The "President" had surfaced.
The oppressive feeling unique to the deep sea dissipated, and sunlight once again streamed through the reinforced glass into the cockpit, falling on everyone's faces.
Qin Yu leaned back in the captain's chair, his fingers idly tapping the armrest.
He pulled out the golden cube he had obtained at the end of the labyrinth from his pocket.
[Labyrinth core control hub].
The object felt heavy in his hand and was slightly warm.
"I was so busy with the submarine earlier, I haven't even served up this main course yet."
Qin Yu casually tossed the cube to Yao Qian beside him.
"Get to work, manager."
Yao Qian fumbled to catch it, nearly dropping it on her foot.
"Yu-ge! This is the core! What if it breaks?"
She shot him a reproachful glare but moved quickly. She immediately went to the other side of the control panel and pulled out a new connection slot.
"The interface protocol of this core is compatible with our shipboard system."
Yao Qian operated while reporting without looking back.
"According to data analysis, this thing can not only control the previous underground labyrinth but also take over all access control, partitions, and defense turrets inside the 'President' once loaded."
"In other words..."
Yao Qian's finger pressed the enter key on the virtual keyboard.
"Loading complete."
"Hum—"
A faint mechanical engagement sound came from inside the ship's hull.
It wasn't the major movement of hull deformation but a more delicate sound, as if blood vessels were being unblocked.
A new 3D structural diagram instantly popped up on the main screen in front of Qin Yu.
It was an internal perspective view of the "President.""
The previously fixed cabin structures were now all marked with green movable symbols.
"Interesting."
Qin Yu sat up straight, swiping his fingers across the screen.
As he moved, the walls inside the ship actually began to shift.
"This thing can make the cabins combine freely like a Rubik's Cube."
Qin Yu narrowed his eyes, a mischievous smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"If anyone dares to board our ship in the future,"
"I can give them a taste of what a real endless maze feels like."
"Trap them in the toilet or turn the corridor directly into a meat grinder passage."
Li Ruobing leaned over, looking at the constantly shifting red kill zones on the screen, and couldn't help but whistle.
"I like this feature."
"When we capture prisoners in the future, we won't even need to interrogate them. Just toss them in for a couple rounds, and they'll piss themselves in fear."
Yao Xue adjusted her glasses and calmly added:
"With this,"
"Our trip to the Mist Ruins has been fully digested."
The ship was upgraded, weapons fully equipped, defenses seamless.
In this post-apocalyptic ocean, he, Qin Yu, was the moving law.
"Open the regional channel."
Qin Yu lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.
"Let's see how chaotic it is out there."
...
Regional Chat Channel (Merged zone of District 9527 and neighboring districts).
Right now, it wasn't just boiling over.
It was a nuclear explosion.
The messages scrolled by so fast it was dizzying. Without enabling filter mode, it was impossible to see who was saying what.
The earlier earth-shattering battle had simply been too spectacular.
As the mist cleared, the Magic Whale let out a long cry, followed by that final shot that pierced through heaven and earth.
Any survivor within dozens of nautical miles who wasn't blind had seen it.
[Zhao Liu (Fleeing): Dead! They're all dead!! I was just a step too slow. One second later and I'd have been pulverized like Sun Wu and the others! It was terrifying!]
[Wang Mazi: Dude above, you've posted this fifty fucking times. Who exactly died? What was that weird cry?]
[Zhao Liu: Zhang Nanhai! Number two on our server's leaderboard! The South Sea Dragon King! Gone, just like that! Not even a whole corpse left!]
[Sun Ergou: Bullshit! Boss Zhang had an S-Class Item and over a hundred ships under his command. Who could possibly kill him? Are you drinking fake liquor?]
[Liu San (Witness): He's not drunk... I saw it too. Over at the Mist Ruins. Out of Zhang Nanhai's hundred-plus ships, only about a dozen broken rafts like ours remain. The rest all sank.]
[Anonymous User: Forget the ships. You didn't see the final scene. That black whale bigger than a mountain swallowed Zhang Nanhai's ship whole. And then? Before it could even chew a few times, a blue light pierced right through it!]
[Qian Duoduo: Blue light? What blue light? Aliens?]
[Liu San: Aliens my ass! That was Qin Yu's ship! What fucking raft? That was a battleship! I saw it with my own eyes—that ship turned into a black lump and submerged, and then that several-hundred-meter-long whale flipped belly up!]
The Chat Channel fell silent for a few seconds.
Then, even more frenzied messages erupted.
[Zhou Tong: Qin Yu?! Him again?!]
[Li Si: Confirmed. Didn't you see the system announcement just now? The leaderboard updated. Zhang Nanhai's name is grayed out, straight up removed. And Qin Yu's stats... Holy shit, just look for yourselves. Are those numbers even humanly possible?]
[Zhao Liu: Don't even mention it. My legs are still weak. Qin Yu was watching us from behind that glass wall, his eyes... like he was looking at dead men. He didn't even lift a finger himself—just moved them slightly, and the mechanisms mowed down all our men.]
Qin Yu watched the rapidly scrolling text on the screen and blew out a smoke ring.
His face showed no expression.
"Seems like Zhang Nanhai's few escapees have done quite a bit of promotional work for us."
Li Ruobing crossed her arms, reading descriptions of Qin Yu as "ferocious-faced and fanged" and "a ruthless killer," and couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"These cowards."
"Making you out to be some man-eating demon."
"Honestly, Brother Yu, you're actually quite handsome."
Qin Yu chuckled, flicking the ash from his cigarette.
"A notorious reputation is still a reputation."
"In this world, being feared is better than being seen as easy prey."
