"Welcome to the Global Sailing Survival Game..."
"From now on, you will spend the rest of your lives at sea..."
"Do not worry about any diseases or disabilities you may have. The System will heal them all, giving you a relatively fair starting point..."
"You are free to sail the seas, to do whatever you wish..."
"Whether you become a nobody or a legend of the seas, the choice is yours..."
"The sea offers infinite possibilities. There is only one thing you must remember."
"Keep moving forward. Do not let the Black Fog behind you catch up."
"The Black Fog's current speed is ten knots!"
.......
A peculiar voice echoed in his mind.
Ethan came to, finding himself lying on an old, rickety bed.
He tried to sit up, but a cloud of dust billowed around him, sending him into a coughing fit.
Glancing around, he found himself in a cramped, dimly lit, dilapidated cabin.
Not far away was a table. On it lay a desiccated skeleton, its left hand still gripping a rusted flintlock pistol. The better part of its skull was missing—an apparent suicide.
"What is this...?"
Instead of fear, Ethan looked down at his own gaunt hands.
He could stand. It was a miracle!
Just minutes ago, Ethan had been a patient paralyzed and bedridden. Now, he had miraculously recovered his health!
Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of twelve, he had been completely paralyzed by twenty. But he never gave up. Using only his mouth, he played video games and live-streamed, earning enough to support himself until the age of twenty-five.
He often played horror games. A motionless skeleton didn't faze him much.
"What that voice said... it's all true!" Ethan muttered to himself, looking out the window.
An endless ocean stretched to the horizon, its waves rising and falling rhythmically.
Just then, the peculiar, androgynous voice sounded again.
"By now, you should all know where you are!"
"That's right! You are all at sea, each of you more than five hundred nautical miles apart. You won't be running into each other anytime soon."
"Nearby, you should find a small booklet called the Captain's Log."
"It contains many useful functions, including a way for you to communicate without barriers. Try it out and you'll see."
"As for other details, they will be provided later in the form of announcements. Please look forward to them..."
The voice faded.
Ethan looked down and saw the small booklet on his bed. The words "Captain's Log" were embossed on its black, palm-sized cover. It emitted a faint glow, as if beckoning him to open it.
He picked it up. The first page contained the rules.
[1. Without your permission, no one can board your vessel.]
[2. The items on your ship cannot be stolen by other players, unless you are dead.]
[3. Every ship is equipped with a grappling hook of infinite durability. Feel free to aim for any drifting objects!]
[4. You need to upgrade and fortify your vessel to ensure it is safe enough.]
[5. Be wary of the night and be careful of the mist. If you are caught by the Black Fog, you will die.]
[6. This logbook is soul-bound and can be accessed mentally.]
[7. At sea, you will never be truly alone.]
The booklet felt like skin to the touch. Ethan flipped to the next page.
Page two showed the day's weather forecast, which he skipped for now.
Page three displayed his status information.
Ethan
Status: Healthy [A diagram of a human figure, entirely green]
(The average value for an adult's attributes is 5. This can be increased to 10 through training.)
(An attribute of 10 is the limit for mortals.)
Strength: 3 (0/50)
Spirit: 7+1 (0/8000) (Higher Spirit increases Sanity resistance and recovery speed)
Agility: 4 (0/100)
Constitution: 3 (0/50)
Perception: 5 (0/200)
Sanity: 100/100 (Below 50 leads to madness; below 30 induces suicidal thoughts; below 10...)
Stamina: 100/100 (Below 50 causes drowsiness; below 30 risks fainting.)
HP: 100/100
Talent:
Iron Will: You never give up. Spirit +1. Your Sanity will never drop below 1, and you are immune to forced suicide. When Sanity is significantly lowered (≤50), you will enter a frenzied state.
After reviewing his stats, Ethan felt a bit more at ease. The experience required for his low attributes was small, which meant catching up wouldn't be too difficult.
He continued flipping and found the chat channels, divided into World, Regional, and Private.
The World Chat was currently the most active, with messages flooding in.
"Anyone there?"
"What the hell is going on?"
"I was in the middle of taking a shit, hadn't even wiped, and suddenly I'm on a boat!"
