The red wine swirled in the goblet.
Like blood.
Qin Yu took a sip, his eyes fixed on the red dots flashing frantically on the Radar.
The bait had been cast.
The school of fish was on its way.
"How long until contact?"
Qin Yu asked without turning his head.
"The fastest fleet, about two hours."
Elena's fingers danced across the keyboard, the screen's light reflecting on her grease-stained face.
"Those people from that 'Solomon' group have fast ships, all modified assault boats."
"Two hours."
Qin Yu set down his wine glass.
"Plenty of time."
He plopped down onto the leather sofa in the command center, which he had just 'acquired' from the Armory. It was a bit firm but offered excellent support.
"System."
He called out silently in his mind.
A semi-transparent, pale blue Light Barrier instantly popped up before his eyes.
[Host: Qin Yu]
[Plunder Value: 18500]
[Pending Rewards: Daily Draw*15 (Backlogged)]
[Special Privilege: Targeted Draw*3 (Refreshes every three days, Maxed out)]
Qin Yu rubbed his hands together, looking at the 'Maxed out' notation.
He had been on a killing spree these past few days.
Busy building the base, busy blowing up doors, busy looting.
He had forgotten about this.
"Saved up luck for half a month."
"Hope I get some good stuff."
In the past, Qin Yu would have bathed, changed clothes, and paid respects to various deities first.
But now?
In this dog-eat-dog world.
He was his own god.
"Let's start with some appetizers."
Qin Yu focused his will.
"Fifteen consecutive draws, open them all!"
[Drawing in progress...]
The roulette wheel spun rapidly.
The words on it were impossible to make out.
Qin Yu wasn't in the mood to watch anyway and directly clicked 'Skip Animation'.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations on obtaining: Master Kong Braised Beef Noodles*10 boxes]
*[Congratulations on obtaining: Huazi (Soft Chunghwa)5 cartons]
*[Congratulations on obtaining: Happy Fat Soda (330ml)20 boxes]
*[Congratulations on obtaining: Durex (Ultra Thin)10 boxes]
[Congratulations on obtaining: Heavy-duty Duct Tape*50 rolls]
[Congratulations on obtaining: Grade C·Fine Steel Daggers*10]
...
All daily supplies.
Qin Yu curled his lip.
"Passable."
"The cigarettes are good, keep them."
"As for that stuff..."
He glanced at the ten boxes of Durex, then at Elena who was bent over adjusting the Radar nearby, and Li Ruobing who was cleaning her gun not far away.
"Could come in handy too."
"Store!"
With a wave of his hand.
The pile of miscellaneous items vanished into thin air, entering the warehouse.
Next.
The main event.
"Targeted Draw."
Qin Yu took a deep breath and sat up straight.
This was the system's core function.
It allowed specifying a general item category.
While the exact item was still up to luck, at least it wouldn't give you a box of sanitary pads when you wanted to draw a gun.
"We have a fight in two hours."
"Need some serious hardware."
Qin Yu stared at the three golden draw buttons.
Only three chances.
First one.
"Specify category: [Blueprints/Technology]."
That SSS-grade 3D Printer was currently idle.
Without blueprints, it was just a hunk of metal.
"Draw!"
The golden wheel spun.
This time, Qin Yu didn't skip.
The pointer swept past "Nuclear Fusion Reactor" (grayed out, extremely low probability), past "Exoskeleton Armor," and finally landed on a deep blue slot.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations on obtaining: S-grade Blueprint: Smart Naval Mine 'Black Widow']
[Description: This is no ordinary water mine. It possesses independent AI, capable of identifying friend from foe, and features two modes: "Silent Lurk" and "Active Pursuit."]
[Explosive Power: Equivalent to 500 kg TNT.]
[Required Materials: High-explosive, electronic components, scrap iron.]
"Perfect!"
Second draw.
"Specify category: [Energy/Materials]."
With a blueprint, you still need materials to craft.
The previous printing spree had nearly exhausted the inventory brought back from the Armory.
