Chen Xiaoya slept deeply this time.
So deeply that she didn't even dream.
Ever since being thrown into this damned post-apocalyptic ocean, it had been nothing but fear and anxiety, enduring hunger and starvation.
Sleep?
That was a luxury.
Every time she closed her eyes, she had to keep her ears pricked, terrified that the next second she would be dragged into the water by some sea monster appearing out of nowhere, or have her throat slit by fellow survivors sneaking onto her raft.
But this time was different.
Chen Xiaoya was awakened by a faint buzzing sound.
Her eyes snapped open, her body instinctively curling into a ball as her hand automatically reached under the pillow.
Empty.
No bone knife—the one she had painstakingly sharpened for so long.
Only the soft, tear-inducing down pillow.
"This..."
Chen Xiaoya froze.
She stared blankly at the ceiling.
Not a leaky plastic sheet, nor moldy wooden planks.
But a clean, smooth, even ceiling with a warm ambient light ring.
The air didn't carry that nauseating fishy smell or the salty dampness of seawater.
Instead, there was a faint scent of... lavender?
"Am I dead?"
"Is this heaven?"
Chen Xiaoya sat up in a daze.
The blanket slipped off, revealing the clean and smooth silk pajamas underneath.
Yao Qian had given them to her yesterday.
She looked down at her hands.
Yesterday, her hands had been half-dead and covered in grime; now they were washed clean, with only a bit of stubborn dirt remaining in the nail crevices—a mark left by the apocalypse.
"Hiss—"
The soreness in her thigh muscles hit her, making her gasp in pain.
It hurt.
So this wasn't a dream.
Before she could gather her thoughts, the buzzing sound grew closer again.
A small, round machine was gliding along the floor. When it encountered her slippers, it politely detoured around them, sucking up a few strands of hair from under the bed.
A robotic vacuum cleaner?
Chen Xiaoya felt her brain couldn't quite process this.
In a world where even a sip of fresh water had to be fought for with one's life, this ship was actually using a robotic vacuum cleaner?
Was this that man's ship?
Yesterday, she had been too terrified to even look properly.
But now...
This wasn't survival.
This was a vacation!
Chen Xiaoya stepped barefoot onto the carpet.
The sensation of the long fibers enveloping her soles made her nose sting, nearly bringing tears to her eyes again.
She walked to the window and reached out to draw the curtains.
"Whoosh—"
Blinding sunlight poured in.
Her vision suddenly widened.
Chen Xiaoya froze in place, her mouth slowly falling open, unable to utter a sound.
Outside the window.
It wasn't the narrow, cramped deck she had imagined.
But a vast, unnerving expanse of steel plains.
Dark gray alloy armor plates gleamed with a cold, hard sheen under the sunlight, stretching all the way to the horizon.
It was too big.
This wasn't a ship at all.
This was a mobile steel fortress!
At the edges of the broad deck stood four silver turrets with a sci-fi aesthetic.
Several thick gun barrels slowly rotated, like beasts patrolling their territory.
Even from this distance, even through a layer of glass.
Chen Xiaoya could feel the chilling aura emanating from the cannon's muzzle.
This was it.
The thing that had obliterated the nightmare-like Blood Shark Gang in mere seconds yesterday?
Just then, someone gently knocked on the door twice.
Click.
The door opened.
A small head with twin ponytails peeked in.
It was Yao Qian.
The little girl was holding a tray. Seeing Chen Xiaoya standing by the window in a daze, her eyes immediately curved into a smile.
"Xiaoya-jie, you're awake?"
"Ruobing said you might have low blood sugar, so she asked me to bring you something to drink."
Yao Qian was wearing a loose cartoon T-shirt and a pair of fluffy rabbit slippers, bouncing into the room.
She looked no different from how she had in the school dormitory before the apocalypse.
Only someone protected to the extreme could maintain such innocence in this hell.
Chen Xiaoya looked at her, her expression extremely complex.
"Xiaoqian..."
"Has this ship... always been like this?"
Yao Qian placed the tray on the bedside table.
On it was a cup of steaming soy milk and two freshly fried youtiao.
The youtiao were golden and crispy, the soy milk rich and fragrant.
