In the cockpit.
Li Ruobing was dozing off with her head resting on the control panel.
Hearing the door open, she jolted awake, nearly wiping drool on the screen.
"Who's there?!"
She grabbed the pulse gun beside her, her expression alert.
Only when she saw it was Qin Yu and Yao Xue did she relax.
"You scared me to death..."
"Brother Yu, are you two done?"
Li Ruobing rubbed her eyes, glancing at the radiant Qin Yu, then at Yao Xue's flushed face.
Her eyes held a hint of teasing.
"Quite the commotion."
"I could hear the bed creaking all the way up here."
"Little Xiaoqian was so embarrassed she hid under the covers."
Normally, Yao Xue would have blushed at such remarks.
But now, she wore a serious expression as she directly took the co-pilot's seat.
"Enough joking."
"Time to get to work."
Li Ruobing was taken aback.
"Work? What work? Who are we fighting at this hour?"
Qin Yu walked over and sat in the captain's chair.
His fingers flew across the holographic screen.
"We're not fighting anyone."
"We're going to take a bath."
"A bath?" Li Ruobing was even more confused.
"All hands, attention!"
Qin Yu's voice, low and powerful, echoed throughout the entire ship via the broadcast.
Even Yao Qian, who had been sleeping, was jolted awake by the sound.
"Power furnace, activate."
"Target: straight ahead, edge of the Black Tide."
"Distance: five nautical miles."
"Prepare to dive!"
As the orders were given.
The "President" once again emitted that low, resonant hum.
Li Ruobing finally understood as she looked at the black mass on the radar representing the death zone.
"Brother Yu! Are you crazy?!"
"Sailing toward the Black Tide at night?!"
"If we disturb those bugs, even if this ship were made entirely of iron, they'd strip a layer off!"
Qin Yu offered no explanation.
He simply stared at the constantly flickering data on the screen.
"We're going to test a truth."
"Ruo Bing, hold on tight."
"We're going to give those bugs a surprise."
...
Ten minutes later.
The "President" slowly entered the Black Tide's perimeter.
Even at night.
The oppressive feeling was still suffocating.
Through the night vision goggles.
Countless densely packed black specks could be seen floating in the air ahead.
They were like solidified dust.
Motionless.
But with just a hint of heat or the scent of living creatures nearby.
They would instantly awaken, transforming into a storm that devoured everything.
"Alert! High concentration of biological activity detected ahead!"
"Recommend immediate course reversal!"
The system's electronic voice echoed through the cockpit.
Li Ruobing's palms were sweaty as she tightly gripped the armrests.
"Brother Yu... are we really going in?"
"This is way too close..."
By now, the ship's bow was less than two hundred meters away from that "wall of bugs."
They could even smell the nauseating stench in the air.
"Now."
Seeing that the distance was about right.
Qin Yu abruptly pressed the blue button.
"Submersible Mode, activate!"
"Clank, clank, clank—"
The familiar sound of transformation rang out.
The armor flipped, the seams closed.
The protective shield rose.
"Flood the tanks!"
"Diving depth: 20 meters!"
"Gurgle—"
Seawater flooded past the windows.
The once-clear night sky vanished, replaced by the deep sea.
The ship shuddered slightly and began to slide downward.
Everyone's hearts leaped into their throats.
"Forward."
Qin Yu said solemnly.
"Pass through the Black Tide from underwater!"
This was the craziest move.
If his speculation was wrong.
If those bugs could enter the water.
Then right now, the President was delivering itself into a meat grinder.
If even a single bug got inside, in this enclosed space, it would be a slaughter.
Li Ruobing held her breath.
Yao Xue's fingers dug into the keyboard.
Yao Qian rushed into the control room clutching a pillow, covering her eyes in fear.
Only Qin Yu.
Stared intently at the surveillance screen overhead.
It was the feed from the camera on the ship's roof.
On the screen.
The President resembled a black ghost, silently gliding at a depth of twenty meters underwater.
And directly above it.
Was that massive, all-destroying Black Tide.
The distance grew closer and closer.
The ship's bow had already entered the area beneath the Black Tide's coverage.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Silence.
Deathly silence.
No alarm sounds.
No gnawing noises.
The ship's hull remained intact.
On the surveillance feed, the sea surface above remained calm.
The bugs floating in the air seemed completely unaware that right beneath their feet in the water, a massive piece of prime meat was swaggering past.
"No movement..."
Li Ruobing widened her eyes, staring at the screen in disbelief.
"They... really didn't come down?"
The smile on Qin Yu's lips grew wider and wider.
Finally turning into a wild laugh.
"Hahahahaha!"
"The gamble paid off!"
"These damn things really can't swim!"
He slammed the console.
"Accelerate!"
"Full speed ahead, damn it!"
"Let's take a lap right under this Black Tide!"
The exhaust ports at the stern of the President suddenly glowed blue.
The massive ship instantly accelerated underwater.
Like a black torpedo, madly weaving beneath the Black Tide's crotch.
This feeling was too exhilarating.
Like tap-dancing right under Death's nose.
And Death was blind.
"So awesome..."
Yao Qian stared at the screen, murmuring to herself.
"We're really under the Black Tide..."
"If anyone else saw this, wouldn't they be scared to death?"
Qin Yu leaned back in his chair and lit a cigarette.
Although smoking was prohibited in the submarine, he was the captain, and what he said went.
"From today onward."
"The Black Tide is no longer a disaster for us."
"But a natural protective umbrella."
"Yu-ge."
Li Ruobing looked at Qin Yu, her eyes filled with admiration.
"How on earth does your brain work?"
"Just now you were like that in bed, and as soon as you pull up your pants, you can come up with a plan like this?"
Qin Yu glanced sideways at her.
"That's called post-nut clarity."
"Get it?"
"Alright."
In high spirits, Qin Yu waved his hand.
"Since the verification was successful, let's go back to sleep."
"Everyone can sleep soundly tonight."
He stood up and stretched.
Just as he was about to return to his room.
Suddenly.
Yao Xue, who had been silently observing the data nearby, spoke up.
"Wait."
"There's a piece of data that doesn't seem right."
Qin Yu paused.
"What?"
Yao Xue pointed at the sonar detection screen.
There was an abnormal waveform there.
It wasn't coming from above.
But from... directly below.
From the unfathomably deep sea.
"Just now, when we passed under the Black Tide."
"Something seemed to move in the deep sea below."
"Moved?"
Qin Yu frowned.
"A fish?"
"No."
Yao Xue shook her head, her expression turning grave.
"That size..."
"It's even bigger than the previous Magic Whale."
"And."
"It seems to be... following the Black Tide's movement."
The atmosphere in the cockpit instantly froze.
Bigger than the Magic Whale?
Following the Black Tide?
Qin Yu narrowed his eyes, gazing into the ink-black deep sea.
It seemed.
The secrets of this ocean were far more numerous than he had imagined.
Although they had avoided the insects underwater.
It appeared.
There were even more terrifying things in the abyss, watching them.
"Let's head back first."
Qin Yu decisively ordered.
"No more risks tonight."
"From now on, we must maintain extreme vigilance during dives."
"This seabed..."
"Isn't peaceful either."
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