Tangke glanced at the gray game interface again, it looked like it was almost done, and he hoped that this game system could be helpful. The ship was now short on water and food, and they didn't even know the location of the land, which was a big problem.
The progress was increasing very slowly. It had only slowly risen to 90% after so many days had passed.
He closed the screen in his mind and looked out at the endless sea. The sky had turned cloudy, and the sea had become a heavy gray color. He sat inside the railing, holding the ship's only fishing rod, hoping to catch something to eat.
The supplies on the ship were very scarce, with only this one fishing rod. The chance of catching fish while the ship was moving was very slim, but stopping the ship was not possible either. Nobody would expect to supply themselves with just one fishing rod, a fishing net would be more appropriate.
A group of unknown fish with transparent wings flew out of the sea, drawing arcs into the water, then quickly flying out, splashing waves.
Looking at the scenery on the sea, Tangke thought it wasn't bad to be a pirate. Living freely was what he longed for.
"Guys, too quiet, sing for me!" Tangke suddenly shouted, feeling impulsive.
The fierce sailors quickly responded to the captain's command and roared in a rough voice: "We are pirates, ferocious pirates. We hold a bottle of wine in our left hand and treasure in our right. We are pirates, capable pirates. Beautiful ladies, please come to my embrace..."
They were really a group of straightforward villains.
Tangke smiled. He liked these followers. In these few days, he had talked to every sailor, hoping to find some clues, but these sailors had very little memory, only knowing they were sailors.
Tangke speculated that these sailors were probably created by the game, just like him, knowing nothing about this world.
Suddenly, the fishing rod in his hand felt a pull, almost causing him to lose it. He was not scared, but rather happy. After fishing for so many days, this was the first time a fish had bitten the hook. He tightened his grip on the fishing rod and pulled back with force, his feet pushing against the railing for leverage.
Since he arrived in this world, his strength had increased a lot, but he still couldn't pull up the fishing rod.
"Quick, come and help me!" Tangke shouted with a red face.
The sailors ran over at the sound and grabbed the fishing rod together, finally turning the tide. With the two forces pulling against each other, the fishing line was pulled tight, and the fishing rod drooped with the appearance of being on the verge of breaking.
"The fishing line is going to break, quickly loosen it!" Tangke exclaimed anxiously, releasing his grip and letting the other sailors continue to pull. He ran to grab a rope and tied it to the harpoon. When he ran back, he nearly slipped on the wet deck.
After the fishing line was loosened, the tension eased, and a faint black shadow swam in the seawater, constantly struggling and twisting the fishing line.
Tangke made a determined move and threw the harpoon at the black shadow. After missing the first shot, he pulled the harpoon out of the sea with the rope and threw it again. This time, a burst of red blood appeared in the seawater after the harpoon went down. The sailors cheered loudly and stared intently at the black shadow in the sea.
Without Tangke's command, some sailors began to pull the rope back, and the black shadow gradually floated to the surface.
Judging from the pulling just now, this fish should be quite big, enough for a pot of fish soup. Tangke and the sailors looked expectantly at the sea, but after the thing was caught, they were left dumbfounded.
What was caught was not a fish, but a small water monster!
This little guy looked very deformed, about thirty inches long, silver-white all over, with a head that looked like a grotesque ghost face, and small legs with webbed feet on its tail. It tightly bit the fish hook and was already spitting out frothy blood while its body trembled slightly.
Tangke scratched his chin and looked at the dead water monster, saying, "Do you think this thing is edible?"
The sailors looked at each other and answered in unison, "Yes!"
"You guys really aren't picky eaters," Tangke said with disgust as he looked at the small water monster, still feeling a bit hesitant inside.
The sailors paid no attention to that and quickly cleaned up the sea monster, scraped off its scales, removed its innards, washed it thoroughly, and set up a fire in the kitchen to stew it in an iron pot. Surprisingly, after the sea monster was put into the pot, it didn't take long for a delicious aroma to waft out, making it quite appetizing.
Although it had been said earlier that any fish caught belonged to the captain, Tangke had no intention of hogging the pot of stewed sea monster.
After a brave soul tasted the sea monster meat and found it to be non-toxic, the sailors gathered around to feast on the pot of sea monster soup, cutting up the tender meat with their forks and knives and scooping up the steaming broth with spoons. They finished off the whole pot of sea monster soup in just a few minutes.
One of the sailors, who was good at flattery, served a bowl to the captain with a plump sea monster leg in it, clearly the meatiest part. Tangke hesitated for a moment before reluctantly taking it, the leg looking much like a baby's calf, which lowed his appetite.
There are many peculiar creatures in the sea, both birds and fish, that are vastly different from those on Earth. This is one of the reasons why Tangke felt that this place was another world. Compared to those huge sea monsters that could be hundreds of yards long, this little sea monster was hardly worth a sneer.
