Chapter 101: Clearing Out the Old Stuff
Kevin started rearranging the inside of the ship.
Since he only had ten crew members on board right now, he set aside fifteen private double rooms and turned most of the other space into work areas.
There was a huge command center, a professional intelligence analysis room, a potion research lab, a rune research center, a mechanical repair shop, a lookout tower, a cockpit, a medical bay, a laundry and washroom, a training center—pretty much everything you could need.
He even put in two kitchens, two bars, and two dining halls.
Even so, nearly half of the ship’s cabins were still empty.
For now, Kevin turned them into storage rooms for supplies.
If he got more blueprints later and unlocked new technology, he could always use that extra space to upgrade the ship again.
Once everything was set, Kevin slowly opened his eyes. Right away, he saw Celula’s cute, innocent face right in front of his nose, her eyes blinking. "Brother Kevin, while we’re all busy getting stronger, you’re here secretly sleeping. Aren’t you embarrassed?"
Kevin smiled and tapped Celula on the forehead. "Who said I was sleeping? I was clearly building a ship."
Celula looked around left and right, then opened her eyes wide and spread her hands. "Ship? Where?"
Kevin raised an eyebrow and waved his hand toward the sea right in front of Celula.
Celula felt a shadow fall over her. A huge dark shape dropped from the sky and crashed into the water.
The splash sent seawater several meters high, and cold drops landed on Celula’s face.
Her eyes wide, Celula stared at the giant iron-and-wood hybrid ocean-going sailing ship in front of her. Her lips trembled. "Is... is this our new ship?"
A bigger and bigger look of surprise spread across her face.
Then, without warning, the Wheels of Flame & Wind under her feet started spinning. She shot off into the distance like a shooting star. "I’m going to call the others to come see!"
Kevin watched Celula rush off excitedly and grinned.
He lightly leaped, and the Wheels of Flame & Wind appeared beneath his feet as well, carrying him up onto the deck.
The ship still looked like a wooden antique sailing vessel on the surface. But underneath, the propeller and two steam engine units gave it the speed of a modern ship.
What’s more, even after being expanded to nearly twice its original size, it could still sail at a top speed of twenty knots. That gave Kevin a huge advantage for his upcoming voyages.
While Kevin was thinking, Celula had already brought the other girls onto the ship.
They looked at the brand-new vessel, the beautifully decorated interiors, and the sturdy hull. Their faces lit up with surprise and pride.
Luna pulled Amelia along and leaned against Kevin’s shoulder, smiling softly. "Captain, aren’t you going to give us a tour of the ship?"
"Yeah, yeah! Take us around. I can’t wait!" Celula grabbed Monchhichi, bouncing with excitement.
Even Nova and Raphael looked really interested.
Kevin spread his hands and grinned. "Feel free to look around. But first, go pick your rooms."
"Pick our rooms? You mean each of us gets our own room?" Nova covered her mouth, eyes wide.
Celula wasted no time and dragged Monchhichi straight into the cabin.
Soon, shrieks of excitement came from inside.
The other girls happily followed down below.
Toti scratched his head and was about to go down too, but Kevin stopped him. "Old man, there’s a restroom and a mechanical repair center next to the helm. You’ll stay there."
Hearing that, Toti finally relaxed. "Good. I wouldn’t want to be stuck in a cabin with a bunch of young girls. Too cramped for an old guy like me."
Toti cheerfully climbed the ladder and headed toward the helm.
Now only Stephanie was left on the deck. She tugged at her skirt, looking nervous. "Captain, I... where do I stay?"
Kevin glanced at her coldly. "There’s a housekeeping room between the second dining hall and the first. You’ll stay there."
When Stephanie realized Kevin had put her in a housekeeping room—the kind meant for cleaners and servants—she clenched her fists.
One day, I’ll make you fall for me.
She swallowed her resentment and obediently walked toward the housekeeping room.
When she opened the door, she was surprised. The room was bright and spacious, with a private desk, a wide bed, and two closets.
Compared to the storage closet she had been living in before, this place was almost as nice as a hotel.
Stephanie never expected Kevin to give her such a nice place to live.
She covered her mouth and sobbed softly. "Kevin, I knew you were the best. I was wrong about you earlier. Boohoo..."
The more she cried, the stronger the obsession in her face became. "You must have feelings for me. You’re just still mad at my sister, and that’s why you’re mad at me too. It’s all that bitch Bella’s fault."
Meanwhile, Kevin walked into the Captain’s Room alone. He took out his Eldritch Mall VIP Card and summoned Lilith.
