54: Warp Drive

Lin Mo remained alone in the quiet cockpit.

The afterglow of the setting sun painted the clouds on the horizon a warm orange-red, and the light, filtering through the porthole, cast his solitary shadow long.

Lin Mo gazed at the sea outside the window, dyed crimson by the sunset, and the tension that had gripped him all day slowly eased. A faint, involuntary smile appeared on his weary face.

Those long, desperate thirty-plus hours felt like a bizarre nightmare.

And now, he had finally woken up.

Both girls should be fast asleep by now, especially Gu Nianqiu, who would probably sleep until noon tomorrow.

Lin Mo leaned back in the captain's chair, enjoying the moment of peace, while his consciousness delved into the ship's control system.

Just then, a gentle system prompt sounded in his mind.

"Congratulations! Mileage requirements met. Natural Selection has been upgraded to Level 15!"

"You have gained 10 Ship Exchange Points!"

"Current remaining Ship Exchange Points: 10 points."

"Detection: Ship level has reached a multiple of 5. You have received one special lottery chance!"

Lin Mo's spirits lifted slightly.

Special lottery.

This was a good thing; the 'Full Speed Ahead' he drew last time became their only lifeline at the critical moment.

He chose "Draw Now" without hesitation.

On the virtual panel before him, a slowly rotating wheel, composed of countless starlights, appeared.

There were no words on the wheel, only mysterious runes representing different modules and abilities.

Lin Mo's thought touched the activation button in the center of the wheel.

"Buzz—"

The wheel spun rapidly, countless runes flowing with brilliant light, too fast to discern.

Finally, its speed gradually slowed, and the pointer came to a steady stop on a rune filled with a sense of spatial distortion.

"Congratulations! You have obtained the Gold Rare Module: warp engine!"

"warp engine: Can be linked with the Flight Module to achieve superluminal travel by folding space ahead. During activation, flight speed increases by 1000%!"

"Cost: Energy consumption increases by 200%, and there is a certain load on the hull structure. With the current super capacitor capacity, operating the warp engine at full load can only last for fifteen minutes."

Lin Mo's breathing instantly quickened.

Ten times the flight speed!

He quickly calculated.

Natural Selection's current base flight speed is 54 kilometers per hour.

Ten times that would be 540 kilometers per hour!

If he stacked that with Full Speed Ahead, he didn't even dare to imagine how fast it would be!

Although it could only last for fifteen minutes and the energy consumption was terrifying, this was definitely a trump card that could change the tide of battle at a crucial moment!

With it, whether it was pursuit or escape, he would have absolute initiative.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Lin Mo turned his attention to the 10 Ship Exchange Points.

After the continuous fierce battles in the black fog, he deeply realized that Natural Selection's biggest weakness was its energy.

Whether it was the "Overclocking" of the High-Energy Laser or the newly acquired "warp engine," both were absolute power hogs.

The 100MW power output of the Micro Fusion Reactor was gradually becoming insufficient.

The power core must be upgraded.

His thoughts quickly entered the exchange list and found the upgrade option for the power module.

"Micro Fusion Engine → medium fusion engine"

"Upgrade Requirements: 10 Ship Exchange Points, Metal × 500, Wood × 200, Gem Core × 1"

Seeing the last requirement, Lin Mo's brows furrowed slightly.

Gem Core?

What was that?

He searched through the warehouse but couldn't find any material called "Gem Core."

Suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind.

The Red Mysterious Gem obtained after killing the "Deep Sea Stargazer," and the seven-colored glazed bead obtained after killing the Giant Kun.

Could these be the so-called "Gem Cores"?

With a trial-and-error mindset, he dragged the [Red Mysterious Gem] into the slot for upgrade materials.

"Material match successful!"

It worked!

Lin Mo's heart swelled with joy, and he unhesitatingly chose to confirm the upgrade.

"Consuming 10 Exchange Points, 5000 Metal, 2000 Wood, Red Mysterious Gem × 1, upgrading to medium fusion engine!"

Buzz—

A vibration more intense than any previous upgrade came from deep within the hull.

It was as if a new heart had begun to beat powerfully within Natural Selection.

