Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Stone Ship and the Leeds Fish

Humans are inherently social creatures.

When faced with danger alone, one may feel fear and anxiety. Yet, when accompanied by comrades, that fear diminishes significantly.

It was precisely for this reason that, as soon as Qin Fei walked to Xie Nai Nai’s side, the terror within her subsided by more than half, and her heart gradually grew calm.

Meanwhile, the massive spiders that had been closing in on her also halted their advance. With no further obstacles, Qin Fei and Xie Nai Nai made their way out of the cluster of spiders.

After reuniting with Caesar nearby, the three of them escaped from the toxic gas mine. Outside the mine, Pulse was already waiting for them.

He had hurried back after being revived. According to Pulse, since he hadn’t set a resurrection point with a sleeping bag or bed, the system had defaulted his revival location to the top of the volcano—the very spot where the four of them had first arrived after being transported here.

Having found the Immunity Artifact, Qin Fei now possessed a total of four artifacts. Six more remained to complete the collection of the Ten Supreme Artifacts.

Among the remaining ones, the Brutality and Cunning Artifacts were hidden deep in underwater caves. The other four, located on land, were the Strength, Lord, Devour, and Steadfast Artifacts.

Because the caves containing the Devour and Steadfast Artifacts were not especially perilous, Qin Fei suggested splitting into two teams of two to search for them separately.

Qin Fei and Xie Nai Nai, long-time teammates, naturally paired up. Their task was to seek the Devour Artifact hidden on Demon Island.

Pulse and Caesar formed the other team, charged with finding the Steadfast Artifact, located southeast of the Lonely Island.

With a charcoal stick, Qin Fei sketched a rough map of the Lonely Island on a piece of beast hide and handed it to Caesar and Pulse.

After this, the two teams parted ways. Qin Fei and Xie Nai Nai headed northeast, walking for about half a day until they reached the coast.

On Lonely Island, the further north one went, the greater the dangers. Along the way, the two even encountered a Tyrannosaurus. However, thanks to its enormous size, they spotted it from a distance and quickly altered their route to avoid it.

Demon Island lay roughly a thousand meters from the northeast shore of Lonely Island. In truth, a kilometer was not far; for the physically enhanced Xie Nai Nai and Qin Fei, swimming across would take little more than ten minutes.

However, the waters around Lonely Island teemed with giant megalodons whose size and combat strength far surpassed that of ordinary sharks.

If Qin Fei and Xie Nai Nai encountered one, their chances of survival would be slim.

Beyond megalodons, survivors in the world of Ark also faced threats from manta rays, electric eels, and stinging jellyfish.

So attempting to reach Demon Island by swimming was utterly impossible. They had to build a raft.

Palms and banana trees grew in abundance along Ark’s shores. Though Qin Fei couldn’t name them specifically, their broad leaves and distinct features made them easy to identify. These trees were typically short and lightweight, some with hollow centers—perfect for crafting a simple raft.

Most importantly, their wood was soft enough to be cut down easily with a steel saw or metal axe.

Qin Fei lashed the logs together with rope, creating a basic raft. Still, such a primitive craft was not seaworthy.

Megalodons in Ark could grow over ten meters long and were far more aggressive than modern sharks. If Qin Fei sailed this wooden raft and encountered one, it would take just a single bite for the raft to be shattered to pieces.

Therefore, Qin Fei had to reinforce the raft’s surface with stone—a technique referred to as “boat-armoring” in the game.

He collected a large quantity of pebbles from the shore and piled them beside the raft. Then, using his “Mastery in Stone Construction” skill, he shaped the stones and encased the raft completely.

Thus, the simple wooden raft was transformed into a stone boat.

Qin Fei and Xie Nai Nai boarded the stone boat and set sail for Demon Island.

The cave that held the Devour Artifact was on the far side of the island, so Qin Fei had to steer the boat in a wide arc to reach it.

He controlled the makeshift sail, fashioned from clothing, and let the wind carry them across the waves.

Even with the raft encased in stone, Xie Nai Nai was still uneasy as she sat atop it.

“Be careful, something’s coming…” she warned, scanning the calm sea.

No sooner had she spoken than a massive dorsal fin appeared not far from the boat.

Yet, Qin Fei, trusting in Xie Nai Nai’s sharp intuition, remained unshaken. “Don’t worry. No shark can overturn our stone boat,” he replied with calm assurance, confident in his “Mastery in Stone Construction” skill—a reliable system-gifted talent.

The shark circled their boat a few times, but perhaps deterred by the stone armor, it soon turned away and disappeared.

Only after seeing the megalodon leave did Qin Fei lower his shotgun.

There was no need to fire now. Even if he could kill it, the scent of blood in the water would only attract more megalodons. A peaceful resolution was best.

“Thank goodness,” sighed Xie Nai Nai, patting her chest in relief. She boasted, “Megalodons aren’t so scary after all.”

But soon, her brow furrowed once more as she gazed at the now tranquil sea. “No… there’s something else down there…”

What? Could it be?

Hearing this, Qin Fei grew tense. Xie Nai Nai’s sixth sense had almost never failed; any danger she sensed tended to be real.

Moments later, a colossal fish tail suddenly broke the surface. The tail alone was nearly half the size of a megalodon.

With a casual flick, the tail struck their stone boat, leaving a visible crack.

After slapping the boat, the giant fish emerged from the water. It was enormous, several times the size of the megalodon they’d seen before—dozens of meters long.

It was a Leedsichthys.

Normally, Leedsichthys in Ark did not attack humans unprovoked. However, they had a peculiar habit: they loved ramming into boats.

Qin Fei now regretted not having told Xie Nai Nai to keep quiet earlier; perhaps then they wouldn’t have been so unlucky as to encounter a Leedsichthys.

With the boat clearly doomed, Qin Fei swiftly took a bowl of LS Broth from his pack and split it with Xie Nai Nai.

“Hurry and drink this!”

“Okay!”

There was no time to discuss the broth’s effects. After drinking it, Qin Fei immediately pulled out a pair of flippers and strapped them onto his feet.

At that moment, the Leedsichthys struck the boat again with its tail.

Under the relentless blows, the stone boat shattered with a loud crack, breaking into several pieces and scattering debris across the sea…