"Kevin, I’ve already helped you out once! This time, you’d better be here to do business with me!" Lilith swayed her slim waist as she stepped out of the summoning circle.
But what she saw in front of her was a space as luxurious as a five-star hotel presidential suite.
She looked around, her eyes full of surprise. "You’ve got some taste, kid. Where did you get this?"
"I built it myself." Kevin grinned and, right in front of Lilith, started pulling out piece after piece of equipment from his system backpack.
Some were C-Tier, some were B-Tier. Soon, the entire meeting room was piled high with them.
Lilith swallowed hard, her face full of confusion. "Holy crap, where did you get all this loot? Aren’t you supposed to still be in the resting period?"
Kevin took out the last bottle of potion and smiled. "All loot from the Black Curtain storm. Total: 81 B-Tier items, 273 C-Tier items. Weapons, gear, Eldritch Artifacts, potions—you name it."
Lilith walked around the piles of loot again and again. She forced down her shock and spoke in a trembling voice. "Kevin, are you planning to trade all of this for high-level supplies? If you say yes, I’ll upgrade your Eldritch Mall VIP Card to a star-rated service right now."
"Star-rated?" Kevin looked confused.
Lilith steadied herself and smiled. "Normally, Normal Survivors aren’t qualified to become star-rated VIPs in the Eldritch business district. But your transaction volume is too big. I can make an exception."
"What’s the benefit?" Kevin didn’t agree right away.
Truth be told, all this loot was stuff the girls had given back to him.
Now that they didn’t have to hand over their loot anymore, each of them was a little rich girl. So Kevin planned to use these returned items to get something good for himself.
Lilith knew Kevin had sharp judgment too. She got straight to the point. "All star-rated VIPs get one-on-one shopping service. I can find the most suitable items for you."
"Also, as a star-rated VIP, you can hire bodyguards from the Eldritch business district. The number and level of bodyguards depend on your VIP star rating."
"Finally, star-rated VIPs get to attend auctions that the Eldritch business district holds specifically for top Survivors. There, you can even buy treasures that the district itself can’t normally offer."
Kevin thought for a moment, then asked seriously, "Can you get me an S-Tier Eldritch Artifact?"
Lilith rolled her eyes. "The Eldritch Mall’s shopping list doesn’t have any S-Tier items. Only at auctions might a seller offer something at that level."
She noticed the disappointment on Kevin’s face and quickly added, "If you really want an S-Tier Eldritch Artifact, you can trade these items with me first to get your star-rated VIP status."
"After all, S-Tier Eldritch Artifacts don’t come cheap. Your loot here is worth a lot, but it’s still far from the price of a single S-Tier item."
Kevin sighed. "Forget it. I was being greedy. In that case, just sell me the five A-Tier chests that were left on my last shopping list. As for the rest of the loot, trade it all for A-Tier weapons."
Lilith counted the items in the room and nodded. "This is a big transaction, so I’ll give you a discount. Five A-Tier chests cost 40 B-Tier items. You have 41 B-Tier items and 273 C-Tier items left. I can convert all of that into 8 A-Tier weapons, but I’ll throw in an extra one as a bonus, making it 9."
With that, Lilith transferred five A-Tier chests into Kevin’s system backpack.
Then she also transferred nine A-Tier self-select weapon chests into his backpack.
"I don’t know what weapons you need, so I used a bit of my authority. These self-select chests can give you 36 different common weapons. You can pick whatever you want."
[Affection +5]
Kevin clapped his hands and praised her. "You’re being really generous today."
Lilith smiled and took out a diamond-studded Eldritch Mall VIP Card, handing it to Kevin. "You’re now a distinguished one-star VIP. Of course I’m going to suck up to you."
With that, she turned to leave, but Kevin reached out and stopped her.
"What?" Lilith raised an eyebrow and licked her lips lightly. "Does the honored guest want to have a... deeper conversation with this Succubus?"
Kevin shook his head. "I have a request. I hope you can help me."
Lilith smirked. "Kevin, I’ve already given you the best deal I can. Don’t push it."
Kevin waved his hand. "No, this is just a small favor for you."
Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Go on. Let’s hear it."
Kevin smiled and spread out a sea chart — it showed the terrain within a 2,500 nautical mile radius. "The storm a few days ago must have wiped out a lot of fleets. You should have a way to find out which locations have advanced ships and relics, right?"
When Lilith heard Kevin’s request, she was stunned. "You bastard... you want to use the resting period to loot the remains of those wiped-out fleets?"
...