Chapter 263 - 230: Heading to Princess Harbor (Part 2)

"Hey guys! We’ve found someone to take us to that island! Do you want to come along?"

Wang Zhifan didn’t hesitate much and replied:

"No need! It’ll be more efficient if we split up!"

The tall young man, after a brief thought, nodded at Wang Zhifan, waved, and continued to follow the sleazy red-skinned NPC ahead.

The few of them then boarded an ordinary sailboat docked at the port, which raised some suspicion in Wang Zhifan and his group.

"Fan, I have a feeling that red-skin is up to no good, maybe leading them to a pirate’s lair or something..."

Seeing the scene, Chen Ming couldn’t help but make an assumption, considering that the sea vessel led by the red-skinned NPC didn’t seem competent enough to sail through the Storm Sea.

"Don’t worry, players who’ve made it to level twenty aren’t idiots. Just the NPC’s appearance is suspicious; how could they fully trust him? And for those players to gather money so quickly to feed that NPC, it indicates they’re no ordinary characters and are likely waiting to stir things up at sea."

Wang Zhifan never underestimated other players. Even if they were much weaker than him, he believed they had considered every aspect and wouldn’t easily fall into such a simple trap.

"Fan, how strong are level twenty players? There are only five of them; if faced with many enemies, they probably wouldn’t stand a chance, right?"

After hearing Wang Zhifan’s words, Chen Can, a novice who had only read about player strength on forums and had no clear conception, couldn’t help but ask.

"Well... it still depends on the player’s class and equipment. For instance, in your gunner class, being level twenty means considerable combat power. Even if the player’s equipment isn’t particularly bad, he can handle multiple enemies by using skills like bullet time and ricochet combined with shooting, instantly defeating enemies that can’t defend against bullet attacks..."

Wang Zhifan explained his understanding of player strength to reassure Chen Can about the bright future of his chosen profession.

As they chatted, they approached the shipowner near the dock who transported passengers to Princess Harbor, confirmed the route, and shortly after, Wang Zhifan purchased tickets for all three of them. He even paid extra for what’s called a deluxe cabin, which included both lodging and meals.

When they climbed up the ladder onto the deck of the sailboat, entered the cabin, and reached the so-called deluxe cabin interior, all three wore slightly bitter expressions.

The deluxe cabin was indeed "deluxe"—it was cramped, less than ten square meters, with a faint unpleasant odor, and apart from the relatively clean floor mat occupying most of the space, it seemed quite rough, making one suspect it was a converted storage room.

"Let’s just endure it, it’s only three days, it’ll pass quickly."

Wang Zhifan, though displeased with the living conditions, understood that finding a better living environment on such passenger ships in this world was tough, especially on ordinary ships; having private cabins was quite luxurious.

"Urgh... Fan, I’m heading to the deck for some air."

Chen Ming, being a second-generation rich kid, wasn’t overly pampered but was used to private jets, making it hard to adapt to this place initially, prompting him to escape to the open deck.

The older Chen Can had better endurance, trying to adjust to the confined space’s odor. Soon, he voiced a personal thought:

"Fan, I heard people who aren’t used to being on boats can get seasick, and it’s said to be excruciating. We should prepare for this, maybe by finding some special remedies."

Wang Zhifan agreed with this forecast, and after a brief thought, replied:

"I don’t have such remedies on me. Why don’t you ask an NPC to see if you can buy something in preparation, while there’s still some time before the ship departs."

He wasn’t worried about seasickness himself, given his superhuman physique and ability to self-adjust under unstable conditions, but he anticipated Chen Ming and Chen Can would be vomiting a lot in the coming three days since seasickness was almost unavoidable for those not living at sea long-term.

Subsequently, Chen Can and Chen Ming busied themselves, inquiring about seasickness from the shipowner and other port personnel, eventually garnering some advice, like enduring it as it would pass, vomiting until relief ensues, and even bizarre suggestions like sniffing foul socks as counter-poison. Of course, the suggestions deemed too absurd were ignored. In the end, following advice from a port elder, they bought yellow-skinned fruits resembling oranges, told they would help alleviate seasickness with their extreme acidity.

The time flew by, and at noon on the first day of this quest, the passenger sailboat they were on finally set sail. Chen Ming and Chen Can, about an hour after departure, began experiencing the extreme torment of seasickness.

"Urgh... it feels awful..."

"I can’t... gotta puke again..."

At this moment, both Chen Ming and Chen Can stood pale-faced on the sailboat’s deck, leaning over the ship’s side and continuously retching into the sea as their stomachs had long been emptied, leaving only gastric fluid.

"Eat more of this fruit; it’s sour but not unpleasant."

Wang Zhifan was also on the deck. Standing not far from them, he held the yellow-skinned fruit they had purchased earlier, tasting it and finding it acceptable.

"Tried it... urgh... useless..."

Chen Can replied immediately, but before finishing his sentence, he leaned over the ship’s side to vomit again.

"Eat more... vomit more... urgh... we were conned..."

Chen Ming’s response was similar, even suspecting that the person who sold them the fruit had deceived them.

"Hang in there, just a few more days, then we have to find that island."

Seeing that the special fruit had no effect, Wang Zhifan had no other solution but to offer verbal encouragement, as he didn’t feel even a tinge of seasickness himself—on this swaying ship, he felt right at home.

Meanwhile, the sailors on deck occasionally came to Chen Ming and Chen Can’s side, offering verbal "comfort" as seasickness wasn’t common in this coastal area.

"Haha! These two are grown adults and still get seasick! It’s hilarious!"

"Outsiders! You’ve incurred the wrath of the Sea God! You must pray to the Great Sea God!"

"You two are so seasick, yet your companion isn’t? That’s strange!"

...

While the deck was filled with smug, cheerful air, Wang Zhifan was not idle. Besides watching over Chen Ming and Chen Can, he noticed four sizable cannons on the sailboat’s deck, signaling that their current route might not be entirely peaceful.

This intuition was quickly validated as, by evening, just as the heavily vomiting Chen Ming and Chen Can returned to their cabin to rest, they suddenly heard the deafening sound of cannon fire outside, accompanied by urgent horn blasts from the sailors on deck.