"I'm all alone here, does anyone have a phone? Call the cops for me!"
"Whoever kidnapped me, do you know who my father is?"
"Maybe your dad got brought here too!"
"Son, is that you?"
"Don't go claiming random relatives!"
"My broken arm... it's healed..."
"I can feel pain... This isn't a dream!"
....
The number of online users was in the billions. It seemed everyone had been brought into this game.
Ethan didn't rush to speak. Instead, he scrolled through the messages, gathering potential intel.
Each person could only send 10 messages in the World Chat per day. Any more would cost Conch Coins—one hundred per message.
Ethan had no idea what Conch Coins were, nor did he have any.
After about ten minutes, the chaotic flood of messages began to subside, and the conversation became more substantial.
"Does everyone's logbook have 7 rules?"
"Looking for a group! Anyone want to team up?"
"We're too far apart and have no coordinates. Teaming up is impossible right now!"
"We should be sharing information and helping each other!"
"Has anyone checked their ship yet? I found a piece of equipment."
An item description was posted below.
[Name: Bloodstained Harpoon]
[Type: Relic]
[Quality: Uncommon] (Item Tiers: Common, Uncommon, Superior, Rare, Epic, Heroic, Masterwork...)
[Description: It's very sharp. Can inflict minor damage on Aberrations, which will then enrage them.]
Warning: Using a Relic carries the risk of lowering your Sanity.
The World Chat exploded.
"What are Aberrations? Are there monsters in this world?"
"How come I didn't get anything? All I found in my cabin was some fresh water, bread, and vegetables."
"You have vegetables? All I got was sausage!"
At sea, vegetables were far more precious than meat.
"What about your ships? Is yours big? Mine is over a hundred meters long, it's huge..."
"What! My ship is only ten meters!"
That person quickly shared their ship's information.
[The Ironclad, Level 1, Durability 5000/5000, Capacity 8000 units, Speed 5 knots]
[Ship Skills:
Full Barrage: Increases cannon firing speed by 200% for 15 minutes.
Triple-Shot Piercing Harpoon: Can pierce and latch onto an object.]
[Description: It may not be fast, but you'd better be!]
"Damn it! This game is totally unfair! His level 1 ship already has cannons!"
"Special ships have skills. Mine is just a plain old boat."
"I want to reroll my start! Is there a cash shop? I've got plenty of money!"
"Are you all idiots? His ship's speed is only 5 knots. That's slower than the Black Fog!"
"Oh right, the Black Fog is 10 knots! He's screwed, hahaha!"
At that moment, an announcement popped up.
[Sailing Announcement:
Your starting conditions are all different! Your ship, its contents, your personal talent, and starting location have all been determined based on your personality and life experiences. No objections will be entertained!]
"Like anyone believes that! This is obviously rigged! Some people start with weapons, and all I got was food!"
"You hoard food, I'll hoard guns. That makes you my pantry."
"Ever think that maybe the guy with the cannons will have monsters spawn near him, and you won't?"
Ethan closed his logbook and began to search the cabin.
He realized the flintlock in the skeleton's hand was an item.
[Name: Waterlogged Rusted Flintlock]
[Type: Relic]
[Quality: Superior]
[Description: This was once a masterwork, but prolonged submersion has caused severe corrosion. It only has a 50% chance to fire. Can inflict moderate damage on Aberrations. This pistol requires no bullets. Auto-reloads in one minute. Magazine capacity: 1.]
"A Superior-quality item?"
Ethan's expression turned grave.
If the announcement was true, that all starting conditions were fair, then getting this gun... could it mean he was in for a hellish start?
He pushed the skeleton aside and found a piece of paper trapped beneath it. It was mostly decayed, but some of the writing was still legible.
"...no more supplies on the ship. I can only try to fish."
"...good luck today. Caught a tiger grouper, enough for two days."
"...hehe, I fished up an antique pistol. The sound it makes is strange, but it looks like it's worth a lot of money!"
The rest of the page was covered in a large bloodstain, with only the final line visible.
"How can something like that be in the sea?"
Ethan frowned after reading the note, then stood up and walked out of the captain's cabin.
Outside was a deck corridor. He looked up, taking in the full view of his ship.