four of them were so strong. Who could even get close.
…
The day passed in restless thoughts. The next day, when their ship came again to the place Huang Jinghe had pointed out, all four of them understood. The ship really was circling in place.
Lan Jin said dryly, "So we never left this area. We have been hovering here for three straight days. Is there a cause, or are we… trapped in a ghostly loop."
"There has to be a cause. End of the world or not, ghost tricks will not work," Lao Gao said with a laugh. Lao Gao turned for the stairs. "I am going up to ask. We have spun here three days. Someone can answer."
"Then we go together."
They returned to the deck. Captain Zhang's brows were drawn tight, which did nothing to calm their nerves.
Lao Gao stepped forward. "Captain Zhang, what is going on."
Captain Zhang blinked at the blunt question, then seemed to realize Lao Gao and the others had noticed the pattern. "Waiting for orders from above. We cannot act on our own, so we have been circling here a few days. It is fine. Go rest. Rest well. We will likely move soon."
Captain Zhang's tone was light, but the deep crease between his brows told them the situation was not simple.
===
So, a little random ramble from me ( ･ω･)ﾉﾞ
I rarely go searching for new novels to read ever since I started posting on Webnovel. If you haven't noticed yet, my favorite tags are NoCP first, then FemaleMC. Those two are my "core" tags, so whenever I go hunting for something new, I always start with those. After that, I'll look at "sub tags" or other tags that pair well with them, like #Infrastructure, #Historical, #Xianxia, #Rebirth, #Game, #Counterattack, #Transmigration, #System, #Apocalypse, #QT (quick transmigration), #BehindTheScenes, and #Entertainment. Basically, all those are genres I love, as long as they're built around a NoCP + FemaleMC setting.
It's already been 157 days since I uploaded my very first translation, I Became a Fairy and Lived Forever in the Fairy World, up to my latest project, The Cube Queen's Apocalypse Feast. And in all that time, I honestly haven't gone looking for new novels—I've just been focused on translating nonstop, from the moment I wake up at morning/noon until I crash at morning. I haven't had a job this whole time (◞‸◟;), so honestly, your donations on my Ko-fi and Patreon are my main source of income. That's also why I can pour all my time into translating. This is what my schedule has been like: I usually sleep around 4 am and wake up at 6 or 7. If I have something to do in the morning, I just sleep for those few hours. If I have no activities or my sleep quality was good, I go back to sleep and don't truly wake up until 2 pm in the afternoon.
Out of my ongoing projects, 3 are the ones that need the most attention: Troublemaker's Guide to Immortality and The Cube Queen's Apocalypse Feast both already have more than 200 chapters queued up in drafts, while True Heir of Chaos: From Villainess to Empress has around 100 (because I've been rushing to finish Mom's Apocalypse Survival Log and Reborn as the Fallen Idol, I Leaned Into the Chaos!). And for the 2 projects that are serialized, I've also stocked up plenty of draft chapters for those like what I said yesterday.
So, since I've been feeling a little "free," I wandered over to xxsypro, which is usually where I search for novels rather than other sites. The reason? The filters there are actually useful! You can pick "state" (all, serial, completed), "property" (all, free, paid), and even "renew" (last update within 3 days, 7 days, 15 days, or a month). There's also word count filters (like within 200k, 200k–300k, 300k–500k, 500k–1m, 1m–2m, or more than 2m), plus sorting options like "Comprehensive Popularity," "Best Seller," and "Most Favorites."
You can even narrow it down by "type" (Ancient Romance, Modern Romance, Fantasy Romance, Sci-fi, Fairy Tale, Short Stories, Game Competition, etc.), and "labels" (Popular Tags, Profession, Identity, Character, Background, Plot, School, Style). For example, under "Popular Tags" you'll see things like System Flow, Farming, Strong Women, NoCP, Game Alien World, Quick Wear, etc. Basically, the filters are complete, easy to understand, and—most importantly—actually clickable (unlike some sites that write categories/tags but don't let you click them… so annoying).
Anyway, since I was already there, of course my first stop was the NoCP section, and wow, there were tons of new novels with really interesting intros. And now I'm kinda tempted to add another serialized novel project to translate. Don't worry, if I do pick one up, it'll definitely be something with a smaller chapter count or word count. I'm not crazy enough to throw myself at a monster-length novel right now with the way things are (¬_¬;)
---
And guess what… I just came back from browsing the NoCP section, and my eyes were literally sparkling ☆:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:☆. I found 13 new novels with less than 200 chapters and 7 more that already have over 200 chapters. The intros were so good, my soul got hooked instantly.
Not to mention if I start diving into other sections like Female Supporting Role, Strong Women, Cultivation, Infrastructure, Playing Pig and Eating Tiger, Empress, Boss, Game Otherworldly, Apocalypse, Counterattack, Heroine, Super A, Rebirth, Entertainment, and Vest… that's basically heaven on earth for me (≧◡≦).
Of course, sometimes "NoCP" isn't listed under the tags. Instead, you'll see it written in the description/intro like "无CP", or sometimes not mentioned at all, which means you have to either catch the hints in the intro or rely on your NoCP radar being strong enough (lol).
Anyway—decision, decision, decision. (Important things must be said three times!) (╯✧▽✧)╯