"Draw!"
The wheel spun again.
And stopped.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations on obtaining: SS-grade Material: Liquid Memory Metal (1 ton)]
[Description: An extremely unstable rare metal. It can change form based on electrical signals. It is a top-tier material for crafting high-end machinery and bulletproof armor.]
[Trait: Self-repair. As long as the core remains intact, even if riddled with holes, it can heal like water.]
"Last one."
Qin Yu looked at his final remaining chance.
He hesitated slightly.
Choose weapons?
He already had "Kiss of Death" and that warehouse full of firearms—enough for now.
Choose skills?
His physical abilities were already at the peak of humanity; further improvements would just be icing on the cake.
"Since we're going big."
"Let's get something that can really screw people over."
A mischievous smile curled at the corner of Qin Yu's mouth.
"Specify category: [Special/Support]."
"Give me something brutal!"
The wheel spun wildly.
Faster than the previous two times.
Even emitting a "humming" sound as it cut through the air.
A flash of golden light!
Not blue, not purple.
But a dazzling gold!
[Ding!]
[Congratulations on obtaining: SSS-grade Special Item: Weather Control Device (One-time Use · Trial Version)]
[Description: This is the authority of a god. You can forcibly alter the weather conditions within the current area (50 nautical mile radius) for 30 minutes.]
[Selectable Weather:]
[1. Clear Skies (dispels fog)]
[2. Stormy Weather (reduced visibility, turbulent waves)]
[3. Extreme Freeze (sea surface freezes, vehicles immobilized)]
[4. Thunderous Might (random lightning strikes, electronic equipment disabled)]
Qin Yu stared at the crystal ball-like object in his palm.
His breath hitched for a moment.
"Holy shit..."
"Isn't this just cheating?"
Even if it was a one-time use.
Even if it only lasted 30 minutes.
In naval warfare.
Those 30 minutes were enough to decide life or death.
Especially the fourth option.
Thunderous Might.
In this world of rafts and iron ships.
Who didn't have some electronic equipment?
Whose ship wasn't conductive?
If he unleashed this.
Even if the enemy had an aircraft carrier, it would be crippled.
"Is this the true value of SSS-grade?"
Qin Yu carefully tucked the crystal ball into an inner pocket close to his body.
This was his trump card.
His ace in the hole.
Not to be used unless absolutely necessary.
"What's wrong?"
Li Ruobing noticed Qin Yu's emotional shift, put down her gun, and walked over.
"Such a sinister smile."
"Plotting against someone again?"
"Not at all."
Qin Yu wrapped an arm around her waist, in high spirits.
"I'm preparing a surprise for our soon-to-arrive guests."
He stood up.
Slapped the [Black Widow Water Mine] blueprint onto Li Ruobing's chest.
"Take it."
"Find Yao Qian."
"Tell that girl to stop playing games."
"Get the printer running at full capacity."
"Use all the materials we have to make as many of these as possible."
Li Ruobing picked up the blueprint and glanced at it.
Her pupils contracted slightly.
"Smart water mines?"
"Where did you get these?"
"Fell from the sky."
Qin Yu pointed at the ceiling.
"Don't ask."
"If you ask, it's just good character."
"Fine."
Li Ruobing was straightforward and never dwelled on Qin Yu's inexplicable sources of supplies.
Everyone had secrets.
As long as those secrets helped them survive, they were good secrets.
"What else do you need?"
"Scrap metal."
Qin Yu walked to the window, looking out at the dark sea.
"The wreckage from those Sakura Zone ships earlier, still floating?"
"Yeah, I already had the Valkyries salvage them."
"Drag them all back."
"Throw them into the furnace."
"Don't waste even a single screw."
Qin Yu's gaze turned cold.
"Turn them into water mines."
"Then."
"On the route those people must take."
"Cover it for me."
"I want half of them dead."
"Before they even see my ship."
...
One hour later.
In the Crafting workshop on the lower deck of the President.
Heat waves rolled.
