Survival at Sea: My Warship is a Rubber Duck?

Chapter 144 The Nesting God Cult!

Seven ships appeared one after another amidst distorted spatial fluctuations, located at different locations dozens of nautical miles away from the Little Yellow Duck.

Before Yu Wang could speak, Zhang Xinlan, after her initial surprise, was already eager to try.

After the "Ghost Pirate" was upgraded to level 4, my talent ability "Eagle Eye" and the ship skill "Shadow Follows" underwent new changes.

The game hints that because the compatibility between the two is high enough, a new ability has been awakened.

Now, I can see basic information about any creature that appears in my field of vision, such as its name and level, without having to touch it.

If you're a human survivor, all you'll know is their name; however, to see more details, you'll need to use your active skill.

Clearly, both "Eagle Eye" and "Follow Me" have been greatly enhanced!

It even produced a qualitative change effect where 1+1>2!

After listening to Zhang Xinlan's report, Yu Wang fell into a brief silence.

Why didn't he receive any similar prompts or signs of ability fusion after his ship was upgraded?

Is it because the "If you can't beat them, join them" talent and the "Gagaga" skill are incompatible?

"Could it be that my ship skills and talents are mismatched?" he thought somewhat dejectedly. "It seems like there's no connection. Oh well, judging by the time, Old Wang should have finished leveling up by now. I wonder what kind of changes he'll undergo. I feel like it will be related to his hobbies and interests."

But now is clearly not the right time to explore the secrets of ship upgrades.

Looking at the several ship silhouettes in the twilight, Yu Wang asked, "Can the 'pirate radar' pinpoint the type of teleportation card that's locating them?"

Teleportation cards are also tiered. Some allow teleportation within specific zones; this is the most common and the default type. More advanced cards allow teleportation within larger regions, while the highest-tier cards allow free movement across the entire server.

If we could know what level of teleportation card they were using, we could, to some extent, also know which faction they belonged to.

"Is it that people from this region are jealous of my loot in the dungeon, or that people from the same region want to rob me, or that the Angelic Cult has come all this way for revenge?"

Unlike the "Ghost Pirate Ship" which allows you to teleport there and return at any time, the teleportation card is a one-way ticket. Unless there is another ship nearby as an anchor point and you have a second card, you cannot return to the original point.

So—this is a group of people who came here with the mindset of succeeding at robbing the top spot?

Where did the courage come from?

"The Level 1 Pirate Radar is incomplete and cannot analyze the teleportation card level," Zhang Xinlan shook her head, answering Yu Wang's previous question.

She nimbly climbed onto the lookout tower of the Ghost Pirate, and using her "Eagle Eye" skill, squinted and carefully examined the ships for a long time before reporting to Yu Wang through the communication channel: "There are no Papal-issue ships, just normal ships. However, judging from the identical patterns on their sails, they seem to belong to the same faction?"

"The pattern is strange, like a split pomegranate with seven red seeds that look like eyes at the crack, and below that, there are tentacle-like patterns wrapped around—a pregnant black goat?"

After listening to Zhang Xinlan describe the pattern, Yu Wang already knew the answer.

Nesting

"Nest-Breeding Cult"!

In their previous lives, these guys were among the first survivors to become active.

The so-called deity they worship has authority related to "desire" and "reproduction." He can distort the laws of reproduction, allowing humans to interbreed with any race and give birth to offspring. He also allows believers to transfer their consciousness into these hybrid human offspring born through the power of the deity.

Therefore, their way to become stronger is to constantly seek out powerful creatures, mate them with humans, produce offspring with superior bloodlines, and then occupy their bodies, repeating the cycle endlessly.

They call it "selective breeding" and "improving human bloodlines," but is it reproductive isolation?

What is that?

However, the drawback of this cult is that the hybrid offspring born from the authority and power bestowed by the gods grow very quickly. Although they can grow rapidly and gain the ability to protect themselves in the shortest time, they also age very quickly, and their peak period can only be maintained for a few months.

Therefore, church believers can only continuously seek out stronger and longer-lived creatures to mate with in order to constantly improve their bloodline.

