As the sail unfurled, the white sail ship slowly left New Port Pier amid everyone’s anticipation, sailing into the vast ocean with longing and pursuit.
This was Zhang Xiaoman’s first time on a ship. Beyond the novelty and excitement, he was grateful that he did not suffer from seasickness.
However, he also speculated that this might be a benefit from the cloak’s added attributes, though he was not entirely sure.
For now, Zhang Xiaoman didn’t entertain the thought of taking off the cloak to test whether he would get seasick or not.
After looking at the scenery on the deck and casually discussing the expedition plans with Yang Yangyang and the others, Zhang Xiaoman, after the initial novelty wore off, gradually began to feel bored and eventually retreated to his room to watch the small satellite TV.
Thus, time hurriedly passed, and before he knew it, five days had gone by.
Five days on the ocean felt much longer than in other places. Although his mobile phone had long lost its signal, fortunately, with satellite TV and single-player games available, Zhang Xiaoman didn’t find it too hard to endure.
When there was nothing else to do, everyone would gather to play cards, and occasionally, they would stop the ship and all go fishing together, passing the time in an entertaining way.
On the second day, Zhang Xiaoman made an experiment by stopping the daily "System" lottery to see if the chances would accumulate.
Sure enough, after this experiment, he was thrilled to discover that the lottery chances in the system indeed accrued.
After five days of accumulation, his system interface now displayed a "5" next to the lottery button.
This was the first time Zhang Xiaoman had done this since he acquired the system, and this discovery was undoubtedly good news for him. In the future, when it was inconvenient to enter the lottery, he could accumulate chances and use them all together when he found a suitable place.
The journey had now covered half of its distance.
As time progressed, the enthusiasm of the expedition team members did not wane, but was, on the contrary, increasingly on the rise.
This situation continued until the morning of the sixth day when a change occurred.
In the early morning, Zhang Xiaoman was awakened from his sleep by the sound of knocking. He got dressed and stepped out of his room, only then realizing that something significant had happened.
On the deck, everyone had gathered, their faces filled with worry, revealing unease.
"This is impossible! Everything was fine just a moment ago, how could everything suddenly lose power!"
A sailor, speaking in half-fluent Mandarin, said to the crowd:
"This definitely isn’t a circuit issue. It’s not just the ship, but our mobile phones and other electronic devices can’t be powered on either. I think we might have entered into some special area that caused a temporary malfunction in electronic devices."
"A special area, what do you mean?" someone in the group asked.
The Bearded Captain Balria then explained:
"We have only heard of this situation before but never actually encountered it. It’s rumored that in some maritime areas, because of extremely strong magnetic fields, all electronic devices and precision instruments are affected and unable to function properly. We may now be in such an environment."
Yang Yangyang asked worriedly, "What should we do now, is there any danger? Do we need to go back the way we came?"
However, the Bearded Captain replied with a smile,
"No worries, if it were any other ship that had come to this area, and lost power, they wouldn’t be able to move, nor could they send out a distress signal. They might indeed end up trapped here. But we are different, this is a sail ship! Even if we have lost mechanical power, we can continue sailing using the sails, and leaving this area is just a matter of time!"
Everyone was relieved and also secretly thankful that they had gone through great efforts to acquire this sail ship, which now enabled them to get through this difficult situation.
"It’s currently favorable wind, we can sail a bit further to assess the situation, and once we leave this area, we can relight the engine and then mark this region on the map, making sure we go around it on our way back."
Everyone felt his reasoning was sound, which set their minds at ease, and they dispersed.
Zhang Xiaoman also allowed himself to relax a bit, having originally thought that this trip in search of the Sect Establishment Order activation point might have to be abandoned due to unexpected events.
Fortunately, it ended up being a scare without actual danger, and the plan could still go on.
However, although the expedition wasn’t interrupted, losing the electric power system made many things inconvenient, especially during the scorching summer. Without air conditioning, the time became increasingly difficult to endure.
Luckily, everyone had brought enough dry food and fresh water when they set out, so there was no immediate worry about food or water.
Moreover, with Lord Bear, who could dive into the sea and catch fish with his bare hands, everyone could rest easy.
But as time went on, things started to look increasingly grim. Logically, the range of such a strange magnetic field shouldn’t be very large, and they should have been able to get out in about a day.
Yet, after 5 days of traveling under wind power, they were still unable to leave the area.
Although the compass and satellite maps were no longer functioning, relying on the Bearded Captain’s extensive navigation and astronomical experience, the group didn’t lose their way.
Furthermore, with several sailors who were veterans from their respective countries’ navies and skilled in operating sail ships, they managed even better when sailing against the wind than with it.
However, disputes did arise on the ship this time, as the stance of the expedition team and the sailors had completely reversed from the beginning.
Yang Yangyang and others felt they were getting closer to their destination, yet the anomalies around them never ceased.
This suggested that there might indeed be something special about that place, unquestionably confirming the correctness and necessity of their expedition.
At the same time, it also ignited the adventurous spirit of the group, who were lovers of mysterious legends and novel things, insisting they go further to explore.
Meanwhile, the Bearded Captain, with his professional maritime knowledge and years of experience, understood all too well the risks this situation posed to their safety and repeatedly urged them to stop advancing and no longer take risks.
In the end, both parties reached an agreement, based on the risk assessment provided by the Bearded Captain and considering the reserves of food and fresh water among other factors—if they were still unable to leave the area by the end of the day, they would have to return first thing the next morning.
Zhang Xiaoman, however, was full of confidence as, with the map in his hand, he could clearly see that they were about to reach their destination!