Yang Zicang turned his gaze to the fragmented, quaking projections that enveloped his surroundings.

Two diligent little bees voraciously tore apart the energies threatening to disturb his will, breaking them into fizzling motes. These smaller fragments entered the miniature hive no larger than a thumb, which was usually strapped to his forearm alongside a cloth strip, bound together with a small scarf.

The few people beside him had already vanished.

From Yang Zicang’s body billowed a tongue of plated flame: a gold base crowned with an orange-red brilliance. It shone upon the surrounding phantoms, illuminating the broken, trembling apparitions that fractured in his every direction. Several hazy, ashen specters, like pillars of black smoke, tried to draw near, but an invisible force warded them all.

“No need to keep squandering your energy, valued company,” Yang Zicang said, his voice ice-cold. “This kind of petty trick already holds no sway over me.“

{Ugh… Ah… }

But the phantom sounds came through regardless.

{…New sailor, come closer… }

{…Become part of us… You’ll go back… You’ll go back… }

On the half figurehead ahead, energy ripples grew stronger, transforming its appearance. It now looked entirely different—a refined, androgynous face with a gentle smile and an ovular shape, radiating eerie beauty.

Yang Zicang took a light breath through his nose. The distinct scent of decayed cargo and wood permeated the air. His body too proved to be wholly real—his physical form intact. He then sent his White Shadow Mind Dragon to rise out from his silhouette, glide up past the deck, and coil midair in a sinuous arc.

Through psionic perception, Yang Zicang saw layers of similar radiance spreading over the entire ship. Beyond its fractured bow, a blurry trail of energy stretched outward into the dark and distant sea.

{What is that damned thing? Ah! Psionic man! }A panicked shout reached his senses.

Yang Zicang commanded the White Shadow Mind Dragon to glance downward. Inside the small boat belonging to Aqiang, a blurry figure hid—but Ruan Wenxiong shielded by the craft’s sole unprotected cabin pocket. The figure’s psionic aura was faint, making it nearly invisible beneath current glittering multilayered background from the White Shadow Mind Dragon’s perspective.

“Ruan Wenxiong? I can still see him! “

When Ruan Wenxiong watched the sudden scale-long psionic abomination hover through the air before fastening its eyes upon his hideout, shuddering pressure clamped him—he panicked and dashed deeper into the little vessel’s cabin in terror.

“Damn it, only Old Kim has the key. ” He glanced outside again; that thing wasn’t paying attention to him.

Yang Zicang walked slowly, carefully picking his way between cracks of strange, multicolored light. He knew the situation was urgent, but he couldn’t let his own mind be rushed.

At that moment, the White Shadow Thought-Dragon had already flown out from the deck and over the sea. Above, below, left, and right, everything was pitch black except for the half-floating ship behind him; there was no moonlight, either.

The entire lower deck area was densely packed with these things.

“Retribution sure comes fast. “

When he was at the Lost Illusion Company, no matter what kind of cleanup work he did, someone else took care of everything. He never had to worry about matters concerning his own mind-body.

To resign, he had deliberately avoided many matters, or skipped them for lack of time to study them.

He had more or less figured out where this place was.

“Hah~ So this is what the employee handbook described: the consequences of barging into a Psychic Loss Field without the protection of the Company and a staff card. “

……

Karl was in the captain’s cabin, watching the helmsman at the wheel.

Ago stood beside him, chatting and laughing; they were talking about their hometowns.

“I wish this voyage would take us back home. “

“We’ve worked so hard to build this ship just right. There’s absolutely no problem. “

Two lavishly dressed men knocked on the captain’s cabin door. Karl turned his head to look at them. One of them looked vaguely familiar. The other, who wore a wide-sleeved robe and a thick gold chain around his neck, said in a loud voice:

“We need some extra hands, new captain. Send a few men up, preferably new faces. I’ll pay you more for it. “

“What kind of help do you need? ” A voice suddenly rang out—it was the First Mate, walking up from the deck. The man, with a faint, knowing smirk on his face, crossed his arms and sized up the two ornately dressed figures at the door.

“Why don’t you two step into the captain’s quarters and tell us all about it? “

“We… well… ” Hearing this invitation, Yang Zicang noticed the familiar-looking man still seemed bewildered, but the other one instantly stammered, “We… we don’t need anything for now. Let’s just leave it at that. “

They quickly scurried away toward the towering, castle-like luxurious passenger quarters.

……

Yang Zicang approached one of the larger, tremulous phantom fragments that he could actually step into. They looked like “interwoven scene shards” hanging suspended in the air. As he drew closer, several of these phantoms glided over, spewing tempting words in a fervent attempt to lure him in.

-｛Distributor February. Di’an is currently observing my life experience.｝

Yang Zicang leaned in for a closer look. Within the dim, pulsating glow was the image of what seemed to be half a warehouse. Inside, there were semi-transparent phantoms of exquisite and precious goods, overlapping with ordinary goods made of mere shadow. Beneath them all lay the real scene: long swept clean by sea water, leaving only ocean mud and the withered carcasses of starfish.

