Time passed minute by minute.
The sun on the horizon, as if exhausted of its last bit of strength, slowly sank into the Abyss.
The blood-stained sunset finally disappeared.
It was replaced by boundless darkness.
"Tick."
The numbers on the electronic clock precisely jumped to 18:00.
At this moment.
The entire world seemed to have been put on pause.
The Black Tide that had been closely pursuing them, emitting an unnerving buzzing sound, abruptly stopped.
No inertia.
No deceleration.
It was like a horror movie being played had its power cord pulled out.
Those black flying insects that had almost reached the stern of the lagging survivors' boats now hung silently in mid-air.
They still maintained their wing-flapping posture.
Their millions of compound eyes flickered with an eerie glow in the night, staring intently at the living person dozens of meters ahead.
The closest unfortunate soul had his raft's stern less than five meters from those insects.
He could even smell that nauseating stench.
But he survived.
At least for tonight.
[Region-wide Announcement]
[Night Mode Activated.]
[Black Tide Expansion Paused.]
[Time Until Next Expansion: 12 hours 00 minutes 00 seconds]
This cold, mechanical voice now sounded more comforting to all survivors than the voices of their own parents.
"Hah..."
In the command room of the President.
Yao Qian, who had been nervously watching the radar screen with tense nerves, collapsed into her chair as if all her bones had been removed.
Her white silk nightgown was soaked through with cold sweat, clinging tightly to her back.
"It stopped..."
"Finally stopped..."
Yao Qian's voice carried a slight tremble.
Although they were in the leading group, although they had a nuclear-powered Steel Giant Ship.
The oppressive feeling of being chased by millions of man-eating insects was a fear etched deep in human DNA.
Qin Yu stood before the floor-to-ceiling window.
Gently swirling the red wine glass in his hand.
He looked out at the pitch-black sea, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Yes, it stopped."
"Giving everyone a chance to catch their breath."
"But also giving everyone a knife to kill each other."
Li Ruobing put away the overheated heavy machine gun, sprawling casually on the sofa with her long legs unceremoniously propped up on the coffee table.
"Who cares."
"At least we can sleep soundly tonight."
"Yu-ge, I'm hungry!"
"Get some food?"
Qin Yu turned around, looking at these three women who had followed him through life and death.
The atmosphere eased slightly.
"Eat."
"We'll have a good meal tonight."
"Get four pieces of Grade A Snowflake Steak, and steam a Deep-Sea Grouper."
"Also, open a bottle of 1982 Lafite."
In this post-apocalyptic world where even drinking fresh water required careful calculation.
The value of this single meal was enough to buy hundreds of lives.
...
The night grew deeper.
The sea wind became more bitingly cold.
In the President's dining room, warm yellow light spilled over the exquisite tableware.
The steak sizzled on the iron plate, releasing an enticing charred aroma.
Red wine swirled in the stemmed glass.
If not for the ink-black sea outside the window and the occasional sound of crashing waves, this could have passed for a private room in a Michelin three-star restaurant back on Earth.
But no one was in the mood to savor the elegance.
Even Li Ruobing was cutting her meat in large bites, as if she wanted to swallow her own tongue.
It was a release—a catharsis after surviving disaster.
Yao Xue, on the other hand, cut her meat with surgical precision, as if performing an intricate operation.
She adjusted her glasses and gazed out the window at the faint, flickering fires in the distance—bonfires lit on the rafts that had fallen behind.
"Husband," she said, pointing into the distance with her fork. "The world channel is in chaos."
Qin Yu chewed the tender, juicy beef and opened the chat channel.
Sure enough, the world channel was even more active than during the day.
But while the daytime commotion was panic, the nighttime frenzy was madness born of despair.
[World Channel (Current Survivors: 48,921)]
"It's so cold! How is the sea wind at night like knives? My raft is creaking!"
"Does anyone have food? Please! I was so busy running today, I didn't gather anything! I haven't eaten in two days!"
"Hey, you upstairs, just drink seawater. It'll fill you up."
"Did any of you see that Black Tide? I was right at the edge! Those bugs were hanging right above me! I didn't dare sleep—what if they dropped down and ate me in the middle of the night?"
