"Zzzzt—!"
It sounded like a red-hot branding iron being plunged into a bucket of ice water.
A teeth-grating screech erupted between heaven and earth.
The sea surface, which had been boiling under the heat of the [Eye of Helios], violently crashed into a white wall.
That wasn't a wall.
It was air.
Extremely frigid, freezing air.
In that instant, the world before Qin Yu's eyes shifted from an extreme golden hue to a chaotic grayish-white.
"Warning! Environmental temperature plummeting!"
"Warning! High-energy cold air mass detected ahead!"
"Current temperature: minus 80 degrees... minus 100 degrees... readings are off the charts!"
The warning lights on the console flashed frantically.
The cooling system, which had been operating at full capacity just moments before, came to an abrupt halt. Due to the drastic temperature difference, the pipes even emitted cracking sounds of "pop, pop."
The ship's hull shook violently.
"Holy shit!"
Qi Chun's scream came through the intercom.
"Yu-ge! What the hell is this now?!"
"Just a second ago it was a sauna, and now we're straight in a freezer?!"
"The outer shell of my Floating Fortress is cracking from the cold!"
Qin Yu ignored Fatty's frantic shouts.
He stood before the bulletproof glass of the cockpit, staring intently ahead.
Around the massive icebreaker, dozens of thick metal pipes had risen.
White gas was gushing out from them under astonishing pressure.
That wasn't ordinary fog.
It was liquid nitrogen.
Mixed with the rule-based power generated by some S-Class Item.
The previously clear waterway was now visibly refreezing at a rapid pace.
The water that had just melted hadn't even had time to settle before it was frozen into jagged ice spikes.
Even the water vapor in the air directly sublimated into hailstones.
They pelted down onto the deck of the "President," each one as large as a fist.
"Interesting."
Qin Yu narrowed his eyes.
The "little sun" above his head had noticeably dimmed.
That all-consuming melting effect had been blocked.
Two forces were locked in a fierce tug-of-war across the sea surface.
On one side was the S-Class high-temperature stellar field.
On the other was an equally S-Class frigid permafrost domain.
Neither could gain the upper hand.
At the boundary between them, a steam wall over a hundred meters high had formed.
"Ruo Bing."
Qin Yu issued a cold command.
"Increase power output."
"Make that sphere burn red-hot."
"I refuse to believe that his broken air conditioner can outlast my sun."
Li Ruobing gritted her teeth, her fingers flying across the keyboard.
"Energy output adjusted to maximum!"
"Core temperature: three thousand five hundred degrees!"
"But... Qin Yu, at this rate, energy consumption is too fast!"
"Then burn it!"
"Even if we burn through all our reserves."
"Today, I'm going to strip that layer of skin off him!"
...
On the other side.
The "Hall of Gods" icebreaker.
Odin stared at the wildly fluctuating data on the screen, his expression no better than Qin Yu's.
He was feeling the pinch too.
Every second this [Eternal Permafrost] system was active, it was burning through real money.
It was consuming his entire two-month reserve of liquid nitrogen.
Originally saved for dealing with deep-sea behemoths.
Now, all of it was being used on this Qin Yu.
"Boss! We can't hold it back any longer!"
"Sir, that glowing sphere is too bizarre!" a subordinate shouted in report.
"Our liquid nitrogen nozzles have already overheated two of them!"
"If we keep spraying like this, the pipes are going to explode!"
Odin stared at the faintly visible golden light point within the dense fog.
The killing intent in his eyes was almost overflowing.
"If they explode, replace them!"
"Hold the line!"
"He's attacking, I'm defending. Let's see who wears out first!"
Odin slammed his fist onto the control panel.
"Not only hold the line."
"But also counterattack."
"If we can't see, then we'll fire blind."
"Order the artillery group."
"Target straight ahead, below that golden sphere."
"Load the 'Icebreaker Spikes.'"
"Bring down that broken ship along with that sphere!"
...
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
In the mist.
Dozens of fiery glows suddenly lit up.
Immediately after.
A sharp whistling sound pierced the air.
It was dozens of specially crafted alloy spears, each as thick as a thigh.
Trailing long steel cables behind them.
