51: Burning Life Essence

"Chen, Chen Du... are we going to die?"

Xiao Ai watched the overwhelming giant waves, clinging to Chen Du like an octopus.

"Die?"

Chen Du scoffed, and the light wings behind him suddenly surged to five meters wide!

"I just got these wings, I haven't had enough fun yet!"

"Hold on tight! We're taking off—!!"

Boom!!!

The cyan light wings vibrated violently, erupting with terrifying thrust!

The two of them turned into a streak of cyan lightning, launching straight up from the ground!

The towering giant wave crashed down fiercely!

That corner of the container was instantly flattened by billions of tons of seawater, leaving not even a scrap behind.

Ice-cold seawater splashed against the soles of Xiao Ai's feet.

She hugged Chen Du's neck tightly, her face buried in his chest, not daring to open her eyes at all.

In her ears were the whistling wind and the roar of the waves.

The intense G-force made her heart feel like it was about to jump out of her throat.

Fast!

Too fast!

Chen Du led her in a dance atop the crest of the waves, just a second before the white water line was about to swallow ferry no. 0819—

"We're here!"

Following a low shout.

The countdown for [Swiftwind Wings] hit zero.

The light wings dissipated into specks of cyan light.

Under the force of gravity, their bodies plummeted toward the deck at high speed!

Bang!

Chen Du held Xiao Ai, rolling several times on the deck to bleed off the momentum.

Finally, the two of them slammed heavily against the railing before stopping.

"Hiss..."

Chen Du sucked in a breath of cold air; his back felt like it was going to break.

"Captain! Captain, are you okay?!" Xiao Ai's anxious voice came from his arms.

She propped up her upper body, checking Chen Du's injuries.

However.

Their current posture was a little bit more than awkward.

Chen Du was lying flat on his back on the deck.

Xiao Ai was straddling his waist.

Because they were soaked in seawater, the outline of her underwear was visible through her clothes.

Water droplets dripped from her messy hair, landing on Chen Du's face and sliding into his collar.

The two of them looked into each other's eyes.

They were so close they could feel each other's rapid breathing.

Xiao Ai's face instantly turned bright red.

Only then did she realize how suggestive the posture was—it was practically a 'face-riding' output!

She instinctively tried to get up, but her legs were weak and she fell back down.

This time, the impact felt even more substantial.

An amazing surge of elasticity hit him, and Chen Du almost lost his self-control.

"Uh, so..."

He blinked.

His gaze unfaithfully swept over Xiao Ai's deep cleavage before he said with a straight face:

"While I do enjoy a beautiful woman throwing herself into my arms,"

"if you keep dawdling like this, the ship is going to sink."

Before he finished speaking, he raised his hand with a wicked grin.

He gave a slap to those perky buttocks tightly wrapped in fabric.

The feel was excellent, full of bounce.

"Ah—!!"

Xiao Ai, like a startled rabbit, covered her bottom and scrambled to the side, her face completely flushed.

"You... you rogue!!"

She bit her lip, but her eyes were filled with mist, showing no sign of actual anger.

The man who had descended like a god to save her overlapped with the pervert in front of her who was grinning and slapping her butt.

Not only was it not jarring,

but it actually made her dead heart start beating again.

This man... is truly toxic.

"Tang Ran! Full speed ahead!!"

Chen Du didn't have time to continue flirting; he flipped up and roared toward the bridge, "Use the wave's momentum to break out!!"

"Copy that! Hold on tight!!"

Inside the bridge, Tang Ran pulled the control lever to the very bottom.

Rumble—!

The ferry's steam engine let out an overloaded roar.

The massive hull used the receding aftershocks of the tsunami to rush out of Crimson Port at an incredible speed!

The water ghosts and monsters trying to climb onto the ship were thrown off one after another.

[Ding! Congratulations to all crew members of No. 0819! You have successfully completed the hidden quest—The Stolen Lamb!]

[Reward obtained: styx ferry · Level 2 Authority!]

[Reward obtained: +1 Attribute Point for all members!]

Hearing the pleasant notification in his mind, Chen Du let out a long breath.

He held onto the railing, feeling the slight increase in strength within his body, and looked back at Crimson Port, which had already turned into a watery grave.

On the far reaches of the sea.