Once you start, you can't stop.

Furthermore, conducting hybridization experiments requires a large number of humans as "mothers" and "fathers." After all, hybridization is uncertain, and having only one offspring may not result in a beneficial hybridization, but rather a negative outcome.

To obtain the strongest offspring, multiple rounds of selective breeding are necessary.

The most efficient way is naturally to conduct multiple experiments simultaneously, and finally leave the best one to possess.

If the members of the Nesting Cult are just messing around, then nobody can interfere; they're just a bunch of people with peculiar tastes.

But extending its claws to its own kind arouses public outrage.

In the previous life, the Nesting Cult only enjoyed a period of glory in the early stages, and later had no chance to flaunt its power, remaining at the very bottom of the cult hierarchy.

Even those who slaughter their own kind to sacrifice to evil gods look down on the Nesting God Cult.

Yu Wang recalled the scene he saw in the cabin when he accidentally boarded a ship belonging to the Nesting God Cult in his previous life.

The locked-up "mother" and "father" were crammed into a narrow cage, the air was foul, and in the corners piled up failed hybrid offspring destined for food.

In short, a ship full of bastards.

[You begin to conjure up extremely disturbing images in your mind. "If talent can't win, join!" You desperately try to find any possibility of joining—analysis fails! The image is incomprehensible, and joining is impossible! Therefore, rationality—2.]

The system notification popped up coldly.

The memory ended with a deduction of two sanity points.

Yu Wang was somewhat relieved that he hadn't had dinner yet.

Unexpectedly, despite flapping his wings so many times in this life, he still couldn't influence the emergence of the Nesting God Cult. He's truly "single-minded".

He immediately opened a private chat channel with Lin Che and sent a message:

You're going to hit the jackpot! "Lin Che, don't come over tonight. I have some things to take care of."

Lin Sanshui: "Okay, brother! I happen to have some clients in my district that I need to maintain relationships with. I'll send you a message before I go there."

After shutting down the communication, Yu Wang's eyes turned completely cold.

He had a vague idea of ​​why he was being targeted tonight.

"He's being treated like a sire with a huge fortune."

"Heavy industry? What heavy industry?" Zhang Xinlan had already memorized all the survivors' names and came down from the watchtower, only to hear Yu Wang muttering those two words with a gloomy expression.

After dark tonight, the monthly mileage leaderboard will be released. Last month's leaderboard rewards gave everyone a taste of success, and some players who have greatly improved their strength in group dungeons are naturally eager to try again.

As for the ID "You're going to hit the jackpot," it was the undisputed number one on the previous list, and with the huge reputation it gained from recent server-wide announcements and world chat messages, it has undoubtedly become the most conspicuous target, attracting covetous eyes from all sides, which is perfectly normal.

The moment of distraction when you receive the leaderboard rewards but haven't had time to process them is undoubtedly the best time to be ambushed.

"I've been slacking off a lot this month, I haven't been trying to boost my mileage at all, so why am I being targeted?" Yu Wang was a little annoyed, but then he felt relieved, knowing that such attacks would definitely happen again in the future.

Today he might be considered an excellent stud candidate, tomorrow he might be considered the best puppet candidate, and the day after tomorrow someone might think his bones are good enough to be ground into powder and made into a potion with even stronger effects.

A tall tree catches the wind; sometimes, existence itself is a sin.

However, this is also an opportunity to strengthen oneself.

Yu Wang looked up at the sky, which had completely darkened. The dark green sea was now like boiling asphalt, and the ominous atmosphere grew stronger.

"Why did he have to choose the night of all times—" he muttered to himself, opening his personal status panel. Below the numerous buffs and title effects, a line of large, blood-red characters glared at him like a curse:

【Eternal Night Hunt Order (7 Days)】

You will attract hordes of monsters, who will relentlessly hunt you down throughout the night until dawn—or the end.

Without the protection of the figurines, what gives this group the confidence to resist the monster horde at night?

Dozens of nautical miles away.

Seven ships, each with a different design but all with the same seven-eyed pomegranate motif painted on their sails, moored together under the cover of night.

