"Boom!"
The alloy cabin door slammed shut.
Completely sealing out the soul-freezing cold wind and ice fragments flying everywhere.
The moment Qin Yu landed, he didn't pause for even a second.
He immediately set down the two women in his arms, speaking rapidly with unquestionable authority.
"Ruo Bing, return to the pilot seat!"
"Yao Xue, get to the fire control console and unlock all underwater weapon safeties."
"Qian Qian, stop spacing out—monitor the radar. Report immediately if that thing's vital signs show any change!"
The three women had just narrowly escaped death themselves.
Especially Li Ruobing—those purple tentacles had nearly grazed her scalp moments earlier.
The abyssal stench still lingered in her nostrils.
But there was no time for fear.
Hearing Qin Yu's commands, their bodies moved faster than their minds.
"Understood, Boss!"
She scrambled into the cockpit and slapped the levitation engine ignition button.
"Vrrrrrm—!!!"
The President's normally steady engine roar instantly sharpened.
Blue flames erupted from the four anti-gravity turbofans beneath the hull.
The massive ship shuddered violently, wrenching itself upward from the shattered ice sheet.
Just as the vessel lifted off—
"CRASH!!!"
The ice where they'd been parked completely collapsed.
Dozens of thick tentacles surged up from the water like a purple forest.
But grasped only empty air.
Qin Yu stood before the massive panoramic window, gaze icy as he watched the chaotic scene below.
The unfinished cigarette in his hand had been crushed to powder.
"Damn.
"Playing dirty with me, huh?"
If not for his intuition screaming warnings, they'd be paste right now.
This grudge was now deeply set.
"System, scan it.
"Let's see what's putting on this ghost show down there."
[Ding! Scanning target organism...]
[Scan complete!]
A huge 3D model instantly materialized on Qin Yu's virtual display.
Seeing it, even Qin Yu—seasoned as he was—couldn't help raising an eyebrow.
It was a massive sphere of flesh.
Over fifty meters in diameter.
No limbs, no torso.
Only an enormous, eerie red-glowing eye at its center.
Surrounding the eye,
108 purple-black tentacles sprouted densely.
Each tentacle was covered in barbs and suckers, writhing deftly in the deep sea.
[Name: Abyssal Thousand-Eyed Demon Tentacle (Mutant)]
[Level: S-Class (Boss)]
[Trait 1: Deep-Sea Extreme Speed (Extremely fast movement in water, tentacle attack speed exceeds sound).]
[Trait 2: Super Regeneration (Tentacles regenerate infinitely as long as the core eye remains intact).]
[Trait 3: Cunning Intelligence (Possesses combat intellect no less than a human's).]
[Description: The true overlord of this frigid ice domain, guarding the treasure chest, devouring all greedy intruders.]
"S-Class Lord..."
Qin Yu sneered coldly.
"No wonder those two quasi-S-class creatures shattered upon contact."
"So the real challenge is here."
Just then, Yao Qian's panicked voice came through.
"Brother Yu! Radar shows it's diving!"
"It's so fast! Fifty meters per second!"
"It seems to know we're targeting it!"
Qin Yu watched the rapidly descending red dot on the screen.
A cruel smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Running?"
"This entire five-hundred-mile radius is my territory. Where do you think you can escape?"
He turned and strode to the command console.
His fingers danced rapidly across the control panel.
"Since it likes hiding in the water."
"I'll just smash its bathtub."
"Ruo Bing, lower the 'Artificial Sun'."
"Hover it fifty meters directly above the ice hole."
"Full power."
"Turn all the ice in this area into water!"
Li Ruobing gripped the control stick tightly and responded loudly.
"Understood!"
"Sun descending!"
"Thermal output at peak!"
Above the ship.
The golden sphere originally used for illumination suddenly erupted with blindingly intense light.
"Zzzzzz—!"
Terrifying high temperatures like an invisible giant sword plunged straight toward the sea surface.
The meters-thick solid ice now resembled butter on a hot griddle.
Rapidly melting and vaporizing at visible speed.
White steam billowed upward, instantly shrouding the entire sea surface.
In less than two minutes.
Centered on the ice hole, all ice within a one-kilometer radius had vanished.
Replaced by.
A boiling, bubbling lake of scalding water!
