Cave Refuge

If we go by that theory, the big guy that appeared just now should be the 'tiger' of this sea domain. Since it has already hunted successfully and left, by common sense, this area should be in a 'safe state' for the short term.

Anyway, since I'm already here, I might as well take advantage of the time when this 'tiger' is full and satiated to quickly scout the situation in this sea domain. It also conveniently counts as completing the task of exploring unknown waters.

However, even though I've confirmed that the giant creature hidden under the water has left, Zachary would definitely not release the Wave Rider on the water surface or summon the Companion Spiritual Treasure from the Sea of Consciousness.

After all, even though Zachary mentioned that the big guy underwater had hunted successfully and left this area, no one knows for sure whether it was fully satiated after devouring that warship.

If it was indeed full and has gone to rest, that's good. But if by any chance it wasn't fully satiated, whether I release the Wave Rider or summon the Companion Spiritual Treasure from the Sea of Consciousness, it would essentially be like delivering food to its doorstep for that creature.

To prevent another accident and ensure his own safety, Zachary has decided not to lower the altitude of his Sword Flight. After all, the communicator's requirements for the electronic sea chart only need to reach the corresponding area and do not stipulate any specific altitude.

So now Zachary just needs to maintain his current flight altitude, then he can directly take an aerial photograph of the surrounding sea domain, and after some editing, import it into the electronic sea chart.

It's unclear whether it's because this is the territory of that big guy hiding underwater, or due to some other reason, but there are no small islands nearby where one can land and rest.

Maybe that's why, since there aren't any resting spots around to land on, even after Zachary flew for a long time, he didn't encounter any flying creatures that hunted marine organisms like sea birds do.

Just as Zachary was happily taking photos in the air and marking unknown areas on the electronic sea chart, the communicator finally fulfilled its original function and received a text message from Madeline, telling Zachary that they had arrived at the Magic Capital Base.

Although Zachary usually calls the device a communicator, in both appearance and function, it's not much different from the tablets from before the Natural Disaster.

And quite coincidentally, when Zachary uses his communicator, the proportion of time he uses its communication function is very low. Although he rarely uses the communication feature, this function is very important.

After all, whether sending text messages, voice chatting, transferring images, or browsing the web, all these rely on the fundamental communication function.

When you focus on repeating a task, you don't feel the passage of time, nor will other thoughts arise in your mind. But once you leave that focused state, trying to re-enter it isn't easy in the short term.

Recently, when Zachary was mapping unexplored sea areas, he was in that kind of state.

Switching locations while flying, taking photos, importing the pictures into the electronic sea chart, and marking the location on it.

If not disturbed by others, Zachary could keep working like this, and as time passed, although his spirit would fall into a trance-like state, his body would keep mechanically repeating the work.

But Madeline's sudden message immediately broke Zachary's spiritual state. Regaining his senses, Zachary realized that, without noticing, he had completed the exploration of over fifty unknown areas.

Ordinarily, almost no one could achieve this feat.

The reason Zachary could do this is actually because he found a shortcut.

Under normal circumstances, when others explore unknown sea areas and mark locations, they generally do it from a ship. Not to mention the time spent moving between points, just the danger from the creatures hidden under the water means no one dares to move at full speed in unknown waters.

Zachary is different. Relying on Sword Flight, floating in the air, Zachary moves between two marking points in no time at all.

And when those survivors travel by ship across the water surface, on guard against unknown attacks from beneath the waves, Zachary, who flies through the air with Sword Control, doesn't have to worry about assaults from other directions at all.

After all, Zachary, flying in the air, can only be assaulted by other airborne living spirits. However, being in the unobstructed airspace, let alone getting attacked, even coming close would be immediately noticed by Zachary.

It is precisely because of all these factors combined that Zachary gradually falls into a trance because of the repetitive nature of his mechanical tasks.

Even ordinary people would receive a danger warning instinctively from their bodies due to the inability to endure long periods of work, prompting them to exit this state.

But Zachary is no ordinary person, and what's more, the so-called tasks are just relocating and operating electronic devices, which is basically no effort for Zachary. Furthermore, with his increased Cultivation Level, not eating for a short time wouldn't affect his mental state.

Thus, if it weren't for a text message from Ye Liuyun that broke this state, it's hard to say how long it would last, but without any external disturbances, Zachary would generally not leave this state on his own within three to five days.

Having just left this state, Zachary certainly didn't want to dive back into work. Although the journey requires traveling a considerable distance, Zachary was also not keen on staying here any longer, so he simply decided to return to base directly.

Having seen with his own eyes a massive warship being devoured whole by an unknown aquatic creature, Zachary didn't rest his feet on any vessel on the water's surface during the entire return journey.

On his way back, Zachary flew through the sky with Sword Flight, taking a rest inside the Cave if he felt weary, and then continuing his Sword Flight through the air once recovered.

Compared to the lengthy time taken on the journey there, this time with Sword Control in the air, it took less than a tenth of the time to return to the Magic City Base.

Approaching the Magic City Base, Zachary released his Companion Spiritual Treasure from his Sea of Consciousness.

Since he left from the dock at the start, he would certainly need to register at the dock upon return.

Perhaps because there are seldom Companion Spiritual Treasures with the Submersible Navigation evolution branch in Magic City Base, Zachary still garnered a lot of attention as he came ashore from the dock.

Furthermore, seeing Zachary land on the dock by himself and then retract his Companion Spirit back into the Sea of Consciousness, people guessed his identity as a solo traveler.

At this time, anyone with a selected evolution branch for their Companion Spirit is considered a golden leg in the eyes of most people. No matter which branch is chosen for their Companion Spirit, there's a strong guarantee of safety when going out.

Seeing others eager to strike up conversation, Zachary quickly left the dock.

Since he's returning through the official process from the dock back into the city, the first stop after returning to the city must be the Maritime Bureau.

When Zachary submitted his mission, he thought that submitting so many unexplored area check-ins at once would have shocked the staff member processing his task.

Unexpectedly, after seeing the location information Zachary submitted, the staff member only showed envy for the Contribution Points Zachary would gain, without surprise at the extensive unexplored areas Zachary checked in at once.

In fact, Zachary underestimated, because with more and more Pioneers venturing out, those unexplored areas marked on the Sea Chart are getting farther and farther from Magic City.

Not to mention the dangers that Pioneers might encounter while traveling to these unexplored areas, just the travel time would consume a significant amount.

For this reason, most Pioneers, upon reaching unexplored areas, in order to maximize the acquisition of Contribution Points, will explore as much of the sea as possible.