```
—— System Prompt: You have maliciously killed a player of the same faction, Blood Sea Wave, losing 60 reputation points! You have become a red name!
—— Newbie Tips: Red names can be cleared by confessing at the church, donating to officials, or contributing reputation points. Red names with significantly reduced reputation find it difficult to enter cities. Players, please cherish your reputation.
—— System Prompt: You have reached level 10 and are eligible for class change. Please apply for a class change at the Skill Tutor. Human players can change classes to either the Knight or Priest hero professions. After changing classes, you will receive one free attribute point and one system-assigned attribute point for each level up. The Knight profession automatically gets Defense, while the Priest profession gets Knowledge.
—— System Prompt: You have completed 8/10 of the achievement "Lonely Hero 10 Consecutive Victories".
.......
Having no time to deal with a barrage of system messages, Da Fei immediately manned the crossbow cannon to kill the small zombies. Blood Sea Wave had delayed him for so long that the crossbow cannon only had over thirty health points left, utterly infuriating. Even more infuriating was that this jerk got me red-named! Although back in the day I prided myself on being red-named as a common occurrence, things are different now, okay? I'm a professional player now; I want to be a law-abiding businessman and earn loads of money!
Looking at the perilously weak crossbow cannon, then at the 1 skill point I received from leveling up, Da Fei was incredibly torn inside—should he upgrade War Machine Science? Dammit, there's no hope left for the crossbow cannon in its current state, is there? Better save the skill point and see what happens later.
But it wasn't all bad news. The biggest gain this time was testing out the poison effects of the Demonized Anemone King, a reduction in all attributes plus the crucial action disruption—such sly and peculiar effects! From the confrontation just now, this disruption saved me from one hit; he only struck four times! That's equivalent to a 25% damage reduction! And it also allowed me to shoot once more, which is a 25% damage increase! Just one enchantment having this effect is incredible—is there a catch? At the very least, it doesn't work on anemones or the undead.
And considering the many tentacles of the toxic anemone, once a prey is touched, that would be a barrage of relentless attacks, immobilizing and eventually tormenting them to death, right? So is it that one must not touch the anemone at all? Doesn't that make it an invincible plant monster in close combat? If that's the case, wouldn't that make the Soldier Source Base of the anemone immensely valuable?
Haha! Brother, I really struck gold! Thinking this way, Da Fei instantly felt much happier.
When the last zombie fell, the crossbow cannon had only 8 health points left!
Da Fei immediately dismantled the crossbow cannon and packed it away—who knows if that guy will recover and come back for revenge?
Wait! Can't dismantle it! It takes 10 minutes to dismantle the crossbow cannon, and he recovers from weakness in 10 minutes. After fighting zombies for so long, what if he comes back for revenge right after recover, and I happen to be in the middle of dismantling the cannon? Wouldn't that be a huge disadvantage?
This guy acts just like me back in the day. If I were him, I would definitely seek revenge. After all, the only reason I won just now was thanks to leveling up and regaining health—I can't level up anytime I want, can I?
So, to be safe, Da Fei pushed the crossbow cannon into the cargo hold and then turned to face the staircase entrance.
Come on, I'm waiting for you!
Minutes ticked by slowly, and around ten minutes later, there came a harried pitter-patter of footsteps from above! Oh yeah! You couldn't have chosen a better time! Running here just as the weakness wore off, right? This timing, so precise—I definitely didn't misjudge you!
With a thud, Blood Sea Wave, brimming with murderous intent, jumped down the staircase entrance.
Da Fei, who had been ready for a while, laughed: "Hello! Goodbye!"
—— Boom! The crossbow cannon fired twice, and Blood Sea Wave cursed before turning into a white light and vanishing again!
—— System Prompt: You have maliciously killed a player of the same faction, Blood Sea Wave, losing 50 reputation points!
Damn! You made me lose reputation again, how ruthless! Eh? Wasn't it 60 points just now? Does that mean he got demoted when he died? Well, isn't that just great? Hahaha!
As for now, it's time to dismantle the cannon.
.......
In a luxurious bedroom, Blood Sea Wave, in a fit of anger, took off his helmet and violently smashed it: "Fuck!"
Smashing his helmet wasn't enough to vent his frustration, so Blood Sea Wave kicked and overturned several pieces of furniture! Then, he took out his phone, started dialing, thought for a moment, and put the phone down again. This was online gaming, not finding someone to fight in the same city—what good would a phone call do? Moreover, it was only the first day, and his buddies were still buying accounts. How could he tell them he got played already? Wouldn't that be making a joke for the bros?
In any case, he had to take this matter into his own hands. As long as he got his hands on that Magic Book, no poison arrow could scare him—not even the crossbow cannon! Although, it was a big problem that the cannon couldn't be placed in the first-floor cabin—still, the cabin was his turf!
Endure! Level up and kill the BOSS! Later, when we set up the studio, we'll hunt him across the entire server!
.......
Da Fei finished dismantling the crossbow cannon, feeling completely relieved. There should be one last floor on this ship, let's go down and have a look.
```
Da Fei arrived at the staircase at the end of the cargo hold, only to see rippling water below!
No way? Water's getting in? So the ship really did have a hole and is sinking? Then what am I even hoping for?
Ah, wait a sec, there were spare materials and tools on the upper level, and I even got a tool axe from slaying the zombie boss. This is clearly hinting at a ship-repairing rhythm! I'll wait for the tide to go out tonight and see. If it's low tide, the water in the bilge should recede too, right?
