vrcanaries Chapter 122 Following Like a Shadow
Chapter 122 Following Like a Shadow
Chapter 122 Always By My Side (First Update)
"Are you saying your friend is unable to embark on the glorious and great path of becoming an environmental guardian?"
After hearing Zhang Xinlan's question about Duck C, the Lionfish Fish-Man gently swayed its two whisker-like head fins, as if it were thinking seriously.
Zhang Xinlan nodded.
"Hmm—" The lionfish-man pondered for a moment, "Perhaps the spirit of our ancestors believes that now is not the most suitable time for your friend to acquire this ability. Don't bite off more than you can chew; growth requires time and reflection. Let your friend continue to maintain good habits, purify himself, and dedicate himself to the ocean. When the time comes, the ancestors will naturally provide guidance. Let's wait a little longer."
Zhang Xinlan thoughtfully noted down these words. Perhaps the mermaid ancestor thought Duck C was too young, after all, he was still a ten-day-old baby.
Meanwhile, Yu Wang's gaze once again fell upon the statue on the deck of the "Environmental Protection Ship".
It was a robust humanoid stone sculpture over four meters tall, clad in armor of a similar style but far more intricate and sophisticated than the standard armor of the Morning Star Watchers. The details of the statue's face were intentionally simplified, but several fish-scale patterns symbolizing the race could still be clearly discerned.
The moment he stared at the statue, that unease of being observed resurfaced, as if a spirit were truly looking back from behind the statue's empty eye sockets.
Yu Wang calmly withdrew his gaze.
Zhang Xinlan solemnly thanked the lionfish fishman, and after counting the ducks to confirm that the number was correct, she and Yu Wang returned to their own boat with a full harvest.
Before parting, the lionfish-man seemed to suddenly remember something, pointing to the faintly greenish waters outside the ship's side and reminding him, "By the way, although this sea area is imbued with the blessings of a great being," accelerating the growth of life, this water is not suitable for intelligent beings to drink directly. Remember that."
Yu Wang naturally knew why.
A trace of the milk from the [Hydrogenous Wet Mother] has mixed into the "Sea of Abundance".
This trace of milk has a miraculous effect on plants. Animals that drink too much of it will also undergo subtle changes and eventually become beings that coexist with different plants.
If humans drink it, at best their hair turns green, at worst their bodies begin to fibrose, turning them into humanoid plants that sleep forever at the bottom of the sea.
Interestingly, if you drink the seeds along with seawater, flowers will actually bloom in your buttocks and mouth.
Zhang Xinlan's mind went blank, and she immediately made a note of it.
It seems that even the water produced by the "intermediate seawater desalination plant" recently needs to be treated with caution, and at least it cannot be used for washing and cooking food.
Fortunately, they had collected and stored enough fresh water when they landed in the Yuzu Islands. For now, they only need to pay extra attention to collecting some sealed bottled water.
With the gangplank retracted, the "Environmental Protection" vessel, seemingly busy finding trouble for the next person, sped away and quickly disappeared beneath the sea surface.
Yu Wang and Zhang Xinlan returned to the crowded Little Yellow Duck, where there was hardly any room to move, and began to face this "sweet burden".
Although there are many items, most of them can be broken down into basic resources through the "Recycling Station" module. Once recycled, the same type of material can be stacked indefinitely in the ship's compartments, which will naturally free up a lot of space.
As for food, the same old method applies: keep the well-packaged items, and put everything else up for sale at low prices, whether it's been bitten or expired.
"We're going to be busy now, but luckily we have a lot of help," Yu Wang said, looking at the "spoils" that were almost piled up like a small mountain.
However, the continuous high-intensity searching and moving almost completely depleted his already limited physical strength.
A strong sense of weariness and a desire to slack off washed over me.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat, his expression unchanged, and said, "Xinlan, I'll leave this place to you and these five ordinary ducks. I'm going to rest."
-
Zhang Xinlan was naturally eager to help: "No problem, you should lie down quickly. Your face is so pale, it looks like you have a kidney stone in your urethra and are doing pull-ups."
'
It appeared—Zhang Xinlan's ingenious metaphor.
Yu Wang then crawled back into the cabin of the Little Yellow Duck and placed the damaged Class 2 workbench he found in the warehouse of the Environmental Protection Ship there.
It's no exaggeration to say that the biggest find of this supply ship was the workbench.
Once repaired, an "underwater radar" expansion module can be built, allowing for early avoidance of scavenging flower thickets.
As you get close, the familiar semi-transparent panel pops up automatically:
[Worktable]
[Level: LV2]
[Status: Some functions are restricted. Basic synthesis functions are available, while precision manufacturing and blueprint analysis functions are temporarily locked.]
[Repair Requirements: 150 metal parts, 50 precision gears, 9 #3 bearings —]
[Description: A multi-functional workbench manufactured by "Magic Gear," unfortunately suffered some internal damage in a violent energy shock. Providing suitable parts can restore it.]
Without even glancing at the repair request list, Yu Wang only saw a patch of green, indicating that he had all the necessary materials in stock, so he directly selected "repair".
