Chapter 31: Opening the Furnace to Forge Treasures

Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Opening the Furnace to Forge Treasures

Early morning, a thin layer of golden mist rose over the sea.

Lin Ji stood at the bow, steadily controlling the direction of the sails with his mind.

The catamaran sailboat carved a white wake across the sea’s surface, sailing at full speed toward the southeast.

A faint sound of footsteps came from within the cabin.

Shen Manyun was the first to emerge.

Perhaps because she had awakened a healing-type talent, her physical recovery speed far exceeded that of ordinary people.

As soon as she stepped out of the cabin, the sea breeze tousled her slightly voluminous long hair.

A few strands clung to her elegant, intelligent face, exuding a lazy, mature charm.

Shen Manyun instinctively tightened the slightly snug professional blazer she wore.

Due to yesterday’s rush and battles, a button on the collar of her white blouse had popped off, revealing a glimpse of snow-white curves.

Noticing Lin Ji’s gaze fixed on her, a flush of embarrassment instantly colored her cheeks.

Shen Manyun fidgeted, tidying her disheveled hair at the temples, and lowered her head somewhat sheepishly.

"Lin Ji, do I... do I look very untidy right now?"

Her voice was gentle and pleasant, carrying a magnetic quality unique to mature women.

Lin Ji made no attempt to hide his gaze, sweeping it over her graceful curves and the pert figure outlined by her professional skirt.

It had to be said, Teacher Shen’s intellectual beauty, set against the backdrop of the apocalypse, held a multiplied allure.

"Teacher Shen, you look even more charming like this."

Lin Ji smiled and walked up to her.

Hearing this, Shen Manyun breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension she had felt mostly dissipated.

"How did you rest yesterday?" Lin Ji asked.

"Very well. I feel my stamina has fully recovered."

Shen Manyun adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose, her expression grateful.

"Thanks to you yesterday, otherwise all of us on this boat might have ended up as food for the sea monsters."

Lin Ji waved his hand dismissively. "I’m the captain. It’s what I should do."

Waves gently lapped against the hull, and the distance between the two grew very close.

Lin Ji could smell the faint, jasmine-like scent emanating from Shen Manyun.

"Teacher Shen, this sea area is becoming increasingly dangerous."

Lin Ji looked into the distance, his tone turning serious.

"If we want to survive, we must possess greater strength."

Shen Manyun sighed. "I want to become stronger too, but I’m only an E-grade support type. Apart from hemostasis, I can’t do anything."

Lin Ji had been waiting for these very words.

He leaned close to Shen Manyun’s ear and lowered his voice. "Actually, I possess the ability of Evolution Talent."

Shen Manyun froze, her beautiful eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses widening instantly.

"Evolution... Talent?"

"That’s right. Gu Yihan’s current D-grade Lightfoot was evolved by me."

Lin Ji looked at her ample curves, enunciating each word clearly.

"However, evolving a talent comes with a condition."

"Only by becoming my woman would I be willing to expend resources to help her evolve."

Shen Manyun’s breathing grew rapid.

Her delicate face instantly flushed red to the tips of her ears, her eyes filled with shock and bashfulness.

She hadn’t expected Lin Ji to make such a direct request.

If she really agreed... wouldn’t that mean she’d have to... with him in front of so many students?

"Is... is this for real?" she whispered, her voice trembling badly.

"If you don’t believe me, you can ask Gu Yihan when she wakes up."

Lin Ji shrugged, looking completely unfazed.

Shen Manyun bit her lip, lowering her head and not daring to look at him.

Just then, Tang Ling, Bai Taotao, and Su Qingyue also heard the commotion and emerged from the cabin one after another, rubbing their eyes.

Gu Yihan, having kept watch during the first half of the night, was still deep in sleep.

Lin Ji put away his playful smile and pointed behind them.

"Since everyone’s awake, take a look back there."

Everyone followed his direction and saw that the pitch-black wall of fog was even closer than it had been the day before.

"The Dead Silence Fog is accelerating. We have less than three days left."

Lin Ji continued calmly.

"Within three days, the vehicle must be upgraded to LV3, or none of us will escape."

"I’ve detected a stranded cargo ship 30 nautical miles to the southeast. It has all the upgrade materials we need."

"We must secure it on this trip!"

Everyone’s expressions turned grave. Under the pressure of survival, no one raised any objections.

"Then I’ll hurry and finish processing that shark Sea Monster from yesterday. It might come in handy later!"

Tang Ling was a woman of action. She immediately brought out the Crimson Sky Forge.

She gathered all the materials she had processed the previous night—Demon Shark teeth, shark bones, shark skin, and so on.

The Red forge radiated intense heat under the morning light.

Tang Ling’s slender fingers danced swiftly as she used her Assembly Talent to guide the forge in shaping the materials.

Before long, three sets of wrist guards and shin guards made from tanned shark skin were completed.

"Lin Ji... Captain, Qingyue, you two put these on first. They can block some physical damage."

Tang Ling wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I’ll give the remaining set to Sister Gu when she wakes up."

Lin Ji put on the protective gear and tested its feel—it was indeed flexible yet sturdy.

Next, Tang Ling moved on to the main event.

Using Demon Shark bones as shafts and shark teeth as arrowheads, she began crafting arrows with the forge.

After making them, she evenly coated each one with the Corrosive Slime collected the day before.

Under the amazed gazes of everyone, twelve finely crafted poison arrows, gleaming with an eerie green light, were neatly arranged.

Thwack!

Tang Ling picked up her Multi-shot Wooden Crossbow and fired an arrow at a thick plank by the ship’s side.

The arrow instantly pierced deep into the wood. The Corrosive Slime on the arrowhead quickly dissolved, emitting faint black smoke and eating a small hole into the plank.

"Excellent arrows!"

Lin Ji was delighted. He took one of the arrows and examined it.

This thing’s lethality far surpassed the simple Ice Arrows Su Qingyue could make.

He then test-fired a few shots with the Multi-shot Crossbow.

Although its power couldn’t match the Red Quality Storm Hunter Bow, it made up for it with its ease of use.

"Tang Ling, can you make two more of these wooden crossbows?"

"I’d like to equip Teacher Shen and Bai Taotao with them as well, to give them some extra means of survival."

Tang Ling rubbed her hair awkwardly.

"Captain, I can only activate the forge twice a day, for fifteen minutes each time."

"I already used up today’s forge time rushing to make these."

"I need to rest and wait until I recover before I can make more."

Lin Ji understood. He then took out a pack of bread and half a bottle of water from his Backpack and handed them to her.

"Good work, replenish your stamina."

He also handed over the [Simple Water Purifier Blueprint (Green)] obtained yesterday.

Tang Ling’s eyes instantly lit up when she saw the blueprint.

"I can replicate this kind of water purifier! Combined with the previous one, we can collect 2 liters of fresh water a day!"

Lin Ji nodded and simply handed over the [Spatial Expansion Pouch] and some basic plastic materials to her.

"Take these. From now on, you can directly use them for crafting items without having to ask me every time."

Looking at the precious items in her hands, Tang Ling felt a slight sting in her nose.

She knew this was a sign of Lin Ji’s complete trust in her.

"Captain, don’t worry. As long as there are enough materials, I can handcraft enough logistical supplies for you!"

Tang Ling patted her chest firmly, causing her impressive peaks to tremble slightly.