His head throbbed.
As if someone had struck the back of his skull hard with an iron rod.
Salty, fishy sea wind forced its way into his nostrils.
Qin Yu's eyes snapped open.
What met his gaze wasn't the familiar rubber track, nor the blinding stadium floodlights.
It was blue.
A despairing deep blue.
The sky stretched terrifyingly high, without a single cloud, the sun blazing harshly as if determined to bake him dry.
Beneath him, there was a slight swaying sensation, as if he were lying on a floating plank.
Qin Yu instinctively tried to sit up, his palm pressing against the rough wooden surface, where a splinter pricked him.
Pain.
This wasn't a dream.
He shook his head, and his vision finally focused.
Once it did, his breath hitched abruptly.
Before him were two pairs of legs.
To be precise, two pairs of exceptionally beautiful long legs, sprawled right in front of him, almost touching his face.
The pair on the left was clad in pure, alluring White Silk Stockings, exuding a girlish charm, the flesh of the thighs slightly indented into a soft, plump curve.
The pair on the right, however, was clad in cold, elegant Black Silk Stockings, with minimal sheerness, hugging the slender, toned calves and radiating an icy, unapproachable aura.
Black and white, starkly distinct.
The visual impact was absurdly intense.
Qin Yu was a normal 24-year-old college student, and a vigorous athlete at that.
This sight instantly cleared a good half of his muddled mind.
He narrowed his eyes, following the White Silk Stockings upward.
A pleated skirt, a white blouse, and that adorable face with its baby fat.
Somewhat familiar.
"Yao Qian?"
Qin Yu's voice was hoarse, as if he'd swallowed a mouthful of sand.
She was his high school classmate, the famously reclusive girl in their class who usually spoke softly and always hid in the corner drawing manga.
He never expected her legs to be this shapely.
His gaze shifted sideways.
Following the aggressive Black Silk Stockings upward.
A black pencil skirt, a white lab coat—though somewhat disheveled, it couldn't hide her elite aura. A button at the collar had popped open, revealing a breathtaking glimpse of snowy skin.
Further up was a face stunningly beautiful yet chillingly cold.
Behind gold-rimmed glasses, those eyes were fixed intently on him.
There was no fear in her gaze, only wariness.
She even clutched tightly a gleaming surgical knife.
Qin Yu raised an eyebrow.
Interesting.
Before he could fully sit up, the surgical knife was thrust forward.
The tip was less than five centimeters from Qin Yu's nose.
"Don't move."
The woman's voice was cold, like ice clinking against glass.
"One more move, and I'll slit your carotid artery."
Qin Yu froze.
Not out of fear, but because in his current physical state, it wasn't wise to confront an armed adult head-on.
He raised his hands, palms outward, signaling he meant no harm.
"Beauty, calm down."
Qin Yu stared into her eyes, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"My name is Qin Yu. I graduated from Class 6, Senior Year of Lanxing Chuanyue High School. I used to be classmates with the one in White Silk Stockings beside you."
"Take a good look at our situation. We seem to be in trouble. Infighting isn't a good idea."
At the mention of "Class 6, Senior Year," Yao Qian, who was still drowsy beside them, let out a soft moan.
Rubbing her eyes, she sat up groggily.
Those white silk-clad legs unconsciously brushed against Qin Yu's arm.
Smooth and warm.
"Sis... my head feels dizzy..."
Yao Qian mumbled like a cat not yet fully awake.
The scalpel in Yao Xue's hand didn't tremble in the slightest, still pointed at Qin Yu, though her eyes quickly scanned her sister.
"Qianqian, wake up."
Yao Xue commanded in a low voice.
Startled by the call, Yao Qian fully opened her eyes.
She looked around blankly, then at the man and woman confronting each other before her.
"Qin... Qin Yu?"
Yao Qian's eyes widened as she pointed at Qin Yu, then looked at the gleaming knife in her sister's hand.
"Sis! What are you doing! This is Qin Yu! My high school classmate!"
Yao Qian scrambled over in a fluster, positioning herself between the two.
"Though he looks a bit intimidating, he's a good person! Last time I fainted during PE class, he carried me to the infirmary!"
Hearing her sister's words, the wariness in Yao Xue's eyes slightly faded.
But the scalpel remained unsheathed.
As a doctor, she had witnessed life and death, and understood human nature all too well.
In such extreme, unknown circumstances, men—especially physically robust athletes like him—often represented the greatest danger.
"A doctor?"
Qin Yu observed her white coat and her professional grip on the scalpel.
"Chief Surgeon, Yao Xue."
Yao Xue coldly stated her title, finally withdrawing her hand and slipping the scalpel back into her coat pocket, though her hand remained inside.
"Yao Qian's sister."
