The Nyxstar, dragging the enormous Heart of Steel behind it like a stubborn toddler, finally cleared the buffer zone.The moment they crossed the line, sunlight burst through the gloom. A system announcement popped up.[Congrats, you escaped the storm!][Sailing Announcement: All players have escaped. The black mist's speed is now 10 knots. World Map is now available. Go see where you are.][More than ten thousand ships have reached level three. The Frigid Sea is expanding. Try not to freeze to death!]Yang Yi checked his log. There was a new, shabby-looking sea map. It only showed where he'd been. Everywhere else was a big yellow-brown question mark. Thanks to the Nyxstar's crystal ball, his map was a bit more filled out than most.The map had three main perks. First, players could see their GPS coordinates. This made meeting up easier, though Yang Yi thought meeting other players at sea was probably a terrible, murderous idea 99% of the time.Second, you could see the names and borders of the big sea regions. Behind them was the Stormy Region; ahead was the Frigid Sea, which was currently creeping south on the map.Third, you could see exactly where the black mist was, so you didn't accidentally get swallowed by it like a dumbass.Yang Yi immediately flipped to the Chat channel to gauge the community's collective IQ and get the latest gossip."Holy crap, no wonder I'm freezing my balls off, I'm almost in the Frigid Sea!" That was the Gale's captain. Yang Yi could see his name since they were friends."Dude, how fast is your ship??""How cold we talkin'? A little heads-up would be nice before my nuts fall off!""100 knots, baby. I'm on the edge of the Frigid Sea, temp is 0-2 Celsius. It's gotta be below zero further in!""100 KNOTS?! That's twice my speed! You got a special ship, you hacker?!""Guess we need to bundle up.""Buying long-lasting food! PM me with offers!""Anyone need a cotton coat? 100 cloth. Your choice of color. Just tryin' to make a living!"[Name: Cold-Resistant Cotton Parka][Type: Treasure][Quality: Common][Description: Very warm. Don't get it wet, you'll regret it.]"100 CLOTH?! ARE YOU HIGH?! GO ROB SOMEONE ELSE!""80 cloth, that's my final offer!""Piss off! You're not the only merchant on this sea, jackass!""Selling down jackets! Way better than those cotton rags. Good-quality gear, 120 cloth!"[Name: Insulated Down Jacket][Type: Treasure][Quality: Good][Description: It's winter. Who could say no to the warm, puffy embrace of a down jacket?]After scrolling through, Yang Yi agreed that winter clothes were a must. Once the temperature dropped into the negatives, his pirate getup would be about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. Suna's witchy outfit probably had some thermal properties, but it looked flimsy. He decided to buy at least four coats once the price gouging died down. One for each of them, and a spare set just in case.He walked to the stern. The Heart of Steel was still chugging along behind them. Now that they were safe, there was no need to keep playing tugboat.Captain Yu Dawei seemed to have the same thought, and the two happened to meet at the edge of their ships. “Brother Yang, I’ve got a good feeling about you! Want to join my Steel Brotherhood?”“Steel Brotherhood?” Yang Yi repeated, puzzled.“Heh, I’ve already recruited a few little brothers. We’re about to rendezvous with them.”Yang Yi immediately understood.The Steel Brotherhood was an organization Yu Dawei intended to form.Even though the system didn’t have a formal guild function, nothing stopped players from organizing themselves.Now that coordinates could be shared, meeting up was completely possible.But Yang Yi had no intention of joining any faction. He politely declined.“Sorry, I’m used to going solo. Don’t plan on joining anyone for now.”“Fair enough! If you ever need help, call me — I’ve got your back!” Yu Dawei said heartily.After escaping from hell, he felt better than ever.And it wasn’t just talk — the Heart of Steel had the power to back those words.No wonder so many players sought his protection.It’s just that the Heart of Steel… was a bit too slow.Yang Yi could already picture a fleet of little ships towing that steel giant along — not bad, exactly, but strange.“Catch!” Yu Dawei tossed him a small lump of flesh.“What’s this?”Yang Yi caught it — and after reading the info, he grinned.[Name: Giant Bobbit Worm][Description: A Bobbit Worm mutated by Abyssal corruption. Massive in size, with specimens exceeding 100 meters. Can move swiftly underwater, possessing extremely acute hearing.]“Pleasure doing business! Take it — my gift to you!These things don’t mean much to me anymore. The more I draw, the worse the loot gets!” Yu Dawei laughed.If Yang Yi guessed right, those thousand units of steel he had came from monster-hunting — and a lot of gacha draws.If he’d relied on fishing alone, even with help, he’d never have gathered that much.“Thanks!” Yang Yi said simply, taking the gift without hesitation.The two smiled at each other and went their separate ways.The Nyxstar was far faster than the Heart of Steel — cruising at 60 knots, it soon left the other ship far behind.Yu Dawei stood at his bow, watching as the Nyxstar vanished beyond the horizon.“Astrologer… Nightmare... did those two ships combine?” he muttered to himself.He now knew Yang Yi’s identity — it was him who had found a way out the moment the giant worms appeared.One of Yu Dawei’s subordinates had survived thanks to Yang Yi’s early warning, and the two had become friends.That’s why Yu Dawei, upon learning who he was, changed his mind — gifting Yang Yi that flesh as a gesture of goodwill.Meanwhile, Yang Yi stood before the monster gacha machine, feeling a little excited.He had two pieces of Giant Bobbit Worm Flesh — one from the Heart of Steel, and one found on the Nysxtar’s deck.That meant two spins!He first washed his face with fresh water — to make sure it was white and clean — then fed the flesh into the machine and began the draw.The octopus ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ tentacles flashed repeatedly — but no golden light appeared.Moments later, the machine spat out two plain-looking capsules.Yang Yi was slightly disappointed — no legendary gold this time.But when he picked one up, his mood instantly changed.“Yes! A jackpot on the first pull!”In his hand was a rare ship-type relic item![Name: Head of the Giant Bobbit Worm][Type: Ship Equipment (Relic)][Quality: Rare][Description: Can be mounted on the ship’s prow to increase hull durability and ramming power. Its sharp jaws can tear through incoming enemies.At the same time, its appearance has strong intimidation effects, reducing sea creature attacks… but it may also enrage more terrifying monsters.]After reading the details, Yang Yi felt a little torn.The item was powerful, but it came with risk — it might attract dangerous monsters.Still, after a moment’s thought, he decided to install it.If he didn’t dare use something like this now, what would he do with future relics?The pros clearly outweighed the cons — otherwise, it wouldn’t exist as a relic in the first place.He reached out and picked up the second capsule...

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