Chapter 45: 2nd Vehicle?

"Right, not everyone can stow away Shelly like I can. Since I ran into that person on the island, her vehicle should be nearby."

With Shelly’s help, Lily Rhodes boarded the ship. Earlier, she had found nothing of value on that person besides a single weapon. It stood to reason that the rest of her belongings were stored on the vehicle.

The moment Lily stepped onto the deck, an option appeared before her.

[Unowned vehicle detected. Initiate fusion?

Special vehicle detected. Special vehicles cannot be upgraded by fusing with other vehicles. Dismantle instead?]

"What? Vehicles can upgrade by fusing with each other?" Lily stared at the translucent screen, her eyes wide with surprise.

After a long moment, she finally looked away but didn’t disembark. Instead, she chose to dismantle the vehicle, having noticed that it was entirely different from the ordinary ones she had seen in the chat channel. The other survivors all used wooden rafts. Even when upgraded, they remained rafts—just larger, with a few extra structures built on top. But the vehicle before her was an eerie, gloomy ship.

The instant her feet touched the deck, she felt the surrounding temperature drop as a chilling wind brushed against her face. Moreover, when she used her Talent to listen earlier, she had been absolutely certain that there was no one else in this sea region besides her. So how had this ship appeared?

Putting the clues together, Lily concluded that the vehicle beneath her feet was highly likely a special vehicle as well—specifically, a Ghost Ship.

"A Ghost Ship, huh."

Before arriving in this world, Lily had been reading a web novel titled *Raft Survival: Starting with a Ghost Ship*. She never expected to encounter one herself. It was just a pity she had already killed its owner. If her guess was right, dismantling such a ship would be a complete waste. With a sigh, Lily turned and walked into the cabin.

The ship wasn’t as large as Shelly, but its interior was fully equipped. The atmosphere, however, was incredibly sinister; sleeping here would undoubtedly cause nightmares. It featured a functional steering wheel and an anchor. Aside from the spooky vibe, it was a flawless vessel.

Moving at top speed, Lily swept through the entire ship. Compared to ordinary vehicles, special ones had almost no drawbacks other than being difficult to upgrade. Plus, they all possessed special abilities, just like Shelly. Anyone owning such a vehicle, even at a low Vehicle Level, would definitely have hoarded plenty of resources.

Lily took stock of her looted supplies: a stack of basic materials, portions of food—all the type obtained from Treasure Chests—and an assortment of fish, kept fresh inside Bronze Treasure Chests. There were at least seven or eight of these chests packed entirely with fish. She also found a few strips of salted fish currently curing; the salt had likely been purchased from her Supreme Shop. In addition, there was some Healing Water and a few small planter boxes.

She didn’t find any blueprints. The previous owner had probably already learned them, but judging by the items left behind, Lily could deduce what blueprints they had acquired. She didn’t pay much mind to the ordinary ones. What truly caught her attention were the dozen or so complete sets of white armor inside the cabin.

The System indicated this was Fishbone Armor, crafted from the bones of large fish. Though bulky, it provided decent defense against attacks. With so many sets, the owner must have opened a blueprint for them.

Lily sighed, feeling a pang of regret. Blueprints disappeared once learned; otherwise, she could have sold Fishbone Armor in The Supreme Shop. She made a mental note to categorize all her merchandise once she had a wider variety. For now, with so few items, there was no need.

After storing away all the ship’s contents, Lily was just about to leave when she suddenly spotted a very familiar cobblestone resting on a table.

[Purifying Water Stone: Can purify certain impurities. Washing the entire body with water purified by the Purifying Water Stone grants immunity to all poisons for three hours. The user will remain unharmed even if they jump into a pool of toxic water.]

"Excellent, I’ve found another one."

Lily picked up the Purifying Water Stone. The moment it touched her hand, she felt a refreshing wave wash over her, and the eerie, gloomy sensation that had pervaded the ship instantly vanished.

Carrying the stone, she left the cabin and returned to Shelly. Then, she turned to face the massive ship and clicked the dismantle button on her interface. As she made her choice, the ship before her suddenly began to tremble.

[The vehicle you are dismantling is a special vehicle, the Pirate Ghost Ship. Are you sure you wish to proceed? Once dismantled, the Pirate Ghost Ship will disappear permanently.]

"What happens if I don’t dismantle it?" Lily asked out of curiosity.

[The Pirate Ghost Ship will revert to its initial Level. All upgrade materials will be lost, and it will enter a bindable state.]

"Bind? A Survivor can bind multiple vehicles?" Lily asked in shock.

[A maximum of ten ordinary vehicles can be bound. A maximum of three special vehicles can be bound.]

"Why do special vehicles have so many restrictions?" Looking at the Pirate Ghost Ship, Lily ultimately chose to cancel the dismantling process.

The next second, the entire ship seemed to disintegrate. Countless streams of black Energy surged out of the ghost ship, while all the basic building materials vanished into thin air. Soon, a battered little boat appeared before her. It was barely three meters long and two meters wide, featuring a cramped, narrow cabin and a sail painted with a black skull.

This boat was even worse off than Shelly had been at the very beginning. Back then, Shelly might have been small, but she had at least been clean and hadn’t looked like she would fall apart at any moment.

"Whatever, I’ll just store it away for now."

She temporarily placed the Pirate Ghost Ship into the spatial storage on her wrist before checking its stats.

[Vehicle: Ghost Pirate Ship

Category: Special Vehicle

Upgrade Method: Upgrades by absorbing the power released by ghosts or the power of the night.

PS: As a ghost ship, it will attract spirits of the sea to take up residence. Please get along with them harmoniously.]

Lily was speechless.

Thank goodness this secondary vehicle wasn’t permanently bound to her like her primary one. Forget the upgrade conditions—she couldn’t even get past the part about the spirits of the sea. She was utterly terrified of ghosts.

Sure, she had enjoyed reading about them in novels, but the ghost ship of that protagonist had just been a name. It hadn’t actually summoned literal ghosts!

"What a pity. I’d better just sell it."