A Yangpu 2990 fishing boat emerged from the mist.
It had already started raining heavily on the island, the perfect weather for crossing the maritime border.
Qin Yexuan, wrapped in a thin black raincoat, was being led by Fo Lian.
He was extremely weak now, while Fo Lian, a high-level demon cultivator with potent demonic arts, moved with astonishing speed.
She had also disguised herself: a sallow, ancient-looking face, a floral patterned jacket, a pair of blue work trousers, and comically mismatched shoes—a sneaker on her left foot and a casual leather shoe on her right, both of different colors.
They looked like a poor elderly couple, holding hands and trailing behind a group of young, able-bodied illegal immigrants.
Ahead, speedboats were hidden beneath the reefs, ready to quickly ferry people onto the fishing boat.
The boat captain's cigarette butt flickered a bright red in the dark, stormy rain.
Four men in shark wetsuits stood behind him.
"Line up!" someone barked in the darkness.
The group shivered and hastily formed a line.
"Pay first!" another demanded, holding a strange lantern-shaped box, his gaze cold.
The crowd stirred restlessly, then one by one, they obediently produced their "money."
It couldn't be called money; it was more like various colorful stones.
Some were as smooth as pebbles, others rough like shale, and some were muddy.
The first person's stones were voluntarily dropped into the lantern box. Then, a flow of spiritual energy circulated, and a coin clattered down from the bottom of the lantern.
The boat captain approached, picked up the coin, and looked at the lantern box. A display screen, modified from a mobile phone, flickered: "9.8.2 spirit points, acceptable. We'll call it 100 spirit coins."
Underground transactions no longer used currency, not even electronic money.
They only used items containing spiritual energy, referred to as "spirit coins"!
The cost of this smuggling trip was 100 spirit coins per person.
The stones these people held were the most basic items imbued with spiritual energy, residual spiritual attachments scattered across the land.
In reality, the spiritual energy surge had caused all matter globally to potentially acquire spiritual energy.
Urban legends featured an interesting case of a man grilling on a rooftop who was struck by the spiritual energy surge at the moment of its occurrence. This resulted in every piece of his flesh and every drop of his blood containing spiritual energy.
The man ultimately vanished, completely gone.
And in the black market surrounding that unfortunate soul, numerous expensive spiritual energy items of the human body soon appeared: teeth, hair, even flesh and blood...
This was the reality of the present.
Returning to the matter at hand, stones containing spiritual energy were the easiest to extract, hence their popularity in transactions.
The boat captain personally oversaw the process. The person before Qin Yexuan had no spirit stones but clutched a small television.
"Boss, this little TV has at least 120 spirit points..."
The boat captain chuckled, "But I can't extract it. Your kind of item isn't a stone; my lantern can't extract it. You'd have to go to the bank extraction points in the cities..."
The man was about to cry, "But I don't dare! I stole this."
The boat captain made an impatient gesture.
Two men in black appeared silently. One grabbed the unfortunate man by the neck, and the other snatched the television.
Soon, the man was tossed into the crashing waves.
Fo Lian produced two coins – already refined, legitimate Silver Alliance spirit coins, bearing the insignia of the Golden Sparrow Silver Alliance.
The boat captain was delighted, "Not bad! Golden Sparrow spirit coins have the best purity. 100 spirit coins can be used as 150 on the market. Here, give her the change!"
The boat captain was fair, accepting two Golden Sparrow spirit coins and returning the 100 spirit coins Fo Lian had just acquired, unmarked.
Everything was different now.
This was the new world, with new rules.
The boat captain, wearing tall rubber boots and carrying a flashlight, surveyed the crowd from one end to the other.
Everyone bowed their heads in bewilderment.
The boat captain's eyes widened, "Do you know why the borders of all countries are sealed?"
Everyone kept their heads down, trembling, confusion etched on their faces.
This was smuggling; why was he asking this?
The boat captain tapped the tall, thin man at the front with his rubber baton, "You, tell me."
The man was terrified, "I... I don't know."
The boat captain chuckled, his rubber baton acting like a teacher's pointer, searching for the next person to answer.
The group of illegal immigrants were like poorly performing students in class, anxiously afraid of being singled out.
The rubber baton hesitated for a moment, then pointed at the person in front of Qin Yexuan.
He looked up at the boat captain.
"Uncle, do you know?"
Uncle? Was he that old?
Qin Yexuan touched his stubble and smiled, "The borders are sealed to prevent people from other countries from stealing this country's spiritual energy."
The boat captain grunted in surprise, "Impressive. Continue."
"Spiritual energy is distributed fairly across all countries. No one knows if it's related to population or area, but one thing is certain: not everyone has the talent to cultivate spiritual energy. Even if over ninety percent of the population gains access to it, they may not be able to cultivate it."
"In such circumstances, each country must first ensure that its own citizens have priority."
"What's interesting is that the smaller the population, the greater the average opportunity."
"The Korean continent has only tens of millions of people, while Greater Xia has over a billion. If everyone competes for spiritual energy and treasures, naturally, fewer people means greater opportunities. It's inevitable that some illegal immigrants hope to try their luck."
The boat captain chuckled deeply, "Good, that's clearly and well-stated. So, listen up, everyone. Anyone who boards my boat must have a tracker implanted. Don't worry, it's the latest spiritual energy recovery product; it causes no harm to the body."
He grinned menacingly, "No matter who it is, if you get any treasure related to spiritual energy after passing through me, you have to give me half!"
The crowd stirred uneasily.
The people smuggling now were not like before, seeking wealth in developed countries. Almost everyone was after spiritual energy recovery.
The boat captain wanted half? What kind of logic was that?
Seeing the crowd's silence, the boat captain suddenly raised his hand and sent a burst of spiritual energy across the air, striking a reef opposite them!
A deep hole appeared in the reef!
"I am an intermediate martial cultivator, about to advance to advanced. My boat has also been modified with spiritual energy. Only this boat can pass the Korean continent's border seal. These are costs. Demanding half your spiritual energy gains is already showing you great respect!"
He seemed somewhat indignant, "There are spirit energy products everywhere in the sea now. A single net cast in the ocean could catch a large fish with thousands of spirit points! Why am I risking my life for this smuggling? Isn't it to give you opportunities!"
Fo Lian lowered her head and sneered.
Who was this boat captain trying to fool? The sea at the border was an unclaimed territory. Without some strength and background, his boat would be plundered by pirates and other spiritual energy explorers.
Fishing? A single trip across the border with thirty to fifty illegal immigrants would guarantee a steady income of three to five thousand spirit coins. That was already exorbitant profit.
At this moment, each person was handed a capsule-shaped tracker and forced to swallow it before the boat captain.
"Alright, board the ship!"
With an order, the crowd was driven to the seaside, boarded speedboats, wobbled onto the fishing boat, and then immediately herded into the smelly, stuffy cargo hold.
Piles of frozen fish were thrown in, cramming the more than thirty people into a space less than the size of a living room.
The oxygen was clearly insufficient. Whether they could survive the journey depended on luck.
Fo Lian breathed slowly. Seeing Qin Yexuan's lips turning blue, she hesitated, then embraced him in the furthest corner and began to transfer air mouth-to-mouth.
"When we reach the shore, I'll kill that boat captain immediately. His lantern contains tens of thousands of spirit coins!" Fo Lian's voice echoed in his ear...