103: Explosive equipment! Heart of the Ocean, battleship submarine mode unlocked!

A series of system prompts cascaded across Lin Mo's vision like a waterfall.

Each one represented the fall of a myth and heralded a new beginning.

He reached out and collected the powerful energy-emitting spoils of war that floated on the sea surface, one by one, into his inventory.

heart of the ocean (Mythical)

Type: Battleship Core

Effect: Merging with a life engine unlocks 'Deep Sea Submersion' mode. From then on, even ten thousand meters deep will be a smooth journey.

Special: Collecting four cores of the same origin will grant the battleship a 'Mythical' grade advancement.

Core of the Abyssal Dragon King (Orange)

Type: Fafnir Exclusive Advancement Material

Effect: Each of its pulsations calls for greater power. Collecting three will allow Fafnir to break free from the shackles of mortal iron and advance to its next form.

Abyssal Gaze (Legendary Gem)

Type: Special Inlay Gem

Effect: Inlaying it into a weapon will imbue your every attack with malice from the abyss, with a chance to tear at the enemy's mind, causing them to fall into temporary confusion and fear.

Each item was a supreme treasure, enough to make any survivor faction fight to the death for it.

Natural Selection slowly descended, hovering less than a hundred meters above the sea.

Gu Zhixia stood at the edge of the deck, the sea breeze rustling her black skirt and hair.

She looked at the vast expanse of sea below, which had changed from deep green back to azure, and let out a sigh of relief.

Her usually somewhat aloof and proud face finally bloomed with a genuine, brilliant smile that could outshine the sun.

She looked at the man standing atop Fafnir, overlooking the battlefield like a god, and suddenly spoke.

Her voice was not loud, but it clearly reached Lin Mo's ears through the communicator.

“Lin Mo, we… we really did it.”

Her voice carried a tremor of relief that she herself hadn't noticed.

Lin Mo controlled Fafnir, slowly turning its massive steel dragon head to face her on the deck.

A faint but incredibly firm curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“I said it.”

“What they owe us, we’ll take back, principal and interest, all of it.”

…Just as Lin Mo and his team were enjoying the fruits of Victory and tallying their abundant spoils.

Countless light-years away from the initial sea area.

An unknown space enveloped in eternal coldness and darkness.

Inside a dimly lit command room filled with post-modern sci-fi aesthetics, the only light came from the giant holographic projector in the center of the room.

The projection showed the final scene of Vortex Trench being completely swallowed by an orange-red glow.

The image froze, then silently dissipated.

A man in a crisp black uniform bowed deeply to the empty, colossal commander's chair.

His voice was filled with uncontrollable trembling and fear from the depths of his soul.

“Boss, the plan… failed.”

“The abyssal beast codenamed ‘Throat Ripper’, after being deployed to the target sea area, completely lost its Life signal seventeen minutes ago.”

“Confirmed… it has been completely eliminated.”

The air was deathly silent.

Time seemed to freeze.

After a long while, the massive chair, which seemed to blend into the darkness of the command room, slowly turned around.

A blurry figure of a man sat in the chair.

He simply sat there, yet he exuded a terrifying oppressive aura, like a black hole, capable of devouring all light and hope.

“Impossible.”

His voice was deep and hoarse, devoid of any emotion, each word seemingly scraping against one's nerves.

He slammed his hand on the armrest of the chair.

Bang!

A heavy thud.

The air in the entire command room seemed to tremble, and the subordinate's body shivered violently.

“A Level 35 Mythical-grade biological weapon!”

“Even if it was only unlocked to phase two, it would be enough to flatten a B-grade survivor city!”

“What could those fledglings in the initial sea area, who haven't even touched the threshold of Gold-grade, use to kill it?”

“With their ridiculous, slow-as-boiling-water broken ships?!”

The subordinate's head was buried even lower, cold sweat trickling down his temples and dripping onto the floor with a clear “drip-drop” sound.

“According to… according to the analysis of the last transmitted images, the target… seems to possess a black battleship of an unknown model.”

“And… at least two, no, three… combat mechas of an incomprehensibly high specification.”

“Mechas?” The man referred to as “Boss” had a hint of doubt in his tone. “Even if they have mechas, they can only be the lowest-grade ‘Ranger’ or ‘Sentinel’ models. Those things aren't even fit to scratch Throat Ripper!”

He seemed to recall something and quickly pulled up another set of data.

“No… according to previous intelligence, they indeed have two specialized mechas suspected of being dragon-shaped, but their combat power assessment was only at high-tier Silver-grade.”

“What allowed them, in such a short time, to possess… the power to slay a god?”

The man called “Boss” fell into a long silence.

His slender fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the armrest.

Each tap was like a death knell, striking the subordinate's heart.

The atmosphere in the entire command room was extremely oppressive.

He wasn't angry; he was thinking.

Thinking about which part had exceeded his calculations.

He enjoyed the feeling of everything being under control, and now, on the chessboard, there appeared a piece he couldn't understand, one that even broke the rules.

This feeling made him very displeased.

“Interesting.”

After a long while, he suddenly laughed.

The laughter echoed in the silent command room, more chilling than a cry.

“It seems a formidable ‘over-the-river dragon’ has snuck into the initial sea area.”

He slowly stood up, his blurry figure casting a massive, all-consuming shadow under the faint glow of the holographic projection.

“Deliver my order.”

“Assemble Black Sail’s Third, Fifth, and Seventh Fleets.”

The subordinate abruptly looked up, his eyes filled with horror and shock.

“Boss! Three fully-staffed Gold-grade fleets?! Just to deal with a team fresh out of theNovice Village (newbie village)? Is this not…”

“Shut up.”

The two cold words instantly silenced the subordinate, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

“I'm not going to war.”

The “Boss” slowly walked to the holographic star map, extending a pale finger to the area at the exit of the initial sea area, that chaotic starfield known as the Wall of Storms.

“I'm going to… welcome a ‘distinguished guest’.”

His voice carried a hint of morbid, evenly matched excitement.

“I want to see what kind of character dares to stir up such big waves in my pond.”

The subordinate hesitated for a moment, then bravely asked in a mosquito-like voice, “Boss, then… do we need to use ‘that’?”

The “Boss” paused.

He turned his head and shot his subordinate a glance as if he were looking at an idiot.

“Dealing with a few fledglings fresh out of theNovice Village (newbie village) doesn't require the ‘Godslayer’ to be deployed.”

A cruelly extreme arc formed at the corner of his mouth.

“If even my Black Sail can't stop them…”

“Then they will be qualified to become the Godslayer’s next prey.”

…Meanwhile, on Natural Selection.

The post-battle joy still permeated the warm air.

Gu Nianqiu hummed an off-key tune, preparing an incredibly lavish celebratory dinner with the newly acquired ingredients.

From the kitchen, the crisp clinking of pots and pans and her irrepressible, bell-like happy laughter occasionally drifted out.

Gu Zhixia leaned against the deck railing.

The sea breeze ruffled her dark, smooth hair, and she was meticulously wiping the damaged joints of the thunder dragon mecha with a soft velvet cloth, her head bowed.

Her focused and gentle expression was like someone tending to their closest lover.

They still didn't know that a storm far more terrifying than a World Boss had already locked onto them.

A true malice from the shadows of other sea areas was quietly approaching them.