Bizarre Voyage: Summoning The Fourth Crisis

After taking care of their own business, Brother Yu and Brother Mangzi logged on as well.

When Brother Yu heard the game had been updated with a port, allowing them to head out to sea on a Spirit Fire Raft, his eyes practically glowed with greed.

’If I can fish directly in the sea...’

It was as if he could see countless huge fish beckoning to him, striking seductive poses and wiggling their fins, as if to say—

’Come on, stuff your big hook into my mouth...’

The very thought made Brother Yu’s heart itch with an unbearable craving, as if a cat were scratching at it.

’I’m still a little short on Wax Oil.’

Brother Yu glanced at his Wax Oil reserves, and a dangerous glint entered his eyes.

’In that case...’

’I’ll just have to kill a few more groups of Sand Worms.’

’It’s a good chance to stock up on some Fine Meat Bait and go catch even bigger fish in the sea.’

SHING—

Brother Yu drew his Longsword once again and, brimming with killing intent, stalked off toward the Sand Worm nesting grounds.

...

「Spirit Fire Port.」

Guagua was just returning, her fish basket filled to the brim.

Luo Ge had actually added the fish baskets as a special item. Honestly, he hadn’t expected the players to be so interested in fishing. It got to the point where their inventory slots were insufficient, so he added the baskets, which they could purchase with Wax Oil.

”Oh? Sister Guagua, you caught that many fish?”

Brother Mangzi was on the shore checking out the newly updated Spirit Fire Port when he happened to run into her.

”Ah, it’s not that many. They’re all just fish. I didn’t catch anything good. Looks like I’ll have to use Fine Meat Bait from the Sand Worms...”

Guagua said.

For her, the fish weren’t a big draw. What she really wanted were Special Items like Treasure Chests, which she might be able to trade with the Candlekeeper.

Of course, if Brother Yu were to hear that, he’d probably have a fit...

”It’s not easy to heal out on the sea. Didn’t you run into any monsters?”

Brother Mangzi asked, giving her a puzzled look.

Guagua was completely unscathed, without a single scratch on her.

Guagua found it a bit strange too. ”I don’t know. I didn’t run into any monsters the whole trip. It felt totally empty.”

”Maybe there just aren’t many monsters in the shallows.”

”Alright, Brother Mang, I’m heading off. Bye!”

Once on shore, Guagua picked up her fish basket and headed for the Reef Cave.

After Guagua left, Brother Mangzi scratched his head in confusion.

’Could it be there aren’t actually any dangerous monsters in the coastal waters?’

Brother Mangzi decided he would save up some Wax Oil, buy a Spirit Fire Raft, and go check it out for himself.

...

「The next day.」

On Candle Island, aside from the troublesome Near-Sea Ghosts that nobody dared to provoke, the other monster populations had basically become the players’ personal farming grounds, harvested again and again.

The Sand Worm swarms had it the worst.

Since most players were interested in fishing, and because the Sand Worms were relatively fragile (despite their ability to hide in the sand), many players latched onto them for grinding.

And the most extreme of all was Brother Yu.

It had to be said that Brother Yu’s fishing ability and his combat prowess were two polar opposites.

He could now solo a group of Sand Worms and a Sand Worm King with his Longsword, taking almost no damage in the process.

SQUELCH!

A screech echoed as the Longsword in Brother Yu’s hand precisely pierced the Sand Worm King’s body.

’Why won’t it drop any bait?’

Brother Yu scowled, looking at the Concealment Skill Book in his hand with clear dissatisfaction.

He had already killed several Sand Worm Kings and had more than enough Wax Oil to buy a Spirit Fire Raft. But the blasted things insisted on dropping equipment and Skill Books—anything but the Fine Meat Bait!

’Is the drop rate for Fine Meat Bait really this low?’

Brother Yu couldn’t help but wonder.

After reluctantly stashing it, he immediately turned his sights on another group of Sand Worms.

