On the table, Yang Zicang lifted his head from the crook of his arm, opened his eyes, and glanced at the clock. He then walked out to the deck to retrieve the rope, but at the touch, it erupted with a crackling, lightning-like shock of shattered ice, causing his hand to recoil as if zapped.

｛The Fate Ferryman’s salvage line is not something someone like me, who has already been accepted by the Track of Fate, can cast.｝

｛For attempting to alter the Track of Fate, I have been offset by 1N.｝

Yang Zicang stared blankly at his fingers, which still wisped with a thin chill, then turned his head to look at the water surface in the distance, which was no longer so dark.

The moon had already sunk in the west, and dawn was approaching.

“Dang~ Dang~ “

The clock chimed once more.

“I can’t use these items… “

Yang Zicang turned back to look at the vague curve of a silhouette in the distant seawater, she was wrapped in a layer of frost and ice, faintly bobbing beneath the viscous sea surface. Suddenly, the figure inside moved slightly.

Alive… Because I got close?!

But the boatman was not here. What should be done with this person, who had been sent onto a new Track of Fate?

……

When Xue Qi awoke in the sea, the water surface suddenly trembled.

Then she saw a wooden boat wrapped in iron sheets tilting towards her, almost grazing her scalp as it rushed past her head.

“Are you okay? “

Accompanied by the worried voice of a young man, a firm and powerful arm reached down from the gunwale.

Xue Qi struggled to raise her hand, and when they touched, a crackling sound of fine, cold sparks erupted between their fingers, like broken ice splitting apart.

Yang Zicang felt a numbing shock through his whole body, as if what he was grabbing wasn’t a human at all, but a vast emptiness that couldn’t be hauled onto the boat—this was the thing connected behind her. Indeed, this was no ordinary salvage!

｛I felt the tearing sensation of the void.｝

｛I counterbalanced 10N, 12N, 29N, 43N!｝

Snap! Snap!

The woman instinctively recoiled in pain and almost let go.

“I… can’t… it hurts so much… “

But in the next second, a silk scarf flicked, bursting open into a massive, dark curtain-like blanket that rushed into the water.

｛Meng Rui. Haosha’s Delicate Woolen Vest, Rank Unfolded, Thousand-rank!｝

It instantly wrapped around the woman.

In an instant, it was as if thunderbolts were crashing everywhere outside the gunwale! Rumbling! But this time, these dense, fragmented, illusory bolts of lightning—like shards of ice—could not touch the woman; they were all blocked by this “woolen cape,” which was actually immeasurably more powerful than any force-field defense.

Xue Qi, dizzy and disoriented, finally plopped down onto the deck with a splash.

It was only now that the lingering, illusory feeling of weightlessness from being soaked in the water for so long began to dissipate upon her contact with the ground.

Success!

Watching the graceful silhouette lying prone on the deck, Yang Zicang let out a sigh of relief. Otherwise, he might have once again inadvertently caused someone to lose their life.

“Cough, cough… Where is this place?” The woman propped herself up, coughing twice.

“A new track of fate.“

The woman kneeling on the deck looked momentarily dazed. A light red triangular model on her chest flashed, apparently failing to connect with who she had intended to reach.

Yang Zicang raised his hand, and the massive blanket transformed back into a silk scarf, retracting into his grasp.

Feeling its smooth, moisturizing texture, the young man felt a subtle pang in his heart. Truly, no wonder it was a relic left by a Holy Sword. Although he was once again walking alone, these precious items aiding him, as well as the gear gifted by his friends, all attested that his past experiences were not mere illusions.

The woman on the deck lifted her head while propping herself up. Her wet, jet-black hair clung to her fair, delicate, oval face like an octopus’s tentacles, and her eyes held a dazed look.

“What is this? Sir… can I not go back anymore? “

She seemed to instinctively refuse to think about the news Yang Zicang had delivered, unwilling to accept this truth.

“You need to accept the reality. What’s your name? “

As he spoke, Yang Zicang tossed a clean blanket to the woman.

“My name is Xue Qi. “

After several futile attempts, Xue Qi finally stood up; then she immediately spotted the man lying face-down on the deck.

“What happened to him? “

“Unfortunately, he wanted to go find something called the ‘Obscurus Wintestorm Rime.’ In the end, his luck ran thin. He didn’t make it long after swimming back. “

Startled, the woman instinctively stepped two paces away from Yang Zicang. She let out a breath before saying, “Hi… have you been in this world a long time? “

After the first flash of shock and confusion, the woman gradually showed a sharp, capable demeanor, and her tone became steadier.

Yang Zicang made a mental note of approval.This is the caliber someone who can gather ten thousand years of the “Timescape” should possess.But such quality wasn’t inborn… Just a moment ago, her flustered self was perhaps more real.

“Not much earlier than you, ” Yang Zicang said as he smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes from the rescue. “Specifically, I arrived near midnight, and now dawn’s almost breaking. Let’s talk inside the cabin; the sea breeze is pretty strong out here. “

“Morning? ” Xue Qi followed Yang Zicang into the cabin with a trace of doubt, thinking to herself that finding work here seemed easy enough.

