Qin Yu stood at the edge of the deck, stretching his neck. A series of crisp cracking sounds echoed from his joints.
The feeling of surging power was absolutely incredible.
That meal of Mutated Boar Meat from last night hadn't been wasted. After a night of digestion, those violent energies had completely integrated into his muscle fibers.
Right now, he felt like he could punch through this reinforced steel plate with a single blow.
"System."
Qin Yu focused his mind.
A new day, a fresh start.
The most important ritual, of course, was the daily lottery.
In this damned ocean, strength was one thing, but luck was another.
And his luck resided in that spinning wheel.
"Ding!"
"Drawing today's reward..."
The familiar virtual wheel materialized before his eyes once again.
The pointer spun rapidly, becoming a blur of indistinguishable colors.
Qin Yu lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.
He wasn't greedy.
As long as it wasn't "Thank You, Please Come Again," even a bottle of water would be fine.
But clearly, the system was in a good mood today.
Or perhaps, it was the karma he'd accumulated from taking down that Elite Monster last night finally paying off.
The pointer gradually slowed.
It swept past the white common zone, skimmed over the blue rare zone, and finally...
Came to a perfect stop on a dazzling golden glow!
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, Host! The Gacha Gods have blessed you!"
"Acquired S-grade living supplies: [S-grade · Deep Sea Dream Double Bed] x2."
"Description: In this damned apocalypse, getting a good night's sleep is more important than anything else. Features a memory foam mattress filled with Deep Sea Mollusk Colloid, providing constant temperature, moisture resistance, and shock absorption. Lying on it feels like resting on clouds. Special effects: Deep Sleep (4 hours of rest on this bed equals 10 hours of ordinary sleep, significantly restoring mental energy, alleviating physical fatigue, and with a certain probability of repairing Hidden Wounds)."
"A bed?"
Qin Yu's hand, holding the cigarette, paused mid-air.
Then, a wide, ecstatic grin spread across his face.
This thing...
Couldn't have come at a better damn time!
These past couple of days, crammed into that tent less than five square meters, while there was some allure to having the sisters close, honestly, the sleep was terrible.
The floor was hard as rock, and the slightest turn would bump into someone.
For a survivor who needed to stay alert at all times, sleep quality directly determined combat effectiveness.
"S-grade..."
Qin Yu flicked the ash from his cigarette.
For the system to rate it as S-grade, this bed definitely wasn't just about "comfort."
That "repair Hidden Wounds" and "rapidly restore mental energy" attribute was practically a divine tool tailor-made for prolonged combat.
"Brother Qin Yu, good morning..."
Just then, Yao Qian emerged, rubbing her messy hair.
The young girl had dark circles under her eyes, clearly not having slept well last night.
Whether it was from fear or some other thoughts, who could tell.
Shortly after, Yao Xue also stepped out.
She had already tidied her appearance inside the tent, her Black Silk Stockings-clad legs straight and slender, though her walking posture was slightly stiff.
That was from sleeping on the hard floor.
"Take down the tent."
Qin Yu tossed his cigarette butt into the sea and issued the command calmly.
"Huh?"
Yao Qian froze, her movements halting.
"Where will we sleep tonight if we dismantle it? On the deck?"
"Just dismantle it when I tell you to. Stop with the nonsense."
Qin Yu offered no explanation, turning to walk toward the mountain of supplies.
The hundreds of iron units and large quantity of high-grade lumber obtained from trading water had been gathering dust until now.
Today, they would finally serve their purpose.
"Oh..."
Yao Qian pouted in grievance but didn't dare disobey Qin Yu's order, obediently starting to pull up the ground stakes.
Yao Xue, however, sensed something more.
She adjusted her glasses, watching Qin Yu's back as he stood before the supply pile, a flicker of anticipation in her eyes.
This man never did anything without purpose.
"System, activate construction mode."
Qin Yu issued the command mentally.
A massive grid of blue dotted lines instantly covered the entire raft.
The current raft was a 100-square-meter prototype of the Steel Fortress.
Though sturdy, its space utilization was terribly inefficient.
Completely flat.
"Second floor expansion."
"Materials: refined iron + high-grade lumber."
"Area: 50 square meters."
Qin Yu's fingers flew through the air as if playing a high-freedom construction game.
But what he was consuming were real survival supplies.
"Ding! Sufficient materials detected."
"Consumed: Iron x200, Lumber x100..."
"Construction in progress..."
"Rumble—"
A low mechanical roar suddenly erupted.
The entire raft sank abruptly.
Yao Qian, who had just finished folding the tent, fell on her bottom from the shock.
"What happened? An earthquake? A tsunami?"
"Look up."
Yao Xue pulled her sister up, her voice barely containing her awe.
Before Qin Yu.
Countless iron blocks and lumber floated mid-air as if grasped by an invisible hand.
