A piercing screech of metal grinding against metal.
The shabby raft was forcibly dragged alongside the "President."
Several thick cables were thrown down like lassos for livestock.
"Come up."
Qin Yu stood above, his voice indifferent.
Li Ruobing had already changed into work clothes. Though somewhat dirty, they couldn't conceal her wild spirit.
She waved to those below.
"Stop dawdling! Move quickly!"
Tattooed Arm Man and Glasses Man were utterly terrified.
Seeing this steel behemoth up close was suffocating.
Especially the rows of cannon barrels, still warm, their dark muzzles like the eye sockets of death.
"Coming... coming right up!"
Tattooed Arm Man swallowed hard, scrambling up the rope ladder hand over foot.
Glasses Man followed closely, clutching the large plastic barrel of fresh water—their entire worldly possessions.
Thud.
The two tumbled over the railing, landing hard on the solid alloy deck.
No one helped them up.
As Tattooed Arm Man started to complain, he looked up and froze completely.
It was enormous.
Immaculately clean.
The deck was spotless—no seaweed, no bird droppings, not even a trace of rust.
And standing before them was Qin Yu, arms crossed, watching them coldly.
Beside him stood a pair of sisters: one cold and elegant as ice, toying with a scalpel; the other sweet and adorable, yet carrying an assault rifle nearly as tall as she was.
"Holy crap..."
Tattooed Arm Man's gaze was instantly drawn to Yao Xue's long legs, sheathed in black silk stockings.
In this ocean filled with rough men and monsters,
a woman of this caliber could make a man feel he'd lost ten years of life just from one glance.
The lecherous greed in his eyes was impossible to hide.
"Those legs... that figure..."
He subconsciously licked his chapped lips and muttered.
The voice was low.
But in the silence of the deck, everyone heard it clearly.
Swish!
A flash of cold light.
A scalpel flew past Tattooed Arm Man's scalp.
Thunk!
The blade embedded itself deep into a wooden crate behind him, still vibrating.
A few strands of hair drifted down.
Tattooed Arm Man felt a chill on his scalp, followed by a burning sting.
"Keep staring, and I'll gouge your eyes out."
Yao Xue's voice was colder than her blade.
Tattooed Arm Man collapsed onto the deck, face pale, barely keeping himself from wetting his pants.
"I won't! I won't!"
He kowtowed frantically, his forehead thudding against the steel plates.
The lustful thoughts from moments ago had been scared away by that single throw.
These weren't women.
They were downright she-devils!
Qin Yu didn't even bat an eyelid.
Trash like this wouldn't survive the first episode in the apocalypse.
The only reason they were kept alive was because hundreds of tons of steel needed movers.
"Li Ruobing."
Qin Yu ignored the two wastes on the ground, turning to Li Ruobing, who stood nearby looking uneasy.
"Where is it?"
Li Ruobing flinched.
She knew what Qin Yu meant.
It was her bargaining chip, her final trump card.
But in the face of absolute power, holding back was suicide.
"Here."
Li Ruobing gritted her teeth and retrieved a small object wrapped in layers of oilcloth from her inner pocket.
She held it respectfully with both hands and presented it to Qin Yu.
Qin Yu reached out and took it.
It felt cold to the touch—not the chill of ice, but a bone-piercing coldness.
He unwrapped the oilcloth.
A deep blue pearl lay quietly in his palm.
Inside the pearl, it seemed as if a blizzard was sealed, with fine white flocculent substances slowly swirling within.
[Ding! Special item detected!]
[Item Name: Frost Armor (Grade A · Special Accessory)]
[Attribute: Maintains a constant temperature within a 5-meter radius of the wearer (Cold Resistance/Heat Resistance +50%).]
[Active Skill: Frost Perception (Can detect extreme cold ocean currents and movements of sea creatures within a 20-nautical-mile radius. Cooldown: 1 hour).]
[Passive Effect: Suppression (Exerts slight intimidation on aquatic mutated creatures below Grade C).]
"Grade A."
A flicker of surprise crossed Qin Yu's eyes.
This was indeed a treasure.
Especially the constant temperature regulation and perception skill—it was practically a divine tool against the impending extreme cold storm.
No wonder this woman could predict the beast tide in advance.
"Not bad."
With a flip of his hand, the priceless Frost Pearl vanished into his system inventory.
"Consider this your payment for your lives."
Li Ruobing stared at her empty palm, her heart aching with loss.
But she didn't dare show it.
