The world channel had never scrolled so fast.
In this frigid apocalypse, death was the only constant, but now, alongside desperate last words, there was an overwhelming fear of the unknown.
[Zone 9527 - Zhao Si: Help!! What the hell is this thing! A fish with legs? It just bit my oar to pieces! Does anyone have a weapon? Even a wooden stick would do!]
[Sun Erniang: So cold... My torch went out, something's ramming my raft... I can hear the wood cracking... Sob, I don't want to die...]
[Wang Pangzi: Stop wailing! I've got two! Two of them! One bit my hand, it's covered in blood. Is there a doctor? Any hemostatic drugs? I'll trade my unworn underwear for it!]
Laments filled the air.
For most survivors, this so-called "beast tide" might only consist of one or two starved, low-level sea beasts.
But even just one or two, combined with the sub-zero temperatures, were enough to be the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Amid this despairing flood of messages, Liu Qiang, who had fled earlier, suddenly reappeared.
His words carried a hysterical, frenzied tone.
[Liu Qiang: Hahahaha! Two? You're crying over just two monsters?]
[Liu Qiang: Do you know what I just saw? I saw a Steel Giant Ship! To the north! That ship had a sun hanging above it! A real sun!]
[Liu Qiang: Do you have any idea how many monsters are gathered beneath it? Packed together! At least several hundred! Hundreds of monsters surrounding that ship, like they're worshipping it!]
[Liu Qiang: That's the real hell! Compared to that, what we're facing here is child's play! The owner of that ship is doomed! I don't believe anyone could survive that kind of beast tide! Not even a god!]
His message caused a brief silence in the channel.
A Steel Giant Ship?
An Artificial Sun?
Hundreds of sea beasts?
Everyone wondered if Liu Qiang had frozen his brains out and started hallucinating.
...
Thud!
Qin Yu's figure landed heavily on the ice.
Even under the scorching heat of the Artificial Sun, the several-meter-thick ice layer wouldn't melt quickly. The surface had become slippery but remained as hard as iron.
A biting wind howled, carrying ice shards that scraped across the air like blades.
But Qin Yu felt no cold at all.
The seemingly thin black battle suit he wore shimmered with a faint, dark light.
[S-grade · Nano Fluid Constant Temperature Combat Suit]
It maintained a constant internal body temperature, offered external defense comparable to tank armor, and through nano-adhesion, allowed him to walk effortlessly on the slippery ice.
"Roar—!!"
The nearest Mutated Walrus was clearly enraged by this "tiny thing" that had suddenly jumped down.
Its bloated body moved with surprising agility on the ice. Two half-meter-long yellowed tusks gleamed as it charged at Qin Yu, roaring.
A foul, fishy breath washed over him.
"Too slow."
The corner of Qin Yu's mouth lifted slightly.
He didn't retreat. He didn't even assume a defensive stance.
His wrist flicked gently.
The SSS-grade fishing rod traced an eerie arc in his hand.
The originally transparent fishing line emitted a piercing buzz as it vibrated at high speed.
"Bzzz—"
Qin Yu sidestepped as the walrus weighing over a ton brushed past his body.
Its momentum carried it sliding another dozen meters before it crashed heavily against a protruding ice rock.
Then.
Its head slid cleanly off its neck without warning.
The cut was smooth and neat—the blood didn't even have time to spray before the low temperatures instantly froze it.
[Ding! C-grade Mutated Walrus eliminated. Obtained C-grade Walrus Blubber*100kg.]
"So fragile."
Qin Yu flicked his fishing rod.
The line of this rod was made from the sinew of some interstellar creature—its toughness and sharpness were more terrifying than laser cutting.
"Next batch."
Qin Yu raised his head, eyes blazing with fervor.
The dozens of sea beasts surrounding him, after a brief pause, were driven into a complete frenzy by the scent of blood.
They roared, surging toward Qin Yu from all directions like a black tide.
An ordinary person would have wet their pants in terror facing such a scene.
But Qin Yu smiled.
He began running across the ice.
As if dancing a waltz of death.
His black figure weaved through the horde of beasts, the fishing rod in his hand like the scythe of death—each swing accompanied by the crisp sound of severed limbs.
No flashy moves.
Only the most extreme, efficient slaughter.
Blood stained the ice, quickly freezing into crimson crystals.
He was enjoying it.
Savoring the sensation of power surging through his body.
...
Meanwhile.
At the stern of the President.
Wang Long and Zhang Hu crouched behind the railing, staring intently at the battlefield below.
Though the snowstorm obscured the details.
The constantly collapsing massive shadows and the blood and flesh flying through the air told them one undeniable truth.
