"BANG—!"
A tremendous clash of steel echoed across the sea.
The reinforced gunwale of the President pressed domineeringly against the rusted hull of the sunken ship.
Sparks flew from the friction, followed by the teeth-grating screech of twisting metal.
The two vessels were forcibly moored side by side.
"The smell up there is even stronger than before."
Yao Qian glanced through the porthole at the scene outside.
Just moments ago, she had felt like a majestic female captain.
Now, one look was all it took.
Her face instantly turned pale.
"Urgh..."
She retched dryly and quickly fastened her mask.
There were no longer any traces of monsters on the deck.
Only a thick layer of dark red "slurry" remained.
Some areas still emitted wisps of blue smoke, releasing a charred stench.
These were the aftermath of the Plasma Cannon's high-temperature bombardment.
"Stay close to me."
Qin Yu was the first to step onto the boarding plank.
His black combat boots squelched as they trod upon the viscous substance.
Yao Xue frowned.
As a surgeon, she had seen all kinds of rotting flesh.
But the sight of hundreds of creatures being instantly blasted into debris still assaulted her visual nerves.
"This is the firepower coverage you wanted."
Yao Xue took a deep breath to steady herself before following.
"This is only the beginning."
Qin Yu didn't look back.
His Machete casually swept aside a broken railing blocking their path.
The three made their way upward.
Treading through the mess covering the ground, they directly ascended to the top level of the freighter's bridge.
The view here was excellent.
They could take in the entire broken freighter at a glance.
Ahead were mountains of shipping containers.
Behind them was the still-smoking deck.
Beneath their feet were tens of thousands of tons of scrap steel.
This was a gold mine.
"Brother-in-law... how are we going to move all this?"
Yao Qian stood by the guardrail, gazing at the massive containers below with concern.
"There are only three of us."
"Even if we worked ourselves to death, we wouldn't finish moving everything before the cold wave arrives, right?"
Though she was a homebody, she knew about the crisis coming in three days.
By then, the sea surface would freeze over, and this sunken ship would be the best shelter.
But if they didn't empty the supplies and reinforce the hull, just hiding here wouldn't be safe.
"Who said we're going to do it ourselves?"
Qin Yu stood at the windward edge, his clothes flapping loudly.
He looked down at the massive ship below with indifferent eyes.
With a slight thought.
He opened his system backpack.
"Time to get to work."
Qin Yu waved his hand.
A visible ripple spread through the air.
"Hum—"
A low mechanical whirring sound emerged.
Immediately after.
[T-X All-Terrain Automatic Collection Terminal (Engineering Edition)] was deployed.
"Go."
Qin Yu pointed toward the container area below.
"Bring back everything usable."
"Steel, fuel, food, medicine, fabric."
"As long as it's valuable, don't let even a single screw go to waste."
A red light flashed in the machine's optical sensor.
"Beep—Command received."
Without another word.
Like a silver whirlwind, it leaped directly from the bridge over ten meters high.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
It landed silently.
The shock absorption systems in its mechanical legs perfectly absorbed the impact.
What followed.
Was a dazzling display of "violent demolition."
The laser cutter on its abdomen lit up with a blinding white light.
Zzzzt—
Like a hot knife through butter.
The thick iron sheet of the cargo container was instantly sliced open with a neat, gaping hole.
A mechanical leg probed inside, rummaging through the contents.
"High-calorie canned luncheon meat detected. Rating: B. Retrieving."
The armor plating on its back slid open, revealing a massive storage compartment.
Two mechanical arms moved like phantoms, swiftly loading dozens of crates of canned goods inside.
Once filled,
it didn't stop.
Qin Yu nodded in satisfaction.
"At this rate,"
"not only can we clear out this entire ship within a day,"
"but we can also upgrade our base into a true Steel Fortress."
He turned to face the two women who were still in shock.
"Stop staring."
"They handle the heavy work—we handle the details."
Qin Yu pointed toward the cockpit beneath their feet.
"This is the captain's cabin."
"Usually, you'll find navigation charts, spare keys, or some special valuables here."
"Yao Qian, search this area."
"Yao Xue, check the infirmary for any overlooked medical supplies."
"I'll head to the engine room."
Qin Yu's tone left no room for argument.
"Get moving."
"We don't have much time."
"Yes!"
