Qin Yu gripped the Machete tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
He stood at the very front of the deck, poised like a leopard ready to strike.
"They're coming!"
In the distance, across the dark sea, a massive white line of surf was approaching.
It wasn't an ordinary wave.
It was turbulence caused by countless dorsal fins cutting through the water.
"Roar—"
The roars rose one after another, sending chills down their spines.
Yao Qian buried her face in her sister's back, trembling with fear.
Though Yao Xue tried to appear calm, her rapid breathing sounded like a bellows as she tightly clutched the sharpened Wooden spear.
"Prepare for battle!"
Qin Yu growled.
Just then.
A faint tremor ran through the Raft beneath their feet.
The vibration didn't feel like waves crashing.
It was more like the hum of precision machinery operating at high speed.
"Bzzz—"
The sound came from underwater.
From the Deep Sea Specter barrel fixed to the Keel.
The next second.
Qin Yu's vision blurred momentarily.
There was no fiery explosion.
No billowing smoke.
Only an incredibly deep, muffled roar that felt like it could shatter one's heart.
"Thump— BOOM!!!"
Two hundred meters away.
Right in the center of the approaching white surf line, the seawater instantly exploded.
A water column over five meters in diameter shot skyward, piercing the clouds!
The scene resembled a giant whale spouting water from the ocean depths.
Except this water column was mixed with countless chunks of flesh and severed limbs.
The once ferocious Beast tide now had a massive gap torn through its center.
"This..."
Qin Yu stood frozen.
His Machete still hadn't even been raised.
"Thump— BOOM!!!"
A second muffled roar followed immediately.
Another water column erupted.
This time Qin Yu saw it clearly.
A monstrous fish, larger than yesterday's sawtooth shark, was blown to pieces by the High-pressure water bullet before it could even surface.
Literally blown to pieces.
Not even a complete corpse remained.
Then.
"Thump— BOOM!"
"Thump— BOOM!"
"Thump— BOOM!"
It became a one-sided slaughter.
And completely automated.
Qin Yu's previously tense nerves gradually relaxed to the rhythm of these thunderous roars.
He glanced somewhat awkwardly at the blade in his hand.
What use was close combat now?
With a two-hundred-meter range in this pitch-black night with poor visibility, it formed an invincible defense line.
The sea monsters couldn't even get close enough to ram the Raft—they were sent to meet their maker before they could catch Qin Yu's scent.
"Qin... Qin Yu..."
Yao Xue's trembling voice came from behind.
"What's wrong?"
Qin Yu turned around.
Both sisters were wide-eyed, staring blankly at the continuously exploding water columns in the distance.
"Is that... our cannon?" Yao Qian stammered.
"Whose else would it be?"
Qin Yu sheathed his Machete and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it.
The flame flickered in the wind, illuminating his slightly resigned expression.
"Alright, put your sticks down."
"Looks like we won't need to fight for our lives tonight."
Qin Yu exhaled a smoke ring and plopped down on the deck.
Too powerful.
It's ridiculously powerful.
This Deep Sea Specter is practically a bug-level existence.
What I thought would be a bloody battle turned into a fireworks display.
Though these "fireworks" were made of seawater and flesh.
"Are you sure... we don't need to do anything?"
Yao Xue still couldn't quite believe it.
Watching those dark shadows get blasted to pieces before they could even get close, her fear was gradually replaced by a sense of absurdity.
Is this what it feels like to have someone powerful protecting you?
While others struggle between life and death, we're just watching the show?
"Not necessary."
Qin Yu waved his hand dismissively.
"As long as we don't hear any impact sounds, it means nothing got through."
"Just sit back and rest."
The tension visibly dissipated.
Hearing this, Yao Qian's legs went weak and she collapsed to sit on the deck.
"That scared me to death..."
"I thought we were going to be eaten today."
She patted her chest, breathing heavily.
Qin Yu ignored their emotional reactions.
He stood up and walked to the railing, frowning as he looked at the sea surface.
His expression wasn't good.
In fact, it was rather grim.
"What's wrong?"
