Free Web NovelChapter 370: Chapter 363: "53?
’The crux of the problem must be "53"!’
This message, which had cost one of their precious communication attempts, also used no punctuation. However, it left seven characters unused, which completely went against Xivier’s understanding of the Grand Commander’s principle of "maximizing resource utilization."
It also didn’t align with his consistent practices from the previous five times.
Even an ordinary member of the Black Gold People wouldn’t send a message like this as a daily greeting to a friend.
It was empty, meaningless.
A deep sense of worry grew within Xivier.
Such an anomaly had to mean trouble.
’Could it be that the Grand Commander has encountered something unusual in the Star Sea? And it’s not convenient to inform us directly under the nose of the Nirvana’s captain, so he can only use this message to send a warning?’
’Is the purpose a warning?’
’53?’
’Fifty-three?’
’The 53rd Wandering Ship by serial number, or the 53rd-ranked S-level skill?’
’The 53rd cabin on the Black Gold?’
’53 days?’
’Whatever it is, this number definitely deserves the utmost attention.’
"Commander, the professor is here."
The assistant knocked on the door.
Professor Audur, an expert in cryptography, was already standing outside.
...
...
...
Shi Ming, transformed into a Kun whose wings were like clouds draping the sky, paused for a moment in the deep sea.
A new future appeared before his eyes.
It was a static image—
Countless Wandering Ships were arranged in neat rows and columns, anchored on a windless, waveless sea. From the style and appearance of their hulls, it was clear they came from all over the world, from every ocean region.
There were General-grade, Gold-grade, Silver-grade, and Bronze-grade ships—all kinds imaginable.
At the periphery, some Wandering Ships had already broken formation, sailing away in an orderly fashion in different directions, like arrows shot toward the four corners of the earth.
???
Shi Ming was puzzled.
’In this day and age, is there still someone with this kind of influence?’
’Power can certainly make people submit, but it couldn’t possibly make a group of Wandering Ships with such diverse cultures and ideologies line up so perfectly, as if under mechanical control! I myself have no interest in this kind of ritualistic display. It doesn’t seem like something I would do, so the one giving these ships orders is definitely not me.’
The Kun let out a roar.
The prophecy was not over yet.
The static image’s perspective shifted upward. A strange, floating airship hovered seven or eight hundred meters above the sea, overlapping with the sun. In the reflection of the light, Shi Ming thought he saw strands of a web, hanging high above, connecting to the thousands of ships below.
A non-human-like young man stood inside the airship, looking down through a transparent material.
’The Nirvana!’
’As expected, that guy is back!’
The perspective wavered and began to move down.
The view zoomed in, sweeping across the countless Wandering Ships. In a fleeting glimpse, Shi Ming saw some familiar vessels, such as the Tudor Rose, Pharaoh, Golden Bodhi, Liberty, Ice Bear, Beidou Star...
Hmm?
He noticed a noteworthy detail.
On the Tudor Rose, the top was an almost 1:1 replica of the Elizabeth Tower. At its peak stood Big Ben, known as the "King of Bells, the World’s Clock." The clock face clearly displayed the Greenwich Mean Time of that moment, which is the world standard time.
8:21 AM.
But that wasn’t all.
To make it easier for people to tell time at sea, the replica of Big Ben had added month and day markings around the outside of its clock face to display the current date.
Although the image only swept past Big Ben for an instant, Shi Ming saw it clearly.
December 31st, 8:21.
But today was only mid-November.
’Does this grand gathering of Wandering Ships, like some kind of military parade, happen at the end of next month?’
’No, not necessarily.’
Big Ben doesn’t show the year.
So Shi Ming couldn’t determine which year’s December 31st it was. Was it this year, next year, the year after, the year after that, 10 years from now, or even 20 years from now?
The year was crucial.
The perspective kept shifting as he searched for other useful information.
He also saw some familiar people.
Zhao Li Luo, Quert, Elizabeth, Iruka, Yize, Chris...
Their expressions varied.
Some were stern, some angry, some restrained.
None of them had aged much, which suggested the time gap wouldn’t be too long.
The whaling ship, the Dream of Salmon, was still covered in rust and stained with the blood of large whales. Its captain, Chris, looked no different on the outside. In the static image, Shi Ming couldn’t tell if, by that time, he had finished eating the heart of the White Dragon Whale and ascended to S-class.
But he found a better point of reference:
Quert was bare-chested, the lava-like scars on his muscles from Invincible War God like medals. Their layout and number hadn’t increased; they were exactly the same as after their last battle.
He wasn’t the type to be restrained or rational.
When he got hot-headed, he would act recklessly. A man who could casually inflict seven or eight new scars on himself wouldn’t go a whole year without using his skill. Although it was impossible to tell if scars on other parts of his body had increased, judging from the sample distribution, it was unlikely to be a year later.
Using Big Ben and Quert as reference points,
there was a 90% probability it would be at the end of next month, and a 10% probability it would be a year later.
Phew~
The prophecy came to an abrupt end, and the static image dissipated.
A Kun’s head was massive enough, but Shi Ming was feeling a headache big enough for two of them.
He felt a bit like Conan. In the past thirty years, nothing this eventful had happened in the Endless Ocean. Yet he had been here for less than a year, and already it was one thing after another: Holy Hall Sea Beasts, Active Wormholes, Unceasing Water, aliens...
’Was I really reborn into the future just to clean up the messes for this generation of brats?’
A meme popped into his head.
"Can’t deal with it, might as well wait for death.jpg"
...
’Since I’ve been reborn, and my body from my past life followed me through and replaced the original owner’s body, there’s definitely no going back.’
’Oh well. It’s just a few aliens.’
’Hardly a challenge.’
’Seeing all this high-tech stuff, who’s to say they aren’t here to deliver a fateful opportunity to me?’
Shi Ming complained inwardly.
’But you have to admit, his spaceship has a pretty impressive appearance. The Nirvana, Wandering Ship 001. It has most likely surpassed the King-level, which is why the King of Kings has never been able to borrow its power.’
If the prophecy really does take place on December 31st of this year, then there are 53 days left.
days.
The matter of the Active Wormhole could probably be resolved, though it would be a tight squeeze.
’No matter how strong the master of the Nirvana is, no matter how brilliant his methods are, can he be stronger than Nirvana-rank?’
’Can he rival a god? Impossible!’
’If I can manage to slay the Active Wormhole, which has just entered the Nirvana-rank, under a "five-star danger level" difficulty, I could take its place and obtain the extremely rare, single-character, Nirvana-rank skill [Decay]. Paired with the Arm of Power, this youth would be nothing to fear. If, on the other hand, I screw up and fail to slay the Active Wormhole, well, this youth could serve as some muscle. Maybe he can go have a showdown with that Active Wormhole, Quinn-what’s-his-name-Latif?’
’Looked at this way, it could be a good thing?’
’Seems like it, actually.’
He reviewed the last prophecy and this one:
The youth can control "the web."
And in turn, control the Wandering Ships on the Endless Ocean.
His goal is the "Eye of the Divine," which once appeared on Earth over 100 years ago. Helping the major factions build their Wandering Ships was also for this purpose.
’Until he finds the Eye of the Divine, he probably won’t do anything too outrageous.’
’As for the Eye of the Divine...’
’He probably won’t be able to find it.’
...
The Kun leaped out of the sea and, with a HOWL, transformed back into Shi Ming.
Just as he was about to fall back into the water, the King-level Wandering Ship, Sun-Shooter, appeared beneath his feet. Man and ship, moving at the speed of a shooting sun, sped away into the dense fog, leaving a long white wake.
