The sun blazed hotter by the minute as the small boat sailed across the sea.
Inside the cabin, Chen Qi took out the nautical chart and checked it over.
The target Crack this ti wasn’t far from Damarro Town. The only trouble was that it was close to a danger zone.
In the near-shore waters of the Witch Sea, there were many sea beast-infested zones, which rchants had marked out and classified as danger zones.
Unless absolutely necessary, rchants usually detoured around these areas.
But for Chen Qi, these areas were actually safer.
If he had the ti, he could even explore so of them.
Because of his Deep Sea Affinity, there were many things he couldn’t let crew mbers see—and at the mont, he had neither the intention nor the ans to hire a crew.
So this small, fast travel boat beneath his feet was actually a great early-ga choice.
After looking through the chart, Chen Qi pinned it to the wall and scanned the inside of the cabin.
The boat wasn’t small—it had a resting couch and bed, a fridge, and even a simple kitchenette. But all the good furniture had been taken, leaving behind only clutter and thick dust on the deck.
The couch and chairs were tattered and worn.
The cabin light was broken too—it needed replacing.
Chen Qi shook his head. Though the base was solid, the facilities were all too old and shabby.
It needed a full renovation and new furniture.
His little house back in Damarro Town was falling apart. Buying this boat would solve two major issues at once—transportation and housing!
Chen Qi liked to call it his isekai “tiny houseboat.”
Next, he pulled the food and fresh water from his backpack and stored them in the small fridge.
The fridge wasn’t electric; it was powered by a special magic energy ore.
If he had more money, he could even install a furnace inside.
“Not bad, not bad.”
After glancing around, Chen Qi thought that even though it was rundown, it wasn’t a bad new ho.
At 130,000 Bei, he’d need roughly two solo Crack runs to afford it.
Of course, actual profits would largely depend on luck. After all, Crack rewards weren’t guaranteed.
Just then, a strong fishy stench suddenly hit his nose.
“We’re here…”
Chen Qi looked out the boat window.
Floating on the blue sea was a giant belly-up fish carcass—it looked like a massive white sheet laid out on the water.
That was the Crack spot his newbie ntor had told him about—the Belly-Up Fish Corpse.
Chen Qi cut the engine, dropped the anchor, and carefully approached the giant fish carcass.
On its upturned belly, he saw a massive, tooth-lined maw—like the mouth of so worm.
At that mont, a prompt popped up in front of Chen Qi’s eyes.
【You have glimpsed a Crack. Performing Inspiration identification…】
The higher the Inspiration stat, the more information one could obtain.
In team dungeons, this kind of task was usually handed over to Book-aligned Transcendents.
But for this, Chen Qi didn’t need anyone else’s help.
He rubbed his hands together, eager to see the results.
【Critical Identification Success!】
【Crack Na: Monster Kitchen.
Description: In the age before the sun dimd, a band of fugitive chefs accidentally ended up inside the belly of a giant fish.
They thought they were dood, but surprisingly, the fish’s belly was livable.
This was a rare species of giant fish—many fishern dread of hunting it.
Driven by greed, the chefs—who lacked strength—ca up with a way to survive.
Every ti a fisherman caught the fish, they’d burst out of its belly, kill the fisherman, and steal all the fish on board.
This thod let them live a life of gluttony, enjoying fresh seafood daily.
But they failed to notice the fish was rotting. Unknowingly, scales began to grow on their skin—they beca part of the fish itself, fully transforming into monstrous chefs who devoured the innocent at sea.
Crack Rating: E
Completion Condition: Eliminate the final monster deep within the Crack.
Crack Distortion Level: 12%
Crack Entry Limit: Only Tier 1 or lower Transcendents may enter.
Alignnt: Cup, Blade.
Inspiration Insight: A scaly, mindless monster grins maniacally, ready to drag you to the dinner table, spill your blood, and cook up a barbecue feast with chili, pepper, cumin, and fla.
Inspiration Insight: This Crack may be cleared through raw strength alone.】
Chen Qi scanned through the Crack’s info.
12% distortion, basic “kill-the-boss” clear condition, E rating…
“That familiar feeling.”
He clapped his hands.
Now this—this was a textbook, proper fresh Crack!
The previous one he entered with the Black Whale Gang, Sea Beast Cavern, had 0% distortion. In a way, it was already a fully explored Crack.
A 0% distortion ant no clear rewards, no clear conditions.
