25: Chapter 25 Beginner Island

“Novice Island instance dungeon? Only the captain is allowed to go?”

Su Mei leaned over to look at Li Taiping's system panel, her willow-leaf eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“What is this system playing at? It's taking away all of you, the strongest combatants; what if the ship encounters danger?”

Her words were filled with worry.

“Don't worry.” Li Taiping rubbed her hair and comforted her, “Since it's a ‘Novice Island’ and only allows captains above the second rank to participate, it means the system assumes we already possess basic self-preservation capabilities. It's more like a screening process and a benefit.”

He paused and analyzed, “Think about it, why only allow second-rank captains to participate? I guess it's very likely because first-rank ship captains haven't even solved their most basic survival needs; they need to guard their ships without leaving, so they can't get away at all. As for us, our ships can already sail autonomously, which is why we have the qualifications to participate in the instance dungeon.”

“Besides, the danger level of this Treasure Chest Sea is ‘extremely low.’ As long as you don't go looking for trouble with big guys, you'll be safer on the ship than anywhere else.”

Xia Zhi also nodded, expressing agreement, “The captain's analysis makes sense. This should be another opportunity to widen the gap. We cannot hold you back.”

She looked at Li Taiping with calm eyes, “Leave the ship's control to us. You go to the instance dungeon with peace of mind and strive to obtain more resources and advantages.”

Li Taiping smiled with relief.

Having two such smart and capable women around was indeed a lot less worry.

He opened the ship's control panel and transferred temporary control authority to Su Mei.

[Ship Temporary Commander: Su Mei]

[Permissions: Sailing, Mooring, Energy Shield (Passive)]

“I've given you the basic control rights.”

Li Taiping said to Su Mei, “I've already set the route; you don't need to worry about anything, the ship will sail forward on its own. If you encounter an emergency, turn on the shield and contact me immediately.”

“Got it, you're so wordy.” Su Mei rolled her eyes at him, but the concern in her eyes couldn't be hidden, “You take care of yourself; it definitely won't be safe in the instance dungeon, don't try to be a hero.”

“Don't worry.”

Li Taiping looked at Yun Jinxin, who was still holding a gun and looking nervous.

“Little Jin Xin, your task is to protect the two older sisters and listen to their commands, understand?”

“Mm! I... I will!” Yun Jinxin nodded vigorously, her small face tense, trying hard to look reliable.

The thirty minutes of preparation time passed quickly.

Li Taiping didn't have much to prepare; he put all his equipment and supplies in his personal storage, ready to be taken out at any time.

He checked his status.

[Name: Li Taiping]

[Life Level: Good-Grade Late Stage]

[Title: Ten Thousand Generations Monarch (All Attributes +10%, Growthable)]

[Talent: Bullseye (Unique), treasure basin (Common), Swordsmanship Mastery (Common), Immunity to All Poisons (Common)]

[Weapons: cold iron sword (good), Police .357 Revolver (Common) x1]

[Armor: Deep Sea Stalker (good)]

Looking at this series of luxurious panels, Li Taiping felt full of confidence.

Now, looking at all the Survivor, he was absolutely at the very top of the pyramid.

“Time is up.”

With the countdown reaching zero, the scene before Li Taiping's eyes shifted, and a strong pulling sensation came over him.

The surrounding scene shattered like broken glass, then reorganized.

When his vision cleared again, he was no longer on the Many Children, Many Blessings ship.

Under his feet was soft, fine sand, carrying a hint of warmth.

The salty sea breeze blew against his face, and in his ears was the “whoosh” sound of waves hitting the beach.

What surprised Li Taiping the most was that a dazzling sun was hanging in the sky above.

The sky was bright!

Is this... another world?

Or is it just that the time flow is different?

He quickly looked around.

On the beach, besides himself, nine other figures appeared one after another.

These people were obviously also just teleported over, each still in a state of brief shock and vigilance.

Li Taiping saw the burly man with a calm aura at a glance.

It was Li Jun.

Li Jun also discovered him, grinned at him, and nodded vigorously, acknowledging him.