The two women quickly snapped out of their daze and threw themselves into the search.
Following a man like this,
they had no reason to slack off.
…
Meanwhile,
about five nautical miles from Sunken Ship Island,
a "large" Raft, cobbled together from over a dozen wooden planks, rose and fell with the waves.
The Raft spanned roughly a hundred square meters.
A simple awning had been erected in the center,
and a crude fence made of sharpened wooden stakes surrounded the perimeter.
Compared to the meager few logs most survivors had, this was practically a "mansion."
In the middle of the Raft,
two shirtless men were sweating profusely as they operated a hand-cranked desalinator.
Under the awning,
a woman held a pair of binoculars, staring intently toward the southeast.
She wore extremely short hot pants that showed off her long, straight legs,
and a tight, revealing tank top, soaked with sweat and clinging to her body, outlining a breathtaking figure.
Her skin was a healthy wheat color,
and her wine-red wavy hair was casually tied back.
Wild.
Sexy.
Like a thorny wild rose.
She was Li Ruobing, ranked second on Area 9527's Raft leaderboard.
"Sis Bing, what are you looking at?"
A lean, bespectacled man approached,
holding a freshly grilled fish no bigger than his palm.
"The fish is a bit burnt, but it'll do."
Li Ruobing didn't take the fish.
Her hands were trembling.
Her knuckles were white as she gripped the binoculars.
"Did you hear that earlier?"
She lowered the binoculars and turned around.
Her eyes, usually full of wild confidence, were now filled with shock and disbelief.
"Yeah, we heard it,"
the bespectacled man mumbled through a mouthful of fish.
"Just thunder, right?"
"In this damn weather, thunder and rain are normal."
"Exactly,"
a muscular man covered in tattoos chimed in.
"Sis Bing, you're being too sensitive."
"We're number two on the leaderboard now."
"Who in these waters could possibly challenge us, aside from that anonymous number one?"
"We've got food, water, and this Raft is sturdy enough."
"What's there to be afraid of?"
The tattooed man wore a dismissive expression.
Relying on his physical strength, he held the second-highest position in their small team after Li Ruobing. He'd often sneak lecherous glances at her legs when he thought no one noticed.
"Thunder?" Li Ruobing let out a cold laugh.
Her smile carried a hint of mockery, but more than that, it was laced with exhaustion.
"Since when does thunder sound like that?"
"That's artillery fire!"
"Rapid-fire cannons!"
She shoved the binoculars into the tattooed man's hands.
"See for yourself!"
"See how our so-called second-ranked team is nothing but a joke compared to them!"
The tattooed man was taken aback by her scolding. Grumbling in dissatisfaction, he raised the binoculars. "Fine, I'll look. It's not like I'll see anything special…"
He aimed the lenses toward the billowing black smoke in the southeast that hadn't yet dissipated.
Through the slightly blurred optics, he saw the sunken ship.
And anchored beside it—a steel behemoth.
"Holy shit!" The tattooed man's hands trembled, nearly dropping the binoculars into the sea. "What... what is that?!"
"A warship?!"
His eyes widened in disbelief.
In his field of view stood a vessel entirely black, as if cast from solid steel.
Towering walls, menacing gun barrels.
And those silver "monsters" crawling all over the wreckage.
"Is that a player's ship?!" His voice cracked like a strangled rooster.
"That's the number one ranked," Li Ruobing said, taking a deep breath. She pulled a slightly damp cigarette from her pocket but found no way to light it. Frustrated, she crumpled it. "I saw people in the Chat Channel saying that direction is Qin Yu's territory."
"I didn't believe it at first."
"Now I do."
Gulp. The bespectacled man swallowed hard and leaned in for a look.
One glance, and the grilled fish in his hand fell to the ground.
"Bing Jie…"
"Is that… a robot?"
"It's dismantling the ship?!"
His worldview shattered on the spot.
They were still struggling for scraps of wood, even fighting sharks over drifting bottles—meanwhile, others were piloting mechs to tear ships apart?
The gap between them felt like the difference between cavemen and aliens.
"How… how can we even compare?" the tattooed man stammered.
All his earlier arrogance had vanished into thin air, replaced by deep-seated fear—and a poorly concealed greed.
"If… if we could latch onto someone like that…" The tattooed man's eyes shifted nervously. "Would we still have to eat this damned grilled fish?"
