Originally, according to his plan, Su Qingyue—that once aloof campus belle—still needed some more tempering. He had to make her fully understand who was truly in charge on this vessel. Only by letting her feel a genuine survival crisis would she willingly offer everything to stay alive.
But now, the situation had changed.
The appearance of Shen Manyun and the other two women had broken the pattern of this sea area having only their ship. This was a variable.
If he continued to apply high pressure on Su Qingyue, there was no guarantee that this emotionally fragile woman, in her despair, wouldn’t choose to defect to the other ship.
Even though those three were currently struggling to ensure their own survival, people in extreme panic often seek comfort in numbers rather than rational analysis.
If Su Qingyue ran away, he would not only lose a potentially powerful Ice-type control, but more importantly, the opposing side’s strength would increase.
"Times have changed," Lin Ji thought to himself.
Dealing with Shen Manyun and her group required a strategy of wearing them down, meant to crush their psychological defenses. But for Su Qingyue, who was already on board, what was needed now was consolidation.
He had to make her realize that while staying by his side was dangerous, leaving him meant certain death.
With this in mind, Lin Ji stopped concerning himself with the thoughts of the two women. With a thought, he opened the [Navigation Manual] interface.
As the manual opened, a virtual Chat Channel emitting an eerie blue light came into view. The moment it opened, countless messages refreshed like a waterfall, a dizzying stream of information.
[World Channel]
"Help! Does anyone have food? I’ll trade anything! I’m starving!"
"Is there any big shot nearby? Coordinates (632,119), looking to team up! I can warm the bed!"
"Damn, a fish almost capsized my raft just now! What the hell is this place!"
More eye-catching to Lin Ji than these meaningless pleas and complaints were the clearly organized recruitment ads mixed among them.
"[Sea God Guild] sincerely recruits all elites! Join and receive fresh water and food! We have three senior survival experts and possess two Level 3 vessels! Come quickly if you want to live!"
"[Iron Blood Brotherhood] recruiting! Only Combat-type talents! No weaklings! We only want the strong!"
What made Lin Ji’s pupils slightly contract was a recruitment message displayed in bold Red font. The poster’s ID prefix bore a crest symbolizing the Eagle Nation.
"[Wings of Freedom] widely recruiting heroes of the world! Our guild leader has successfully upgraded the vehicle to a Level 4 micro-warship! And has awakened an SSS-grade mythical talent! Join us, and we will rebuild the order of the new world! The weak, begone! Only the elite are qualified to board Noah’s Ark!"
A Level 4 vehicle? An SSS-grade talent?
Lin Ji looked at this message, his fingers unconsciously rubbing his chin.
He wasn’t sure if this information was true or false.
In this unverifiable virtual channel, boasting cost nothing.
But there was also a possibility that it was real.
If there truly existed someone in this world who possessed such terrifying strength on the very first day, it could only mean one thing—there is strength in numbers.
These organizations, which already wielded immense influence and extensive networks in the old world.
Once they pooled the initial resources from the survivors, their development speed would undoubtedly multiply exponentially.
In comparison, he, a lone wolf who had relied on the system and cunning to get this far, had already fallen behind in terms of total resources.
A sense of urgency surged within him.
"But I don’t need to establish those bloated guilds."
Lin Ji quickly calmed down, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
Those large organizations with hundreds or even thousands of members were inevitably plagued by uneven quality, chaotic management, and internal power struggles.
The path he intended to take was one of elite specialization.
He only needed to gather talents with top-tier potential like Gu Yihan, Su Qingyue, and the three women outside, nurturing them into Divine Attendants absolutely loyal to him.
Quality, not quantity, is what matters in soldiers.
But this, too, required strategy.
Relying on so-called kindness and enthusiasm to win over these once-unattainable flowers was nothing but a fool’s dream.
Only through intimidation by strength, binding interests, and a touch of manipulative imperial tactics could he truly make them submit.
Just as Lin Ji was contemplating his future development path, the last trace of daylight outside vanished completely.
Night had fallen.
This was not the kind of night found in cities, shimmering with neon lights, but a pure, pitch-black darkness where one could not see their own hand in front of their face.
The entire world seemed to have shrunk to nothing but the drifting wooden plank beneath their feet.
Suddenly.
"Woo—"
An extremely strange, low howl echoed from the distant horizon of the sea.
The sound was unlike any known creature—hollow, drawn-out, and carrying a bone-chilling tremolo, as if whispered by starving ghosts from the depths of hell.
Then came a second, a third...
One after another, eerie howls began to reverberate across the vast, empty sea, growing closer and more frequent.
Gu Yihan and Su Qingyue, who had only been somewhat nervous before, instantly turned deathly pale.
The malice and hunger in the sound seemed almost tangible, threatening to pierce their eardrums.
Driven by instinctive fear, the two women simultaneously moved closer to the only man on the boat—Lin Ji.
Gu Yihan’s knuckles turned white as she gripped her hunting bow, while Su Qingyue trembled uncontrollably.
Lin Ji abruptly opened his eyes and closed the Navigation Manual.
He stood up, walked to the entrance of the boat’s shelter, and gazed intently into the pitch-black sea outside.
The true face of this Endless Sea was beginning to reveal its ferocious side to them.
"It seems tonight is destined to be a sleepless one."
"The game is truly about to begin!"
Lin Ji’s voice sounded particularly cold and hard in the darkness, yet it became the only anchor for the two women at that moment.
He turned his head and looked at Su Qingyue in the corner.
"Stop trembling."
Lin Ji’s tone held no warmth, as if he were issuing an order.
"The temperature drops quickly at night, which is good for you."
"Su Qingyue, don’t waste time. Starting now, use your maximum efficiency to produce Ice Arrows. At this temperature, the Ice Arrows you create should last longer."
"If you don’t want to die tonight, get moving."
Su Qingyue stiffened abruptly, jolted by his icy words.
She bit her lip, nodded while suppressing her fear, and extended trembling hands to begin crafting Ice Arrows.
...
Meanwhile, on another raft not far from Lin Ji’s sailboat.
The atmosphere of fear was even thicker here than on the other side.
When that first eerie howl echoed, Bai Taotao reacted like a startled little rabbit.
With a cry, she threw herself into Shen Manyun’s embrace, burying her head deep into Shen Manyun’s soft chest, trembling all over.
"Sister Manyun... what is that sound? There’s a monster... there really is a monster!"
Tang Ling, though gripping the Mechanical Crossbow tightly in her hands, struggled to maintain her proud, haughty young lady demeanor.
But her slightly trembling legs and bloodless lips betrayed the terror in her heart.
"What... what on earth is making that sound?"
Tang Ling’s voice was dry as she forced herself to speak calmly.
"Why does it sound so creepy?"
Shen Manyun held Bai Taotao tightly in her arms, while her other hand instinctively pushed up the glasses on the bridge of her nose.
Her gaze traveled over the pitch-black sea, toward the faint light emanating from Lin Ji’s sailboat in the distance.
On such a terrifying night, that glimmer of light became the only source of security in this stretch of sea.
"I don’t know..."
Shen Manyun sighed, her voice filled with helplessness and deep worry.
They were hungry and thirsty, their strength pushed to the limit. If something really attacked them tonight...
"I hope... we can make it through the night safely."