34: A city of sin built on the back of a whale!

[Ding! Regional Quest Triggered: Explore Crimson Port.]

[Time Limit: 24 hours.]

[Requirement: Ascertain the port's energy mechanism, and ensure the survival of all crew members. Failure Penalty: Randomly erase three crew members.]

The emotionless mechanical voice of the Heavenly Dao exploded in everyone's mind.

"24 hours? And we have to figure out the core mechanism?" Chen Du lightly tapped the railing with his finger. "The Heavenly Dao must think we're dying too slowly."

Complaints aside, supplies must be acquired, and intelligence must be gathered.

To be safe, they would take the elite route this time, configuring a ten-person team battle setup.

Chen Du quickly selected his members.

Combat Team: Xia Mo, Tang Ran, and Xia Xin, all deployed.

Support Team: Healer Ye Qiu, Mascot An Nuonuo, and Scout Xiao Ai.

"Who else wants to go?" Chen Du looked back, scanning the crowd.

"Me, me, me!"

A small, fair hand was raised high, afraid others wouldn't see it.

Lin Keke, the president of the Animation Club, squeezed out with effort.

This girl usually had an excessive 'two-dimensional' concentration, but today she was truly heavy-hitting—

She wore a black-and-white combat maid outfit, with a perfectly voluminous skirt.

The white lace garter on her thigh was the finishing touch.

"President, dressed like that..." Chen Du raised an eyebrow and looked her up and down. "Are you going to fight, or deliver takeout?"

"This is faith! You wouldn't understand!"

Lin Keke puffed out a pair of 'weapons' that were no less impressive than An Nuonuo's, stating confidently, "Plus, this skin comes with a built-in Buff! It forces enemies to stare, lowering their intelligence and reaction speed! I'll be responsible for drawing aggro!"

"Fine, I'll count you as a Control Class." Chen Du nodded.

In this day and age, seduction tactics are also tactics—nothing wrong with that!

"And me." Wang Jia, the straight-A student wearing thick-rimmed glasses, pushed up her frame. "You need a Mental Calculator to avoid being swindled by unscrupulous merchants until you have nothing left."

"Approved."

Just then.

A powerful metallic roar sounded, and the floor trembled slightly.

"Move aside! Heavy weaponry is making its entrance!"

Xia Lai rushed up from the bottom cabin with an excited expression, her right arm encased in an extremely exaggerated Metal Exoskeleton Arm Gauntlet.

That thing was as thick as a thigh!

Crude rivets and exposed hydraulic tubes connected to a small backpack-style steam furnace, which was hissing and puffing white vapor.

"Count me in!" Xia Lai proudly brandished her right arm, the mechanical claw clacking. "This is my new wife—thug one!"

Elder Sister Xia Xin covered her face, looking disgusted: "Second Sister, your getup... really makes you look like Mario fixing a sewer."

"Shallow! This is Steampunk! It's a man's romance!" Xia Lai rolled her eyes at her, rushing up to Chen Du like she was presenting a treasure. "Captain, look! This thing can not only crush a person's skull, but it also has...!"

"Whether it's for drilling or... ahem, it's very powerful!"

Saying this, she pressed a button with a mischievous grin.

Chen Du's eyes lit up. "That's so cool! Especially the vibration function. It really opens up possibilities. I'll borrow it to study for two nights later."

Xia Lai instantly understood!

She gave him a look that said, "You're the one who gets it."

The two exchanged a smile, conspiring together.

Ye Qiu, standing nearby, rolled her eyes, wishing she could crack open their heads to see if they were filled with yellow waste material.

Before departure.

Li Yaozhi leaned against the cabin door, her face pale.

The Divination earlier had consumed too much of her energy; she was now frail and needed rest.

"Chen Du."

Chen Du stopped and turned back, teasing: "What's wrong? Can't bear to part with me?"

Li Yaozhi didn't retort. Instead, she straightened his slightly messy collar in front of everyone.

