62: Zero Yuan Shopping Supermarket

The three bombshells Lin Mo dropped in the chat channel continued to reverberate wildly.

The entire 9527 regional channel had completely devolved into a discussion forum for the “survival of the fittest” myth.

The vacation days were so pleasant it felt unreal.

The upgrade plan for the Natural Selection was meticulously arranged by Lin Mo.

He found a perfect balance point.

The surging power of the medium fusion engine was enough to support the flight module for an hour of high-speed cruising, leaving an elegant yet deadly trajectory in the sky.

This hour would bring the Natural Selection a massive amount of experience points.

And when the super capacitor's energy ran low, he would maneuver the battleship to slowly descend, like a silent steel feather, gently settling on the azure sea surface.

Next was another hour of silent charging time.

Flying, charging, then flying again.

Like a tireless perpetual motion machine, repeating endlessly.

The experience bar steadily advanced towards the 18th level at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Gu Nianqiu had completely let herself go.

She changed into a pink Lolita dress covered in cute strawberries, wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat with lace trim, and strolled back and forth on the deck.

Her two calves, clad in white bubble socks, swung in the air as she hummed a tune she didn't even recognize.

On the small table beside her were three special fruit teas, each adorned with a delicate mini parasol.

They were her masterpieces, concocted from milk from the kitchen and fruits picked from the Tree of Wisdom earlier, emitting a peculiar sweet aroma.

“You have consumed a special dish, Colorful Fruit Tea. Agility attribute permanently +3.”

Gu Zhixia was at the other end of the deck.

She didn't, as usual, repeatedly wipe the Six-Harmony Long Spear that was always by her side.

The spear leaned quietly against the railing.

She simply leaned against the railing, seemingly gazing at the boundless and magnificent seascape outside the window, but her gaze always unconsciously drifted towards the steady back of the man standing nearby.

The sea breeze ruffled her dark, smooth hair, and the afternoon sun cast a warm, soft glow on her cold and beautiful profile.

Those shoulders, always tense, had unknowingly completely relaxed.

“Hey.”

She finally couldn't help but speak, her voice soft, yet it broke the silence in the cockpit.

“Are you still thinking about that dream?”

Lin Mo's gaze did not leave the horizon, he just faintly hummed in response.

“Thinking about some things.”

Gu Zhixia pursed her lips, not pressing further about the dream's content.

She changed the subject, her tone casual as if chatting idly.

“What are your specific plans next?”

“Upgrade.”

Lin Mo's answer was concise and to the point.

“Upgrade the ship to Level 18. After Level 18, our ship will be able to fly permanently.”

Gu Zhixia looked at him, at his eyes that remained absolutely calm at all times, and suddenly felt that this might be the reason he had come this far.

Focused, pure, always knowing what his goal was.

Another hour of flight ended, and the Natural Selection once again landed smoothly on the sea surface, entering charging mode.

Lin Mo finally stood up from the driver's seat, stretching his somewhat stiff body.

He walked to the deck, picked up a glass of Gu Nianqiu's special fruit juice, and the cool, sweet and sour liquid slid down his throat, bringing a moment of relief to his nerves, which had been tense for many days.

He leaned against the railing and opened the private message interface of his personal terminal.

After he openly admitted to destroying the Longxiang Fleet, the message notifications here had completely exploded.

The cursor flickered, and one dialogue box after another was opened.

“Big brother! Deity! Boss! You are my reborn parents! Please, please accept me! I'll be your ox and horse, as long as I can follow your ship and have a sip of soup!”

Lin Mo's eyes showed nofluctuation, and he swiped his finger lightly.

Delete.

“Esteemed ‘survival of the fittest’ Sir, your god-like power is enough to illuminate this dark ocean! I am willing to offer you everything, including my loyalty and Life!”

Another meaningless flattery, piled with flowery rhetoric.

Delete.

“Boss, I have the coordinates of a small island here, with a few coconut trees on it. Can I exchange them for ten liters of fresh water?”

Lin Mo didn't even bother to compare it with his radar scan results.

Delete.

The vast majority of messages were such humble pleas, cheap adoration, or worthless transactions.

These people didn't even qualify to be used by him.

Gu Zhixia also came over, looking at the frantically refreshing messages on the screen, a hint of undisguised mockery curving her lips.

“What a bunch of pathetic creatures.”

Lin Mo was noncommittal.

He quickly scrolled through the screen, his gaze like the most precise scanner, filtering out all useless information.

Just as he was about to close this window full of junk messages, a private message with a very concise title caught his attention.

“Intelligence Exchange.”

No flattery, no begging, just four simple, clear words.

Lin Mo's fingertip paused for a moment, then he opened the message.

The sender's ID was equally concise.

“Planner.”

The content of the message was more like a clearly organized report.

“Target: Unknown Island.”

“Location: Coordinates (745, -128).”

“Features: There is a natural cave in the center of the island. At the deepest part of the cave, there is a stone portal that cannot be destroyed by any means.”

“Risk: After the portal is activated, the destination is completely random. There is a very high probability of encountering high-level monster groups. Our team has lost two members because of this.”

“Benefit: There is a very small probability of entering a special reward space. We once entered a space called ‘Zero-Cost Supermarket’, where all materials inside could be taken infinitely within thirty seconds.”

“Key Intelligence: Due to the lack of spatial storage items, our harvest was extremely limited within those thirty seconds.”

“Request: Seeking cooperation to explore together.”

Lin Mo's breathing paused for a moment.

His gaze was fixed on those key words.

Portal.

Random.

Zero-Cost Supermarket.

And... spatial storage item.

This word, like a flash of lightning, pierced through a blind spot he had deliberately ignored all this time.

He subconsciously glanced at his empty hands, then looked back at the vast storage compartment deep within the ship, large enough to hold a small mountain.

On the Natural Selection, he had almost infinite storage space.

But once he left the ship... he was just an ordinary person with strength but unable to carry any extra supplies.

The scene of the “Zero-Cost Supermarket” was the sharpest satire of this weakness of his.

Even if a mountain of gold were placed before him, how much could he carry with his bare hands in thirty seconds?

An item similar to a storage ring was not just icing on the cake, but absolutely essential.

That would be a qualitative leap.

Lin Mo's eyes, for the first time, became incredibly sharp.

He immediately typed a reply below that private message.

“survival of the fittest”: After the information is confirmed, I will pay the reward. State your conditions.

His reply was still so direct, without a trace of emotion.

The other party's response was also very fast, almost instantaneous.

“Planner”: We don't want a reward.

“Planner”: What we want is to team up with you and enter that door together. Our people cannot safely exit the portal under the siege of monsters.

“Planner”: If we enter a reward space again next time, we only want one-tenth of the supplies inside.

This condition surprised Lin Mo a little.

The other party was very smart.

They clearly knew that that door was an opportunity they couldn't touch, and forcing it would only lead to a dead end.

Rather than starving to death while sitting on a mountain of gold, it was better to use this intelligence to exchange for an ally powerful enough to crush all obstacles.

This was not begging at all, but an equivalent exchange.

In Lin Mo's mind, the nightmare of being betrayed flashed uncontrollably again.

Cooperating with strangers always carried risks.

But, a repeatable, infinitely possible portal, a zero-cost shopping opportunity... this risk was worth taking.

He had absolute confidence in himself and in the Natural Selection.

Any conspiracy or trickery would appear pale and powerless in the face of absolute strength.

Lin Mo no longer hesitated.

“survival of the fittest”: Okay.

“survival of the fittest”: Tomorrow at 2 PM, gather at the target island.