It seems that the so-called team-up was only an intention; after teleporting in, it was still randomly assigned.

Li Taiping's gaze quickly swept over the others present.

Including himself, there were ten people in total.

Eight men and two women.

They simply communicated and got to know each other.

Being able to upgrade the ship to the second rank at this point in time, none of them were pushovers.

Each person radiated a sharp aura, their eyes sharp, sizing each other up vigilantly like a group of lone wolves encountering each other in a strange territory.

A man in an alchemist's robe, wearing a monocle, had all kinds of strange rings on his fingers.

A lean man carrying a huge longbow had eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

A shirtless, muscular man with flame gauntlets on his hands.

...

Everyone's style was completely different, obviously having chosen different ship evolution directions and obtained different abilities.

And Li Taiping's attention was mainly focused on two people.

One of them was a woman.

She was wearing a tattered gray cloak, wrapping herself tightly from head to toe, and wearing a mask on her face, revealing only a pair of deep brown eyes.

But the most bizarre thing was that her exposed skin was covered in large and small pustules and cysts, looking a bit disgusting and terrifying.

This woman named Helya gave Li Taiping a very uncomfortable feeling.

And the other person made Li Taiping's eyes narrow slightly.

That was a tall woman with dazzling blonde hair tied into a high ponytail, wearing tight leather armor convenient for movement, outlining her hot figure to perfection.

It was a Foreign Girl.

Her features were deep and three-dimensional, extremely beautiful, but her expression was as cold as frost, and her whole body exuded an aura of “strangers do not approach.”

Under the blessing of the survival rules, there was no obstacle to language communication.

But what attracted Li Taiping was not her beauty, but the ordinary knight's longsword worn at her waist.

And... the faint, sharp aura felt from her.

It was Sword Intent!

This woman was also a swordsman!

What made Li Taiping even more alert was that with his current strength of “Good-Grade Late Stage,” he could vaguely perceive that this Foreign Girl's life aura had reached at least “good grade Early Stage”!

Besides himself, there was someone who had broken through the shackles of the common grade so quickly!

It seems that there are far more geniuses in this world than just him.

Just as everyone was guarding against each other and sizing each other up, that familiar, emotionless mechanical voice sounded in everyone's minds.

[Welcome to Novice Island No. 3.]

[Instance Dungeon Mission: Strike directly at the yellow dragon, destroy the Green-skinned Monkeys tribe, and behead the Green-skinned Monkeys leader.]

[Mission Hint: Be careful of them; these little green-skinned monsters are much more cunning than you imagine.]

[Mission Reward: Explore by yourself.]

Green-skinned Monkeys?

Li Taiping raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this word.

It really was a classic fantasy opening.

Novice Island No. 3, this number is also very interesting.

This means that at the same time, at least two other islands are conducting instance dungeon trials.

It seems that although he is the undisputed first in District 91, looking at the huge base of nearly ten billion Survivor, there are many capable people, and he is far from being able to sit back and relax.

Just as Li Taiping was analyzing the information, a “rustling” sound suddenly came from the coconut grove in the distance.

Immediately after, a group of short creatures with green skin, pointed ears, and holding crude wooden sticks and stone spears rushed out of the forest, screaming!

Green-skinned Monkeys!

Visually, there were at least thirty of them!

[Green-skinned Monkeys Warrior (Common Middle Stage)]

[Green-skinned Monkeys Spearman (Common Late Stage)]

The information of each Green-skinned Monkeys appeared in Li Taiping's eyes.

Their life levels were generally in the Common Middle Stage to Late Stage, equivalent to having 2 to 5 times the combat power of an ordinary adult male.

For ordinary Survivor who were still struggling on rafts, such a group of Green-skinned Monkeys would definitely be a devastating disaster.

But for the ten top powerhouses present...

Li Taiping smiled softly, took a step back, and protected the others in front of him.

He crossed his arms with great interest, preparing to observe the strength of these “proud children of heaven” first.

Gather information, observe the situation.