Survival on the Internet: A Bizarre Start at Sea

Closing the diary, Su Zhisu's fingertips still retained the dampness of its pages. The despair and resentment of First Mate Edgar Thorne seemed to seep into his skin through his fingertips.

[Network Alert]: Hidden Mission Discovered: The First Mate's Wish

[Mission Overview]: Fulfill the First Mate's wish, find Hydeland, and deliver the pocket watch to Hydeland's Liliana Thea.

[Quest Reward]: Liliana Thea's Puppet Alchemy Legacy

"The inheritance of alchemy?!" These five words stirred a slight ripple in Su Zhisu's heart.

In this mysterious sea, every clue to becoming stronger is crucial.

He closed the system notification and turned his gaze to the wardrobe in the corner of the room.

The cabinet door was half-collapsed, revealing a coat hanging inside. The fabric of the coat was already moldy, with suspicious grayish-green patches, and emitted a pungent, putrid smell.

Su Zhisu held her breath and reached into her inner pocket.

My fingertips touched a cold, metallic object.

He took it out—it was a brass pocket watch with intricate vine patterns engraved on its surface and a fine crack along the edge of the cover.

The watch was illuminated by the eerie blue light of the Night Watcher's Heart Flame, giving the surface an unnatural dark red hue, as if blood was slowly flowing inside.

Even more strangely, when he rubbed the watch case with his thumb, he could vaguely feel a rhythmic pulsation, like a heartbeat.

Thorne's Pocket Watch (Quest Item)

[Quality]: Excellent (Green)

[Additional]: Warning: The pocket watch will react when there is danger nearby.

[Message]: A pocket watch, which conveyed his longing for her and her worries about him.

"Early warning function..." Su Zhisu's eyes lit up slightly.

In this mysterious sea, the value of this watch is far greater than the quality of its surface.

The pocket watch was strapped to the inside of his wrist, ensuring the dial was pressed tightly against his skin so that he could detect any unusual vibration immediately.

The watchful flame flickered in his palm, coating the pocket watch with a faint blue halo, and the subtle pulsation seemed to become more regular, as if it had found a resonant frequency.

The pocket watch on my wrist continued to emit a faint warmth, serving as both a reminder and a silent promise.

After finishing these tasks, Su Zhisu turned her attention back to the depths of the cabin.

There was no dripping sound of water, and even the flow of wind inside the cave was blocked out.

This deathly silence was more unsettling than any sound, as if the entire ship was holding its breath, waiting for something.

At the end of the corridor was a heavy wooden door, with intricate patterns carved on the door panel. Despite the erosion of time, one could still vaguely discern that it resembled a fortress.

A broken, rusty iron chain was wrapped around the doorknob.

Su Zhisu first tried to light the door crack with the night-watching lamp, and only after confirming that there was no danger inside did she gently push the door open.

The iron chain fell to the ground, making a piercing "clatter" sound that was particularly clear in the deathly silence.

The watchman's lamp illuminated the mess in the room—it was indeed a captain's cabin, but it had long lost its former grandeur.

The most striking feature is a huge nautical chart hanging on the wall, which has been eroded beyond recognition by time and pollution.

The parchment was covered in mold and ink stains, making most of it blurry and unclear, a murky white cloud. Only one corner could barely make out the outline of the three words "Hedland".

Su Zhisu entered the room, only to find something even more unsettling on the floor in the center of the room.

The dried bloodstains outlined a complex pattern on the floor!

It was a circular magic circle with a radius of about two meters. In the center was a six-pointed star, and in the center of the six-pointed star was a nautical compass. The outer perimeter was surrounded by countless twisted characters and symbols.

A short dagger was stuck in the edge of the magic circle, with the blade facing outwards, leaving a scratch on one side of the magic circle and ruining its integrity.

"Interesting..." Su Zhisu muttered to himself, his brows furrowed.

Nautical Compass

[Quality]: Excellent Blue

[Extra 1]: Eternal Pointer: This nautical compass always points to Hedland.

[Extra 2]: Foundation - Navigator: Job item used as the foundation for becoming a Navigator.

[Information]: This compass on the "Cape of Good Hope" symbolizes hope. Whenever the crew sees the captain holding the compass, they know that they will surely be able to return home.

[Hidden Message]: He is the captain's hope, and also your hope.

Su Zhisu, who was new to the place, did not know anything about this, but his intuition told him that it was closely related to the destruction of the "Cape of Good Hope".

Opening the integrated network panel, Su Zhisu contacted the person most likely to know about this thing.

The two started a video chat immediately, and the result did not disappoint him.

[Chat Message]: [Su] and [Fireball Maniac]

"Big brother, there's something I need your expertise on."

A familiar laugh came from the other end: "Hey, little buddy! Where have you been digging for treasure lately? I have to thank you for selling me the [Purified Mystic Seawater] last time, it helped me a lot! Are you in trouble this time, little buddy?"

"Brother, I'm safe for now."

Su Zhisu gave a brief response, then used the Night Watch Heart Lamp to illuminate the magic array inside the room.

"Brother, I'm in a dungeon right now. This is the magic circle on the captain's cabin floor, there's a short sword next to it, and a compass in the center. Do you recognize it, brother?"

The Fireball Maniac's laughter abruptly ceased, replaced by a serious scrutiny.

When his voice rang out again, it carried a hint of seriousness: "Little brother, this is a ritualistic array... is it pointing to some 'great' being? I can't be sure what it is exactly, but it's definitely not something we can afford to mess with at this stage. Get out of here! Understand?"

"Brother, can you figure out what it's for?"

Su Zhisu showed the compass information to the fireball maniac.

"I can't see it all, the magic circle has been destroyed, but combined with that compass..." The fireball maniac paused.

"This must be some kind of initiation ceremony, maybe you want to become a 'navigator'? But to be honest, professions with such obvious limitations are rare on the internet. This must be a unique profession in your world, bro. I don't recommend you take it."

"Is the risk high?"

"Ha! Little brother, when did you become so cautious?" the fireball maniac teased, but his tone immediately turned serious.

"Any ritual directed toward a great being must be perfect and complete, and different great beings have different requirements."

"However, judging from your [Navigation Compass], this magic array shouldn't be dangerous. It's just... the array seems to have failed, so we don't know what its current function is."

"Understood. Thanks a lot this time, brother. You can keep these purified strange seawater as payment."

"Reward?" The Fireball Maniac chuckled.

"Little brother, do you think I'm doing this for that little bit of money?"

"For players like us who play cross-platform games, we encounter countless dangers every day. We might even die in some unknown world without anyone knowing."

"We online gamers value people the most."

"Hehe, but if you insist on giving it to me, it wouldn't be right for me to refuse, hahaha."