The drifting ship sailed for nearly another hour and a half before finally arriving near the lush, new island.
From the deck, the crew could clearly see the trees and rocks.
"It looks uninhabited. No signs of human presence so far!"
"We're lucky!!! This time we're really going to get lucky! Hahaha! An uninhabited island, the resources are unimaginable, all ours!"
The captain and first mate stood at the bow, one in front and one behind, gazing at the nearby new island with burning eyes.
The first mate, in particular, was particularly greedy.
After all, while uninhabited islands might harbor powerful sea beasts, they also presented a rare opportunity to awaken supernatural powers. The captain, already an Awakened, no longer needed such an opportunity. As the second-in-command of this drifting ship, he would be the second to awaken!
He couldn't wait.
"Are the slaves ready? Take them to the island in the boat!"
...
Shi Ming and eight other slaves were brought up from the bottom of the cabin. Having not seen sunlight for so long, they could barely open their eyes. They shielded their eyes with their hands for a long time before they could finally see what was happening outside.
From here, he could get a clearer look at the drifting ship.
Its exterior resembled the cruiser from Shi Ming's previous life, but its construction seemed quite unique. Besides its four-story interior, it also had two levels of cabins and platforms above deck. The hull wasn't made of ordinary steel; its dark gray paintwork exuded a solemn majesty.
It was cold, hard, and angular.
It looked like a mobile fortress on the sea, or a man-controlled steel behemoth.
Before he could take a closer look, the first mate called out to him.
"Hurry up! Don't just stand there. Each of you gets a supply pack and gets on the boat down below!"
"When we get ashore, you'll explore separately. Keep your eyes open. Remember the layout of the island, the types of minerals, flora, and fauna. Whoever draws the clearest map and supply layout will get the biggest reward!"
"You, supervise them!"
"The exploration time is a full day!"
"Don't panic if you encounter any danger, especially if you encounter a powerful sea beast. Be flexible and wait for rescue!"
Shi Ming chuckled to himself.
Wait for rescue?
Who would believe that?
If they encountered any danger, these slaves would be abandoned. This drifting ship was so cautious that it had no intention of docking. If there were a particularly dangerous sea beast lurking on the island, this ship would definitely turn around and escape faster than anyone else.
After receiving the supply packs, the nine slaves, including Shi Ming, boarded the boat one by one and, under the captain's remote control, set off towards the island. During this exploration, Shi Ming not only had to complete his own tasks but was also given the responsibility of supervision to prevent the slaves from just going through the motions and refusing to conduct a thorough investigation.
As the boat sailed, he took inventory of the supplies in his bag.
A blunt dagger, a pack of compressed biscuits, a small bottle of water—nothing else.
Just this little food? A day's exploration?
Haha, it looks like an exploration mission, but it's actually a survival mission. Surviving means they can handle the dangers on the island!
The people on the drifting boat weren't worried about them escaping—if the island wasn't dangerous, they'd conduct a thorough search for resources. If there was, they'd already fulfilled their role as cannon fodder, and whether they could return or not wouldn't matter.
Driven by remote control, the boat sailed at breakneck speed toward the uncharted island.
The slaves on board were all apprehensive.
Most had never been to an unexplored island, and the sole survivor's account made clear to them the extreme dangers of exploring a new island. While the new island was indeed rich in resources, as a rare landmass, it was bound to harbor dangerous sea beasts, even mutated ones. These beasts were generally not weak—too weak to control such a rare territory.
Many slaves looked at Shi Ming, hoping he would take the lead.
"Why are you all looking at me? The captain said I'm only responsible for supervision. Once we reach the island, we must disperse and explore separately to prevent the target from becoming too large and attracting sea beasts."
"Why should we explore separately? Isn't it better to stay together because there is more strength in numbers?" a slave asked in confusion.
"You're not planning to abandon us, are you?"
"Foolish,"
Shi Ming scoffed.
"In the face of a powerful sea beast, what's the difference between one person and a group?"
Shi Ming stood at the bow, observing the motley crew. "The captain has sent us on an expedition to explore and gather intelligence, not to gather in a group and become targets.
This trip is solely for covert operations and intelligence gathering. Even if we do encounter a powerful sea beast, we must carefully avoid it and leave it to the powerful exploration team."
"That's right. Our mission is to survive and bring back the intelligence."
"Yes. We don't have any powerful weapons."
"Anyone who wants to show off their skills and foolishly provokes the sea beasts on the island will die alone, but don't bring everyone else down with them,"
echoed several slaves, including the bald one.
The ship sailed with the wind and soon reached shore.
Shi Ming left the ship and stepped onto the land of this new island.
Islands are extremely rare in this world. Many people might not even have the opportunity to set foot on land once a year, let alone an unexplored island like this. Most people spend long hours in the boundless ocean, in the gloomy cabins and on the salty, fishy decks.
Feeling the firm sand, Shi Ming felt an inexplicable sense of grounding.
It was a sense of belonging, a feeling innate in the genes of land creatures.
And just then, the system prompt reappeared before his eyes.
[Set foot on land, system loading rate significantly increased. System loading is now 70%...]
[Arm of Strength, activated]
[Eye of Intelligence, activated, providing the host with intelligence on the surrounding sea area daily.]
[■■■■, inactivated]
[Novice tasks have been scheduled.]
[Task 1: Kill three malicious creatures.]
[Task 2: Become an Awakened and master a superpower.]
[Task 3: Own a drifting ship capable of surviving the boundless ocean.]
[Reward 1:]
[Complete each task and receive a random "mysterious package" as a reward.]
[Reward 2:]
[After completing all tasks, the system loading rate will be significantly increased, and without triggering a Skynet response, the host will be able to release the Skynet chip's control over their mind. ]
Shi Ming blinked.
The mission finally arrived.
There are three tasks, and each time you complete one, you will get a different "mysterious package" as a reward. The final reward is what he urgently needs now, to release the chip control in his mind! He doesn't want to live a day controlled by others.
This broken chip must be released!
In addition to the tasks and rewards, the reward given by the system when it is loaded at 70% - the Eye of Intelligence, also shocked Shi Ming's heart.
He clearly remembered that in his last mission in his previous life, the ancient pendant he escorted was called the Eye of God.
In the end, the treasure exploded in his hand, and it also created the red tattoo on his right arm today.
Is there any connection between the Eye of Intelligence and the Eye of God?
Could it be that the matter of traveling through time and being reborn in this world is ultimately due to the ancient pendant, the Eye of God?
(End of this chapter)