"Rumble—"
The roar of massive engines gradually subsided, transforming into a low hum resembling the breathing of a colossal beast.
The sea still churned restlessly from the recent violent expansion of the ship's hull, white ice floes crashing against the dark alloy armor without causing even the slightest tremor.
This brand-new "President" now stood like an unshakable steel island, silently anchored in place.
Qin Yu stood before the spacious, almost empty command console, stroking his chin with satisfaction as he observed the data displayed on the holographic screen.
"This is the true Sea Overlord."
"The previous one was just a glorified yacht at best."
Li Ruobing was still adapting to the newly added rows of instrument panels, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
"Boss, the power output is too intense."
"If we don't activate the stabilizers and go full speed ahead, we could flatten the waves across this entire sea area."
"Ding—!!!"
A sharp alert tone abruptly exploded in everyone's ears.
Not just theirs.
At this moment.
Hundreds of millions of survivors—whether sleeping, fishing, or fleeing for their lives—all heard this sound.
Immediately after.
A massive golden pop-up window forcibly appeared on everyone's retinas.
[Global Announcement!]
[The first phase of the Survival Game is about to end!]
[Detection shows survival rates across major regions have stabilized, with severe resource distribution imbalance.]
[To increase game entertainment (and cruelty), the system will initiate the "Regional Merger" plan!]
[Countdown: 24 hours!]
[Before this, announcing the "Super Sea Territory Ranking" for 20 major regions!]
The moment these words appeared.
The atmosphere in the command room instantly froze.
Yao Xue adjusted her glasses, frowning slightly.
"Merger?"
"Are they going to herd all survivors into one cage?"
Qin Yu, however, remained completely calm, even looking somewhat amused.
"That's inevitable."
"It's like breeding gu."
"Only by putting all the insects in one jar can you breed the most venomous king."
"Let's check the rankings. I'm quite curious whether there's anyone else worth fighting against."
As soon as he finished speaking.
The golden pop-up window transformed.
A long list appeared before everyone's eyes.
[Regional Overall Ranking (Based on Base Comprehensive Score and Area)]
[First Place: Qin Yu (Region 9527)]
[Vehicle: SSS-Class Amphibious Doomsday Battleship "President"]
[Area: 2000 square meters]
[Comprehensive Score: ??? (System cannot estimate, recommend other players detour)]
...
[Second Place: Zhang Nanhai (Region 9539)]
[Vehicle: S-Class Deep-Sea Dragon Boat]
[Area: 500 square meters]
[Description: Overlord of Region 9531, reportedly recruited thousands of followers, known as the "South Sea Dragon King."]
...
[Third Place: Qi Chun (District 9538)]
[Vehicle: S-Class Floating Fortress (Semi-Finished)]
[Area: 300 sqm]
[Description: An exceptionally rare raft with flight capabilities, though it can only hover three meters above ground.]
...
[Fourth Place: Yu Weiwei (District 9528)]
[Vehicle: Quasi-S-Class Pink Queen]
[Area: 280 sqm]
[Description: A ruthless figure who rose through charm and cunning, surrounded by a retinue of robust male companions.]
...
The command room fell into a brief, dead silence as they scanned the rankings.
Then—
"Pfft."
Li Ruobing was the first to burst out laughing.
"This... this is the second place in the entire region?"
"F-five hundred square meters?"
She pointed at the data for "Zhang Nanhai," slapping her thigh in amusement.
"I thought that, since it's a regional ranking, there'd be some thousand-square-meter monstrosity to rival us."
"And this is it?"
"Our restrooms and corridors combined are bigger than his ship, right?"
Yao Qian shook her head in disappointment.
"Too weak."
"It's a crushing gap."
"With Brother Yu's 2,000 sqm flagship, won't that so-called 'Dragon King' be so ashamed he'd jump into the sea?"
Qin Yu glanced at the rankings and also shook his head.
He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.
"Expected."
"I have the system, doubling cards, and all of you backing me up."
"If I could still be caught up to by these ordinary players, I might as well give up and run into a block of tofu."
This wasn't even a competition on the same level.
While others were struggling for a few planks of wood or bottles of water,
Qin Yu was already playing a hacked version.
500 sqm?
At this stage, it was indeed impressive—even a miracle.
But compared to the President now,
it was nothing.
However,
the system's mischief clearly didn't end there.
Just as everyone was still mocking the rankings,
another line of blood-red text slowly materialized.
[Special Notice:]
[To balance game difficulty and reward the courage of the strong,]
[before the server merger countdown ends,]
[the coordinates of the top ten ranked players will be...]
