117: The Iron Law of Doomsday: Some secrets are best kept to yourself!

Late at night, the waves slapped against the ship's hull, making a dull, monotonous sound.

Inside the dining room of the blazing flame, however, the lights were bright, and the air was filled with the long-lost aroma of meat and the rich scent of Moutai liquor.

The bowl of braised beef on the table was already bottoming out, and even the sauce had been mopped up clean with mantou.

Several bottles of special-supply Moutai brought by Chen Yan were more than half empty. Zhou Hai's chubby face was flushed red from drinking, and he was holding a large beef bone, sucking on the marrow and making a "slurping" sound.

Lu Sheng leaned back against his chair, his slender fingers toying with a crystal-clear wine glass, the liquid inside swaying gently with the movement of the ship.

"Listen up."

Lu Sheng's voice was not loud, but it made Zhou Hai, who was about to open a second bottle of wine, pause. He quickly spat out the bone in his mouth and sat up straight.

Lu Sheng's gaze swept over the three people in front of him—the three teammates who had just been promoted to Level 5 Spirit Source User and were currently in high spirits.

"As a Level 5 Spirit Source User, you can barely be considered qualified to protect yourself in this sea area."

Lu Sheng took a sip of the wine; the spicy heat went down his throat, but his eyes remained coldly clear. "But don't think you're safe yet. You saw the battle just now; what is the concept of a Level 6 Sea Beast? And what is the concept of a beast tide piled up by sheer numbers?"

"If you don't want to die, then get to Level 6 Spirit Source User in the shortest possible time."

He looked at Zhou Hai. "Especially you, Captain Zhou. Your Flame Blaster looks impressive, but in reality, it's all ineffective output. You waste spirit source like you're sprinkling water. In future battles, use your brain more; don't just blast everything that's alive to death."

Zhou Hai scratched his shiny, greasy hair and gave a silly laugh. "Little Lu is right to lecture me. I was just thinking about making the scene look bigger to save face for you."

"Quit the chatter." Lu Sheng put down his wine glass and tapped his knuckles on the solid wood table twice, making a crisp, rhythmic sound.

"There's one more new rule, and you all better remember it well."

The atmosphere in the dining room instantly became a bit heavier, and even Su Li stopped picking up food and looked up.

"From now on, when hunting mutated sea beasts above Level 4, as long as conditions permit, don't blast them to bits for me."

Lu Sheng leaned forward slightly, staring at them. "Broken limbs don't matter, and a shattered head is fine too, but you must leave the torso for me. I have a major use for it."

Zhou Hai had just stuffed a piece of luncheon meat into his mouth and mumbled indistinctly upon hearing this. "Little Lu, what do you want that stuff for? We don't have space for specimens in the cabin, do we? Besides, that stuff stinks; aside from attracting flies, what else can it..."

"Thud."

A dull sound came from under the table.

Zhou Hai let out an "Ow" and almost spat out the meat in his mouth, glaring at Zhao Ze beside him. "Old Zhao, why are you kicking me?!"

Zhao Ze unhurriedly picked up a peanut and put it into his mouth without even lifting his eyelids. "Can't you even shut your mouth while eating? Since Little Lu wants it, he naturally has his reasons. Where do so many 'whys' come from?"

Su Li didn't speak either; her eyes shifted between Lu Sheng and Zhou Hai before finally landing on Zhao Ze, and she nodded imperceptibly.

Neither of them was stupid.

Throughout the journey, the corpses Lu Sheng collected were never brought out, yet his ability to conjure an advanced spirit source crystal core out of thin air—the secret behind this had long transcended common sense.

If Lu Sheng didn't say anything, that was trust.

If they didn't ask, that was their duty.

If this secret were leaked, I'm afraid every Spirit Source User in the world would go crazy.

Lu Sheng took in everyone's reactions, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.

"Alright, once you're full, get out and go to sleep." Lu Sheng stood up and draped his coat over his shoulders. "Rest well tonight; who knows what monsters and demons might be waiting for us tomorrow."

Having said that, he turned and left the dining room.

Once Lu Sheng's footsteps had completely disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Zhou Hai rubbed his calf and looked at Zhao Ze with a grievance-filled face. "Old Zhao, you were too ruthless. I was just asking out of curiosity, was that necessary?"

Zhao Ze put down his chopsticks; his usually honest, square face was rarely so serious at this moment.

