57: Night falls

Night completely devoured the last embers of the setting sun on the horizon.

A bright, full moon broke free from the clouds, hanging high in the deep blue velvet sky.

The cold, watery moonlight poured down unreservedly, illuminating the entire sea like a mirror strewn with crushed diamonds, revealing an almost illusory tranquility.

The Natural Selection hung silently in mid-air, the faint electromagnetic defense barrier on its hull shimmering with barely perceptible ripples under the moonlight.

On the deck, the salty, damp sea breeze brushed against their faces, carrying the clean, sharp scent unique to the ocean, finally dispersing the lingering decay and despair of the black mist that had clung to their nostrils.

Lin Mo leaned against the cold metal railing, his nerves, taut for a whole day, finally getting a moment's respite.

Beside him, Gu Zhixia, for once, wasn't holding her spear. She simply crossed her arms, quietly gazing at the distant sea surface dyed silver-white by the moonlight.

Her profile appeared exceptionally soft under the moonlight. Those phoenix eyes, usually sharp as knives, were now unusually calm, reflecting the starry sky.

"Wow! Brother Mo, sister, look!"

Gu Nianqiu's exclamation shattered the post-calamity peace.

Her small face almost pressed against the railing, she pointed towards the distant sea, her large eyes sparkling with childlike delight.

"Dolphins!"

Following her pointing finger, they saw a pod of dolphins chasing the moonlight, leaping out of the water from time to time, tracing graceful silver arcs before silently plunging back in.

This vibrant scene formed a stark contrast to the silent, despairing hell within the previous black mist.

"So wonderful..."

Gu Nianqiu propped her chin on her hands, a satisfied smile spreading across her face.

"It feels like everything that happened before was just a nightmare."

Gu Zhixia withdrew her gaze from the dolphins, but her brows unconsciously furrowed slightly.

"That black mist... was strange."

Her voice was very low, carrying a trace of lingering gravity.

"It absolutely couldn't have been the black mist behind the initial area, the one used to limit our range of movement."

"We left that behind who knows how long ago."

Gu Nianqiu blinked her big eyes, asking somewhat confusedly.

"Then why did that black mist suddenly appear?"

Lin Mo finally spoke. His voice seemed somewhat ethereal in the sea breeze, yet exceptionally clear.

"Because it was never something that should exist in this world."

Gu Zhixia whipped her head around to look at him, a flicker of astonishment in her eyes.

"You mean..."

"The creature levels inside were abnormally high."

Lin Mo's gaze pierced through the calm sea before him, as if retracing that heart-palpitating darkness.

"A LV25 Giant Kun, and that final, bizarre sea composed of countless monsters."

"A threat of that level... even if the Longxiang Fleet at its peak were caught in it, they absolutely wouldn't have been able to escape unscathed, let alone us."

Gu Zhixia nodded deeply in agreement, her expression growing even more serious.

"Right. That was no longer a simple survival challenge. It was a guaranteed massacre."

Lin Mo's gaze slowly swept over the still-functioning control panel lights, his voice dropping even lower.

"More crucially, the moment we were pulled into the black mist, all our ship's detection equipment, including radar and communications, completely failed."

"For over twenty hours, we were like the blind and the deaf, trapped in a closed hunting ground."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of icy mockery.

"The master of this survival world, though ruthless, has rules that are, at least on the surface, fair."

"It issues missions, gives hints, uses disasters to force us to grow stronger. But it never uses such methods to strip us of all our ability to resist."

"That doesn't align with its logic."

A deathly silence fell over the cockpit.

Only the howl of the sea wind and the playful sounds of distant dolphins intertwined.

Gu Zhixia's face gradually turned pale.

She wasn't a fool. She instantly understood the bone-chilling implication in Lin Mo's words.

"Someone... is targeting us?"

"Or rather, targeting the 'Natural Selection'."

Lin Mo delivered the final conclusion.

That hidden hand behind the scenes possessed capabilities far beyond their imagination, even capable of temporarily distorting this world's rules to create a certain-death trap.

Just thinking about it sent a chill racing up Gu Zhixia's spine from the base of her skull.

"But it's okay."

Gu Nianqiu's voice broke the suffocatingly heavy atmosphere.

She walked over, hugging Lin Mo's and Gu Zhixia's arms on either side, her small face blooming with a bright smile once more.

"We still managed to escape in the end!"

"All of this is thanks to Brother Mo!"

She looked up, her eyes filled with admiration and trust for Lin Mo, as if with this man around, even if the sky fell, there would be nothing to fear.

Looking at her innocent, radiant smile, the gravity in Lin Mo's heart dissipated somewhat.

He reached out and ruffled the girl's hair.

"Actually, I should thank you both too."

His gaze shifted from Gu Nianqiu to Gu Zhixia's face.

"Without Zhi Xia holding off those monsters on the deck, I wouldn't have had time to think of a countermeasure."

"And without Nianqiu's dishes that permanently increase mental attributes, we might not have lasted until the radar recovered. Our minds would have collapsed first, completely devoured by those illusions and whispers."

Praised so directly, Gu Zhixia's cheeks uncontrollably flushed slightly.

She somewhat awkwardly turned her head away, averting her gaze.

"But... the main credit is still yours, Lin Mo."

Unnoticed, the sky had completely darkened.

The moonlight grew brighter, and the sea breeze carried a hint of coolness.

Gu Zhixia glanced at the undeniable exhaustion on Lin Mo's face and finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Hey."

Her voice was a bit stiff.

"Go rest. Zhi Xia and I will keep watch here."

Lin Mo shook his head, turning his gaze back to the calm sea.

"No need. The engine paralysis cooldown just ended. I'll let the supercapacitor charge a bit longer."

"Once the energy is full and I confirm all systems are back to normal, then I'll rest."

"What's there to confirm?"

Gu Zhixia's brows furrowed, her tone growing heavier.

"Right now, we have the electromagnetic defense barrier covering us. Even if some reckless monster does approach, it couldn't possibly cause us any real harm."

She paused, her voice taking on a tone of unquestionable command.

"You haven't slept for over thirty hours. Go to bed. Now."

Lin Mo turned to look at her, somewhat helplessly.

Under the moonlight, the girl's phoenix eyes, usually full of edge, were now filled with stubbornness and a concern she herself hadn't noticed.

For some reason, the memory of that soft, cool kiss under the sunset uncontrollably resurfaced in Lin Mo's mind.

He remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded.

"Alright."

Gu Zhixia seemed not to have expected him to agree so readily. She was taken aback for a second before reacting, a look of satisfaction flashing across her face.

She forced herself to maintain her aloof demeanor.

"Go on, then."

Looking at her adorable, tough-exterior-soft-heart appearance, a faint smile finally appeared on Lin Mo's weary face.

He turned and walked towards the direction of the rest cabin.

From behind came Gu Zhixia's slightly flustered voice.

"Nianqiu, let's go to the kitchen and see if there's anything for a midnight snack!"

"Yeah! Yeah!"

Listening to the fading footsteps of the two sisters behind him, Lin Mo walked alone into the quiet rest cabin.

He didn't lie down immediately.

Instead, he leaned against the door, quietly listening to the faint clinking of pots and pans and the hushed, cheerful chatter of the girls coming from outside.

This cold steel warship, because of their presence, finally held a trace of the warmth of a "home."

Lin Mo let out a long sigh, collapsing heavily onto the soft, large bed.

Boundless weariness, like a tidal wave, instantly engulfed him.