"Can anyone lend me some fuel? We have to start running again at six tomorrow morning, and my tank's almost empty!"
"Lend? With what are you going to pay it back? Your life? Even if I had fuel, I wouldn't give it to you. Why not save it for my own coffin?"
"Selling a plastic bottle I just fished up! Trade for a piece of bread! Or even half a piece!"
"Get lost! What use is a plastic bottle now? I need fuel! Warm clothes!"
Messages scrolled rapidly.
Between the lines, it was all about "devouring each other."
Qin Yu even saw one particularly shocking message:
"Does anyone want to warm up? I'm female, 20, good figure. Just one liter of fuel or a down jacket, and I'm yours tonight."
It was instantly flooded with replies:
"Send your location! I've got half a liter of fuel!"
"I've got a coat! Let's squeeze together!"
"I'm coming too! Three people are even warmer!"
This was the apocalypse.
This was human nature.
In the face of survival, dignity, morality, and principles were nothing but burdens.
Qin Yu closed the chat window expressionlessly.
He glanced at Yao Qian beside him.
The girl had been unusually quiet tonight.
She had only eaten half the steak on her plate before setting down her knife and fork, keeping her head down and unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.
Her slender legs, clad in white silk stockings, trembled faintly under the table.
"What's wrong?" Qin Yu reached out and took her cold hand. "Scared?"
Yao Qian looked up.
Her once lively eyes were now bloodshot and filled with unease.
She glanced at Qin Yu, then at her calm older sister and the indifferent Li Ruobing beside her.
Biting her lip, she asked, "Brother Qin Yu... will those people die?"
Without hesitation, Qin Yu replied, "Yes."
"That woman who sold herself probably won't survive the night."
"Even if she doesn't freeze to death, she'll either be played to death by those men or have her last supplies stolen before being pushed overboard."
"As for the one begging for fuel, when six o'clock comes tomorrow morning, he'll become breakfast for the bugs."
Yao Qian's face grew even paler.
Though she came from a family of doctors, she had always been well-protected by her older sister.
This naked darkness made her feel suffocated.
"Then... will we die too?"
She voiced the question she feared most.
The dining room fell silent for a moment.
Li Ruobing stopped chewing, and Yao Xue's scalpel paused mid-motion.
Qin Yu smiled.
He cut the largest piece of beef and placed it on Yao Qian's plate.
His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority.
"As long as I'm still standing."
"Even the King of Hell has to make way for me on these seas."
"Eat."
"You need strength to survive."
Yao Qian looked into Qin Yu's eyes, deep as abysses.
They held no fear, only an iron-willed determination.
The heavy stone in her heart inexplicably loosened its grip.
"Mhm!"
She nodded firmly.
Picking up her knife and fork again, she stuffed the large piece of meat into her mouth.
It wasn't just meat she was eating.
It was the courage to keep living.
...
The night grew deeper.
The President swayed gently with the waves on the sea's surface.
Apart from the T-X Robot tirelessly patrolling the deck, everyone else had returned to their cabins.
In the side bedroom.
The soundproofing was excellent, blocking out most of the ocean's roar.
Only a slight rocking remained, feeling more like a giant cradle instead.
Soft wall lamps cast an ambiguous glow.
The air carried a faint scent of jasmine shower gel.
On the large bed.
Qin Yu leaned against the headboard, holding a post-coital cigarette.
Pale smoke curled upward in the lamplight.
His chest was bare, marked with several faint scars from past training, adding to his wild masculinity.
And curled tightly in his embrace.
Yao Qian trembled like a frightened kitten.
Her favorite White Silk Stockings were now disheveled, even torn in several places, exuding a tragic beauty of violation.
Her cheeks still flushed with fading color.
Strands of hair clung to her fair skin, damp with sweat.
The earlier frenzy had been initiated by her.
More intense and urgent than ever before.
As if only through this most primitive, deepest union could she truly feel she was still alive.
Feel that the man before her was real, someone she could rely on.
"Brother Qin Yu..."
Yao Qian's voice was hoarse, carrying a lazy nasal tone.
One hand drew circles on Qin Yu's firm chest muscles while the other gripped his arm tightly.
Her nails nearly digging into his flesh.
"Hmm?"