Her cool eyes held a hint of conflict, along with unconcealed possessiveness.

"The port is certainly chaotic inside." Li Yaozhi's voice was soft, carrying a hidden meaning. "Don't randomly eat outside fast food; be careful of getting sick. Whether it's food, or... other things."

Chen Du's lips curled into a slight smile. He grabbed her hand: "Don't worry, I haven't had enough of the Manchu Han Imperial Feast at home yet. I look down on outside gutter oil."

Li Yaozhi's ears turned red, and she quickly pulled her hand back. "Get lost!"

...Landing.

The moment Chen Du's military boot stepped onto the dock ground, the sensation underfoot was not hard.

Instead, it was... warm, slightly sinking flesh.

Thump, thump, thump... The ground beneath their feet was vibrating slightly; that was the frequency of a beating heart.

"Oh my god..." An Nuonuo's small face was pale, and she desperately clutched Chen Du's coat corner. "Are we really standing on the back of a whale?"

"What else?" Chen Du stamped his foot, and a layer of viscous grease seeped out of the ground. "This isn't just a whale; it's a living, Mobile City."

The air was filled with an indescribable smell.

It was the smell of cheap, low-quality perfume, rotten seafood, burning coal, and fermented excess hormones.

Pungent, yet carrying a strange allure.

The group walked up the filthy boardwalk.

The further they went inside, the more bizarre the scenery became, full of cyberpunk flavor.

Massive whale bones were used as pillars, supporting illegal structures cobbled together from iron sheets and wooden planks.

Dark red neon signs flashed even during the day, bearing various suggestive names—Flesh Tavern, Elysium Bathhouse, Soul Pawnshop.

The people on the street were even stranger.

There were modification fanatics who had replaced half their heads with gears;

There were pale-skinned Pseudohumans whose facial features seemed to have been smoothed over;

There were even a few small, green-skinned, pointed-eared Goblin squatting by the roadside, gnawing on unknown black meat.

When Chen Du and his group appeared, the whole street fell silent for two seconds.

Countless greedy, lewd, and malicious stares clung to them like flies.

In this apocalyptic world, some people treated women as resources.

And beautiful women were even scarcer, top-tier currency!

"Oh my god..."

An Nuonuo's small face was pale, and she desperately clutched Chen Du's coat corner. "Are we really standing on the back of a whale?"

"The air here is so viscous... Wuwuwu, it's disgusting."

"Captain... the way those people are looking at us is so disgusting..." Lin Keke shrank her neck. Although her maid outfit was eye-catching, at this moment it made her feel as if she were naked.

"Don't be afraid! This dock is neutral territory! Just treat them as NPCs in a game!" Chen Du whispered soothingly.

"Don't look into their eyes." Xia Mo spoke coldly, her hand already resting on the throwing knife at her waist.

Just then, a team of women dressed in high-cut bunny girl outfits passed by, carrying trays of alcohol.

They had hot figures and fair skin, but each wore a red glowing collar around her neck.

A faint golden light flashed in the depths of Chen Du's pupils.

[Tyrants Gaze] was quietly activated.

Strangely, these bunny girls showed no feedback of fear.

In his perception, they were like inanimate objects.

At the same time.

The [sacrifice notebook] in his mind slowly opened.

On the blank page, a line of small, blood-red characters twisted and gradually appeared:

[Bunny Girl Puppet: Mass-Produced Model]

[Note: Soulless walking corpses, empty shells driven only by Alchemy and bioelectricity.]

[They have no sense of pain, no thoughts; their sole value is to satisfy their master's desires.]

[Evaluation: Trash! Meat chunks with zero Sacrifice value!]

"They aren't people; they are living dolls!"

"This place is quite interesting." Chen Du withdrew his gaze, his internal vigilance maxed out.

Just then, a sharp, unpleasant, squeaky voice broke his concentration: "Yo-ho! Where did this new stock come from? Such exquisite quality?!"