Eternal Night

Chapter 717 Ship Curse
"...The goal remains unchanged."

Xu Shilan said earnestly, "The reason is very simple. Our goal has always been the same: to improve ourselves. Whether it's strength, accumulating extraordinary items, or gaining points, improving our strength is the key to everything. Otherwise, what are we busy doing?"

Without waiting for Wu Pifu's reply, she emphasized again: "I don't know what your psychological journey will be like after we die, but remember one fact: our core has always been Gaia, and now with the addition of a Land of Redemption, we are human beings. This is what we need to care about. We can help other dream worlds within our capabilities, but we must first determine the general direction of human interests, understand?"

The word "human" was indeed a special attack for Wu Pifu, and when Xu Shilan said that, Wu Pifu nodded repeatedly.

Xu Shilan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, then the goal remains the same. Let's continue heading towards the pirate camp's waters, sell these spices, and then buy shellfish specialties from the pirate camp. Let's try to take back the Land of Redemption first to see if we can exchange them for points, and then sell them to the Order camp. After this round of transactions, the funds will be enough to build an island. Let's immediately find an island between the pirate camp and the Order camp and start establishing a territory-type shelter!"

These were all matters that had already been discussed, and the three of them continued to sail the Dog Egg toward the pirate territory.

Starting from the no-man's-land, you can occasionally encounter people from both the pirate and law factions, but those who can roam around here are usually minor characters, but they are the kind of people who want to risk their lives and make a fortune.

Therefore, Wu Pifu and the other two had opportunities to hone their extraordinary skills along the way, while Xu Shilan and Amadei took turns.

The ships that frequent this area are unlikely to have any powerful figures. Most of the ships are third or fourth class sailing ships, and there might not even be a single superhuman on board. Both Xu Shilan and Amadei could easily handle them. In comparison, Amadei's Iron Refining Manual is indeed very suitable for actual combat. Once activated, fluid metal appears on the body, giving a feeling of invulnerability to blades and spears, and strength will also increase. The only thing it lacks is speed.

As for Xu Shilan's shadow puppetry, it is similar to manipulating shadows, intimidating the mind and consciousness, and controlling the enemy's body. Ordinary people without resistance are almost always hit with one shot. With Xu Shilan's control and the superposition of Gou Dan's attributes, her extraordinary speed and range of killing ordinary people are even greater than that of Yamada.

It can only be said that both of these are indeed extraordinary paths in the Zero Point Seven Dream World. Their strength far exceeds the traditional Chinese martial arts that Wu Pifu initially learned. As long as he can continue to grow stronger, his future potential is not bad.

After returning from the Land of Redemption, over a period of three or four days, the Dog Egg encountered at least a dozen intercepting and robbing teams of various kinds. This no-man's-land actually has many islands, but because the two major factions frequently fought in this sea area, many islands were directly destroyed, and no one dared to establish a port in this sea area. However, there were some secret strongholds of small pirates or small merchants. Along the way, Wu Pifu also sensed more than a dozen of them using his super brain.

“What a great place.”

Xu Shilan unfolded the nautical chart and compared it with the surrounding area, saying as she looked at it, "If we want to establish a territorial shelter, then this sea area is the best place."

This world is incredibly vast, but it has no large landmasses; instead, it consists entirely of small islands, large islands, and archipelagos scattered throughout the world.

According to Xu Shilan's calculations using nautical charts and permanent compasses, the area of ​​the world currently marked by the world's natives is approximately 800 million square kilometers, which is an extremely large area, considering that the Earth's surface area is only 510 million square kilometers.

However, compared to the vast area of ​​this world, the human settlements are only concentrated in four or five sea areas. Each sea area is usually only about ten million square kilometers in total. The Order faction occupies two and a half sea areas, the Pirate faction occupies one and a half sea areas, and the rest is a no-man's-land between the two factions.

As for the more explored sea areas, most of them are shrouded in dense fog all year round, making it very difficult to determine direction. The ocean currents are also unpredictable, and ships that venture into them almost never return. So, gradually, fewer and fewer people went to explore them. Those who still persist in exploring these sea areas are generally people who are eager to find clues to level 10 mythical ships, or ancient ruins and Devil Fruits. Regular commercial fleets almost never dare to set foot in them.

Xu Shilan pointed to the location of this sea area on the nautical chart and said, "It's located between the pirate camp and the order camp. As long as we can withstand the firepower of both camps, it's no problem to start a port pirate operation in the neutral third camp here! What a great place."

