The first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the mist over the sea.
After speeding through the night, the "President" now floated quietly on the ocean's surface.
In the master bedroom's large bed.
Qin Yu opened his eyes.
He instinctively reached out to touch the space beside him.
Empty.
Only a few strands of hair remained on the pillow, along with a faint, delicate fragrance.
"Up so early?"
Qin Yu sat up and stretched deeply.
His bones crackled with a series of popping sounds throughout his body.
The sensation felt like a nuclear reactor had been installed inside him.
Yesterday's meal of all S-grade "Squid Tentacles" had been remarkably effective.
Not only had his physical strength fully recovered, but his mental energy seemed to have advanced another level.
He could even clearly sense the two figures busily working in the kitchen, separated by several cabin doors.
And Li Ruobing in the control room, her breathing slightly rapid.
Qin Yu rolled out of bed.
Grabbing a bathrobe casually, he draped it over himself and pushed the door open to leave.
In the dining room.
Aromatic scents filled the air.
Yao Qian, wearing an apron and holding a spatula, was frying some sea creature's eggs.
"Brother Yu! Good morning!"
The young girl's face glowed with vitality, full of energy.
Clearly, last night's nourishing meal had greatly benefited her too.
At the dining table.
Yao Xue sat holding a cup of hot milk, sipping it elegantly in small mouthfuls.
She had changed back into her usual signature attire.
A white lab coat, black-rimmed glasses, with a fitted black shirt underneath.
However.
If one looked closely.
They would notice her hand holding the cup trembling slightly.
And her sitting posture appeared particularly cautious.
Seeing Qin Yu emerge.
A barely perceptible flash of embarrassed annoyance crossed Yao Xue's cool eyes.
She set down her cup and adjusted her glasses.
"Awake?"
Her voice remained as aloof as ever.
But it carried an undeniable undertone of lazy allure.
Qin Yu walked over, unceremoniously picked up her half-finished milk, and downed it in one gulp.
"Mhm."
"Slept well last night."
"Thanks for your hard work, Director Yao."
Hearing this, Yao Xue's ears instantly turned bright red.
Under the table, she kicked Qin Yu hard.
"Shut up."
"Eat your breakfast."
Qin Yu smiled, not bothering to dodge.
Instead, he used his leg to trap her black silk-stockinged foot, gently rubbing it.
Yao Xue stiffened completely.
She glared at him but didn't pull her foot back.
Just then.
From the control room intercom, Li Ruobing's somewhat tense voice came through.
"Boss!"
"Sis-in-law!"
"Stop flirting and come quick!"
"We've arrived!"
...
Suddenly, a long-unheard mechanical prompt sounded.
But this time.
It was more grandiose and colder than usual.
[Ding! Host's recent S-grade creature kills have exceeded limits!]
[System energy absorption has reached critical value!]
[The "Daily Lottery System" will enter version update maintenance mode!]
[Estimated maintenance time: 24 hours.]
[During maintenance, the lottery function is suspended. The Space Warehouse remains accessible.]
Qin Yu was taken aback.
Maintenance?
This crappy system actually needs updates?
It seemed he had been killing a bit too fiercely these past few days.
An S-ranked Thousand-Eyed Demon Tentacle, plus a few quasi-S-ranked sea creatures he'd taken down along the way.
The massive amount of life energy probably overwhelmed the system.
However.
This also meant.
The system's functions would become more powerful after the update.
"Interesting."
Qin Yu flicked his cigarette ash and asked mentally.
"System, are you just going to sleep like this?"
"No compensation?"
"I'm about to fight a major battle, and you're going to fail me now?"
The system seemed to hear his complaints.
After a two-second silence.
The notification sounded again.
[In recognition of the host's outstanding performance in the old version, and considering this update is forced dormancy.]
[The system will gift the host one "Supreme-Level" extra lottery opportunity before dormancy!]
[Guaranteed premium item!]
[Draw immediately?]
Qin Yu grinned.
That's more like it.
A "Supreme-Level" lottery.
Sounded much more exciting than the usual daily draw.
"Draw!"
"Absolutely draw!"
"Let's see what awesome loot you can give me."
[Drawing in progress...]
The virtual wheel before Qin Yu's eyes began spinning rapidly.
This time, the wheel was golden.
Every slot contained extraordinary items.
There was S-ranked Powered Armor.
Antimatter Bombs from the future.
Even some mysterious Biological Modification Blueprints.
The pointer spun wildly.
Finally.
It slowly settled on a slot radiating with rainbow light.
[Ding! Congratulations, host! Luck of the gods!]
[Acquired special item: SS-rank · Everything Doubling Card (Limited Edition)!]
[Description: This card defies physical laws.]
[Effect: Designate any non-living object (no volume or level restrictions) to double its existing attributes, volume, area, and functions!]
[Note: This card is a single-use consumable and cannot be used on living creatures.]
Qin Yu stared at the rainbow card that had suddenly appeared in his hand.
His breath hitched for half a second.
A doubling card?
He had used doubling cards before.
But those were ordinary ones that could only expand his Raft from a few dozen square meters to a hundred.
This one.
Had "SS-rank" preceding its name!
No volume restrictions!
No level restrictions!
Direct doubling!
Qin Yu's eyes instantly burned with intensity.
He looked down at the "President" beneath his feet.
The current "President," after several expansions and modifications.
Had a total area of about 1,000 square meters.
While other survivors would consider this a behemoth at this stage.
However.
Facing the potential thousand-person team battles ahead.
Or the unknown horrors lurking in the deep sea.