The SSS-grade printer was operating frantically.
"Zzzz—"
The laser nozzle moved rapidly across the operating platform.
Sparks flew.
"Brother-in-law! Look! Another one's out!"
Yao Qian shouted excitedly.
On the conveyor belt.
A black sphere the size of a basketball rolled out.
Completely black, its surface smooth as a mirror.
No seams visible.
This was the "Black Widow."
It looked harmless.
But once thrown into the water.
It would activate immediately.
Lurking like a ghost ten meters underwater.
Once it detected engine vibrations from non-friendly ships.
It would charge like a shark smelling blood.
At a speed of 80 knots per hour.
Then.
"Boom!"
"This is the 50th one."
Elena recorded the data nearby, sweat beading on her forehead, golden strands of hair sticking to her cheeks.
"Materials are running low."
"That ton of liquid Memory Metal is only enough for the outer shell."
"The explosives inside..."
"Dismantle the C4."
Qin Yu stood to the side, holding a can of ice-cold cola he had just drawn, taking a swig.
"Dismantle all the C4 in stock."
"Anyway, that was for blowing doors."
"Now it's perfect for blowing up ships."
"And those two crates of TNT we found on that Sakura woman's ship, right?"
"Stuff them all in."
"Don't leave any Space."
"I want power."
"The kind that can blast through steel plates."
"Understood!"
Elena wiped her sweat and turned to move the explosives crates.
These lunatics.
Really took violent aesthetics to the extreme.
Another half hour passed.
One hundred "Black Widow" water mines.
Neatly lined up on the deck.
Like a pile of black eggs of death.
"That should be enough."
Qin Yu glanced at the time.
Less than half an hour remained until the so-called "Allied Fleet" would arrive.
"Lay the mines."
At Qin Yu's command, dozens of Valkyries sprang into action, tossing the Water Mines one by one into the sea.
Plop.
Plop.
The mines sank immediately upon hitting the water. Beneath the once-calm sea surface, danger now lurked everywhere.
...
At that moment, fifteen nautical miles from Qin Yu's base, a massive fleet was advancing at full speed. These weren't Rafts—they were all uniformly modified assault boats, with various chaotic flags flying at their bows: skulls, venomous snakes, scorpions. This was the current "Wasteland Law": whoever had the biggest fists made the rules.
"Boss," said a man covered in knife scars on the lead speedboat, lowering his binoculars. "The signal source is right ahead. That Qin Yu's ship hasn't moved. It's been stationary the whole time."
"Hmph." Sitting across from him was a bald, burly man wearing a gold chain around his neck and rolling two iron walnuts in his hand. He was a big shot from the Middle East region, codenamed [Solomon]—self-proclaimed, of course. "It's right that he hasn't moved," Solomon sneered. "Does he think he's invincible just because he killed Odin? That fool Odin was ambushed. Besides," he pointed at the dense fleet behind him, numbering nearly a hundred vessels, "even if he's made of iron, how many nails can he hammer? This time, that 'Regional Core' is mine for sure. Pass the order! Full speed ahead! Whoever seizes the core first gets an S-grade Weapon and ten women!"
"Awooo—!!" The pirates behind him howled like wolves. The roar of their Engines shook the heavens as they charged madly toward the death trap like hyenas that had caught the scent of rotting flesh.
Qin Yu stood at the bow, watching the dense cluster of red dots on the Radar enter the ten-nautical-mile range. He raised his "Kiss of Death" and peered through the scope at the churning waves in the distance.
"They're here," he murmured softly.
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
"Welcome."
BOOM!!
The first explosion erupted abruptly on the sea surface. The speedboat at the very front didn't even have time to let out a scream before a massive water column launched it into the sky. The vessel disintegrated mid-air, turning into burning debris.
Then, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!—like firecrackers during New Year—the explosions linked into a continuous chain. The once-ferocious assault boat formation instantly descended into chaos.
"What's happening?!"
"There are Water Mines!!"
"There's something underwater!!"
"Ah!! Help!!"
.