Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe-Chapter 48 - 46: Catalog of Wonders of the Endless Ocean (Part 2)

Chapter 48: Chapter 46: Catalog of Wonders of the Endless Ocean (Part 2)

「Aboard the *Black Society*.」

Due to a time difference of roughly nineteen hours, it was around 10:00 PM in the sea region where the *Black Society* was located.

Entertainment was scarce during the Wandering Era, so ordinary crew members who weren’t on duty tended to go to bed quite early. Of course, there were exceptions.

Yan Dao Lin was in his luxurious, window-side office aboard the *Black Society*. He had just finished reading an intelligence summary from a subordinate and was about to rest when he suddenly heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

It was his secretary, Qingzi.

"General Yan Dao, the 600 Pure Dome Crystals have been delivered to the third-party organization, ’Golden Pagoda.’ They negotiated with [Da Yu] at once and have already acquired the intelligence from the stele on Mount Everest. Would you like to review it now?"

"Oh? Golden Pagoda is quite efficient. The 100-Pure-Dome-Crystal intermediary fee was well worth it."

All of Yan Dao Lin’s drowsiness vanished.

He beckoned, and his secretary, Qingzi, understood at once. She presented him with a "confidential letter," which contained a cryptographic key.

Unlike a paper document, this confidential letter was actually an electronic file that required a unique key for local decryption; both the file and the key were indispensable. This was an encryption method [Da Yu] employed to prevent third parties from reselling the intelligence.

Although this method couldn’t completely stop it from being resold, only intelligence obtained directly with the file and key was guaranteed to be absolutely trustworthy. No one could vouch for the authenticity of secondhand information from other channels.

Yan Dao Lin inserted the confidential file into a standard-issue information receiver, followed by the key.

Strings of characters appeared on the screen before him.

[Compendium of the Endless Ocean’s Marvels (Part 2)]

[Compiled by ■■]

The blocks in the middle represented a name that hadn’t been deciphered.

Yan Dao Lin frowned.

He seemed to recall something, but after only a brief pause, he continued reading:

[101. Treasure Compass]

’It starts directly from number 101? Did Xirang fail to decipher the first part of the contents?’

’Or are they just unwilling to reveal the most crucial intelligence to us?’

[A petroglyph of a compass carved on a stone. The linework is as crude as a doodle. When it senses a nearby treasure, its needle turns in the corresponding direction.]

[102. Verdant Snowcap]

[A touch of green on the summit of Mount Everest, rich in Ice and Snow Power and Life Power. It can heal all external injuries, including severed limbs, provided the user can withstand the extreme chill of the Ice and Snow Power.]

[103. Heart of the White Dragon Whale]

[The heart of the Deep Sea A-Level Sea Beast, the White Dragon Whale. Swallowing it raw grants "Whale Fall," an S-rank skill ranked 78th on the Awakening List. Note: Bathing in its blood only grants the A-rank skill "Whale Blast."]

’Marvels like these are truly extraordinary. Mount Everest is in Da Yu’s territory, so I’m afraid they’ve already used their proximity to claim that Verdant Snowcap, along with the Mysterious Stele. A White Dragon Whale? I can have the Whaling Team keep an eye out for one.’

’When it comes to whaling techniques, no one surpasses the Black Society. To think a mere A-Level Sea Beast like the White Dragon Whale can grant an S-rank skill. If we could obtain it, wouldn’t our plans proceed even more smoothly?’

’But what is this "Awakening List"? A ranking of S-rank skills? Someone actually compiled something like this?’

’Why haven’t I heard a single thing about this list?’

Yan Dao Lin lit a cigarette, his mind filled with questions.

...

... 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

[107. Seahorse Sculpture]

[108. Map of the Endless Sea]

[Appears to be an ancient parchment map. When infused with a corresponding Awakened power, it transforms into the Map of the Endless Sea, capable of detecting the specific locations of sea beasts from D to S-Level.]

A map?

Yan Dao Lin froze.

A moment later, he shot up from the wooden tatami mat.

"This? The Map of the Endless Sea? The treasure ranked at number 108?"

"Isn’t this the nautical chart from our society’s treasury? The one on the 12th deck! The description is almost identical!"

He was in disbelief.

It was beyond belief!

He took a deep breath, then exhaled just as deeply.

’One had to understand, any "marvel" ranked on this "Compendium of Marvels" was a major opportunity of strategic significance!’

’It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them nation-defining!’

"Summon Great Wilderness at once."

His voice trembled slightly.

’According to the description, the Heart of the White Dragon Whale, ranked 103rd, could create an S-rank Awakened—something both the Black Society and Renhuang had sought for years to no avail. The Map of the Endless Sea was ranked only five spots below it; their values couldn’t be that far apart.’

’This time, I’m going to make a monumental contribution!’

...

While Yan Dao Lin’s blood pressure soared with excitement, Shi Ming was preternaturally calm, traveling through the deep sea in his canoe.

To avoid attracting the attention of sea beasts, he hadn’t turned on any lights inside the canoe. Fortunately, his night vision was now relatively strong; otherwise, he would have been completely blind in the deep sea.

That would have severely hampered his exploration efficiency.

’Alright, time to sneak past that swarm of jellyfish.’

’Whoa, there are so many of them!’

A dreamlike scene, a blue river resembling the Milky Way, appeared before Shi Ming’s eyes.

Every tiny point of light in that "galaxy" was a Mist Jellyfish.

Fortunately, most of them were small. These creatures only had the potential to become A-Level sea beasts; evolving to that stage required not only time but other things as well.

Shi Ming carefully piloted the drifting vessel, navigating forward as he descended.

Before long, he had passed through the shallow sea region and the Twilight Zone, descending to an extreme depth.

The water pressure outside was already immense.

In his past life, humanity had already conquered the deepest parts of the ocean. They had even reached the Fichaz Sea Abyss in the Mariana Trench, a depth of over ten thousand meters. In this world, too, technology had advanced tremendously before the Wandering Era began. However, most of it had been lost in the Great Flood, with only fragments preserved aboard the great wandering ships.

The Golden Ship, with Shi Ming inside, had already descended past one thousand meters.

This was a world of absolute darkness.

Not a single trace of natural light reached this place, not even during the day. Eternal darkness reigned here.

...

As the vessel descended rapidly, it gradually approached the seabed. Through his night vision, Shi Ming could make out scenes on the ocean floor.

There was no trace of the azure jellyfish; this was not their territory. Instead, he occasionally encountered a few even stranger creatures. In the absolute blackness, Shi Ming relied on his night vision, gazing silently at his surroundings like one of the sea beasts themselves.

Magnificent and desolate.

The water pressure outside had become absurdly high, yet the vessel moved as freely as if it were sailing on the surface.

The only drawback was its extremely rapid energy consumption, but for now, Shi Ming could afford the cost in Sea Crystal Stones.

He saw quite a few shipwrecks.

And... buildings.