”Holy crap, has Brother Yu gone on a killing spree...?”

”Soloing a group of Sand Worms without taking a hit... I think I’ve only ever seen Faraway Lord do that.”

”His luck is insane, too. That’s two Skill Books he’s gotten already, right...?”

”But Brother Yu doesn’t look too happy about it.”

”He wants Fine Meat Bait for fishing. Of course he’s not happy when it drops something else.”

”This is insane.”

”An angler really can do anything... except fish.”

Mushroom and Niuniu were dumbfounded as they watched, unable to help but sigh in amazement.

They had never seen such a fanatical angler before.

”Hey! Alright, Mushroom, stop watching. C’mon and help me scout the terrain,”

Niuniu said, poking him in the arm.

Unlike the others, Niuniu was interested in things like combat and fishing, but not *that* interested. For him, it was more about the joy of simply experiencing the game.

What he enjoyed more was exploring and experimenting.

Now, Niuniu had decided he wanted to draw a detailed map of Candle Island, so he had asked Mushroom to help.

...

As the Candlekeeper, Luo Ge felt quite gratified watching his little players fight so diligently, providing a constant stream of Wax Oil.

Li Miao and Faraway hadn’t been killing monsters as frequently lately, but they needed to buy equipment and Weapons from his shop, so their overall efficiency hadn’t dropped by much.

Brother Yu, however, had more than made up for the shortfall.

Lured by the promise of sea fishing, this angler who usually just slacked off had suddenly sprung into action. He was frantically grinding Sand Worms, providing Luo Ge with a considerable amount of Wax Oil.

[Spirit Candle]

[Tier: Residual Ash]

[Remaining Wax Oil: 117]

[Spirit Candle Building: Spirit Fire Port (Tier One)]

[Anchor Island: Candle Island (Small, Isolated Island)]

[Summoned Candle Spirits: 7]

Luo Ge nodded slightly as he watched his Wax Oil reserves slowly recover.

He had already unlocked the coastal waters for the players, so now he could focus on steady development for a while.

The main objective during this time would be to accumulate the Wax Oil needed to upgrade the Spirit Candle.

The secondary objective was to summon new players, increasing the rate of Wax Oil acquisition...

Before that, however, Luo Ge planned to pay a visit to the Spirit Fire Port.

Luo Ge materialized and walked out of the cave.

He looked up at the sky.

It was already evening. The moon hung in a star-filled sky, and the seawater shimmered faintly. The coast of Candle Island looked as if it were draped in a silver veil of moonlight.

It was daytime in the players’ world, and most of them were busy with work or school, so Candle Island was relatively empty.

However, Luo Ge’s senses told him that Brother Yu, the angler-turned-Sand-Worm-butcher, was still hard at work...

’Doesn’t this guy have a job? I wonder what he does for a living...’

Shaking his head, Luo Ge arrived at the Spirit Fire Harbor and looked toward the intertwining black-and-white flame—the Traction Fire.

There was nothing more to say about the Spirit Fire Raft. The players had already tried it out; to Luo Ge, it was just a simple vehicle.

The function of the Traction Fire, however, was what he needed to test.

Luo Ge reached out and touched the Flame.

In an instant, a flood of information rushed into Luo Ge’s mind.

[Traction Fire]

[Search: Consume 50 Wax Oil to scour the chaotic region. Search for and mark a tractable area.]

[Traction: Pull a qualifying area and construct an access channel (Wax Oil cost is determined by the target area).]

This was how Luo Ge mentally organized the information; the meaning was the same.

’Fifty Wax Oil... that’s not too much. But I’m afraid pulling an entire area will cost a lot more than that...’

’So, besides providing vehicles, the Spirit Fire Port’s purpose is to allow me to slowly expand outward, using this isolated Candle Island as a center.’

At that moment, Luo Ge gained a much clearer understanding of the Spirit Fire Port’s true purpose.