Qin Yu exhaled a smoke ring, looking down at the lovely figure in his arms.
His palm gently stroked her smooth back, soothing her still-trembling body.
"Still scared?Yao Qian buried her face in Qin Yu's chest, nodding gloomily.
"Scared."
"How could I not be..."
"During the day, when I looked at the radar."
"That red dot disappeared too quickly."
"Hundreds... thousands..."
"Every second, people are disappearing."
"I keep thinking, what if our fuel runs out, what if our ship breaks down..."
"Those bugs crawling all over my body, burrowing into my ears, my eyes..."
As Yao Qian spoke, her body began trembling uncontrollably again.
It was an instinctive fear of death.
And confusion about the future.
"Brother Qin Yu, what kind of world is this?"
"Back in school, even failing an exam would only upset me for a few days."
"But now?"
"Just one misstep means eternal damnation."
"When will this Black Tide ever end?"
"Is there even a shore in this vast ocean?"
"How much longer must we stay on this ship? A day? A month? Our entire lives?"
A barrage of questions.
Poured out like rapid gunfire from this usually quiet and sensible girl.
This was the pressure she had been holding in all day.
During daylight hours, she was the radar operator responsible for monitoring, she couldn't panic, she had to report positions for everyone on board.
In front of her sister, she was the sensible younger sister who couldn't make her sister worry.
Only in this deep night.
In this man's embrace, at this moment when she had just given herself completely to him.
Did she dare shed all pretenses.
Revealing that vulnerable, helpless little girl side.
Qin Yu extinguished his cigarette butt.
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he reached out with his large hand and lifted Yao Qian up slightly.
Making her tear-filled eyes look directly into his.
"Qian Qian."
Qin Yu's voice was deep, carrying a calming magnetism in the quiet bedroom.
"You asked me if there's a shore."
"I don't know."
"Maybe there is, maybe there isn't."
"Maybe this ocean is just a circle, and we're just lab rats running in circles."
Yao Qian's eyes dimmed slightly.
Even Brother Yu doesn't know?
"But."
Qin Yu's tone shifted.
His gaze sharpened.
"So what?"
"If there's no shore, I'll build one myself!"
"If there's no path, I'll carve one out with my own hands!"
He pointed to the Steel Giant Ship beneath their feet.
"Look at this ship."
"When we first came, we only had a few broken pieces of wood."
"And now?"
"We have meat to eat, wine to drink, soft beds to sleep in."
"Those people outside would kill their own fathers for half a piece of bread."
"And you're worrying about whether this ocean has an end."
"That's the difference."
Qin Yu's large hand caressed Yao Qian's cheek, his thumb gently wiping away the tears at the corner of her eye.
"Being afraid is normal."
"Only fools or dead people don't feel fear."
"But remember this."
"If the sky falls, the tall will hold it up."
"As long as I, Qin Yu, still have breath in me."
"Not to mention those bugs."
"Even if the sky itself tries to crush us, I'll punch a hole through it!"
Qin Yu's words weren't gentle.
They even carried a hint of roughness.
But to Yao Qian's ears, they were the most beautiful love words in the world.
She looked at the man before her.
The sharply defined face, the determined eyes.
This former athlete who used to sweat on the school playground.
Had now become the true king in this apocalyptic ocean.
Her only faith.
"Brother Qin Yu..."
Yao Qian sniffled.
The fear in her eyes gradually receded, replaced by an almost obsessive attachment.
"I want to have your child."
The sudden statement made Qin Yu pause momentarily.
"Why bring this up so suddenly?"
Yao Qian pressed her face against the crook of Qin Yu's neck, greedily inhaling the scent of tobacco and masculine hormones clinging to him.
"My sister said that in this apocalyptic world, only legacy represents hope."
"I don't want to be a burden."
"I don't want to just be a decorative vase watching radar screens either."
"I want you to have deeper connections in this world."
"This way..."
"Even if we truly face desperate situations in the future..."
"You'll fight even harder and want to survive more for our child, right?"
Silly girl.
The softest part of Qin Yu's heart was profoundly touched.
This wasn't really about continuing their lineage.
This was clearly her attempt to tighten her grip on him, like holding the string of a kite, through blood ties.