Deconstructing, reassembling, merging.
Thick iron pillars sprouted from the deck like bamboo shoots after rain.
These were load-bearing columns.
Then came the beam installations, floor laying.
In less than five minutes.
A two-story framework occupying the raft's rear section had risen from nowhere!
Not some simple watchtower.
But a genuine two-story structure!
Below stood sturdy steel supports, leaving ample activity space.
Above sat a square metal-clad room wrapped in preservative-treated wood, appearing both robust and somewhat livable.
A one-meter-wide iron ladder curved up along one side.
Leading directly to the second-floor platform.
"This... this is a villa?"
Yao Qian's jaw dropped, the tent in her hands falling to the deck with a thud.
In these seas where everyone still struggled for mere pieces of lumber.
Qin Yu had actually built a house?
"Not finished yet."
Qin Yu looked at the empty metal box, unsatisfied.
"Partition."
"Split it in two."
Following his thought.
The second-floor space divided with a wall down the middle.
Becoming two separate rooms.
Each room about twenty-five square meters.
Not large, but on the sea, this was a presidential suite.
Each room had a square window, though without glass for now, temporarily boarded up with wood.
"Come take a look."
Qin Yu stepped onto the iron ladder first.
Solid wood flooring beneath his feet produced a dull, substantial sound with each step.
That feeling of solid ground beneath his feet was far superior to the swaying deck.
He pushed open the door to the room on the left.
Empty.
Only the faint scent of wood filled the space.
"Retrieve."
With a wave of Qin Yu's hand, he retrieved the two S-grade beds he had just drawn from the system space.
"Boom!"
A massive double bed, two meters wide and 2.2 meters long, instantly occupied half the room.
The mattress was pure white, looking like a solidified slab of milk pudding.
The headboard was made of black alloy, exuding a technological aesthetic.
"This…"
Yao Qian, who had followed him in, stared wide-eyed.
She looked at the bed.
Then at the crumpled tent in her hands.
The contrast was like heaven and earth.
"Go try it."
Qin Yu pointed at the bed.
"Huh? M-me? Can I?"
Yao Qian stammered, her face instantly flushing red.
She instinctively assumed Qin Yu was hinting at something.
"I meant test if the mattress is soft. What are you thinking?"
Qin Yu tapped her forehead.
"Oh…"
Yao Qian covered her forehead and cautiously approached.
She poked it with her finger.
Soft.
It was genuinely soft.
Her finger sank in and bounced back instantly, the texture like pressing against a baby's skin.
She couldn't resist any longer.
She threw herself onto it.
"Thump!"
There was no impact.
She felt as if she had sunk into a pile of cotton, yet it provided excellent support, cradling her body steadily.
"Mmm—!!!"
An utterly blissful moan escaped Yao Qian's lips.
She rolled over twice on the bed, hugging a pillow and refusing to let go.
"Comfortable! So comfortable!"
"Is this a Simmons? No, even Simmons isn't this comfortable!"
"Brother Qin Yu, is this bed for us?"
Yao Qian looked up, her eyes sparkling.
"This room is yours."
Qin Yu pointed to the room.
"The one next door is mine."
"From today, no more squeezing into tents."
He pulled out another bed from his backpack and went into the adjacent room.
After setting it up, Qin Yu lay down on the bed.
Instantly, a warm current flowed from his back throughout his entire body.
It was the mattress's built-in temperature control and massage function.
His slightly tense muscles quickly relaxed under the soothing flow.
The long-strained nerves in his mind felt as if they were being gently smoothed by a tender hand.
"Now this is the kind of enjoyment an S-grade should provide."
Qin Yu closed his eyes and hummed contentedly.
A night's sleep on such a bed would undoubtedly maximize his condition the next day.
"Knock, knock."
The door was tapped.
Yao Xue stood at the doorway, holding two neatly folded blankets.
"Um…"
She glanced at Qin Yu lying on the bed, her eyes flickering slightly.
"Thank you."
She said the words softly, but they carried weight.
As someone from the former elite class, she understood better than her sister what this level of living quality meant.
In this post-apocalyptic world, a clean, soft, and safe bed was the ultimate luxury.
"No need."
Qin Yu didn't open his eyes.
"I'm doing this so you can rest well and have the energy to work for me."
"Go organize the supplies downstairs. Sort and categorize them."
"And that boar hide—finish processing it today."
"Understood."
Yao Xue pressed her lips together, a faint, almost imperceptible smile curling at the corners of her mouth.
This man.
Always so tough on the outside.
She turned and left, her steps noticeably lighter.
...
Noon.
The sun blazed overhead.
The extended platform on the second floor cast a large shadow over the first-floor deck.
Qin Yu moved a chair into the shade and sat down.
He held a homemade toothpick, picking at shreds of meat stuck between his teeth.
