"Let's make a trip back to Jingyue Island first. What do you think, Luo Yu?" Having reeled in an Alliance investigator, Shui Wuyue had no choice but to put their rock sheep procurement mission on pause.
Originally, he had intended to just dump this investigator on any random island...
But now that the incident pointed straight at Jingyue Island, he couldn't be so perfunctory.
After all, whenever the Tide Zombie Cataclysm arrived, more than one island would apply for Alliance reinforcements. Which island wouldn't want stronger defenses during the zombie tide?
Yet the Alliance fleets tasked with supporting member islands were limited in number, making the application process exceptionally troublesome...
Each island had to provide massive amounts of documentation to prove the necessity of requesting reinforcements!
Therefore, bringing this "Liangzai" back to Jingyue Island as a living witness became critically important.
Better yet, if he could exaggerate the threat posed by the Wailing Pirate Crew a bit, they might even secure stronger reinforcements.
As for how to get his cooperation... naturally, they had to take him to Jingyue Island and pamper him well!
Top-tier medical resources had to be arranged, and perhaps even a new pet beast—after all, he really had sacrificed his pet beast while investigating potential threats for Jingyue Island.
"No objections. I'll call the Director first so he can make preparations on his end." Luo Yu took out his Communication Conch.
"I'll sail back at full throttle. It won't take more than a few hours anyway, but giving him a heads-up is a good idea," Shui Wuyue said.
"A Communication Conch..." Beside them, the investigator panted and asked, "How much did you buy it for...?"
He had made up his mind: for his next pet beast, he would contract a living Communication Conch and become a communications officer. No more dangerous undercover work!
"His pet penguin caught it while fishing. It didn't cost a dime," Yuwan said.
The investigator blinked blankly. "C-caught it fishing?"
"Wait, what? That was caught fishing too?" Shui Wuyue, who had just been about to help the ghost shark sail the ship, froze in shock.
He had only learned from the Director that Luo Yu owned a Communication Conch, but he hadn't heard that it had been caught fishing!
Because he had two pet beasts to maintain, he hadn't even been willing to buy one for himself and had always shared the fleet's communal one.
And now you're telling me this thing can just be fished up from the sea?
"Hiss... my head hurts so much." Hearing this, Liangzai the investigator felt both heartache and a headache, seemingly struggling to accept that someone could have such absurd luck.
Shui Wuyue looked at him and said, "It's normal for your head to hurt, considering you were reeled in by that penguin too. Thanks to your hair, it got tangled up with the hook."
After studying it for a long time, he had finally figured out how that penguin had managed to reel in a whole human being.
It was surprisingly strong...
Liangzai touched his bloody scalp, gazing blankly at the savior of his life—a penguin.
At this point, July realized it had actually done a good deed and saved a person, so it puffed out its chest proudly.
"Wuji!!!" It immediately wanted to go back to fishing.
However, in the next moment, not wanting to waste time, Shui Wuyue and the Raging Sea Ghost Shark piloted the ghost ship together in dual-core drive. The vessel's speed skyrocketed, instantly putting an end to any more fishing.
Throughout this period, Chen Bo never once stepped out of his cabin, vomiting non-stop inside. Clearly, he hadn't been able to handle the ghost ship's acceleration.
Only after Liangzai had been admitted to the hospital on Jingyue Island did Chen Bo stumble out of his room, leaning against the wall for support.
"Why did we suddenly go so fast? Did we reach Qianyan Island...?" he asked.
"No, we're back at Jingyue Island, and we're just about to set off again," Luo Yu said.
Chen Bo: "???"
"Wait, don't I remember that we already departed?!" He looked utterly bewildered.
"That's a long story that started with July watching an old man go fishing... Why don't you head back to the island and get some rest?" As they prepared to set sail again, Luo Yu noticed Chen Bo's terrible complexion and suggested.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I'll go sleep a bit more and get used to it in no time..." Chen Bo returned to his room, his face pale.
"Since there are no issues, let's set off again." Shui Wuyue shook his head as he watched Chen Bo leave. What a waste of such a manly name—all show and no grit.
...
With this departure, the ship slowed down slightly, and July stood on the bulwark, resuming its fishing!
On the other side, despite the minor interlude, Shui Wuyue still intended to continue teaching Luo Yu the technique of piloting a ghost ship!
