"Hah..."
Li Ruobing let out a long sigh.
She wiped the black soot from her face.
Her eyes were filled with admiration as she looked at Qin Yu.
"When did you bury that thing?"
"Was that a 'Magnetic Storm' just now?"
"No."
Qin Yu said calmly.
"That was a backup generator set I brought back from the Armory. I had Elena modify the wiring."
"Simple and crude."
"Just a power leak."
On the battlefield.
Smoke filled the air.
Solomon's fleet had suffered heavy losses.
But the [Desert Scorpion] remained standing.
The yellow Sandstorm Shield had dimmed somewhat but still hadn't shattered.
"Qin Yu!!"
This time.
Solomon's voice was no longer arrogant.
Instead, it was filled with rage.
The humiliation of being played for a fool.
"I'll tear you to pieces!!"
"Vroom—"
The [Desert Scorpion]'s Engine roared even louder.
It didn't slow down.
Instead, it accelerated.
Like an enraged bull, it charged toward the [President].
At its bow.
Extended a two-meter-long, spike-covered Siege Ram.
A Warship Breaker forged from S-Class Alloy.
"Want to ram us?"
Qin Yu sneered.
"Yao Qian!"
"Here, here, here!"
Yao Qian was currently hiding in the control room, hugging the steering wheel and trembling.
"Turn the ship sideways!"
"Show it our Side Armor!"
"Huh?!"
Yao Qian was stunned.
"Brother-in-law, are you crazy? That ram looks like it would hurt!"
"Listen to me!"
"We can't out-ram it."
"Since he wants close combat."
"Let him come aboard!"
Qin Yu drew the [Japanese Samurai Sword] from his waist (obtained from a blind box earlier).
Although a replica.
It was sharp enough.
"Everyone!"
"Prepare for Melee Combat!"
"Anyone who dares to jump onto our ship."
"Chop them up and feed them to the fish!"
"Boom!!"
A loud crash.
Two behemoths collided violently.
The [President] shook intensely, shattering all the cups on the tables.
Solomon's [Desert Scorpion], with its vicious ram, forcefully lodged itself into the [President]'s side.
Biting down firmly.
Two ships.
Became one.
"Kill!!"
"Loot all their supplies!!"
"Kill all the men! Keep the women!!"
At the command.
Countless pirates wearing bulletproof vests and armed with machetes and submachine guns swarmed over from the hovercraft like ants.
Solomon led the charge.
The bald, burly man looked especially ferocious now.
He didn't carry a gun.
Instead, he wore a pair of metallic gauntlets.
[Item: Skull Crusher (A+ grade - Strength Enhancement)]
He smashed a wooden crate in front of him with one punch.
And leaped directly onto the [President]'s deck.
"Qin Yu!!"
"Come out and die!!"
However.
What greeted him.
Wasn't Qin Yu.
But a flash of cold light too fast to see clearly.
"Die?"
"What are you barking about?"
In the air.
Came Qin Yu's voice, icy to the extreme.
"Clang!!"
A sharp metallic clang.
Solomon instinctively raised his gauntlet to block.
Sparks flew.
Qin Yu's figure appeared three meters in front of him.
The katana in his hand remained in a slashing posture.
And on Solomon's incredibly hard alloy gauntlet.
A deep white mark had actually been left.
"What immense strength..."
Solomon's pupils contracted slightly.
In his heart, he cast aside the last trace of underestimation.
This Qin Yu.
Wasn't just relying on luck.
This physical constitution.
Was absolutely S-grade Enhancement as well!
"Again!"
Solomon roared.
The muscles on his body bulged, directly bursting the expensive silk shirt he wore.
Revealing tattoos covering his body.
It was a cobra coiled around his form.
"Snake Bite!!"
His fist speed was extremely fast.
Carrying the sound of tearing through the air.
That was a genuine killing technique.
Every punch aimed straight for Qin Yu's vital points.
Qin Yu sidestepped to evade.
His footwork agile like a storm petrel dancing in a tempest.
The foundation of an athlete.
Plus the system's all-attribute enhancement.
Coupled with instincts honed through countless life-and-death battles.
Allowed him to handle this close-quarters combat with ease.
"Is this all you've got?"
While evading, Qin Yu still found time to mock.
"Rank two?"
"Seems more like a rank two who only knows how to play in the mud, doesn't it?"
"You're asking for death!!"
Solomon was enraged.
He stomped his foot violently.
The originally hard deck was actually dented by his stomp.
An invisible shockwave erupted with him at the center.
[Skill: Gravity Crush!]
This was one of his trump cards.
It could triple the gravity within a five-meter radius around him for a short time.
If an ordinary person were hit by this move.
Their internal organs would instantly rupture.
Even for an enhancer, their movements would become extremely sluggish.
If Qin Yu slowed down by even a second.