An ironclad ship emitting black smoke was struggling to survive in the waves.

Behind the stern, a long string of water ghosts hung on, impossible to shake off.

They were so densely packed it made one's scalp tingle.

Vaguely, someone's hoarse roar could be heard drifting with the wind:

"Baka yaro!!"

"Why are these water ghosts only chasing me and not anyone else?!"

"Let go! Don't pull my pants!! That's my last pair!!"

The corner of Chen Du's mouth twitched slightly.

He didn't even need to look to know that Tanaka Koji was still performing consistently.

Chen Du offered a completely insincere prayer, "Bon voyage! It would be a pity for such a useful scapegoat to die."

However.

Before everyone could fully relax.

Creak— Creak—

An ear-piercing sound of twisting metal suddenly came from the bottom of the ferry.

The sound was loud, drowning out the waves.

The entire ship jolted violently, as if it had hit something, and its speed plummeted!

In the bridge, Tang Ran's panicked voice spread through the ship via the intercom:

"Captain! This is bad!!"

"The keel seems to have cracked!! The bilge is taking on water!!"

The smile on Chen Du's face froze.

That fall just now... did it break the ferry apart?

Even though they had cleared Crimson Port, the aftershocks from that hundred-meter tsunami were still tearing at this bone ship.

On the deck.

The girls, who had just recovered from the joy of surviving, had the smiles freeze on their faces.

"Ah—! Is the ship going to sink?"

Zhao Mengmeng screamed in terror, clutching the railing beside her.

Zhou Qian's face turned even paler.

In that instant, images of being eaten by sea tentacles flashed through her mind.

Even the usually calm Li Yaozhi was now biting her lower lip hard.

They had finally escaped that living hell.

Were they ultimately destined to be buried at sea?

Human effort has its limits.

In the face of nature's fury, they were too small.

"What are you panicking for?"

A calm voice rose above the wind and waves.

Chen Du stood at the bow, his clothes snapping loudly in the gale.

"As long as I'm still standing on this deck, this ship won't sink."

Before he finished speaking, he waved his hand.

A large pile of small bottles emitting an alluring glow clattered onto the deck.

It was [life essence].

There were those won from the casino, the massive drop from sacrificing Duke Fly, and those Xiao Ai had risked her life to bring back... a total of over thirty bottles!

On the Sea of Despair, this was the true hard currency!

Chen Du didn't even look as he crushed them underfoot!

"If it's broken, then fix it for me!"

"Max out the durability!!"

Buzz—!!

As all the bottles shattered.

A golden mist so thick it wouldn't disperse erupted, enveloping the entire ferry!

The twisted and broken keels straightened and reconnected themselves within the golden light, making crisp sounds like bones growing.

The iron plates rusted by seawater seemed to be gilded in gold, regaining their luster.

Under the nourishment of the golden light, the crumbling wreck was instantly restored to its original state!

The ear-piercing creaking vanished.

In its place was the steady, powerful low roar of the engine!

A light screen suddenly projected in front of him.

[Consumed 30 units of life essence, comprehensive ferry repair complete! Current Durability: 100%!]

[Overflow Energy: Hull armor reinforcement increased by 5%!]

Out with the old, in with the new.

Problems that could be solved by 'pay-to-win' were not problems for Chen Du.

"This..."

On the deck, everyone was petrified.

An Nuonuo's mouth hung wide open.

She looked at the empty glass shards on the ground, trembling with heartache: "That's at least 30 lives... Captain, you're too much of a spendthrift... no, too domineering!"

This wasn't just repairing a ship; this was practically paving the way with gold!

Xiao Ai's beautiful eyes sparkled with brilliance, her heart thumping uncontrollably.

In this post-apocalyptic world where people would kill their whole family for a piece of bread, only this man treated ten thousand gold like dirt.

This damn sense of security was a hundred times more lethal than any cheesy pick-up line!

"Everyone, listen up!"

Chen Du turned around, his gaze sweeping over the women:

"Crisis averted, we continue sailing!"

"Xiao Ai, take some people to clear the debris on the deck."

"Xia Lai, go back to the engine room and keep an eye on the engine."

"The rest of you, rest where you are!"

This unquestionable leadership aura made everyone instinctively straighten their backs and snap their legs together.

"Yes! Captain!!"