Boom—!!
The President smashed through an underwater metal barrier net.
The screeching sound of metal grinding against metal set everyone's teeth on edge.
"Hard left rudder! Dive five meters!"
Qin Yu's hands gripped the control stick with white knuckles, his eyes fixed on the pitch-black waterway ahead.
This was no straight path.
It was a three-dimensional underwater labyrinth.
Twisted steel pipes and broken support columns were everywhere.
"The radar is useless!"
Li Ruobing's hands were a blur over the keyboard, sweat beading on her forehead from anxiety.
Even though she was only wearing a skimpy tank top, her clothes were now soaked through with cold sweat.
"The magnetic field here is too strong; the screen is all static snow!"
"We can only rely on our eyes!"
"Then turn on all the searchlights!"
Qin Yu roared.
Click, click, click—
All eight high-energy searchlights on the President's bow lit up simultaneously.
Blinding beams of light instantly tore through the darkness.
But it would have been better not to turn them on.
As soon as the lights illuminated the area, Li Ruobing gasped sharply.
The waters ahead were densely packed with floating mechanical mines.
Between the mines, silver mechanical bodies, shaped like ribbon fish, darted back and forth.
Countless red electronic eyes flickered beneath the water.
"Full-spectrum scan lock detected!"
"We're surrounded!"
Li Ruobing shouted.
"Open fire! Don't let them get close!"
Lower Deck.
The situation here was far worse than in the cockpit.
Elena held a modified assault rifle.
Even after the recent massacre of mutants, she still resembled a loaded killing machine.
The entire crew was on highest alert.
"Squad One, guard the portside ventilation shaft!"
"Squad Two, suppress fire on the starboard armor gap!"
"Don't conserve ammo!"
"If you run out, go to the armory and get more!"
She barked orders while squeezing the trigger.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!
A mechanical octopus that had just climbed out of the water had its core blown apart.
Blue plasma splattered everywhere.
"Captain! Something underwater is trying to breach the hull!"
A female soldier yelled.
"Get thermite grenades!"
Elena shoved her aside.
Pulling a grenade from her belt, she bit off the pin with her teeth.
She then accurately tossed it down through a hole in the deck.
Boom!
A muffled explosion sounded from below.
Blinding white light mixed with bubbles surged upwards.
Clean.
Efficient.
Without a hint of hesitation.
But the situation inside was too complex.
The water currents were extremely turbulent, and the ship rocked like a drum in a washing machine.
Bang—!!
Suddenly, the ship lurched violently to one side at a steep angle.
It was Qin Yu in the cockpit, executing a death-defying sharp turn to dodge a high-energy particle beam.
Gravity instantly became unbalanced.
"Ah!"
Several female soldiers lost their footing and tumbled across the deck.
Elena also slipped.
But her reflexes were lightning-fast.
Her left hand shot out, grabbing onto an overhead steel pipe, while her right hand still firmly held her rifle.
She hung suspended in mid-air.
At that moment.
A mechanical hunting dog that had slipped through the net lunged from the shadows.
It went straight for her face.
"Looking for death."
A cold glint flashed in Elena's eyes.
Using her suspended position, she explosively twisted her core.
Her long, powerful leg cut through the air, leaving a blurry afterimage.
The alloy heel of her tactical leather boot slammed hard onto the mechanical hound's head.
Crack!
The mechanical hound's neck snapped instantly, spewing black smoke as it plummeted into the water.
But that violent motion,
combined with the strain from the earlier fight—
Riiip—
The already severely damaged form-fitting combat uniform she wore
finally gave way.
From the collar down to her abdomen,
a large tear ripped open.
Intense combat had left her drenched in sweat.
Her striking curves were suddenly freed from restraint,
and under the sweeping beams of the searchlights,
they were fully exposed to the air.
Efficient, wild, and lethally alluring.
The cockpit's surveillance feed happened to switch to this exact scene.
While frantically turning the steering wheel, Qin Yu glanced at the screen out of the corner of his eye.
"Ahem."
"Elena."
Qin Yu's voice came through the communicator.
"You're exposed on your left side."
"But nice figure."
On the lower deck,
Elena froze for a second.
She glanced down,
her cheeks flushing almost imperceptibly.
But she didn't scream or cover her chest.
In this hellhole where even staying alive was a struggle, a little exposure meant nothing.
