All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 256: The Ink Sea Star Ship

“A wanted poster? You can read the text? Who exactly is putting a bounty on you?” Zhanyue asked, already feeling a surge of anger. He had become very impulsive lately.

“Yes, I can read it. By chance, I learned this world’s writing for a while. It’s not complicated,” Baizhi explained, then continued: “It says there’s a bounty for the Star… Star Sea… Goddess… Anyone who brings her to the Ink Sea will receive living quarters for 100 people on the Ink Sea Star Ship.” Baizhi said somewhat embarrassedly.

Zhanyue stared at Baizhi and asked, “Star Sea Goddess? You? Is it that Ink Sea Lord who’s offering this bounty?”

Baizhi nodded, blushing a little. “That’s right, they gave me that title. I’ve never met this Ink Sea Lord, and I don’t know why he’s putting a bounty on me.”

Zhanyue could understand. To outsiders, Baizhi was not only beautiful but also possessed many strange abilities. Before her pills ran out, she was quite formidable. After adventuring in this world for so long, she naturally made a name for herself.

“I’d like to know what this Ink Sea Lord is all about, setting his sights on my woman,” Zhanyue narrowed his eyes, pondering his next move.

“Pah, what do you mean your woman? Who says?” Baizhi pouted, pretending to be angry, but actually feeling delighted inside. Apart from her grandmother, Zhanyue was the person she trusted most in the world, having given all her feelings to him.

“Let’s go. I’ll go meet this so-called Ink Sea Lord,” Zhanyue swallowed Baizhi again to protect her, then dove into the sea, swimming northward at a speed incomprehensible to the people of this world.

Chatting and joking with Baizhi along the way, resting, and mostly traveling, they finally covered a distance in three days that would take others several months, arriving at the edge of the Ink Sea.

The Ink Sea, the most mysterious area in the Star Sea world, was most notably different in that the entire sea area was ink-black. There were no marine creatures in the sea, but it also wasn’t attacked by the thunder bird, making it the safest area in the entire world. However, this area had long been ruled by the mysterious Ink Sea Lord, and not all forces could establish themselves in the Ink Sea.

At the edge of the Ink Sea, people were again attempting to sneak in. When they reached the boundary between the Ink Sea and the ocean, they discovered that ships simply couldn’t navigate in the Ink Sea. The terrifying resistance stopped all vessels. The Ink Sea water was very thick, almost like asphalt, but without asphalt’s stickiness.

On the smuggling boat, an old man jumped off. Contrary to everyone’s expectations, the old man didn’t sink but stood on the Ink Sea water.

“Thank you all. This old man is actually from the Ink Sea. Haha, I’ll be heading back now,” the old man waved to the large ship behind him, then walked on the Ink Sea as if treading on waves, no different from walking on land. His speed wasn’t fast, mainly because the buoyancy of the Ink Sea far exceeded that of ordinary sea surfaces. He wasn’t some expert; he had simply mastered the extremely strong buoyancy. He didn’t care if people snuck into the Ink Sea because the edge of the Ink Sea couldn’t sustain life. To truly live in the Ink Sea, one had to reside on the Ink Sea Star Ships in its depths.

“Is that old man a native of the Ink Sea?” Everyone suddenly realized that he wasn’t a smuggler like them. Seeing the old man’s actions, many people tried to imitate him. They jumped off the ship, but when they touched the Ink Sea, they fell over. They couldn’t swim, couldn’t stand, and certainly couldn’t walk freely like the old man.

“We’re doomed. I’m stuck here,” someone cried helplessly. He hadn’t mastered the technique of walking on the Ink Sea and could barely move. The Ink Sea was like constantly shaking ground, and not everyone could quickly adapt.

Their companions still on the smuggling ship threw down ropes, and these people climbed back up, feeling relieved but shaken.

The smuggling ship just stayed there, not knowing where to go. Continue inward? The ship couldn’t go in, and neither could the people. Go back? These people were trying to enter the heaven-like Ink Sea world because they couldn’t survive elsewhere. How could they be willing to go back? Many had spent all their family wealth, even selling their children to get here.

“Stop struggling. We smugglers can’t go in to live. Just settle for living on the ship,” a fishing boat nearby called out to them.

The people on the fishing boat were earlier smugglers who had adapted to living on ships at the edge of the Ink Sea. However, this kind of life wasn’t particularly good. The edge of the Ink Sea wasn’t completely safe from divine thunder. They just didn’t dare to admit it.

“What does it take to enter the Ink Sea and become an Ink Sea person?” someone on the smuggling ship shouted to the fishing boat.

“You want to become Ink Sea people? Look at yourselves. The Ink Sea Star Ships don’t usually take people, but there’s a good opportunity right now. The Ink Sea Lord has put out a bounty to capture the Star Sea Goddess. If you can catch her, you’ll get living quarters for a hundred people on the Star Sea Ark,” someone from the fishing boat replied, then laughed and left. They didn’t believe they had that ability.

“Star Sea Goddess? Who?” Many of the smugglers were from outside and had no idea what this meant.

Zhanyue was hiding under the smugglers’ ship at this moment, listening to their conversation and gaining a better understanding of the Ink Sea. He continued to swim deeper. The good thing was that he could use his water escape technique in the Ink Sea water, but the scary part was that his speed was greatly reduced. However, he was still much faster than others; most people couldn’t move in the Ink Sea water at all.

After swimming for a while longer, Zhanyue finally arrived at his destination – the location of the Ink Sea Star Ships.

When he saw the Ink Sea Star Ship, his jaw dropped. What a massive vessel it was, dozens of stories high. Although called a ship, its size was so enormous that Zhanyue was in awe. Even so-called aircraft carriers would be tiny in comparison.

Legend had it that hundreds of thousands of people lived on this star ship, essentially a huge city.

“So big?” Zhanyue felt a bit of a headache. If he appeared on it, he would probably be recognized immediately, given his current Ghost Shark Clan form and appearance were too distinctive. Fortunately, Baizhi had prepared a prop for his infiltration – a large white cloth. Zhanyue quickly made it into a temporary robe, covering his body shape and appearance. Compared to others, he was just a bit larger in size. This world had no monsters or other racial beings, so even if others found his attire strange, they wouldn’t think in that direction. His disguise seemed eye-catching but was actually quite effective, as no one could imagine that beneath the white robe was a non-human bloodline.

Zhanyue was the real smuggler, but his purpose wasn’t for a peaceful life. Although he couldn’t understand this world’s language, Baizhi in the mysterious space could.