Qin Yu nodded, rotating his stiff neck with a series of cracking sounds.
He stood up.
The raft swayed violently with his movement.
The Yao sisters gasped in alarm, clinging tightly to each other.
Qin Yu steadied his balance, legs slightly bent, anchoring himself firmly to the wooden planks.
Only then did he have a moment to survey their surroundings.
Despair.
Nothing but despair, everywhere.
Water stretched in all directions, the sea a dark, blue-black, its surface merging with the horizon into a single straight line.
No land in sight, no ships.
Not even a single bird.
Beneath their feet was a raft as rudimentary as it could get.
Four rough logs bound together with hemp rope, topped with a thin layer of wooden planks.
The area was roughly two meters by two meters.
Just four square meters.
In this cramped space, even standing felt crowded for three people; any sudden movement risked sending them overboard to feed the fish.
"Where... where is this?"
Yao Qian's voice trembled with tears.
She clutched Yao Xue's sleeve tightly, her white silk-clad knees rubbed red against the wooden planks.
"My phone... no signal..."
Yao Xue glanced at her phone and shook her head, her face pale.
"Same here."
Qin Yu ignored their panic.
Panic solved nothing.
He was a man of action.
He crouched down, inspecting every corner of the raft.
The hemp ropes were tightly knotted—a secure fastening.
Though the wood was rough, it was dry, providing adequate buoyancy.
In one corner lay a rusty iron hook attached to a hemp rope about two meters long.
Nothing else.
No water.
No food.
That was the deadliest part.
Under the scorching sun, without fresh water, they wouldn't last three days.
"Qin Yu, look at that!"
Yao Qian suddenly pointed at a raised section in the center of the raft.
Qin Yu followed her finger.
It was a small wooden board standing upright, previously blocked by Yao Xue's body.
The board was about the size of a palm, with several lines of blood-red characters carved into it.
The font was twisted, as if scratched out by some creature's claws.
It exuded an eerie aura.
Qin Yu moved closer.
Yao Xue instinctively leaned in as well, her faint scent of disinfectant mixed with cool perfume drifting into Qin Yu's nostrils.
"This is..."
Yao Xue's pupils slightly contracted.
Qin Yu reached out to wipe away a layer of salt frost from the board and read the words aloud.
[Welcome to the Global Ocean Survival Game]
There weren't many words, but each one struck the three of them like a heavy hammer.
[1. This is a world of only ocean. Survival is your sole goal.]
[2. Groups of three start with one raft each. Everything else must be salvaged.]
[3. Do not attempt to jump into the sea. There are things in the water you don't want to see.]
[4. Newbie Protection Period: Three days. During this time, rafts won't be scattered by waves, and marine life won't actively attack rafts.]
[5. Everyone has a Virtual Panel. Silently think "System" to activate it.]
[6. Good luck, ants.]
After reading the final word, Qin Yu felt a chill run down his spine.
Global Ocean Survival?
Not a kidnapping, not a prank.
A global catastrophe?
"What kind of joke is this..."
Yao Xue's face turned pale. As a doctor, her rational mind struggled to accept this supernatural setup.
"System?"
Yao Qian beside her instinctively muttered the word.
The next second.
She screamed.
"Ah! It's real! There's a blue screen in front of me!"
Yao Qian waved her hands as if grabbing at something in the air.
"I see it too."
Yao Xue took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
Qin Yu remained silent.
He silently thought in his mind: "System."
Hum!
A semi-transparent light screen instantly unfolded across his retina.
Extremely high-tech in appearance.
The interface was simple, with only a few options:
[Personal Information], [Chat Channel], [Trading House], [Crafting].
Qin Yu tapped on [Chat Channel].
It was already in chaos.
Countless messages scrolled frantically, too fast to read clearly.
"Help! Where is this? Why am I at sea?!"
"I'm a billionaire! Save me and I'll give you 100 million!"
"Mom... I want to go home..."
"I just saw a huge dark shadow swimming past in the sea! Scared the hell out of me!"
"I'm also in a group of three here, two men and one woman, hehe..."
"What are you trying to do? This is a society governed by law!"
"Law my ass! We're all at sea now. Can the police swim here to arrest me?"
Looking at these messages, Qin Yu's heart sank to the bottom.
It was all real.
All of humanity had been thrown into this damned place.
Moreover, order was collapsing.
On this vast ocean where cries to heaven go unheard and calls to earth unanswered, there was no law, no morality.
Only survival.
Those with the strongest fists would survive.
Qin Yu closed the chat channel and opened [Personal Information].
[Name: Qin Yu]
[Age: 24]
[Strength: 12 (Normal adult male is 10)]
[Speed: 11]
[Constitution: 13]
[Spirit: 15]
[Skills: None]
The stats were fairly decent. After all, he was an athlete, so his physical attributes were considerably better than the average person's.