"Boss! Ice cleared!"
"Visual conditions optimal!"
Qin Yu nodded.
"Good."
"Now that the arena is cleaned up."
"Let's serve it a proper meal."
"Yao Xue, activate the 'Deep Sea Specter' water cannon."
"Lock onto that red dot."
Though usually quiet, Yao Xue showed no hesitation when operating the weapon systems.
Her slender fingers pressed firmly on the red launch button.
"Target locked!"
"Firing!"
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
The ship's bottom launch ports opened.
Dozens of black cylinders like a school of hunting sharks plunged into the boiling seawater.
These were system-issued high-explosive deep-sea cannons.
Specially designed to deal with such deep-sea behemoths.
Several seconds later.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Muffled explosions echoed from the seabed.
The entire sea area seemed to boil over as massive water columns erupted skyward.
The surface became littered with dead fish and rotten shrimp.
The shockwaves from the explosions made the President's hull tremble slightly.
Yao Qian stared nervously at the radar screen.
Her small hands tightly clutching her clothes.
"Did we hit it? Did we hit it?"
Li Ruobing also held her breath.
With such intensive bombardment, even a submarine should have been reduced to scrap metal, let alone a creature of flesh and blood.
However.
The next second.
Yao Qian's exclamation shattered everyone's hopes.
"Missed!!"
"It's evading!"
"Oh my god, it's too fast!"
"The water cannons can't keep up with it!"
On the radar screen.
The large red dot representing the monster moved like a slippery loach.
Weaving effortlessly through the dense explosion network.
Even.
It seemed to be taunting them.
It swam rapidly underwater, circling the President as if saying:
"Is that all you've got?"
Qin Yu narrowed his eyes as he watched the scene unfold.
"Interesting."
"So this is what they call Cunning Intelligence?"
"You know I'm waiting up here, so you refuse to surface, is that it?"
Ordinary sea creatures would have gone berserk and charged out of the water to fight when attacked.
But this thing was different.
It knew that leaving the water would make it a sitting duck.
So it stayed in the deep waters, using the water's resistance to deplete Qin Yu's ammunition.
"Boss, what should we do?"
Li Ruobing asked anxiously.
"The water's too deep. Our conventional weapons can't penetrate it."
"And it's moving too fast to lock onto."
Qin Yu snorted coldly.
He walked over to the weapons console and pushed Yao Xue aside.
Taking personal control of the fire control system.
"Since it doesn't want to come up."
"Then I'll just boil the water below dry."
"Leaving it with nowhere to hide."
His gaze shifted to the "Artificial Sun" hovering in mid-air.
This thing.
Wasn't just a giant light bulb.
According to the system manual, it also had an attack mode.
"System."
"Switch Artificial Sun mode."
"Activate: Focusing Lens."
"Target: Directly below in the sea."
"Turn it into a Laser Sword for me!"
[Command Confirmed!]
[Focusing Mode Activating...]
Up in the air.
The golden sphere of light suddenly began to transform.
The outer halo contracted.
The light that had been radiating in all directions was forcibly compressed by some invisible force.
Finally.
It converged into a pillar of crimson-gold light only as thick as a bucket, but terrifyingly bright!
The energy contained within this light pillar was enough to instantly melt through steel.
"You had your chance."
Qin Yu's finger hovered over the firing button.
A fierce smile on his face.
"Now taste this!"
"Fire!"
"Bzzzz—!!!"
A high-frequency shriek that pierced the eardrums sounded.
The crimson-gold light pillar instantly pierced through the air.
Plunging straight into the dark seawater!
This time.
There was no explosion.
No splashing water.
Only the "hiss" of vaporization.
The moment the seawater came into contact with the light pillar, it was directly decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen, then ignited by the intense heat.
Forming a vacuum flame channel underwater!
The light pillar was like a sword of God.
Ignoring the water's resistance.
Disregarding the defense of depth.
At the speed of light, it stabbed fiercely toward the red dot hiding at the seabed.
It could dodge bombs.
But it couldn't dodge light.
The moment the light pillar entered the water.
The red dot on the radar screen began to tremble violently.
Immediately after.
A visible shockwave erupted from the seabed.
"Roooaaaar—!!!"
