Endless Ocean: Escape Starting from a Canoe

Chapter 43 The Shipwreck of the Lost Sea

It was 11:45 p.m.

Fifteen minutes had passed since Shi Ming gave the order to return via the original route.

The crew member at the helm controlled the direction of the drifting boat, his eyes fixed on the planned route, a fine layer of sweat forming on his forehead.

He is nervous.

He had clearly followed the captain's instructions and returned in the direction he had come from.

Logically, it should only take about ten minutes of sailing to leave this area with an abnormally high concentration of sea crystals and return to normal sea areas.

But now, the drifting boat has been traveling at full speed for fifteen minutes, yet it is still in the abnormal area, seemingly lost, or even seemingly deeper.

Moreover, a layer of mist rose from the sea.

The fog is getting thicker and thicker!

Damn it!

"Granite energy concentration: 345%!"

"It's gone up again!"

"We're heading in the direction of return, so why is the concentration getting higher and higher?"

Shi Ming felt no joy whatsoever. Something was definitely amiss. Moreover, the crew had followed his orders to return the way they came, so how could this have happened? The navigation instruments on the ship were undamaged, and even the nautical recorder showed that everything was normal.

"Captain, it seems we've gone deeper. Something seems to be disrupting the ship's course..."

Shi Ming frowned.

"Is it a sea monster?"

He had only slept for a short while when he encountered this strange situation.

Have you encountered a similar situation before?

"No."

The crew gathered together to discuss solutions. Several experienced veterans speculated that the high energy of the sea crystals in the area was interfering with the directional magnetic field, causing the drifting ship to deviate from its course and sink deeper into the ocean.

In that era of wandering, there was no GPS, no internet, and no cell towers.

The only way to solve this problem is to wait for the sun to rise and the fog to dissipate, and then leave this place using the most primitive methods.

"Immediately stabilize the waters, halt navigation, and maintain full alert to prevent an attack by sea monsters!"

Shi Ming gave the order.

He walked out of the control room and onto the deck outside.

It was nearly midnight, and the night wind made the deck a little chilly. The fog over the sea was gradually getting thicker, and even breathing it made one feel a cool, refreshing chill.

He came to the edge of the drifting boat and looked at the calm sea.

Having eaten blue trout for two days, he already had good night vision. At this moment, the sea surface and the area beneath it were deep, dark, and showed no signs of anything unusual.

But the ships just couldn't get out, circling back and forth in the fog.

Like a trapped beast that has lost its sense of direction.

Perhaps only when the sun rises and dispels the night fog can the drifting boat use the sun to orient itself and leave this place.

But Shi Ming didn't have the patience to wait until dawn. He felt uneasy in this strange sea. If there really were powerful B- or A-level sea beasts lurking beneath the surface, he wasn't confident he could handle them alone in this foggy weather.

Even if they win, the ships will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

At midnight, he began using "Eye of Intelligence".

"System, acquire intelligence."

[Beep~ Beep~]

[Intelligence being compiled...]

[Searching. Host's detailed coordinates confirmed... Search successful, intelligence summary in progress...]

Didi! Didi!

【Drip】

Shi Ming's expression grew even more serious.

……

[Congratulations!!! You have obtained a rare A-level intelligence: The Lost Sea!!!]

[Intelligence generated.]

A-level intelligence?
The higher the intelligence level, the higher its value and the greater the potential gains! Under normal circumstances, Shi Ming might even celebrate.

However, given the current bizarre situation, A-level intelligence means A-level danger, so there's nothing to be thankful for.

Not to mention the name Lost Sea, which is obviously not a good omen.

The A-level intelligence report was very long. He read it carefully word by word, his expression growing even colder.

In short, the Lost Sea is a sea area where it is very easy to get lost.

This is the graveyard of a marine mammal called the "Mist Jellyfish".

Twenty years ago, they were a powerful species, with the most formidable Mist Jellyfish having evolved to A-rank, making them veritable sea monsters. Unfortunately, they were hunted down by the Gold-rank drifting ship [Yellowstone], which patrolled these waters.

【Huangshi】is directly under the King-class drifting ship 【Lighthouse】, and is known as the strongest gold ship.

The ship is filled with countless weapons, equipment, spoils of war, and collectibles, making it a gem of the technological age and one of America's most prestigious possessions.

The battle was exceptionally fierce, with all the Mist Jellyfish being hunted down. The Yellowstone paid an even greater price – two A-level Awakened on board perished, and this pearl of America's technological age fell into this foggy sea, its whereabouts unknown.

The Lighthouse was furious and attempted to retrieve the sunken Yellowstone, only to find that it could not be found at all.

Before Yellowstone sank, it did not send back the corresponding coordinates.

Despite offering an exorbitant reward for over a decade, nothing has been found.

In the end, we had to let it go.

Therefore, the legend of the Lost Sea also spread at sea. It is said that if you can find that sea area, you will have the opportunity to find the sunken drifting ship and obtain the large amount of treasures on board that even the Lighthouse regrets.

Unfortunately, no one has ever been able to reach that area of ​​the sea.

Or perhaps they simply repeated Yellowstone's fate, sinking into the fog and never being able to escape.

……

Although the wind and waves are strong, the fish are more expensive.

Since we've arrived at these coordinates, it means we have a connection with the sunken Yellowstone.

That was known as the world's number one gold ship!

It would be a lie to say I wasn't tempted!
Simply discovering the shipwreck site and selling the information to the lighthouse could fetch a good price. Not to mention, using diving equipment to reach the shipwreck and excavate massive amounts of treasure, one could become rich overnight!
But Shi Ming knew that opportunities are often accompanied by crises.

For more than a decade, drifting ships of all sizes have tried to find Yellowstone, but to no avail.

Furthermore, the intelligence report states that the blood of a large number of mist jellyfish has mixed into the energy of the seawater in this area, causing the sea to be shrouded in mist year-round and its magnetic field to be disordered.

The blood of the A-grade sea monster, the Mist Jellyfish, disrupts the magnetic field of this sea area, creating a dense, foggy atmosphere that makes escape difficult. Land creatures that inhale too much of the fog are prone to drowsiness. Ordinary humans can endure this for about 24 hours, while awakened beings can endure it for longer, depending on their physical condition.

Now that he knows there is treasure here, he is naturally determined to get it.

However, an ordinary person would fall into a coma if they stayed in the fog for 24 hours.

The most urgent task at hand is to get the drifting boat away from here.

If everyone on board falls asleep, any D-class sea monster could easily wipe out the entire ship, sinking it to become part of the treasure!

Shi Ming's mind raced as he tried to think of a way to escape.

Alternatively, if all else fails, use the diving mode of a gold-grade canoe to dive to the seabed and find a solution.

(End of this chapter)