Chapter 175 – The Great (trash?) Ship Sets Sail (Part 1)

“Darling, do you understand how I feel right now?”

“Excited.”

“I knew you’d get me!”

“Because you’re already rambling incoherently.”

“…”

“…”

“Did I just call you ‘darling’ earlier…?”

“Mn.”

“Sorry, Birdy.”

“It’s fine. I haven’t eaten dinner yet.”

Was it really that disgusting to the point of nausea?! Can we even have a proper relationship anymore?! TAT

At this grand moment when the new world was about to unfold in front of their eyes, the only one still preoccupied with romance was the carefree Ghost Server Legion Leader. Unfortunately, as his partner, Deputy Commander Birdy-kun had to muster 120% focus—not only to avoid being dragged into his leader’s mess but also to lead their legion through the bumpy road of hard work and prosperity.

As the opening cinematic of the Flagship slowly unfolded, fierce winds and towering waves crashed toward them. Amid the surging waves, a ship flickered in and out of sight, appearing as nothing more than a tiny boat in the vast, pitch-black ocean. The immersive sound effects pulled them into the solemn atmosphere, and Meng Chudong instinctively narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, the camera zoomed in, and the tiny boat transformed into a warship, its deck filled with armored warriors—no, not just warriors. On closer inspection, the bustling crowd included figures wearing iron armor, leather, and robes—clearly representing all the various classes in Huaxia!

A storm abruptly broke out, pelting the screen with raindrops the size of beans. The view blurred as if the monitor had been covered with frosted glass. Yet, at that very moment, the people on the deck began to fight—swords, great blades, hammers, daggers, chants, summons, blessings, heals—countless flashes of light and shadow danced behind that frosted glass, shifting between near and far, illusion and reality.

Even Fang Zheng straightened up, his earlier giddiness completely gone, replaced by boiling excitement. It had been a long time since he’d felt this way—the thrill of an all-out battle, the exhilaration of unrestrained combat!

The great ship gradually receded into the distance, reverting back to a tiny boat. The rainstorm grew heavier, and the night fell like a theater curtain, slowly shrouding everything. The clamor of battle, the roar of the waves—all faded away until everything returned to silence.

The cinematic was over!

Fang Zheng held his breath, not daring to blink as he stared at the screen, afraid he might miss the first glimpse of the Flagship’s true scenery!

[System] Welcome, Ghost Server Legion Leader Milk is Mom, to the Flagship.

It’s here! It’s here! Time to fight! Roar! Get hyped! Tremble with excitement—

[System] You must proceed to “Ferry 23” to regroup with your comrades. Please select your mode, Easy or Hard?

(⊙o⊙)?

None of the other legion members had mentioned anything about mode selection. The Flagship truly was an executive-level experience~\(≧▽≦)/~

But judging by the prompt, it wasn’t just about pairing up as leader and deputy—they also had to team up with others? And what was with this mode selection? Given that they were all legion leaders, who would pick Easy Mode? Forget about Hard Mode obviously offering better rewards—just for the sake of their pride as legion commanders, no one would dare choose Easy Mode. And even if they weren’t legion leaders, what kind of Huaxia warrior would cower in the face of a higher, faster, stronger challenge—

[System] Apologies. Your legion has fewer than 30 members and cannot select Hard Mode.

…

[System] You have selected Easy Mode. Welcome to Hermit Island. Please proceed to “Ferry 23” to regroup with your comrades.

Deputy: “What are you thinking? Group up already.”

Commander: “Leave me alone. I just want to be a quiet, beautiful man.”

…

Sunshine, sandy beaches, ocean waves, cacti—the only difference between Hermit Island and Grandma’s Penghu Bay was the lack of an old fisherman.

Since Birdy had invited Fang Zheng, he was the party leader after they grouped up. Now, fulfilling his duties as leader, he followed the quest coordinates toward “Ferry 23,” which the map showed was a harbor. Meanwhile, his teammate trailed behind him, half-dead, kowtowing with every step, shedding tears with every move—

[Party] Milk is Mom: No war, no enemies, no allies, I even took off my pants and they didn’t give me a muscular man but an ice bucket challenge… Why does having fewer than 30 people mean we don’t get a choice?! Who decided legions have to have 30 members?! Damn it, 10 people is a study group, 30 is a pyramid scheme, don’t you get it?! TAT

[Party] Polly: I get it.

