Shi Ming couldn't confirm it, so he naturally put the idea aside for now.
He would complete the tasks assigned by the system one by one.
He subsided his doubts and began to observe his surroundings.
The shoreline was nothing but sand and rocks, with no visible life, not even shells. Not far away lay a dense, lush forest, obscuring all view. Only by going deeper could one glimpse the island's interior.
This island looked ordinary, yet a little unusual.But to the others, everything on land seemed incredibly novel.
However, this novelty was suppressed by a fear of the unknown. The slaves who had landed on the island looked at each other, remaining where they were, unwilling to be the first to set foot in uncharted territory.
"Don't just stand there in a daze. Don't forget, the captain's scope is trained on you! Your every move is under his watch,"
Shi Ming warned, leading the way toward the island.
Seeing this, the others, remembering the captain's ruthless tactics, helplessly dispersed in twos and threes.
...
Shi Ming took a detour, not going deep into the island.
Exploring rashly at this moment wouldn't be wise. He needed to test his newly acquired "Intelligence Eye" in an unobserved area. With intelligence, he could formulate a targeted exploration plan.
For those constantly on missions, intelligence was more precious than gold, and some unnecessary sacrifices were made simply because of a lack of it.
"Intelligence Eye, acquiring intelligence."
[Beep~Beep~]
[Intelligence compiling...]
[Searching. Confirming host's detailed coordinates... Search successful, intelligence summary in progress... Intelligence generated: 1,341 meters ahead, buried on the shore, lies a historic canoe. You may be able to uncover some hidden secrets from it.]
A canoe?
Someone had actually set foot on this island?
In a single canoe?
Shi Ming weaved among the reefs, carefully observing and vigilantly following the shoreline.
Not far away, he found something.
Sure enough, a small canoe lay stranded on the reef not far from the shoreline.
The canoe looked like it had been there a very long time, half buried deep in the sand. However, its material was very special, showing no signs of decay. However, judging by its depth and the salt scale attached to it, it was clear that it had been there for at least a few years, perhaps even longer.
Shi Ming grasped the edge of the canoe with one hand and, with a push, dug it out. It was still usable.
But only to the extent that it could be used. Trying to escape in a canoe, drifting in this endless ocean, was obviously impossible.
It was a sure thing.
Shi Ming searched carefully and suddenly saw a small wooden box inside the canoe's wooden compartment. Thanks to the box's unique material, it was not greatly corroded by the sea breeze and humid environment.
Shi Ming skillfully opened the box. Inside was a pen and a notebook.
The pen was a common fountain pen, and the notebook felt like lambskin.
Shi Ming opened the notebook.
Fortunately, the wooden box was well-watertight. The handwriting on the notebook had faded somewhat over the years, but it was still legible. The notes were written in the language Shi Ming was most familiar with.
However, for him, any language was irrelevant. He was fluent in seven languages and could understand anything that wasn't a niche language from a remote country.
He flipped open the notebook.
[April 5th, this is the 66th day we've been trapped by the flood. The food at the institute is almost gone, and the flood hasn't receded. Everyone is pessimistic. There has never been a flood of this magnitude recorded in history. This is a disaster for humanity.]
[May 9th, another torrential rainstorm, and a rainbow appeared. The Western Book of Genesis records that when the devastating flood receded, the gods said, 'When I bring clouds over the earth, there will be a rainbow in the clouds.' Where is the rainbow of this disaster?
On June 13th, the world was without gods, so humanity decided to become its own gods. Humanity began constructing the "Ark."
Furthermore, other national organizations also launched large-scale shipbuilding programs. Haha, humanity didn't launch the Wandering Earth project, but instead launched the Drifting Earth project. Isn't this a funny joke?
Shi Ming flipped through the pages quickly. The owner of this notebook was a researcher at a research institute, seemingly of high status.
He had experienced the era of the flood and recorded humanity's struggle and redemption amidst the catastrophe.
Shi Ming flipped through the notebook quickly and curiously. For a long time thereafter, the owner of the notebook documented the turbulence and changes of the situation. As the continent gradually sank, humanity truly launched the "Drifting Earth" project, naming all refugee ships "Drifting Ships."
Notably, the researcher specifically mentioned that a total of 100,001 Drifting Ships had been built worldwide, a limit, and that the number would not increase in the future, only decrease due to wear and tear. 100,001?
Does this number hold any special significance?
Regarding this, Shi Ming could only speculate that the construction of the drifting ships might have utilized some non-renewable and extremely scarce resource.
[On September 2nd, only one tenth of Earth's landmass remained, forcing humanity into an era of wandering. Fortunately, satellite radio technology has kept humanity firmly connected, allowing us to work together and prevent civilization from being lost. Because the drifting ships utilize ██ technology, they can temporarily meet humanity's basic needs.]
"Satellite radio technology? It seems this technology no longer exists. The satellite has crashed, and different drifting ships can only communicate via ordinary radio waves, and the range is extremely limited."
"What kind of XX technology is this? This place is so blurry?" Shi Ming continued to browse.
[On October 7th, news broke that a warrior, after slaying a sea beast and bathing in its blood, gained a miraculous ability. He inherited the sea beast's power, yet still retained his humanity and supernatural powers. This is not only unscientific, but also unbelievable. If this fact is confirmed, not only will physics cease to exist, but biology will also cease to exist.
On December 9th, more and more humans began planning to hunt sea beasts, but few succeeded.
On January 3rd, I changed my research direction. Awakening, it sounds so exciting. On May 2nd, I couldn't just sit there and wait for death. I heard a sea beast resembling a "Xuanwu" had been spotted near certain coordinates. This might be my last chance. I equipped myself with the weapons I'd researched and piloted a drifting boat in pursuit...Xuanwu, that's a legendary beast. If I could bathe in its blood, I'd surely awaken at least an A-level ability!!!
(End of this chapter)