Endless Ocean: Survival Begins with a Dugout Canoe

Chapter 306 - 299: 3 Projects

’Three research projects?’

Shi Ming blinked.

The text before his eyes vanished.

’The information the Eye of the World provided this time about the Xirang Research Institute’s current projects... it’s overwhelming!’

The first two projects at the Xirang Research Institute focused on the second and third-ranked miraculous items: the Unceasing Water and "The Net." This didn’t mean they possessed these two items. It was more like they were suffering from their effects and desperately searching for a way to counteract them.

Shi Ming had learned from the Great Stele that the Unceasing Water was suspected to be linked to the formation of the Endless Ocean.

"The Net" was suspected to be related to Skynet.

Then there was the miraculous item, the Jiuzhou Platform, ranked eleventh on the list. It shared its name with Da Yu’s administrative center, but its surface was supposedly flooded with the ’Unceasing Water,’ just like the planet itself. ’Could the Jiuzhou Platform be a miraculous item that reflects reality?’

The projects undertaken by the Xirang Research Institute were incredibly ambitious.

They had never given up on their theories and were even developing their own miraculous item, the Xirang, hoping to end the Wandering Era and usher in a new Land Era.

In the Endless Ocean, the water was boundless. These three projects were like the Land Era’s mission to land a man on the moon. It was possible that thirty, or even fifty, years of research might not yield a single result. It would require a generational relay effort with no end in sight. But if even one of them succeeded, it would be enough to change the very fabric of the Endless Ocean!

To cut through thorns and brambles,

To blaze a trail in rags!

This filled Shi Ming with a sense of genuine admiration.

Even though the continents had been submerged, the spirit of this land had never changed. It was just like the myths of Da Yu taming the great flood, the foolish old man who moved mountains, and the bird Jingwei filling the sea. Shi Ming was filled with respect for these researchers who had voluntarily guarded Mount Everest for three decades, never once setting foot on a wandering ship.

"Shi Ming, what are you spacing out for?"

Li Jiuyuan clapped him on the shoulder.

"Come on, let’s get inside! This damn storm has nearly frozen me solid."

Shi Ming, Rong Bing, and Li Jiuyuan followed a researcher into a small reception room. After their emergency descent from the summit, they finally had a chance to unwind. A cup of hot tea wasn’t enough to drive away the cold, but the emotional comfort it provided was not to be underestimated.

After that, they handed over some of the findings from their expedition.

The coordinates of the leak point had already been transmitted back; now, they were just recording the finer details of the exploration and backing up the data from their "recorders."

Once all official business was concluded, Rong Bing went to report to Da Yu, located over a hundred nautical miles away, while Shi Ming followed Li Jiuyuan on a "tour" around the exterior of the three-story, semi-subterranean building.

It was called a tour, but most areas of the Xirang Research Institute were not open to the public.

They were only able to walk around the public areas and the researchers’ living quarters.

"This place is what’s known as a ’cafeteria.’"

"Hmm... Shi Ming, this might be the first time you’ve heard this term. In short, it’s not quite the same as the restaurants on the wandering ships. The exact difference... well, it probably lies in its fundamental nature, which is hard to explain. And the food here isn’t synthesized from Sea Crystal Stones and sea fish; it’s made fresh from vegetables grown underground. There aren’t many people at the institute, so the cafeteria allows them to be completely self-sufficient."

It wasn’t mealtime yet, but the aroma of cooking was already drifting out.

It was a smell and an atmosphere from Shi Ming’s memories.

As Shi Ming listened to Li Jiuyuan’s explanation, he thought to himself, ’A cafeteria? Is there anyone more familiar with them than me?’

Next to the cafeteria was a recreation room.

"This is the recreation room. Life at the institute isn’t completely dull; we need some normal entertainment too... But conditions on Mount Everest are harsh, space is limited, and supply transport isn’t as convenient as it is at sea. So, of course, the entertainment equipment is nothing compared to a King-level Wandering Ship. We have a punching machine, a mahjong machine, playing cards, and a Miboy18Pro retro game console from who-knows-how-many years ago... I’ll let you in on a secret: that thing is the director’s prized possession."

Shi Ming picked it up for a look.

’Isn’t this a Game Boy?’

But a closer look at the games revealed... it only looked similar on the outside. The games the Miboy supported were far more advanced than the Game Boy’s. They weren’t pixel art; it even had the tactical shooter *Delta Force XII: Offline Edition* and *Black Myth: Doro*, a gacha game that was popular worldwide at the end of the Land Era!

"..."

’To be honest, I really want to give it a try!’

On the other side of the recreation room were seven or eight bookshelves stacked with all sorts of reading material.

"This is the reading room. It’s another place for the researchers to kill time in their leisure. While we now have more convenient e-readers that hold far more books, reading a physical copy is a rare romance in the Wandering Era... That feeling of turning yellowed, damp pages between your fingertips... tsk, tsk. So sophisticated."

Shi Ming walked closer and looked at the bookshelves.

The shelves were filled with popular literature, poetry, and novels; there wasn’t a single research manual in sight.

The hardcover editions of the Four Great Classical Novels were already worn from being read so often.

The most popular physical book was clearly the novel *Douqi Continent XXV: Tang San Arrives in the World of Master of Mystery*. Even the scientists loved its captivating plot. The book’s cover was nearly torn to pieces from use. It was a pity the final volume was lost, leaving everyone to wonder if the protagonist, Three Tang, ever managed to find the heroine, Little Dance—who had re-classed as an Ironblood Knight—at the Blackthorn Extraordinary Academy and return to their original world in the finale.

Finally, there was a tiny tea station, taking up a mere two square meters.

"There’s a self-service tea machine over there. The tea leaves were all personally cultivated by the institute’s director. He selected an area on Mount Everest suitable for growing tea trees and planted them himself. It’s called ’Snow Mountain Red Seal.’ It sells for an exorbitant price in the outside world, but here, you can drink as much as you want."

As Li Jiuyuan explained, he poured a cup for himself and for Shi Ming, who was busy flipping through the *Douqi Continent* novel.

The refreshing aroma of the tea, carrying the uniquely crisp notes of the snowy mountain, was a delight to simply smell.

"Good tea!"

If not for the external threats, life on this little-known mountain—reading popular novels, growing fruits and vegetables underground to be self-sufficient, and occasionally sipping a unique tea from the snowy peaks—would be a kind of paradise.

What a pity.

But this was no longer the Land Era.

Shi Ming flipped through the book, which was falling apart in his hands, memories of his past life surfacing in his mind. Suddenly, a voice sounded from nearby.

"You must be the Shi Ming that Elder Zhou mentioned."

"You’re younger than I imagined."

Shi Ming turned to see a young, tall woman, perhaps twenty-three or twenty-four years old. She stood tall and sharp, dressed in a well-fitting, dark gray shirt with the sleeves neatly rolled to her forearms. She wore a pair of light, metal-framed glasses, and her eyes behind the lenses were clear and focused.

Her gaze fell to the book in Shi Ming’s hands.

"That *Douqi Continent XXV* is certainly an interesting book. It’s said to be one of the bestsellers from the Land Era. It cleverly blends two—oh, no, three—different worldviews. It’s just a shame that the final volume is lost."

Shi Ming was about to reply.

Before his eyes, a notification from the Eye of the World appeared once more.