The wandering ship's crew had been reduced by more than half. To motivate the remaining survivors, Shi Ming generously took out a portion of the former captain's collection, promising them as advance rewards.
There were quite a few good things in there.
Aside from a bottle of sea beast's blood, there were several sharp battle blades, a motley collection of books, five bottles of red wine from brands Shi Ming had never even heard of, a few boxes of unopened rare canned goods, and a dazzling array of various other strange materials and regional specialties.
An antique-looking chest even held half a side of perfectly preserved cured meat! In the Wandering Era, this was the ultimate luxury.
Some of these supplies were things Shi Ming had no use for, making them perfect as rewards.
Of course, to earn these rewards, one had to contribute to the wandering ship.
If someone just wanted to slack off on the ship in exchange for basic supplies and compensation, then too bad—the wandering ship had no need for such people.
...
After the crew meeting, Shi Ming left the conference room. He finally had time to inspect and search the wandering ship. Due to the limited time before, he had only been to the captain's cabin, where he immediately plundered all the valuables to prevent anyone else from beating him to it and seizing the spoils of victory.
On the wandering ship, eighty percent of the dead had been elites, leaving behind mostly crew members and slaves with no combat strength.
As for the exploration team, the only capable members left on the wandering ship were two men named Stone Pillar and Lin Hai. The rest were just adults with a bit of Physical Strength, hardly what you could call "combat power."
Of course, the strongest combatant now was undoubtedly Shi Ming himself.
He didn't really need additional combat power either.
It was just that the exploration team leaders, members, and others who had died on the island had left supplies and even dangerous items in their cabins. These items had to be secured as quickly as possible to prevent any unforeseen risks.
As the captain, he had to have complete control over the entire ship.
The hold had a total of four levels. The first sub-level was the living quarters for the ordinary crew. Most of them lived four to a cabin, and their rooms held nothing of note—just clothes, Sailing Coins, common weapons, and the like.
But squad leader Iron Tower's room was filled with dangerous items.
Shi Ming found two firearms, a pile of ammunition, and a long-range communicator hidden in a compartment under the bed boards. The communicator wasn't connected to any device, and its call logs were completely empty. Iron Tower had clearly deleted all traces after each communication.
'What a traitor. A meticulous one, at that.'
Shi Ming unceremoniously collected all the items.
The second sub-level was the ship's resource deck. Bread, fresh water, and canned goods were produced here, providing the crew with basic necessities. The Sea Crystal Stones required for navigation were also created here by crystallizing components extracted from seawater.
After his tour, Shi Ming was left in awe of the wandering ship's miraculous technology. He couldn't help but feel that in the Wandering Era, physics and chemistry had ceased to exist.
A massive machine rumbled here. No matter what food one wanted to produce, it only required two types of raw materials: Sea Crystal Stones and sea fish.
Sea fish and Sea Crystal Stones were fed into the machine through different pipes, providing it with energy and raw materials. Then, using a pre-set program, this miraculous machine could produce a variety of daily necessities like canned goods, rice, purified water, bread, cookies, and more.
'Post-apocalyptic technology is truly mind-boggling.'
Shelves to the side were stacked with freshly produced steamed buns and bread.
Shi Ming frowned. There wasn't a large quantity of these steamed buns and bread, but there was still a decent supply. Yet the slaves who had been kept in the dark cells had starved to death.
'A slave's life wasn't considered a life at all.'
The third sub-level was the warehouse. Most of the spoils and supplies from hunting and exploration were stored here. Shi Ming saw piles of ore, Sea Crystal Stones, and freshly caught fish. Aside from the fish, which could be replenished at any time, the reserves of ore and Sea Crystal Stones were enough to sustain the ship's voyage for three months.
The final level was the slave deck, where Shi Ming himself had once been confined.
The entire deck was dark and damp, with three slave cells. The one where Shi Ming had been held was the largest. Fewer than ten slaves had survived, but Shi Ming had already promised that starting today, they would no longer be slaves. They would all become ordinary crew members.
Their treatment would be the same as the other crew members, as would their rights and obligations.
Tasks previously forced upon the slaves, such as exploring a New Island, would now be distributed equally among everyone. With greater rights came greater responsibilities. It was only fair.
Just as Shi Ming entered one of the slave cells, he saw two familiar faces: the bald man and his quiet younger brother.
The bald former slave was named Yellow Cannon, and his brother was Yellow Spear.
"Captain..."
"Mm." Shi Ming nodded in acknowledgment.
The "Mimicry Dust" the two had given him on the island had been a great help. Shi Ming had a good impression of them, especially when compared to the scar-faced man who had backstabbed him. In contrast, these two seemed incredibly honest and loyal.