Chapter 1 The Biting Sands

Even though it is now fragmented, the Devouring Demon Island is still a place of unknown size. Judging from the side where they landed, it's impossible to tell how big this "shattered island" actually is.

In addition, the island's deadly environmental factors should not be taken lightly, so reconnaissance is necessary.

Five minutes after entering the water, the scouting team led by Suan Tou had safely navigated the shoal in front of the Queen's Revenge.

Because there was no fog on the sea, and Suan Tou had a lamp, the pirates on the large ship could directly see the actions of those on the small boat.

After a brief pause and observation, Suan Tou took the lead and stepped onto the beach with the skull lantern in his hand.

There is a saying among pirates—"Never step onto unfamiliar land barefoot."

Although not a cadre, Suan Tou is considered a veteran member of the Blackbeard Pirates. He couldn't have missed this saying; therefore, when preparing the small boat, he specifically went to put on a pair of loose boots.

Some people might find it strange, this isn't a perilous situation, it's just a beach, what's wrong with stepping on it barefoot?

The answer is...

*Tzz-*

Just as Suan Tou stood on the shore for about three seconds, everyone on the small boat heard a sound similar to meat being seared on an iron plate.

Suan Tou's reaction was extremely fast. As soon as the sound started, he turned and pounced back onto the small boat... then laid his body across the boat, with his feet suspended outside the gunwale.

"It's locust sand! Quickly get a knife and pick it off me!" Suan Tou shouted before he even finished his leaping action.

Maddy, who was sitting at the bow of the boat, was also quick-witted. He immediately drew his scimitar and slashed a few times, shredding Suan Tou's shoes. After the sand-covered shoe fragments fell into the water, Suan Tou flipped over again, squatted down into the water, and rinsed his feet in the seawater at a rapid pace before pulling his legs back onto the small boat.

"Tch... damn bad luck." After escaping the danger, Suan Tou sat down on the small boat, spat, and ordered, "Let's go back, there's no way to land here."

The crew members on the small boat didn't say much, and readily took up their oars, turning back the way they came.

Meanwhile...

The players who saw this scene naturally had questions. Snow was the first to ask, "What was that? Is there something on the beach? Why did they come back before even landing?"

Feng Bu Jue and Honghu didn't know what was going on either, so they didn't immediately respond.

"Looks like 'locust sand'." However, Blackbeard, with his extensive knowledge, had already seen the clue.

"Oh?" Feng Bu Jue followed the other's meaning and tentatively asked, "Could it be that the sand on the beach is some kind of corrosive substance?"

"Not a 'substance', but an 'animal'." Blackbeard replied, "'Locust sand' is a type of animal that looks very much like ordinary sand."

"Let me guess..." Snow smiled for some reason, "It's also a carnivore?"

"Not only meat, they also eat fur and textiles, and the digested material... will be converted into new locust sand in a certain proportion." Blackbeard replied.

"Heh~" When Feng Bu Jue heard this, he almost instinctively responded, "Good stuff, it can be fully utilized."

"Heh..." Hearing this, Blackbeard seemed to recall something, and said with interest, "A long time ago, there was a guy in my pirate crew who was involved in architectural design... I can't remember his name... I only remember that he used to specialize in designing prisons and torture devices for a tyrant of a small country." Blackbeard looked at Jue Ge, and then said, "Anyway, that guy's idea was very similar to yours. On his advice, I built a 'locust sand pool' on the ship, specifically for disposing of corpses; I have to say... that pool was really convenient. As long as you threw the captured prisoners in... in less than a minute, they and their clothes would disappear completely, and the metal, wood, paper and other things on them would be preserved intact."

"I guess... the story is only halfway there." Honghu had faintly guessed something from the several "past tenses" (the other party was speaking English) in Blackbeard's words.

Blackbeard smiled again and continued, "Heh... not just half, because the ending is next." He paused for a second, and then said, "A month after the pool was built, on a windy and choppy afternoon, that old design guy accidentally... fell in himself; heh heh... he used his life to tell me two things - first, he seemed to have forgotten to design a device for emergency rescue in case of an accident; second, breeding locust sand on a swaying ship is not a good idea."

"Okay, the story is touching." Feng Bu Jue didn't seem very interested in Blackbeard's story, "Well... you shouldn't mind if I go and collect some animal samples as a souvenir, right?"

"Ha! 'As a souvenir' huh..." Blackbeard found these words very funny.

In a sense, it was indeed funny.

"Suit yourself, do you want me to give you a small boat separately?" Blackbeard replied.

"No need, I have my own way of getting over there." Feng Bu Jue said, "However, I want to ask you for a container that can be used to hold locust sand."