But it wasn't enough.
What use was brute strength in this vast, endless ocean?
Death from thirst, starvation, or sun exposure—any one of these could kill him.
Just then.
A cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed in Qin Yu's mind.
This voice was entirely different from the prompt he heard when the panel first appeared.
It was more detached, more aloof.
"Ding!"
"Host's spiritual power detected as abnormal. The unique hidden system [Daily Lottery System] has been successfully activated!"
Qin Yu's eyelids twitched violently.
Unique?
Hidden?
This was a golden finger!
Having read countless web novels, he knew exactly what this meant.
In this survival game involving all of humanity, he now possessed a trump card that no one else had!
"Daily Lottery System: One free lottery draw per day. Prizes encompass all things, with random grades."
"Today's draws remaining: 1/1."
"Initiate draw now?"
Qin Yu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the wild joy in his heart.
He glanced at the two sisters beside him.
Yao Qian was curled up in a ball, staring blankly at her own panel as tears dripped down her cheeks.
Yao Xue was frowning deeply, seemingly studying the [Crafting] function, her fingers tapping rapidly in the air.
No one was paying attention to him.
"Draw!"
Qin Yu roared silently in his mind.
"Spinning the wheel…"
In his mind, a massive golden wheel began spinning rapidly.
The pointer swept across various slots.
Bread, mineral water, AK47, yacht, even an aircraft carrier…
Qin Yu's heart leaped into his throat.
It had to be something useful!
Preferably fresh water! Or a weapon!
"Stop!"
The wheel gradually slowed down.
The pointer passed [Master Kong Braised Beef Noodles], passed [Rusty Iron Sword].
Finally, it slowly came to rest on a slot radiating brilliant purple-gold light!
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, Host! Extreme luck activated!"
"Obtained SSS-grade unique item: [God-Tier Poseidon Fishing Rod]!"
As the light faded.
A simple, ancient-looking fishing rod, entirely black, appeared in Qin Yu's system backpack.
[God-Tier Poseidon Fishing Rod (SSS-grade)]
[Attribute 1: Unbreakable (Even if you hook a whale, the line will not snap).]
[Attribute 2: Never Miss (Every cast guarantees a catch).]
[Attribute 3: All Things Can Be Hooked (Can hook not only fish, but also treasure chests, supplies, and even… mysterious items from the sea).]
[Attribute 4: Auto-Adjust (Automatically adjusts hook size and line length according to the host's will).]
Qin Yu felt his heart pounding wildly.
Never miss!
All things can be hooked!
In this ocean world where survival initially depended entirely on scavenging, this was truly a divine artifact among divine artifacts!
With this, he had secured a source of supplies.
He had seized the initiative for survival!
He glanced at his backpack and focused his will.
Whoosh!
A black fishing rod materialized in his hand.
It felt heavy and solid, with an excellent grip.
"Wh-where did this come from?"
Yao Xue had been watching Qin Yu out of the corner of her eye.
When she saw a fishing rod suddenly appear in his hand, she stumbled backward in shock, nearly losing her balance and falling into the sea.
Yao Qian also turned to look, her tear-dampened eyelashes fluttering in bewilderment.
"Qin Yu, are you performing magic?"
Gripping the fishing rod, Qin Yu's entire demeanor underwent a sudden transformation.
The previous confusion vanished without a trace.
Replacing it was an aura of absolute confidence and control.
He glanced at Yao Xue, a meaningful smile curling at the corner of his lips.
"Dr. Yao, let me reintroduce myself."
"My name is Qin Yu."
"The captain of this raft."
Without giving either of them a chance to react, he exerted force with his arm.
"Whoosh!"
The fishing line cut through the air with a sharp whistle.
The hook, carrying immense force, was hurled fiercely toward the sparkling surface of the distant sea.
"Lunch for today is secured."
Yao Xue stared at Qin Yu's upright figure, then at the inexplicably materialized fishing rod.
She bit her lip, tightening her grip on the scalpel in her hand.
This man had secrets.
In this world of collapsed rules, secrets often meant danger, but they could also... mean survival.
She glanced down at her still-sobbing sister.
Her gaze gradually hardened.
No matter what, she had to protect Qianqian.
Even if it meant relying on this man.
As long as he could provide food and water.
Of course, on the condition that he harbored no improper intentions.
Yao Xue tightened her collar, covering the glimpse of fair skin, her eyes fixed on Qin Yu's back with complex emotions.
The sea breeze swept past.
The raft rose and fell on the endless ocean.
On this four-square-meter plank, the fates of three people became irrevocably intertwined.