[Party] Milk is Mom: You get nothing!

[Party] Polly: I get you.

[Party] Milk is Mom: Is it really okay to treat your man’s bleeding heart like ketchup for your fries?! TAT

Meng Chudong chuckled, releasing his mouse and taking off his headphones. In the blink of an eye, he turned and quickly stole a kiss from Fang Zheng’s cheek, even giving the plump flesh a playful bite before raising an eyebrow. “Still bleeding now?”

Fang Zheng pouted. “Dude, your saliva isn’t Yunnan Baiyao.”

Meng Chudong: “Alright, let’s get back on topic. The game’s difficulty settings are designed to cater to different players. If everything were Hard Mode, what about the small legions with only three or four members? Even with 1% of your brainpower, you should know Hard Mode is either about fighting hordes of system monsters or insane obstacles, or some kind of battle royale with other players—it definitely wouldn’t be as leisurely as what we’re doing now. And the reason you can’t choose Hard Mode is that our legion really is too small. Wasn’t it your principle all along to not blindly expand and just enjoy the game? Now you’re complaining about the game’s desi—”

“That Yunnan Baiyao just now felt pretty good. I want another dose.”

“Okay.”

When dealing with a scorned Meng Chudong in vengeance mode, seduction is the only viable strategy—direct confrontation is futile.

Hermit Island lived up to its tranquil name. Fang Zheng and Meng Chudong walked for over ten minutes without running into a single player. The World Chat was so silent it was as if every ID had been muted—even system notifications were stingy with their appearances…

[Flagship] Congratulations to Dutch Chamber of Commerce Leader Don’t Stop the Meds for winning 10 Legion Warehouse slots in Skull Island!

[Flagship] Congratulations to Silence Deputy Commander Insidious for winning 1 Legion Emblem in Skull Island!

[Flagship] Congratulations to Iceborn Legion Leader Ice Iceborn for winning 5 Legion Level Points in Skull Island!

[Flagship] Congratulations…

[Flagship] Congratulations…

[Flagship] Congratulations…

The system was absolutely doing this on purpose =_=

“Skull Island?” Fang Zheng repeated the name twice before understanding. “Hard Mode?”

“Probably,” Birdy said, watching the notifications pop up one after another. “Aside from Dutch Chamber of Commerce, all these are new IDs.”

And clearly, aside from system notifications, anything said by players in Hard Mode (Skull Island) wouldn’t appear in Hermit Island’s World Chat—otherwise, they’d see more than just system announcements. But the reverse was also true—Skull Island players couldn’t see Hermit Island’s World Chat… except there was no one talking here to begin with! Damn it!! TAT

[Flagship] Congratulations to White Chapel Leader Scholar Lu for winning 1 Legion Bulletin in Skull Island!

Fang Zheng: “Dutch Chamber of Commerce again. They really are strong.”

Meng Chudong: “If I remember correctly, they originally only had three legions—White Chapel, Windmill Faction, and Sunflower. Dutch Chamber of Commerce was just an umbrella name, not a legion itself.”

Fang Zheng: “So now High Commander Don’t Stop the Meds split off and created a new legion called Dutch Chamber of Commerce?”

Meng Chudong: “Mn.”

Fang Zheng: “And they have over 30 members?”

Meng Chudong: “…”

To this day, legion size remained a sore spot for the Ghost Server Commander =_=

“Did you notice something?” Meng Chudong suddenly said.

“Hm?” The commander temporarily set aside his heartache and refocused on the World Announcements. Slowly, his expression darkened. “Out of all these reward winners… not a single one is from our server…”

[Flagship] Congratulations to Meteor Blitz Deputy Commander Big H for winning 1 Legion Decorative Potted Plant in Skull Island!

Big H, you rock!

What? What does a potted plant do? It purifies the air, increases oxygen levels in the legion office, and uses the vitality of greenery to dilute the brutality of Huaxia warfare—please don’t overthink it!!!