“So it’s rated E, huh…”
Chen Qi thought.
Cracks in this world were generally ranked from A to E.
E-rank was the lowest, often manageable by well-equipped teams of regular people.
D-rank Cracks required fully geared Tier 1s—or even Tier 2s—to handle.
C-rank Cracks were quite dangerous, needing fully equipped Tier 2s or Tier 3s.
From B-rank onward, Cracks were highly hazardous and severely distorted—even Tier 3 Transcendents could die inside.
Cracks at this level were typically dealt with by official Transcendent squads, followed by containnt procedures.
And A-rank Cracks involved life-or-death scenarios for large populations.
They had to be strictly contained and controlled.
If left unchecked, an A-rank Crack could spiral into a catastrophe capable of destroying continents.
By law, from A-rank onward, Cracks were unseeable and unspeakable.
As for what lay beyond that—that wasn’t part of the beta version. Chen Qi didn’t know, and no players had ever entered.
Chen Qi took a deep breath, stepped forward, and set foot on the belly-up fish.
Without the player’s immortality halo, even the lowest-level Crack required caution.
This one only restricted by rank, not headcount—it might be a group dungeon, which could be tricky.
He might get sore from all the killing.
With his high Agility, a Tier 3-level weapon—Black Knife—the early-ga killer “Collector” for ranged attacks, and Hunter Ember’s combat knowledge—
He was clearly overgeared for this.
If he posted this setup on player forums, going into an E-rank Crack with this loadout, people would accuse him of seal-clubbing.
“Monster Kitchen, huh?”
Chen Qi recalled the na.
Among E-ranks, Monster Kitchen had a pretty high death rate—it was considered a newbie’s nightmare.
Typically, the Crack’s alignnt hinted at how to beat it.
And the Blade alignnt stood for brute strength.
Both the alignnt and the Inspiration hints included Blade—that ant this was a Crack you could brute-force your way through for extra rewards!
Chen Qi pulled out Black Knife and gave it a spin, slicing a breeze through the air.
After digesting Hunter Ember, he felt more and more at ease wielding it.
“Collector” gave him ranged attack capability.
He had enough healing potions in his backpack too.
“Ready. Just about ti…”
Chen Qi took a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest.
Even the lowest-level Crack could take a life.
In peaceful tis, he rarely felt this kind of danger-induced tension.
But after these past couple days of adventure—
Facing the Crack now, he felt more excitent than fear.
After double-checking everything, he gripped Black Knife, stepped with his left foot, and walked into the wormhole on the belly-up fish.
Whoosh!
With a sensation of falling and darkness, a massive kitchen appeared before him.
【You have entered the Crack ‘Monster Kitchen’.】
The ground beneath his feet was stone, with a fishy stench… Chen Qi held Black Knife tightly and moved forward cautiously.
“Combat begins…”
Bang, bang, bang!
It was the sound of cleavers chopping at.
A man with a long nose, wearing a chef hat, covered in fish scales on his arms and face, noticed him.
Holding a cleaver, the creature smiled and approached:
“You’re not wearing a chef hat? Are you a guest from above? Ah, ah, the table’s already full of dishes.
Please, this way~”
“Mhm.”
Chen Qi nodded slightly.
“Please, this way~”
As the chef-hat monster turned, its mouth suddenly stretched ear to ear in a grin, revealing rows of sharp teeth and a constantly wriggling red tongue.
It couldn’t wait to taste this new delicacy.
Its foodie instincts told it—this one slled like a top-grade seafood platter!
Slice!
But before it could even finish grinning, a long blade flashed across its head, slicing it cleanly in two with a rotten stench.
The cut was so fast, it didn’t even have ti to call for help.
【You’ve killed the fish monster wearing the chef hat. Gained 11 Spirit Points.】
There was nothing to say to monsters—just kill them.
Chen Qi enjoyed the feel of the slash, then calmly flicked the putrid fluid from the blade.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The mont he killed the chef-hat monster, loud rhythmic chopping noises ca from behind a large door ahead.
Judging by the sound, there were quite a few of them.
Chen Qi gripped Black Knife tighter and walked step by step toward the door.
Monster Kitchen may be a newbie graveyard, but as a strategy content creator, he’d even done a naked no-gear clear of it before.
Of course, he wasn’t going to try that now.
For safety’s sake, he’d stick with the most reliable thod: stealth kills.
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