The next moment, a faint halo covered the surface of the workbench, and it began to slowly repair itself, which was expected to take 2 minutes.
The time was neither too long nor too short, so Yu Wang simply waited where he was.
Seizing the opportunity, the receipt for the "Witch Alliance" placed on the shelf flew out automatically, and the blue-eyed black cat wearing a witch's hat let out a lazy yet deliberately high-pitched meow at Yu Wang.
[You have received the blessing of the Witch Alliance's emblem spirit, improving your eyesight by 10% (lasts for 1 hour)]
The Spirit of Emblem still wants you to consider joining the Cat Cult! Join the Cat Cult and receive a different little blessing every day!
(≧ω≦)/ Cats never give up!
"Thanks, but I won't join."
Yu Wang responded decisively, his heart unmoved.
What a joke! His status as the "King of Ducklings" is not something a mere kitten can shake.
Spirit of the Emblem (serious face): Very well, you are the first human to refuse me!
challenge accepted!
The little incident involving the emblem's spirit passed quickly, and the two minutes were over.
Looking at the receipts that had obediently returned to the shelf, Yu Wang felt that the days to come would be very interesting.
He shook his head, temporarily putting these thoughts aside, opened the ship's control panel, found the expandable module area, clicked on [Underwater Radar], and selected to build.
A notification flashed by indicating that materials had been deducted, and the "Head of the Voiceprint Wind Bird" and the "Eyeless Fish" stored in the cabin disappeared.
The empty spaces were almost immediately filled by the newly arrived "Want Want Gift Packs" and "Puffs".
It seems that Duck A hasn't let his guard down at all.
Yu Wang picked up the bag of cream puffs. There was no date on the packaging, but they looked perfectly shaped and smelled only faintly sweet, with no off-odors.
In fact, nobody knows what day it is in the real world right now.
-
Determining whether food in packaging is expired relies entirely on its appearance and taste. If it's not moldy and has no strange smell, it's safe to eat.
He hadn't tasted sweets in a long time, so he picked out two and ate them. The long-lost sweet cream flavor melted in his mouth, making him feel happy.
He casually tossed the rest through the open porthole to Zhang Xinlan, who was working outside: "Here comes afternoon tea."
Zhang Xinlan caught it deftly and waved the puff pastry bag in her hand to express her gratitude.
At this moment, a system notification sounded: [Underwater Radar LV1 Construction Complete!]
As the notification sound appeared, the "Little Yellow Duck" underwent a slight change in appearance.
In terms of appearance, the original bean-eye paint job of the Little Yellow Duck suddenly looks like it has been enhanced with special effects, becoming quite ornate.
Next to the driver's seat, a screen with a faint glow has quietly appeared, displaying real-time three-dimensional dynamic images of a one-kilometer radius underwater.
The tracks of the swimming fish, the outlines of the sea-eating flowers stretching from the seabed, and even the undulations of the seabed topography are all presented with clear lines and color blocks, making them easy to identify.
In the center of the screen, directly in front of the sea of scavenging flowers, a clean passage about 20 meters wide and extending about 250 meters has been cleared.
This work sounds like a huge undertaking, but in reality, because each phalloides flower is so large, clearing this path only requires severing the main root systems of about fifty plants.
Thanks to Zhang Xinlan and the sea helmet worm's efficient underwater teamwork, progress was quite rapid. That's why they were able to return to help so early.
After familiarizing himself with the radar's interface for a while, Yu Wang felt a wave of weariness wash over him.
He wanted to go back and see what he had gotten from the seven "waterlogged treasure chests," but his mental exhaustion made him decide to rest first.
The Captain's Lounge can slightly increase the recovery speed of mental, rational, and physical abilities.
After filling the space with a lot of furniture salvaged from the environmental protection warehouse, it felt a little warmer.
Meanwhile, the chat channel, with Duck A constantly adding new content, was quietly gaining momentum. After more than half a month, the survivors could finally see the refined, pre-prepared food from the civilized world again, and it would be a lie to say they weren't excited.
YaYaLe: "Holy crap! I actually managed to snag a box of chocolate wafers! Hahaha! Today is such a lucky day!"
Long Dongqiang: "What kind of supply ship is this?! A supermarket ship? I managed to grab three bags of instant noodles! The seasoning packets are all there!"
Tonight we can have something with some oil and fat.
Another day has passed: "What? So you stole my instant noodles! Oh well, the spicy strips are delicious too. I can collect the chili oil to use as a dipping sauce. Long live the boss!"
Tiger Two: "Holy crap! The big shots in your area actually sent out stuff?"
The wind cools my bottom: "Of course, would I lie to you?"
"I must have used up all my luck to be assigned to Division 444."
The world is going to the dogs: "@You're going to hit the jackpot. I have to say something here. Your intention in providing this food for everyone is good and deserves praise."
