Endless Ocean: Escape Starting from a Canoe

Chapter 2 Punishment
With his arms held by two security guards, Shi Ming walked out of the decaying dark room.

Although the cabin was still dim, the visibility was much better than in the dark room. Light shone in through the small window, giving Shi Ming the feeling that he had truly been reborn.

He also had the opportunity to examine his current body.

There were no scars or injuries on his body, his lower limbs were coordinated, and he had no hidden ailments. He was wearing slave work pants made of linen, and his upper body was also made of coarse linen. Perhaps to save fabric, the sleeves of the clothes were not sewn on, just like a burlap sack with two openings cut out, which was a slave's clothing.

After examining himself, Shi Ming also looked at his surroundings.

Personnel patrolled the cabin frequently, and security was tight.

In this situation, escape is impossible, especially since the ship is sailing on the open sea with nowhere to run. The only option is to meet the so-called captain and adapt to the situation.

Two exploration team members dragged him away. One of them looked at his right arm and said, "Oh, I never noticed before, you have some tattoos on your arm. You used to be a rich and sophisticated guy. How did you end up as a slave?"

Tattoo?

Shi Ming turned his head and looked at his right arm, which was being controlled by the exploration team.

Sure enough, in addition to the newly stained blood, strange crimson lines spread from the palm to the entire arm, flowing like blood all the way to the end of the right arm.

"What?" Shi Ming was stunned.

This is not a tattoo, but the blood that flowed from his body before he died in his previous life.

While on an international mission, he accepted a task to move the ancient artifact "Eye of God Pendant". What seemed like an ordinary task turned into a saturation hunt during the process. In the end, the mission failed. Before he died, the pendant exploded in his right hand, and blood flowed up his arm as if it had a spirit, all the way to his left chest.

Now, those bloodstains have turned into red streaks?

Under the control of his men, Shi Ming suppressed his desire to investigate and was escorted by two team members up the stairs between the ship's decks. After walking for a long time, they finally arrived at the outside of a lavishly decorated house.

"Bang bang bang."

"Enter."

“Captain, this is a slave who has committed the crime of murder.”

"Oh? How many did you kill?"

The captain sat at the table, holding a transparent pen, writing furiously on a piece of paper without looking up, seemingly engrossed in something.

"One."

Following procedure, the team members briefly explained what had happened.

After listening to the report, the captain gave a cold, emotionless snort.

“A slave is a slave. It’s laughable that someone would die over half a steamed bun.” He raised his head, glanced at Shi Ming, and continued writing. “His body is quite robust, considered top-grade among slaves. According to the ship’s rules, execute him. Poke a few holes in his body and throw him into the sea to create a feeding frenzy, see if it can attract a few Bloodthirsty Fish.”

"Yes."

As soon as the word "yes" was uttered, Shi Ming deftly broke free from the not-so-clever restraint!

With a sidestep, he easily circled behind one of the team members, delivering an elbow strike to the throat and disarming him in one fluid motion, successfully rendering one of the exploration team members unconscious. Then, he used the wooden stick obtained from disarming the other team member to deliver a heavy blow to the neck!
In the blink of an eye, the two security guards were already lying on the ground.

This is a skill honed over many years.

Immediately afterwards, he threw the wooden stick in his hand toward the captain's head.

He's been looking for an opportunity!

There were guards outside the door. Trying to escape now would only lead to certain death. The only chance was to control the so-called captain and seek a sliver of hope.

His experience as a special forces soldier has given Shi Ming the keen judgment and adaptability of a cheetah. He can make the most suitable response strategy for the current crisis in a very short time with absolute rationality.

Stand there and wait to die? Impossible!

With the force he had gathered and his honed aim, the wooden stick was bound to strike his head, causing dizziness and giving him a chance to survive. But to his surprise, the captain, sitting in his seat, simply turned his head slightly and dodged the high-speed wooden stick.

"interesting."

A playful look appeared in the captain's eyes.

"A slave without awakening abilities can have such excellent physical qualities and reaction speed, even far surpassing these incompetent exploration team members. The talent recommendation mechanism of the drifting ship still has a lot of room for improvement."

The captain stood up and took only two steps to reach Shi Ming.

"Unfortunately, you've met me, an Awakened One."