"Old Zhou, is that curiosity? That's seeking death."

Zhao Ze lowered his voice and pointed to the ceiling. "Little Lu's secret is likely the foundation for why our ship can travel unimpeded in the Apocalypse. If your big mouth ever lets this slip when you've had too much to drink, I won't need outsiders to act; I'll finish you off first."

Su Li poured herself a small glass of wine and downed it in one gulp; the spicy liquid brought a hint of color to her pale face.

"Brother Zhao is right." She slammed the empty glass onto the table. "Some things are only protected when they rot in your stomach."

Zhou Hai froze for a moment. Looking at their serious expressions, the alcohol-induced haze instantly dissipated for the most part.

Although he was carefree, he had crawled out of piles of dead bodies, so how could he not understand the stakes involved?

"Fine, I was wrong, okay?"

Zhou Hai raised his glass, his expression solemn. "Damn it, you make me sound like a traitor. I've noted these words today. In the future, regarding matters of the corpses, if I ask one extra word, you don't need to do it—I'll cut my own tongue off to go with the wine!"

"Hahaha, good, come! Bottoms up!"

"Cheers!"

...

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, a thick white fog rose over the sea, with visibility of less than twenty meters.

The vast fleet sailed slowly through the fog, like a group of blinded behemoths.

"Woo—!!!"

A rapid and low siren sound tore through the quiet of the morning without warning.

This sound was different from the sharp alarm when a sea beast was discovered; it was a dull, long wail, like an anti-collision warning.

Inside the main control room of the blazing flame.

Lu Sheng appeared in front of the command console almost instantly; he hadn't even had time to change out of his pajamas, and his golden pupils contracted slightly in the dim room.

"What's the situation?"

Engineer Liu stared fixedly at the radar screen, sweating profusely; his face was full of ghost-seeing terror.

"Major Lu! Ahead... there's something blocking the way!"

"A sea beast tide?" Zhao Ze rushed in, pulling up his pants. The alcohol from last night hadn't worn off yet, and his head still ached.

"No... it's not a living thing..."

Engineer Liu swallowed his saliva, his fingers trembling as he pointed to the massive shadow on the holographic projection. "The sonar feedback is all clutter—metal, wood, even plastic... This thing is too big; its scale even exceeds the cross-section of our entire fleet!"

"It's practically... like a continent!"

Lu Sheng frowned slightly and strode to the floor-to-ceiling window.

The fog outside was gradually thinning as the sun rose.

On the horizon ahead, a massive, suffocating dark shadow lay silently across the middle of the shipping lane.

As the distance closed, everyone involuntarily held their breath.

This was no continent.

That was a Trash Mountain floating on the sea!

Countless rusted shipping containers, broken wooden planks from houses, scrapped cars, and even the wreckage of half a civil airliner had been forcibly squeezed and piled together by some kind of force.

Seaweed and barnacles grew wildly in the gaps, like a layer of disgusting green mold covering this steel corpse.

It was like a huge tumor growing out of the sea, exuding the smell of decay and rust.

And at the top of that mountain of garbage, on a precarious piece of rebar, hung a tattered, indistinguishable-colored flag, fluttering eerily in the morning breeze.

"Good heavens..."

Zhou Hai pressed against the glass, his mouth open wide enough to fit a fist. "What the hell is this? A sea slum? Or did a landfill become sentient?"

Lu Sheng didn't speak.

He narrowed his eyes, golden light swirling in his pupils, his gaze instantly piercing through the surface layers of iron and wood.

Inside that seemingly dead steel tomb, in the complex gaps and cavities, faint but real red heat sources were slowly moving.

There were people.

And not a small number of them.

"Interesting."

Lu Sheng took a cigarette case from his pocket, tapped out a cigarette, and put it in his mouth, the corners of his mouth curling into an amused arc.

This kind of scene, which only appears in post-apocalyptic wasteland movies, was actually laid out before his eyes in reality.

"Pass the order down."

Lu Sheng lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, flicked his coat, and turned to sit back in the command chair.

"All hands to Level 1 battle readiness, unseal the cannons."

He exhaled a ring of smoke, looking at the towering and ugly floating island, a flash of excitement, like a hunter seeing new prey, appearing in his eyes.

"Move in closer."

"Let me see which deity is playing king of the mountain in this pile of garbage!"

PS: Today's update (3/4).