But frankly, this "charity" model is unsustainable. Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish. You should publish the specific locations, methods, and complete processes for obtaining these resources, allowing all players to acquire them independently. This is the truly beneficial and visionary approach. Hiding things and profiting from information monopolies shows a narrow-minded approach. @You're going to hit the jackpot, see?
Yu Wang was almost asleep when he was abruptly woken up by a series of @ notification sounds.
Except for the time when he first received the announcement at the beginning of the game, now very few people rudely tag him repeatedly.
Yu Wang frowned as he scrolled through the history. Sure enough, it was that guy with the ID "The World Is Going Downhill" causing trouble again.
"Small-minded? I think you've just narrowed your horizons!" he muttered under his breath, wide awake. He thought, "Why can't you just be a quiet electronic pet instead of always popping out to get attention?"
His anger was rising rapidly. He felt that if this continued, he would really get sick from anger, which would be even more detrimental to the overall atmosphere and development of the district.
At this moment, Yu Wang had clearly formed the idea of getting rid of this eyesore.
Fortunately, Zhang Xinlan's scouting talent skill "Eagle Eye" has completed its ten-day cooldown and she can view the detailed information of the specified player again.
Upon learning of Yu Wang's plan, Zhang Xinlan wholeheartedly agreed. She had long disliked this guy and immediately responded, "He should have been investigated a long time ago!"
She focused her mind and activated the "Eagle Eye" active skill. Her invisible gaze pierced through the virtual barrier, thoroughly investigating the "decline of morality."
"Forty-nine years old, piloting a level 2 awning boat with three level 2 arrow towers, his skill is 'Seniority Overwhelms,' meaning he gains a 15% boost to all attributes when facing creatures younger than himself. Looks like he's had a fortuitous encounter; his skill has been upgraded. His real name is—"
After quickly providing a string of accurate information and obtaining detailed details, Zhang Xinlan didn't rush things. Instead, she immediately used the "Ghost Pirate" skill to check the cost of teleporting to the target's vicinity.
It seems even fate isn't on the side of "the world going downhill".
The teleportation fee is only 800 pearl coins!
For just 800, you can permanently get rid of a bouncy grasshopper. This deal couldn't be more worthwhile.
Without further ado, the two, along with the ducks and sea helmet worms, boarded the Ghost Pirate, whose trash had been largely cleared away.
Come to think of it, Zhang Xinlan hasn't had a chance to use her signature skill since she took over the ship.
The once perfectly good pirate ship is now almost reformed.
Name: Ghost Pirate
[Level: 3]
Captain: Zhang Xinlan
[Durability: 1000/1000]
Speed: 20 knots
Storage space: 2000 slots
[Skill: Shadow Follow (Consumes Pearl Coins, teleports you to a 10-nautical-mile radius around the target ship, and stays there for 3 hours.)]
The two men rubbed their hands together, exchanged a smile, and their eyes were filled with coldness.
The order was issued, and the pearl coins were deducted.
The entire "Ghost Pirate" began to become illusory and transparent, like a ghost merging into the air. Within a few seconds, it completely disappeared from the sea area where Wang Yuan had originally been anchored.
Meanwhile, in a certain sea area less than a thousand nautical miles from where the Little Yellow Duck was located.
Space distorted slightly, and the menacing bow of the "Ghost Pirate" gradually solidified and reappeared in the air.
To prevent the awning boat from leaving the ten-nautical-mile zone, the moment the boat appeared, Yu Wang immediately opened the "Survivor Area Map" and quickly locked onto the light spot representing "the world is going to the dogs".
"Found you! Full speed ahead!"
The tattered sails of the "Ghost Pirate" billowed, and at a speed of 20 knots, it left a white trail on the calm sea, like a shark poised to strike, speeding toward its target.
With the sea helmet beetle providing early warning ahead, there was no need to worry about bumping into a swarm of carnivorous flowers halfway through. Before long, a lone awning boat appeared at the edge of the field of vision, slowly sailing through a massive school of razor mackerel.
The ship was equipped with three level 2 arrow towers, which were exactly as described by Zhang Xinlan during her investigation.
Arrow towers are also a good shipborne weapon. Once upgraded, they unlock armor-piercing arrows the size of a battering ram, which are very effective at penetrating steel ships. Attaching an iron chain to the arrow's tail can also prevent a ship from smearing its hull and escaping.
Of course, these are all things that happened later.
In the early stages, arrow towers are far inferior to cannons in both range and power.
In terms of endurance, it requires a large amount of wood, making it comparable to the water arrow cannon, which uses pearl coins as its power source and seawater as its ammunition.
The "Ghost Pirate" approached silently, and was discovered by "The World Is Getting Worse" when it was within 500 meters of the awning boat.
He was a very old-fashioned man with medium-length curly hair that looked like it hadn't been styled in a long time. He was wearing a striped shirt, and his spindle-shaped body made the clothes look a bit loose because he was starving every day.
He was initially charging intensely through the chat interface, a calculating expression on his face. But the moment he turned around and saw the "Ghost Pirate" approaching like a ferocious sea beast, his face was suddenly filled with horror and disbelief.
"Wh-what?!" he cried out.
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