“Still nothing.”
Gu Xiaobei was disappointed again after entering the room, but Lan Qingyou, hovering by the door, gave her a smiling reminder.
Since she was inside the cabin, Lan Qingyou was currently floating on her Magic Broom.
“Open that wooden box under the desk. There should be something inside.”
A box?
Gu Xiaobei looked at Lan Qingyou, then at the wooden box under the desk.
Speaking of boxes, the first thing that came to Gu Xiaobei’s gamer mind was a mimic.
But... given Boss Lan’s integrity, she probably wouldn’t play a prank at a time like this...
Thinking this, Gu Xiaobei, with her unique way of thinking, reached out and slowly opened the wooden box.
Then, she saw the only item inside.
It was a white, irregular sphere about the size of a soccer ball, buried in fine white sand. It didn't look like much at first glance.
“That should be the core of the sealing magic circle's core.”
Lan Qingyou glanced from the doorway and nodded with understanding.
“What is it?”
Gu Xiaobei looked at Lan Qingyou.
Although she didn't have a tactical mind like the Magician, she knew better than to touch the object before Lan Qingyou gave the word.
“An S-grade Sunlight Stone. It’s a type of stone that produces Sunlight Salt. They say it’s a magic tool naturally formed from meteorites that split off from the sun in the sky.”
“Salt!”
Hearing that word, Gu Xiaobei’s eyes lit up.
She looked at the white sand, picked up a tiny bit, and placed it on her tongue.
A sharp tang hit her tongue—it was salt, and the flavor was quite good. It was highly concentrated, too.
This was good stuff!
In the beginning, Gu Xiaobei had used salt found in supply chests as seasoning.
Since those chests yielded plenty of such items back then, she hadn't paid much attention to it.
But once the supply chests stopped appearing, she had to develop her own seasonings.
Salt, however, was easy enough to find.
Whether from salt mines or seawater, it could be made.
So, Gu Xiaobei still hadn't worried much at the time.
It was only when her stock of table salt began to dwindle that she realized it was time to figure out a steady supply.
However, while the Abandoned Land had a coastline and seawater was free, setting up a salt pan to dry salt was essentially impossible.
As a result, the salt she currently used was mostly produced by boiling seawater in a pot.
Because the quality was mediocre, she had to put in a lot of effort when preparing and using it.
Now that this stone could produce salt, didn't that mean she never had to worry about salt again?
“I want this Sunlight Stone.”
Gu Xiaobei raised her hand toward Lan Qingyou and Wheel of Fortune like a schoolgirl, staking her claim.
“I don't mind. If you can use it, take it,” said Wheel of Fortune, who was also standing at the door looking in, completely indifferent to the item.
“I have a use for the Sunlight Stone itself, but you can come and collect the salt it produces whenever you like.”
Knowing exactly why Gu Xiaobei wanted it, Lan Qingyou threw out an offer the other girl couldn't refuse.
After all, she needed salt too.
Sunlight Salt... she remembered how exhausting it had been to dry salt on her balcony.
Now she could just let a stone produce it for her. What a treat.
Of course, the main reason Lan Qingyou wanted the Sunlight Stone was that her core was still missing such a piece.
The Sunlight Stone represented Yang and Light, while the Stone of Repose represented Yin and Dark.
Since she already had the dark-attribute Stone of Repose, there was no way she would pass up the Sunlight Stone now that it had appeared.
With this stone, the defensive energy of her Five Dragon Reincarnation Protection Magic Circle would rise to a whole new level.
To put it more directly, its defensive power would increase by at least 80%.
“Oh, I see. That works too.”
Lan Qingyou had made her point clear, and Gu Xiaobei naturally understood.
She nodded in agreement.
However, like the World Tree Boat, this thing couldn't be moved yet, so Lan Qingyou had Gu Xiaobei close the box and push it back to its original spot.
After that, the three of them returned to the deck.
As they left, Gu Xiaobei kept looking back every few steps, gazing at the captain’s quarters with great reluctance.
After all, unlike the ship, this thing was small. Leaving it here felt precarious.
“How is it? Any problems?”
Lan Qingyou asked the two on deck upon their return.
“Nothing much, except the Hierophant passed out.”
Sun pouted at the Hierophant lying on the ground.
Lan Qingyou glanced at the unconscious Hierophant before turning to the pale Magician nearby.
“And you?”
“I’m alright. The blood loss is making me feel a bit rough, and there’s some phantom pain where I was stabbed.”
Magician clutched his chest with a bitter smile.
He never expected to be played like this here.
And by a monster that hadn't even shown its face yet.
Could he blame the Hierophant?
No.
As far as mental-type attacks went, there was currently no way to defend against them.
In his view, he and the Hierophant were just 'the lucky audience members selected at random.'
After all, in that situation, the monster could have chosen anyone to backstab someone else.
“I’m asking if you can still fight. Don't tell me phantom pain is going to stop you.”
Lan Qingyou said bluntly, showing no sympathy.
She really is tough.
Magician thought to himself, looking at Lan Qingyou’s cold face.
“It would be a lie to say my combat effectiveness isn't affected, but I can still hold my own.”
The feeling of being run through was not pleasant. It wasn't just the pain at the time; even now that the wound was closed, his body was still in a state of shock.
So, Magician didn't dare make any absolute promises.
“The Merfolk, the one most capable of fighting in the water, was the first to be taken out. It seems that even if the enemy lacks a mind, it at least possesses combat intelligence.”
Lan Qingyou muttered as she looked at the Hierophant on the ground again.
Uh...
This sentence immediately broke the Magician’s composure.
He thought he was a 'lucky audience member,' but it turned out he wasn't even qualified to be an 'audience member'?
“But this is actually a good thing for us.”
Lan Qingyou smiled at the confused group.
“How so?”
Li Huai frowned slightly.
“The fact that it immediately went after our strongest underwater combatant proves that its arsenal includes mental-type attacks at the very least.”
“If its only methods of attack, besides physical ones, are mental and water-based, isn't that good news for us?”
True.
Lan Qingyou’s explanation made sense.
“So, Li Huai, maximize your wind defense and protect the ship.”
Without waiting for Li Huai’s response, Lan Qingyou took off in third gear toward the sea ahead.
Upon reaching her intended area, she began raining down giant bottles of Explosion Potions in a straight line, carpet-bombing the surface.
Rate on N.U.