On the deck of the flagship "Prolific," a woman with pale skin, sunken eyes, and an appearance as if she were several months pregnant, was growling in a hoarse, fervent voice: "Coordinates confirmed! Thanks to the Black Goat, the harbinger of all things, for guidance! The target is ahead!"

She called herself the "Nest-Bearing Bishop," and was said to have been personally chosen by the "Black Goat" who gave birth to all things, to be the missionary of the "Nest-Bearing Cult."

Her abdomen was pregnant with several immature alien life embryos obtained through the "sacred nurturing" ritual. Unlike ordinary believers, as a missionary chosen by God, she received the promised benefits in Little GG (crossed out).

She received divine favor, being able to conceive spontaneously. Without taking any risks, she could obtain an embryo of a species with a higher life level than herself from the gods simply by performing some sacred nurturing rituals.

Once the embryo matures, she can enter the new body and directly advance her life, joining the ranks of the extraordinary!

The level of convenience is on a completely different level compared to ordinary believers.

However, in order to nurture an embryo that is far beyond her own life level, she needs to eat a lot.

A small fleet simply could not find enough food to feed her.

Robbery became the best option.

"Your Excellency the Bishop—" A man with a sallow complexion, trembling legs, and as if he had been completely drained, managed to squeeze out a worried voice.

"Were we too impulsive? After all, the opponent is number one on the leaderboard; they might be hiding some trump card—or perhaps we should breed them a few more times, accumulate more bloodline power, and plan for the long term? I think if I raise three more stonefish, this time I'll definitely get offspring that inherit the 'Stone Skin' ability."

"cowardice!"

Beside them, a tall, thin figure whose face was completely covered by a heavy hood and whose voice was neither male nor female immediately issued a low rebuke.

"What's there to be afraid of! We have seven ships! Twenty-three brothers and sisters! Each of us has undergone at least one superior breeding program, possesses the bloodline of powerful beings, and has some of their innate abilities!"

He raised his scaly arm: "Kill him, seize his ships and resources! Our fleet will be even stronger!"

Those "younger siblings" still in the womb will then have the most abundant nutrition, enabling them to develop more perfectly! Our evolutionary journey will take a solid step forward!

The fish-scaled man licked his lips: "We can even capture humans for breeding. With the addition of strong human genes, we might be able to control these unstable appearances and regain our human faces!"

Besides the innate potential determined by race, the nutritional supply and nurturing environment are equally important in determining the strength of an organism.

Plunder is their fastest way to obtain high-quality "nutrients".

"They probably don't know they're being watched right now, and they're probably still distracted by the rankings. A surprise attack! Crush them with overwhelming force!"

"For the mother nest! For endless reproduction! For a more perfect and powerful evolved form!"

On the deck and in the cabins, a frenzied roar erupted, mixed with some inhuman cries that seemed to come from a mixture of various creatures.

Greed, madness, and an extreme desire for evolution gleamed in everyone's eyes.

They adjusted the sails, and the totem of a split pomegranate revealing seven red eyes and entwined with a black goat looked even more sinister in the twilight.

The seven ships began to slowly approach the locked-on direction.

Almost simultaneously with their startup, [Ding! Monthly Survival Mileage Leaderboard Results Are About to Be Announced!]

[Data compiled. Wow, as expected, enough pressure is the best catalyst for progress! Looks like everyone's running faster and faster!]

【Huh? Wait a minute————】

[The gap in your performance is huge! The fast runners are almost across the first sea area, while the slow ones are still lingering around the starting line! There's a limit to how much you can slack off!]

It seems that "collective punishment" alone isn't enough to curb some people's laziness; we really need to add fuel to the fire!

[Announcement: Survivors ranked in the bottom 20%, you're in luck! In one hour, you will be forced into a special chase instance – "Ship-Eating Snail Fjord"!]

There, fight with your lives on the line! Clearing the dungeon will grant you an acceleration pack, allowing you to significantly catch up with the main group!

Run as fast as you can, you ants! This is your last chance!

Furthermore, the penalties will be even more severe in the zones with the lowest average daily mileage! Don't take any chances!