Yao Xue noticed his unusual mood and came over to ask quietly.
"This cannon is quite problematic."
Qin Yu flicked his cigarette ash, pointing at the blood-stained sea area in the distance.
"Look over there."
Following Qin Yu's finger.
Yao Xue adjusted her glasses and peered carefully.
"So much blood... and shredded flesh."
"Right, exactly - shredded flesh."
Qin Yu said with visible pain:
"The cannon's power is too great, it directly blasts the monsters to pieces."
"And the range is too far - everything's over two hundred meters away."
"At that distance, plus with the waves this strong, those body fragments can't possibly drift over to us."
Yao Xue was momentarily stunned.
Then she understood.
"You mean... we can't collect any resources?"
"Exactly."
Qin Yu sighed.
Even without treasure chests, the meat, skin, and bones from the sea monsters were all valuable resources.
But now.
All gone.
All blasted away by this wasteful cannon.
Either sunk to the bottom or carried away by the waves.
"If only it could leave me intact corpses..."
Qin Yu watched as another blood mist exploded in the distance, his heart bleeding with each blast.
This wasn't monster hunting.
This was burning money!
Even though the ammunition was seawater, the potential losses were astronomical.
"Forget it."
Qin Yu shook his head, feeling somewhat disheartened.
"Gains always come with losses."
"At least we kept our lives."
This night.
Passed extremely tediously.
What should have been a heart-pounding "Dark Tide" night was forcibly turned into a "listening to explosions" convention by this automated water cannon.
Every few seconds, or minutes.
They could hear a dull explosion from the distance.
The rhythm was so regular it made people want to sleep.
Yao Qian initially excitedly counted how many fish were blown up.
By the time she reached the hundredth, she was already snoring in the tent.
Yao Xue couldn't hold out either, leaning against Qin Yu as she fell into deep sleep.
Only Qin Yu.
Listening to those dull explosions, calculating the losses in his heart, too pained to sleep.
...
Early next morning.
The storm had ceased.
The sun rose as usual, dispersing the gloom over the sea surface.
The water cannon finally stopped working, entering standby cooling mode.
Qin Yu emerged from the tent with dark circles under his eyes.
"Good morning, Brother Qin Yu!"
Yao Qian, full of energy, was doing stretching exercises on the deck.
Her white stockings were somewhat dirty, but still eye-catching in the morning light.
"Morning."
Qin Yu yawned and walked over to the water bucket to wash his face.
The icy seawater stimulated his nerves, making him considerably more alert.
"What's for breakfast?"
Yao Qian approached with an expectant look.
She couldn't stop thinking about yesterday's crab feast.
"Meat."
Qin Yu pointed toward the smoking rack nearby.
Several blackened chunks hung there.
It was meat from the sawtooth shark they'd killed two days ago.
After two days of air-drying and smoking, it looked rock-hard.
"Oh... we're eating this..."
Yao Qian's face instantly fell.
"Be grateful we have anything to eat at all."
Yao Xue came over, took down the shark meat chunks, and placed them on the cutting board.
She tried slicing them with force.
Clank, clank.
Good grief.
The knife nearly chipped.
"This meat... seems a bit too tough."
Yao Xue looked somewhat embarrassed.
"Make soup with it."
Qin Yu instructed.
"Add plenty of water and boil it until tender."
Half an hour later.
The three gathered around the pot.
Bubbles gurgled in the pot, releasing an... indescribable odor.
Somewhat fishy.
With a hint of ammonia, like an unflushed toilet.
"Urgh..."
Yao Qian gagged after just one whiff.
"What is this smell!"
"Why does it smell like urine?"
Qin Yu's face also darkened.
He picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.
Chewed twice.
It was like chewing an old tire soaked in urine.
Sour, astringent, tough, with a pungent stench.
"Ptooey!"
Qin Yu spat it out directly.
"Damn, why is this shark meat so disgusting?"
He'd never eaten shark meat before, only heard that shark fin was a delicacy.
But he didn't know.
Sharks don't have a urinary system—they excrete urea through their skin.
So their meat naturally carries a urine-like odor.
