The sea breeze carried a pungent, fishy stench—the distinct smell of high-level creature blood.
The waters around the "President" now resembled a pot of boiling green bean soup.
Although the "Abyssal Lord" had fled, the mess it left behind remained.
Countless sea fish floated belly-up, their flesh corroded directly into skeletons by that green blood.
Qi Chun's communication had already ended.
Qin Yu spat the unlit cigarette from his mouth into the sea.
"Ruo Bing, activate the automatic cleaning mode and wash away the acidic fluid on the deck."
"Prioritize the remaining energy for repairing the power system."
Li Ruobing clutched her dislocated arm, beads of cold sweat covering her forehead, but she gritted her teeth and nodded.
"Understood."
"What about you?"
Qin Yu walked to the ship's railing and looked down at the turbid seawater.
Although that earlier shot hadn't managed to keep the big guy here...
The fragments blasted off from it were genuine treasures.
Especially what had fallen out of that exploded eyeball.
The system's notification tones hadn't stopped since earlier, frantically scrolling through Qin Yu's mind.
[High-energy biological tissue residue detected!]
[SSS-grade biological activity sample detected!]
["Abyss Essence" detected!]
Qin Yu stretched his stiff neck, producing a crisp crack.
"I'm going to clean up."
"Such good feed shouldn't go to waste."
With that, Qin Yu didn't hesitate in the slightest.
Splash!
He dove directly into the green seawater that was still bubbling.
...
Soon.
He saw it.
Suspended about thirty meters below the "President" were several massive black objects.
They were fragments from the shattered carapace of the "Abyssal Lord."
And at the center of these fragments, a purple-gold glow shone, exceptionally dazzling in the pitch-black depths of the sea.
It was a crystal the size of a millstone.
The core that had fallen from that exploded eyeball!
Qin Yu kicked his legs, swimming like a nimble fish as he swiftly dove toward it.
Closer now.
The seawater around the glow wasn't polluted; instead, it appeared eerily pure.
All impurities were repelled outward.
[Item Name: Eye of the Abyss (Damaged)]
[Rating: SSS-grade Material]
[Description: The core organ used by the Abyssal Lord to observe all things in the world and inflict gravitational strikes through its gaze. Although damaged, this remains one of the world's most supreme biological crystals.]
[Characteristics: Contains extremely high concentrations of spatial and gravitational rule fragments.]
Qin Yu reached out and pressed his hand against the cold, smooth crystal.
In that instant.
The "Netherworld: Death's Kiss" on his back seemed to go mad.
The gun body, which had dimmed somewhat from overloading, suddenly grew scalding hot.
Without Qin Yu even needing to give an order.
That mass of black liquid metal once again flowed down his spine.
This time, it didn't transform into a gun.
Instead, it became a massive black maw filled with sharp teeth!
The sense of hunger was more intense than ever before.
"Eat."
Qin Yu silently thought to himself.
"This is the late-night snack I risked my life to get for you."
The massive black maw instantly opened, swallowing the enormous purple-gold crystal whole!
Crunch—
Even underwater, Qin Yu could feel the teeth-grating vibrations of chewing.
Immediately after.
The black liquid began to churn violently.
Purple-gold light surged and struggled within the darkness, as if about to explode.
But the "Kiss of Death" tightly enveloped it.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Finally, the purple-gold light completely faded, fully merging into the deep black.
[Ding! Devour successful!]
["Netherworld: Death's Kiss" has undergone massive evolution!]
[Evolution Progress: 11.5% → 35%!]
[Trait Unlocked: Gravity Magazine!]
[New Trait Description: Each of your bullets will carry a miniature gravity field. Upon hitting a target, you can apply either "Tenfold Gravity" or "Weightlessness" effects based on the host's will.]
[Repair Complete: Overload damage to the gun body has been fully repaired. Durability restored to 100%.]
Qin Yu looked at the panel before him, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth underwater.
Gravity Magazine.
This was a god-tier skill.
