The Nightmare Star welcomed its first expansion—a Witch's Laboratory.
Once the construction was confirmed, a blue light spread across the ship's body, followed by the system's notification:
[Witch's Laboratory construction completed. Please check inside the ship.]
Lucas Hall and Seraphina entered the cabin from the stern and found a new room.
The room was spacious, occupying nearly half of the cabin. The floor was clean and made of smooth black stone, unlike rotting, moldy wood. It felt solid underfoot.
The room was mostly empty, with just two large metal tables that seemed self-illuminating, though Lucas couldn't see any lamps.
Rows of cold metal shelves lined the walls, holding many empty glass containers.
"There's nothing here…" Lucas grumbled, feeling the materials used weren't worth it.
But Seraphina's face lit up with excitement. She was the only one who knew what this room could do and how to use it.
Her journal contained an extra page compared to normal players—a Mysticism Interface.
She could use sea shell coins to buy laboratory equipment and conduct mystical research.
The Witch's Laboratory information read as follows:
[Witch's Laboratory: A special building that only witches who seek forbidden knowledge can construct.
Inside the lab, energy consumption is reduced by 50%, sanity loss by 25%, and samples from Eldritch creatures will not rot.
Displayed samples will enhance the witch's inspiration. Current sample count: 0, Inspiration rate: 0%.
Note: Mystical research carries risks, including but not limited to sanity reduction.]
After reading the information, Seraphina immediately took Eldritch creature remains from her bag and placed them in the glass containers on the shelves.
The previously decaying remains gradually revived, as if freshly harvested.
It was a rather sanity-draining sight.
[Your sanity has decreased by 2.]
Lucas frowned.
He decided he should stay away from the lab as much as possible!
The corpse of the twin-horned devil shark, which should have been covered, was also retrieved, divided into three large pieces for dissection.
Additionally, there was a dried 30-centimeter merman specimen.
It was Lucas's first time seeing this creature, though it felt familiar.
Seraphina must have killed a merman before meeting him.
The three items brought the laboratory's sample count to 3, increasing the inspiration rate by 3%.
"I need a lot of sea shell coins. I don't have any money!" Seraphina held out her hand to Lucas, looking like a researcher begging for funding.
Lucas became the unfortunate financier.
"What do you need all those sea shell coins for?"
"I need to buy laboratory equipment." Seraphina explained.
"Huh? Even lab equipment costs money?"
Lucas suddenly realized this laboratory was likely a massive money pit—one that could never be filled.
But the materials had already been used, and giving up would mean a huge sunk cost.
Reluctantly, Lucas transferred 1,000 sea shell coins to Seraphina.
That was already a "fortune!" After giving her the coins, Lucas only had 1,050 left!
Seraphina seemed unsatisfied but said nothing and began dissecting the devil shark with a convenient scalpel.
Lucas quickly escaped to the deck, avoiding another plea for money.
Besides, he didn't want to stay in the lab—he felt he could end up as another sample.
"Prioritize researching stamina recovery potions and healing potions, preferably without using vitality coconuts as ingredients. They're hard to find."
He sent Seraphina a private message, then began planning his next steps.
To enter the Arctic Sea, he needed sufficient cold-weather supplies.
Beyond winter clothing, fire was essential.
Fire could provide hot water, cooked food, warmth, and light in the freezing cold—a lifesaver.
Next, he needed to stockpile enough supplies, particularly non-perishable food and fresh water.
Food would undoubtedly be scarce in the icy wilderness.
Finally… it would be best to upgrade the ship to level 3 and build cannons.
But the materials needed for a level 3 ship were enormous, so Lucas placed this last on the priority list.
According to the world channel, a normal ship needed:
Wood: 500 | Fabric: 300 | Stone: 100 | Steel: 20
Meanwhile, the Nightmare Star needed:
Wood: 1,200 | Fabric: 500 | Stone: 300 | Steel: 50 | Crystal: 100 | 10 Eldritch creature corpses.
The large amount of materials was daunting, and Lucas had no leads on the ten Eldritch corpses—he could only rely on luck.
Following his plan, Lucas opened the chat channel and browsed for fire-starting tools.
To his surprise, there was indeed one for sale:
"Selling lighter. Message me for price."
[Name: Long-Life Lighter]
[Type: Tool]
[Quality: Fine]
[Description: An ultra-durable lighter—the best choice for arson. Never worry about it running out of fuel in your lifetime!]
Lucas immediately messaged the seller.
"How much for the lighter?"
"You're too late. I sold it already. The one I have, I need to keep for myself."
Lucas was disappointed.
He realized that others had likely thought of the same thing…
Everyone was scrambling for fire-starting tools, leading to a supply shortage!
Just as he was fretting, Lucas noticed a commotion on the world channel with constant new messages.
He quickly scrolled to the latest updates and saw a recruitment notice.
"I'm Shawn Campbell, captain of the Hope and leader of the New World Fleet.
We already have over ten like-minded captains, including the Farmer and Ironhead, which are special ships.
Our New World Fleet has no membership requirements—anyone can join. However, those who join must unlock ship boarding access, disarm, follow orders, and turn in all supplies for redistribution!
In return, your safety is guaranteed! We have guards for battle, fishermen for catching fish, farmers for growing crops… and more roles will follow. Together, we will rebuild human civilization!
I, Shawn Campbell, guarantee that as long as I have food, you won't starve or freeze!"
"Those willing to join, come to coordinates X: 38201, Y: 53182.
Remember to disarm and unlock boarding access, or you will be attacked!"
"Our New World Fleet will stay here for half a month."
These words were clearly pre-prepared and sent all at once, causing a significant stir.
Most people saw it as a trap.
"Disarm and hand over all supplies? We'd be sitting ducks!"
"Why should we trust you?"
"Only fools would go!"
Criticism poured in, but Shawn Campbell didn't respond.
He only needed a few people to come.
Even if only 100 people joined, the New World Fleet would grow tremendously.
The Hope was an impressive name—but was it a special ship?
Lucas had a way to find out.
He rushed to the Nightmare Star's atrium and picked up a small crystal ball.
After merging, the small crystal ball became two, placed next to the large crystal ball. Both Lucas and Seraphina could check the sea chart at any time.
[Activate Peering: Searching… Hope, Shawn Campbell.]
The crystal ball soon displayed the Hope's image.
Shawn Campbell never imagined that someone could spy on him with a skill.