Watching the sailors eat so heartily, Tangke was a bit tempted, and the aroma that kept wafting into his nose was also enticing him. He took a sip of the soup, which was only seasoned with salt, but it tasted as delicious as if it had been made by a top chef.
"Forget it, just eat it like a frog," Tangke thought, as he went to bite into the sea monster's leg.
"Captain, I have discovered a small island!" Suddenly, the lookout up high shouted excitedly.
Tangke's mouth hung open, his neck stretched out, as he quickly handed his soup bowl to a nearby sailor and hurriedly climbed up the mast, which was no obstacle for him.
The lookout excitedly pointed the direction to the captain. About a thousand yards to the southeast, there was a continuous undulation on the surface of the sea, which indeed looked like a small island. They didn't have advanced products like telescopes, so they had to rely on their eyes to observe.
Tangke rubbed his eyes hard, repeatedly distinguishing, afraid that what he saw was a mirage. Fortunately, it really looked like an island.
"It's an island, it's an island! Haha, we're saved!" Tangke laughed and grabbed the rope, sliding down from above.
The sailors were also uplifted after hearing the news, and they cheered warmly.
"Let the rowers speed up, adjust the sail direction," Tangke commanded quickly, personally taking the helm to speed up.
The seemingly one-thousand-yard distance was actually very far. After their small boat landed, they all jumped off the boat and used manpower to pull the boat onto the beach. They dropped the anchor and deeply rooted it in the soil by the sea.
"A few of you stay to guard the ship, fix the ship, and the rest come with me." Tangke was about to set off, but suddenly remembered something, turning around and saying, "I almost forgot, you all bring your weapons in case of any accidents."
As the captain, Tangke always carried a slim curved sword, but the sailors did not carry weapons because they had to do a lot of manual labor, and their weapons were stored in boxes. To maintain the weapons, someone had to wipe them twice a day.
Tangke's slim curved sword was decorated, and the metal of the sword was quite solid. When the sword was unsheathed, it shone brightly. In comparison, the sailors' weapons were much simpler.
Actually, Tangke was not very satisfied with this slim curved sword, after all, it did not feel as powerful as a big chopping knife.
After going ashore, Tangke looked around for a few glances. There were only beaches and reefs around, and dense vegetation was in the distance. This island was too small, and they could probably run around it in three hours. When shouting here, the other side of the island could hear it clearly.
Tangke led the sailors forward, and their main goal was to get food and water. These sailors all looked very strong and brave. Tangke felt very secure with them, even if they encountered any monsters, this group of people could probably charge up and kill them with their blades.
The plants were full of Caribbean style, and the coconut tree was the most towering among them. The needle-like leaves scattered under the tree crown, with ripe fruits hidden underneath. The sturdy trunk curved.
No one cared about the other plants, but the coconut tree was a rare find. Tangke and the sailors climbed up the tree and cut down all the coconuts. Seeing the increasing number of coconuts on the ground, Tangke breathed a sigh of relief. This way, the water problem was temporarily solved.
Tangke and the sailors left the coconuts where they were and ventured deep into the oasis of the small island. They didn't encounter any animals, but there were some mosquitoes and ants. Tangke was bitten twice, the pain was excruciating, so he started a fire to clear the woods.
They searched the forest, but besides the coconut tree, they didn't find any edible plants. The colorful wild fruits were unknown to them, and Tangke ordered no one to eat them because it wasn't worth the risk.
Looking at the green vegetation under his feet, Tangke suddenly thought of sweet potatoes from his hometown. This reminded him that some plants' roots and stems were also edible. He immediately ordered the sailors to dig them up. They used their sword sheaths as shovels, and fortunately, the soil here was moist, making it easy to dig.
"Thanks to the blessing of Poseidon the sea god!" a sailor exclaimed excitedly, holding a freshly dug plant with a string of round tubers hanging from it. It was a potato.
"Haha, we didn't find sweet potatoes, but we found potatoes. Not bad, not bad," Tangke said. It was the first time in his life that he found potatoes so pleasing as if they were gold ingots.
After that, digging was much easier because they had the potato stems on the ground as a reference. Everyone dug with purpose. These sailors were all strong and agile, and it didn't take long for the potatoes to pile up like a small mountain.
In the middle of digging, the rain they had been anticipating finally came. It wasn't light, and everyone's clothes were soaked. Fortunately, these people were all energetic and didn't care about a little rain.
Tangke treated the rain as a shower and felt very comfortable. They also collected some rainwater, which was drinkable. This way, both the water source and food were replenished.
After the rain, Tangke intended to leave with the sailors, but then the sailors in the distance suddenly shouted, "Come over here! There's a sunken ship!"