Like a pack of hunting venomous snakes, they pierced through the white steam wall, heading straight for the "President."
"Alert! Under physical attack!"
"Quantity: 36!"
"Impact countdown: 3 seconds!"
Qin Yu looked at the densely packed red dots on the radar.
A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Playing dirty?"
"Ruo Bing, activate the shield."
"Let him hear the sound."
"Zzz—"
A layer of dark blue energy shield instantly unfolded around the "President."
This was the [Phase Deflection Force Field] inherent to the liquid metal warship.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"
A series of dense impact sounds rang out.
Sparks flew everywhere.
Those "Icebreaker Spikes," capable of piercing ordinary steel plates, collided with the shield like toothpicks hitting a steel plate.
They were directly deflected.
Some even snapped in two.
"Is that all?"
Just as Qin Yu was about to mock,
Suddenly.
A pig-slaughter-like howl came through the headset from Qi Chun.
"Ahhhhh!"
"Brother Yu, save me!"
"I've been hit too!"
"These bastards have no honor! They're attacking me, not you!"
Qin Yu frowned.
He turned to look at the radar.
On the side and rear of the "President,"
The green dot representing Qi Chun's Floating Fortress was now tightly pursued by several red dots.
Odin's volley.
Indeed hadn't pierced Qin Yu's shield.
But those deflected and off-target "Icebreaker Spikes."
All headed straight for the large, slow-moving Fatty.
Although the Floating Fortress was S-Class.
It was a semi-finished product.
Its defensive capability was nowhere near the same level as Qin Yu's ship.
At that moment.
Three massive alloy spears had already deeply embedded themselves into the fortress's base.
The steel cables were taut.
The other side clearly intended to reel in Fatty like a fish!
"Crack, crack, crack—"
The Floating Fortress groaned under the strain.
Originally hovering three meters above the ground.
It was forcibly dragged down by one meter.
"Brother Yu! I'm being pulled away!"
"They're too strong!"
"My engines are about to smoke!"
Qi Chun was crying hysterically on the other end.
"My ship is full of treasures!"
"We can't let them steal it!"
Qin Yu's eyes turned cold.
"Idiot."
"Maximize the power."
"Pull back."
After speaking.
Qin Yu flipped his wrist.
The pitch-black [Netherworld: Death's Kiss] reappeared in his hand.
Since you want to fish.
Then I'll cut your fishing line.
Qin Yu pushed open the cabin door.
He stepped directly onto the deck.
The temperature outside was extremely uneven.
His left cheek was scorching hot, while his right cheek was icy cold.
It felt like being slapped on one side while having cold water splashed on the other.
A thick fog enveloped everything.
It was impossible to see what was happening on the other side.
Only a few taut steel cables could be seen, stretching deep into the vast white mist.
A kilometer away.
On the deck of the icebreaker.
Dozens of bare-chested, burly men were shouting in unison, desperately cranking a massive winch.
Odin stood behind them.
Holding a large blade in his hand.
He grinned menacingly as he stared in this direction.
"Pull!"
"Pull harder!"
"Drag that Fatty over first as a sacrifice!"
Odin's voice carried through the wind and snow.
Qin Yu raised his gun.
Without the slightest hesitation.
"Bang!"
The first shot.
The bullet, carrying a spiraling force, accurately struck the connection point of the first steel cable.
"Snap!"
The specialized steel cable, capable of pulling dozens of tons, snapped instantly.
The three burly men exerting force behind the winch.
Caught off guard.
Were flung backward by the tremendous recoil.
Tumbling together like bowling pins.
"What's going on?!"
Odin was startled.
Before he could react.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Two more gunshots rang out.
Even through the kilometer-thick fog.
Even with the howling wind interfering.
These three shots.
Were as if precisely calculated.
Perfectly accurate.
The remaining two steel cables snapped instantly.
Qi Chun's Floating Fortress suddenly loosened.
Bouncing backward like a rubber ball.
"Whoa, damn!"
Qi Chun shouted over the walkie-talkie.
"We're alive! We're alive!"
"Brother Yu is amazing! Brother Yu's marksmanship is godlike!"
"Odin, you old bastard! Trying to reel in your Fatty Grandpa? Try again in your next life!"