"Trump card?"
Qin Yu exhaled a white breath.
The white breath turned into ice shards the moment it left his mouth, falling onto the deck with a crisp sound.
Cold.
It was truly cold.
Even his thoughts seemed on the verge of freezing.
On the deck of the "President," the silver metal that had been writhing earlier had now completely turned ash-gray.
Hard and rigid.
As if dead.
Li Ruobing hugged her shoulders, her eyelashes covered in white frost.
She shivered as she looked at Qin Yu.
"Qin... Qin Yu..."
"The power furnace... has stopped..."
"That ball... is about to go out too..."
Above their heads.
The once overbearing [Eye of Helios].
Now resembled a coal ball about to burn out.
Its light was dim.
Its surface covered in a thick layer of ice.
It could barely maintain a sliver of warmth at its core.
"Don't panic."
Qin Yu patted her shoulder.
Even through the thick clothing, the chill still seeped through his fingertips.
"Going out?"
"Not happening."
"It's just... hungry."
Qin Yu turned around.
His back to the raging snowstorm.
With a thought.
A pale blue Virtual Panel unfolded before his eyes.
Only he could see it.
"System."
"Use the targeted draw opportunity."
"Lock category: [Star/Thermal Energy/Rule Enhancement]."
"Draw for me!"
[Ding!]
[Targeted draw initiated!]
[Searching prize pool...]
The wheel spun rapidly.
Golden light flashed wildly across Qin Yu's retina.
It was a thrill only a gambler could understand.
At the brink of life and death.
This was fate.
"Stop!"
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host! Incredible luck!]
[Obtained unique consumable Item: Stellar Blood (Antares's Fury)]
[Rating: Half-Step Rule-Class]
[Item Description: This is a drop of liquid plasma from the core of the red supergiant "Antares." It knows no reason, only destruction.]
[Function Description: Can be forcibly injected into any thermal energy S-Class Item, allowing it to temporarily break through level barriers and enter a "Supernova Outburst" state.]
[Duration: 300 seconds]
[Side Effects: After use, the original Item's durability drops to zero and requires massive funds to repair. Also... it really gets too hot; the host is advised to take sun protection measures.]
Qin Yu looked at his palm.
There.
A crystal vial the size of a fingernail had appeared.
Inside was a drop of red liquid.
No.
That wasn't liquid.
It was flowing fire.
Even through the specially made containment crystal, Qin Yu felt a stinging pain in his palm.
"Antares's Fury?"
"A good name."
Qin Yu smiled.
He looked at Li Ruobing.
"Ruo Bing."
"Close your eyes."
"Huh?"
Li Ruobing hadn't yet reacted.
"Close your eyes if you don't want to go blind!"
Qin Yu shouted sharply.
Then.
He suddenly raised his hand.
And hurled that crystal vial fiercely toward the "coal ball" atop the mast that was about to go out.
"Crack!"
A crisp shattering sound.
Eerily piercing in the dead silence of the icy plain.
That drop of red "blood."
Seeped in.
...
One second.
Two seconds.
Deathly silence.
In the distance.
Odin watched the commotion from Qin Yu's side, his face full of mockery.
"Throwing stones?"
"Still trying to hit me with a rock at this point?"
"Qin Yu."
"You're already at the end of your rope."
"This is the suppression of rules."
"This is..."
Odin's words were cut short.
Suddenly stuck in his throat.
Because.
He saw a flash of red.
A flash of red so bewitchingly extreme.
It seeped out from within that dim golden sphere.
As if...
A heartbeat pulsed.
"Thump!"
A dull thud.
Not ringing in the ears.
But exploding in the chests of everyone present.
Immediately after.
"Zzzzap—!!!"
The thick layer of ice encasing the golden sphere's surface.
Instantly vaporized.
Without any melting process.
Directly turning into nothingness.
The color of the golden sphere changed.
No longer that warm golden hue.
Instead, it transformed into a terrifying, deep crimson.
Its volume also expanded wildly.
Double.
Triple.
Quadruple!
Until it grew five times its original size!
Hanging from the mast of the President.
Like a red giant star ready to explode at any moment!
[Warning! Eye of Helios entering Overload Mode!]
[Injecting energy source: Blood of the Stars!]
[Current status: Supernova Outburst (precursor)]
[Core temperature: Detection failed (exceeds measurement range)]
"What... what is this?!"
Even with her eyes closed, Li Ruobing could feel the terrifying red light outside her eyelids.
Heat.
That was heat intense enough to ignite the soul.
The deck that had already frozen over.
That layer of hard "Frost of Rules."
Now resembled butter meeting a hot iron.
Frantically receding!
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—"
White steam rose once more.
But this time.
The steam evaporated the moment it emerged, scorched dry by that crimson glow.
Even water molecules were torn apart.
Qin Yu stood beneath that red light.
His clothes flapping wildly in the wind.
He looked at his own hand.
There.
The silver liquid metal began flowing again.
And it flowed ten times faster than before!
Cheers.
Jubilation.
The ship seemed to come alive, greedily devouring the terrifying energy overflowing from above.
"Fatty!"