Just imagine—shooting someone, and suddenly they bear ten times their weight. Their internal organs would likely be crushed by their own bones in an instant.
This gun was becoming more and more like a monster.
But it still wasn't enough.
Qin Yu turned his gaze to the scattered black shell fragments around him.
"Don't be picky."
"Eat these too."
The black liquid spread out again, like a swarm of greedy piranhas, lunging at those S-Class High-energy Biological Cores.
Although the evolution progress gained wasn't as much as from that core.
Even a mosquito's leg is still meat.
Another dozen minutes of frenzied feeding passed.
Only when all high-energy reactions in this sea area had vanished did Qin Yu finally withdraw his weapon with satisfaction.
Now, the "Kiss of Death" had reformed into a pitch-black sniper rifle slung across his back.
The barrel was even more slender.
Within the originally blue patterns, there was now a faint trace of purple-gold.
Making it appear even more eerie and dangerous.
Qin Yu pushed off from a reef on the seabed with both feet.
His entire body shot toward the surface like a cannonball.
...
Splash!
Qin Yu broke through the water, grabbed the rope ladder lowered from the President with one hand, and climbed aboard.
Phew—
He wiped the water from his face.
The acidic gas here had mostly been cleared away.
Li Ruobing was directing several robots to repair the large crater on the deck.
Seeing Qin Yu come up, she gave him a complicated look, her eyes lingering on the gun on his back.
She wasn't sure if it was her imagination.
But she felt as if that gun had "come alive," coldly staring back at her.
"Finished?"
Li Ruobing handed him a dry towel.
"Yeah."
Qin Yu took the towel and roughly dried his hair.
"How's the damage?"
"The Power System is 30% damaged, but the core is intact. It'll take a couple of days to fix. The main issue is some deformation in the hull structure; we'll need a lot of steel to reinforce it."
Li Ruobing paused, then pointed toward the living quarters.
"That... Yao Qian woke up and fainted again from fright."
"Doctor Yao is waiting for you."
"She said if you don't get over there immediately to deal with your wounds, she'll come find you with a scalpel."
Qin Yu was taken aback for a moment, instinctively touching his cheek.
When the glass shattered earlier, it had left a cut on his face.
Although the wound wasn't deep, and with his constitution, it had already stopped bleeding.
But since it was the order of his first wife.
He had to listen.
"Alright, I'll leave this to you."
Qin Yu hung the towel around his neck and strode toward the cabin.
...
Pushing open the door to the medical room.
A faint smell of disinfectant wafted over.
Yao Xue was facing away from the door, organizing instruments on the operating table.
She was still wearing her signature white coat, with a black form-fitting undershirt underneath.
Hearing the door open, Yao Xue didn't turn around.
Only her movements paused slightly.
"Sit down."
Her voice was cold.
Carrying a hint of gunpowder.
Qin Yu rubbed his nose and obediently walked over to sit on the treatment chair.
"Um, Xue'er..."
"Shut up."
Yao Xue turned around.
In her hands were a pair of tweezers and a cotton ball soaked in iodine.
Her eyes were red.
Clearly, she had been crying earlier.
But upon seeing Qin Yu's face, still oozing blood, the tears in her eyes were forcibly suppressed, replaced by a fierce expression.
"Qin Yu, do you think you're Superman?"
"Jumping from five hundred meters high?"
"And sniping against that kind of monster?"
"Is your brain filled with seawater?"
Yao Xue scolded as she walked up to Qin Yu.
Yet her movements were incredibly gentle.
Using the tweezers to hold the cotton ball, she carefully wiped the wound on Qin Yu's cheek.
"Ouch—"
Qin Yu exaggeratedly sucked in a sharp breath.
"Hurts?"
Yao Xue's hand trembled, and she glared at him.
"Serves you right if it hurts."
That's what she said.
But she still lowered her head and gently blew on the wound.
The warm breath brushed against his face, ticklish.
Qin Yu looked at the face so close to his.