Yao Qian leaned against the new railing, staring blankly at the distant sea.
"Qin Yu, have you checked the Chat Channel?"
She suddenly turned, her expression strange.
"What now?"
Qin Yu lazily opened his tablet.
Whenever she had free time, this girl loved browsing that damned Chat Channel, seeking psychological comfort from others' misfortunes.
"There's a guy named Wang Meng who seems to have found an island too."
"Oh?"
Qin Yu raised an eyebrow.
He tapped open the regional channel.
Sure enough.
The channel was buzzing with activity.
It all started with a user named [Wang Meng].
Wang Meng: "Hahaha! Brothers! My luck has turned! I spotted an island too! A fucking huge island!"
Wang Meng: "Right to my south! The fog cleared, and I can see it clearly! It's covered in trees! Must have fresh water! And food!"
Random A: "Holy shit? For real? Awesome, Brother Meng!"
Random B: "Coordinates please! Take me with you, Brother Meng! I've been drinking piss for two days!"
Random C: "Be careful, didn't someone say there are monsters on the islands?"
Wang Meng: "Scared of what? I've got a Fine Iron Axe from a loot box! Besides, this island looks dead quiet, not even a bird in sight. Where would monsters come from?"
Wang Meng: "Enough talk, I'm landing! Wait till I get a full meal and come back to make you all jealous!"
Reading these messages.
Qin Yu's eyes turned cold.
"Dead quiet?"
"Not even a bird in sight?"
This description.
Was exactly the same as the island he encountered yesterday.
That indicated an extremely simplified ecosystem.
Meaning, there was an absolute apex predator on the island.
That had eaten everything else alive.
"This idiot."
Qin Yu spat out the toothpick.
"He's dead."
"Huh?"
Yao Qian was startled.
"Why? Doesn't he have an axe?"
"Axe?"
Qin Yu sneered.
"That wild boar yesterday had skin so thick even an S-grade hunting rifle barely pierced it."
"Going to fight an Elite Monster with a shitty axe?"
"That's delivering takeout to the monster, complete with cutlery."
Sure enough.
Within five minutes.
Another message from Wang Meng appeared in the channel.
But this time, it wasn't text.
It was a voice message.
Wang Meng: "Ahhh—!!!"
Piercing.
Desperate.
The sound of human vocal cords tearing under extreme terror.
In the background, there was an unnerving "crunch-crunch" sound.
Like bones being chewed.
Followed by.
A deep beastly roar.
"Roar—!!!"
The voice message cut off abruptly.
The avatar named [Wang Meng] instantly turned deathly gray.
The previously lively Chat Channel.
Fell into dead silence.
As if everyone had been choked.
Even through the screen, everyone could feel the overwhelming smell of blood.
One minute later.
Onlooker A: "He's... he's dead?"
Onlooker B: "What was that sound? Was that a tiger?"
Onlooker C: "Don't go to the island! Whatever you do, don't go to the island! It's a trap! That's the monster's feeding ground!"
Panic spread like a plague.
Those who had envied Wang Meng moments ago now felt only relief that they were still drifting at sea.
"He's really dead..."
Yao Qian's face was pale, her fingers gripping the railing tightly.
If Qin Yu hadn't had that gun yesterday.
If Qin Yu had charged forward recklessly like Wang Meng.
Then they would be...
She didn't dare finish the thought.
"See that?"
Qin Yu's voice was cold, like a bucket of ice water poured over the two sisters.
"In this world, opportunity and death are bound together."
"Without strength, don't touch things that look appealing."
"Greed gets people killed."
Yao Xue nodded silently.
She looked at Qin Yu's profile, her awe deepening.
This man possessed not only formidable combat strength but also extraordinary calmness and judgment.
That was what made him truly fearsome.
"Enough, stop looking."
Qin Yu turned off the tablet.
His mood had been affected.
Not out of sympathy for Wang Meng.
But because of the sense of crisis.
If he didn't keep growing stronger, he might be the next one with his bones crushed.
"I'm hungry."
Qin Yu rubbed his stomach.
Though there was still plenty of wild boar meat.
But that stuff got tiresome after a while.
And it was all lean meat and fat. While it boosted attributes, the taste was too monotonous.
His mouth was full of the smoky, charred flavor.
He wanted something lighter.
Something that resembled "human" food.
"Fishing."
Qin Yu stood up and picked up the SSS-grade fishing rod leaning against the wall.
This divine artifact he'd drawn at the start had been neglected these past few days while he was busy building shelter and killing monsters.
"Time for a change of taste."
Qin Yu walked to the edge of the deck.
Baited the hook.
Cast the line.
The crystal-clear fishing line traced a graceful arc before disappearing into the azure seawater.
"Brother Qin Yu, do you want to eat fish?"
Yao Qian came closer.
"Eating fish every day, I'm almost sick of it."