Back inside, Yang Zicang fished out the nautical chart and some logs left behind by Aqiang. The chart showed the distance between their course and the coastline; it wasn’t too far, but getting back would be difficult—they had to cross three layers of sea storms. Thankfully, there were lighthouse beacons to guide the way.

The food on board was enough to last the two of them for three or four days.

Xue Qi leaned against the wooden wall. “Excuse me, I told you my name is Xue Qi, but you haven’t told me yours yet. Which Desolate Zone are you from? “

“Desolate Zone? Hmm. You can call me Yang Buchen. Have you heard of any Nexus City, or perhaps Junction Town? “

Xue Qi shook her head, then suddenly started in surprise. “Does that mean you come from a place similar to ours, but not quite? “

“Not bad, you’re quick. Indeed, where I’m from, cities are ranked, and we call the places where they can communicate ‘Junction Towns’. “

“Really! The last place I stayed was Red Junction Town. I was there to participate in the year-end city ranking battles, but I was ambushed outside the town and my teammates had me sent away. “

“You call it ‘Red Junction Town’? “

Yang Zicang pondered for a moment. “I see. Do you guys also have forty-five ranked cities? “

“Forty-five! ” Xue Qi’s jaw dropped in astonishment. “Wow, Xiao Chen, you guys have that many cities? We only have twelve. “

This time it was Yang Zicang’s turn to frown; his assumptions seemed to be off again. Wasn’t the city cluster always based on a roster of forty-five?

Before long, the howling of the wind came from outside. Yang Zicang stood up and sealed the cabin door tightly, yet the biting cold wind still found its way through the cracks—this was the first storm belt that separated the Sea of Mist from the true ocean.

He pointed to a small compartment in the back of the cabin. “There’s a bed in there. Do you need to rest a while? “

The woman picked up the water jug. “No need, I feel fine. How many more people are you going to fish out this morning? When do we hit the shore? “

“Hm… ” Yang Zicang shook his head. “That’s hard to say. “

Schnee Qi’s heart tightened as she was pouring ginger tea into her cup.

The iron-sheathed wooden boat drifted aimlessly in such winds.

Without aCrossing, the boat would’ve been lost on the sea, but with the materials Ah Qiang left behind and Yang Zicang’s “dispatch ” ability, he managed to wrench control and painfully navigate through the storms, sticking close to the logbook of sailing records. It took an immense effort.

Witnessing all this, Schnee Qi began to understand that there was no such thing as a job—this boat was a legacy left by a native of this world to the man beside her, and he had killed a madman to save that boat owner.

How terrifying. This man was a murderer.

For two or three days, the woman had been hiding anxiously in her small room, refusing to come out. Every time the man outside knocked on the door of her closet-like cabin, her heart pounded—this self-righteous man before her had, in just half a day by his own account, caused the deaths of two awakening individuals from the Old Fate Trajectory and one local.

Could all this really be as simple as he claimed? How was that possible!

The wooden boat, with a firefly stone lantern hanging from it, continued to weave through the mist-shrouded sea.

Thud, thud!

The woman, dazed and nauseous from seasickness, flinched.

“There’s some food left. I’ll give it all to you.” A voice came from outside the wooden door.

“I… you keep it.“

“Open the door. I’ll bring it in.“

Clutching a small perfume bottle under her blanket, the woman glanced at her own body, then turned her head toward the door—that guy…

Grinding her teeth, she resignedly lowered her head and opened the cabin door a crack.

A tray laden with a glass of water and some bread was pushed in through a hand slipped through the gap.

“Hang in there. Just one more storm belt, and we’ll reach the nearest Supply Station marked by the boat’s owner.“

Xue Qi was slightly taken aback.

“Oh… alright…“

Day turned to night. Nearly an entire day had passed when the cutting howl of the wind finally abated. Inside the cabin, which swayed far less violently now, Xue Qi’s heart both settled and tensed in turn, caught in a relentless ebb and flow of hope and dread.

Unaware of how long she had slept, Xue Qi was suddenly jolted awake by a knocking sound at the wooden door.

“Come on out, we’ve arrived. “

Summoning her courage, Xue Qi stepped out. Truthfully, over the past two days she’d already had to come out a few times… She had slowly begun to accept the fact that she was trapped in danger.

Yang Zicang approached and let out a light chuckle.

“You sleep pretty well. We’ve already passed through the second storm wall. That up ahead is the Maritime Bureau’s lighthouse, where we can resupply. “

“Huh, you sure seem to know a lot. “

“It’s all in the materials the ship’s owner left behind. “

Yang Zicang patted the grimy notebook in his hands, showing Xue Qi a name heavily underlined and marked with a pencil—the “Baolou Port Maritime Bureau & Mist Ocean Trading Company Joint Supply Station. “

Next to it was a set of characters— “Crossing People Trade “—crudely traced by some traveler, scrawled beside the word “lighthouse. ” And lighthouse markers were dotted at several spots on the wind belts on the map.

Xue Qi slowly lifted her weary face. “There’s really a supply station? “

After a fleeting moment of shock, Yang Zicang realized, “Right, I’m not sure either. I just read about it. “