The island was shaped irregularly, roughly circular about about 1.3 kilometers in diameter.Before arriving, Yang Yi had already studied its general shape and size on the nautical chart.He’d been a little disappointed at first.After all, the island was small — the smallest he’d encountered so far.But as he drew closer, his impression changed.Climbing up to the lookout post, he raised his telescope and surveyed the island, discovering that it was covered with dense vegetation.Aside from a narrow strip of sparse coastline, the island’s interior was practically a miniature forest. Though small in area, the density of trees was remarkably high — at least three thousand by his rough estimate.Some of them, however, caught his particular attention.“Banana trees?”He frowned in surprise.A portion of the trees — perhaps one-tenth — had wide, fan-shaped leaves. Yet they were quite different from the banana trees Yang Yi remembered: the veins were red, like blood vessels, standing out sharply against the green foliage.And the bananas hanging from the branches were also red, inverted as they grew — clumped together like tongues of flame.Yang Yi lowered his telescope.From ten nautical miles away, he saw no suspicious movement or traces of life on the island.But those fiery red bananas left a vivid impression.They were probably some kind of special fruit, similar to the Vitality Coconuts he’d encountered before. Once he landed, he’d find out for sure.Who knew — maybe the trees even held treasure chests, or a new recipe like Vitality Coconut Shake!He descended to the deck and steered the Nyxstar toward the island.As usual, he made a full circle around it first, checking for potential dangers while using his Three-Eyed Vision to observe from about a hundred meters offshore.His effort yielded results.The forest was dense, but through the supernatural lens of the Three Eyes, Yang Yi spotted traces of droppings scattered on the ground — and their owners.They were monkeys, with swollen, fox-like tails.Switching to his telescope for a closer look, he saw their fur was red with yellowish roots, and their bushy tails flared like flames.He couldn’t tell how many there were, but he counted nearly ten visible individuals.Yang Yi adjusted the ship’s position and aimed one of his Soaked Cannons at a target onshore.The cannon’s range was 350 meters — not particularly precise, but deadly when it hit.Both barrels fired simultaneously toward a monkey.One shot went wide, but the other struck home, shattering several branches before hitting a monkey squarely and blasting it into bloody fragments.“Seems like ordinary animals…” Yang Yi concluded.The rest of the monkeys scattered in panic, fleeing into the depths of the woods.Yang Yi steered the Nyxstar toward the shore, preparing to disembark.He had long since adopted a rule of thumb: gauge an island’s danger by how its inhabitants fared against the Soaked Cannons.If they could dodge or survive a hit, they were formidable.If not — they weren’t worth worrying about.He checked his gear.Outfit: the captain’s coat.Weapons: the Roaring Flintlock, Sea Serpent’s Fang, and the Broken Iron Greatsword.Since the Worm Ring’s storage capacity had expanded, he kept all his weapons and potions stored inside for easy access.“There are some red-furred monkeys on the island,” he messaged Suna privately. “They don’t look strong. I’ll go take a look. Keep an eye on the Nyxstar — I’ll deploy the Twilight Veil.”“Got it!” Suna replied quickly.She was in the witch’s laboratory, dissecting the corpses of Ice Nest cultists — including fragments taken from the Crystalline Giant.Those fragments came from the Ice Nest Elder himself — his former body, discarded when he transformed into a crystalline being.Inside those bodies, Suna found almost no trace of blood.Though veins remained, the substance within them bore no resemblance to blood — no cells, nothing organic in the usual sense.She named it Frozen Blood.At low temperatures, it was a soft, semi-solid gel that hardly flowed, yet could mimic some functions of blood — albeit very inefficiently. When warmed, it lost that ability entirely, causing suffocation and death.In the extreme cold, these creatures barely needed to eat, sleep, or even think — their life activity reduced to near stasis.While recording notes, Suna mused aloud:“The Ice Nest followers must have undergone some kind of blood-replacement surgery — restructuring their hematopoietic system to survive the cold…”The corpses inside the crystalline giants might have spent too long in subzero conditions, or perhaps been altered by the Frozen Blood — their tissues had crystallized. They weren’t flesh anymore, but ice.Those crystals were actually specialized Frozen Blood — transformed over time, like aged wine, eventually seeping out to become the Crystalline Giants themselves.Through dissection, Suna deepened her understanding of crystallization.She intended to combine the Frozen Blood, melted crystal fragments, and burnt liquor (scorched wine) to forge new weapons and armor…Meanwhile, Yang Yi had landed and begun clearing potential threats on the island.He made his way toward where he’d seen the monkeys earlier, trekking into the forest until he reached a broken banana tree.The monkey he’d shot had been here moments ago, grabbing a red banana before being blown apart.Picking up a fragment of flesh, Yang Yi received its identification data:【Name: Fire Macaque (Juvenile)】【Description: A special species of macaque capable of spitting flames. Adults can exhale scorching fire as an attack. Their bright red fur has ornamental value. The meat is edible but spicy; they prefer fruit, especially Fire Bananas.】Yang Yi wasn’t intimidated by fire-breathing monkeys — instead, his curiosity turned toward the Fire Bananas.He picked up a blood-stained one nearby.【Name: Fire Banana】【Description: A special banana species with a fiery taste. Eating it directly induces sweating and raises body temperature — sometimes even giving the illusion of burning.】Reading that, Yang Yi felt a spark of recognition.Wasn’t this just like Scorched Wine?He peeled the fruit, and a familiar scent wafted out — that smoky tang of Scorched Wine mixed with a rich, fruity aroma.Could it be that Scorched Wine was brewed from these very bananas?His eyes lit up.He took a bite.The pulp burned like eating a devil pepper — a searing heat that spread through his body as he swallowed.The sensation was exactly like Scorched Wine, only milder!He was almost certain now — this was the raw ingredient for Scorched Wine.The island might even contain the brewing recipe!As Yang Yi tasted the fruit, a pack of Fire Macaques burst from the trees — three of them towering, gorilla-sized brutes.But to Yang Yi now, such creatures were hardly a threat.He raised the Roaring Flintlock, switched to scattershot mode, and aimed straight at the approaching troop.

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