Chapter 104: Doomsday Cruise Ship

Lily Rhodes then asked about the other party’s talent level. Upon learning it was an A Level Talent, she established two payment methods: remuneration based on the value of the retrieved items, or a fixed rate for opening or finding a specific number of Treasure Chests.

In the short term, Lily only intended to let her open Bronze Treasure Chests, so the rules weren’t overly strict. It also served as a trial run for Lucy Langley.

After finishing her conversation with Mimi Bishop, Lily was just about to close the private chat interface when a message from Silas Jennings popped up. He seemed worried she might ignore him, so he got straight to the point.

Silas: "I encountered the Doomsday Cruiser."

The Doomsday Cruiser?

Lily immediately remembered that she still had a ticket for the Doomsday Cruiser tucked away.

Other Survivors had also obtained tickets, which had once sparked a lively debate in the chat channel. However, despite endless guessing, no one had figured out the correct use for the Doomsday Cruiser. They eventually concluded it might be an admission ticket for an upcoming event. Since the event hadn’t started yet, it naturally couldn’t be used.

At the time, Lily had found this explanation perfectly reasonable. She pushed the ticket to the back of her mind, planning to retrieve it once the event officially began.

Lily: "Has the event started?"

Silas quickly sent a photo in response. He appeared to be boarding a colossal cruise ship. Compared to this behemoth, her sailboat would look like an ant; even Shelly would pale in comparison.

Silas: "I stumbled upon this by chance. It doesn’t seem like an event, but rather a massive rest area. Plus, as long as you board, all food and drinks inside are completely free. You can eat and drink as much as you want."

Based on his description, this Doomsday Cruiser did indeed sound like a giant rest stop.

Lily: "You can board as long as you have a ticket?"

Silas: "You can board without a ticket, too. It’s just that with a ticket, you aren’t bound to a long stay and can leave whenever you want. But if you pay Crystal Cores to board, it costs one hundred Crystal Cores per day."

Lily: "One hundred Crystal Cores isn’t too expensive."

Most Survivors could scrape that together if they bit the bullet.

Silas: "But there’s a minimum stay of thirty days. Still, there really are a lot of good things here."

Following that, he sent over his coordinates.

Lily glanced at the location. It was quite far, but at Shelly’s speed, they should be able to make it in just over an hour. Thinking of the Doomsday Cruiser ticket gathering dust in her inventory, she decided to check it out.

"Let’s go, Shelly."

Over an hour later.

Shelly gradually slowed to a halt. Even without surfacing, Lily could sense a behemoth parked directly above them in the water.

She didn’t have Shelly reveal itself. Instead, she changed into a crisp, practical outfit with her Soft armor layered underneath, then piloted her sailboat up to the ocean surface.

As soon as she broke the surface, she spotted the colossal vessel floating silently in the distance. Quite a few other Survivors had already gathered around it.

Taking in the scene, Lily pulled down the brim of her hat. Gripping her ticket, she steered toward the Doomsday Cruiser.

She had only seen it from afar before. As she drew closer, she realized the number of gathered Survivors far exceeded her expectations.

According to the information Silas had provided, Survivors without tickets had to pay one hundred Crystal Cores a day to board, and they were forced to pay for a block of thirty days upfront—a total of three thousand Crystal Cores.

One hundred Crystal Cores was something most Survivors could manage with some effort. But three thousand was no small sum, especially for those dragging their families along. Fortunately, a thirty-day pass could be divided among family members so not everyone had to buy their own. Solo travelers, however, didn’t have this luxury.

Consequently, Lily witnessed a strange scene: some people had actually started hawking their goods publicly just to scrape together enough for the boarding fee.

To have survived this long, everyone’s Vehicle Level had generally reached Level 5 or higher. Lily’s Level 4 Vehicle appeared exceedingly insignificant among the fleet. Because of this, even though it was a special type of vehicle, few people paid her any mind. She even caught a few thinly veiled looks of disdain.

They likely figured that despite starting with the god-tier advantage of a special vehicle, she had still ended up in a miserable state. Contempt or not, none of them dared to actually cause trouble to her face. After all, the cannons mounted on Lily’s sailboat weren’t just for show.

Navigating through the crowd of Survivors, Lily smoothly arrived at the entrance.

A uniformed staff member stood by the entryway. Seeing her approach, he held up a hand in a stopping gesture.

"Please present your ticket, or purchase a thirty-day boarding pass."

Hearing this, Lily produced her ticket.

The moment the staff member accepted it, his polite smile morphed into deep reverence. "Honored guest, please enter. A dedicated attendant inside will guide you to park your vehicle in a designated spot. Because your vehicle is not overly large, you will not need to pay any additional fees."

Lily’s eyes flickered. There were extra charges onboard? Silas hadn’t mentioned that at all. Did he not know, or did he deliberately leave it out? She couldn’t help but indulge in a bit of conspiracy theorizing.

Upon entering, another staff member immediately approached. With a polite and courteous smile, he said, "Please follow me, guest."

After smoothly parking the sailboat in its spot, Lily stepped off.

"Right this way," the attendant gestured.

As they walked, the staff member outlined the rules aboard the Doomsday Cruiser. He started with the surcharge policy for overweight or oversized vehicles. Every level had a different standard.

"As long as it isn’t overweight or excessively massive, parking is free. Once it exceeds the limit, extra fees apply."

This rule specifically targeted Survivors who stockpiled massive amounts of supplies on their ships, or those who piloted amalgamations formed from merging multiple vehicles.

Furthermore, violence was strictly prohibited on the cruise. Attacking staff members would result in immediate expulsion from the Doomsday Cruiser. Additionally, Treasure Chests could not be used here. Even the turtle tattoo on Lily’s wrist had become completely unresponsive.

Lily guessed this place operated just like a buffet: once you paid, you could eat all you wanted, but you absolutely couldn’t pack anything to go.

The attendant then listed a few more guidelines. For instance, the dining hall offered unlimited food, but wasting it was strongly discouraged. There were residential cabins available for resting, but they cost an additional fee. There were also shops and various other activities to partake in.

In short, aside from the free meals, everything else cost money. Or rather, Crystal Cores.