[shared in real-time with all players in their region!]
[Eliminating a high-ranked player allows direct inheritance of their base core and 50% of their resources!]
The moment this announcement appeared,
the world channel exploded.
The Chat Channel of District 9527, which had been spamming praises like "Qin Yu is awesome,"
instantly shifted in tone.
A real-time maritime map was pinned by the system at the top of the chat window.
At the center of the map,
a massive, dazzling golden skull icon moved slowly—
marking Qin Yu's location.
Surrounding that golden skull,
countless white dots representing ordinary players swarmed like a school of fish crossing a river.
Qin Yu's eyes chilled as he read the blood-red notice.
"Heh."
"Pulling this move?"
"Afraid I'd be too lonely at the top, so you're sending me deliveries?"
Li Ruobing's expression darkened.
"Boss, the system is up to no good."
"It's clearly trying to use others as its weapon."
"It exposed our location and added the bait of 'inheritance through hunting'."
"These people must have gone mad by now."
Yao Xue cast a cold glance at the Chat Channel.
"No need for speculation."
"They've already lost their minds."
In Chat Channel 9527, those who were usually meek and constantly addressed "Anonymous Bigshot" had now torn off their disguises.
[Li Laosan: Holy shit! 2,000 square meters! Brothers! Did you see that? 2,000 square meters!]
[Wang Er Mazi: Did this motherfucker swallow all the ocean's resources? How can one person occupy so much?]
[Zhao Ritian: This is so unfair! We're here drinking piss while he lives in a 2,000-square-meter mansion?]
[Liu Yishou: Brothers, the system said hunting grants inheritance! That's an SSS-class warship! If we seize it, we're set for life!]
[Anonymous Player: But... Qin Yu is really strong. Didn't they say he has cannons?]
[Zhang Kuang (9527 District's notorious troublemaker): Strong my ass! No matter how strong he is, he's just one person! Just one ship!]
[Zhang Kuang: Look at the map! There are at least a hundred rafts nearby!]
[Zhang Kuang: We could drown him in our spit! Even if he has cannons, how many shells does he have? Can he take us all on?]
[Feng Qi Yunyong: Right! Brother Zhang is correct! Even ants can kill an elephant!]
[Feng Qi Yunyong: And his ship is so big. If just a few of us rush aboard, even if we just poke a hole, we can sink it!]
[Li Laosan: Charge! I'm only five kilometers away! For the mansion! For fresh water!]
[Wang Er Mazi: I'm going too! Damn it, starving to death is still death. If we take this risk, we might turn our bicycle into a motorcycle!]
Greed.
Envy.
At this moment, amplified infinitely by those blood-red characters spelling "inheritance."
In their eyes.
Qin Yu was no longer that unattainable bigshot.
But a moving super treasure trove.
An opportunity to change their fate just by reaching out.
Qin Yu watched the frantically scrolling messages on the screen.
Observing those clamoring to "get a share of the spoils" and "execute heaven's will."
His expression gradually turned cruel.
"Even ants can kill an elephant?"
Qin Yu flicked away his cigarette butt.
The spark traced a graceful arc through the air.
"That statement isn't wrong in itself."
"But the prerequisite is..."
"That has to be an ordinary elephant."
"What you're facing."
"Is a Tyrannosaurus Rex clad in steel scales, breathing nuclear fire."
At that moment.
Yao Qian, who had been monitoring the airspace, suddenly called out.
Her voice held no fear, but instead a thread of excitement.
"Brother Yu!"
"The Skyhawk Guard has sent back footage!"
"So many people!"
"So many shabby little boats!"
"They're charging toward us!"
On the large screen.
The image zoomed in.
The previously empty sea surface now swarmed with countless small black dots from all directions.
They were all rafts.
Some were only a few square meters, carrying one or two sallow, emaciated people holding sharpened wooden sticks.
Others were slightly larger, about a dozen square meters, equipped with sails, crammed with people wielding rusty kitchen knives and axes.
Their eyes gleamed with avarice.
Like Zombies that had caught the scent of blood.
Even if the waves grew fiercer, even if their raft might fall apart at any moment.
They still frantically paddled their oars, charging toward that golden coordinate.
This was the apocalypse.
To survive, for that faint glimmer of possible hope.
Humanity could be twisted to its extreme.
Li Ruobing watched the overwhelming scene and curled her lips in disdain.
"What a bunch of fools who don't know their own mortality."
"If we hadn't upgraded yet, being surrounded by hundreds of people like this might have actually been troublesome."
"We'd have to prevent them from boarding."
"But now..."
She patted the thick metal control panel in front of her.
