NOVPUBThe two began discussing the main plan.
Yang Yi explained his strategy to Suna: using fuel to melt the ice and escape. The steps included setting fires, firing cannons, and manoeuvring the ship.
However, the actual execution required careful planning and precise calculations. If they set fires recklessly and ran out of fuel before freeing the Nightmare Star, they’d bempletely doomed.
That’s why Yang Yi called Suna — he wanted her input on the execution details. After all, it was hard for one person to think of everything. With two minds, the plan would be much more refined!
But before they got into the details, Suna suddenly asked:
"Yang Yi, why do you smell like burnt flesh?"
"Do I?"
Yang Yi sniffed his thickttonat but didn’t notice anything unusual.
Suna, however,uld smell it clearly.
Her sense of smell was sharp, and she had caught this strange scent earlier. Now, she was sure it wasming from Yang Yi himself.
Yet, Yang Yi wasmpletely unaware.
Then, it hit him — the smell of charred liquor!
Just like drinking a lot of white liquor makes one reek of ahol,nsuming large amounts of charred liquor emitted a burnt stench, as if he would catch fire at any moment.
Yang Yi shared the charred liquor’s description with Suna to clear her doubts.
"Want to try some?"
He took out a cup of charred liquor, but Suna turned him down.
She didn’t like the burnt smell.
So, the two and a half barrels of charred liquor were moved into the ship’s cabin, stored for future use.
With that settled, they focused on drafting the escape plan.
Suna’s suggestions turned out to be quite valuable.
She proposed digging holes around the ship first. Once the holes were deep enough, theyuld light fires inside to increase the heated surface area of the ice.
Since hot air rises, theyuld also place pots over the holes to heat water and pour the warm water onto the surrounding ice layers…
With the plan set, it was time for action!
Yang Yi would be the primary executor, while Suna calculated fuelnsumption and set up additional campfires on the deck.
To ensure smooth burning, the first step was to clear away the ash snow around the Nightmare Star.
The bone ashuld interfere withmbustion, so they needed a clean area to work with.
This would have been a tedious task, but with Suna’s Stitched Monster helping, it became effortless.
Its tentaclesuld blow and suck air like a vacuum, clearing large patches of space in no time. 𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
Yang Yi then distributed over fifty stone pickaxes, made using the Simple Synthesis System, to his Skeletal Arms, ordering them to excavate the ice around the Nightmare Star and dig large enough pits.
Once equipped, the skeletal arms moved to the ship’s exterior and began chipping away.
Those without pickaxesuld use stones instead — there were still plenty of stone resources on the deck.
If even stones weren’t available, theyuld simply punch the ice. It didn’t matter if they broke their hands — skeletal arms were renewable anyway!
No lazy bones were allowed to slack off!
Crafting the stone pickaxes had alreadynsumed over 500 units of wood. Including the distributed stone materials, the stonensumption exceeded 400 units — ansiderable expense.
But at least, once used, the pickaxe handlesuld be burned as firewood, so it wouldn’t be a total waste.
With everything assigned, the skeletal arms got to work, filling the air with thenstant clinking and clanking of tools.
Arding to the plan, they needed to dig eighteen pits, evenly surrounding the ship.
While the skeletal arms were digging, Yang Yi focused on purchasing iron pots.
These potsuld be resold later, so even though they were expensive, the actual financial loss would only be a slight price difference — not too significant.
Yang Yi spent a total of 8,500 Shell Coins to buy seventeen large iron pots. Since they were made from steel alloys, heuldn’t expect them to be cheap.
After making the purchase, he went to the bow of the ship and used the water-soaked cannon to test the ice’s thickness. One shot blasted a hole straight through.
That was good news — it meant the ice layer wasn’t too thick.
Yang Yi ran over for a closer look and estimated the ice to be around 80 cm thick. The ice surrounding the Nightmare Star might be a bit thicker, but not by much.
So, they decided to dig the pits to a depth of 50 cm.
“If only the water-soaked cannon was portable,” Yang Yi muttered to himself. “If Iuld just aim it beneath the ship and fire a few rounds, we might break free immediately…”
About five and a half hours later, the eighteen pits were finally dug out.
And that was with Yang Yi helping — if he had left it to the Skeletal Arms alone, who knew how long it would’ve taken!
Their strength was just too weak, probably only 3 points in strength, making them incredibly inefficient.
If they had to dig out all the surrounding ice, it would take one or two whole weeks!
Once the pits were ready, Suna had also finished setting up over ten campfires on the deck and had prepared the fuel.
The fuel was naturally the fat of Pale Worms, which had a lower density than water anduld burn on the surface.
Suna allocated 20 litres of fat per pit, totaling 360.
After pouring the fuel in, she fired flaming arrows from the deck to ignite the pits.
With the fires lit, they placed the pots over the flames,mpleting the initial setup.
Now came the long waiting game, repeating the same process over and over.
They added the chunks of ice dug from the pits into the pots, waited for them to melt, and then poured the hot water around the pits to expand them.
Once the wateroled, they would op it back into the pots, reheat it, andntinue the cycle.
This stepuld be left to the Skeletal Arms.
Later on, once the pits expanded into pools of water, theyuld move the pots onto the deck of the Nightmare Star and start boiling water directly.
Byntinuously pouring hot water around the ship, theyuld keep the temperature high, while the Skeletal Arms stirred the water to promote heat circulation.
Soon enough, the ice beneath the ship would thin out, until ituld no longer hold the Nightmare Star in place, allowing them to break free!
…
Four and a half hours later, ampanied by the sound of creaking and cracking ice, the Nightmare Star finally broke free!
The ship’s immense engine power crushed the last thin layers of ice, and the vessel floated back onto the water’s surface.
Seizing the moment, Yang Yi adjusted the ship’s angle, aiming the cannons southwest.
He planned to use artillery fire to blast a path through the ice.
Once the melted area expanded a bit more, theyuld finally sail out of this frozen trap!
Everything was going smoothly…
Until suddenly, ald wind blew in from the northeast, causing the temperature to plummet.
Under normal circumstances, Yang Yi wouldn’t have paid much attention to it.
But now—
He realised the wind wasming from the northeast…and that was a big problem!
Immediately, he switched to his Three-Eyed Vision and looked towards that direction.
What he saw made his blood runld—
A swarm of Ice Nest Worms was flying toward the Nightmare Star, still about two kilometres away!
They hadn’t arrived yet…but the chilling aura preceded them!
“…No way…”
Yang Yi’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“What’s wrong?”
Suna, who had been adding wood to the deck campfires, paused and turned towards him.
“The Ice Nest Worms areming!”
Yang Yi’s voice carried a mix of exhaustion and frustration.
He wasn’t particularly afraid of the Ice Nest Worms.
However, their arrival meant that the past half-day of effort was about to go to waste!
“Get off the deck!” Yang Yi snapped back to his senses and immediately ordered Suna.
Then, he rushed into the captain’s cabin—
If the Ice Nest Worms wereming, then he would bring out the Life Fireplace and burn the damn Worms to ashes!
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