As for now, of course, it's time to check out the upper-level cabins since I got 6 room keys from killing the boss! Those zombies that functioned as bosses must've been some sort of powerful officers when they were alive, right? Who knows what treasures might be in their rooms! Wahahaha!
Sneaking back to the top-level cabins, Da Fei could faintly hear chopping noises from the deck outside. Oh, someone's grinding levels in shame after knowing disgrace? Just like me back in the days, haha!
Da Fei started at the first room by the staircase, trying keys one by one, then, clack, the cabin door opened, and a musty smell of dust hit him in the face. No stench of decay – that's good. He quietly entered the room.
The room wasn't large, only seven or eight square meters. There wasn't much in it, a single bed, a desk, a chair under the desk, shelves for books and other items on the wall, and a wardrobe. Compact and minimalistic, truly capturing the essence of a ship's cabin.
Da Fei couldn't wait to search the bookshelf, and a golden book suddenly caught his eye! His heart skipped a beat!
— System Prompt: You've obtained a Defense Skill Book. You can learn Basic Defense Skill by spending one Skill Point.
— Defense Skill: Reduces damage taken by the hero and the hero's units. Each level reduces 10% of damage.
Just as expected! I knew it. Although this Newbie Village doesn't have any tutors or NPCs, there are Skill Books! Since this room has a Skill Book, the next room must surely have one too, right? Now that I have the skills, the newbie equipment rewards should be there as well, right? Da Fei started rifling through every nook and cranny for equipment. I refuse to believe that such a high-ranking officer doesn't have any equipment!
Ship's log, oil lamp, cup, fountain pen, poetry and novels, harmonica – crap! This zombie was a literary youth!
Oh! Found something!
— Sailor Captain's Ceremonial Uniform: Sailors only wear this uniform for official inspections. Formality: 80, Disguise Level: 50. Durability 96/100.
— Formality: The degree of solemnity of one's dress. If Formality is too low, you cannot interact with certain NPCs or enter official residences and the Royal Palace.
— Disguise Level: It can cover up some of your shortcomings. Even if you are a rough sailor, wearing it will make you appear slightly more cultured.
Da Fei was dumbfounded for a moment. Is that all? Not a single point of Defense? Damn it! This isn't what I want right now, I want a piece of armor that beefs up my Defense! Didn't the sailor who practices Defense Skill have a spare suit of steel armor or something?
After searching for a long time, Da Fei didn't find anything else. I suppose sailors wouldn't wear steel armor, if they got knocked into the sea wearing that, they'd be done for. Leather armor deteriorates quickly in the sea, so that's no good either. If even ordinary equipment is this hard to come by, then strategic treasures are even less likely. Well, it's not worth it, let's check the other rooms.
Da Fei stepped out of the room and gently locked it behind him. Then, he sneaked into the other rooms.
After searching for a game day, the results were in. Besides getting a bunch of annoying uniforms for everyone, everything else was as Da Fei expected. Each room respectively had: Attack Skill Book, Logistic Skill Book, Leadership Skill Book, Luck Skill Book, Arrow Skill Book!
All combat and adventure skills were accounted for! Including Makar's room, which I didn't visit, I bet Magic Skills like Light Magic, Destruction Magic, and Arcane Magic couldn't escape either. Basically, all the skills a newbie could learn in a Newbie Village can be found here! At the end of the day, there isn't much difference between here and a typical Newbie Village, except for the lack of job change; everything a newbie should learn will likely be made learnable.
Da Fei helplessly looked at the bundle of Skill Books he was holding; he no longer felt the initial excitement he had when he first discovered the Reconnaissance Skill.
Back when skills were scarce, he craved for books, but now that I've got all the books, it's become a headache. What's the use of having so many books? Every player wants to learn all the skills, but you need Skill Points to do so! Here, you have to struggle to kill bosses to learn a skill, whereas ordinary newbies can simply talk to a tutor! This is like having no gains at all! Could it be that the key lies in the captains' ship logs, filled with all sorts of strange skills? Stop torturing me! At least I still have notable names like Sailing Captain Juan and Artillery Commander Grunt. I don't believe for a second that those nameless low-tier bosses I killed will have any research projects.
Wait a minute! Where's the Captain's room?
These ordinary officers didn't have any equipment or treasures, but the Captain, being the ultimate boss, must have some right? Where is the Captain's room? In the upper deck's pilothouse? But the Captain's room is very special; it's the shipowner's private domain, equivalent to the real estate that players buy in the game, which no one can enter without the owner's permission. Even if you sink the ship or break down the house, you wouldn't be able to get in. This is the sanctity of private property.
By now, night had slowly fallen, and the tide receded once again. Better head down to the lowest level of the cargo hold first.
Da Fei turned back to the lowest level, and indeed, the lapping waves of the day were no longer there, with a pungent smell of seawater hitting him in the face. What could be down there? If there's a boss, what could I even do with my meager 8 hit points Crossbow Cannon? But, since it's all water underneath, according to normal game setting logic, the monsters down there are probably Sea Monsters, right?
No matter, come hell or high water. Da Fei took a deep breath and went into Stealth mode as he entered.
As soon as he entered the bilge, the darkness was pierced by countless flickering red lights, and Da Fei was abruptly taken aback. Could this be... old buddy, Anemone bro!