148: The Styx Shark has arrived!

Xia Lai's voice turned cold, all traces of her usual playful demeanor gone.

“Six boats! All modified armed fishing vessels!”

“They are moving fast! They aren't passing by... they’ve locked onto us!”

“Distance... three nautical miles!”

On the calm horizon, several black dots rapidly grew larger.

The roar of the engines tore through the tranquility, like a pack of hungry wolves smelling blood.

Chen Du squinted, his gaze piercing through the distance.

He saw the skull flags hanging from the bows of the opposing vessels, and the thugs standing on deck, brandishing cutlasses and homemade rifles.

They were a pack of rabid dogs assimilated by the Sea of Despair.

Murder, robbery, and torture—they would do anything just to survive.

“It seems our leisurely time is over...”

Chen Du downed the beer in his mug in one gulp.

He tossed the cup aside casually.

“Everyone, stand by!”

“Since targets have delivered themselves to our doorstep, there’s no need to be polite.”

“It’s a good time to test this ship’s new function... see if it’s explosive enough!”

...“Hey, you fat sheep across the water! Listen up!”

The static crackle of the loudspeaker ripped through the air.

Even across hundreds of meters of waves, the sheer ecstasy in the voice was audible.

“Stop your ship! Leave the women and the supplies!”

“I’m in a good mood today, I might even leave you intact corpses!”

The six dilapidated armed fishing boats closed in, forming a fan shape.

These boats were old, but they had been modified.

Rusty ramming prows were welded onto the bows, and heavy machine guns were mounted on the decks.

On the leading vessel,

A one-eyed man wearing an eyepatch was raising a pair of binoculars.

Through the lenses, the black ferry looked unnervingly quiet.

Not a single rivet mark was visible on the hull; it was as smooth as a piece of flawless jade.

“Something about this ship... feels off?”

The one-eyed man swallowed, an instinctive sense of dread chilling him.

This did not look like an ordinary civilian vessel!

A cold aura made his back prickle, even through the binoculars.

“Boss, maybe... we should retreat?” The subordinate beside him was also getting nervous.

However.

When the lens swept over Deck 0819, the one-eyed man’s breath hitched.

Rows of scantily clad, curvaceous, top-tier beauties were standing against the sea breeze.

Their snow-white skin almost reflected the sunlight, and their long, fair legs were deadly.

“Retreat your mother’s head!”

The one-eyed man’s reason was instantly drowned by lust. His eyes turned so red they looked like they might bleed: “Fortune favors the bold, the timid starve! If we pull this off, I’ll be the Sea King of this whole area!”

“Leave the one in the Nurse Uniform for me! Nobody touches her!”

Desire completely incinerated the pirates’ brains.

“Boss is mighty! Attack! Attack!!”

“Open fire! Shoot down their masts for me!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots erupted like popping beans.

Bullets struck the hull of 0819, kicking up bursts of sparks.

But they barely scratched the paint.

The ship’s current armor thickness made it immune to such light weaponry.

“Is that all?”

Chen Du stood on high ground, still holding half a cigarette.

He looked down at the screaming pirates as if they were already dead men, his eyes filled only with icy killing intent.

“Xia Xin.”

“Yes!”

Xia Xin was already positioned at the highest vantage point.

The Recurve Bow in her hand was fully drawn, and a fierce blue airflow gathered madly on the arrowhead!

“Give these pirates... a one-way ticket.”

“Understood.”

Whoosh—!

The bowstring let out a piercing, mournful cry!

An arrow that pierced the clouds shot forth!

It tore through the air, leaving behind a visible, transparent wave of energy across the sea surface!

There was no chance to dodge.

Thwack!

The head of the subordinate carrying the rocket launcher beside them exploded like a watermelon.

“What?!”

The one-eyed man wiped the brains off his face, still unable to process what happened.

Swish! Swish!

Two more sharp sounds ripped through the wind!

The helmsman and the machine gunner collapsed simultaneously!

The arrow tails were still trembling in their throats; the air pressure had completely crushed their windpipes.

“Snipers?! They have ranged Ability Users!”

Chaos erupted among the pirate fleet.

But this did not scare them off; instead, it ignited the ferocity of these desperate men.

“Ram them! Get into close-quarters combat!”

“Once we board, those dames will be lambs for the slaughter!”

The six fishing boats accelerated like madmen, their engines roaring deafeningly.

Watching the enemy ships close in,

The smile on Chen Du’s lips grew increasingly chilling.

“You want to play bumper cars?”

“Then I’ll let you witness... what a true Deep Sea Hunter is.”

He quickly brought up 0819’s system panel and decisively selected the new function.

[Form Unlocked!]

[Assault Shark Form—Activate!]

Rumble—!

Under the terrified gaze of all the pirates,

0819 emitted a terrifying grinding noise, like bones snapping!

The black armor plates bulged and stretched like muscle fibers, and white steam hissed out from the gaps between the steel plates.

The steel plates on both sides of the bow split open and flipped outward, revealing a hideous black skeletal structure beneath.

The most terrifying part was the bow.

The rounded ram suddenly extended, the upper and lower jaws separating to form a massive steel mouth lined with hydraulic teeth!

It was a living, armored Abyss Shark!

“Wh-what kind of monster is this?!”

The one-eyed man dropped the cutlass he was holding in fright.

Since entering the Survival Game, he had plundered countless ships, but he had never seen a ship grow teeth!

“This ship is cursed! Run! Run!”

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Two streams of blue ionic flames erupted from 0819’s stern.

Its speed surged to its absolute limit!

The Steel Shark slammed directly into the foremost fishing boat.

There was no suspense.

The wooden fishing boat was instantly torn to shreds!

The screams were quickly drowned out by the deafening sound of twisting metal!

“Since you’ve come, none of you are leaving.”

Chen Du’s voice echoed coldly across the sea via the broadcast.

At this moment, above the bow of 0819,

An armor plate slid open.

A main cannon, shimmering with faint blue light, slowly rose.

Deep within the pitch-black muzzle, the faint blue light began to collapse.

The air above the sea surface was extremely distorted due to the high pressure, emitting a low-frequency hum that stung the eardrums.

Chen Du’s finger hovered over the firing button, a cruel smile playing on his lips:

“In your next life, try to keep your eyes open!”

His finger pressed down.

Sizzle—Boom!

A straight blue beam pierced the surface of the sea.

There was no explosion or fire.

Because the pirate ship directly in the beam’s axis was instantly vaporized.

Not even dregs remained.

Only a massive void, created by high-temperature evaporation, was left behind.

Seawater poured in, producing a hissing white steam.

The sound of swallowing saliva rose into a chorus.

The remaining four pirate ships seemed frozen in place.

Some men had wet their pants, others knelt on the deck, kowtowing.

Was this magic? Or alien technology?

Fighting was pointless!

This was clearly a dimensional strike!

However.

Just as the women were about to cheer for victory,

An Nuonuo, who was monitoring the sonar, suddenly turned deathly pale and ripped off her headphones.

She clutched her ears tightly, as if she had heard the ramblings of hell.

“Cap-Captain...”

“What is it?”

“That last shot... seemed to have hit something it shouldn't have...”

An Nuonuo pointed at the radar screen.

The previously empty sea area was suddenly dominated by a giant red blotch covering half the screen!

Blackish-red!

“The radar... the radar is completely red!”

“Something huge down in the depths was woken up by the noise!”

“It’s ascending vertically... at fifty meters per second!!”