Without special processing, it's completely inedible.
"Qin Yu... I, I can't eat this either."
Yao Xue tried a small bite and turned pale, barely managing not to vomit.
This was pure torture.
Yesterday it was king crab, today it's urine-soaked tires.
Who could handle such a drastic drop?
"Stop eating."
Qin Yu shoved his bowl aside.
"This stuff isn't fit for human consumption."
"Then what do we eat?"
Yao Qian clutched her stomach, looking pitiful.
"Any compressed biscuits left?"
"There's a little..."
Qin Yu glanced at the large pot of shark meat soup—actually high in protein.
His eyes flickered.
"We're not eating this."
"This stuff, we're selling it!"
"Selling?"
Both sisters were stunned.
"Even dogs wouldn't eat this. Who would buy it?"
Yao Qian blurted out.
Qin Yu sneered and opened the [Regional trading channel].
"Dogs wouldn't eat it?"
"That's the talk of someone who's never known hunger."
"Look at these people—right now, they'd taste even a piece of shit if it could fill their stomachs!"
As he spoke.
Qin Yu directly listed the entire pot—soup, meat, and even the dozens of pounds of smoked shark meat still hanging on the rack!
[Seller: Anonymous]
[Item: High-calorie shark meat (cooked/dried)]
[Stock: 50kg]
[Request: Metal sheets, stones, copper blocks, iron blocks, and other basic construction/upgrade materials.]
[Note: Large quantity, filling, boosts stamina. No wood, no plastic, only solid goods!]
The moment this listing went up.
It was like throwing a bloody piece of raw meat into a pond full of piranhas.
The entire Chat Channel instantly exploded.
"Holy crap! Meat! It's meat!"
"The anonymous big shot listed something again! This time it's actually cooked meat!"
"Oh my god, 50 kilograms? Is he running a slaughterhouse? I can't even catch a small fish, and he's actually selling meat?"
"Shark meat? Can you even eat that stuff?"
"Are you stupid, the guy above? We're all starving to death and you're worried about whether it's edible? I'd eat it even if it were poisonous!"
"Big shot! I have iron blocks! I have raw iron I got from opening a chest earlier! Will you trade?"
"I have stone bricks! I'll give you all the ballast stones from my raft!"
Some people even directly private messaged Qin Yu.
"Daddy! Please, I'm begging you, give me something to eat, I can trade photos! That kind of photo!"
Qin Yu didn't even glance at those private messages.
He directly set up automatic trading.
[1kg shark meat = 10 units of iron blocks]
[1kg shark meat = 20 units of stone blocks]
[1kg shark meat = 5 units of copper blocks]
These prices.
Were practically the textbook definition of a ruthless merchant.
But at this stage, food meant survival.
And those iron blocks and stone blocks were basically useless for most people right now.
Because their rafts were still just a few pieces of wood pieced together, completely unqualified to use such advanced materials.
Holding onto them just took up inventory space—better to trade them for some meat to have the strength to survive tonight.
"Ding! Trade successful! Obtained iron blocks x10."
"Ding! Trade successful! Obtained stone blocks x40."
"Ding! Trade successful! Obtained copper blocks x5."
...
The system notifications rang out like crazy, flooding the screen.
The pile of unpalatable shark meat in Qin Yu's backpack decreased at a visible rate.
Replacing it.
Were piles of metal and stone materials gleaming with a cold luster.
"They're crazy... everyone's gone crazy..."
Yao Xue stared at the trades one after another, utterly stunned.
"They... actually sold all these advanced materials?"
"These are crucial for upgrading the raft in the future."
As a highly educated woman, she clearly understood the value of such non-renewable resources.
"They have no choice."
Qin Yu watched the materials rapidly accumulating in his backpack, a satisfied curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
"For those about to die, future gold is worth less than a steamed bun today."
"Besides."
Qin Yu pointed at the wooden planks beneath his feet.
"You saw the waves last night."
"Wood is still just wood."
"No matter how much you reinforce it, it's still wood."
"If hit by a sea monster of that level, it would definitely fall apart."
