Grand Voyage : Surviving on a Ghost Ship-Chapter 142 - Fourth Stage

Nightfall.

Yang Yi was examining bows.

These types of weapons, while more powerful, had also begun to require strength, much like heavy weapons.

Rare bows with low strength requirements did exist, but were hard to come by.

He had considered switching Suna to firearms as her main weapon, but that would be a waste of her archery skills.

Besides, in the extraordinary world, bows weren’t any worse than guns, they just had a steeper learning curve.

The advantage of bows was that the arrows could be swapped out, and both fire rate and arrow supply depended on the user.

Firearms, on the other hand, were more fixed, including their power.

So far, there were no guns that could switch ammunition types. Most could only fire a set kind of bullet.

Yang Yi’s flintlock rifle was an exception, featuring different modes that allowed it to fire various bullets.

After looking for quite a while without finding a bow he wanted, he instead bought two masks.

If the Bountiful Sea really had a lot of those delicious creatures, then masks that could block scents would be extremely important.

Prices would rise, so Yang Yi decided to act early and picked up two with good attributes.

【Name: Crimson Bandit Face Scarf】

【Type: Relic】【Quality: Fine】【Description: A bloodstained face scarf from a bandit, impossible to wash clean.While worn, it emits a pungent bloody scent. Strength +1, sense of smell is disrupted.】

The face scarf was prepared for Yang Yi himself, mainly for its scent-disrupting effect. It would allow him to block out alluring smells.

As for the side effects, the strong bloody scent might cost him some sanity, but it wasn’t a big issue.

Plus, the Strength +1 bonus would help Yang Yi swing his massive "Ironbreaker" greatsword more easily.

The other mask was:

【Name: Silver Plague Doctor Mask】

【Type: Treasure】【Quality: Fine】【Description: A silver beaked mask custom-made by a plague doctor to ward off plagues.The respirator is stuffed with special herbs, which filter out most plagues and odours.The silver itself repels evil and toxins and can resist minor mystical curses.】

Yang Yi bought this mask the moment he saw the listing, Suna would definitely like it.

Both items were of fine quality. The bandit face scarf was a bit more expensive due to its Strength bonus, but not by much, being a relic, it was priced in Shell Coins, and Yang Yi bargained it down to 9,000. The silver plague doctor mask was originally 7,800, and he haggled it down to 6,500.

After completing the transaction, Yang Yi received both masks from the octopus vending machine and tried them on.

The plague doctor mask gave off a refreshing herbal scent, invigorating and quite pleasant.

The bandit scarf was another story, it reeked of blood and was nauseating, with a foul stench. Worse still, the scarf was damp, as if freshly soaked in blood.

【Nauseating stench of blood. Sanity -10.】

Yang Yi’s sense of smell was very sharp, so it would take some time to adapt to the scent.

Both pieces of equipment were of fine quality, he could try enhancing them with enhancement stones.

Just as Yang Yi was about to leave after grabbing the gear, a system alert popped up in the chat channel:

【The speed of the black mist has increased to 20 knots. Players in the Extreme Winter Sea are advised to leave the area immediately.】

“Just as expected!”

Yang Yi knew it was the system beginning its eviction process.

The increased speed was likely only a warning, far more extreme changes would follow, probably without any notification. Like sudden appearances of giant bobbit worms or abrupt stops in the storm.

Yang Yi was in a safe zone, so it didn’t concern him.

He headed towards the cabin, planning to give the silver plague doctor mask to Suna. It was also time to rest.

When he arrived at the lab, the once-round, chubby long-legged sardine had already been cut into several pieces by Suna. But what caught his attention even more was the fish tank, originally holding two long-legged sardines, only had one, and it had doubled in size.

“What’s this?”

Yang Yi approached the fish tank and examined it closely.

“One of them ate the other and grew larger, turning into a deformed monster. This should be the fourth stage,” Suna explained.

The long-legged sardine had completely lost its original form. It was now three times its previous size, with numerous legs growing out of it, resembling a mass of malignant tumors.

And… it had drained all the water in the tank and was attempting to eat the tank itself. Unable to find a suitable spot to bite, it kept opening and closing its fish mouth against the glass. It had three mouths, so there was no telling which end was the head anymore.

“This delicious sardine has a surprisingly simple internal structure,” Suna continued. “Apart from a layer of fat, it’s just a digestive tract and a stomach. All other organs are degenerated. There’s no anus either. It actually resembles that Gluttonous Guest we encountered before.”

“This thing just keeps growing the more it eats?” Yang Yi asked.

“Seems like it.”

Yang Yi frowned deeply, feeling more convinced that the Bountiful Sea was going to be extremely dangerous.

If such ever-growing monsters existed there and had ample food supply, he didn’t even want to imagine how troublesome they could become.

“Try to see if there’s a way to kill this thing, like poison or something.”

Yang Yi was still thinking fondly of that incredibly useful Death Spider Demon potion, which had nearly wiped out an entire island.

“It won’t be easy. If this thing is similar to the Gluttonous Guest, then eventually it will have only one organ left - a stomach. The rest of its body will be filled with digestive fluids, and toxins would probably just get digested,” Suna speculated.

Yang Yi didn’t dwell on it for long. After all, the Bountiful Sea could also not be like that at all. He’d have to go and see for himself.

He handed the silver plague doctor mask to Suna and then suggested they kill the grotesque, tumor-like long-legged meat mass, keeping it alive any longer would be risky.

Suna was unwilling, still curious to see if it would undergo further changes with continued feeding. Yang Yi, however, was firm.

In the end, Suna reluctantly handed over the fish tank to him.

Since it was a lab construct, it would disappear if taken outside, and the creature would escape.

So, Yang Yi didn’t move it outside. Instead, he placed it on the floor, pulled out his flintlock rifle, and took aim.

Bang!

The tank shattered, and the disgusting mass of flesh exploded, its body torn into multiple pieces.

It looked like it was truly dead.

Thick, milky-white fat splattered everywhere.

Yang Yi didn’t touch it with his hands. Instead, he pulled out throwing darts and pinned several larger chunks of meat to the ground.

One of the chunks began wriggling after being pinned, still alive. It even sprouted a mouth and started sucking in and devouring the surrounding scraps, attempting to regenerate and continue growing.

Yang Yi stomped on it, crushing it to pieces. Only then was it truly dead.

“This thing has insane vitality.”

He was a little shocked and picked up a chunk of meat with a dart to inspect its data.

【Name: Delicious Meat Chunk (Tiny)】

【Description: A very tasty chunk of meat. No matter how you cook it, it tastes amazing.It will eat you, but you can also eat it, this way everyone gets to be full.】

“What the hell is this?”

Yang Yi frowned and shared the information with Suna.

On the other side, Suna, wearing gloves, was digging through the remains on the ground with a look of disbelief.

“What is it?”

“This thing doesn’t have any internal organs anymore. It seems to have turned into pure meat, with not even a stomach left.”

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