Chapter 101: Maritime Race 8
The moment she entered the water, Moira Lynch was stunned by the scene before her.
Unlike the previous stretch of ocean, which had been clear but permeated by a dead, lifeless silence.
In contrast, while the water quality here was slightly inferior, the underwater scenery was thriving with life.
All sorts of colorful, never-before-seen fish swam to and fro.
The fish were initially terrified by the sudden appearance of Moira Lynch and her companions, but they instantly grew bold when they saw the Cetabeast by their side.
Although Shane Rhodes and the other two had Sea Pearls, their vision was still somewhat affected by being in the ocean. Moira Lynch, however, was completely unaffected.
’There are so many types of fish here—big, small, you name it. I wish I could take them all.’
’But if I actually did that, the Cetabeast would probably try to kill me.’
Besides the fish, the seabed was also home to numerous shellfish.
"Patience, search and see if there’s anything here I can take with me."
It was much faster to have Patience search directly than to feel around for things herself.
Upon receiving the command, Patience immediately began its search.
[Salt Stone, formed naturally from seawater, a specialty of Planet Aelmar. One Salt Stone is equivalent to a ton of edible salt. A single bite is lethally salty.
PS: They are everywhere on Planet Aelmar, like stones on the roadside that no one cares about.]
Salt!
Since ancient times, salt has always been an incredibly important resource.
Given the current situation on Caelus, the price of everything was skyrocketing, especially things like salt and sugar, which had become more expensive than grain.
Without a second thought, Moira Lynch began collecting Salt Stones into her space. There was no need to search for them; as far as the eye could see, the entire seabed was covered with them.
In addition to Salt Stones, Moira Lynch also caught plenty of shellfish, but of course, she only put them in her space if Patience confirmed they were edible.
Just then, a white figure amidst a coral cluster caught Moira Lynch’s eye.
Looking closer, she saw it was a huge shrimp, over a meter long. Its snow-white shell was dotted with pink patterns, making it look like a work of art.
[Azure Shrimp, a specialty of Planet Aelmar. Its meat is delicious and highly sought after by Starfarers. It is rare, naturally wary, and extremely difficult to catch.]
Seeing the Azure Shrimp in front of her, she thought back to the other Azure Shrimp she had found earlier. There was simply no comparison.
One was the nobility of the sea; the other, the "kneeling" class.
’Mine!’
No matter how wary the Azure Shrimp was, as long as it couldn’t escape her detection range in one second, it had nowhere to run.
After collecting the Azure Shrimp, Moira Lynch continued to search the seabed for more resources she could take.
While she was completing her task and simultaneously searching for resources to take, most other players were in a desperate struggle for survival.
The game was only three days long, and the mission seemed simple enough: complete the tasks on the Task Card and ensure you and all your teammates survived until the end. That was all it took to pass.
Under these circumstances, there was no need for players to kill each other.
However, the ideal was beautiful, but the reality was harsh.
Some people drew insanely difficult tasks. Unable to complete them, they had no choice but to eliminate other players.
Furthermore, most of the tasks were water-related. Not everyone could swim, let alone dive, so to avoid elimination, these players had to target other contestants.
In less than a day, quite a few people had already been eliminated.
The remaining players were safe for now, but they had to complete their tasks while constantly worrying about sudden attacks from others. They were physically and mentally exhausted. And on top of that, they had no food or drinkable water.
Some players rowed their boats all morning until they were so famished their stomachs were caving in. In their desperation, they grabbed sea ears and started eating them raw.
They didn’t care if it tasted good or bad, or whether they could even chew it. As long as it filled their stomachs and gave them the strength to complete their tasks, it was enough.
However, reality slapped them in the face once again. Some people weren’t used to eating raw seafood and their stomachs couldn’t handle it. Not long after eating, they came down with diarrhea, and many became so dehydrated they collapsed.
While some had it bad, others, of course, were doing quite well. Those with Thunder and Water Talents were in their element here.
Water conducts electricity, so someone with a Thunder Talent could take down a whole group of people by themselves. After all, conductors were everywhere.
Those with Water Talent could easily complete their tasks by selling fresh water. Of course, some unlucky ones were tricked into becoming free water dispensers.
Next were those with Wind and Fire Talents.
The use for Wind Talent was obvious. Fire Talent might not seem very useful in this game, but fire could be used to cook food.
You could try starting a fire with friction, but with no firewood around, what were you going to rub together?
Even if you had a lighter and didn’t need to use friction, you still had the same problem: no firewood.
Meanwhile, while collecting Salt Stones, Moira Lynch discovered a type of black rock.
[Black Rock, also known as Water Bomb. In water, it is an ordinary rock. Once it leaves the water and is exposed to air, it becomes extremely unstable and explodes.]
Moira Lynch’s eyes lit up. She collected all the Water Bombs in the area and put them in the miniature ocean within her space.
At the same time, she used her will to dig a pit inside her space.
’The miniature ocean is for raising fish. What if I collect too many Water Bombs and they take up the fishes’ living space? It’s better to make a dedicated storage spot for them.’
When night fell, Moira Lynch surfaced, took the boat out of her Space Button, climbed aboard, and switched on the boat’s light.
Before long, Shane Rhodes, Kai York, and Hugh Finch also surfaced one by one.
After they climbed onto the boat in turn, Moira Lynch thoughtfully took out dry towels and handed them to them.
Taking the towels, the three of them began to dry themselves off while reporting their findings.
"I’ve completed all three of my tasks," Kai York said first.
Now, as long as he kept himself safe and the team didn’t lose any members, he was guaranteed to clear the game.
"I still have one last task: collect one hundred invader tentacles," said Shane Rhodes.
As for the remaining Moira Lynch and Hugh Finch, both had three-star tasks. This was what worried Shane Rhodes and Kai York the most. If worse came to worst, they would have to resort to targeting other players.
Moira Lynch opened her Task Card. Of the three stars beneath the task description, two were now lit up.
Seeing this, the other three stared at her in shock. "How did you do that?"
Moira Lynch said mysteriously, "I got something good in a previous game, and it just so happened to be useful here."
She wasn’t lying. ’Didn’t I get the purifying moss in a previous game?’