"They can't even reach the ship's railings, can they?"
The current "President" had a freeboard height of eight meters above water alone!
And it was all made of smooth alloy armor.
Did these people think they could climb up?
Unless they grew wings.
"Boss, what's the plan?"
"Fire the main cannon directly?"
Li Ruobing's hand was already resting on the weapon system activation button.
With just one word from Qin Yu.
This sea area would instantly become a slaughterhouse.
Qin Yu waved his hand dismissively.
Settling back into the leather chair.
He crossed his legs.
His gaze pierced through the massive floor-to-ceiling window, watching the gradually clearer black dots on the distant horizon.
"Main cannon?"
"Using the main cannon to shoot these rotten pieces of wood?"
"That would be like using a cannon to kill a mosquito - a losing business."
"My energy blocks cost money to draw too."
Qin Yu's eyes were filled with mockery.
"No need to rush."
"Let them get closer."
"Even closer."
"Let them see clearly what exactly it is they're trying to steal."
"Let them understand in despair."
"What it means... to be dimensionally reduced."
Qin Yu turned his head to look at Yao Xue.
"Wife."
"Go turn on the loudspeaker."
"I need to deliver a welcome speech to these 'guests' who've come from afar."
Yao Xue understood immediately.
A cold, elegant smile curled at the corner of her lips.
"Understood, Captain."
A few seconds later.
"Bzzz—"
The sound of electric current reverberated across the sea surface.
The super high-power broadcast system installed on the ship's roof activated.
At this moment.
"Zhang Kuang," leading the charge, stood on his fifty-square-meter "flagship" raft.
Waving a machete in his hand.
His face twisted with ferocity and fanaticism.
"Brothers! Charge!"
"I can see it!"
"There's a dark shape ahead! That's Qin Yu's ship!"
"Don't be afraid!"
"He must be scared shitless!"
"There are hundreds of us! We could eat him alive bite by bite!"
"After we seize the ship! We'll take turns with the women! We'll split the supplies equally!"
The mob behind him, hearing "women" and "supplies," howled with even more bloodthirsty excitement.
However.
Just as they were lost in their sweet dreams.
A lazy, somewhat mocking voice.
Like rolling thunder.
Erupted across the entire sea area.
Drowning out the sound of the waves.
Drowning out their battle cries.
"Testing, testing."
"I say, everyone."
"Early in the morning, instead of properly fishing, you come here to deliver yourselves to death."
"Aren't you a bit too eager to be reincarnated?"
Zhang Kuang froze.
The people around him froze too.
This voice... was too calm.
It even carried a hint of... ridicule?
Immediately after.
The voice continued.
"Since you're here, you might as well stay."
"Perfect timing - my shark pool is short of a few pieces of bait."
"Since you're so eager to deliver yourselves to my doorstep."
"Then I have no choice but..."
"To reluctantly accept your offering."
As the words faded.
The sea mist dissipated.
Sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the ocean surface.
In that moment.
All those charging forward.
Suddenly became like ducks with their necks wrung.
Instantly silenced.
They saw it.
Less than a kilometer ahead of them.
There was no precarious raft as they had imagined.
No panicked survivors either.
What stood before them.
Was a black, mountain-like steel behemoth!
Its cold artillery barrels.
Its towering bridge.
The alloy armor gleaming with a deathly sheen under the sunlight.
Like a demon god from hell, coldly gazing down at the ants beneath its feet.
Zhang Kuang's watermelon knife clattered to the deck.
His jaw hung slack.
Eyes bulging as if about to pop out.
His legs began shaking uncontrollably.
"This... this is a raft?!"
"This is... a destroyer?!"
"Run!!!"
"Get out of here!!!"
Someone shouted first.
The hundreds of rafts that had been so menacing moments ago instantly descended into chaos.
Everyone frantically turned their vessels around.
Paddling desperately.
Wishing their parents had given them two extra legs.
What a joke!
Using watermelon knives to attack a destroyer?
This wasn't just seeking death.
This was having nuclear waste for brains!
In the command room.
Qin Yu watched these ants who had been shouting for blood moments ago, now crying for their parents.
The smile on his lips deepened.
But the coldness in his eyes had frozen solid.
"Run?"
"You think you can escape after coming here?"
"Nothing in this world comes that cheap."
Qin Yu gently raised his hand.
Making a downward cutting gesture.
"Yao Xue, sniper rifle tags, focus on the leaders."
"Yao Qian, deploy the drone swarm, shatter their oars."
"Ruo Bing."
"Unleash the ram at the bow."
"Full speed ahead."
"Crush them all!"
"Leave none alive!"
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