Chapter 27: Power Bone
Chapter 27: Power Bone
Second deck of the merchant ship.
Inside a luxurious room decorated with golden silk and red brick-wood paneling, a tall man with a lion-like full beard stroked his chin, his gaze fixed intently on the image displayed in the Surveillance Crystal. Within the image, a figure was moving about — it was Chen Sui.
"Steward, sir — is this person... the owner of that Fishfolk from earlier?"
Beside him, a tall female assistant stared at the Surveillance Crystal and asked in a soft voice.
"Mm."
Steward Jin Yutao's eyes lit with interest. "Several hundred years ago, Fishfolk had already vanished from this continent. Even if there were any, it was nothing more than sensationalism from certain unscrupulous media outlets. And yet this person has one..."
"Shall I go make contact?"
The female assistant asked, lowering her head.
"No need. While Fishfolk are a valuable find, the reason several of our merchant associations are gathered in this area is because of a rumor that there are clues to a Deep Blue Bloodline nearby. But with so many eyes watching, if it fell into my hands, it would be hard to avoid leaving a trail."
Jin Tao spoke in an even, unhurried tone, his voice carrying neither joy nor sorrow.
The female assistant beside him fell into a thoughtful expression.
She hadn't risen to the position of assistant — handling countless affairs for the merchant ship's Steward every day — by being foolish.
If he truly didn't care, Jin Tao wouldn't have said so much.
So... if this thing could fall into his hands without leaving any trail, there would be no problem at all.
The female assistant gave a slight bow:
"I understand."
"Good. Go."
Jin Tao waved her off and turned his gaze back to Chen Sui's figure in the Surveillance Crystal.
Chen Sui took in the dizzying array of goods spread before him — a veritable feast for the eyes.
But he was a little troubled. Without any in-game item prompts, how was he supposed to choose?
Chen Sui didn't put much faith in his own luck. It would have been convenient to summon the Celestial Rainbow Conch, but the Conch came with its own visual effects that would inevitably draw attention in a place like this.
"I guess... I can only rely on myself?"
Chen Sui casually picked up a white ceramic jar from a nearby stall. It was shaped like a fish, with a human face printed on its body.
"What is this? How much?"
Chen Sui looked up and asked the vendor behind the stall.
The vendor was lying on a wooden plank, propping his head up with one hand. He lazily glanced at what Chen Sui was holding and drawled, "500 Fish Coins."
"What is it, though?"
Chen Sui asked again.
The vendor let out a cold laugh. "Would you believe me if I told you? Buy it or don't — it's all about your eye for things."
Chen Sui set the item down and didn't take the man's words to heart. He straightened up and thought to himself:
"The rule here is that you bear the consequences if you buy a fake. Because of that rule, selling fakes is done openly and without shame — so it's nearly impossible to tell real from fake just by reading a vendor's attitude..."
Chen Sui ultimately concluded that he seemed to have no choice but to rely on luck.
"I've got plenty of money anyway. Think of it as opening blind boxes. Losing is the norm — if I win, that's a real win."
With his mind made up, Chen Sui moved forward. He spotted a beautiful red stone that gleamed like agate, picked it up without a second thought, paid, and walked away.
The moment the transaction was complete, an item panel appeared before him.
[Red Gelstone]
Quality: Poor
A counterfeit made to imitate Fragrant Shark vomit.
Off to a bad start.
Glancing back, the vendor he'd just bought from was stifling a grin.
Chen Sui didn't dwell on it. "Vomit? Is it something like a high-grade perfume ingredient?"
He mentally noted the general characteristics of so-called Fragrant Shark vomit and continued on.
Before long, a grotesque wooden carving of a human face — crafted with exquisite skill yet appearing as though it had grown naturally — landed in his hands.