Qin Yu shouted into the walkie-talkie.
"Get far away!"
"If you get roasted, I won't be responsible for collecting your body!"
Hundreds of meters away in the air.
Qi Chun was desperately maneuvering the Floating Fortress into retreat.
"Oh my god!"
"Brother Yu, did you just blow up the sun?!"
"My butt! My butt's on fire!"
...
On the opposite side.
The Hall of Gods Icebreaker.
The mockery on Odin's face froze.
He felt it.
That wave of heat frantically approaching.
No.
That wasn't a heat wave.
That was a tsunami!
A tsunami of crimson flames!
"How is this possible..."
Odin gripped the railing tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"My 'Absolute Zero' core... is Rule-Class..."
"How could that broken sphere of his withstand rules?!"
"I don't believe it!"
"I don't believe it!!"
Odin screamed hysterically.
"Increase the pressure!"
"Spray out all the liquid nitrogen!"
"Activate the backup core too!"
"I'll extinguish that fire of his!"
But.
It was too late.
That massive crimson sphere.
Moved.
It didn't fire any lasers.
Nor did it perform any flashy maneuvers.
It simply.
Released.
Released that most primal, most violent heat energy from the depths of the universe.
"Boom—!!!"
A visible red shockwave.
Centered on the President.
Sweeping out!
Wherever it passed.
Rules?
What were those?
In the face of this absolute energy.
All rules had to make way!
The blue solid ice previously frozen by Odin.
Those frozen soil layers that even missiles couldn't blast open.
At this moment.
Emitted groans of unbearable strain.
"Crack!"
"Crack! Crack!"
Dense cracks, like spiderwebs, instantly covered the entire ice field.
Immediately after.
Collapse.
Melting.
Boiling.
Those dozens of snow vehicles charging forward.
Just moments ago, they were slipping and sliding on the ice surface.
Now.
They directly fell into boiling water.
"Ahhhhh!"
"Hot! So hot!"
"Help! The water's boiling! The water's boiling!"
Screams rose one after another.
Those tattooed, gun-wielding thugs.
Now looked like mutton rolls thrown into a hotpot.
Frantically thrashing about.
But was this water temperature.
One hundred degrees?
No.
Two hundred degrees.
Five hundred degrees.
The sea surface was no longer a sea surface.
But a pot of boiling magma.
The "President" moved.
It bathed in that dark red glow.
The metal giant mouth at the bow opened once more.
This time.
Those tentacles were no longer silver-white.
But had been burned crimson red by the high temperature.
Like molten iron fresh from the furnace.
"Odin."
Qin Yu's voice.
Through the loudspeaker.
Echoed across this boiling sea surface.
Carrying a hint of mockery.
"Your ice."
"Doesn't seem to be very effective."
"Is it perhaps expired?"
Before his words faded.
That massive liquid battleship.
Violently accelerated.
Like a red meteor.
Shattering those layers of fragile ice walls.
Straight.
Crushing toward the "Hall of Gods."
...
"Block it! Block it for me!"
Odin panicked.
Completely panicked.
He watched those layers of collapsing defenses.
Watched that ever-growing red demon.
The fear in his heart.
For the first time, overwhelmed his anger.
"Gunners! Fire! Fire!"
"Don't worry about the heat! Fire all the ammunition!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The icebreaker's cannons began to roar.
Countless shells poured toward Qin Yu.
But.
Useless.
Those shells hadn't even touched the "President."
Mid-air.
They were detonated by that terrifying high temperature.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Clusters of fireballs exploded dozens of meters ahead of the "President."
Instead, it looked like Qin Yu was being treated to a grand fireworks display.
"Is this your counterattack?"
Qin Yu stood at the bow.
Letting the explosive heat waves tousle his hair.
He didn't even bother to raise a shield.
Because that "red giant star" above his head.
Was itself the strongest shield.
Any physical attack.
The moment it approached.
Would be melted away.
"Ruo Bing."
"Prepare for boarding combat."
"Since he likes to play with human wave tactics."
"Then I'll let him see."
"What one-sided..."
"Slaughter looks like."
Li Ruobing had already opened her eyes by now.
Though still somewhat stinging.
Looking at the scene before her.
Her eyes held only shock.
And a strange sense of admiration.
This man.
Always turned desperate situations.
Into his own stage.
"Understood."
Li Ruobing took a deep breath, her fingers flying across the controls.
"Full ship liquid metal activity activated to 200%!"
"Morphological reconstruction ready!"
"Target: Odin's flagship!"
...
The distance between the two ships.
Less than a hundred meters.
Odin watched that battleship already pressed against his face.
Watched the man standing at the bow.
Qin Yu, like a demon god.
He finally understood a truth.
Some people.
Should not be provoked.
Some rules.
Can be broken.
"Retreat! Retreat now!"
Odin turned and fled.
He no longer cared about his subordinates.
Nor did he care about his flagship.
All he wanted now was to survive.
He rushed toward the rear deck.
There was a backup escape speedboat there.
"Trying to run?"
Qin Yu watched Odin's panicked retreating figure.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
He raised his hand.
And gently clenched it.
