61: Don't guess, I did it.

The days of vacation were unrealistically pleasant.

Gu Nianqiu had completely let herself go, wearing a pink strawberry print Lolita dress and a wide-brimmed straw hat, currently lounging on a deck chair, her calves swinging back and forth, humming an off-key tune.

On the small table beside her were three glasses of iced fruit juice with tiny parasols, a masterpiece she had concocted using the refrigerator from the [Intermediate Kitchen] and scavenged fruits.

Gu Zhixia, in a black jk uniform, was at the other end of the deck, repeatedly wiping her Six-Harmony Long Spear.

The sea breeze ruffled her dark hair, and the sunlight cast a warm glow on her cold and elegant profile. She didn't speak, but her tense shoulders had unknowingly relaxed.

Lin Mo leaned against the railing, taking a sip of Gu Nianqiu's special fruit juice. Its sweet, sour, and refreshing taste greatly eased his nerves, which had been taut for days.

He gazed at the tranquil yet magnificent sea before him, then at the two girls beside him.

This feeling was truly wonderful.

"Brother Mo, where are we going to play next?"

Gu Nianqiu sat up from the lounge chair, looking at him with eyes full of anticipation.

"No rush."

Lin Mo put down his juice glass, walked into the cockpit, and sat back in the captain's chair.

"Before deciding where to go, let's see how everyone else is doing."

With a slight thought, a virtual projection screen slowly unfolded before the three of them.

[Regional Chat Channel (ID 9527)]

The moment the screen lit up, countless messages refreshed like a waterfall.

[Wang Ermazi]: Does anyone still have fresh water? Please! I'll trade 20 units of wood for one liter! I'm dying of thirst!

[Live On]: My boat is about to be caught by the black fog behind me! Can anyone pull me along! I can give him all my supplies! Help!

[Fishing Master Never Returns Empty-Handed]: Damn it! Another day without catching fish, I've almost gnawed all the bark off the trees! How the hell do you play this broken game!

[Zhang Dadang]: Is anyone teaming up? I can't hold on much longer alone, there are a few mutated wild boars on the island ahead, and I can't beat them!

Despair, wailing, begging.

The entire channel was filled with a suffocating apocalyptic atmosphere.

In the upper right corner of the screen, a bright red number stung everyone's eyes.

[Current Remaining People in Area: 7124]

Gu Nianqiu's small face immediately fell, and she clutched her skirt, whispering.

"How... how could this be... I remember when we first arrived, there were over ten thousand people."

Gu Zhixia's gaze remained indifferent.

"survival of the fittest, it's normal."

Her words were cruel, but they were the truest law of this world.

Lin Mo didn't speak; he just calmly scrolled through the screen, quickly browsing the messages.

Most people were still struggling at the brink of starvation.

To escape the endless black fog behind them, they had to desperately paddle their crude rafts forward, slowly having their Life drained away under the dual torment of hunger and fear.

Just then.

An abrupt message caught Lin Mo's attention.

[Gouhuo is King]: How strange, why is that Longxiang Fleet of mad dogs so quiet? Weren't they still strutting around in the channel and buying up materials two days ago?

This message was like a stone thrown into a dead lake.

[I Love Farming]: Now that you mention it, it's true! Those guys were like locusts passing through, eager to buy up all the resources in the entire channel. Why did they suddenly go silent?

[Li Dazhuang]: I remember two days ago, they were still competing with that big shot named 'survival of the fittest' to buy things! The speed at which they flooded the screen scared me so much I didn't dare to speak.

[Trembling]: Hiss... don't say it, I suddenly have a very scary thought... that big shot 'survival of the fittest' also seems to have stopped talking much after that.

[The Truth Is Only One]: Holy crap! Upstairs, you're not trying to say... the big shot... wiped out the Longxiang Fleet, are you?!

As soon as this guess came out, the entire channel instantly exploded!

[I'm Not a Contradictor]: What kind of international joke is that?! That's the Longxiang Fleet! I saw their ships with my own eyes, several of them! The leading one was like a sea fortress! Can one person take on a fleet? Do you think this is a movie?!

[Keyboard Warrior]: Exactly! There has to be a limit to bragging, right? No matter how awesome 'survival of the fittest' is, can he be more awesome than dozens of ships and hundreds of people? I'll bet a pack of spicy strips that the Longxiang Fleet must have encountered some big monster and was completely wiped out!

[Old Wang Next Door]: I think so too, this possibility is greater.

In the channel, the arguments were endless.

Most people couldn't believe that a player could, by himself, take down a massive, heavily armed fleet.

This completely exceeded their scope of understanding.

Gu Zhixia looked at the argument on the screen, a mocking arc forming at the corner of her mouth.

"A bunch of frogs at the bottom of a well."

Gu Nianqiu, however, looked at Lin Mo with eyes full of admiration, asking in a low voice.

"Brother Mo, the 'survival of the fittest' they're talking about, is that us?"

Lin Mo nodded.

He looked at the doubting comments, his gaze calm.

Then, he reached out his finger and slowly typed a line of text on the virtual keyboard.

[survival of the fittest]: Don't guess.

[survival of the fittest]: I did it.

[survival of the fittest]: They provoked me, and wouldn't listen to advice.

Three consecutive messages, like three bolts of heavenly lightning, struck hard on the crown of every person's head in the chat channel!

The entire channel fell into a deathly silence for several seconds.

Immediately after.

There was an explosion like a mountain collapse and a tsunami!

[Holy crap!!!!]

[Holy crap holy crap holy crap!! The big shot appeared!]

[What the hell did I just see?! The real deal himself showed up?!]

[I'm dumbfounded... did one person really take down a fleet?!]

[Big shot! You are my god! Please accept my prostration!]

[Where's that guy who said it was bragging before? Does your face hurt? @I'm Not a Contradictor]

The entire chat channel was completely submerged by countless exclamation marks and "holy crap"s.

Everyone's worldview was shattered at this moment by Lin Mo's understated three sentences.

However, Lin Mo completely ignored their adulation.

He continued to type on the keyboard.

[survival of the fittest]: Also, I'm buying clues for all known high-level resource islands, or clues for special-effect premium food recipes.

[survival of the fittest]: Can be exchanged for any basic resources you desperately need, including but not limited to food, fresh water, wood, and metal.

[survival of the fittest]: Give me the information first, and I'll give you the items after confirmation.

The new messages once again sent the entire channel into a frenzy.

If admitting to destroying the Longxiang Fleet was displaying his god-like martial prowess to everyone.

Then this current message was displaying his immense wealth, comparable to a nation's, to everyone!

While everyone else was still worrying about a sip of water and a piece of bread, this big shot was already using these things to exchange for "intelligence"!

This was no longer a dimensionality reduction attack.

This was the Creator God looking down on mortals!

Gu Zhixia looked at the overwhelming praise and worship on the screen, then glanced at the man beside her, who was as calm as if nothing had happened.

Her phoenix eyes sparkled with brilliance.

This man always managed to do the most shocking things inadvertently.

"Brother Mo... you're so handsome!"

Gu Nianqiu's small face flushed red, and stars almost seemed to pop out of her eyes as she looked at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo turned off the noisy chat channel and leaned back into the captain's chair, his expression unchanged.

For him, this was merely adding a little bit of fun to his upcoming "holiday" Life.