Chapter 64 Wind Chaser Sailing Ship

Chapter 64: Chapter 63: Wind Chaser Sailing Ship

"Let me think about this ship..." Xu Ming signaled for everyone to move closer, racking his brain to recall the details. "The hull is made of fiberglass with a high-strength fiber interlayer, and the bottom is equipped with a titanium alloy anti-collision guard plate. It can withstand heavy winds and waves.

"The keel has a built-in lead alloy counterweight, making it incredibly stable. Even if it capsizes, it can right itself.

"With twin masts and full sails, its top speed can reach thirteen knots. It also has an automatic sail-trimming system and a wind turbine at the stern for power. The lower cabins can be converted into a cargo hold, a hydroponics area, a living area, and a rest area... Boss, this ship is practically tailor-made for our current situation. It has a moderate tonnage, strong resistance to wind and waves, plenty of space, and it’s fuel-efficient."

"Oh? Is it really that impressive?" Seeing Xu Ming’s excited expression, Han Ning also felt a surge of joy. "Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go take a look."

Just as they paddled through the water and prepared to approach the Wind Chaser, about a dozen figures emerged from the other side of the dense fog. They were clearly drawn to this relatively intact sailing ship as well.

The leader was Vice President Zhao, who had previously suffered severe injuries. He was followed aggressively by seven or eight Awakened.

After receiving some Healing, he had regained a bit of mobility.

"Good heavens, Brother Zhao! This is a Wind Chaser Sailing Ship. What a beauty!"

Beside Vice President Zhao, a dark-skinned man revealed an expression of pleasant surprise—similar to Xu Ming’s—the moment he laid eyes on the Wind Chaser Sailing Ship.

Xu Ming wasn’t the only one here who knew his ships.

"If we can get our hands on this ship, our quality of life will improve drastically..." he rattled off the ship’s specifications to Vice President Zhao.

"Good, very good! Brothers, hurry! Let’s take it!" Vice President Zhao’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he urged his subordinates to speed up.

Suddenly, the mist on the left churned. Three people swam out from within, heading straight toward the deck of the Wind Chaser Sailing Ship.

"It’s Han Ning..." Vice President Zhao recognized the approaching figures, and his face instantly turned incredibly ugly.

"Brother Zhao, what do we do?" His underlings stopped swimming.

Vice President Zhao’s expression contorted. After a moment of internal struggle, his eyes twitched in resignation. "We can’t afford to provoke this guy. Forget it, let’s find another ship."

The underlings nodded in agreement, none daring to utter a peep.

***

Han Ning had clearly observed the situation nearby.

Seeing that Vice President Zhao didn’t advance, he ignored the group. In the face of absolute strength, any covetous desires were futile.

Snow Cake leaped up first. Its sharp claws easily hooked onto the slippery gunwale, and it nimbly flipped over, vigilantly scanning the deck.

Confirming there was no danger, Han Ning and Xu Ming followed closely behind. Yu Na stuck to Xu Ming like a little nanny.

She wasn’t constantly releasing her Spirit for protection; she only intervened when Snow Cake ran too far away, thereby conserving as much Energy as possible.

The three of them boarded the deck.

A pungent smell of rust, decaying seaweed, and a strange fishy stench hit them in the face.

The condition of the deck was worse than it appeared from a distance. The surface was covered in a thin layer of silt and scattered waterweeds, and some areas had pitted dents.

The rails of the automatic sail-trimming system were slightly damaged, but the main frame was still intact. The blades of the small vertical-axis wind turbine at the stern were tangled in algae; it was unclear whether it still worked.

"This is good stuff..." Xu Ming stroked the sturdy gunwale and stomped hard on the deck. "The structure is very solid. Boss, the bottom of this ship definitely has titanium alloy guard plates, and the keel counterweight must be there too. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be this stable."

"Let’s check the cabin." Han Ning stepped in front of Xu Ming and carefully opened the watertight door leading into the ship.

It was dimly lit inside, and the air was even more stagnant.

The lower cabin space was quite large. The passenger cabin was virtually undamaged—at the very least, it hadn’t flooded.

However, the situation in the engine room wasn’t as optimistic. A layer of water covered the floor. Although the main body of the diesel engine was still there, some of the wiring was heavily rusted, the main control panel was shattered, and several transmission components were visibly deformed or missing altogether.

Xu Ming carefully inspected the engine and transmission system, his frown deepening. "The damage in these areas is pretty severe. And here on the drive shaft, there’s obvious deformation and missing parts.

"Boss, to be honest with you, ship equipment maintenance is usually handled by the chief engineer... My knowledge is really limited. I’m not sure if this level of damage can be repaired, how to repair it, or what specific parts are needed. I need a maintenance manual.

"For a private sailboat like this, if the equipment breaks down, the captain usually inspects it himself using the maintenance manual first. If there’s really no other way, then it’s taken to a dock for repairs."

As Xu Ming spoke, he rummaged around the engine room. Finally, he discovered a thick stack of documents inside a sealed box.

"Found it!" Xu Ming’s eyes lit up. He pulled out a booklet and flipped through it. "With a maintenance manual, I’m somewhat confident I can fix these things."

"In its current state, can it be sailed away?" Han Ning asked the most pressing question.

Xu Ming closed the manual and analyzed the situation seriously. "If we absolutely have to move it... we could try starting the auxiliary diesel engine. But there are two major problems. First, where do we go?

"If we head back the way we came, toward the inner city and the Biyun Resort, the water is too shallow along the way. Even when empty and carrying no cargo, this ship has a draft of about two meters.

"That route is entirely submerged city ruins, and the water is littered with construction debris. If we sail in there, we’ll one hundred percent run aground, and we might even tear the bottom of the ship open. Unless... unless we use large-scale transport equipment to move it."

"..."

"The other direction is heading out of the harbor, toward where the ocean used to be. I don’t know if the water is deep enough over there. If it is deeper, we could skirt the edge of the submerged city and find a way back into the inner city through low-lying areas on the outskirts where the building density is relatively low. The sailing risks would be much smaller that way."

Xu Ming’s face was full of worry. "The biggest issue is, what’s the situation in the waters outside the harbor right now? Are there more terrifying monsters? Will the water stay this deep? If the water level drops suddenly during the voyage, or if we encounter a swarm of monsters we can’t fight off... those are all very thorny problems.

"Alternatively, we could leave the ship here and wait until the water level rises high enough before sailing it away.

"Besides, even if we barely manage to start it now, without a thorough inspection and repairs, this ship won’t get far. It could completely break down at any moment.

"Boss, if we can guarantee our safety, I think the most urgent task right now is to immediately scavenge the engine rooms of the other sunken ships nearby. We need to find usable diesel, replacement transmission parts, a control panel, or any substitute components. If we don’t get our hands on these things quickly, they’ll soon be snatched up by someone else."

"True," Han Ning agreed.