That man was unnaturally strong.
"Gulp."
Zhang Hu swallowed hard, his harpoon trembling in his hand.
"Brother L-Long.".. are we really going through with this?"
"He's too fierce... all those monsters aren't enough for him to kill..."
"If he finds out we're planning to betray him, he'll skin us alive!"
Zhang Hu was scared.
Truly terrified.
This level of combat power wasn't about whether they could win—it was dimensional suppression!
Wang Long's expression was equally grim.
He was afraid too.
But the greed in his eyes, like wild grass, overwhelmed his fear.
He grabbed Zhang Hu by the collar, his voice low but filled with vicious intensity.
"Worthless! What do you know!"
"Precisely because he's strong, we have to act now!"
"Look at what he's doing? He's out on the ice! At least fifty meters from the ship!"
"He's focused on killing monsters—he won't notice what happens on board!"
Wang Long pointed at the bridge above them, his eyes bloodshot.
"See that turret?"
"That's equipped with a High-Energy Cannon! Didn't you see that red light earlier? It obliterated that giant crocodile in one shot!"
"If we can control that turret..."
Wang Long panted heavily, as if already seeing himself as king.
"If we get to the bridge, swivel the cannon, and fire at the ice..."
"Even if he's made of iron, he'll be reduced to ashes!"
"Then this ship, the women, the supplies—everything will be ours!"
Zhang Hu was stunned by the future Wang Long had painted.
Yes.
Those were cannons.
No matter how skilled in martial arts one was, they'd still fear a kitchen knife, let alone sci-fi-level cannons?
As long as Qin Yu died…
Zhang Hu recalled the taste of the braised pork from this morning, the sight of Yao Qian's pale, smooth thighs.
That desire instantly clouded his judgment.
"I'm in!"
Zhang Hu gritted his teeth, the flesh on his face trembling.
"Brother Long, what's the plan?"
Wang Long released his grip and glanced around.
The women on the ship were all busy.
Li Ruobing was in the control room operating the radar, while Yao Xue and Yao Qian were on the second deck, using shotguns and crossbows to pick off any stray monsters.
No one was paying attention to the two "laborers."
"Listen."
"We'll take the maintenance passage on the side."
"That path leads directly behind the control room. That woman Li Ruobing definitely didn't lock the back door."
"We're armed. Once we rush in, we'll subdue Li Ruobing first."
"As long as we control the console, this ship is ours to command!"
Wang Long hefted the iron rod in his hand—a solid steel pipe he'd specifically stolen from the storage room.
One swing could crack a person's skull open.
"Let's go!"
The two men crouched low, using the cargo containers as cover, slinking toward the control room like rats in a sewer.
…
In the control room.
Li Ruobing was fully focused on the radar screen.
The snowstorm outside was too heavy, limiting visibility, so she had to constantly monitor for any higher-level monsters approaching.
"Alert cleared… Left sector cleared…"
She operated the controls while reporting over the walkie-talkie.
Qin Yu's voice came through, slightly breathless but steady.
"Understood."
"Stay alert. Don't let any strays climb aboard."
"Don't worry, boss. Sister Yao Xue and the others are guarding it."
Li Ruobing replied confidently.
She didn't notice.
Behind the control room, the iron door usually used for maintenance was being slowly turned open.
Creak—
The faint sound of metal grinding was perfectly masked by the howling wind and snow outside.
Two shadowy figures slipped in.
A smell of sweat and machine oil instantly flooded the control room, overwhelming the faint scent of perfume.
Li Ruobing frowned.
As a former top-tier expert, her alertness was sharp.
"Who's there?!"
She spun around, her hand instinctively reaching for the knife at her waist.
But it was too late.
"Freeze!!"
A furious shout.
Wang Long had already closed the distance.
The solid steel pipe in his hand swung down with a vicious gust of air, smashing hard against Li Ruobing's wrist just as she was about to draw her knife.
Crack!
"Ah!"
Li Ruobing cried out in pain as the knife clattered to the floor and slid into a corner.
Before she could react, Zhang Hu's bulky frame lunged forward, pressing a sharp harpoon firmly against Li Ruobing's throat.
The cold touch of metal froze her in place.
"Don't move! One twitch and I'll stab you!" Zhang Hu roared, his voice trembling but the harpoon pressing forward, piercing Li Ruobing's fair skin and drawing a bead of blood.
Wang Long, panting heavily, kicked the knife away and locked the control room door.
Huff… huff…
Wang Long leaned against the door, a twisted, ecstatic grin spreading across his face.
They'd succeeded.
They'd really succeeded!
