"Swoosh—"
Black fuel oil.
Like a waterfall.
Cascaded from the discharge pipes on both sides of the President.
Five hundred tons.
This was Qin Yu's entire accumulated fortune from previous draws and plundering.
At this moment.
Not a single drop remained.
All fed to this sea.
The viscous oil slick rapidly spread.
Carried by the waves.
Covering the water surface within a ten-kilometer radius.
The mutated sea beasts, drawn by the Dragon Saliva Incense and driven into utter madness.
Paid no heed to what this black water was.
They only knew to charge forward.
Crashing against the ship's armor.
Erupting in dull, thunderous booms.
"Brother!"
"The oil's all released!"
Qi Chun's hoarse, strained shout came through the walkie-talkie.
"Fire!"
Qin Yu didn't even blink.
Uttering just two words.
In the sky.
The Floating Fortress's turret jolted violently.
A High-Explosive Incendiary Shell, trailing an orange-red tail flame.
Slammed into the sea surface.
"BOOM—!!"
Fire.
Sky-scorching flames.
In an instant.
The entire sea area was ignited.
The explosive combustion of five hundred tons of fuel oil forcibly transformed this bone-chilling seawater into a boiling inferno.
Walls of fire hundreds of meters high.
Rose from the ground.
The blaze painted the dim sky a ghastly crimson.
"Hiss—"
"Roar!!"
Countless piercing shrieks pierced through the roaring firestorm.
Those once-arrogant deep-sea behemoths.
Those A-grade, S-grade, even pseudo-SS grade overlords.
Before absolute high temperatures.
Were no different from ordinary loaches.
They writhed in the sea of fire.
Struggling.
Carapaces cracking from the heat.
Fat igniting.
Turning into massive, floating fireballs on the water.
"Beautiful!"
Li Ruobing stood on the deck.
Excitedly waving the large iron hammer in her hand.
The firelight glistened on her hotpants and revealing tank top, reflecting a fine layer of sweat.
"Burn!"
"Burn these sons of bitches to death!"
Simultaneously.
In Qin Yu's mind.
The system's notification chimes rattled like a jammed machine gun.
Frantically blaring.
[Ding!]
[Killed A-grade mutated megalodon, obtained 1500 Plunder Value!]
[Killed S-grade deep-sea electric eel, obtained 3000 Plunder Value!]
[Killed A-grade iron-armored sea turtle, obtained 1200 Plunder Value!]
...
A green waterfall of data scrolled wildly before Qin Yu's eyes.
Plunder Value.
Spiraled upward at a terrifyingly visible speed.
One hundred thousand.
Three hundred thousand.
Five hundred thousand!
Qin Yu directly muted the notification sounds.
Too noisy.
He turned around.
Walked to the center of the deck.
The sea of fire temporarily blocked the advance of the subsequent beast tide.
Around the President, a brief, absolutely safe vacuum period emerged.
On the deck.
Yao Qian, Yao Xue, Li Ruobing.
And Qi Chun, who had just descended halfway from the sky.
All gathered together.
Staring intently at two items on the ground.
That earthy-yellow Earth's Core.
And that miniature ecosystem bonsai emitting a blue glow.
"Brother-in-law..."
Yao Qian swallowed hard.
Her eyes gleaming with avarice.
"This ecosystem..."
"The system said it can grow vegetables, right?"
"I can see green leaves inside."
As a seasoned shut-in.
She had little interest in fighting and killing.
But when it comes to infrastructure and farming, he has a fanaticism carved into his bones.
"Mhm."
Qin Yu lit a cigarette.
"As long as there's enough energy, it can cover the entire ship."
"Turning it into a temperature-controlled vegetable garden."
"That's amazing!"
Yao Qian jumped with excitement.
Her calves, wrapped in White Silk Stockings, tapped rhythmically on the deck.
"I'll go get the motherboard right now!"
"Our Reactor definitely has enough energy!"
"All we need to do is modify the interface and plug in the power."
"Tonight, we can have fresh stir-fried tomatoes and eggs!"
As she spoke,
she was about to pick up that potted plant.
On the other side,
Qi Chun was rubbing his hands together over the walkie-talkie.
"Bro."
"What about that mud bead?"
"The system says it can create land!"
"Hurry up."
"Press it against the bottom of the ship."
"Our President will instantly upgrade into an island base."
"Then I'll park the Floating Fortress on the island."
"Ruo Bing can set up a blacksmith shop on the island."
"In this apocalypse, we'll be the local kings!"
Li Ruobing also nodded in agreement.
"Qin Yu."
"Let's do it."
"I've had enough of this broken ship—there's not even a place to run."
"Build the island."