"If we want to live longer, if we want to sleep peacefully during the next six days of Dark tide."
"We need to change its skin."
"Change it to iron!"
Qin Yu's eyes shone with a fanatical light.
His current raft was one hundred square meters.
Made entirely of solid wood.
Although large enough, its defensive capabilities were actually quite limited.
Once encountering massive sea monsters or more advanced storms, disintegration was only a matter of time.
But now.
With the materials delivered by these "kind-hearted people."
He could initiate the second evolution of his raft.
"System!"
Qin Yu silently called out in his mind.
"Open the construction panel."
"I want to upgrade!"
The light screen unfolded.
Qin Yu's gaze skipped directly over those flashy furniture options.
Locking onto the [Basic Structure] column.
[Current material: Reinforced pine planks]
[Next Upgrade: Ironwood Hybrid Armor (Requires: Wood x1000, Iron Blocks x500, Nails x200)]
[Description: Covers wooden planks with an iron layer, greatly enhancing impact resistance, fireproofing, and bite resistance.]
Originally, 500 iron blocks seemed like an impossible number.
Fishing for treasure chests would have taken about a month.
But now.
Qin Yu glanced at his inventory.
[Iron Blocks: 860]
All of it was exchanged for that pot of foul-smelling shark meat.
"Upgrade!"
Without hesitation, Qin Yu waved his hand.
"Swap it all out for me!"
"Rumble—"
A low, heavy sound echoed.
Suddenly, beams of white light emerged across the originally brown wooden deck.
Then.
Countless black metal plates materialized out of thin air, covering the planks as tightly as fish scales.
"Clank! Clank!"
The sound of metal interlocking.
It resonated with raw power.
Within minutes.
The once primitive-looking raft.
Was completely transformed.
The 100-square-meter deck had become a plaza of black iron.
Sunlight reflected off it with a cold metallic gleam.
Even the surrounding railings were now clad in iron plating.
"This…"
Yao Qian crouched down and tapped the deck with her finger.
"Clang! Clang!"
Crisp.
Solid.
"Wow! It turned into an iron ship!"
"So cool!"
The little girl rolled excitedly across the deck.
"If that shark dares to bite us again, it'll shatter its teeth!"
Yao Xue was equally stunned.
She watched Qin Yu standing at the center of the deck.
The sea breeze rustled his clothes.
Beneath his feet was a steel behemoth, behind him the endless ocean.
This man.
Always turned the impossible into reality.
While others fought desperately for a single plank.
He was already commanding an ironclad vessel.
While others sacrificed their dignity for a bite to eat.
He had traded a pile of worthless meat for this maritime fortress.
"Qin Yu…"
Yao Xue approached, her gaze dazed.
"How many more surprises do you have in store?"
Qin Yu turned, surveying the revitalized base.
He nodded in satisfaction.
"This is just the beginning."
"Only the foundation."
He walked to the edge, peering into the water.
With this iron armor.
And the water cannon below.
This ship finally had what it took to survive in this apocalyptic world.
"Enough marveling."
Qin Yu clapped his hands.
"Since we sold the meat, we still need breakfast."
"Yao Qian, check the fishing net."
"Even if the big monsters were blown to bits."
"There should still be some small fish and shrimp that slipped through."
"Let's keep it light today."
"I want something light too…"
Yao Qian got up with a pained expression.
"I never want to smell that urine stench again in my life."
Just then.
A distinct alert tone echoed in Qin Yu's mind.
Not the sound of a successful trade.
Nor the daily lottery notification.
But a special system alarm.
"Ding!"
"Special energy fluctuation detected."
"Coordinates: Southeast, distance 5 nautical miles."
"A 'Drifting Island' is approaching."
Qin Yu's pupils contracted sharply.
An island?
In this world of endless water.
An island had appeared?
What did this mean?
It meant resources.
It meant fresh water.
It meant higher-tier treasure chests.
Even... it meant they might encounter other survivor groups.
"It seems."
Qin Yu gazed toward the southeastern horizon.
There.
A faint shadow loomed intermittently through the mist.
"Our plans for today will have to change."