The Nyxstar welcomed its first-ever expansion: the Witch Lab.The moment the construction was confirmed, a blue light pulsed from the ship's hull, immediately followed by the system's notification chime.[Witch Lab construction complete. Please proceed to the ship's interior to inspect.]The two of them entered the ship’s cabin from the stern and found a new room had appeared.This room was massive, taking up almost half the cabin's space. The floor was immaculate—not some rotting, moldy wood, but smooth, black stone slabs that felt solid underfoot. The room was mostly empty, containing only two large metal tables that seemed to glow with their own light source, though Yang Yi couldn't for the life of him spot a lamp anywhere. The walls were lined with rows of metal racks, cool to the touch and filled with empty glass containers."There's jack shit in here…" Yang Yi grumbled, feeling like he'd just wasted a ton of valuable materials.Suna's face, however, was beaming with excitement. Only she knew what this room could do and how to use it. Her logbook had an entire page that ordinary players lacked—the Occultism Interface. Through it, she could purchase experimental equipment with Conch Coins and conduct occult research.The information for the Witch Lab was as follows:[Witch Lab: A special building that can only be constructed by witches who covet forbidden knowledge.][Inside the lab, stamina consumption for research is reduced by 50%, sanity loss is reduced by 25%, and Aberration samples will not decay.][Displayed Aberration samples will increase a witch's inspiration. Current samples: 0. Inspiration rate increased by 0%.][Warning: Occult research is accompanied by risks, including, but not limited to, sanity loss.]After reading the info, Suna immediately took the chunked-up Aberration corpse from her magic bag and began placing the pieces into the glass containers on the shelves. The various body parts and organs, which had been on the verge of rotting, suddenly regained their vitality once placed in the containers, looking as if they'd just been freshly harvested.The whole scene was a bit of a sanity-drainer.[You have lost 2 Sanity.]Yang Yi frowned. He had a strong feeling he should stay out of this lab as much as possible.Just then, the corpse of the Twin-Finned Devil Shark, which should have been covered, was also brought out. It was already in three large pieces, waiting to be dissected. At the same time, she produced a dried-out murloc specimen, only about thirty centimeters tall. This was the first time Yang Yi had ever seen one of these monsters, but he wasn't surprised. Suna must have killed a murloc before they met.With these three items added, the number of samples in the lab reached 3, increasing the inspiration rate by 3%."I'm going to need a lot of Conch Coins. I have no money!" Suna declared, holding her hand out flat to Yang Yi. She looked exactly like a lead scientist demanding more research funding.And Yang Yi, naturally, was the sucker footing the bill."What do you need a ton of Conch Coins for?""The equipment in the lab has to be bought with them," Suna explained."What? I have to spend more money to buy equipment for the lab I just paid to build?!"Yang Yi suddenly realized this lab might be a massive, bottomless money pit. But he'd already invested the resources; he couldn't back out now. The sunk cost was just too great.So, he transferred 1000 Conch Coins to Suna.This was a "huge sum" for him! After giving it to her, Yang Yi only had 1050 Conch Coins left to his name.Suna seemed to think it was a rather small amount, but she didn't say anything. She just lowered her head and began dissecting the Devil Shark, a handy-looking scalpel having appeared in her hand.Yang Yi, meanwhile, beat a hasty retreat to the deck before she could ask for more cash. Besides, he didn't want to hang out in the lab. He had a creeping suspicion he might end up as one of the samples on the shelf."Prioritize researching stamina recovery potions and healing potions. And try not to use Vitality Coconuts as an ingredient, that stuff is a pain in the ass to find."He sent Suna a private message, then started planning his own next steps. To enter the Extreme Winter Sea, he had to prepare enough supplies to survive the cold.Besides winter clothes, Yang Yi felt fire was absolutely essential. Fire could provide hot water and cooked food, not to ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ mention warmth and light in the dead of winter. It was a literal lifesaver.Secondly, he needed to stockpile supplies, preparing large quantities of non-perishable food and fresh water. Out in a frozen wasteland, resources would surely be scarce.And then… it would be best to upgrade the ship to level 3 and build some cannons. But the resources required for a level 3 ship were insane, so Yang Yi put that particular goal at the bottom of his priority list.Through the world channel, Yang Yi knew that upgrading a normal ship to level 3 required Wood x500, Cloth x300, Stone x100, and Steel x20.His Nyxstar, however, required: Wood x1200, Cloth x500, Stone x300, Steel x50, Crystal x100, and the corpses of ten Aberrations.Putting aside the massive material cost, he had no damn clue where to even find ten Aberration corpses. He'd just have to try his luck.Time to stick to the plan.Yang Yi opened the chat channel and started scrolling, looking to see if anyone was selling a fire-starting tool. He didn't expect to find anything, but lo and behold, there it was."Selling a lighter. PM me with an offer if you want it."[Name: Longevity Brand Lighter][Type: Tool][Quality: Good][Description: A super-durable lighter, your number one choice for all arson-related needs! Guaranteed to have fuel for the rest of your natural life!]Yang Yi immediately slid into the seller's DMs."How much for the lighter?""You're too late, sold it ages ago. I've only got one left, and I need it for myself."Yang Yi felt a pang of disappointment. At the same time, a thought dawned on him: anything he could think of, other players had probably thought of it too… Everyone was scrambling for fire-starting tools, causing demand to far outstrip supply!Just as he was starting to worry, Yang Yi noticed the world channel was blowing up, with new messages refreshing non-stop. He immediately scrolled to the latest posts. Someone was recruiting players."I am Shen Guan-quan, Captain of the Hope, and also the commander of the New World Fleet.""We have already gathered over a dozen like-minded captains, including several special ships like the Farmer and the Iron Head.""Our New World Fleet has no entry requirements. Anyone can join, but players who join the fleet must grant landing permission to their ships, disarm themselves, obey commands, and hand over allequipment and supplies for redistribution and reassignment by the fleet!""In return, your safety will be guaranteed!""We have guards for combat, fishermen for fishing, farmers for farming… We will create more and more specialized roles, and together, we will rebuild human civilization!""I, Shen Guan-quan, promise that as long as I have a bite to eat, none of you will ever starve or freeze to death!""Those willing to join, please come to the following coordinates: X: 38201, Y: 53182.""Remember to disarm and grant landing permission. Otherwise, you will be met with a fatal strike!""My New World Fleet will remain here for half a month."These lines must have been prepared in advance and then spammed into the chat all at once. The reaction was huge, and the vast majority of players thought it sounded like a total scam."You want us disarmed and naked? Wouldn't that just make us fish on a chopping block??""Why the hell should we trust you? Why not just tattoo ‘SCAM’ on your forehead!""Only a moron would go!"The doubts kept pouring in, but Shen Guan-quan didn't respond to any of them. Sooner or later, some people would show up. Those were the players he was targeting. With such a massive player base, even if only 100 people came, his New World Fleet would grow stronger than ever before.Still, the Hope… that ship name was pretty damn impressive. He just wasn't sure if it was a special ship.But Yang Yi had a way to find out.He ran to the atrium of the Nyxstar and picked up one of the small crystal balls sitting there. After the ships had merged, the number of small crystal balls had increased to two. They sat beside the main, larger crystal ball, allowing both him and Suna to check the sea chart whenever they wanted.[Activating Peep. Searching for… Hope, Shen Guan-quan.]Soon, an image of the Hope appeared in the crystal ball.There was no way in hell Shen Guan-quan could have possibly imagined that some random player was using a skill to spy on his ass.

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