"If anyone dares to cause trouble, I'll smash their skull with my hammer."
Everyone
was immersed in the ecstasy of soon having land and fresh vegetables.
Even the usually calm Yao Xue had a glimmer of anticipation in her eyes.
But.
"Thud."
Qin Yu stepped on the specially made lead box,
blocking Yao Qian's outstretched hand.
Yao Qian froze.
"Brother-in-law?"
Qin Yu exhaled a pale gray ring of smoke.
Under the flickering firelight,
his face
was as cold as iron.
"For now,"
"we can't use it."
As soon as these five words were spoken,
the air on the deck
instantly fell silent.
"Why can't we use it?!"
Li Ruobing was the first to lose her temper.
She slammed her heavy hammer onto the deck.
"The thing is right in front of us. Are we just going to treat it as decoration?"
"Are you afraid the system will strike us down?"
"You have that gun that can erase coordinates, don't you? What are you afraid of?!"
"Li Ruobing, calm down."
Yao Xue grabbed her arm and turned to look at Qin Yu.
"Yu-ge."
"Did you discover something?"
Qin Yu didn't speak.
He raised his hand
and pointed to his left eye.
There,
the Omniscient, Eye of Vanity was operating at high speed.
A strange purple light flickered deep within his pupil.
"Yao Qian."
"Project the Radar screen into the sky."
Qin Yu commanded.
"Okay."
Though confused, Yao Qian obediently complied.
"Hum—"
A massive Holographic projection appeared above the deck.
Even under the glow of the firelight,
the image on the screen
was still clearly visible.
Immediately after,
everyone
gasped in shock.
Red.
On the screen,
apart from the central point where they were,
the surroundings
were all filled with glaring blood-red.
Not scattered red dots,
but a connected sea of red.
Within a fifty-kilometer radius,
everything was filled.
"This... how many are there?"
Qi Chun's voice trembled.
"One million? Or two million?"
"The number isn't the point."
Qin Yu pointed to the edge of the screen.
"Look closely."
"Even though they're blocked by the sea of fire,"
"they haven't retreated."
"Not a single one has retreated."
Qin Yu flicked the ash off his cigarette.
His voice was devoid of any emotion.
"They're forming ranks."
"Waiting for the fire to die out."
"This isn't normal." Qin Yu sneered.
"Brainless sea beasts would instinctively flee from such a massive fire."
"But they didn't."
"Because someone forcibly rewrote their underlying code."
"Turning them into an army."
Qin Yu turned around.
Looking at the Earth's Core on the deck.
"You think building an island is that easy?"
"This is the Earth's Core."
"Once activated."
"It forcibly extracts sediment from the surrounding seawater to lay foundations on the seabed."
"This process cannot be interrupted."
"How long will it take?"
"Maybe ten days, maybe half a month."
Qin Yu's gaze swept over everyone.
"During these two weeks."
"The President will be firmly anchored in place."
"Unable to move an inch."
"Do you understand what that means?"
Yao Xue's face turned completely pale.
"Sitting ducks."
"Exactly."
Qin Yu snapped his fingers.
"We're winning now because we're moving."
"We're using guerrilla tactics."
"But once island construction begins."
"We'll have to fight a positional war against these millions of beasts outside."
"A three-hundred-sixty-degree, three-dimensional positional war with no blind spots."
Qin Yu looked at Li Ruobing.
"Your hammer can smash a hundred heads."
"But can it smash ten thousand?"
"Can Qi Chun's cannons fire for ten days and nights without stopping?"
Li Ruobing opened her mouth.
But no words came out.
No matter how battle-hungry she was, she knew human strength had limits.
A million monsters.
Even if they stood still for her to smash, it would exhaust her to death.
"Brother-in-law..."
Yao Qian fearfully shrank her neck.
"What about... that ecological garden?"
"Not possible either."
Qin Yu glanced at the glowing bonsai.
A deep sense of apprehension flashed in his eyes.
This wasn't fear.
But reverence for the rules.
"I just examined it with the All-Knowing Eye."
"This bonsai is a complete folded space."
"Once unfolded."
"The energy fluctuation it releases would be no less than tens of thousands of nuclear bombs detonating simultaneously."
Qin Yu raised his head.
Looking toward the deep, dark sky.
As if.
He was looking at that Executive Officer hiding in the Arbitration Tribunal.
"That bastard in the system backend."
"Is now scrutinizing me with a magnifying glass."
"Guess what."
"If I dared to forcibly unfold an ancient ecosystem that doesn't belong to this version."
"Would he use that as an excuse."
"To rule that I've severely disrupted game balance?"
Qin Yu sneered.
"By then."