The game's malicious voice echoed in the minds of all the survivors.

Some were ecstatic, others despaired. "It's time for dinner again!" they cried. "We can't catch up! It's impossible! Don't you understand? A billion people have already obtained ocean current highway passes! They can easily traverse oceans, accumulating mileage as easily as drinking water!"

What are we, without permits, supposed to use to pursue this?! Even if we risk our lives to cross the "Shipfish Fjord" this time, what about next time? And the time after that?

"As long as you fall behind, there will be new challenges to catch up! It's endless, until we're completely drained and eliminated! There's no hope—maybe we should just die!!"

Iron Wedding Dress: "That doesn't make sense. We have over four billion people. One billion only makes up the top 25%, and only the bottom 20% are punished. As long as you stay in the middle 35%, you won't be punished. Oh, I forgot to mention, how did you know I'm the math class representative? (Adjusts her glasses)"

"To add to that, the game isn't endless. According to my new indigenous friend, the ancient sea route is a road that traverses the world. Maybe, once we reach the end of the world," the game will automatically end, and everyone will go home and continue to be slaves.

"Why not let the game go on forever! I'm so happy now. I have plenty to eat and drink, I don't have to get up early to squeeze onto the subway in the freezing cold, I can sleep until I naturally wake up every day, boil some water, and while waiting for the water to boil, I can scoop up floating objects. It's wonderful."

"The end of the world? Just saying those four words makes me feel like there's no hope in life. I'm afraid I'll never reach it even if I walk until I die."

It seems that, in the 444 section, the only person truly panicking about falling into the bottom 20% is "It's almost time for dinner again".

That's outrageous! He isolated everyone all by himself!

There's absolutely no team spirit!

The isolated individuals sent out strong condemnations.

As before, there was a delay of a few minutes in updating the specific rankings.

Yu Wang didn't care about his ranking at all. Almost the instant the broadcast ended, he turned off all the panels that might distract him and went into a state of high alert and preparation!

Meanwhile, on the Ghost Pirate, Zhang Xinlan activated the invisible sails, and the ship disappeared into the darkness. Then, she entered the name of a survivor she had just seen when she used her skill, Liu Bai, and the "Following Shadow" skill was activated.

There was no light, no ripples.

The Ghost Pirate vanished from its spot, and in the next instant, it appeared like a ghost in a blind spot several nautical miles behind the seven cult fleets, still lurking in the darkness.

The sinister, skeletal ramming horn was aimed at the prey's back, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.

Yu Wang activated the bow-mounted level 4 water rocket launcher.

The reinforced cannon at the bow began to hum, and the high-pressure water inside spun and compressed wildly, starting a preheating process that lasted for half a minute.

During this phase, the "Turbo Duck" active skill is activated! The ship's speed instantly surges to five times its base speed!

The ship, like a giant golden arrow released from a bow, charged forward instead of retreating, launching a counterattack against the seven enemy ships that were fanning out in front of it!

Upon seeing this, the Bishop of the Nesting House on the "Many Sons" changed his expression!

"Damn it! Our location has been discovered! Scatter and return to your own ships!"

When the Little Yellow Duck closed the distance to less than a kilometer from the vanguard of the enemy fleet, the Little Yellow Duck spread its wings and launched, shouting, "Stupid, aren't you! Ducks can fly!"

Buzz!

Two enormous wings made of energy suddenly popped out from the sides of the Little Yellow Duck's slender hull!

With a powerful push from the stern's foot and the lift provided by its wings, the forty-meter-long yellow warship, like a real giant bird, took off from the sea!

The Level 2 module is ridiculous! The duck can fly. When it takes off from the ground, it can only fly a distance of 500 meters.

However, if you add a 100 knots speed boost, this distance will increase again, easily reaching a kilometer!

Under the incredulous gazes of the "Nesting Cult" followers, the Little Yellow Duck traced an arc, carrying terrifying kinetic energy from the sky, and crashed heavily towards the very core of their fleet!

And the ship hidden at the very core of their fleet was none other than the "Many Sons" of the Nesting Bishop!

Who would have thought that weird-looking duck boat could actually fly?!