As he walked away, several grayish-black shades, desperate to peddle their wares, trailed his every step. They stuck close like relentless salesmen hell-bent on selling their merchandise.

“There really are a lot, everywhere. The one who built this ship must have been truly formidable—at least on par with the experts in City 11. “

-｛Distributor Loki Tata Mingqi displays “Grave. “｝

-｛Distributor May Valkyrie casts a glance at my current condition.｝

-｛Distributor Loki Tata Mingqi displays “Inquiry. “｝

A cold sneer twisted onto Yang Zicang’s face.

“Based on my past work, I can roughly tell the difference between a psychic field and a psychic loss field. And the psychic loss field is divided into several types: the frequency-loss psychic field, which physical matter can enter; the one that only spiritual forms can access; and the one where even a solid body can step in— the True Arrival Ground. “

-｛Distributor May Valkyrie gives me a “Neutral Review. “｝

-｛Distributor Loki Tata Mingqi shows he is “Getting There. “｝

“Yes, this isn’t the real True Arrival Ground. “

Yang Zicang reached out and touched a smaller, flickering, broken image. This motion riled up the shadows, making them frenzy with hollow invitations.

Yang Zicang closed his eyes, sensing the other side. It was truly an empty, desolate expanse. His arm had actually passed right through it.

He opened his eyes.

“These… are ‘Sub-Ether Spaces,’ anchored into reality by someone! “

-｛Distributor Loki Tata Mingqi exclaims in “Acclaim. “｝

-｛Distributor May Valkyrie gives me a “Favorable Review. “｝

-｛Distributor February. Di’an, with a wealth of experience, indicates that I am giving birth to a new node at the glorious prelude!｝

From the feedback cues of the distributors, Yang Zicang’s heart jolted twice.

It was truly a stabilized Sub-Ether passage!

That black curtain that struck one momentarily blind was the visual barrier to enter the Sub-Ether passage. Under the help of the distributors, Yang Zicang, having figured out and confirmed this layer, felt his mind buzz and explode at once.

“The hope of returning home, Mist Continent…!“

Yang Zicang’s heart pounded violently; he felt every pore on his body involuntarily opening up, “never sink, the sinking ship, even if it sinks, it never truly sinks…!“

He looked around at the countless fragments.

This was the work of his own townsfolk, the work of those pioneers from Earth!

A complex, irrepressible smile spread across his face. Increasingly, more shades surged forth, and the interplay of glowing fragments radiated a tremendous light, mending the fractured region.

“This is a ship navigating across the Sub-Ether space! With coordinates to navigate by, could it really just…?“

He was swallowed by the shaking light, lost entirely in surging excitement.

-｛Distributor Loki. Tata Mingqi indicates “silence.“｝

-｛Distributor Loki. Tata Mingqi indicates “turning over.“｝

-｛Distributor Loki. Tata Mingqi indicates “sighs.“｝

-｛Distributor Tata Mingqi feels a sore throat.｝

……

“This is a martial arts vessel.“

The white-robed expert beside him said, “Our goal is to transport a bound collection of martial arts manuals, containing various powerful secret techniques, back to our continent to combat the dangers that have emerged there. So…“

He looked at the new recruit standing next to him, leaning against the base of the mast and scratching his head.

“Great Hero Yang, I know you’re a veteran who has completed several high-difficulty missions. Could you contribute the secret techniques you’ve mastered, to be compiled into this bound edition, so they can be passed down forever on that land?“

He spread his hands.

“It’ll definitely give birth to a Radiant Flash!“

“This…” Yang Zicang felt something was off. But it was indeed an enticing “Group Radiance Flash Project Proposal.“

“By the way, I don’t know what to call you.” Yang Zicang looked at the expert.

“Ah, is that so? I’ve already introduced myself, but I only mentioned I’m the Chief of this treasure ship. You probably don’t know my name yet, so that’s why you forgot it like before.“

“Wait, what is a Chief again?“

“Hmm…” The man paused for a moment. “I thought that since we’re of the same clan, you’d know. It’s the person who serves as both the ship’s pilot and the master.“

“And what’s that?“

“Well, it’s…” The man was practically sweating now. “The ship’s pilot knows the geography, navigating by the stars at night and the sun by day, and uses a compass when visibility is poor. Hah, plus handling daily ship management and coordinating voyage affairs. Hmm… you can also call me… the First Mate.“

“I see. You could have just said First Mate from the start.“

Yang Zicang stood up. He looked toward the passenger area at the rear of the treasure ship, which appeared magnificent and resplendent, a wooden tower rising over tenzhangin height separating the two sides.

“Don’t go over there, ” the Gangshou said. “That’s where the nobles live. They’re richer than us, and if you go there, you’ll just get glared at. They even want to buy our ship; if they do, we won’t be able to go home. Damn it, here they come again. “

With that, the Gangshou walked off toward a certain place as if he had something to attend to.