National destiny: Starting with a coffin, building an aircraft carrier is broadcast live globally.

Northwest direction.

It was a grayish-green sea, and even the sea breeze carried a musty, astringent smell.

Seawater is a viscous, lead-gray color.

Looking out, the sea appears to be dotted with islands of varying sizes, but upon closer inspection, one can discover...

Those were floating bones of an unknown creature.

The smaller ones are the size of a small boat, while the larger ones are as big as half a football field.

This looks like a... dead sea.

"Bang!"

A three-masted metal warship brutally smashed through the ribs of the behemoth blocking its path.

The warship's appearance is very deceptive—

The sleek white hull reflects the glow of mother-of-pearl, adorned with golden olive branch patterns on both sides. The three sails are red, blue, and white respectively. Most stunning is the figurehead:

A golden dove of peace, its wings outstretched as if about to take flight.

If the background were changed to a sunny, clear blue sea, it would be perfectly suitable for a wedding at sea, but here...?

Like a ghoul dressed in a wedding gown, it has a kind of sacred absurdity.

on the deck.

A person is visibly collapsing—

The blood was forcibly drained by some force, and the shriveled skin gradually wrapped around the bones... Just half a minute later, only a skeleton dressed in clothes remained on the ground.

A moist sea breeze swept by, and the corpse's dry skin cracked in several places.

Hart was dressed in a well-tailored casual suit, his blond hair was neatly combed, and a tidy handkerchief was clipped to his breast pocket.

It's less like surviving at sea and more like having afternoon tea in a penthouse apartment in a wealthy neighborhood.

Hart Tari, number 4 from the United States.

Aside from being a beautiful American, no one knows anything about him.

"Click."

Bogdan lifted his boot and kicked the dried corpse on the ground.

This contestant, number 57 from the Russian country, was burly, with a shiny bald head and muscles that made his camouflage uniform bulge.

"This kid is a [forge master]."

Bogdan turned to look at Hart. "Wouldn't it be better to keep him around to repair the ship? Killing him would be a waste."

"Waste? No, my friend."

Hart glanced at the stern. "We have better ones. The Undertaker doesn't need anyone else to worry about a single screw."

Joseph, contestant number 48, ignored everything and squatted in front of the gun emplacement, applying oil to the gun barrel.

He was an ordnance researcher whose mind was only focused on caliber and range.

A barely noticeable shadow was hidden beneath the white sail of the mainmast.

Sakura's number 38 contestant, Kohei Horii.

He was completely wrapped up, and even his breathing and heartbeat seemed to be deliberately suppressed, making him virtually invisible.

The live stream chat was already flooded with comments.

Victory belongs to us! Elegance never goes out of style! Beauty is the best in the world!

[Corey's blood was drained out of thin air? It's very similar to that case from a while ago...]

[They're forming a group right from the start, and their majors are practically identical! That's a bit much!]

[I also think it's too much of a coincidence. Number 2 and 3 are both elite soldiers, and this number 4 doesn't look simple either...]

This is true.

These four people weren't just unlucky ones who randomly entered the game.

"We got the location."

A yellowed leather nautical chart appeared out of thin air in Lafite's hand—

This is what Corey, the player from the Monkey Country, traded his life for from Gaia.

Joseph walked over, wiping his oil-stained hands. "So? Should we go to that Chinese guy's lair first?"

"Joseph,"

Raffi smirked. "That's why your research grant applications are always rejected... looting, vandalism, and arson are low-level things that street thugs do."

"Shall we take the fruit basket with us?"

"No, let's go find him in person." Laffey pointed his long finger at a red dot on the nautical chart. "Let's catch up with that [ship hull modifier]."

Reminiscing?

Joseph raised his deep-set eyebrows: "You two know each other?"

Is this secret agent's intelligence network that extensive?

"I don't know him."

He rolled up the nautical chart, a smile playing on his lips.

"However, when we finally meet, it will be goodbye forever. That's what they call 'Nice to meet you, but please die,' isn't that kind of dark humor fascinating?"

......

Meanwhile.

In a foggy sea area to the northeast, the fog is so thick it's like bone broth that's been simmering all night.

Having no idea when he became a "ship hull modifier," Renyi is clinging to the ship's side, waiting anxiously.

"It's been almost an hour," he muttered.

"To be precise, it's forty-three minutes and twenty-seven seconds," Nathan replied cheerfully, while still flipping through his notebook where he kept records of his life.

Turn your head to the side at will.

I happened to see a stick figure on that page holding a ball, with several strange black lines piercing into the darkness.

Gee...

What is this drawing?

I don't understand, but I respect it. Ծ‸ Ծ

He then stared at Nathan's profile, which had very little overlap with his face, for two seconds.

In an environment without visual references, the time it takes for a person to perceive things can be infinitely stretched or compressed.

To be able to time it so precisely

Even in a relaxed state without any specific timing, it can be described as a physiological instinct.

I suddenly remembered a friend from my past life.

He was locked in a bucket half-filled with water for five days. After being released, he lost his normal ability to speak and repeated only one thing each day:

Time announcement.

That was a measure taken to forcibly shut down other senses in order to prove that one was still alive in confinement.

A hand rested lightly on Nathan's shoulder.

"Relax."

He spoke slowly, "That's just how it is; people always have to grasp onto something to keep from going crazy."

Nathan's mouth was half open, looking a little bewildered.

What kind of doctor is this person?

What Renyi said is actually true; he did have something to hold onto in order to avoid going crazy.

He had never mentioned this deep-seated trauma to anyone, but now, he revealed it in a single sentence.

It's like a doctor holding up an X-ray and pointing to an old fracture.

Understood, but not over-interpreted...

Nathan keenly sensed that this unassuming captain was probably one of his kind, trying to give him a sense of security in his own way.

He raised his arm, his eyes slightly sore—

"So, you count your heartbeats?"

Nathan: "..."

"However, focusing excessively on the heartbeat for extended periods can easily trigger arrhythmia, so it is not recommended."

Moving?

It didn't move me at all.

Nathan lowered his arm with a look that was hard to describe.

Is this person... even for a single second?!

Nathan took a deep breath and decided not to argue with this guy with such a strange way of thinking. Just as he was about to argue with the captain for the sake of his heart health, there was a sudden commotion on the sea.

"Splash—!"

The sound of water breaking came from the side of the boat, splashing them with water, followed by Ivan's incoherent roar.

"Boss! Give me a hand! This guy... isn't coming up!"