67: What the fuck is this?!

Night fell, like thick ink spilled across the sky, completely merging the heavens and the sea.

Only the bright, cold moon, suspended at the highest point of the firmament, cast its clear light upon the world.

The Natural Selection, like an elegant silver leviathan, silently cruised at an altitude of a thousand meters.

The warp engine had long since been shut down; what propelled it now was the steady and powerful rhythm of its large fusion engine.

Inside the cockpit, warm lights dispelled the coldness from outside the window.

Through the enormous curved viewport, one could see the churning clouds below, their edges bathed in a sacred silver by the moonlight, and through occasional gaps, the deep, almost black surface of the sea.

This magnificent yet solitary scene had been observed by the three of them for a long time.

"Do we still need to keep watch at night from now on?"

Gu Zhixia's voice broke the silence.

She had changed out of her practical black jk uniform and was now leaning against the viewport, her gaze fixed on the profound world below.

Lin Mo leaned back in the spacious captain's chair, his hands clasped, his expression relaxed.

"No need."

He shook his head, his tone steady and resolute.

"At our current altitude and cruising speed, nothing in this starter village could possibly threaten us."

"Even if there were, it couldn't catch up."

"Even if it could catch up, it couldn't break through our defenses."

Three consecutive short sentences, each filled with unquestionable confidence.

Gu Zhixia looked out the window thoughtfully, seemingly processing this fact.

They were now operating on a completely different dimension from other survivors on this ocean.

Lin Mo seemed to see through the subtle unease in her heart and added, "Don't worry."

"Even in a sleeping state, I maintain the deepest mental link with this ship."

"Should any unusual situation arise, I will awaken immediately."

These words were like a reassurance, allowing Gu Zhixia's tense shoulders to completely relax.

She turned her head, her sharp phoenix eyes appearing much softer in the light.

"It's getting late."

Lin Mo glanced at the time.

"You two should go get some rest early."

"When we wake up tomorrow morning, it'll be time to test out our new toys."

The words "new toys" instantly made Gu Zhixia's eyes light up, her yearning for the mecha almost overflowing from them.

"Okay!"

Gu Nianqiu also nodded vigorously. She let out a cute yawn and rubbed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Brother Mo! Goodnight, Sister!"

The two sisters left the cockpit one after another, heading back to their rooms to rest.

Lin Mo sat alone in the captain's chair, confirming that all settings were accurate.

The Natural Selection was tirelessly circling automatically in a massive, ten-kilometer radius along its preset course.

Experience points were continuously accumulating in a stable and efficient manner.

Having completed all of this, he also stood up and walked back to his own sleeping cabin... Meanwhile.

Just below the Natural Selection's patrol route, on an unnamed island.

A bright bonfire crackled in the darkness, dispelling the chill of the night.

A dozen weather-beaten men sat around the bonfire, their faces beaming with the joy of surviving a disaster.

Over the fire, several large pieces of pork sizzled and dripped with oil, their rich aroma filling the air, making everyone involuntarily swallow.

"Thanks to Boss! If you hadn't led us to slaughter those mutated wild boars on the island, we'd still be gnawing on tree bark right now!"

A burly man with a scar on his face said, cutting off a piece of piping hot roasted meat with a dagger, his face full of flattery towards the man sitting in the main seat.

"Yes, yes! Following Boss, we'll definitely survive!"

Another person immediately echoed.

The man called "Boss," Zhao Tianlong, listened with satisfaction to his subordinates' flattery, grabbed a large, perfectly roasted pork leg, and took a hearty bite.

Just then.

The sky seemed to darken for an instant.

The bonfire's light, as if momentarily obscured by something, then returned to normal.

"Hmm?"

Zhao Tianlong frowned, looking up at the sky.

"What's going on?"

Everyone followed his gaze and looked overhead.

The moonlight was still bright.

In the night sky, there was nothing but stars.

"Boss, you must have seen wrong, right? Maybe it was just the wind," said Scarface nonchalantly.

No sooner had he spoken.

That enormous shadow, once again, silently swept over their heads.

This time, everyone saw it clearly.

That was no cloud!

"What... what is that?!"

A timid man, so scared that the roasted meat in his hand dropped to the ground, pointed at the sky, his voice filled with terror.

"Is... is it a monster from the sky?"

Zhao Tianlong suddenly stood up, staring intently at the sky.

He saw an incredibly massive, pitch-black, spindle-shaped object slowly circling, round and round, high in the sky above them.

It made no sound, just hung there silently, like a deity looking down on ants.

Its cold, oppressive silhouette sent a chill through everyone present, a chill that seemed to emanate from their very bones.

"Call Yang Feng over!"

Zhao Tianlong's voice became incredibly solemn.

Soon, a thin young man wearing black-rimmed glasses was pushed out from behind the crowd by two burly men.

He was Yang Feng, the only S-Rank Talent holder in the entire team.

[S-Rank Talent: Eye of Data]

"Yang Feng, use your ability to see what the hell that thing is!" Zhao Tianlong commanded sharply.

"Yes... yes, Boss."

Yang Feng trembled as he pushed up his glasses, suppressing the fear in his heart, and looked up at the behemoth hovering in the night sky.

In the depths of his pupils, a faint, almost imperceptible blue glow instantly lit up.

The next second.

A torrent of data, like a waterfall, filled with madness and chaos, violently surged into his brain!

[Ship Name: SSS-Class Natural Selection]

[Ship Level: 20]

[Durability: 300,000 / 300,000]

[Energy Shield: 300,000 / 300,000]

[Power Core: Large Fusion Engine (Current output 2000MW)]

[Weapon Systems: High-Energy Laser Cannons, Tracking Missile Arrays, CIWS Shipborne Machine Guns, Tesla Electromagnetic Towers...]

[...]

Line after line of text, each word like a red-hot branding iron, searing itself onto Yang Feng's retina.

SSS-Class... three hundred thousand durability and shields... and that long list of weapons he couldn't even fully see, whose names alone were enough to suffocate a person... What... what the hell is this?!

With a "thud."

Yang Feng's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.

The color drained from his face instantly, turning ashen white, and his eyes, looking through his glasses at the sky, were filled with extreme, incomprehensible terror and breakdown.

He pointed at the sky, his lips trembling, and let out a distorted shriek from his throat, as if his neck were being choked.

"Mo... monster..."

"Monster!!!"