She forced a faint smile: "As long... as long as Captain Qin finds it useful."
"Enough."
Qin Yu waved his hand, uninterested in further hollow pleasantries.
He walked to the edge of the deck and pointed at the half-dismantled shipwreck below, which had been mostly cut open by the T-X robots.
"Let me lay down the rules."
Qin Yu's voice was quiet but carried an undeniable authority.
Tattooed Arm Man and Glasses Man scrambled up from the ground, bowing and straining to listen.
"First."
Qin Yu raised one finger.
"Your task is to transport.""
"The robots handle cutting and dismantling. You're responsible for hoisting the supplies up via pulley and sorting them."
"Sixteen hours of work per day."
"Fail to meet the quota, and you don't eat."
"Sixteen hours?!"
Tattooed Arm Man couldn't help but exclaim.
"This... this is worse than a sweatshop! You're working us to death!"
Qin Yu shot him a cold glance.
"You're free to refuse."
"The ocean is right there. Jump in if you prefer."
Tattooed Arm Man immediately fell silent.
Jump into the sea?
Better to work to death.
"Second."
Qin Yu raised a second finger, pointing toward the two-story living quarters behind him.
That was the core area of the entire ship.
Warm rooms, hot showers, and the aroma of food wafting from the kitchen.
"From now on."
"The main deck and cargo hold are your designated areas."
"Anything above the second level is off-limits."
Qin Yu's gaze sharpened like a blade, sweeping across the three individuals' necks.
"If anyone dares set foot on the stairs leading to the second level."
"I'll chop off their legs and feed them to the sharks."
"Understood?"
The last four words carried a chilling, murderous intent.
Glasses Man trembled all over, his hands shaking as he adjusted his glasses.
"I... I understand! We absolutely won't go up! We'd rather die than go up there!"
The Tattooed Arm Man also hunched his shoulders, his eyes darting nervously as he avoided Qin Yu's gaze.
But inwardly, he was cursing.
Why?
We're all survivors. Why do you get to live in a mansion and enjoy fine food and drink while we have to sleep on the deck and do hard labor?
And be ordered around like dogs?
But he didn't dare say it.
At least not now.
Qin Yu noticed the subtle changes in the Tattooed Arm Man's expression.
But he didn't care.
This fool, who only had brute strength and a brain full of Slurry and greed.
In his eyes, was already a dead man.
Keeping them around was only to squeeze out their last remaining value.
Once that sunken ship was emptied.
Once the defensive structures were built.
That would be when these two pieces of trash disappeared.
After all, feeding two extra mouths was no small expense.
"Li Ruobing."
Qin Yu called out.
"Here!" Li Ruobing instinctively stood at attention.
"Take your people and get to work."
Qin Yu tossed out the command before turning to leave.
"I want to see the cargo hold filled with steel by tonight."
"One ton short, and you'll miss one meal."
"Yes!"
Only when Qin Yu's figure disappeared at the second-floor staircase did the suffocating pressure slightly dissipate.
"Hah..."
The Tattooed Arm Man let out a long breath, plopping down onto the deck and wiping the cold sweat from his face.
"He's really like the King of Hell..."
He glared at the bright windows on the second floor, his eyes filled with venom.
"Sister Bing, are we really going to be his dogs like this?"
"Look at how arrogant he is—he doesn't see us as human at all!"
"And that A-grade equipment—you just gave it to him for free?"
Li Ruobing looked at him coldly.
"Or what?"
"Are you going to snatch it back?"
"Or do you have what it takes to block that cannon?"
She pointed at Yao Xue in the distance, who was still coldly watching them from the gun turret.
The Tattooed Arm Man shrank his neck and fell silent.
"Enough nonsense."
Li Ruobing kicked him.
"If you want to live, get to work."
"Don't think I don't know what's on your mind."
"Put away your cunning schemes."
"This Qin Yu is not someone you can afford to provoke."
"If you want to die, don't drag me down with you."
With that, Li Ruobing picked up a shovel and strode toward the hoisting area.
She was a smart person.
She could see that there wasn't a trace of pity in Qin Yu's eyes.
It was an extreme indifference toward life.
The only way to survive under this man was to demonstrate value.
Absolute value.
The Glasses Man sighed, adjusted his glasses, and followed.
"Let's go, Brother Qiang."
"A living dog is better than a dead lion."
"At least here, we don't have to worry about being dragged into the water by monsters in the middle of the night."
The Tattooed Arm Man spat hatefully on the ground.
"Pah!"
"What an asshole!"
