The Cursed Ship - Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Renovation

Zheng Yang closed out of all three pop-up questions after finding out that he didn’t need to answer them, and the page with the title “Self-regulation Provisions in the Forum” appeared. It was all about how there would be no spreading rumors, no exaggerating, no slandering the official parties, no…

“Are you kidding me? You call all these posts based on nothing but rumors ‘not spreading rumors,’ then?” he thought.

He noted to himself that self-regulation was indeed necessary.

While he continued to browse the forum, a private chat box appeared. It was from someone called “Moca Bear,” and the message read, “Ricky?”

Zheng Yang was taken aback. He realized that it was the administrator of the forum coming to chat with him through administrative functions.

“This forum isn’t even one based in the English Harbor, and this someone actually knows Ricky?”

He simply replied with a “!”

Then, he received yet another pop-up message. It was a notification from the forum saying that his access privilege had been upgraded to the secret level, and that he could now browse encrypted content.

Zheng Yang blinked, feeling like a blind cat that had just run into a dead rat.

He refreshed the page and saw a column titled “Encrypted Channel,” which he clicked right away.

“Holy sh**!”

The channel was filled with posts dedicated to the real deal.

He scanned the titles and saw a variety of content. There were posts about purchasing materials and ingredients, posts from people claiming to be responsible for certain paranormal occurrences, posts asking about rituals, posts with videos of paranormal happenings…

But he was denied access before he could check out these posts, and he was kicked out of the forum, his account permanently banned.

“My cover’s blown, and I got myself kicked out!

…

That night, Ricky was doing his shift in the SPB. He was talking with “Moca Bear” on his phone with a puzzled look on his face.

Apparently, he had just registered an account with the Arcane Coven with his official status and was using “I’m Ricky” as his profile name.

…

Since 10 in the morning the next day, people had come to the sailboat docks one after another to deliver the goods that he’d purchased.

The docks were privately managed, and it was thanks to Zheng Yang having worked with Henry twice that he’d managed to become a “familiar face.” Otherwise, the club’s security definitely wouldn’t have let these people through.

It was five in the evening, and all the furniture that he’d ordered, which consisted of the foldable sofa bed, cabinets, and whatnot, had arrived. He then set sail and left the docks.

The spirit vessel would definitely look somewhat different after the renovations were done, which meant that he needed to find a hidden place to complete the renovations, so as to keep the spirit vessel’s self-installation functions hidden.

He left the harbor and traveled about 15 kilometers along the coast, looking for some corner with no other vessels around.

After settling at a spot where no other people were around, Zheng Yang willed for the renovation to begin.

The goods heaped at the bow and the cabin were all moved to their designated areas by the magic formation. The fixture hardware then followed, fixing the furniture in place.

Because he didn’t need the magic formation to cover and vitalize any of the added things, and the only real renovations he did other than adding furniture was replacing the wooden window panes with glass ones, he didn’t expend much spirit power. In fact, he was able to get everything down in one go by using just the existing spirit power reserves.

After the work was completed, reinforced glass panes and curtains were added to all sides of the cabin, making the place instantly look a lot brighter.

The foldable sofa bed was only a meter in length in bed mode, while the table only took up the left side and center of the cabin. The end of the sofa bed was near the bathroom, and a row of cabinets, which also served as benches, was fixed to the wall on the right. The cabinets were below the window and directly across from the table and the sofa bed.

The wheel and parts of the electrical switches were installed above the sofa bed and were connected to the linkage and wiring—which were installed under the deck—to conveniently control the rudder and the three outboard motors at the stern. The LED lights installed in the corners and the floodlights installed at the bow ensured adequate lighting.

Other than the glass windows, looking from the outside, the most apparent changes to the boat were the solar panels installed at the side of the yard on the mainmast.

The sets of foldable solar panels each had an area of 24 square meters when fully expanded. They were capable of absorbing photos during the day and converting them to electrical power, which was then stored in the high-efficiency batteries, providing power for the electrical appliances and the three outboard motors.

Three short-axis outboard motors were installed under the stern deck, so as to avoid negatively impacting the look of the boat and the experience of line fishing at the stern. As such, the external part of the compartment at the stern was hollow so the motors wouldn’t get overheated.

The chairs were fixed to the stern, enabling one to sit and gaze at the sea or fish. He even installed a circle of stainless-steel rails at both the bow and the stern.

The electrical stove was chucked inside the cabinet. The freshwater collector, electrical water supply system, and water heater were all installed. While he wasn’t one to shower with hot water, he might bring girls onto the boat one day, and they would need to shower with hot water.

…

After the renovations were done, he slumped onto the sofa bed, feeling rather pleased with himself. He’d had enough of sleeping on the floor.

He was also fed up with not having electricity on the boat, so he quickly got up and pressed a button, using whatever electrical power was left in the batteries to open up the solar panels on top of the cabin so he could bask in the remaining sunlight. Then, he played with the equipment a little, ensuring that they were all in working order.

He didn’t return to the sailboat docks that night. It would have looked odd, finishing such an extensive renovation in just an hour or two. So, he lowered the anchor near the shore and stayed there overnight, planning to return only in the morning.

A short while later, he received a call from Henry. He told him that he had several old tires on his hands that he could sell to him for cheap, and asked if he wanted to use them as bumpers and fix them to the side of his boat.

“That dude sure doesn’t let go of any opportunity to make money, no matter how little he’ll make!”

Given that his bank account was almost emptied, he simply claimed that he was renovating his boat elsewhere, and asked Henry to keep the tires for him at the moment. After hanging up the phone, he brought up the information page on the boat.

Basic information:

Vessel: Level One Spirit Vessel

Status: Complete

Sealed Spirit: Scaly Demon Bug (larva)

Spirit Power Core: Moonlight Shell

Spirit Power Reserve: 28/100

Base Speed: 14 knots

Attack Boost: 5%

Defense Boost: 5%

Power Boost: 5%

…

Equipment Data:

Main Drive: Ball Sail, Single Mast, Triangular Sail

Auxiliary Drive: 60V 10 Horsepower Outboard Motor x3

Figurehead: Scaly Demon Bug

Figurehead Skill: None

…

Conditions for the Spirit Vessel’s evolution:

One, Conditions for common evolution:

Remark:…