"Would we have fresh water to bathe in?"
Li Ruobing shot him a frosty glare.
"Latch onto him?"
"You think you're worthy?"
She pointed toward the distant Steel Fortress.
"You heard that barrage earlier."
"Hundreds of monsters—gone in seconds."
"Do you think if you got close, he'd offer you tea or a cannon shell instead?"
The tattooed man shrank back, falling silent.
"Then… what should we do?" The bespectacled man adjusted his glasses, face full of despair. "The temperature's about to drop."
"Our shabby shelter won't hold up against the cold wave."
"We were counting on scavenging that shipwreck…"
"But now it looks like we won't even get the scraps."
Li Ruobing fell silent.
She stared at the warship—a symbol of absolute power—her heart a turmoil of mixed emotions.
They were all survivors.
Why is the gap so vast?
She had always believed she was doing well enough.
Through sheer tenacity, she had dragged her useless subordinates all the way to second place.
But now it seemed.
Between second and first place.
It wasn't just a difference in points.
It was an insurmountable chasm.
"Ice Sis, how about..."
The tattooed man's eyes shifted, his gaze landing on Li Ruobing's fiery figure.
"We give it a try?"
"You're so beautiful, with such a great body."
"That Qin Yu is still a man."
"And any man would be tempted."
"If you go soften up to him, act a little cute..."
"Maybe..."
Slap!
A sharp crack echoed.
Li Ruobing withdrew her hand, her eyes sharp as blades.
"Shut your filthy mouth."
"I got here on skill, not by selling my body."
The tattooed man clutched his cheek, a flash of resentment in his eyes, but he quickly lowered his head.
"Yes... Ice Sis is right."
Li Ruobing turned, her back to them.
The sea wind tousled her long hair.
She looked into the distance at the figure commanding the mechanical Terminal.
Though she couldn't make out his face.
That domineering aura could be felt even from miles away.
"But..."
Li Ruobing bit her lip.
A trace of resolve flashed in her eyes.
"You're right."
"The cold wave is coming. Our broken ship is doomed."
"That Qin Yu is our only way out."
She turned to face her subordinates.
"Raise the sails."
"We're heading over."
"Huh?!"
The bespectacled man was stunned.
"Ice Sis, are you crazy?"
"Didn't you just say we'd get shelled?"
"Didn't you say you weren't selling your body?"
"I'm not selling my body."
Li Ruobing straightened up, her impressive curves particularly striking in the sunlight.
She pulled something from her pocket.
Her only treasure.
"I'm going to make a trade with him."
"I have information he doesn't."
"I have value he needs."
"If he wanted to kill us, he would've spotted us on radar already."
"Since he hasn't fired, there's still a chance."
Li Ruobing's eyes grew determined.
Even if it was a dragon's den or a tiger's lair.
To survive.
She would charge right in.
"Raise the sails!"
"Full speed ahead!"
"Target: that steel warship!"
...
Meanwhile.
At the peak of Sunken Ship Island.
Qin Yu was holding a tablet, reviewing the collection data transmitted by the T-X Terminal.
[Current Progress: 15%]
[Acquired: Special Steel x50 tons, Diesel x200 barrels, Canned Food x500 crates, Medical Kits x10.]
Suddenly.
A red warning box popped up in the corner of the tablet.
[Warning: Unidentified vehicle detected approaching.]
[Distance: 4.5 nautical miles.]
[Threat Level: Extremely Low.]
Qin Yu's brow lifted slightly.
He swiped his finger across the screen, pulling up the remote surveillance feed.
In the image.
A small sailboat with tattered sails was zigzagging unsteadily toward them.
At the bow of the Raft.
Stood a woman in a revealing tank top and shorts.
Holding a dagger, standing against the wind.
Like a warrior woman off to challenge a dragon.
"Is that..."
Qin Yu narrowed his eyes.
"Number two from District 9527."
A playful smile tugged at the corner of Qin Yu's lips.
He gave no order to fire.
Nor to drive them away.
He simply watched quietly as that tiny raft, as insignificant as an ant, gradually drew closer.
"Interesting."
"Since you're so eager to die..."
"Let's see if you have what it takes to board my ship."
Qin Yu put away his tablet.
He turned to look at the busy Yao sisters.
"Speed it up."
"We have a guest."
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