Normally, shouldn't they open fire and exchange fire with the outermost ships?!

"BOOM—!!!"

Gravity doesn't give people much time to think.

The deafening impact sound mingled with the cracking of the ship's planks!

The "Multi-Son," located in the center of the fleet, was directly struck in the midsection by this "divine intervention," instantly breaking its keel and shattering its hull! Wood chips, broken cables, and screaming figures mingled with the spray of seawater, soaring into the sky. Relying on the overwhelming strength of a Tier 4 ship, Yu Wang's "head-on collision" tactic was easily executed. With a single blow, the "Multi-Son" instantly disintegrated, turning into a floating wreck that was quickly swallowed by the dark green seawater.

Before the aftershocks of the collision had subsided, the Level 4 water cannon on the bow of the Little Yellow Duck, which had been fully charged and was exuding an aura of destruction, finally roared!

"boom-!!!"

The power of a level 4 water rocket cannon is equivalent to the combined power of a dry-firing level 3 water rocket cannon!

A massive, condensed beam of azure water energy, as thick as a giant spear, tore through the air with a shriek and struck precisely the side of a level 2 steel ship that was trying to swerve to avoid the scattered wood chips.

A dull, loud bang.

The steel warship was as if it had been struck by an invisible giant with a heavy hammer, and was shattered in the half of the hull that was hit!

The remaining structure twisted under the enormous impact, turning into countless fragments that were scattered into the air. The entire ship was almost blasted in half by this blow, and it quickly capsized and sank!

In just one encounter, two out of seven were gone!

"Monster!!"

The "Nest Bishop," who had managed to escape to another ship on the outer perimeter, clung to the violently rocking gunwale and let out a sharp scream.

Her pale face had lost all its fanaticism, leaving only primal terror.

The terrifying image of the Little Yellow Duck crashing down from the sky and shattering the ship with a single shot was branded into her memory like a hot iron.

"This—this is the power of a Tier 4 ship? This is the true strength of the number one ship?! The intelligence—the intelligence was all wrong! Ugh—!"

The shock and intense emotional fluctuations seemed to have agitated the developing embryos inside her.

They were slowly absorbing nutrients, growing gradually, waiting for the moment when they would ripen and fall.

But at this moment, the deadly threat from the outside world and the violently fluctuating life force of the mother body instantly awakened these embryos!

No longer content with slowly absorbing the nutrients, they began to frantically and recklessly scramble for the remaining life force and energy of the mother, like sharks that have smelled blood!

The abdominal movements became painful, as if several small beasts were tearing and ramming inside.

The bishop's already thin body became even more emaciated, with his skin tightly covering his bones, and on his belly, one could even vaguely see the protrusions of sharp limbs or mouthparts pushing against the skin.

"No—no—it's not the right time yet—ah—!"

Bishop Yuchao let out a piercing scream, his hands futilely trying to press against his abdomen. His body weakened rapidly, his eye sockets became even sunken, as if his life force had been drained in an instant.

"Bishop!!" The androgynous hooded figure roared in shock and anger.

Seeing the bishop's rapidly withering body and his sudden drop in vitality, his eyes showed little grief, but rather a glint of greed and anticipation.

If he could obtain these embryos from the bishop's body—perhaps he could achieve further evolution!

But now, with a formidable enemy at hand, it's not the right time!

"Scatter! Scatter and keep your distance! Don't huddle together and become targets!" The hooded figure suppressed his distracting thoughts and gave a stern command. As he spoke, his body began to undergo a terrifying mutation. Fish scales quickly covered his entire body, wriggling lumps bulged under his skin, his spine bent, and he was on all fours. With a "ripping" sound, his clothes tore off his back, and several tentacles covered in mucus, resembling a hybrid of an octopus and a worm, emerged!

He let out a superhuman roar and leaped toward the deck of the Little Yellow Duck!

The cultists on the other surviving ships also began to transform.

Some people's skulls split open, revealing insect-like mouthparts; others' arms mutated into crab claws covered in bone armor. For a moment, all the ships were filled with ghostly figures and various spliced ​​life forms.