He gave Shi Ming a deep look, and with just one heavy punch, Shi Ming was sent flying and crashed into the wall.

"Your physical condition is quite good. But you must understand that humans and Awakened Ones are two different species."

Shi Ming got up, panting heavily. Despite having just taken that punch and slammed heavily against the wall, he felt no discomfort. He only felt his blood surging and a strange strength coming from his right arm.

The crimson markings were now burning hot, as if scorching his skin, and also giving him a surge of power. [Awakened-level enemy detected, power recovering... 10%...]

[Arm of Power activated. Arm of Power can temporarily increase the host's strength by 10 times for 3 minutes, with a 20-minute cooldown.]

【■■■■, Not activated.】

【■■■■, Not activated.】

Shi Ming was overjoyed.

Is it a cheat?
Does a 10% recovery have this kind of power? Ten times? He felt incredibly strong now.

He secretly gathered his strength, preparing to deliver a powerful punch to the captain as he approached, hoping to gain a chance at survival.

Ten times the power! No matter how powerful you are as a so-called "Awakener," I don't believe you can withstand it without taking any damage!

Unfortunately, the captain did not approach. Instead, he pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Shi Ming in a very relaxed manner.

His eyes shone with confidence, like a dragon looking down at ants at its feet.

"Rules are made by people."

“You’re very lucky. More than a dozen members of the exploration team died in the storm, and the drifting ship is in dire need of manpower right now. Besides, I never stick to any particular type of person when it comes to hiring.”

"Compared to these useless exploration team members, your physical fitness, reaction speed, and fighting skills are indeed quite good. Even if you kill someone and ambush me, I can still give you a chance to live. If you do things to my satisfaction, I can also promote your status, from slave to crew member, or even to an Awakener like me, all of which are possible."

"As long as you can demonstrate your value."

Oh?
This captain is actually trying to win me over? And he's even making empty promises? Even though I ambushed him before?
Is it because they have strong confidence in their own abilities?

Or do they have other trump cards and methods in control?
The system has not fully recovered yet, and there is no certainty that he can make a move at this moment. No matter what the captain thinks, he can only play along and temporarily avoid a fierce battle.

As long as we survive, we can deal with the rest gradually.

"Awakened One?"

He took the opportunity to ask his own question.

"Only those who have been bathed in the blood of powerful beings can awaken supernatural abilities. Awakened beings are rare in the world, and I am one of them."

How can I demonstrate my value?

Shi Ming raised his head, panting, pretending to be completely powerless to fight back after being beaten.

In this situation, one must play the fool to outmaneuver the cunning.

"Hehe, naturally it's to get me more resources."

The captain lit a cigarette and smoked it with great relish, seemingly unconcerned about the recent commotion.

"The storm has just receded, and the drifting ship is sailing at full speed toward a newly marked island in the southwest. I plan to assemble a slave squad to go to the island to search for any resources that may exist there. You are agile and skilled; if you can complete this mission, I will spare your life."

"However, if you cannot demonstrate your worth, your sin of killing will still be punished."

The captain glanced at Shi Ming.

"Don't even think about escaping. All the personnel on the Drifting Ship, including myself, have had virtual chips implanted in their bodies. The captain, who has management authority, only needs to operate the console. Even if you are an Awakened, you have no ability to resist."

"This is the underlying logic set in the programming of all drifting ships in the world when they are built. Everything is for the sake of the unity of surviving humans."

The captain said something with a half-smile, his words seemingly tinged with displeasure.

"Virtual chip?"

Shi Ming felt a chill run down his spine. There was such a thing!

Moreover, everyone on the drifting ship was implanted with it? Including the captain himself?
For the sake of unity? For the sake of control, perhaps!

Are the managers and the explorers willing to do this?
Do those big shots, those people who stand at the pinnacle of power in the world, also have that?
Before Shi Ming could even consider the veracity of the words, he heard the captain's emotionless voice—

"Will you say yes?"

In the blink of an eye, the system notification reappeared before Shi Ming's eyes.

【drop. 】

[New player missions are underway. Complete the new player missions to receive new player rewards and help remove the Skynet chip from the host's body, making the host a rare "chip-free" individual.]

[The system is currently assigning tasks to the host...]

[Estimated time: 3 hours...]

(End of this chapter)