It was the kind of breakfast one could only dream of.
"Not really."
Yao Qian bit her finger thoughtfully.
"It wasn't this big at first."
"Brother Yu upgraded it bit by bit."
"But yesterday, Brother Yu expanded the ship again. It's about three thousand square meters now, right?"
Three thousand square meters...
Chen Xiaoya swallowed hard.
Her own dilapidated sailboat, even with the planks she'd pieced together later, was barely fifty square meters at most.
And she constantly worried about it being smashed apart by the waves.
Yet here, a single expansion was half the size of a football field.
The gap was despair-inducing.
"Eat something first."
Yao Qian handed her the soy milk.
"Brother Yu made this with the Fully Automatic Soymilk Maker. The soybeans were just harvested—it smells amazing."
Chen Xiaoya took the cup.
The warmth spread from her fingertips throughout her body.
She took a sip.
It was sweet.
Sugar had been added.
In the apocalypse, sugar was life, a harder currency than gold.
Here, it was just a breakfast condiment.
Chen Xiaoya stuffed the youtiao into her mouth in two or three bites, choking and rolling her eyes, then gulped down a large mouthful of soy milk to wash it down.
"Take your time."
Yao Qian watched her with a grin.
"After you finish, want me to show you around?"
"My sister is busy planting vegetables in that big glass room. She asked me to help you get familiar with the place."
Planting vegetables?
Chen Xiaoya keenly caught that word.
Growing vegetables on the sea, surrounded by saltwater?
"Okay... okay."
Chen Xiaoya wiped her mouth hastily and followed Yao Qian out of the room.
They passed through the hallway and entered the living room.
The sense of awe grew even stronger.
This was practically a luxurious penthouse.
Leather sofas, a massive LCD TV (though without a signal), a double-door refrigerator.
In the corner, there was even an air purifier humming away.
Through the living room's large floor-to-ceiling window.
Chen Xiaoya finally understood what Yao Qian meant by "planting vegetables."
Behind the living area.
Stood a massive transparent glass chamber.
Sunlight refracted through the glass, illuminating a lush, vibrant green that was utterly mesmerizing.
"That's..."
Chen Xiaoya pressed her face against the glass, her eyes nearly popping out.
"Tomatoes? Are those eggplants?"
"And those vines climbing the trellis—are those cucumbers?"
Yao Qian nodded, her face full of pride.
"That's an S-Class Ecological Cycle Cultivation Pod that Brother Yu brought back."
"It's completely automated."
"As long as we have that special nutrient solution, a batch can ripen in just a few days."
"Tonight, we can have cold cucumber salad!"
Chen Xiaoya felt her worldview crumbling.
Out there, she had nearly had her guts ripped out over half a moldy piece of bread.
Here.
People were discussing whether to have cold cucumber salad or scrambled eggs with tomatoes for dinner.
This was class.
This was power.
"Come on, let's go take a look at the deck."
Yao Qian pulled Chen Xiaoya, who was still in a daze, and pushed open the heavy airtight door.
"Whoosh—"
The sea breeze blew against their faces.
Carrying the distinct, briny scent of the ocean.
But as this wind swept across the deck of the President, it seemed to soften.
Because the ship was too steady.
Steady as a mountain.
Chen Xiaoya stepped onto the solid alloy floor, feeling for the first time what it meant to "stand on solid ground."
She looked around.
In the distance on the sea, she could occasionally spot a few floating Supply Crates.
But within a fifty-meter radius of the President.
Those crates seemed bewitched, whooshing toward the ship.
All were sucked against the hull, automatically sorted and dismantled.
No manual labor required at all.
"That's the automatic fishing net."
Yao Qian followed her gaze, acting like a dutiful tour guide.
"Sister Ruobing is operating it from the Main Control Room."
"She calls it... Fully Automatic Stocking."
Chen Xiaoya let out a bitter laugh.
Stocking.
That word was so fitting.
She turned around, her eyes falling on a corner not far away.
There, piled up, were some familiar-looking scraps.
Those were things from her sailboat.
A few broken wooden planks, some rusty iron spears, and that pile of "supplies" she had fought desperately to protect.