"Did I agree?"
"Hum!"
With Qin Yu's action.
The crimson hull of the President.
Suddenly swelled.
Like a massive wave.
It crashed directly onto the deck of the Hall of Gods.
That was not water.
It was thousands of tons of scorching liquid metal!
"Sizzle—"
The collision of steel against steel.
Emitted a teeth-grating, twisting sound.
Odin's proud S-class Icebreaker.
In that very instant.
Was forcibly "embraced" by the President.
Those crimson tentacles.
Seeped into every crevice.
Welded shut.
Melted through.
Sealed off.
Odin had just reached the escape boat.
Before he could even untie the mooring rope.
A massive, red-hot metal hand.
Reached out from beneath the deck.
And crushed the speedboat to pieces.
"No!!"
Odin screamed in despair.
Splinters flew.
Cutting his face.
But he ignored the pain.
Because that giant hand.
After crushing the speedboat.
Did not stop.
Instead, slowly.
Reached toward him.
"Qin Yu! You can't kill me!"
"I am the leader of the Northern Alliance!"
"I hold secrets about this world!"
"I know where the Tower of Gods is!"
Odin retreated while shouting frantically.
That was his last bargaining chip.
In this apocalyptic world.
Information.
Was sometimes more valuable than life itself.
Qin Yu's hand stopped.
That enormous metal hand.
Hovered above Odin's head.
Radiating suffocating heat.
Odin thought he had gambled correctly.
He gasped for breath.
A trace of relief at having narrowly escaped death appeared on his face.
"That's right..."
"As long as you don't kill me..."
"We can cooperate..."
"I'll give you the entire north..."
Qin Yu looked at Odin, who lay collapsed on the ground like a dead dog.
He took out a cigarette from his pocket.
Brought it close to the scorching metal railing.
"Sizzle."
It lit.
He took a deep drag.
"Secrets?"
"The Tower of Gods?"
Qin Yu exhaled a smoke ring.
The smoke ring drifted upward in the crimson light.
"Those things."
"I'll find them myself."
"As for you."
Qin Yu flicked the cigarette ash.
His gaze was as cold as if he were looking at an insect.
"You just now."
"Scared my wife."
Odin was stunned.
Wife?
Who?
That Li Ruobing?
Just because of that?!
"No... wait..."
"Take action."
Qin Yu softly uttered two words.
"Thud!"
The hovering metal hand.
Without any hesitation.
Slammed down.
As if swatting a fly.
"Thump!"
A dull sound.
Odin's voice abruptly ceased.
The entire world.
Was finally quiet.
Only the crimson liquid metal.
Writhed slowly.
Completely devouring that blurry mess of flesh and blood.
Turning it into nourishment.
...
"Ding!"
[Congratulations, Host!]
[Successfully eliminated Regional Overlord: Odin]
[Obtained Plunder Value: 50,000 points!]
[Obtained S-Class Item: Absolute Zero Core (Damaged)]
[Acquired Special Blueprint: Tower of Gods - Northern Realm Fragment]
[Detected host's actions are extremely brutal, meeting the unlock conditions for the title 'Tyrant'...]
The system's notification echoed in his mind.
Qin Yu ignored the rewards.
He turned around.
Looking at the devastated battlefield behind him.
The original Arctic ice plain.
Had now become a massive hot water lake.
Wreckage floated everywhere.
Along with those war chariots slowly sinking.
Qi Chun's Floating Fortress wobbled over.
Hovering in mid-air.
Fatty stuck his head out.
Looking down at the completely melted "Hall of Gods".
He swallowed hard.
"Yu... Yu-ge."
"That's just too..."
"Too what?"
Qin Yu raised an eyebrow.
"Too wasteful!"
Qi Chun pointed at the melting scrap metal.
Heartbroken.
"That's all S-rank Material!"
"You melted it all!"
"How much money is that down the drain!"
Qin Yu laughed.
He looked at this money-obsessed fatty.
Feeling inexplicably good.
"Fatty."
"Huh?"
"Look at the sky."
Qin Yu pointed upwards.
There.
Because of the terrifying thermal explosion moments ago.
The perpetual dark clouds that always shrouded the Arctic sky.
Had been forcibly burned open, leaving a huge hole.
A long-awaited beam of sunlight.
Real sunlight.
Streamed down from that hole.
Shining on the sea surface.
Glistening.
"That's..."
Qi Chun was stunned.
He hadn't seen such pure sunlight in a long time.
"That's the path."
Qin Yu's smile faded.
His gaze pierced through that hole.
Looking towards the far north.
There.
Was the true core area.
The deep waters of this apocalyptic game.
"Odin was just a gatekeeper."
"The real monsters."
"Are still waiting for us inside."
"Ruo Bing."
"Here."
Li Ruobing had already regained her composure.
She was quickly tallying the spoils.
"Clean up the battlefield."
"Rest for ten minutes."
"Then."
Qin Yu flicked the cigarette butt in his hand.
It traced an arc through the air.
Falling into the water.
"We continue north."
"I want to see."
"If this so-called 'Tower of Gods'."
"Can withstand my..."
"Sun."