7: Big fish eat little fish! That's the logic of the game!

Sizzle... crackle... [Bus No. 0774—Wang Qiang]: "Help! Don't go to the Mist Zone! My passengers have all mutated! That old lady just bit off the driver's neck! Who has a shotgun? I'll trade my wife for a gun! Brand new!"

[High-speed Rail No. 1299—Anonymous]: "Water! I have three flight attendants and two pursers. Someone give me a bottle of water! Just 500ml! You can do whatever you want! Please!"

[Cruise Ship No. 3301—Tyson]: "Hahaha! I've awakened! Power... is this power?! I ripped that supervisor in half. Feels great!"

[Lighthouse No. 0013—Observer]: "Record: Day three. Sea level has risen five meters. Mutated fish have started attacking the base. Survivors are advised to stay away... crackle... Ahhh!!!"

...The three of them stared fixedly at the screen; the air in the captain's cabin seemed to freeze.

This was no survival game.

This was no survival game; it was a massive, bottomless colosseum.

Every vehicle and building in the world had been pulled into this land of despair.

Humanity was stripped bare here.

Li Yaozhi watched the messages offering living people for supplies, her stomach churning.

No matter how cold and aloof she usually was, she had never seen anything like this.

Ye Qiu, on the other hand, was much calmer.

She quickly scrolled through the information stream, her voice rapid as she analyzed:

"Most people are calling for help, while a few are showing off. In the trading channel, water has the highest price, followed by weapons. Also... someone mentioned talent evolution."

She pointed to a fleeting message:

[Anonymous]: "Devouring the same type of Essence can strengthen talents! My [Flame Control] just reached B-rank. It's freaking awesome!"

Chen Du raised an eyebrow.

As expected, the underlying logic of this crappy game was big fish eating little fish.

Killing wasn't just for survival; it was to become stronger.

Beep!

Suddenly, a red private message box popped up.

The ID was [Ferry No. 0414—Blood Hand], and the avatar was a hideous skull.

"Yo, newbie? The initialization of your Bone Plating made quite a stir. I could smell it from two nautical miles away."

"Here's some advice: once the 72-hour newbie protection period ends, the Reapers will follow the scent and find you. These days, a wild ship with initial permissions is the best kind of vehicle... Hehehe."

Chen Du stared at the line of text, a cold sneer on his lips.

"Reapers..."

"They're a team of veteran players who specialize in hunting newbie ships to seize resources and control," Ye Qiu immediately realized, her expression grim. "We've been targeted."

"Two nautical miles... at that distance, it's just a matter of hitting the gas."

Chen Du's fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest, making a thumping sound.

The other party was testing him.

If he showed even a hint of fear, these sharks would definitely swim over following the scent.

He didn't reply and simply closed the private message window.

"Now, we not only have to face the monsters in the sea, but also guard against our own kind."

Chen Du turned around, his gaze falling on Li Yaozhi, who had been acting like a timid quail.

"Study Committee Member."

Li Yaozhi flinched when her name was called, subconsciously taking half a step back.

Her back hit the wall with a thud.

Her black stockings were gone, but the burning sensation at the base of her thighs remained.

"W-What are you doing?" Her voice trembled.

Chen Du stood up and approached her step by step.

A strong wave of male pheromones instantly enveloped her.

"You've already sacrificed your black stockings to me. Now, isn't it time to show some real skill?"

Chen Du leaned one hand against the wall by her ear in a classic kabedon.

"Isn't your talent [Diviner]? Cast a divination."

Li Yaozhi's cheeks flushed bright red, both from the aggressive posture and because of those stockings.

"D-Divine what?"

"Divine a way out," Chen Du's voice was low. "Which direction is safe?"

Li Yaozhi bit her lower lip and didn't refuse.

This man really would throw useless people overboard to feed the fish!

"I... I need a medium." Li Yaozhi took a deep breath and pulled a coin from her dirty school uniform pocket.

This was an item given when her talent awakened; she had only found it a few minutes ago.

"Begin." Chen Du stood aside with his arms crossed, his eyes scanning her body without restraint.

From her delicate collarbones to her slightly heaving chest, and then to those long legs.

Even without the black stockings, these were top-tier 'legs for days' material.

Li Yaozhi endured the discomfort of being leered at, pressing her palms together with the copper coin between them.

Talent activated—[Diviner]!

A faint starlight seeped from between her fingers, illuminating the dim captain's cabin in a ghostly blue.

Li Yaozhi closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling.

"The heavenly path is vast... fortune and misfortune are hard to predict..."

She muttered obscure phrases and tossed the coin upward!

Ting—!

The coin actually stood on the metal table, spinning at high speed like a crazed top!

Faster and faster!

So fast its shadow became a blur!

Li Yaozhi snapped her eyes open, her once-clear pupils now somewhat unfocused!

"Pfft—!"

She spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the ribbon on her chest red.

Her body went limp, and she looked like she was about to collapse.

"Yaozhi..."

Chen Du was quick, catching her slender waist.

Li Yaozhi grabbed Chen Du's arm, her voice hoarse and terrified:

"There is no... no way out..."

"Speak plainly," Chen Du frowned.

"East, South, West, North... every direction is a dead end! Filled with black death energy!" Li Yaozhi gasped, her eyes full of despair. "No matter where we go, it's a certain-death scenario!"

"Except..."

"Except where?" Ye Qiu asked urgently.

Li Yaozhi struggled to lift her head, her finger trembling as she pointed downward.

"Except... directly below!"

Directly below?

In the sea?!

That's the way to survive?

Chen Du looked at the coin still spinning on the table, feeling a surge of excitement instead.

His grip around Li Yaozhi's waist tightened slightly.

"All of them are omens of great misfortune?"

"Then that means a safe route doesn't exist at all."

"This crappy game never intended for us to live."

Ye Qiu asked nervously, "Then what do we do?"

The cold words rang out again: "Since there's no path, we'll pave one with corpses."

"Either be eaten, or... eat them!"

These words were incredibly domineering, carrying an arrogance that looked down upon the world.

Leaning in his arms, Li Yaozhi felt strangely more at peace.

This madman... maybe he really could lead them out?

Just then—

The copper coin that had been spinning at high speed suddenly shattered without warning!

"Ah!"

Li Yaozhi screamed as if she'd been electrocuted, her face turning deathly pale.

"What happened?" Chen Du immediately sensed something was wrong.

Li Yaozhi was trembling all over, her voice distorted: "Someone... someone is performing a reverse divination on us!"

"My hexagram was broken! That thing... that thing is looking at me...!"

"Silent running!" Ye Qiu reacted instantly, her speaking speed soaring. "Shut down the engine immediately! Turn off the lights! Drift with the ocean currents! Since they're locking onto us through sensing, maybe we can exploit a bug to slip by!"

This was the most rational judgment.

In the deep sea, playing dead was often more effective than running.

However.

"Play dead?"

Chen Du sneered.

Without even glancing at Ye Qiu, he slammed the control lever forward—all the way to the end!

"On my ship, we don't wait for death. We take life and death lightly—if you've got a problem, we fight!"

"Since we can't see it, we'll just run faster than it!"