"Mr. Zhao, you're here. Mr. Mittel is looking for you everywhere."
Bai Qi had just boarded the ship not long ago when he ran into Artemisia, who was in a hurry.
Bai Qi pretended to have just woken up and said, "I'm sorry, I wasn't feeling well and just woke up."
Upon hearing that Bai Qi was unwell, Artemisia immediately showed concern, "Oh? Mr. Zhao, where do you feel unwell? Are you sick? I have some medicine here, do you want some...?"
"It's nothing serious, just a bit seasick. I took some medicine earlier, and I'm much better now."
"By the way, do you know why Mr. Mittel is looking for me?"
Artemisia shook her head and said, "I'm not sure. Mr. Mittel didn't tell me. However, the fleet is almost at the second marker point. Perhaps Mr. Mittel wants to discuss the marker point with you."
Hearing Artemisia's words, Bai Qi frowned and asked, "How did you know?"
He knew that to avoid unnecessary trouble, there were strict secrecy protocols for the route before setting sail. Apart from the captain, Mittel, Bob, and a few others, it was kept secret from the other crew members. Even Fang Lei didn't know about it on the surface, yet Artemisia blurted it out as if she had already grasped the fleet's exact position and entire route.
"Ah? Bob told me," Artemisia blurted out without thinking.
This made Bai Qi frown even more.
Bai Qi remembered that Savage had specifically instructed Bob not to reveal the route to anyone except him. Bob had readily agreed at the time, but now, seeing a woman, he couldn't control himself and spilled all sorts of secrets.
Bai Qi truly couldn't understand how such a lower-body animal, who couldn't resist women, could be so pure and naive.
Bob's actions only increased Bai Qi's disgust.
"Just you wait, I'll feed you to the sharks after this is over."
"Mr. Zhao, what did you just say?"
"Nothing. I'll go to Mittel's now."
Saying this, Bai Qi quickened his pace.
When Bai Qi pushed open the door to the captain's cabin, Savage and Bob were already waiting.
"Mr. Zhao, you're finally here."
Seeing Bai Qi, the two exchanged pleasantries perfunctorily before shifting the conversation to business.
Savage nodded, and the attendant in the room turned off the lights and turned on the projector. Photos flickered before the three of them.
Savage said, "These are photos taken by drones. The second marker point we're heading to is an island made entirely of ice."
Then, he showed a photo taken a month ago.
Savage continued, "The same location. This is a satellite photo from a month ago. There was no ice island in this sea area, not even an island. Moreover, the climate temperature in this sea area is not conducive to the formation of such a large ice island."
Bai Qi crossed his arms and leaned against the sofa, saying, "It seems this ice island appeared suddenly. I suspect the second marker point will only appear after we complete the ritual at the first marker point. There might be some connection between them. This is also why the compass says that the final door will only open after completing the rituals at all marker points."
Savage nodded and asked his subordinate to switch to the next photo.
"This is... an ancient ruin!"
Upon seeing the ancient ruin in the picture, Bob's eyes lit up.
Not just Bob, but Fang Lei was also very interested in the ancient ruins at this moment.
The first marker point had already earned Bai Qi an undead army that ignored physical damage. This second marker point would surely have something good. More than ninety percent of items stored in ruins would be magical artifacts.
Whatever it was, anything that could be obtained for free was good.
Savage, however, wasn't particularly interested in the ruins.
As an ancient emperor, Savage had seen at least eighty to a hundred such ruins, many of which he had ordered to be built himself to conceal his identity.
What Savage desired was only the final destination of this journey.
After much discussion, it was decided that Bai Qi and Bob would lead a small team to the ruins, and Dao Long would accompany them. Perhaps the ritual at the second marker point needed to be performed inside the ruins, and as a powerful dark energy wizard, Dao Long could also assist with matters of magic.
As the fleet drew closer to the second marker point, the air temperature dropped, causing many crew members to shiver.
Finally, the fleet docked at the edge of the ice island. The fully armed team members stepped onto the ice island. Bob, wearing a down jacket and holding a round disk, was the first to jump off the ship.
However, he lost his footing while disembarking, first performing a street dance, and then face-planting onto the ground.
"Are you alright?"
Artemisia helped Bob up.
"N-no, I'm fine. How could I not be fine?"
Then, Bai Qi led the third squad, which was Bai Qi's personal guard, off the ship.
Bob took out the round disk. The moment they landed on the island, the disk changed. With the sound of gears turning, a new map appeared before everyone's eyes.
"It seems we have to enter the ruins."
The newly revealed map was a miniature version of the ice island, with a route marked on it. There were three routes in total, and although they were different, they all pointed to the same destination: the ruins at the center of the ice island.
"What is this?"
Unlike the map provided at the first marker point, this time, along with the new map, there was also an irregular fragment resembling a blue crystal. It looked so enchanting under the sunlight.
Unable to resist, Bob gently touched it with his finger.
*Clink.*
The crystal fragment fell from its original position and landed on the round disk with a metallic sound.
Bob was already timid, and Molgaton, who looked like a small potato, egged him on, "Ah! It's you! You broke it! You're in big trouble."
"Ah? I don't know. I didn't expect it to be so... I didn't do it on purpose."
Seeing Bob on the verge of tears, Savage rubbed his face in frustration and said, "Mol, don't scare him. Bob, it's not your fault. Mr. Dao Long, please take a look."
Dao Long stepped forward, picked up the fragment from the round disk, and examined it closely. He then said, "This is a fragment of a magic crystal. Although it's just a fragment, it contains a large amount of magical energy. To restore it, three more identical fragments are needed."
Now Savage understood. No wonder there were three routes on the map. It was likely that each route had one of these magic crystal fragments. After collecting all of them to form a complete magic crystal, the ritual would be performed in the ruins.