[Sea Wraith Cursed Wood Carving]
Quality: Superior
Let's hope you're not the owner of this carving. Whoever possesses it will be cursed by a Sea Wraith, and their body will gradually sprout a certain type of Deep-Sea Red Mushroom. In reality, the carving contains spores of Deep-Sea Red Mushrooms embedded within it. Incidentally, Deep-Sea Red Mushrooms are highly nutritious and can be used to feed sea beasts.
The moment Chen Sui read the description, he immediately stowed the item into his game Inventory.
"Simply put, it's a mushroom block for some kind of Deep-Sea Red Mushroom. I'll take it back and grow it in the fish tank."
He glanced back at the vendor and noticed the man had wrapped himself up head to toe in clothing. The moment Chen Sui looked over, the vendor quickly averted his eyes — clearly, he had been sneaking glances at Chen Sui ever since the sale.
Chen Sui couldn't help but laugh inwardly. The man had probably sprouted red mushrooms on his own body, which was why he was bundled up so tightly.
It wasn't anything particularly special, but Chen Sui had paid 800 Fish Coins for it — a modest profit, all things considered.
Encouraged by his first decent find, Chen Sui felt a spark of interest and pressed on.
Before long, several more items came into his hands.
[Stone from Outside the City of a Thousand Waters]
Quality: Poor
A stone from the legendary City of a Thousand Waters, somehow washed ashore. It has notably sturdy properties when used as a building material.
[Six-Claw Sea Seal's Claw]
Quality: Common
Ground into powder, it makes an excellent dietary supplement for sea beasts in their teething stage.
[Ju Coral Fragment]
Quality: Superior
Ju Coral is a coral with extraordinarily strong mutant capabilities. This piece of coral still contains a small number of living Ju Coral polyps — it may be possible to cultivate them.
[Shark]
Quality: Poor
Not actually a shark. It's a small fish that looks very much like a shark. It won't grow any larger, can't be eaten, and is typically used by vendors to trick children.
Chen Sui had purchased over a dozen items in total, and of those, only the Ju Coral Fragment and the Sea Wraith Cursed Wood Carving with its Deep-Sea Red Mushroom spores were of any use.
The hit rate wasn't great, but someone with perpetually bad luck tends to develop a strong tolerance for disappointment. When you can only rely on rock-bottom luck, pulling even one good item was already fortunate — coming up empty was just par for the course.
"I've spent over ten thousand Fish Coins..."
Chen Sui checked his Fish Coin balance.
Fish Coins: [remaining balance].
"OK, looks like I still have enough."
Chen Sui nodded and set his mind at ease for the moment.
Just then, his gaze snagged on something — a small, delicate object caught his eye and stopped him in his tracks.
It was a transparent bone plate. Held up to the light, one could make out strange, intricate patterns etched across its surface.
Chen Sui's heart began to thump. This thing — the very first Tyrant Squid he had ever hunted had contained a similar, yet different, bone plate inside its body.
Ever since then, Chen Sui had checked every sea beast carcass he brought down, but nothing like it had appeared again. He never expected to find one here.
Chen Sui remembered: this was an item required for a sea beast to advance in rank.
He immediately crouched down and asked the price.
"1,000 Fish Coins."
The vendor didn't even glance at him, utterly indifferent.
Chen Sui was more than happy with that. He kept a casual expression, pretended to browse a few other items, then slowly picked up the bone plate, paid, and walked away briskly.
[Serrated Tigerfish Power Bone (Wavecrest Rank)]
Quality: Superior
A required item for a sea beast to advance from Wavecrest Rank to Maelstrom Rank.
"Just as I thought!"
Chen Sui's eyes lit up. He had actually braced himself for it to be a fake — but thankfully, it was real.
"So now I have two of these bone plates. I wonder what else I need to collect?"
Chen Sui realized he still didn't have a clear picture of what it took to advance a sea beast's rank...
"Oh well. I'll figure it out eventually."
Chen Sui shook his head and continued walking forward.
He hadn't gone far when a series of wanted posters plastered in a corner caught his attention.