She simply tore off the botherable scrap of fabric,
revealing the black tactical bra underneath.
Though still prominently on display, at least it wouldn't hinder her movements now.
"Boss."
Elena's voice was icy, yet carried a hint of wildness.
"Focus on piloting your ship."
"One more collision, and I won't even have a bra left."
"If you want to look, wait until after this battle—I'll take it off for you in your room."
"But right now, don't get us all killed here."
The corner of Qin Yu's mouth lifted.
This woman.
Had spirit.
"Don't worry."
"We won't die."
Qin Yu twisted his wrist and pushed the control stick all the way forward.
"Ruo Bing, warm up the torpedo tubes!"
"The gate ahead is a dead end!"
Li Ruobing stared at the visibly solid metal dead end.
"There's no way through! The ship will shatter if we hit it!"
"Who said there's no way?"
Qin Yu fixed his gaze on the massive metal wall.
There, an extremely fine seam was visible.
This wasn't a wall.
It was an explosion-resistant door.
"This is the assembly workshop door of the Ancient Armory!"
"Blow it open!"
"Fire!"
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—
Four heavy armor-piercing torpedoes shot out, trailing white wakes.
BOOM—!!
A massive explosion erupted in the narrow waterway, unleashing terrifying shockwaves.
The President was pushed backward by the recoil.
As the flames subsided,
the metal door—of unknown thickness—had been torn open, leaving a gap over ten meters wide.
"Charge in!"
Qin Yu pushed the control stick forward.
The warship, like a frenzied boar, plunged headfirst into the breach.
The view suddenly opened up.
No more water.
This was a massive, drained underground bunker—
or rather, the core of an underground arms factory.
Across the dome, energy pipelines glowed with an eerie blue light, spreading like spiderwebs.
Below,
rows upon rows of towering mechanical arms, dozens of meters high,
and countless conveyor belts sat idle.
The air was thick with the smell of machine oil and ozone.
And at the very center of the workshop,
a dazzling golden sphere of light hovered.
"My god…"
Li Ruobing stood up, bracing her hands against the control panel.
Even accustomed to grand scenes, she was awestruck by the sight before her.
"Are these... all deactivated mechanical weaponry?"
As far as the eye could see.
The conveyor belts were lined with humanoid metal skeletons.
If not ten thousand, then at least eight thousand.
If all of these were activated.
They could sweep across the entire sea.
"Boss!"
Elena's voice came through the communicator again.
This time, it carried a rare gravity.
You could even hear her gritting her teeth.
"We've got big trouble."
Qin Yu frowned.
"What is it?"
"Look in your twelve o'clock direction."
Qin Yu raised his head.
The spotlight beam shone toward the depths of the workshop.
There.
In the darkness.
A pair of red electronic eyes slowly lit up.
Not the eyes of those small fry from before.
These eyes.
Were as large as water vats.
Accompanied by the heavy grinding of metal gears.
A colossal figure emerged from the shadows.
It was a mechanical tyrannosaurus made entirely of metal.
Covered in energy pipelines.
On its back, it carried two thick particle cannons.
"Beep beep beep—"
The detector in Li Ruobing's hands emitted a shrill alarm.
"Qin Yu..."
Her voice trembled.
"SS-Class..."
"This is an SS-Class guardian!"
And not just one.
As the first mechanical tyrannosaurus stepped forward.
Behind it, a second and third pair of electronic eyes lit up.
Three in total.
Forming a triangular formation, blocking the path to the golden light sphere.
The situation instantly became a deadlock.
Outside, Qi Chun was locked in a desperate struggle with the Anti-Qin Alliance.
Inside, three SS-Class mechanical behemoths.
And on Qin Yu's side, their strongest weapon was still in its dormant period.
"Now this is what you call high risk, high reward."
Qin Yu gritted his teeth.
Not only did he not retreat, he actually laughed.
It was the fervor of a gambler seeing his chips.
"Ruo Bing, divert all remaining energy to the close-in defense cannons."
"Elena, take your people off the ship."
"Find cover, fire at will."
"Boss?" Elena confirmed over the communicator.
"These are SS-Class. Our rifles won't even scratch their paint."
"I don't need you to scratch their paint."
"You're responsible for drawing their fire."
"These three iron toads."
"I'll dismantle them myself!"
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