"Just wait until I find an opportunity..."
He didn't dare finish the sentence.
But a sinister glint flashed in his narrow, triangular eyes.
He got up and trudged heavily toward the work area.
...
Second-floor control room.
Qin Yu sat on a leather sofa, watching the surveillance screen.
On the screen, three red figures were busily working on the deck.
"Brother Qin Yu."
Yao Qian approached with a cup of hot coffee and set it on the table.
"Those two don't seem like good people."
"Especially the tattooed one—his eyes are darting around. You can tell he's up to no good."
Qin Yu picked up the coffee and blew on the steam.
A cold smirk curled at the corner of his lips.
"Bad intentions?"
"Those require strength to back them up."
"Evil without power is just stupidity."
He took a sip of coffee, savoring the subtle sweetness that followed the bitterness.
"Don't bother with them."
"They're just two rabid dogs waiting to be put down."
"Put down?" Yao Qian blinked her large eyes. "You mean drive them away?"
Qin Yu shook his head.
He set down the cup.
His fingers tapped lightly on the table surface.
"In this world, only the dead don't cause trouble."
"That shipwreck has too many supplies."
"Relying solely on T-X robots is too inefficient."
"And there are some cramped corners where robots can't reach."
"Someone has to do this dirty, exhausting work."
Qin Yu watched the Tattooed Arm Man moving steel plates on the surveillance monitor.
He looked like an worker ant carrying food.
"When the cold wave comes."
"And the beast tide erupts."
"We'll need someone to draw fire, to serve as bait."
"That's their greatest value."
Yao Qian nodded, only half understanding.
Though she found it somewhat cruel.
The memory of how that man had looked at her sister made her feel Qin Yu was right.
"What about... that Li Ruobing?"
Yao Xue walked in, twirling the scalpel in her hand.
"That woman has some ambition."
"And she's clever."
Qin Yu leaned back on the sofa, gazing at the ceiling.
"Clever people know how to choose."
"As long as she's obedient enough, useful enough."
"I don't mind keeping a position for her."
"Even..."
Qin Yu paused, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"Since she has perception abilities."
"Perhaps we can train her to become this ship's radar operator in the future."
"After all, while the system is powerful, it still needs human operation."
"But that's for later."
Qin Yu stood up and walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window.
Watching the gradually darkening sky outside.
The sea wind grew stronger.
Waves crashed against the ship's hull.
The wreckage of the sunken ship looked particularly menacing in the sunset.
"Yao Xue."
"Here."
"Keep a close watch on that deck."
"Throw them a few worn blankets and two crates of expired canned food."
"Don't let them starve, but don't let them eat too well either."
"If that Tattooed Arm Man dares make any suspicious moves."
Qin Yu made a throat-slitting gesture.
"No need to ask for permission."
"Act directly."
Yao Xue nodded, a cold curve forming at the corner of her lips.
"Understood."
"My blade is very fast."
Qin Yu turned around, looking at the extreme cold region they were approaching on the map.
This wasn't just a disaster.
It was a reshuffling.
The weak would be eliminated.
The strong would plunder everything.
"Speed up."
"Empty that ship."
"Then..."
"Prepare for our first real battle."
Qin Yu slowly clenched his fist.
Three days.
Just three days.
This "President" would be crowned king upon the corpses of countless monsters.
...
Night deepened.
The sea surface was pitch black.
Only a few dim yellow searchlights illuminated one deck of the "President."
"Heave!"
"One, two, three!"
The shirtless Tattooed Arm Man, drenched in sweat, chanted work songs.
Together with Glasses Man, they dragged a several-hundred-pound steel plate to the designated position.
"Clang!"
The steel plate hit the deck.
The Tattooed Arm Man collapsed completely, lying on the ground gasping for breath.
"Damn... I'm exhausted..."
He stared at the rock-hard compressed biscuit in his hand.
Then glanced at the warm yellow light emanating from the second-floor window.
Shadowy figures moved faintly behind it.
Women's laughter could be heard drifting through the night.
The stark contrast fueled the Tattooed Arm Man's burning jealousy.
"Why do they..."
He viciously bit into the biscuit as if trying to tear out someone's throat.
"Just wait."
"As soon as that Qin Yu lets his guard down..."
"Once I get my hands on that gun..."
He muttered curses under his breath in the darkness.
Unaware.
That the surveillance camera above was slowly tracking his movements.
Its red indicator light.
Glowed like a bloodshot eye in the night.
Silently observing everything.
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