His fist could smash Qin Yu's head like a watermelon.
"Kneel before me!!"
Solomon sneered ferociously, throwing a punch toward Qin Yu, who seemed immobilized.
However.
The next second.
The smile on his face froze.
Because he saw.
Qin Yu did not move sluggishly as expected.
Instead.
He revealed a strange smile.
"Gravity?"
Qin Yu softly uttered two words.
"This thing."
"I'm familiar with it."
Just as Solomon's fist was only a centimeter away from Qin Yu's nose.
Qin Yu moved.
Not to evade.
But to counterattack.
The katana in his hand suddenly vanished.
In its place.
Was that massive, ferocious [Netherworld: Death's Kiss].
The muzzle.
Was pressed directly against Solomon's stomach.
Trait One: Absolute Penetration.
Trait Two: Gravity Magazine.
"You try it too."
"What gravity feels like."
"Tenfold!!"
"Bang!!"
The gunshot exploded at point-blank range.
Solomon only felt an intense pain surge from his abdomen.
That wasn't a bullet.
It felt as if a miniature black hole had detonated inside his stomach.
Terrifying gravity instantly acted upon his body.
Sending him flying like a cannonball.
"Pfft—"
Solomon spewed a mouthful of blood mid-air.
Crashing heavily back onto his own [Desert Scorpion].
Shattering the crocodile leather captain's chair into pieces.
"Cough... cough..."
Solomon struggled to get up.
But that terrifying gravity still lingered within his body.
Pressing down on him so hard he couldn't even move a finger.
"How... how is this possible..."
His face was full of terror.
Watching the man carrying the gun, walking step by step toward him.
Behind that man.
Li Ruobing, leading the Valkyries, was engaged in a one-sided slaughter of the pirates who had lost their leader.
The roar of shotguns.
Screams.
Pleas for mercy.
Became the only background music of the moment.
Qin Yu walked to the ship's railing.
Looking down at Solomon, who lay there like a dead dog.
His gaze was cold.
"Biding your time?"
"Hiding your strength?"
"Is this your trump card?"
Qin Yu shook his head.
Raised his gun.
Aimed at Solomon's head.
"In your next life."
"Remember not to play this game of pretending to be weak."
"Because."
"You might really end up as the pig."
Just as Qin Yu was about to pull the trigger.
To completely end this number two on the leaderboard.
Suddenly.
Another anomaly occurred.
A heart-palpitating chill.
Instantly enveloped the entire sea.
Not killing intent.
But genuine cold.
The flames that were still burning were instantly extinguished.
On the sea surface.
Ice actually began to form.
"Hmm?"
Qin Yu paused his movement.
Sharply turned his head to look north.
There.
An impossibly massive black ship.
Was breaking through the ice.
Slowly sailing forward.
On the mast of that ship.
Hung a black flag.
On the flag.
Was painted a wide-open mouthed... wolf.
"That's..."
Li Ruobing's voice carried a slight tremor.
"Northern Europe Zone."
"Number one on the leaderboard."
"Odin's flagship?!"
"Wrong!"
Qin Yu narrowed his eyes.
"Odin is already dead by my hand."
"Then this ship..."
He saw the person standing at the ship's bow.
Clad in silver-white armor.
Holding a spear.
It wasn't Odin.
It was a woman with long silver hair.
"A Valkyrie?"
No.
On Qin Yu's System Panel.
The woman's ID popped up.
Vivid and glaring red.
[New Number One: Fenrir (Successor)]
[Faction: Avenger]
"Qin Yu."
That woman's voice.
From several kilometers away.
Clearly transmitted over.
Cold.
Devoid of any emotion.
"You took something you shouldn't have."
"Hand it over."
"Or."
"Die."
Qin Yu glanced at the half-dead Solomon at his feet.
Then looked at the silver-haired woman in the distance with an even more terrifying aura.
Suddenly laughed.
Laughed recklessly.
"Tonight is really lively."
"Just finished beating down a number two."
"And now someone comes to fight for the top spot."
He moved the gun barrel away from Solomon's head.
Not to spare him.
But—
"Bang!"
A shot shattered one of Solomon's legs.
"Ahhh!!"
Solomon screamed.
"Leaving you with a dog's life."
"Watch how I deal with these reckless fools."
Qin Yu turned around.
Pulled out that last-resort crystal ball from his chest.
[Weather Control Device (One-time Use)].
"Want to play with ice?"
"Want to play a big scene?"
Qin Yu looked at the silver-haired woman.
The madness in his eyes grew increasingly intense.
"Fine."
"Then let's play a big one."
"System!"
"Activate for me!"
"Target: Thunderous Might!!"
"Coverage: Full Map!!"
He viciously crushed the crystal ball in his hand.
The next second.
The sky.
Cracked open.
.