"Oh..." Blackbeard responded, waved his hand in the void, and in a flash, a glass bottle appeared in his hand.

The players had seen that bottle before, it was the bottle that Blackbeard had originally prepared to hold the Brown Algae.

"Hmm..." Feng Bu Jue took the glass bottle from the burning gaze of Blackbeard. He originally wanted to say, "You're a little petty," but after thinking about it, he held back.

...

A few minutes later, Suan Tou and his brother's boat returned, and Feng Bu Jue had already used Moon Step to walk back and forth on the beach.

Because Jue Ge's [Stepping into the Void] has the effect of "standing in mid-air for a period of time," he had almost no difficulty or danger when collecting sand, and he completed it quickly.

After Suan Tou simply explained the situation to the captain, Blackbeard ordered the pirates to weigh anchor and steer, intending to land at another location.

However... an accident happened when weighing anchor.

"Pull harder, you bastards! Didn't you eat your fill?" Mr. Vog, who the players had met below deck, had now come up to the deck and was directing the sailors to weigh anchor.

Multi-masted sailing ships naturally don't have the anchor windlasses used by modern ships (equipment for winding the anchor back up). Ninety percent of the work on this ship is done by manpower, and weighing anchor is no exception.

For the crew members of the Blackbeard Pirates, this task is not considered difficult. Some cadres don't even need to use the winch (which can be understood as a manually driven anchor machine), and can pull the anchor up with their own brute force.

But now, in this area near the island where the seabed is not very deep, the sailors used all their strength but couldn't lift the anchor even half an inch.

"Let me do it!" Just as the sailors responsible for weighing anchor were in trouble, the "bottle opener" brother who had lost in the first round of the deck boxing match stood up.

Don't look down on this guy for losing in the boxing match, but under the premise of not restricting strength, he is quite strong - especially in terms of "strength", the bottle opener is confident that he is not inferior to some of the cadres on the ship.

"Oh, it's you kid, you came at the right time." When Vog saw that it was the bottle opener coming to help, he quickly told the nearby lackeys to step aside, "Get out of the way, let him do it."

The bottle opener didn't mince words. After everyone gave way to a certain space, he ignored the anchor winch, grabbed the iron chain tied to the anchor, took a breath and started to pull.

His pull was really effective...

The anchor didn't move at all, but the ship tilted a few degrees.

"Ah-" A few seconds later, the bottle opener was obviously exhausted. He shouted, and sat down on the ground as soon as he let go, "Huh... what's going on?"

Not only him, but everyone around him was also shocked and puzzled; even the ship moved, but the anchor didn't move... that definitely had nothing to do with whether the sailors were trying hard.

"The anchor must be stuck on something underwater." At this moment, Honghu walked over and gave the pirates a possible assumption.

Vog heard this, turned his head and glanced at him, but did not respond.

However, he still adopted Honghu's words, and then said to the pirates, "Did you all hear that? What are you waiting for? Send a few people down to take a look."

As soon as the words fell, several pirates near the gunwale looked at each other. After hesitating for a few seconds, four people jumped over the gunwale one after another and jumped into the water.

On Blackbeard's ship, even the lowest-level sailors have their own unique skills; high diving (the deck is still a bit of a distance from the water) is not a big deal at all, and staying underwater for three to five minutes is also a basic skill.

It's just... the ability to see in the darkness under the sea is really not something everyone can do; the four who jumped into the water just now can see things within two meters of themselves at most underwater, which is not comparable to Udini, who sacrificed during the day, but it is much stronger than ordinary people.

...

Time passed in waiting...

As the four people dived into the sea for longer and longer, the thoughts and moods of those on the deck were also undergoing subtle changes.

"Can't wait any longer." Suddenly, Feng Bu Jue walked over and said, "I'll go down and take a look too."

The gazes of the pirates and players were instantly attracted to him, and Blackbeard, who was standing in the distance, couldn't help but shift his peripheral vision over.

"Hmm... this is a bit surprising..." Snow couldn't help but whisper, "In this situation that seems to only have danger and no profit, he actually stood up..."

"Heh... I've already given up trying to figure out his thoughts." Honghu, who was standing next to him, chuckled lightly when he heard this, and lowered his voice to respond.

While the two were talking, Jue Ge was ready to go.

He took out the [Oxygen Pipe] and put it in his mouth, climbed onto the gunwale without saying a word.

Two seconds later, under everyone's gaze, Feng Bu Jue stood up on the gunwale; then, he opened his arms, leaned forward... and with a "leap of faith" action, jumped into the cold, chaotic sea ahead.