Sailing in a small boat during a storm and trying to reach land wasn’t an easy feat.

Raindrops pelted Chen Qi's body relentlessly. His goal had shifted from "make landfall quickly" to simply "don’t fall overboard."

His body grew tired, and his consciousness began to blur.

He didn’t know how much time had passed. The blazing white sun in the sky began to fade and finally extinguished.

A faintly reddish full moon slowly rose over the horizon.

That marked the coming of night and the end of day—

Night already…? Chen Qi slowly opened his eyes in exhaustion, gazing at the darkened world around him.

The storm had beaten him down badly.

In the torrential rain, his sense of time had completely slipped away.

His steam boat, battered by the waves, had also taken damage and was now moving sluggishly.

Once it hit shore, it probably wouldn't be usable anymore.

But at least there was one bit of good news.

With nightfall, the storm had finally subsided, leaving behind only some gusts and light drizzle.

Where am I now? Chen Qi squinted into the sea breeze, trying to see ahead.

Suddenly, a faint glimmer of light hit his eyes.

Light again… Chen Qi looked up in the direction of the glow.

The light grew stronger and stronger.

Suddenly facing such brightness, he had to squint.

In the blurry distance, atop a tall tower, there seemed to be an old man holding an oil lamp, peering at him with a puzzled expression.

It was a lighthouse...

Lying on the boat, a faint smile curled on Chen Qi’s lips.

Finally…

He had finally reached land...

Seeing the lighthouse meant the town—and the shore—weren’t far away.

Chen Qi shook his head, sat up, and stretched a bit.

Lighthouses were essential navigational structures for sea travel.

In the Witch Sea, lighthouses also served to warn of large sea beasts or attacks from pirate fleets.

That’s why lighthouse keepers were usually highly respected, spiritually sensitive, and powerful Transcendents.

It was an incredibly boring job—but a critical one.

The elderly lighthouse keeper, now in his seventies, looked in Chen Qi’s direction.

A storm had just lasted nearly the whole day—who’d still be out at sea!?

And it looked like... a young man!?

That was reckless! As an old-timer, the lighthouse keeper always had a soft spot for the younger generation.

He cleared his throat and shouted in a booming voice:

“Young man! You alright? Need help!?”

“What’d you say? Can’t hear you!”

Chen Qi patted the side of his head, draining water from his ears.

The moment he saw the light, his spirits perked right up!

No matter what, just smile first and wave!

Why are you smiling now? Be serious! The lighthouse keeper grew anxious and yelled even louder:

“The wind isn’t right tonight! There might be monsters in the sea! Get to shore—don’t go out again tonight or tomorrow!”

He shook his head. This boy didn’t look worried at all. Probably had no idea what had just happened tonight.

With his heightened inspiration, the keeper could clearly feel a trace of something ancient within the storm—like the whisper of a monster.

It had been a long time since this kind of wind had blown across the sea.

From experience, a monster’s-roar-like wind meant creatures that usually stayed in the deep might now rise to the surface!

Something big must have happened.

Several fishermen and merchants had already suffered tonight.

And at night, sea beasts grew even bolder.

This boy, riding such a small boat and making it through without getting attacked—he was lucky.

“Get to shore now!”

The lighthouse keeper shouted again. He couldn’t guarantee what might crawl out of the water next.

“Got it! Heading in now!”

Chen Qi replied, slightly increasing the steam boat’s speed.

With the propeller spinning, his boat headed toward an island town called Damarro Town.

That was his current destination, and the birthplace of the body’s original owner.

Chen Qi opened the sea chart again, checking the terrain of the Shell Kingdom and Damarro Town’s location.

The Shell Kingdom’s coastal metropolis was called Moonstone City.

But besides Moonstone City, there were plenty of habitable islands along the coast—

The Moonstone Archipelago, Devil Islands, and so on.

Various towns and settlements had sprung up on those islands.

Damarro Town was one of many towns within the Moonstone Archipelago.

Through the original owner's memories, Chen Qi had learned quite a bit about this place.

To most in the Shell Kingdom, the archipelago wasn’t a great place.

Poor transportation, little entertainment, and constant threats from waves and sea beasts.

And lately—pirates were getting even bolder.

Island towns were seen as backwater countryside.

Many young people dreamed of leaving for the rich inland cities.

