Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe-Chapter 82 - 79: Deep-Sea Grudge

The deep sea, once profoundly still and silent, now had a bit more "vitality."

CLANG—

The King Slayer Saber flashed, reflecting the searchlight as it hacked into a Sea Serpent several meters long. The creature convulsed in pain, silver arcs of electricity coursing over its body with an audible CRACKLING sound.

"Heh, pretty tough."

Shi Ming infused his Awakening Power into the blade.

KRAK! With a sound like muffled thunder, the neck of the bucket-thick Sea Serpent snapped. Its massive head was severed at the base and flew several meters away from the force of the blow. The creature’s meters-long body continued to thrash about, smashing through several sections of the decaying ship’s walls.

Shi Ming plunged his hand into the Sea Serpent’s severed neck. The crimson markings on his right hand flashed as he began to absorb the energy from its blood.

[Congratulations! You have slain the D-rank sea beast, the Electro-patterned Serpent, and bathed in its blood. You have acquired the skill "High-Voltage Shock." Due to its low rank, High-Voltage Shock has been consumed by the S-rank skill "Black Tortoise Shield."]

[Your Attack Power has increased by 2.]

’High-Voltage Shock? Am I Pikachu now? Then why isn’t it Thunderbolt?’

Shi Ming cracked a joke to amuse himself.

Unlike the cuttlefish and jellyfish he’d fought before, this D-rank Electro-patterned Serpent was incredibly fast. It moved through the deep sea like a fish in water, and if Shi Ming hadn’t had such quick reflexes, it really would have gotten away.

The Yellowstone’s layout was complex. If the serpent had decided to flee, even Shi Ming riding his Sunshot would have had a hard time pursuing it through the tight spaces.

That was why he held back. But when he struck, it had to be a killing blow.

He couldn’t give these sea beasts any chance to escape.

After disposing of the nuisance, Shi Ming proceeded to the fourth level below the deck of the Yellowstone. This was the crew’s living quarters, containing a massive dining hall, several hundred crew cabins, a recreation area, a long row of men’s restrooms, and only two for women. Faint traces of civilization could still be seen.

Now, however, it had all been claimed by a myriad of deep-sea creatures.

Some, like deep-sea barnacles, clung to the ship’s mostly decayed hull.

Others, resembling Sea Serpents, were coiled in crevices filled with coral skeletons, scurrying away in fright at Shi Ming’s approach.

These were just ordinary deep-sea organisms, of no value to him whatsoever.

Standing atop the Sunshot, Shi Ming moved nimbly through the ship’s interior. He occasionally brushed aside strands of seaweed that drifted like a kraken’s tentacles, searching for any useful resources hidden in the dark corners.

Whenever he came to a passage too narrow to navigate, he used the King Slayer to clear a path, slicing away parts of the dilapidated hull.

’It’s already a wreck anyway.’

’A little more damage won’t make a difference.’

Shi Ming had already accomplished his main goal for the day: collecting the various ores he needed for upgrades. Now he wanted to look around for any other surprises the wreck might hold.

’They say there were two A-rank Awakened on this ship once.’

’I might find something good in their rooms.’

There was an incredible number of crew cabins, but most of their contents had been crushed by the immense water pressure. This actually saved Shi Ming the trouble of sifting through everything—anything that could survive the years and the pressure had to be special, and thus, far more valuable.

Shi Ming cranked the searchlight to its brightest setting.

It wasn’t because he couldn’t see in the darkness of the deep sea. Rather, he wanted to draw out any hidden dangers all at once.

’Staying on high alert all the time is exhausting.’

’It’s better to make myself a target and attract all the restless creatures.’

The more aggressive sea beasts wouldn’t be able to resist attacking, and there was no point in bothering with the timid ones anyway.

The regular crew cabins all had a uniform layout and contained few intact items, so they weren’t worth exploring thoroughly. Shi Ming gave them a cursory glance, picking up a few things that caught his eye, before reaching the end of the fourth level.

Here, he found a much larger suite.

Judging by its style and layout, it resembled the presidential suite of a luxury cruise liner.

Or perhaps something even more luxurious.

A single glance told him its former occupant was someone of extraordinary status.

He rammed the dilapidated door with his Sunshot, then used the King Slayer to carve a channel wide enough for the vehicle to pass through.

A Sea Serpent crackling with blue arcs of electricity charged at him.

KRAK—

It, too, became another victim of Shi Ming’s blade.

"Are you the son of that other Sea Serpent?"

This was the 25th ordinary sea beast Shi Ming had slain today.

The sea beasts living in the Yellowstone were having a really bad day.

A few days ago, the Yellowstone had been drained of seawater, giving them their first-ever taste of being stranded. They had just barely recovered from that ordeal, only to face their doom today.

The scent of blood in the surrounding water grew much stronger.

’Looks like there’s some good stuff in this room. These two guns look decent; I can upgrade them for the crew later. And this sword is awesome! It’s not a simple blade, it’s a mechanical weapon! So punk.’

’What’s this?’

Shi Ming used his King Slayer to pry open a chest in the corner.

More shiny Gold.

’Tacky.’

’I’ll take it.’

He’d already collected so much metal today; this bit hardly mattered.

The lowest level of the Yellowstone was the engineering deck. There wasn’t much of note there, though its complex machinery had become a hotbed for sea beasts. The narrow corridors also made it difficult for Shi Ming to navigate and fight. So, after gathering everything worth taking, Shi Ming prepared to leave on his Sunshot.

Suddenly, he felt a disturbance in the water outside his Sunshot.

The frequency of the disturbance was unique—it felt like a colossal creature was approaching at high speed!

’Not good.’

’I’ve stirred up and killed too many sea beasts today. The smell of blood must have spread, attracting something from farther away!’

’But it can’t be anything too powerful. The closest A-rank sea beast is over 300 nautical miles away; there’s no way it could get here this fast.’

’This narrow passageway is no place for a fight.’

’Up!’

Standing on the Sunshot, he shot upward like a golden arrow of light. WHOOSH! He blasted straight through four decks of the hull, leaving a golden trail from his searchlight as he burst out of the silent Yellowstone!

SLAM!

Seven massive tentacles, like giant grappling arms, slammed down on the damaged hull of the Yellowstone. With a deafening RUMBLE, the already decaying ship caved in, more than half of it collapsing instantly!

The Eight-armed Hunter!

It was the B-rank giant sea beast—the same Eight-armed Hunter whose tentacle Shi Ming had severed.

Like vengeful hands, the seven giant tentacles slammed down again.

And the Yellowstone, which had rested in silence for over a decade, was instantly reduced to a pile of rubble.

Shi Ming hovered fifty meters away from the giant octopus on his Sunshot. He stared coldly at the beast, looking like the great hero Da Yi standing before the abyss.

’What? Here for revenge?’

’You think I’m the prey?’

He infused the King Slayer with his Awakening Power, and the blade began to hum.

’In diving mode, the Sunshot’s speed is limited; it can’t outrun the Eight-armed Hunter. I could activate stealth mode and avoid this fight.’

’But there’s no need for that.’

’A true battle... that’s a man’s ultimate romance.’