Now piled in a corner of Qin Yu's massive ship.
Like a heap of garbage.
Blinding.
And ironic.
Just then.
A low, heavy sound of footsteps approached.
Chen Xiaoya stiffened, instinctively turning around and leaning against the railing, adopting a defensive stance.
It was Qin Yu.
He had changed into a black windbreaker and was carrying that exaggerated Sniper Cannon, jumping down from the second-level deck.
"Thud."
He landed without a sound.
That nearly two-meter-long heavy weapon felt as light as a fire poker in his hands.
A cigarette dangled from his mouth, and his gaze casually swept over Chen Xiaoya.
Even with just that casual glance.
Chen Xiaoya felt as if she had been stared down by a prehistoric beast.
Her scalp tingled.
Breathing became difficult.
This was the master of this ship.
The man who had crushed the Blood Shark Gang like ants.
"Awake?"
Qin Yu walked over, slinging the gun over his shoulder.
"Looks like Yao Xue's medical skills haven't slipped."
"Half-dead yesterday, up and about today."
Chen Xiaoya quickly straightened up, wringing her hands together, looking uneasy.
"Th-thank you, Boss Qin, for saving my life."
"I... I can work!"
"I can do laundry, cook, and help treat wounds..."
She was desperate to prove her worth.
In this post-apocalyptic world, those without value were garbage.
And garbage was meant to be thrown off the ship.
Qin Yu blew out a smoke ring, looking at her with a faint, amused smile.
"No rush about the work."
"Since you're Yao Xue's close friend, I'm not so desperate as to exploit a patient."
As he spoke.
Qin Yu took a step forward.
Now less than half a meter from Chen Xiaoya.
The sense of oppression instantly doubled.
Chen Xiaoya could even smell the faint scent of tobacco on Qin Yu, along with that intense, masculine hormonal aura.
"However."
Qin Yu lowered his voice a few degrees, so only the two of them could hear.
"Since you're on my ship now."
"There are some rules you still need to understand."
"There are two things I hate most."
"First, betrayal."
"Second, concealment."
Chen Xiaoya's heart skipped a beat.
She instinctively pulled her hand back behind her, as if that gesture could hide the secret in her abdomen.
Qin Yu's gaze felt almost tangible.
It lingered on her abdomen for a second.
Just one second.
Yet Chen Xiaoya felt as if she had been X-rayed.
Her blood ran cold.
Does he know?
Impossible!
That thing is buried so deep, the wound has already healed...
"Don't be nervous."
Qin Yu suddenly smiled, taking a step back. The suffocating pressure instantly dissipated.
"I was just saying."
"Focus on recovering."
"This ship is big enough for you to explore."
After saying this.
Qin Yu didn't spare her another glance, turning and walking toward the bow.
Only when Qin Yu's figure disappeared around the corner.
Did Chen Xiaoya realize her back was already soaked.
Cold sweat trickled down her spine.
In that moment just now.
She truly thought Qin Yu would cut her open right then and there.
"Xiaoya-jie?"
Yao Qian tilted her head, looking at her with a puzzled expression.
"What's wrong? Your face is so pale."
"Is the sea wind too strong?"
Chen Xiaoya forced out a smile uglier than crying.
"N-no... it's nothing."
"Just a bit... seasick."
She turned around, gripping the railing tightly with both hands.
Staring at the fathomless seawater below.
This "President" truly is a paradise.
But the master of this paradise is a being more terrifying than a demon.
She must hide it well.
Hide it even if it kills her.
That thing... must never see the light of day.
It's a curse that could drive the entire world mad.
And the only bargaining chip she has to survive in this apocalyptic world.
"Hum—"
Right at that moment.
Chen Xiaoya felt the hard lump in her abdomen give a faint throb.
A weak surge of heat spread through her blood vessels.
Simultaneously.
In the Main Control Room.
Li Ruobing watched the fleeting purple wavelength reappear on the large screen, a cold smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
"As expected."
"Whenever her emotional fluctuations spike, that thing reacts."
She pressed the communicator.
"Qin Yu, data collected."
"The frequency is higher than yesterday."
"It seems our new guest is bringing us even bigger surprises than we imagined."
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