Chapter 92.3: The Inkshadow
Blue Sea Safe City
A group of residents were so anxious they practically wanted to pace circles around the shipyard.
“Our God has asked us to find someone! Why aren’t the ships finished yet?!”
“Let me check whether my name’s on the departure list yet.”
“I’ve already signed up to work at the shipyard. Instead of relying on others, I’ll rely on myself! I’ll build my own ship with my own hands!”
Inside the shipyard, everyone’s hands were moving so fast they practically sparked with friction.
“Faster! Faster! Even faster!”
Many of the prisoners of war who had survived the initial screening and were burdened with War Debt had also been assigned to work in the shipyard.
Every one of them was working at full speed.
Yet despite the exhausting pace, not a single person complained.
“Sis, this is actually great. I heard the supervisor say that Blue Sea Safe City has strict inspection standards for ships. If a resident’s vessel doesn’t pass inspection, they’re not allowed to go outside and gather resources.”
The young laborer spoke in a low voice while continuing to work.
His hands had already developed such solid muscle memory that he could keep working while chatting.
The woman beside him nodded.
“I’ve never seen a Safe City that treats its residents this well.”
In most Safe Cities, residents existed primarily to venture outside in search of food and resources in exchange for earning the right to live within the city’s walls.
As for the outside world being too dangerous, or people’s ships being too unsafe…
Unless those conditions were severe enough to cause mass casualties, most Safe Cities simply didn’t care.
After all, if residents weren’t allowed to leave the city, the Safe City would have to consume enormous amounts of its own food reserves every single day.
From the city’s perspective, forcing people out to gather resources was the only sustainable long-term strategy.
The siblings had drifted from one Safe City to another over the years and had seen this happen countless times.
The world outside was full of danger. Residents lacked even the most basic protection. They would beg desperately not to be driven out…
…only to be forced beyond the city walls by the guards anyway.
The two of them had once been expelled under those very circumstances.
At the time, they had felt nothing but despair.
Yet neither of them had ever believed the Safe City’s policy was wrong.
After all, just because they lacked adequate protection, could they really expect to hide inside the Safe City forever, consuming resources without contributing anything?
But Blue Sea was completely different.
The government of Blue Sea Safe City refused to let its residents venture outside unless they had sufficient protection.
Instead…
It was the residents who were anxiously pacing about, desperate to get outside and gather resources.
The younger brother said, “They don’t just treat residents well. Even prisoners get first-class treatment.”
Seriously.
As long as they worked, they got enough to eat.
And not nutrient solution that shortened people’s lifespans, but real, natural food.
They didn’t even have to sleep in sl*ve barracks.
At night, they were assigned proper dormitories.
Dormitories with actual beds.
They were even allowed to use water.
Granted, they had to pay for it.
But they earned wages.
Prisoners…
…actually earning wages.
How unbelievable was that?
His sister reminded him, “Don’t call us sl*ves.”
“Haven’t you noticed? The people of Blue Sea don’t like that term. Right now, our status is prisoners of war. As long as we pay off our War Debt, we’ll become Outer City residents.”
Her hands continued working at high speed, but a look of longing gradually spread across her face.
“And once we become Outer City residents…
“…we’ll be able to move into the residential district.”
“Maybe someday…
“…we’ll even become full-fledged citizens of Blue Sea.”
The more she thought about it, the more energized the older sister became.
“Come on, let’s work faster. Tonight, let’s make sure we put in the full fifteen hours!”
Her younger brother nodded enthusiastically.
“Just thinking about how we’re prisoners of war and still get overtime pay for working extra hours makes me want to stay here forever. If I could, I’d never sleep and just keep working every day.”
Unfortunately, Blue Sea had regulations.
No one was allowed to work more than fifteen hours a day.
Otherwise, he honestly felt that one hour would be enough for sleeping and eating, and he’d happily spend the other twenty-three working.
Back when they had been sl*ves in other Safe Cities, they’d often survived on only three hours of sleep a day anyway.
The difference was…
There had been no wages.
No overtime pay.