"Now, no one should dare to trouble us lightly."
Just then.
The tone in the Chat Channel suddenly shifted.
If it was fear and shock before,
now there was a strange surge of... gratitude?
[Zhang Wei: Wait... bros, I think my mind just cleared up suddenly.]
[Wang Gang: Me too! I was just crying because Goddess Weiwei died. But now I suddenly want to slap myself twice. What the hell was I doing before? I gave her both boxes of bread I worked so hard to salvage? While I went hungry drinking rainwater?]
[Zhao Qiang: Holy shit! Me too! I was such an idiot before! That woman said she wanted to see me dance, so I spent the whole afternoon doing a striptease on the raft? Thinking about it now makes me want to die!]
[Chen Ping: This has to be some kind of sorcery! Definitely sorcery! That Yu Weiwei—before, just one look from her made me feel like my soul was flying away. I'd do whatever she said. When the system just announced her death, I instantly felt like a fog lifted from my mind.]
[Li Ming: Damn it! My supplies! My S-Class fragments! That enchantress scammed me out of everything! She even said if I behaved well, she'd let me smell her socks... Ugh! I think I'm gonna be sick!]
[Zhou Dafu: Case closed, brothers. That Yu Weiwei must have had some kind of mind-control item. It deactivated the moment she died.]
[Zhang Wei: Who killed her? Who killed that enchantress?]
[Liu San: Who else could it be? I told you, only Qin Yu's group was over there. I saw it clearly—that hot girl in shorts next to Qin Yu came out of the maze carrying a blade, covered in blood.]
[Wang Gang: Qin Yu?!]
[Zhao Qiang: Dad! Qin Yu is my real dad! If he hadn't killed that enchantress, I'd still be acting as her human footrest right now!]
[Li Ming: Boss Qin is mighty! Thank you for saving my life, Boss Qin! You have no idea—that enchantress even wanted us to act as bait and feed ourselves to the sharks for her! So vicious!]
[Chen Ping: Boss Qin, I was blind before and even thought about stealing your ship. I was wrong! I'll kowtow to you right now! Thank you for helping me regain my sanity!]
The channel, which had just been discussing how brutal Qin Yu was, instantly turned into a massive "adopt-a-dad" convention.
Hundreds of thank-you messages flooded the screen.
These people were all former members of the "simps squad" who had been charmed by Yu Weiwei using that quasi S-Class Item, the Phantom Sea Peacock Fan.
With Yu Weiwei's death, the item's effects vanished like a extinguished lamp.
Recalling their previous actions, they were all overcome with shame and rage. Their hatred for Yu Weiwei instantly transformed into gratitude towards Qin Yu.
"Pfft..."
Li Ruobing couldn't hold back her laughter as she read the messages.
"Yu-ge, look at this one."
She pointed at one particular message.
[Wang Gang: Boss Qin, from now on, you are my savior. That enchantress scammed me out of everything, even my underwear, but you helped me preserve my last shred of dignity. Even though I'm bare-assed now, my heart is warm!]
"Aren't these guys just hilarious?"
"Just a moment ago, they were screaming about tearing you to pieces for their goddess."
Yao Xue glanced at the screen, a trace of sarcasm flashing in her eyes.
"That's human nature for you."
"When they're under control, they're fanatical devotees."
"When the shackles are broken, they hate their controller more than anyone."
"And the one who breaks those shackles naturally becomes their savior."
Yao Qian muttered quietly beside her:
"But sis, we didn't actually intend to save them."
"Ruo Bing-jie killed Yu Weiwei purely because she couldn't stand that woman's slutty demeanor, right?"
Li Ruobing snorted, flicking her ponytail.
"Exactly."
"I just don't like her."
"That kind of woman who controls men by flaunting her charms—I'll kill every single one I encounter."
"As for saving these idiots?"
"That was just a side task."
Qin Yu looked at the constantly scrolling "Thank you, Father Qin" messages, not letting the praise go to his head.
He understood perfectly well.
Their gratitude right now was genuine.
But if one day he were injured or showed weakness,
these same people wouldn't hesitate to pounce and tear a piece of flesh from him.
This was the apocalypse.
There were no permanent friends, only permanent interests.
He opened the all-channel broadcast.
This was the privilege of being ranked first.
He could send messages visible to everyone without consuming any broadcast items.
Qin Yu tapped a few keys on the keyboard.
Typing out a line:
[Qin Yu (Rank 1): Brains are valuable things. Now that you've found yours, don't lose them again.]
[Qin Yu (Rank 1): Also, I'm not accepting sons, nor do I need grandsons. If you want to repay me, speak with supplies. Don't shout slogans in the channel with your pants down—it's an eyesore.]
Send.
Two sentences.
Simple, brutal, direct.
Instantly made the boiling Chat Channel stutter for a moment.
But then, no one got angry at Qin Yu's arrogance.
Instead...
[Zhao Qiang: See this! This is the aura of a true expert! Even his insults are philosophical!]
[Wang Gang: Father Qin's lesson is right! I'm going to loot crates now! When I get good stuff, you'll be the first I offer it to!]
[Sun Ergou: So domineering. Compared to Qin Yu, that Zhang Nanhai from before is nothing. Always so gloomy, unlike Boss Qin who's straightforward.]
[Anonymous: This is the gap in strength. Qin Yu doesn't even care about our petty offerings. I need to work harder too, otherwise I won't even qualify to be Boss Qin's lackey.]
...
Qin Yu closed the chat panel.
No need to keep watching.
The goal of establishing authority had been achieved.
Whether through military deterrence or this unexpected "favor" binding,at least for a long time to come, no one in the district would dare scheme against him.
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