The brightness of the lights in the cockpit suddenly increased by a notch.

"Upgrade successful! medium fusion engine is online! Current power output: 500MW!"

Feeling the energy flow surging within the ship, several times more powerful than before, Lin Mo let out a long sigh of relief.

The energy problem was temporarily solved.

After completing all this, he pulled up Natural Selection's full status panel and began to take stock of all the gains and changes in strength after this trip to the black fog.

"[Current Status Panel]"

"Ship Name: Natural Selection"

"Rarity: SSS-Class (Unique)"

"Current Ship Level: Level 15"

"Experience: 21857 / 300000"

"Ship Tier: Silver (Can advance to "Gold" at LV20)"

"Durability: 250000 / 250000"

"Ship Exchange Points: 0 points"

"Special Abilities (Talent Bound):"

"Voyage Upgrade: 1 meter traveled = 1 experience, Flight Mode = 3x experience."

"Upgrade Reward: Gain 10 Exchange Points per level."

"Special Lottery: Gain 1 lottery chance every 5 levels."

"[Captain Exclusive Skills (Obtained via Lottery)]"

"Remote Control (LV5 Draw - Blue): The Captain can remotely view the radar and mentally control the ship for simple movement and weapon firing within a 5-kilometer range."

"Full Speed Ahead (LV10 Draw - Gold): Consumes 300% power to increase flight speed by 10 times for 10 seconds. Afterward, causes engine overload, lasting 3 hours. Cooldown 24 hours."

"warp engine (LV15 Draw - Gold): Consumes 200% power to increase flight speed by 10 times. Can exceed the speed of light."

"[Unlocked Modules List]"

"[Basic Modules]"

"Large Storage Compartment, Large Cabin, Basic Sleeping Quarters"

"Basic Grappling Hook"

"Intermediate Kitchen: (Upgraded from Simple Kitchen) Includes oven, refrigerator, grill, etc."

"Medical Bay: (LV5 Unlocked) Can diagnose and treat injuries."

"Workbench: (Unlocked after LV10) Can craft ammunition, parts, etc."

"1 Metal Block + 1 Gunpowder = 10 Machine Gun Rounds"

"5 Metal Blocks + 1 Gunpowder = 1 Homing Missile"

"[Power Modules]"

"Medium Fusion Reactor: (Upgraded from Micro) Core energy source, power output 500MW."

"super capacitor: (LV3 Unlocked) Stores electricity to power high-energy consumption modules like flight."

"Intermediate Engine: Basic cruising speed increased by 50%, current speed 18km/h."

"Flight Module: (Default, requires prerequisite unlock) Allows flight, greatly enhancing maneuverability."

"warp engine: (LV15 Draw - Gold) Folds space for travel, flight speed × 10, energy consumption × 200%."

"[Defense Modules]"

"Electromagnetic Defense Barrier: (Unlocked after LV12) Generates an energy shield linked to the ship's durability, capable of blocking attacks and slowly recovering."

"[Weapon Modules]"

"Intermediate Homing Missile: (Upgraded from Basic) Attack power 200, fire rate 2 rounds/sec."

"Ship-Mounted Machine Gun: Attack power 40, fire rate 5 rounds/sec, requires manual/mental control."

"High-Energy Laser: (Upgraded from Energy Beam) Damage 500, range 5000 meters, 1-second charge."

"Special Skill (Overclock - from seven-colored glazed bead): Attack speed increases by 1000% for 10 seconds, after which the module overloads and is incapacitated."

"Tesla Electromagnetic Tower: (LV14 Unlocked) Deals area-of-effect chain lightning damage, with a paralyzing effect on biological targets."

"Special Skill (Beam of Destruction - from seven-colored glazed bead): Fires a 10x damage beam, causing 30 seconds of 'Absolute Stasis'."

Looking at this long list of dazzling modules, Lin Mo's eyes gleamed with unprecedented confidence.

From that initial small boat that couldn't even fly, to this current aerial battleship armed to the teeth.

Step by step, he had forged Natural Selection into the most lethal hunter in this apocalyptic ocean.

And all of this had only just begun.