The supervisor was making her rounds through the shipyard, inspecting the quality of everyone’s work.
The siblings immediately fell silent.
Although the shipyard had no rule forbidding conversation during work, they had spent more than ten years as sl*ves.
Their fear of “supervisors” had become instinct.
Now they simply kept their heads down and worked.
Fortunately…
Though their bodies still reacted with fear, their hearts were at ease.
The supervisors in Blue Sea didn’t like beating people.
Since the siblings had joined the shipyard, neither of them had ever been hit.
The supervisor stopped beside them and inspected their work.
The craftsmanship was good.
She nodded in satisfaction.
“Remember to rest. If you get tired, stop and take a break.”
The two hurriedly replied, “Y-Yes.”
One look at their expressions told the supervisor they hadn’t taken a single word to heart.
When this batch of prisoners of war had first been assigned to the shipyard, she’d wondered whether there would be any troublemakers and how she ought to deal with them if there were.
As it turned out…
She’d worried for nothing.
Most of these prisoners had previously been sl*ves.
After spending a few days in Blue Sea and learning that paying off their War Debt would allow them to remain as Outer City residents, they all threw themselves into their work with astonishing enthusiasm.
In fact, the rule limiting the workday to fifteen hours hadn’t even existed before they arrived.
It had only been introduced afterward.
Because if nobody stopped them…
They really might have worked twenty-three hours a day, leaving themselves only a single hour for sleeping.
And the most troublesome part was…
It wasn’t just the prisoners.
After seeing them working so frantically, Blue Sea’s own employees had started pulling excessive overtime as well.
The Dazzling Star people had originally been fairly laid-back.
But they were naturally inclined to follow the crowd.
Seeing everyone else working so hard, the Dazzling Star employees joined in as well.
Not to be outdone, the Velvet Star employees immediately followed suit.
As a result…
The entire shipyard started looking like some ruthless sweatshop that exploited its workers.
During a break, the Velvet Star supervisor was eating lunch in the office when she brought up the matter with another supervisor from Blue Sea.
The Blue Sea supervisor laughed.
“Hah. They’re not competing with each other.”
“They’re just hoping to finish the ships sooner so they can head out to sea themselves.”
The Velvet Star supervisor: “…”
When it came to Blue Sea residents…
That explanation somehow made perfect sense.
In any case, thanks to the shipyard workers frantically rushing production—and the efforts of countless temporary workers as well—new ships departed from Blue Sea every single day.
Aboard each one were Blue Sea residents wearing expressions of unrestrained excitement.
“Woohoo!!”
“We’re definitely going to be the first to find the Inkshadow!!”
…
“Isn’t that the Inkshadow?!”
Aboard the Rose—
Captain Su Ya raised a spyglass and looked toward a distant ship on the horizon.
It was a special spyglass she’d bought at great expense.
Not only could it see over incredible distances, but the image was exceptionally clear.
Before, Su Ya had thought she’d been too impulsive buying it.
But ever since the great Creator God’s divine oracle…
She felt it had been worth every penny.
Look!
Isn’t it paying off already?
The distant vessel had four decks, three masts carrying square sails…
…and a green skull painted across its hull.
It matched!
Every single detail matched!
Overjoyed, Su Ya was just about to order full speed ahead toward the ship when another vessel suddenly entered the spyglass’s field of view.
It, too, had four decks.
Three masts with square sails.
A green skull painted on its hull.
Su Ya: “…”
She turned to the vice president and first mate of the Rose, Zhu Jianglin.
“The Inkshadow mentioned in the divine oracle…”
“Was there supposed to be one of them…”
“…or two?”
Zhu Jianglin blinked.
“One, of course. Why?”
“Come take a look.”
Su Ya handed him the spyglass.
Zhu Jianglin raised it to his eyes.
A moment later, he frowned in confusion.
“How are there four ships that match the Inkshadow’s description?”
“Four?”
Su Ya blinked.
She took the spyglass back and looked again.
By now, the number of ships sharing the same characteristics had already climbed to seven.
She lowered the spyglass.
There was no point looking anymore.
