Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe-Chapter 101 - 98: A Tempting Bounty

"The honor is mine."

Shi Ming replied with a smile, adopting the particular grammar of the Twelve Stars.

From what he knew, Wright held an incredible position within the Twelve Stars. He could mobilize countless resources and connections, so Shi Ming was naturally more than willing to get on his good side. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Wright nodded.

Yize, wearing a red glove on her right hand, reached into her jacket pocket. She pulled out a card and handed it to Shi Ming.

Shi Ming took one look and recognized it as a "bone card," something commonly used by the bigwigs of the Twelve Stars.

These bone cards were made from the bones of a certain sea beast and functioned like a single-use NFC chip. When placed near most models of communicators, the device would automatically read the card’s contents and save the contact information.

It could only be used once.

Shi Ming took out his communicator and scanned the card, adding their information. By the time he was done, Wright and Yize had already boarded their drifter, a vessel equipped with mimetic stealth technology. Yize waved goodbye.

The drifter vanished bit by bit from the surface of the sea, as if its lines were being erased.

’Gotta admit, that’s one classy way to make an entrance and an exit.’

Shi Ming withdrew his gaze.

There were still three D-class sea beast carcasses on board, waiting to be sold.

Beside him, Yellow Cannon opened his mouth, then closed it, looking as if he wanted to say something but was holding back.

"Hmm?"

"Captain. I could tell... that girl in the hood, she’s into you. Just like that woman from the *Ganges River*."

Shi Ming was a little amused.

’Do you think your captain has awakened the "Charming Merfolk" skill?’

’Attracting one after another?’

’Besides, Yellow Cannon, how many women have you even met in your life? How could you possibly understand a woman’s mind? They’ve always been impossible to figure out, as fickle as Edward’s Seven-Eyed Chameleon.’

’Besides, love at first sight on the Endless Ocean?’

’What is this, the Titanic?’

’This isn’t some romance light novel!’

"Get back to training on deck. With a physique like yours, you still expect to become an Awakened?"

"Yes, Captain."

Shi Ming returned to the captain’s quarters and contemplated his next move.

’My long-term goal is definitely the Deep Sea Titan in the ruins of Mount Olympus. I already have a name and some intel on it. Its skill is making my mouth water—a twelve-in-one with maximum randomness.’

’But my current strength is nowhere near enough to face it head-on. Normally, a sea beast can take on three human Awakened of the same level without a problem.’

’And some with special abilities can easily wipe out an entire team of humans before they even know what’s happening.’

’Take the 380-meter-long Deep Sea Leviathan, for example. It can open its abyssal maw and swallow an entire drifter in a single gulp. According to the records, no trace of the humans, creatures, or even metal it swallows can ever be detected, as if they simply vanished from the world.’

’That’s the 25th-ranked sea beast!’

’The Lighthouse has hunted it multiple times, only to be defeated and return with nothing but a tiny piece of its flesh—the very piece that’s now in my possession.’

’But humanity’s advantage lies in intelligence and methods. The more thorough the preparation, the better one can bridge the gap in strength.’

"Next, I’ll upgrade the *Great Fortune*’s level again. While I’m hunting B-class sea beasts, I’ll also try to hunt some A-class ones. All the equipment on the ship will need a serious upgrade as well to withstand the attacks of A-class sea beasts."

"Skills from A-class sea beasts can’t be devoured by my Black Tortoise Shield. But if I can acquire one more skill, it will give me some advantage when I face the Deep Sea Titan."

"Let’s do it!"

...

...

...

「On the other side of the Twelve Stars.」

Amidst shimmering golden waves, the seventy-meter-long *Hearthsmoke* rested in a safe sea region. Its brilliant golden Centaurea Cyanus crest glittered, and the ship’s intricate mechanical structure gave the drifter an unusual beauty.

As usual, Captain Reinhardt was lounging on a folding chair on the deck, watching the distant sunset as if he were on vacation.

An assistant handed over a mug of ale.

He took it and took a sip.

"Any big news from the Twelve Stars lately? Read it to me."

"Of course, Captain. Here is the latest intelligence we have concerning the Twelve Stars. There are five items in total."

"First, Wright de Albert is recruiting powerful Awakened in large numbers to go hunt an A-class sea beast..."

The assistant paused, knowing his captain had a habit of commenting on each item after it was read.

"Heh. For that pretty female disciple of his? Wright is certainly... far-sighted."

Reinhardt said casually.

The assistant continued reading.

"Second, a new name has been added to Eliza’s *A Ranking of Men in the European Sea Region*, sparking a private trend among the high-society ladies of the Twelve Stars..."

"Oh?"

Reinhardt chuckled.

"It seems I have a new rival?"

As a wanderer of the seas, one of the main reasons he pursued wealth was for the company of beautiful women of all kinds. He returned to the Twelve Stars once a month, where countless ladies awaited him, eager for a taste of this exquisite and charming "brandy."

"Third, a ’Mad Hunter’ has appeared on the outskirts of the Twelve Stars, slaughtering more than ten sea beasts in a matter of days and causing price fluctuations in the secondary materials market."

"A foolish act. Next."

"Fourth, someone on the black market is selling the Xirang Research Institute’s translation of *A Compendium of Marvels in the Endless Sea Region (Volume Two)*. The price is only five Pure Dome Crystals, but the version lacks the Da Yu Key authentication, making it difficult to verify its authenticity."

"I’ve been waiting for a bootleg version to finally show up. The price is right. If the source is trustworthy, buy me a copy."

"Fifth. The price for A-class sea beast coordinates on the intelligence market has skyrocketed to fifty Pure Dome Crystals."

???

’Fifty Pure Dome Crystals? For a single set of coordinates?’

Reinhardt sat up.

’It went up that much?’

But on second thought, it wasn’t surprising. Most drifters at sea were Bronze Ships and Silver Ships. For them, encountering an A-class sea beast was a catastrophe. Under an A-class beast’s assault, either the ship would sink or the entire crew would be wiped out.

Reliable intelligence could only be brought back by Golden Ships and Admiral Ships. And how many of those were there in the entire world? Far fewer than the number of Bronze and Silver Ships.

The rarer something is, the more valuable it becomes. The same goes for intelligence.

After hearing the day’s intelligence reports, Reinhardt stretched and sat up from his lounge chair.

"By the way, has there been any news about that exorbitant bounty from Jinshan and the Black Society?"

He was referring to the exorbitant bounty on the Silver Ship designated Number 23333.

Anyone who could provide reliable intel would receive two hundred Pure Dome Crystals.

"Not yet, Captain. Many factions have accepted the mission, but none have been able to provide accurate information and claim the bounty so far. As you know, finding a single Silver Ship in the Endless Sea Region is quite difficult."

"Hmm... I, for one, don’t think it’s that difficult."

"Perhaps this is our chance."

"A chance to get rich."