1,000 square meters still seemed inadequate.
The firepower was also somewhat stretched.
"What if..."
"I use this card on the 'President'?"
Qin Yu's Adam's apple bobbed.
Doubling 1,000 square meters.
That would be 2,000 square meters!
This wasn't just simple arithmetic.
Doubling the area meant a more stable hull structure, thicker armor, capacity for more weapons, and a massive surge in the power reactor's output limit!
This was far more than just doubling.
It was evolution!
"System."
"I want to use this 'God-tier Doubling Card'."
"Target: the 'President' beneath my feet!"
[Command Confirmed!]
[Target Locked: S-class Doomsday Survival Base Ship (Hybrid Form) 'President'.]
[Using item...]
[Warning! This modification will cause extreme disturbances. Host and crew, please brace for impact!]
Qin Yu suddenly looked up.
He shouted at Li Ruobing, who was still in the pilot's seat, and Yao Xue and Yao Qian, who had just entered.
"Hold onto the handrails!"
"Everyone, stay seated!"
"No matter what happens, don't run around!"
The three women were startled by Qin Yu's sudden roar.
But out of absolute trust in Qin Yu,
they hesitated not at all.
Yao Xue grabbed Yao Qian and pressed her onto the sofa, while she herself tightly gripped the fixed table corner.
Li Ruobing clung firmly to the control panel.
The next second,
an anomaly erupted.
"Bzzzz—!!!"
A dazzling seven-colored light burst from the card in Qin Yu's hand,
instantly enveloping the entire "President".
Immediately after,
an ear-grating screech of metal friction rang out.
It was the sound of steel growing.
It was the roar of the hull.
"Boom!"
The entire ship seemed to come alive, shaking violently.
The front windshield of the cockpit visibly extended outward.
The originally fifty-meter-long deck
now stretched like dough, pulled wildly by invisible hands.
Sixty meters...
Eighty meters...
One hundred meters!
The ship's width also expanded wildly.
The once slightly cramped side corridors instantly became spacious enough for two trucks to drive side by side!
"Heavens..."
"What... what's happening?!"
Yao Qian's face turned pale with fear as she tightly gripped her sister's hand.
"The ship... the ship is growing!"
"The rooms are growing too!"
Indeed.
It wasn't just the deck.
The interior spaces of the ship were undergoing earth-shaking changes.
The original master bedroom instantly doubled in size, becoming a true presidential suite.
The armory's walls expanded outward, revealing more racks and space.
Even the power room at the ship's bottom—
the nuclear fusion reactor emitted a joyful roar.
Its volume increased by a full circle.
Output power skyrocketed off the charts!
Outside on the sea,
the once calm waters were displaced by the suddenly expanding behemoth, churning up massive waves.
But before the mighty power of the "God-tier Doubling Card",
nothing could stand in its way.
The shaking lasted a full three minutes.
When the final crisp sound of metal locking into place echoed,
the seven-colored light faded.
Upon the sea,
stood a true steel island!
One hundred meters long.
Twenty meters wide.
Five decks in total.
Total deck area reached an astonishing 2,000 square meters!
This was no longer just a ship.
It was a small destroyer!
Even broader and more imposing than a typical destroyer!
The pitch-black special alloy armor gleamed with a cold luster under the sunlight.
The ram at the bow grew more ferocious, like a sharp sword piercing the heavens.
Beside the originally lone main cannon—
Three additional reserved heavy artillery positions have been added.
The automated cannons along both sides of the ship have increased from ten to twenty.
Even at the stern,
a spacious helicopter landing pad has appeared!
Qin Yu stood in the brand-new command room, as vast as a football field.
Watching everything,
feeling the mountain-like stability beneath his feet,
he couldn't help but burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
"Excellent!"
"Now this is what I call doubling!"
"This truly deserves to be called an apocalypse warship!"
"This finally matches my status!"
He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window,
overlooking the azure sea below.
The previous "President," though powerful, felt like an oversized toy compared to those S-Class Sea Beasts.
It would shake with the slightest impact.
But now,
this was a mobile fortress on the sea.
Even if that Thousand-Eyed Demon Tentacle from yesterday returned,
Qin Yu felt confident he could ram it head-on and smash it to pieces!
Li Ruobing was completely stunned.
She stared blankly at the control panel, now featuring more than double the instruments and control levers,
her entire body trembling with excitement.
"B-Boss..."
"The propulsion system..."
"The propulsion system shows a 200% increase in thrust!"
"Armor thickness... increased by 100%!"
"Our current load capacity... is four times what it was before!"
"This... this is nothing short of a miracle!"
She turned to look at Qin Yu, her gaze no longer merely admiring—
it was as if she were beholding a deity.
In this apocalyptic world,
who could transform a ship like this out of thin air?
Only Qin Yu!
Only her boss!
Yao Xue also took a deep breath, calming her wildly beating heart.
Releasing her sister's hand, she walked to Qin Yu's side,
gazing at the absurdly wide deck outside the window.
"Husband,"
"With such a vast space,"
"just the four of us might exhaust ourselves just cleaning it."
Though she said it jokingly, her tone couldn't conceal her awe.
Qin Yu turned and wrapped an arm around her shoulder,
in high spirits.
"Who cares about cleaning?"
"From now on, this place is our absolute domain."
"Since we have more territory,"
"there's no need to hold back anymore."
"Anyone who stands in our way—"
"crush them!"
The "President" let out a low roar.
Four enhanced nuclear-powered engines operated at full capacity.
The massive hull cut through the waves,
carrying an unstoppable momentum.