Even in this apocalyptic world, Yao Xue was still breathtakingly beautiful.
Especially with this expression of anger mixed with heartache.
It made him want to tease her.
"Wife."
Qin Yu reached out and grabbed one of Yao Xue's wrists.
"If that shot hadn't hit earlier, we might have really become a pair of lovebirds sharing the same fate."
Yao Xue stiffened.
She tried to pull her hand back but didn't use much force.
"If it didn't hit, then it didn't hit."
"At worst, we die together."
Yao Xue's voice lowered, a bit choked.
"But I don't want to see you fight so desperately."
"What do we need those things for? Can't we just guard this ship and live peacefully?"
Qin Yu exerted a little force, pulling Yao Xue closer.
Their noses almost touched.
"Peacefully?"
Qin Yu shook his head, his gaze turning profound.
"Xue'er, in this world, there's no such thing as peace."
"Without a weapon in hand, peace is a joke."
"If I don't fight desperately, how will I protect you all in the future?"
"Should we just kneel and pray it's full the next time that big thing comes?"
Yao Xue fell silent.
She knew Qin Yu was right.
As a doctor, she had seen life and death often and understood that in this environment, weakness was the original sin.
"That's your twisted logic."
Yao Xue sniffled and threw the tweezers into the tray.
"Anyway, you're the captain, so whatever you say is right."
"The wound is disinfected."
"This is the latest muscle regeneration ointment. Apply it, and it'll be fine by tomorrow."
She picked up a tube of ointment, ready to apply it to Qin Yu.
But Qin Yu suddenly grabbed her other hand.
Pulling her whole body into his embrace.
Yao Xue let out a gasp and sat directly on Qin Yu's lap.
"You... what are you doing!"
Flustered, Yao Xue tried to stand up, but Qin Yu's strong arm held her tightly in place.
"Don't move."
Qin Yu buried his head in the crook of Yao Xue's neck and took a deep breath.
It was a scent mixed with disinfectant and her natural fragrance.
It felt reassuring.
"The wound isn't fully treated yet."
Qin Yu's voice was muffled, carrying a hint of mischief.
"You treated the injury on my face."
"But I have other wounds on my body."
Yao Xue's face flushed, and her body instantly went limp.
Of course, she could feel it.
This man's body was frighteningly hot.
The hormonal aura from having just survived a life-and-death struggle enveloped her like a net.
"Where... are you still hurt?"
Yao Xue's voice was as faint as a mosquito's hum, her fingers tracing circles on Qin Yu's chest.
"Here."
Qin Yu grabbed her hand and pressed it against his heart.
"My heart was racing from the scare just now."
"I need Dr. Yao to give me a shot of sedative."
Yao Xue looked up, her usually cool eyes now seeming as if they could melt a person.
She bit her lip and shot Qin Yu a flirtatious glare.
"This is the infirmary."
"The door isn't locked..."
"Ruo Bing is outside repairing the ship, and Qian Qian fainted."
Qin Yu's large hand slipped mischievously beneath the hem of her white coat.
The touch of his palm was smooth and warm.
"No one will come."
"And."
Qin Yu leaned close to Yao Xue's ear, gently nibbling her delicate earlobe.
"Dr. Yao, as a patient."
"I have the right to request expedited treatment."
"Since you treated the injury on my face."
"Then as repayment..."
"I'll give you a shot too, to help prevent a cold."
Yao Xue's face flushed crimson all the way to her neck.
Of course, she understood what he meant.
"You rogue..."
In that small room filled with the smell of disinfectant.
On a night that had just witnessed a shocking battle.
Two feverish bodies entwined tightly.
It was a longing for survival.
And the most primal possession of one another.
Outside the window.
Waves still crashed against the hull.
But in this tiny room, spring was in full bloom.
Qin Yu's counterattack had only just begun.
Only this time.
The battlefield was on that narrow treatment chair.
And his weapon.
Was even deadlier than that "Kiss of Death."
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