Tangke glanced at the gray game interface again, it looked like it was almost done, and he hoped that this game system could be helpful. The ship was now short on water and food, and they didn't even know the location of the land, which was a big problem.
The progress was increasing very slowly. It had only slowly risen to 90% after so many days had passed.
He closed the screen in his mind and looked out at the endless sea. The sky had turned cloudy, and the sea had become a heavy gray color. He sat inside the railing, holding the ship's only fishing rod, hoping to catch something to eat.
The supplies on the ship were very scarce, with only this one fishing rod. The chance of catching fish while the ship was moving was very slim, but stopping the ship was not possible either. Nobody would expect to supply themselves with just one fishing rod, a fishing net would be more appropriate.
A group of unknown fish with transparent wings flew out of the sea, drawing arcs into the water, then quickly flying out, splashing waves.
Looking at the scenery on the sea, Tangke thought it wasn't bad to be a pirate. Living freely was what he longed for.
"Guys, too quiet, sing for me!" Tangke suddenly shouted, feeling impulsive.
The fierce sailors quickly responded to the captain's command and roared in a rough voice: "We are pirates, ferocious pirates. We hold a bottle of wine in our left hand and treasure in our right. We are pirates, capable pirates. Beautiful ladies, please come to my embrace..."
They were really a group of straightforward villains.
Tangke smiled. He liked these followers. In these few days, he had talked to every sailor, hoping to find some clues, but these sailors had very little memory, only knowing they were sailors.
Tangke speculated that these sailors were probably created by the game, just like him, knowing nothing about this world.
Suddenly, the fishing rod in his hand felt a pull, almost causing him to lose it. He was not scared, but rather happy. After fishing for so many days, this was the first time a fish had bitten the hook. He tightened his grip on the fishing rod and pulled back with force, his feet pushing against the railing for leverage.
Since he arrived in this world, his strength had increased a lot, but he still couldn't pull up the fishing rod.
"Quick, come and help me!" Tangke shouted with a red face.
The sailors ran over at the sound and grabbed the fishing rod together, finally turning the tide. With the two forces pulling against each other, the fishing line was pulled tight, and the fishing rod drooped with the appearance of being on the verge of breaking.
"The fishing line is going to break, quickly loosen it!" Tangke exclaimed anxiously, releasing his grip and letting the other sailors continue to pull. He ran to grab a rope and tied it to the harpoon. When he ran back, he nearly slipped on the wet deck.
After the fishing line was loosened, the tension eased, and a faint black shadow swam in the seawater, constantly struggling and twisting the fishing line.
Tangke made a determined move and threw the harpoon at the black shadow. After missing the first shot, he pulled the harpoon out of the sea with the rope and threw it again. This time, a burst of red blood appeared in the seawater after the harpoon went down. The sailors cheered loudly and stared intently at the black shadow in the sea.
Without Tangke's command, some sailors began to pull the rope back, and the black shadow gradually floated to the surface.
Judging from the pulling just now, this fish should be quite big, enough for a pot of fish soup. Tangke and the sailors looked expectantly at the sea, but after the thing was caught, they were left dumbfounded.
What was caught was not a fish, but a small water monster!
This little guy looked very deformed, about thirty inches long, silver-white all over, with a head that looked like a grotesque ghost face, and small legs with webbed feet on its tail. It tightly bit the fish hook and was already spitting out frothy blood while its body trembled slightly.
Tangke scratched his chin and looked at the dead water monster, saying, "Do you think this thing is edible?"
The sailors looked at each other and answered in unison, "Yes!"
"You guys really aren't picky eaters," Tangke said with disgust as he looked at the small water monster, still feeling a bit hesitant inside.
The sailors paid no attention to that and quickly cleaned up the sea monster, scraped off its scales, removed its innards, washed it thoroughly, and set up a fire in the kitchen to stew it in an iron pot. Surprisingly, after the sea monster was put into the pot, it didn't take long for a delicious aroma to waft out, making it quite appetizing.
Although it had been said earlier that any fish caught belonged to the captain, Tangke had no intention of hogging the pot of stewed sea monster.
After a brave soul tasted the sea monster meat and found it to be non-toxic, the sailors gathered around to feast on the pot of sea monster soup, cutting up the tender meat with their forks and knives and scooping up the steaming broth with spoons. They finished off the whole pot of sea monster soup in just a few minutes.
One of the sailors, who was good at flattery, served a bowl to the captain with a plump sea monster leg in it, clearly the meatiest part. Tangke hesitated for a moment before reluctantly taking it, the leg looking much like a baby's calf, which lowed his appetite.
There are many peculiar creatures in the sea, both birds and fish, that are vastly different from those on Earth. This is one of the reasons why Tangke felt that this place was another world. Compared to those huge sea monsters that could be hundreds of yards long, this little sea monster was hardly worth a sneer.