But Huaxia Summit, once hailed by players as a god-tier server, having only one Big H was far from enough. This wasn’t because Huaxia Summit had declined—rather, other servers had quietly risen in power.

Meng Chudong: “A lot of old players returned after this update. Seems like the power balance has been reshuffled.”

Fang Zheng: “Do you think My Blood for Xuanyuan will come back?”

Meng Chudong: “…”

Fang Zheng: “Ah, where were we? Right—why hasn’t a single ID from our server popped up? They’re always bragging up a storm, but when it comes to actual combat, they chicken out. And they always question my skills, accusing me of being sneaky whenever they lose…”

[Flagship] Polly: If Xuanyuan comes back, I’ll definitely help him…

[Flagship] Milk is Mom: !!!!!!

[Flagship] Polly: Get Deadleaf back.

[Flagship] Milk is Mom: You’re the worst~\(≧▽≦)/~

[Flagship] Polly: I like you too.

No automatic translator included =_=

[Flagship] Fatty Feng: Am I hallucinating? There are people on this island?

[Flagship] Congratulations…

[Flagship] Congratulations…

[Flagship] Elf King: Yep, two guys were doing something shameful here a minute ago.

[Flagship] Congratulations…

[Flagship] Congratulations…

[Flagship] Silver-Tongued: Why does your wording feel so… off…

[Flagship] Congratulations…

[Flagship] Yang Xiuyuan: Damn it, this Skull Island spam is so annoying.

So much for a deserted island!

The setting was supposed to be without any random NPCs like Soldier A, Bandit B, Cannon Fodder C, and Thug D!!

“Why didn’t you just use Party Chat earlier?! TAT”

“I was reading World Announcements. Muscle memory.”

“I hate you TAT”

“Okay.”

“…”

What kind of human response is this?!

Still, the once-dead Hermit Island had gained some liveliness thanks to the handful of players popping up. Strangers exchanged idle chatter, mostly speculating about the Flagship’s future—what would happen when they reached Ferry 23, how would Skull Island and Hermit Island players meet, and so on. But without more clues, their “predictions” were just wild guesses, nothing substantial.

Fang Zheng skimmed for a while but didn’t recognize any names. Just as he was feeling dejected, Birdy said, “You should shout in World Chat too. Maybe someone you know will respond.”

Fang Zheng scoffed. “If there were anyone I knew, they’d have popped up when we were talking earlier.”

Birdy: “Not necessarily. Maybe they saw but didn’t want to acknowledge us…”

Fang Zheng: “Hey, have some faith in our legion’s reputation!”

Birdy: “…Okay.”

[Flagship] Milk is Mom: Any Huaxia Summit friends here? If so, come say hi~

[Flagship] Yang Xiuyuan: What about Wandering the Four Seas?

[Flagship] Milk is Mom: Any Huaxia Summit friends here? If so, come say hi~

[Flagship] Waiter Chen: Dragon Soars Tiger Roars?

[Flagship] Milk is Mom: Any Huaxia Summit friends here? If so, come say hi~

[Flagship] Silver-Tongued: Stop shouting. Summit players are all in Skull Island—they’re thriving, unlike us.

Fang Zheng: “See? Told you there’s no one we know.”

Polly: “…”

300 kilometers away, in a university faculty dormitory

A: “He’s called out several times now.”

B: “Pretend you didn’t see it.”

A: “But when we get to Ferry 23, we’ll have to face him.”

B: “We’ll deal with it then.”

A: “What do you think he’ll say?”

B: “Ohhhh, your legion doesn’t have enough members so you had to pick Easy Mode and were too embarrassed to say hi to us, so you ignored my calls, right? Hahaha~~~”

A: “Their legion doesn’t have enough members either.”

B: “But we’re brave enough to face it head-on and embrace it happily! Hahaha~~~”

A: “…”

B: “Was my impression off?”

A: “No, it was like he possessed you =_= … Here, take this accessory.”

[System] War-Black Gold has gifted War-Snow Wolf the Evil-Warding Necklace.