10: Kill the lord and get a lot of loot

The Goblin Lord's body was still warm, and dark red blood spread across the scorched earth.

Gu Zhixia stood silently before the monster, her long spear in hand, her pink-purple jk uniform spotless, creating a strong contrast with the bloody scene. Her chest rose and fell slightly, indicating that the fluid, deadly combat she had just engaged in had taken a considerable toll on her.

Lin Mo put away the desert eagle, which had seemed somewhat ineffective in the Lord battle, and slowly walked over. He didn't look at Gu Zhixia first, but instead bent down to pick up the huge stone axe that had been knocked away.

"Inferior Stone Axe (D-class)"

"Attack: 15"

"Evaluation: Roughly made, but heavy, it should hurt a lot to hit someone with it."

The attributes were mediocre, but it should sell in the market.

He casually tossed the stone axe aside, then looked up at Gu Zhixia and the Six-Harmony Long Spear in her hand, its tip still shimmering with faint electrical arcs.

"This long spear suits you quite well."

Lin Mo's voice was calm, as if stating a fact.

However, these words were like a stone thrown into the lake of Gu Zhixia's heart. Her tense body suddenly relaxed, and the sharp aura of an S-class warrior instantly receded by more than half. A blush uncontrollably rose on her fair, pretty face, spreading all the way to her earlobes.

"I..." She opened her mouth, her phoenix eyes behind her gold-rimmed glasses somewhat evasive, not daring to meet Lin Mo's gaze. "I don't know what happened. When I held this spear, I felt like I wasn't myself anymore. My mind was blank, and all my movements... were instinctively unleashed by my body."

She lowered her head, looking at her spear-holding hand, her tone carrying a hint of confusion and lingering fear that she herself hadn't noticed. "Perhaps... this is the Talent of a Weapon Master."

"Sister! You were so cool!"

A cheer broke the subtle atmosphere between the two. Gu Nianqiu rushed over like a small cannonball, hugging Gu Zhixia's waist tightly from behind, her small face rubbing against her sister's back, full of admiration and pride.

"Wow! Sister, your last move just now, 'whoosh,' it pierced through that big monster's belly! Just like in the movies! No, even more amazing than in the movies!"

With her sister's teasing, the blush on Gu Zhixia's face deepened. She cleared her throat somewhat unnaturally, trying to break free from her sister's embrace, but failed.

"Alright, alright, stop messing around. Go quickly and move all the supplies onto the ship."

Lin Mo looked at the two sisters with their vastly different personalities, said nothing more, and turned to walk towards the Goblin Lord's corpse.

"Elite creature corpse detected. Decompose?"

"Decomposition has a chance to yield rare materials."

"Decompose."

As Lin Mo confirmed, a faint glow enveloped the Goblin Lord's corpse. A few seconds later, the corpse dissipated into points of light, leaving behind only a few items emitting different lusters.

"Obtained: Goblin Lord's Tendon * 2"

"Obtained: Purple Crystal Core * 1"

Lin Mo put away the items, a plan forming in his mind.

He wasn't sure what the Goblin Lord's Tendon was, but the Purple Crystal Core seemed to be very useful.

Working together, the three quickly moved all the scavenged supplies from the island back to the Natural Selection's storage room. With this replenishment, the ship's reserves became even more abundant.

Back on the ship, Gu Zhixia immediately rushed back to her room, meticulously wiping down the meritorious Six-Harmony Long Spear, then carefully propped it against the wall like a treasure.

Time quickly passed as the Natural Selection sailed steadily.

Lin Mo sat in the captain's chair in the cockpit, resetting the automatic navigation route. The super capacitor had consumed nearly 50% of its power after the morning's flight, and it took him almost three hours for the fusion reactor to fully recharge it.

"Ten minutes of flight, three hours of charging. This energy consumption ratio is truly outrageous," he grumbled to himself. It seemed the flight mode could only be used as a trump card in critical moments, not for regular use.

During the voyage, he wasn't idle either. The grappling hook module became his most frequently used tool.

"Floating supply crate detected."

He skillfully manipulated the grappling hook, pulling back a wooden crate bobbing in the distant sea.

"Obtained: Fuel * 10L"

"Obtained: Basic Gunpowder * 5 units"

Not long after, another one appeared.

"Obtained: Clean Fresh Water * 5L"

"Obtained: A Rusty Dagger (E-class)"

Throughout the afternoon, he had many small, scattered gains. Although most were basic supplies, they accumulated over time, and for survival in the apocalypse, any resource was precious.

He once again browsed the unlocked [Weapon Module]. Next to the tracking missile, several new options had appeared, but all indicated that they could only be unlocked after the ship's rank was upgraded.

"Natural Selection current rank: Silver."

"Next rank: Gold. Upgrade condition: Ship level reaches LV20."

At the bottom of the weapon list, there was a dark gold icon emitting an aura of destruction.

"Gamma Ray Laser (Unlocked)"

"Unlock condition: Ship rank reaches 'King'"

"King rank... that's a long way to go," Lin Mo closed the interface and opened the system map.

On the map, the starting island and the black fog, representing the initial point, had been left far behind, becoming two inconspicuous small dots at the edge of the map, completely negligible.

Within the sea area about eighty kilometers ahead of his route, several new islands were scattered, all marked as resource points by the system. He planned to explore the nearest one first thing tomorrow morning.

In the evening, the setting sun dyed the sea a magnificent orange-red.

From the kitchen on the second floor, the cheerful sound of Gu Nianqiu humming a tune, along with the crisp clatter of pots and pans, could be heard.

Gu Zhixia was also helping inside, though her movements seemed a bit stiff. Asking her to kill monsters was fine, but asking her to pick vegetables was clearly a challenge for her.

"Sister, be gentle. That's a vegetable, not your enemy. You're almost crushing it," Gu Nianqiu couldn't help but say, looking at the heavily abused vegetable in her sister's hand.

"Mind your own business," Gu Zhixia retorted, her pretty face stern, but she unconsciously softened her grip. "Focus on your cooking. Don't think that just because your sister here killed a monster today, you can boss me around."

"Hehe, Sister, you looked just like a valkyrie earlier! You pierced that ugly monster with one spear and..."

"Shut up! Go wash your dishes!"

...In the cockpit, Lin Mo was about to get up to check on dinner's progress when a soft, warm sensation pressed against his back.

Gu Nianqiu had snuck in at some point, hugging his waist from behind like a boneless kitten, her small face pressed against his back, her voice soft, sweet, and cheerful.

"Brother Mo, dinner's ready! Today, we have my special 'Luxury Flame Steak' to celebrate Sister's first victory!"

Lin Mo was already used to the girl's affectionate gestures. He reached out and ruffled her small head.

"Alright, our chef worked hard."

He stood up and followed Gu Nianqiu to the second-floor balcony restaurant.

Under the lingering glow of the setting sun, a sumptuous meal was already laid out on the alloy dining table. The rising steam mixed with the aroma of the food, whetting the appetite. Gu Zhixia was already seated there, and upon seeing Lin Mo approach, she awkwardly turned her head away.

Lin Mo sat down in the seat opposite her.