An extremely shrill scream actually penetrated through a hundred meters of seawater, through the President's thick armor.
Exploding directly in everyone's minds!
It was a shriek at the soul level!
Li Ruobing's face turned pale as she covered her ears and crouched down.
Yao Qian was in so much pain that tears streamed down her face.
"It hurts... Brother Yu... My head hurts so much!"
Only Qin Yu, with his strong mental power, merely frowned.
"Direct hit."
"Looks like that burn hurt it badly."
On the holographic screen.
The red dot that had been swimming nimbly was now thrashing around madly at the seabed.
Although the heat ray hadn't managed to kill it instantly.
It had definitely blasted a large hole in its body.
That searing pain scorching its internal organs was absolutely unbearable for this deep-sea overlord.
"It's getting desperate."
Qin Yu watched the sea surface coldly.
"Prepare for battle."
"It's about to counterattack."
Before his words faded, the sea surface that had been boiling from the high temperatures suddenly turned violent.
The giant-eyed monster no longer hid.
It spun madly on the ocean floor.
Its one hundred eight tentacles churned the seawater like massive stirring rods.
"Whoosh—!"
The calm sea surface instantly erupted into towering waves.
A massive whirlpool over a hundred meters in diameter formed directly beneath the President.
A terrifying suction force emerged.
Even the President, hovering in the air, was pulled unsteadily by this force.
The ship tilted violently.
Alarms blared.
"Warning! Hull imbalance!"
"Warning! Gravitational wave anomaly!"
"Boss! It's trying to create a whirlpool to suck us in!" Li Ruobing shouted, gripping the control stick tightly.
"The power system is overloading! We can't hold on much longer!"
This monster was clever.
It knew it was invincible in the water.
So it wanted to drag this iron bird flying in the sky straight into its domain!
Once they fell into the water, those hundred-plus tentacles could instantly crush the ship's hull.
Qin Yu grabbed a handrail to steady himself.
Watching the apocalyptic tsunami and whirlpool outside.
Yet his face showed no trace of panic.
Instead, it carried a hint of disdain.
"Want to play with water?"
"Playing with water in front of me?"
"You must have a death wish."
Qin Yu reached into his robe and pulled out a pearl emitting an ethereal blue light.
S-Class treasure—Ocean Stabilizing Pearl.
"Earlier, I just used you to calm the waves."
"Now, get to work for me."
Qin Yu slammed the Ocean Stabilizing Pearl onto the control panel.
"Ocean-Stabilizing Divine Light!"
"Suppress it for me!"
"Hum!"
A visible blue ripple erupted from the pearl, spreading instantly.
The ripple appeared gentle.
Yet it contained a majestic power akin to natural law.
It penetrated the ship's hull.
Covered the sea surface.
The next moment.
A miracle occurred.
The massive, wildly spinning whirlpool capable of devouring everything.
As if paused by an invisible hand.
Jerked to a sudden halt!
The previously raging waves now seemed like solidified concrete.
No matter how frantically the monster churned below.
The sea surface remained completely unmoving!
This was the dominance of the S-Class Sea-Stabilizing Pearl.
If I won't let you move.
This sea won't produce a single wave!
The President instantly stabilized.
Li Ruobing felt the control stick loosen in her hands, the terrifying pulling force gone.
She stared wide-eyed at the eerily calm sea outside the window.
"This... this is the Ocean Stabilizing Pearl?"
"That's just insane?!"
Deep below.
The Abyssal Thousand-Eyed Demon Tentacle was utterly baffled.
It couldn't comprehend.
Why had its proud water control ability suddenly failed?
It felt like it was stirring a pool of solidified mercury.
No matter how much effort it exerted, there was no reaction above.
Pain.
Rage.
Compounded by the burning wounds left by the heat rays.
This S-Class overlord finally lost all reason and patience.
It stopped hiding.
Stopped scheming.
Leaving only the most primitive killing desire.
"Roar—!"
Another muffled roar echoed.
The red dot on the radar began rising straight up with a determined momentum!
Since it couldn't pull them down with water.
"Then I'll come up and tear you apart with my own hands!"
"He's here!"
Qin Yu watched the rapidly enlarging red dot.
His gaze suddenly sharpened like a blade.