If she kept watching, there would probably be a dozen of them next.
“Whatever.”
“As long as they have the same features as the Inkshadow, then even if they aren’t the Inkshadow itself, they’re bound to have something to do with it.”
She shoved the spyglass back into Zhu Jianglin’s hands.
“After them!”
Zhu Jianglin hesitated.
“Those ships have cannons. They’re very likely pirate ships.”
“I think we should play it safe. If they blow our ship apart, we’ll end up drifting on a plank and have to figure out how to build another ship from scratch.”
Su Ya considered that.
Drifting on a plank wasn’t really a problem.
Blue Sea residents had exceptional balance, and the buoyancy of these seas was strangely strong. As long as a person had something to stand on, they could stay afloat.
Even if all they had was a wooden board barely ten centimeters across, the crew of the Rose could stand steadily on it.
If this had been something she wanted to do for herself…
She would have charged in without hesitation.
After all, if you weren’t willing to risk your ship, how could you capture an even bigger one?
But this wasn’t about her.
It was a divine oracle from the great Creator God.
Su Ya might usually be impulsive, but whenever it involved the great Creator God, she always chose the cautious approach.
Fulfilling the divine oracle came first.
“Then let’s do this.”
“We’ll trail them from a distance. Keep far enough back that they don’t realize they’re being followed.”
She glanced down at her watch.
“It’s 10:40 Blue Sea Time.”
“We’ll call for reinforcements at noon.”
Every day, Cheng Anjing’s Mind Domain opened for two hours.
At exactly twelve o’clock each day, she invited every Blue Sea resident within a radius of ten thousand square kilometers into the group chat.
The timing wasn’t random.
Noon was everyone’s lunch break.
It was the perfect opportunity to eat, chat, and exchange information all at the same time.
The Rose and the Little Blue Sea had set sail at roughly the same time.
Although they’d encountered several shifts in the sea regions along the way, when Su Ya received yesterday’s notification from the Mind Domain group chat, she knew the two ships were once again within ten thousand square kilometers of each other.
Zhu Jianglin observed, “They’re moving unusually fast. This doesn’t look like normal sailing.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Feed in more energy. As long as they don’t shake us off before noon, that’s enough.”
Watching the second hand creep slowly across her watch, Su Ya kept her eyes fixed on the stretch of sea where those ships had disappeared.
Her gaze was filled with determination.
“I’m going to offer this ship to Our God.”
…
Blue Sea Time — 12:00
As usual, Blue Sea residents within a ten-thousand-square-kilometer radius entered the group chat inside the Mind Domain.
Some joined.
Others didn’t.
Su Ya joined.
Then Su Ya started talking.
The next moment…
People who were cooking.
People who were eating.
People fighting sea monsters.
People being fought by sea monsters.
People chasing fleeing pirate ships.
People being chased by pirate ships.
…all paused what they were doing.
Cheng Anjing, who was controlling the Mind Domain, slowly opened her eyes.
This was effectively her first real operation.
She couldn’t suppress the excitement in her voice.
She established a private connection with Su Ya.
“Please relax your mind and guide me to your location.”
“I’ll take command.”
The next instant, every Blue Sea resident within the Mind Domain’s range—even those who hadn’t entered the group chat—heard a voice echo in their minds.
—Mind Domain Commander online.
…
Yuan Moshu was…
…running away.
Again.
And again.
And again.
This was how things had happened.
Once upon a time, Yuan Moshu had been an utterly ordinary captain.
He had an utterly ordinary little ship.
An utterly ordinary crew of a dozen or so sailors.
And an utterly ordinary life.
Then one day…
The infamous Green Skulls pirate gang set their sights on him.
Yuan Moshu fled desperately.
More than a dozen pirate ships gave chase.
During the pursuit, the sea underwent one of its sudden shifts.
Yuan Moshu’s ship and a single Green Skulls pirate vessel were separated from the rest and transported into a different stretch of ocean.
Back then, Yuan Moshu looked at himself…
…then at his dozen-odd crew members…
…and finally at the enormous pirate ship before them.