"What descends won't be sea beasts."
"But rule-based annihilation directly imposed by the system."
"The Kiss of Death in my hand only has one shot."
"It can erase one Executive Officer."
"But can it erase the entire Arbitration Tribunal?"
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Apart from the crackling of flames burning on the sea surface.
No other sounds remained on the deck.
Everyone's earlier joy of sudden wealth.
Was thoroughly doused by Qin Yu's words.
"This is too frustrating!"
Qi Chun slammed the control panel in the sky.
"Having treasures in hand."
"But unable to use them."
"Then why did we fight so desperately for these things?"
"For the future."
Qin Yu bent down.
With gentle yet firm movements.
Placed the Earth's Core and the ecological garden core.
Into that specially made lead box.
"Click."
The lid snapped shut.
Isolating all energy fluctuations.
Qin Yu stood up.
"Our current strength isn't enough to defend an island."
"Our trump cards aren't enough to oppose the system's supreme will."
"We have to wait."
"Wait for the right moment."
"What moment?" Yao Xue asked.
"A moment... that will allow us to fully confront it."
Qin Yu reached into his chest.
And pulled out a broken piece of stone.
It was.
Fragment number four of the Ocean Soul Crystal Mother.
Blue light.
Shimmered in Qin Yu's palm.
As if the pulse of the entire ocean was beating in his hand.
"The system's confidence comes from the rules it established."
"And the foundation of this ocean's rules."
"Consists of five pieces."
Qin Yu looked at everyone.
His eyes blazing with an ambition and madness that made people dare not look directly at him.
"In my hands, I already have three pieces."
"As long as I get the remaining two."
"Gather all five fragments."
"Reforge the Ocean Soul Heart."
Qin Yu spoke word by word.
Each word.
Felt like a heavy hammer striking everyone's hearts.
"By then."
"I will no longer be a player in this broken game."
"I, will be the administrator."
"Wherever I want to build an island, I'll build it there."
"If I want the sky clear, it won't dare rain."
"If I want to plant tomatoes, the system will have to give me fertilizer."
A cold curve lifted at the corner of Qin Yu's mouth.
"When I get the highest authority."
"Anyone who dares provoke me."
"I'll wipe out his coordinates along with his ancestors for eighteen generations."
"Erase them all."
"That will be the time for us to establish our nation."
"For now."
"Hide these treasures securely."
"Don't let anyone touch them."
After hearing these words.
Everyone.
Felt their scalps tingle.
Not from fear.
But from an indescribable excitement.
A player overthrowing the GM?
If someone else had said this, Li Ruobing would have swung her hammer long ago.
But coming from Qin Yu's mouth.
They believed.
Because this man.
Had been breaking conventions since the beginning.
"Understood."
Yao Xue took a deep breath.
Calming her excited emotions.
"Endure, collect, and then... flip the table."
"Right."
Qin Yu stored the lead box into the system space.
"Where do we go now?"
Yao Qian looked at the increasingly weak flames around them.
That fuel.
Was almost burned out.
In the distance, the beast tide.
Was already beginning to stir.
Crimson eyes flickered in the darkness, like a huge net closing in.
Qin Yu walked to the omniscient radar.
Swiped on the screen.
The holographic map instantly zoomed in.
At a location seven hundred nautical miles away from them.
There was a special marker with a golden question mark.
That was a hidden coordinate not shown on the system map.
But under Qin Yu's [Omniscient, Eye of Vanity].
Nothing could hide.
"Fragment number three."
"Is right here."
Qin Yu's finger pressed heavily on that coordinate.
"That lackey hiding in the background thinks he can exhaust me with this endless beast tide."
"He underestimates me too much."
Qin Yu suddenly turned his head.
Shouted sharply.
"Ruo Bing!"
"Back to the cockpit!"
"Hard left rudder!"
"Overload the power system output!"
"Yao Qian, mark all the reefs and water mines along the way for me!"
"Qi Chun!"
"Full firepower, blast an opening in the encirclement straight ahead!"
"While the fire isn't out yet."
"Let's charge out!"
"Yes!!"
Everyone roared in unison.
Without the slightest hesitation.
Each to their positions.
"Vroom—"
The stern of the President.
Four massive thrusters simultaneously spewed blue ion flames.
The ship lurched violently downward.
Like an arrow released from its bow.
It tore through the still-burning wall of fire.
And plunged into the endless darkness of the deep sea.
Qin Yu stood at the very forefront of the deck.
The fierce wind whipped his clothes, making them snap and flutter.
He raised his head.
And flipped the sky a middle finger.
"Get your necks washed and ready."
"Your granddaddy."
"Is coming to collect."
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