A halo of deep blue light, like the only lighthouse in the abyssal sea.
The crystal that had drifted out from Leviathan's wound now floated quietly in the turbid seawater.
It wasn't large, only about the size of a palm.
But the frequency it emitted caused all the electronic instruments aboard the President to tremble faintly.
"Zzzzt—"
Even the radar screen displayed visible ripples of interference.
"Is this... the Ocean Soul Crystal Mother?"
Li Ruobing pressed against the observation window, her eyes wide as saucers, forgetting even to breathe.
Though separated by seawater and thick bulletproof glass.
That deep, soul-stirring attraction made her instinctively want to draw closer, to possess it.
"Stop staring."
Qin Yu's voice pulled her back to reality.
"Keep looking and your soul will be stolen away."
Qin Yu was already suited up in his S-Rank Battle Suit, standing at the decompression chamber door.
The mechanical arm was broken.
But that didn't stop him from reaping the fruits of victory.
In this apocalyptic world, nothing felt more reassuring than personally pocketing the spoils.
"If any small fry dare to try and steal our prize, blast them to bits with the cannons."
"Don't worry, Brother Yu."
Li Ruobing immediately returned to the weapons console, her eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
"Nothing within five hundred meters—not even a shrimp—will get past me."
"Hiss—"
The air valve turned.
Icy seawater instantly submerged Qin Yu's head.
That familiar, heavy pressure enveloped him once more.
But he didn't care.
His mind was now filled with only three shimmering things.
The Crystal Mother.
The heart.
And that ancient treasure chest, which had somehow rolled out from Leviathan's belly and now lay half-buried in the silt...
...
The seawater was thick with the scent of blood.
Even through the filtration system, Qin Yu could still smell that unique, metallic and foul stench of the deep sea.
He swam swiftly.
Like a shark that had caught the scent of blood.
First target: the Ocean Soul Crystal Mother.
Qin Yu reached out, his specialized alloy glove grasping the deep blue crystal.
"Hum!"
The moment his fingertips touched the crystal.
A warm current surged up his arm and straight into his brain.
His mental energy, depleted from the intense battle, instantly recovered to its peak under this nourishing flow!
It even seemed to be growing slightly!
In his pocket, the [Sea Soul Crystal Mother (Fragment One)] seemed to sense its companion, vibrating wildly.
A strange resonance formed between the two.
Like two magnets separated for many years.
"Good stuff."
Qin Yu grinned, his smile betraying an irrepressible greed even in these deep waters.
Without the slightest hesitation, he stuffed it into his personal space.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for obtaining Sea Soul Crystal Mother (Fragment Two)!]
[Detected that the host possesses two fragments. Proceed with preliminary fusion?]
"No."
Qin Yu thought silently.
Now was not the time for research.
Although a ruler had died here, the scent of blood was too strong, and who knew what even more terrifying things it might attract.
Get the money first, then run.
That was the principle.
Qin Yu pushed off the Leviathan's iron-hard eyelid with both feet, using the force to propel himself toward the massive heart.
It was a pulsating mass of flesh.
As large as a small car.
Deep purple blood vessels twisted and intertwined like tree roots.
Even after being separated from the body, it continued to beat stubbornly, squeezing out a few drops of golden blood with each throb.
An SSS-grade Ingredient.
If he ate this thing, it would probably make him explode.
"Store!"
Qin Yu waved his hand.
The enormous heart vanished instantly, stored away in the system space.
Finally.
Qin Yu's gaze fell on the treasure chest.
It wasn't very large.
Only half a meter square.
Completely black, covered in barnacles and unknown deep-sea moss.
But through the grime, faintly visible were intricate patterns carved into its surface, so complex they were dizzying.
Those patterns didn't seem like human craftsmanship.
They were more like some naturally occurring law.
No glow.
No special effects.
It lay quietly in the mud, like an unremarkable piece of rotten stone.
But Qin Yu's heartbeat accelerated to its limit at that moment.
An SSS-grade Treasure Chest.
This was the first SSS-grade treasure chest he had encountered since arriving in this world.
That SSS-grade fishing rod back then?
That was luck.
But this one before him?
He had paid for it with his life.
This was a genuine drop!
Qin Yu took a deep breath, wrapping his arms around the absurdly heavy chest.
"Up!"
Muscles tensed.
Thrusters at full power.
Qin Yu swam toward the "President" as if carrying a mountain of gold.
...
Ten minutes later.
Living quarters of the "President."
Three women sat around the alloy table, their eyes fixed intently on the black chest dripping water in the center.
The atmosphere was heavy.
Yet tinged with an irrepressible fervor.
"Is this... all the belongings of that old monster?"
Yao Qian cautiously extended a finger, poked a barnacle on the chest, then jerked her hand back as if shocked.
"It looks... so dirty."
"What do you know."
Qin Yu held a towel, meticulously wiping away the grime from the chest's surface.
His movements were as gentle as caressing a lover's skin.
"This is called patina."
"This is the sedimentation of time."
"The more unremarkable something looks, the more valuable its contents."
Li Ruobing could no longer contain herself, fidgeting anxiously beside them, her legs swaying restlessly.
"Yu-ge, stop wiping!"
"You'll rub the skin off at this rate!"
"Hurry up and open it!"
"My heart is about to leap out of my throat!"
Although Yao Xue appeared calm on the surface, sipping water, her knuckles gripping the cup had turned white.
Clearly, she was also extremely tense.
"What's the rush."
Qin Yu tossed the towel aside.
Pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
"Opening a chest requires the right timing, location, and harmony."
"And a sense of ceremony."
He took a deep drag, letting the smoke swirl in his lungs before slowly exhaling.
His gaze gradually sharpened.
"This is SSS-grade."
"My fishing rod was the first."
"If I can pull another SSS-grade weapon from this..."
Qin Yu stood up.
His hands pressed against the cold edges of the chest lid.
The lines on his palms overlapped with those ancient engravings.
There was no keyhole.
Treasures of this level never required keys.
What they required was qualification.
The aura of the one who had slain it.
[Detected that the host possesses the "Abyssal Tyrant" slayer mark.]
[Permission granted.]
[Open the "Ancient Deep-sea Relic Chest"?]
The system's prompt echoed in his mind.
Still as cold and mechanical as ever.
But to Qin Yu, it sounded like the most beautiful melody in the world.
"Open!"
Qin Yu growled.
With a sudden burst of strength from his hands—
"Creak—crack—"
A grating, teeth-clenching friction sound rang out.
It was the sound of mechanisms sealed for countless ages beginning to turn once more.
From the seams of the pitch-black chest, an unbearably dazzling light suddenly erupted!
Not gold.
Nor purple.
But an extremely profound, dark gold that seemed capable of devouring all light!
"Holy shit! I'm blinded!"
Li Ruobing cried out in pain, covering her eyes as she stumbled back several steps.
The entire living quarters were instantly flooded with this dark golden radiance.
All other lights seemed dim and insignificant in comparison.
A terrifying pressure surged forth from the chest.
The cups on the table shattered instantly.
Even the alloy tabletop groaned under the strain.
Qin Yu bore the brunt of it.
He felt as if he were standing at the eye of a storm.
But he did not retreat.
He didn't even blink.
His gaze remained fixed on the center of that light.
There.
A slender, pitch-black weapon exuding an aura of death slowly materialized.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations! Incredible luck!]
[Successfully opened an SSS-grade Treasure Chest!]
[Obtained Unique Growth-type Weapon—]
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