He stared at the ice-cold beauty before him—the one who usually held herself high above, never even deigning to glance his way.
Now, she was his prisoner.
The thrill of conquest set his blood boiling.
"Long time no see, Beauty Li?"
Wang Long sneered as he approached, steel pipe in hand.
"You... what do you think you're doing?"
Li Ruobing endured the searing pain in her wrist, her gaze icy as she stared down the two men.
"Wang Long, Zhang Hu, have you lost your minds?"
"If the boss finds out, he'll chop you into fish bait!"
"Boss?"
Wang Long burst into laughter as if he'd heard the world's greatest joke.
He pointed toward the panoramic window ahead.
Outside, Qin Yu was still battling on the ice, completely unaware of what was happening aboard the ship.
"Your boss is about to become a dead man!"
Wang Long shoved Li Ruobing aside and lunged for the control panel.
His eyes flickered with confusion at the dense array of buttons and levers, but greed quickly overshadowed it.
"Which one controls the cannon?!"
He turned back and snarled.
"Tell me! Which one controls that red beam cannon?!"
Li Ruobing clutched her wrist, biting her lip in stubborn silence.
"Won't talk?"
Wang Long's face darkened as he shot Zhang Hu a meaningful look.
"Make her talk!"
Zhang Hu swallowed hard, his eyes glinting with wicked desire as they roamed over Li Ruobing's curvaceous figure. But he didn't dare go too far—instead, he just applied more pressure, driving the harpoon deeper.
"Talk! Or I'll put a hole in your neck!"
Despair flashed in Li Ruobing's eyes.
She wasn't afraid to die.
But she feared Qin Yu's death.
If they really activated the Thermal Ray while Qin Yu was defenseless on the ice...
"Still not talking?"
Wang Long grew frantic.
Time was running out.
He began mashing buttons randomly on the control panel.
"This one? Or this one?"
Beep—!
Suddenly, an alarm blared.
Wang Long had hit a red switch.
The Ram at the ship's bow glowed red and began to vibrate.
"Wrong one! Damn it!"
Wang Long slammed the control panel in frustration.
He whirled around, grabbed Li Ruobing by the hair, and smashed her face against the console.
"Last chance!"
"Aim the cannon at that Qin bastard!"
"Or I'll have the fatso strip you naked and throw you overboard right now!"
Li Ruobing's cheek pressed against the cold instrument panel, tears welling in her eyes.
Through the window, she could see that figure still fighting desperately.
Her heart swelled with guilt.
Boss... I'm sorry... I failed to protect our home...
Just then.
An emotionless electronic voice suddenly echoed through the bridge.
[Warning: Unauthorized personnel detected operating core fire control systems.]
[Biometric verification failed.]
[Designation: Intruder.]
Wang Long froze.
"Wha... what is this?"
The next instant.
The metallic sphere in the corner of the control panel—previously seeming like mere decoration—split open with a sharp crack.
A compact, faintly glowing blue micro-barrel extended from within.
It was the internal defense system integrated with the S-class nuclear power system—the "Smart Brain Guard."
A crimson laser dot instantly locked onto the center of Wang Long's forehead.
[Primary defense protocol activated.]
[Eradicated.]
Wang Long's pupils instantly contracted to pinpricks.
A chill running from head to toe left his entire body rigid.
"No..."
"Whoosh—!"
He wasn't given any chance to beg for mercy.
A blue laser beam instantly pierced through his skull.
No blood splattered.
Only a charred hole remained in the center of his forehead.
The ferocious expression on Wang Long's face hadn't even faded yet when his body stiffly toppled backward.
"Thud!"
The corpse hit the floor.
His eyes, still filled with greed, stared unblinkingly at the ceiling.
Deathly silence filled the cockpit.
Zhang Hu was dumbstruck.
The harpoon in his hand clattered to the ground.
He stared at Wang Long's corpse, then at the still-smoking metal sphere.
His legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees.
The stench of urine spread from his trousers.
"Don't... don't kill me..."
"I was forced... I was forced into this!"
Li Ruobing seized the opportunity to pick up the knife from the floor. Gritting through the pain, she kicked Zhang Hu onto his back and pressed the blade firmly against his throat.
"Forced?"
Not a trace of pity remained in Li Ruobing's eyes.
Only the ruthlessness honed in this apocalyptic world.
"Save those words for the fish in the sea."
Outside the window.
On the ice.
Qin Yu had just used a fishing line to sever a giant octopus's tentacle.
He seemed to sense something, looking up toward the cockpit.
A playful smile curled at the corner of his lips.
"Finally couldn't resist making a move, huh?"
"Pity."
"My ship isn't for just anyone to pilot."
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