"I've been waiting for this moment."
"Ruo Bing, aim all cannons directly below."
"Deep-sea Guardian, preheat the missiles."
"Yao Xue, charge the main cannon."
"If it dares to show its head,"
"hit it with everything we've got!"
"Don't let even a single hair touch the ship!"
The atmosphere froze to an extreme point.
Everyone held their breath.
Staring intently at the calm sea surface.
Fifty meters.
Thirty meters.
Ten meters...
"Break!"
With an earth-shattering roar,
the sea surface exploded.
The colossal creature hidden in the Abyss finally revealed its true form.
Ugly.
Ferocious.
Its massive single eye was filled with bloodshot veins and madness.
Over a hundred tentacles formed a sky-blotting net, carrying a foul, blood-tainted wind as they viciously grabbed toward the "President."
It wanted to entangle the ship.
It wanted to drag this vessel into hell.
Unfortunately.
What it faced wasn't a lamb waiting for slaughter.
But a slaughterhouse that had long sharpened its blades.
The moment those tentacles broke through the water's surface,
Qin Yu's icy voice rang out.
"Fire."
Without any hesitation.
Without holding anything back.
At this moment, the "President" demonstrated the true terror of its nature as an apocalypse base.
"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!"
Ten machine cannons roared simultaneously.
A Metal Storm of tens of thousands of rounds per minute instantly wove a net of death in the air.
"Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Flames shot skyward.
The tentacles that moments ago seemed invincible
were instantly shredded upon contact with the firepower.
Purple flesh and blood flew everywhere.
Severed limbs fell back into the sea like rain.
But this wasn't the deadliest part.
The deadliest was the Plasma Main Cannon at the bow, already fully charged.
Yao Xue's calm eyes, through the targeting scope, locked firmly onto the massive eyeball that had just surfaced.
"Commencing surgery."
She murmured softly.
Her finger pressed down.
"Zzz—BOOM!!!"
A blue plasma orb, carrying an aura of absolute destruction, instantly shot forth.
The distance was too close.
There was no way to dodge.
The Thousand-Eye Demon Tentacle tried to use its remaining tentacles to protect its vital spot.
But the plasma orb directly melted the tentacles in its path.
Then.
Solidly struck the massive eyeball.
"Squelch!"
Like an egg hit by a hammer.
The eyeball several meters in diameter instantly exploded!
Crystalline lens, neural tissue, and purple blood sprayed everywhere.
Even its scream was cut off in its throat.
This single shot.
Directly blasted its core to dust.
The S-class ruler that moments ago had been ferociously trying to devour everything
instantly stiffened.
Its over hundred tentacles weakly drooped down, heavily slapping against the sea surface and stirring enormous waves.
The massive body lost its support.
Began slowly sinking.
The sea surface was dyed a startling purple-black.
The stench of decay filled the air.
Dead.
This overlord that had ruled the Extreme Cold Ice Region for who knows how long
hadn't even managed to scratch a single patch of paint on the ship's hull.
The moment it surfaced,
it was instantly annihilated by this overwhelming firepower.
In the control room.
Dead silence.
Only the hum of operating instruments.
After a long while.
Li Ruobing finally let out a long exhale.
He slumped into the chair as if completely drained, gazing at the enormous corpse floating outside the window.
Muttering to himself, he whispered, "This... this is too brutal..."
Yao Qian, however, leaped up excitedly, clinging to Qin Yu's arm while bouncing up and down. "We won! We won! Brother Qin Yu, you're amazing! That giant eyeball exploding was so cool!"
Qin Yu remained utterly calm, as if he had merely swatted a fly. He lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and stared at the corpse with greed in his eyes. "An S-class lord's body... How many good things can I extract from this? Those hundred-plus tentacles are all premium ingredients. Grilled squid tentacles could feed us for a year."
He turned around, looking at the orange treasure chest still resting quietly on a floating ice sheet nearby. Although the battle had been intense, he had carefully controlled the range of his attacks to avoid damaging the chest. Now, with all the guardians eliminated, nothing stood in his way.
"Ruo Bing, bring the ship closer. Yao Xue, prepare the grappling hooks," Qin Yu exhaled a smoke ring, a smirk curling his lips. "Mission accomplished. Time to claim our spoils."