Watching the sailors eat so heartily, Tangke was a bit tempted, and the aroma that kept wafting into his nose was also enticing him. He took a sip of the soup, which was only seasoned with salt, but it tasted as delicious as if it had been made by a top chef.
"Forget it, just eat it like a frog," Tangke thought, as he went to bite into the sea monster's leg.
"Captain, I have discovered a small island!" Suddenly, the lookout up high shouted excitedly.
Tangke's mouth hung open, his neck stretched out, as he quickly handed his soup bowl to a nearby sailor and hurriedly climbed up the mast, which was no obstacle for him.
The lookout excitedly pointed the direction to the captain. About a thousand yards to the southeast, there was a continuous undulation on the surface of the sea, which indeed looked like a small island. They didn't have advanced products like telescopes, so they had to rely on their eyes to observe.
Tangke rubbed his eyes hard, repeatedly distinguishing, afraid that what he saw was a mirage. Fortunately, it really looked like an island.
"It's an island, it's an island! Haha, we're saved!" Tangke laughed and grabbed the rope, sliding down from above.
The sailors were also uplifted after hearing the news, and they cheered warmly.
"Let the rowers speed up, adjust the sail direction," Tangke commanded quickly, personally taking the helm to speed up.
The seemingly one-thousand-yard distance was actually very far. After their small boat landed, they all jumped off the boat and used manpower to pull the boat onto the beach. They dropped the anchor and deeply rooted it in the soil by the sea.
"A few of you stay to guard the ship, fix the ship, and the rest come with me." Tangke was about to set off, but suddenly remembered something, turning around and saying, "I almost forgot, you all bring your weapons in case of any accidents."
As the captain, Tangke always carried a slim curved sword, but the sailors did not carry weapons because they had to do a lot of manual labor, and their weapons were stored in boxes. To maintain the weapons, someone had to wipe them twice a day.
Tangke's slim curved sword was decorated, and the metal of the sword was quite solid. When the sword was unsheathed, it shone brightly. In comparison, the sailors' weapons were much simpler.
Actually, Tangke was not very satisfied with this slim curved sword, after all, it did not feel as powerful as a big chopping knife.
After going ashore, Tangke looked around for a few glances. There were only beaches and reefs around, and dense vegetation was in the distance. This island was too small, and they could probably run around it in three hours. When shouting here, the other side of the island could hear it clearly.
Tangke led the sailors forward, and their main goal was to get food and water. These sailors all looked very strong and brave. Tangke felt very secure with them, even if they encountered any monsters, this group of people could probably charge up and kill them with their blades.
The plants were full of Caribbean style, and the coconut tree was the most towering among them. The needle-like leaves scattered under the tree crown, with ripe fruits hidden underneath. The sturdy trunk curved.
No one cared about the other plants, but the coconut tree was a rare find. Tangke and the sailors climbed up the tree and cut down all the coconuts. Seeing the increasing number of coconuts on the ground, Tangke breathed a sigh of relief. This way, the water problem was temporarily solved.
Tangke and the sailors left the coconuts where they were and ventured deep into the oasis of the small island. They didn't encounter any animals, but there were some mosquitoes and ants. Tangke was bitten twice, the pain was excruciating, so he started a fire to clear the woods.
They searched the forest, but besides the coconut tree, they didn't find any edible plants. The colorful wild fruits were unknown to them, and Tangke ordered no one to eat them because it wasn't worth the risk.
Looking at the green vegetation under his feet, Tangke suddenly thought of sweet potatoes from his hometown. This reminded him that some plants' roots and stems were also edible. He immediately ordered the sailors to dig them up. They used their sword sheaths as shovels, and fortunately, the soil here was moist, making it easy to dig.
"Thanks to the blessing of Poseidon the sea god!" a sailor exclaimed excitedly, holding a freshly dug plant with a string of round tubers hanging from it. It was a potato.
"Haha, we didn't find sweet potatoes, but we found potatoes. Not bad, not bad," Tangke said. It was the first time in his life that he found potatoes so pleasing as if they were gold ingots.
After that, digging was much easier because they had the potato stems on the ground as a reference. Everyone dug with purpose. These sailors were all strong and agile, and it didn't take long for the potatoes to pile up like a small mountain.
In the middle of digging, the rain they had been anticipating finally came. It wasn't light, and everyone's clothes were soaked. Fortunately, these people were all energetic and didn't care about a little rain.
Tangke treated the rain as a shower and felt very comfortable. They also collected some rainwater, which was drinkable. This way, both the water source and food were replenished.
After the rain, Tangke intended to leave with the sailors, but then the sailors in the distance suddenly shouted, "Come over here! There's a sunken ship!"
