26: Forward Four

【Deep Sea Blacksmith: Holy crap! Really! It really is a-rank cuisine! It's too delicious! And it increased my temporary mental attribute by 10 points! Worth it! So worth it!】

This message was like a depth charge, instantly igniting all the lurking players.

The previously sarcastic 【Dragon Soaring - Vanguard 1】 fell completely silent, likely off to report the situation to their boss.

And those players who were still hesitating, still haggling, were filled with regret.

Lin Mo closed the chat channel, deaf to the outside clamor.

He directly opened the Ship Upgrade panel, clicked on the 【Simple Kitchen】 icon, and chose to upgrade.

“Confirm.”

【Confirm to consume 10 exchange points, 30 metal blocks, and upgrade the kitchen module?】

“Confirm!”

The command was issued.

A muffled sound of metal friction and restructuring came from deep within the ship's hull, lasting for more than ten seconds before gradually subsiding.

【Ding! Kitchen module upgraded successfully! Current level: Intermediate!】

Lin Mo stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

The originally cramped space had visibly expanded by more than double.

Brand-new integrated metal cabinets replaced the simple cooking counter, and next to it, an embedded multi-functional oven and a large-capacity double-door refrigerator appeared. There was even a foldable barbecue grill in the corner.

This was no longer a simple kitchen; this configuration was more complete than a luxury apartment in peacetime.

“Go call your sister over,” Lin Mo said to Gu Nianqiu, who was following him, completely stunned.

“Oh, oh! Okay!”

Gu Nianqiu snapped out of it, and with her short legs, she scurried off to the deck to call for someone.

Soon, Gu Zhixia, who was still diligently practicing her marksmanship, was dragged into the cockpit by her excited younger sister.

She looked at Lin Mo, then at her sister who looked like she was about to take off on the spot, and frowned slightly.

“What is it now?”

Lin Mo leaned back in the captain's chair, pointing to a line of data on the control panel screen.

“Natural Selection is already level 9.”

“Experience: 66000 / 90000.”

“Which means, if we fly for another ten minutes or so, we can reach level 10.”

Gu Zhixia's eyes instantly changed.

Level 10 was an integer milestone.

Natural Selection could draw powerful skills again.

“Hold on tight.”

Lin Mo’s voice was calm.

He didn't explain further, simply closed his eyes, and his mental power instantly connected with the entire Natural Selection.

“Buzz—”

The massive hull trembled slightly, and the roar of the engine was much steadier and more powerful than before.

The warship lifted off the sea, climbing straight up, eventually hovering a hundred meters above the surface.

After the engine upgrade, the flying speed also saw a qualitative improvement.

The original cruising speed of only 15km/h was now a steady 54km/h on the dashboard!

“Wow! So fast!”

Gu Nianqiu pressed against the porthole, watching the rapidly receding sea below, and let out an excited cheer.

Suddenly, she pointed to the distant sea on the right and shouted loudly.

“Brother Mo! Sister! Look! There are ships there!”

Lin Mo looked in the direction she pointed.

Indeed.

About five kilometers to their right, on the sea, five all-white sailboats were arranged in a standard V-formation, riding the wind and waves.

Each ship's mast flew a flag with a silver seahorse design.

Judging by their speed and scale, each one should be an A-grade sailboat.

This was a well-organized and powerful player group.

“It seems some people have already started forming small teams,” Gu Zhixia adjusted her glasses.

“Don't mind them.”

Lin Mo retracted his gaze, his tone calm.

“We walk our own path.”

Just then, a green light dot suddenly flashed on the ship's radar map.

【Resource point detected: Floating Supply Crate Group (Normal)】

“Brother Mo, there's a supply point!” Gu Nianqiu, sharp-eyed, immediately exclaimed, “Should we go collect it?”

Gu Zhixia also looked at Lin Mo, awaiting his decision.

Although it was only a normal-grade supply crate, a mosquito, no matter how small, still yields blood.

Lin Mo's lips curved into an arc.

“Go.”

“Why wouldn't we go?”

He leaned back in his chair, his voice filled with absolute confidence.

“On this ship, we are invincible.”

With a thought, the massive hull of Natural Selection drew a graceful arc in the air, changed direction, and flew rapidly towards the green resource point.

The fleet with the seahorse flag on the ground was left far behind.

After flying for less than five minutes.

A dazzling golden light suddenly burst from the control panel screen, instantly illuminating the entire cockpit!

【Ding! Congratulations! Your ship 'Natural Selection' has been upgraded to LV10!】

【You have received a special lottery opportunity! Use it now?】

It's here!

Lin Mo's spirits lifted.

“Use!”

As soon as he spoke, a huge and magnificent golden roulette appeared before him.

The roulette was divided into countless grids, each shimmering with a different light, representing different rewards.

There were weapon blueprints, rare materials, special modules... a dazzling array.

“Stop!”

Lin Mo commanded.

The roulette spun rapidly, the pointer swiftly sweeping across countless grids, and finally, it slowly stopped on a grid emanating a blinding golden light!

In that grid, there were no items, no blueprints, only a skill icon.

The icon depicted a simple, crude, forward-pointing arrow.

【Ding! Congratulations! You have obtained the Captain's Exclusive Skill (Gold): Full Speed Ahead!】

【Full Speed Ahead: Consumes 300% of electricity, instantly boosts Natural Selection's flight speed to 10 times for 10 seconds! Cooldown: 24 hours.】

【Note: In this mode, the ship will experience immense overload. Please ensure all crew members are in a safe indoor environment.】

Full Speed Ahead?

Lin Mo looked at this simple and crude name, then at the even simpler and cruder skill effect, and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Ten times speed!

At the current speed of 54km/h, activating this skill would instantly rocket the speed to 540km/h!

This was no longer a spaceship; this was a missile flying low over the sea!

Whether for pursuit or escape, this was a trump card!

Lin Mo suppressed the excitement in his heart and opened the upgraded ship information panel.

New data appeared before his eyes.

【Ship Information Panel】

【Ship Name】: Natural Selection

【Rarity】: SSS-grade (Unique)

【Current Ship Level】: 10

【Experience】: 0 / 200,000

【Ship Tier】: Silver

【Durability】: 200,000 / 200,000

【Ship Exchange Points】: 37

【Captain's Exclusive Skills】: Remote Control (Blue), Full Speed Ahead (Gold)

【Unlocked Modules Overview】

【Basic Modules】: Large Storage Bay, Large Cabin, Basic Grappling Hook, Intermediate Kitchen, Initial Supplies, Basic Berths, Micro Fusion Reactor, super capacitor, Medical Bay

【Weapon Modules】: Homing Missile, Shipborne Machine Gun

【Power Modules】: Intermediate Engine

The durability limit increased to 200,000.

The experience required for upgrading expanded to 200,000, double the previous amount. It seemed every 10 levels was a critical milestone.