Player Reload

"He said, what’s a little pain in the wind and rain~"

On a three-masted ship made of oak, with the Ocean Goddess ram installed at the bow, Li Cheng hummed a tune while holding a hamburger, following a tutorial from a video site to reel in the ropes, release the anchor chain, and raise the sails.

Fiery Flame Bay stretches vast, running 200 kilometers north to south, and is 7 to 20 kilometers wide.

Dozens of tributaries from the Forest flow into the ocean, delivering large amounts of freshwater, sediment, and nutrients, nurturing a plethora of fish, shrimps, and crabs, as well as massive creatures the size of whales.

Unlike the slum, Fiery Flame Bay doesn’t have a lighting system overhead; the bright sea surface is due to intricate fissures beneath the waves that occasionally spew hydrocarbon gases, forming cold columns of fire underwater.

Thousands of various types of vessels float on the sea, from dugout canoes carved from logs, to pirate sailboats, and steam ironclads—all kinds are present.

Even though the origins of these ships are unknown, their common trait is virtualization, enabling easy passage through insurmountable killing field terrain, hence having high strategic value.

Almost all exploration teams set sail from here.

The home port of these ships is a series of five isolated island peaks scattered across the bay, constructed from countless abandoned ships—also the headquarters of the FBI, Aladdin’s Eagle, among other guild bases.

"Thank you for using the rental service of ’Fiery Flame Bay Vessel Group Ltd.’ The IMO number of your rented vessel is ASKXXXXXXX, and the NMSI maritime mobile service identity code is 519XXXXX0..."

A seagull-like creature wearing a tricorn hat and a tie perched on the deck railing, holding a tablet with its right wing, loudly reciting the user instructions.

The scientific name for this creature is ’Bay Long-tailed Silver Seagull,’ native to Fiery Flame Bay, with average intelligence akin to a 9-year-old child.

Even before human players appeared, they inhabited this region, using tools, having their language, and forming a rudimentary class society.

Initially, guilds learned the true usage of ships from the Bay Seagulls.

Thanks to the positive initial interactions, multiple guilds helped the Bay Seagull population establish apartment-style bird nests, hospitals, and bars, eventually employing them collectively to assist in managing bay vessels.

Hmm... though human players have encountered various intelligent species in the killing field entities, none received as favorable treatment as the Silver Seagulls.

Besides the peaceable nature and affinity toward humans of the Seagulls as the locals of Fiery Flame Bay, another reason is... they’re birds.

Birdwatching globally, especially in Europe and America, is regarded as a high-class, elegant, professional, and pricey hobby.

Long-focus lenses, premium cameras, hiking gear, camouflaged tents, thermal imaging devices, modified vehicles... every part requires spending.

Some players, under immense mental strain, unwilling to indulge in nightclub Drunken Life and Dream Death, and quite wealthy, turned to hobbies like gardening, birdwatching, golf, and fishing.

Among them are birdwatchers who have risen to upper levels within various guilds, thereby influencing the friendly attitude towards Bay Seagull civilization.

In contrast, other highly intelligent but unattractive species, like Pigmen and Mudmen, are mercilessly driven away or even exterminated.

Only left to lament that one’s looks decide their fate.

"...Your rental period is 14 days, please return the ship within the stipulated time."

Having finished, the Silver Seagull placed the tablet back into a small backpack behind it, continuing to perch on the deck railing, showing no intention of flying away.

What does it mean?

Li Cheng hesitated briefly, then tentatively took out some slum currency and handed it over.

"?? Why are you humans so clueless?"

The seagull anthropomorphically rolled its eyes, flapping its wings to land on the deck, picking up a whole box of fries from the hamburger meal before flying away.

"Holy cow, it even took the ketchup!"

Li Cheng stared in shock, resigning to tossing the remaining hamburger into the sea, standing at the bow, turning the steering wheel.

Whoosh—

In the next instant, nearly a thousand tons of a three-masted ship, moving with a speed not remotely matching the original sail power, flexibly turned and glided close to the water,

until the sails fully unfolded, the hull suddenly trembled, lifting off the surface and passing through solid rock layers virtually.

Compared to Reyes from the Jalisco Crime Group in Mexico, who ordered a magic ship from the Witch Alliance guild,

Fiery Flame Bay’s three-masted ship was evidently far more advanced, sailing exceptionally smoothly, equipped with navigation function, sailing to any inputted coordinates on its own,

as for energy, the ship Li Cheng rented was a high-end one, not requiring manual rowing like dugout canoes,

the combustion furnace in the lower cabin accepts everything, five baskets of magic crystal with heat equivalent to 7000 tons of heavy oil, suffice to travel a hundred thousand kilometers.

Li Cheng stood at the bow for a while taking in the scenery, leaving the bay and running two hundred kilometers; he saw no traces of human development, only occasionally laid signal base stations.

Bored, he opened the player panel to clear some messages.

"Hi, Mr. Pi Fu, I’m Reyes. Thanks for the last guided flight. Our guild leader, Blackbeard, thinks highly of you, wants to invite you for a meal, and discuss some potential cooperation. Interested..."

Ignore.

Li Cheng casually hit the close button, the Jalisco Crime Group sounded quite intimidating,

rampages in Mexico, establishing assassin training camps, purchasing armored vehicles, mortars, and even anti-tank rocket launchers from international arms markets, engaging in firefights against the Mexican military,