"Possessing a ship's hull with your soul is essentially like slipping an outfit over your spirit.
"It's just like swimming: what provides the propulsion is your physical strength, while your clothes simply move along under your power.
"A ghost ship operates on the same principle.
"Once your soul possesses the ship's hull, you enter a state where 'man and ship become one.' If the ship is at sea, your soul will feel as though it's drifting on the ocean as well.
"At that point, when you swim in soul form, the hull will be propelled by your soul power. Is that explanation straightforward enough?"
As he spoke, he tossed the wooden raft into the sea, projected his soul out of his body, and entered the raft.
Luo Yu watched as the raft began to move sluggishly through the water.
"I get the gist. Is it really that simple?" Luo Yu asked.
"This is just the basics..." Shui Wuyue's ghost floated back and asked, "Look at me. What do I look like right now?"
Luo Yu blinked. "Uh... a ghost?"
"To be precise, a humanoid ghost! Right?" As he spoke, Shui Wuyue's ghost floated in midair, going through various swimming motions.
He asked, "Notice anything wrong?
"When I possessed the raft earlier, I was actually performing this exact set of swimming motions, using that stroke to drive the raft forward.
"In truth, however, human swimming capability is utterly mediocre.
"Propelling a hull by swimming as a human spirit is far too inefficient!"
Luo Yu realized, "You mean there's a more efficient way to propel the ship?"
"Exactly! The soul is remarkably malleable.
"So why not try mimicking the form of a sea beast with your soul to drive the ship instead?"
Shui Wuyue demonstrated again. His soul left his body once more, a white phantom drifting out. At first, it still resembled a human, but as Luo Yu watched, the spirit suddenly twisted into a mass and transformed into a shark!
Though shaped like a shark, it still retained a human face—essentially, kneading and molding a human soul into the shape of a shark.
"See? A soul can freely shift its form."
Saying so, he dove into the raft again.
In the next instant, the raft moved like a shark—ferocious and astonishingly fast, continually cruising through the surrounding waters.
Luo Yu rubbed his eyes. It was as if he were truly looking at a shark streaking through the sea, incomparably faster than that sluggish state from before.
"If you still treat yourself as a human, swimming will be an uphill struggle.
"Treat yourself as a fish, however, and it becomes much easier.
"This is the standard introductory method for Beast Masters with soul talents to pilot ghost ships: soul mimicry. Next, I'll teach you how to morph your soul into a sea beast and get used to how sea beasts swim!" Shui Wuyue said upon returning.
Luo Yu nodded. So that was how it worked!
The human form had its limits, so it was time to discard humanity!
"Let's take it one step at a time. First, try piloting the ghost raft in your human soul form. Beginners usually find it hard to reshape their soul on their own. Later, I'll knead it for you—don't worry, my craftsmanship is top-notch," Shui Wuyue said.
"Alright." Luo Yu obediently projected his soul and slipped into the raft as a humanoid ghost.
In the next instant, he felt that state of "man and raft becoming one."
His body truly felt as if it were soaked in water... To move, he had to use the swimming styles ingrained in biological instinct, which for humans were nothing more than breaststroke, freestyle, and the like.
Indeed, trying to swim fast in human form was simply too difficult... No wonder soul mimicry of a sea beast was necessary.
"Feel it?" Shui Wuyue shouted from the ship. "Go ahead and swim a bit to get a feel for it.
"Once it feels exhausting, come back, and I'll start teaching you how to mimic a sea beast. I'm proficient in nine different sea beasts..."
Before Shui Wuyue could finish, his eyes widened abruptly, looking as if he had seen a ghost.
He saw the ghost raft possessed by Luo Yu give a sudden shudder—and then slowly take flight into the air...
Thump!
A moment later, the raft fell back into the sea, and Luo Yu slipped back into his body.
"...Senior Shui Wuyue, what just happened?
"I was thinking that piloting a ghost ship is so tedious, and that it would be great if I could steer the ship with just a thought, like sword-flight. And then..."
The raft had actually taken to the air.
What was the mechanism behind this?
"You're asking me what happened?" Shui Wuyue wanted to ask Luo Yu the exact same thing!
A sky ghost ship—a pinnacle ship-piloting technique! How on earth did a complete novice pull that off?!
Did he forget to wipe clean his past-life memories before reincarnating?!
Chapter 51