They’d wake before dawn and toil late into the night, all to one day buy a home in the city.

Every year, countless young people left the islands to seek better futures inland.

But to Chen Qi, Damarro Town made for a pretty solid newbie village.

Besides having his household registry there, the real kicker was—

With the Crack Tide beginning, many rifts would spawn at sea.

And cracks meant Transcendent resources. Land. Oil. Money. Power!

Once the Crack Tide fully arrived in the Witch Sea, it wouldn't be islanders fleeing to the mainland—

It would be mainlanders flocking to the sea, like a gold rush, kicking off a new age of exploration.

The islands closest to crack zones, thanks to better sea access, would be favored even more than the cities.

Yeah... property prices might even rise a little…

“Whew, I’m here!”

Chen Qi stopped the steam boat and excitedly jumped onto Damarro Town’s dock.

Then, like a drenched cat, he shook off the water from his body!

This was solid ground. So satisfying!

After securing the boat, he decided to grab something to eat. He was starving.

From a distance, the lighthouse keeper saw Chen Qi make it to shore and finally relaxed.

At least nothing terrible had happened…

Then a sudden thought struck him.

Wasn’t that the same boy from a few months ago? The one who caught Sea Beast Disease and left for the city to work alone...?

And now he was back. With his own boat, no less... The lighthouse keeper sighed.

Sea Beast Disease — a terrifying infection from deep-sea monsters.

To cure it usually required bloody surgery. Even going to a back-alley doctor cost a fortune.

Even he himself might not have that much money lying around.

So, in his mind, for Chen Qi to come back meant either:

He’d made peace with dying in his hometown.

He’d been forced to join some shady group to earn cash. Either way—grim future.

“These kids these days... not easy being young anymore…”

The lighthouse keeper sighed again and shook his head.

...

...

After the storm, Damarro Town’s port was unusually quiet.

Chen Qi walked toward town, rummaging through his backpack.

Besides the treasure map, most of what he had came from Little Crow — medical supplies.

The one item he could sell for decent money was a healing potion.

Those emergency-use potions were always valuable anywhere.

Problem was... he needed those himself.

There were also painkillers and calming Sea Beast Oil — also sellable.

But added up, it still wouldn’t fetch much…

Don’t tell me I’m gonna have to go factory grinding again... Chen Qi frowned.

There was a rift mine with 0% corruption in Damarro. Anyone could apply for work there.

He’d transmigrated — and still had to do manual labor? No way. No f***ing way.

As a strategy content creator, he knew that grinding jobs were sometimes optimal routes.

But now that he had the Black Blade and decent stats, the fastest way to make money was exploring cracks.

Chen Qi shook his head. He didn’t have any money on him.

Pirates mainly used gold coins, but ordinary folks used the Shell Kingdom’s official currency — Shell Coins.

Name aside, Shell Coins were basically the same as Earth’s paper money.

As the country tied to the "Shell" element, its currency was fairly stable.

Shell Coins even circulated well in other countries — pretty reliable value.

“Guess I’ll be gnawing on sea-soaked bread a little longer…”

Chen Qi looked at the soggy bread in his backpack and let out a wry chuckle.

He didn’t have enough to even afford a proper meal.

Still, he was a transmigrator. Skipping one meal wasn’t the end of the world.

Suddenly, the smell of grilled meat wafted into his nose!

Who the h*ll’s barbecuing at night!? Right after a storm!?

Chen Qi turned toward the scent.

It was coming from Damarro Town’s port tavern — the only tavern on the island.

Outside, a group of young people were gathered around a grill, roasting fish.

Inside, the tavern was bursting with noisy chatter!

So many people, on a stormy night like this...?

This place was popping!

Chen Qi was stunned. Even big-city taverns rarely had this kind of crowd.

He looked up. A big banner was hanging over the tavern’s sign:

“Today’s a lucky day! All drinks, meats, and vegetables inside — FREE!”

Free!

Everything — absolutely free…

Chen Qi’s heart pounded.

This was just a regular island tavern. Offering free meals like this could bankrupt the owner for a month or two!

For a small-town business, that was a massive cost.

What kind of “lucky day” was it to go this big!?

With curiosity burning, Chen Qi walked a few steps forward.

Before he knew it, he’d stepped past a drunken man at the entrance and squeezed into the loud tavern.