56: Defeat Long Yuan and harvest a large amount of loot

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Mo unilaterally cut off the communication.

The dark screen reflected Long Yuan's face, twisted by extreme fear.

He didn't give the other party any more chances to speak.

Pity is reserved for one's own kind.

And Long Yuan had long since abandoned his right to be human.

Lin Mo's eyes were devoid of warmth, and his mind instantly connected to the fire control system.

"Tesla Electromagnetic Tower, activate."

Hum—

In the middle of the Natural Selection's hull, the top coils of the retro-futuristic metal tower instantly flashed with dangerous blue electrical arcs.

This was not a conventional attack.

It was a charge.

A deadly charge, for a one-hit kill.

Inside the Bridge of the flagship, Long Yuan, like a madman, desperately tried to control his dilapidated battleship to escape.

But the exhaustion of his mental power made every one of his commands appear sluggish and powerless.

"Trying to run?"

Lin Mo's lips curved into a cruel arc.

He had no intention of giving his prey any chance to breathe.

"Tracking missiles, launch."

"High-energy lasers, launch."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several tracking missiles, trailing long plumes of smoke, roared out like a pack of sharks smelling blood, drawing deadly arcs in the air, completely engulfing the flagship from all directions!

On the surface of the flagship's hull, a faint energy shield barely lit up, but under the barrage of missiles, it flickered violently like a candle in the wind.

Boom—!

The violent explosions riddled the already scarred hull with craters, and countless metal fragments splattered everywhere.

[Dealt 3000 damage to flagship, remaining durability 10547 / 50000]

Long Yuan stared intently at the rapidly decreasing durability, his eyes filled with nothing but endless despair.

He couldn't understand.

He completely couldn't understand.

Just a day ago, this ship's attacks were clearly very crude, and the power of its lasers and missiles was quite limited.

How long had it been?

Why had it become so terrifying!

Just then, he saw the metal tower on the Natural Selection, flashing with blue electrical arcs, its light suddenly intensifying to the extreme.

A destructive aura, enough to make his soul tremble, firmly locked onto his flagship.

"No..."

A beast-like roar escaped Long Yuan's throat.

Lin Mo's eyes were as still as an ancient well.

His will brazenly activated the skill that could turn the tide of battle.

"Beam of Destruction!"

Zzzzzzt—!!!

At the top of the Tesla Electromagnetic Tower, it was no longer the wild electrical snakes from before.

Instead, it was an incredibly condensed, thick blue light pillar, like a dragon, that struck the Bridge of the flagship with a speed beyond visual limits!

There was no violent explosion.

Only a dead silence, an energy disintegration that could swallow light.

A terrifying damage number popped up before Lin Mo's eyes!

[-5000!]

["Absolute Stun" effect triggered! All flagship modules are in a 30-second paralyzed state!]

The flagship's hull suddenly stiffened.

The already precarious energy shield instantly vanished like a popped soap bubble, silently disintegrating.

All operating systems, lights, and engines on the ship extinguished at this moment.

The entire ship completely transformed into an iron coffin floating on the sea.

Long Yuan collapsed into the captain's chair, staring in disbelief at the completely dark control panel before him, and at the Natural Selection, hovering in the air like a god outside the porthole.

All his defenses, all his means of counterattack, were completely destroyed by this single blow.

He was now fish on a chopping block.

"High-energy laser."

Lin Mo's voice was like the final judgment.

From the bow, a dazzling red light beam brazenly shot out, precisely hitting the flagship's power core.

This time, no shield could stop it.

The red light beam easily pierced through the fragile armor and poured into the ship's interior.

Boom—!!!

A muffled roar came from inside the flagship.

Long Yuan slowly raised his head, and through the porthole, took one last look at the excessively young man on the screen.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something.

Ultimately, it only turned into a low murmur filled with unwillingness and despair.

"Young Captain...you...are truly ruthless..."

Before he finished speaking.

The flagship's durability was completely depleted.

The massive hull did not explode, nor was there any fire.

It simply...disintegrated silently.

Like a sand painting erased by an invisible hand, the hull, deck, and mast all instantly turned into primal, shimmering material fragments, scattering like a galaxy across the entire sea.

The world fell silent.

"Wow! Brother Mo! It exploded! So many, many things exploded!"

Gu Nianqiu's small face was pressed against the porthole, her large eyes, always brimming with innocence and cheerfulness, now sparkled with a radiance brighter than all the spoils of war.

"We're rich!"

She shouted excitedly, then turned and ran towards the deck.

"I'll help pick them up!"

Gu Zhixia also walked over. She looked at the sea covered with countless points of light, and in her cold and beautiful phoenix eyes, besides the relief of surviving a catastrophe, there was more shock and an indescribable sense of reliance.

She glanced at Lin Mo, said nothing, but silently followed her sister's steps, skillfully operating the grappling hook module to retrieve the resources floating on the sea one by one.

Lin Mo leaned back in the captain's chair, letting out a long sigh.

The grudge with Long Yuan had finally come to an end.

He brought up the system panel and, looking at the rapidly increasing amount of resources, a rare smile appeared on his tired face.

It had to be said, as an SS-class battleship, the flagship dropped an astonishing amount of materials.

The three of them spent nearly half an hour tallying all the spoils.

[Obtained Wood × 800]

[Obtained Metal × 1500]

[Obtained Gunpowder × 500]

[Obtained purple crystal core × 5]

[Obtained orange crystal core × 5]

[Obtained blue crystal core × 5]

[Obtained rare gems: Ruby × 3, Sapphire × 2, Emerald × 5...]

A series of system prompts almost filled the entire screen.

In addition to these basic materials and regular gems, Lin Mo also saw a few things that surprised him.

[Obtained Precision Chip × 20]

[Obtained Superconducting Material × 10]

These were clearly not things Long Yuan could have manufactured himself.

The only explanation was that he had acquired these high-level supplies by decomposing countless followers' ships through "Recruit and Command."

He built his own strength by piling up the Lives of others.

Lin Mo looked at these spoils, his eyes unwavering.

He only became more resolute in his belief.

On this apocalyptic ocean, any form of soft-heartedness was the greatest irresponsibility to oneself and one's companions.

After tallying the spoils, he refocused his attention on the Natural Selection itself.

After a series of fierce battles in the black fog, especially the thrilling escape at the end, he deeply realized that energy remained the biggest shortcoming limiting the Natural Selection's combat power.

Whether it was "Overclock" or the "warp engine," both were undeniable power hogs.

He had to prioritize solving this problem.

Lin Mo's mind quickly sank into the ship's upgrade interface, his gaze fixed on the two core options of the power module.

The medium fusion engine, and the super capacitor.

Only by making this "heart" stronger and making the "blood bank" for storing energy more abundant could the Natural Selection truly achieve long-term, high-intensity sustained flight and combat.

This was their fundamental means of survival in this perilous ocean.