"Who said fishing is only for catching fish to eat?"
Qin Yu smiled mysteriously.
The SSS-grade fishing rod's trait: [Everything Can Be Hooked].
Besides fish, it could catch many strange things.
Like treasure chests.
Ten minutes passed.
The float remained motionless.
Twenty minutes.
Yet Qin Yu showed no impatience.
Fishing was about cultivating patience.
Just as Yao Qian was about to doze off.
"It moved!"
Qin Yu's eyes sharpened.
His wrist flicked sharply.
There was no heavy tugging struggle of a big fish.
Instead, it felt somewhat light.
"Splash!"
A square object broke through the water's surface.
Qin Yu caught it steadily in his hand.
Not a fish.
A wooden chest.
Carved with a large [C].
"A chest!"
Yao Qian jumped up excitedly.
"You fished a chest out of the sea?"
"A C-grade treasure chest."
Qin Yu weighed it in his hand.
Not heavy, but something sloshed inside, like liquid.
"What could it be? A submachine gun? Grenades?"
Yao Qian's mind was filled with violent fantasies.
"Can't you think of something more practical for daily life?"
Qin Yu shot her a disapproving look.
His fingers hooked the latch.
"Click."
The chest opened.
No golden glow.
Just a...
Fragrance?
A scent that haunted the soul, instantly evoking countless memories!
It was the aroma of cooking oil.
The fragrance of scallions, ginger, and garlic sizzling in the wok!
"This…"
Yao Xue was also drawn over by the smell.
The three of them looked down into the box.
Inside, three large insulated food containers were neatly arranged.
They were even steaming hot!
"Ding!"
"Congratulations on obtaining C-grade supplies: [A Mother's Touch · Home-Style Cooking Gift Pack] x1."
"Description: In this damned apocalypse, no delicacy can compare to a warm, home-cooked meal. This is solace from the old world. At this moment, are you missing home?"
Qin Yu was stunned.
He had considered the possibility of canned food or compressed biscuits.
But he never expected...
The system had given him a full meal!
"Gulp…"
Yao Qian's swallowing sound echoed like thunder across the quiet deck.
"Is this... the smell of scrambled eggs with tomatoes?"
Her nose twitched, and her eyes suddenly reddened.
"And... and Kung Pao chicken?"
Qin Yu took out the food containers one by one.
Placing them on the newly made wooden table on the second-floor platform.
He opened the first one.
A vibrant mix of red and yellow.
Scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
The tomatoes were cooked until soft and juicy, the eggs fluffy and golden, sprinkled with bright green scallions.
He opened the second.
Fiery red dried chili peppers, golden peanuts, and diced chicken coated in rich sauce.
Kung Pao chicken!
He opened the third.
A large bowl of white rice.
Glistening, plump grains emitting the most humble, comforting aroma of cooked rice.
"Let's eat."
Qin Yu took a deep breath, suppressing the inexplicable ache in his heart.
He picked up his chopsticks without ceremony.
Taking a large bite of egg directly.
Sweet and sour.
Savory and fragrant.
The moment that familiar flavor exploded on his tongue, Qin Yu felt as if he had returned to some midday before the apocalypse.
Back when his biggest worries were how exhausting P.E. class was or not having enough money for new sneakers.
Not like now, killing just to survive.
"Wahh…"
Yao Qian started crying the moment she took her first bite, tears splashing into her bowl.
"It's hot... so delicious..."
"I miss my mom…"
The young girl cried while shoveling rice into her mouth.
Even the usually strong Yao Xue silently bowed her head at this moment.
Tears tracing paths down her cheeks.
Out here on the vast ocean.
While everyone else struggled to survive, killing for half a moldy piece of bread.
They sat on the second-floor balcony.
Breeze from the sea brushing past.
Eating warm scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
The contrast.
This feeling of happiness.
Was utterly surreal.
"What are you crying for."
Qin Yu placed a piece of chicken in Yao Xue's bowl.
His voice remained gruff, but his movements were gentle.
"Eat your fill, then you'll have the strength to keep living."
"As long as we're alive."
"Whatever you want to eat in the future, I'll get it for you."
Yao Xue looked up at Qin Yu through tear-blurred eyes.
Sunlight fell upon him, outlining him in gold.
At this moment.
This man's figure loomed larger in her heart than any god.
"Mm."
She nodded firmly.
Wiped away her tears.
And began eating heartily.
This meal.
Granted no stat bonuses.
No surge of energy.
But it settled three hearts adrift in the apocalypse, bringing them true peace for the very first time.
Full and satisfied.
Qin Yu leaned back in his chair, watching the dark clouds gathering on the distant horizon.
It was the precursor to the storm of the Dark Tide Period.
But he remained calm.
He had an S-grade hunting rifle.
A two-story fortress.
An S-grade bed and Two women remained utterly devoted to him.