A bold idea suddenly came to mind.
After a series of hair-raising maneuvers, he actually pulled it off.
He seized that fully equipped, thirty-meter-long pirate ship for himself.
From that day onward, Captain Yuan truly became a captain.
He recruited more crew members, and life gradually became much easier.
However…
The ship, which he renamed the Inkshadow, still bore the Green Skulls’ emblem.
The pirate gang had painted the green skull onto the hull using some kind of unknown pigment.
Yuan Moshu couldn’t cover it with ordinary paint.
Nor could he scrape it off.
The first time he encountered another Green Skulls pirate ship afterward, he managed to escape because they didn’t yet realize he’d stolen one of their vessels.
But pirates weren’t fools.
They quickly figured out what had happened.
From then on, every time Yuan Moshu ran into a Green Skulls ship, he had to flee for his life.
Over the past ten years…
He had encountered the Green Skulls seven separate times.
Fortunately, he’d once stumbled across a miraculous engine.
It gave the Inkshadow incredible speed.
Although the Green Skulls pirate fleet was massive, with more than a dozen large ships…
Green Billow Star’s oceans were even larger.
A mere dozen ships simply couldn’t seal off every possible escape route.
As long as Yuan Moshu could keep maneuvering for a few hours, he’d eventually slip away.
Today…
…was no different.
Pushing the Inkshadow to maximum speed, Yuan Moshu watched the dozen or so Green Skulls pirate ships attempting to surround him from the front, rear, left, and right.
His mood remained remarkably calm.
After all…
Anyone who had survived the exact same situation seven times would find it difficult to get worked up when facing it for the eighth.
The first mate kept watch over the battlefield.
“Captain, there’s an opening on the left!”
“…No, the right!”
“Hard to starboard! Dodge the cannon fire!”
She was just as composed.
After all, Yuan Moshu had been a captain for several years…
…and she’d spent those same years serving as his first mate.
She was long since used to this routine.
She even found time to count how many ships the Green Skulls pirate fleet had brought this time.
“Fifteen… eighteen…”
“Whoa. The Green Skulls have grown quite a bit over the past three years. They only had thirteen ships back then. Now they’re up to eighteen.”
While directing the crew as they maneuvered the ship, Yuan Moshu spoke with complete confidence.
“Don’t worry. Forget eighteen ships—even if there were twenty-eight of them, we’d still break through.”
As captain, he needed to say things like that.
Quite a few of the newer crew members had never experienced a chase like this before.
He had to project confidence so they could stay calm.
Sure enough, after hearing him speak so confidently, the expressions of several nervous sailors visibly relaxed.
The first mate chimed in with a grin.
“Twenty-eight? We’d get out even if there were thirty-eight.”
“Exactly!”
Yuan Moshu laughed heartily.
“If the Green Skulls ever grow big enough to block me with several hundred ships, then sure, we probably wouldn’t escape.”
“But at the rate they’re going—only five more ships in three years—we’ll probably have to wait another hundred years before that ever happens. Hahaha… ha… ha…?”
His laughter abruptly caught in his throat.
The first mate froze as well.
“…Why are there so many ships?”
Yuan Moshu stared blankly ahead.
His heartbeat, which had remained steady all this time, suddenly began pounding.
Across the vast ocean…
Ships were appearing from every direction.
Hundreds of them.
No…
They were still increasing in number.
There might even be thousands.
The sight was more terrifying than the appearance of a giant sea monster.
At least seventy percent of those vessels carried enormous cannons.
And those cannons looked far more powerful than the artillery mounted on the Green Skulls’ pirate ships.
Yuan Moshu’s face slowly stiffened.
“They’re…”
“…surrounding us.”
The thousands of ships moved with unmistakable purpose.
Their coordination was flawless, as though every single vessel were taking orders from one and the same commander.
They drew closer and closer, rapidly sealing off every escape route across the surrounding waters.
Then the encirclement continued to tighten.
The Inkshadow…
…and all eighteen Green Skulls pirate ships…
…were trapped together inside the shrinking ring.
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