Night had fallen. The cold sea breeze caused the temperature on deck to plummet. After a final patrol of the Wandering Ship, Shi Ming returned to the captain's cabin.
After several exhausting days, he could finally get some rest.
He walked into the captain's cabin and locked the door from the inside. Since using the Gold-level key to crack the Wandering Ship's system and becoming its sole master, Shi Ming possessed the highest level of authority. Without his permission, no one could enter any room on the ship.
Likewise, he could come and go from any area on the ship as he pleased.
Lying on the soft, brand-new bed, Shi Ming felt every pore in his body open up in relief. The muscles that had been coursing with power since his awakening finally relaxed. The feeling was simply incredible!
He hadn't had a single peaceful night's sleep since being reborn into this world.
The first two nights were spent in the dark slave quarters, a damp and foul-smelling environment he only managed to endure thanks to his resilience. The third night was spent in an artificial cave on the island, where he stayed up all night, wary of the Bloodthirsty Moths, without a wink of sleep.
Fortunately, the Xuanwu Blood he had been bathed in during his awakening had replenished his energy and vitality. Otherwise, he would have collapsed into a deep sleep long ago.
'No, I can't sleep yet. I need to study that Gold-level Wandering Ship first! I'll sleep after I'm done!'
No matter how overwhelming his exhaustion was, the prospect of a treasure was enough to keep him going.
He was also extremely curious. How could a canoe that looked so incredibly dilapidated be a Gold-level Wandering Ship? It had no facilities to speak of and couldn't even guarantee food. Meanwhile, the ship they were on now, with its relatively complete set of amenities, was merely Silver-level!
For a canoe to be ranked Gold-level, it had to have something special.
And now was the time to find out what that was.
The captain's cabin was well-furnished, but there was still enough room to fit a canoe. Shi Ming cleared an area and retrieved the canoe from his system inventory, placing it in the empty space. He then picked up a magnifying glass from the navigation table and began his detailed inspection.
Even though it was late, the lights in the captain's cabin were bright—immeasurably brighter than the ones in the slave quarters. Shi Ming could clearly observe every detail of the canoe.
He ran his hand over the canoe's weathered surface, then took out a few Sea Crystal Stones. He embedded them in an inconspicuous spot inside the hull to power the Wandering Ship.
BZZZT—
A floating screen materialized at the canoe's bow, its high-tech feel clashing jarringly with the dilapidated hull.
[System rebooting... Reboot successful... Loading...]
[Load complete.]
The Wandering Ship hadn't been used in a long time, so it took a moment to start up after the initial power injection. Fortunately, the wait wasn't long, and new content soon appeared on the floating screen.
It was a small, intelligent assistant resembling an Android mascot, blinking its digital eyes on the screen.
"Hello, Captain. I am your assistant, Moss."
A synthesized, emotionless voice sounded in Shi Ming's mind.
'Moss?'
'As expected of a Gold-level Wandering Ship, it even has a digital assistant! But is this thing actually intelligent?'
As Shi Ming watched the little assistant, a pop-up window with several options appeared:
"Please select a mode for the Wandering Ship: A. Basic Mode, B. Submerge Mode, C. Defense Mode, D. Surf Mode, E. Stealth Mode."
'Modes? I can choose?'
"Explain the modes, Moss!"
'Since it's a captain's assistant, it should be able to understand my commands. Communication shouldn't be an issue.'
"Of course, Captain!"
"First, I will introduce Basic Mode. In this mode, the Wandering Ship remains in its ordinary canoe state and consumes no energy. You can use it to drift on the ocean, fish, and enjoy a carefree time, going wherever the currents take you."
"When you switch to Submerge Mode, the Wandering Ship will activate a waterproof shield, allowing it to dive beneath the ocean's surface to a maximum depth of 8,000 meters. In this mode, you only need to provide your own oxygen. The Wandering Ship will handle all underwater pressure and other emergencies. Depending on the depth, this mode consumes 10 to 100 Sea Crystal Stones per hour."
"Defense Mode is typically used to counter sea beast attacks. The Wandering Ship will activate a defensive shield. This mode consumes 30 Sea Crystal Stones per hour! However, please be aware that many giant sea beasts can swallow this small Wandering Ship whole. Please use this mode wisely!"
"When Surf Mode is activated, the Wandering Ship will dash across the boundless ocean at maximum speed, reaching up to 300 kilometers per hour! At top speed, this mode consumes 50 Sea Crystal Stones per hour!"
"Stealth Mode allows the Wandering Ship to disappear from the sight of both sea beasts and humans. However, this level of camouflage cannot fool the detection abilities of General-level or King-level Wandering Ships. Likewise, it cannot deceive powerful sea beasts or those that use special methods to track prey! Stealth Mode consumes 10 Sea Crystal Stones per hour!"
After hearing the descriptions and energy costs of the different modes, Shi Ming finally understood why this tiny ship was rated Gold-level.
The four modes were incredibly practical and could handle most emergencies at sea, but their energy consumption was terrifying!
It was a good thing the ship was small. The Stealth and Surf modes alone were god-tier skills for ocean travel, incredibly useful for both exploration and escape. If these systems were installed on a large Wandering Ship, the energy cost would be astronomical.
Shi Ming felt like he had hit the jackpot!
The two S-rank abilities he'd awakened on the island were powerful, but due to the inherent nature of Xuanwu, they were defensively strong but offensively passive.
With this ship, he finally had a truly powerful trump card.
'If I can't win, I can run!'
Just like how sea beasts that can't defeat humans simply dive back into the ocean, leaving ordinary ships helpless.
'Who could stop me now?'
'Higher-level Wandering Ships might have countermeasures, of course.'
But Shi Ming didn't believe that the world's exceedingly rare General-level and King-level Wandering Ships were a common sight. After all, in the nation of Wokoku, where the previous captain was from, they had only managed to build two General-level Wandering Ships with the full might of the country!
A Gold-level Wandering Ship was already something extraordinary!
In high spirits, he stored the Gold-level Wandering Ship and lay down on the soft bed.
He had only been in this world for three days, and he was already the captain of two ships!
'This feels amazing!'