Wu Pifu and Amadeus both came closer to examine it carefully. After a while, Wu Pifu said, "It's no problem to carry it."

Xu Shilan rolled her eyes at him and said, "Yes, yes, you're amazing. You're the supercomputer, so you speak."

Wu Pifu helplessly rubbed his nose, but fortunately Xu Shilan interrupted him and said, "However, given the reputation you have already established in this world, it is unlikely that any powerful forces will dare to cause trouble. As for establishing a territory-type sanctuary and having a large number of Night Watchers arrive, it doesn't matter whether they cause trouble or not; we have the power to suppress them."

Just as the three were talking, the sky around them seemed to darken slightly.

All three were slightly taken aback and came out of the cabin to the deck. They saw a faint mist that had appeared on the sea surface at some point. All three were slightly surprised and said at the same time, "A ship curse?"

For a moment, the three looked at each other and remained silent.

Long before the battle at Killua Harbor, the three had already learned about ship curses, a strange phenomenon unique to this world. Once a ship exceeds level five, the higher the level and the greater its reputation across the seas, the longer it has been built and the longer it has remained on board, the more likely both the ship and its crew will encounter the so-called ship curse.

If at sea, the ship would sail into a foggy ocean, unable to discern directions or know the currents, and would then encounter all sorts of strange and bizarre events. Many ships simply disappeared on the sea.

If the crew leaves the ship and goes ashore, they may suddenly encounter various dense fog environments, even in enclosed rooms. In such cases, they usually disappear directly. So far, no living person has returned from the ship curse incident on land.

This is the ship curse they learned about from the natives of this world.

However, this is still very strange, because their Dog Egg is only a Tier 5 ship. According to the information they have about ship curses, ship curses usually only appear on Tier 6 ships and even then, it is rare. It is usually more frequent on Tier 8 and above. This is why the strongest people in this world usually start searching for clues about Tier 10 mythical ships, because ship curses become stronger and more frequent.

Legend has it that the strongest people in the past dared not even set foot on land, for if they did, a thick fog would appear out of nowhere and envelop them, and they would eventually disappear completely.

But these only started appearing at level six, right? They never imagined they would encounter the so-called ship curse problem in the first place.

"...Because we are outsiders?" Xu Shilan asked, looking at the increasingly thick fog around her.

"possible."

Wu Pifu replied, then immediately said to Xu Shilan and Amadei, "Don't leave my vicinity. There's something wrong with this fog; it can block my senses. Within this fog, I might not be able to immediately confirm your safety."

Xu Shilan and Amadei both nodded immediately. Amadei immediately took a defensive stance and stood in front of Xu Shilan. Xu Shilan asked at the same time, "That's good. Let's take this opportunity to confirm the source of the pollution in this dream world. After all, if we are going to introduce a large number of Night Watchers later, it's best to inform them of the danger in advance."

The three of them fell silent and stood quietly on the deck of the Dog Egg. As the ship moved forward, the surrounding fog grew thicker and thicker. Except for the deck, where there was little fog, it was pitch black outside the ship, and you could not see anything more than a meter away.

Wu Pifu carefully observed his surroundings and kept sensing everything. He waited until the fog stopped getting stronger before saying, "This fog is strange. It's even blocking my senses. I can't confirm what's behind the thick fog at all."

Xu Shilan and Amadeus felt a slight chill run down their spines. They remained silent, standing just over a meter behind Wu Pifu.

Suddenly, the three of them heard a faint roar. The sound seemed to come from a great distance, but they could not hear it clearly when they listened carefully. It was definitely not a human voice, but more like the roar of some kind of ferocious beast.

Upon hearing this sound, the ship seemed to slow down, and all three heard the sound of waves crashing against the rocks, a sound completely different from that heard while sailing on the vast ocean.

Wu Pifu then asked, "Were there any islands around the area where we sailed before?"

Xu Shilan immediately said, "There are no islands. We are surrounded by a vast ocean. It will take at least half a day of sailing before we reach the next island area!"

Wu Pifu nodded to indicate that he understood.

As time passed, the sound of waves crashing against the rocks became more pronounced. At the same time, all three could see dark shadows in the distance through the light filtering through the thick fog, as if a ship was heading towards an island.

Then, at that moment, the three of them froze. The dark shadow of the island, visible through the light, suddenly moved. Like the head of a gigantic monster as large as a mountain, the top of the shadow rotated, pointing its head towards their location... If it truly was the head of a creature, then that creature would be at least a thousand meters tall!
Then, with a soft thud, the three of them trembled.

The Dog Egg touched down and came to a stop.

(End of this chapter)