133: A submarine fleet is attacking? Trying to rob me? Perfect, I'll use you to sharpen my knives!

"Clang!"

A heavy metallic impact echoed through the training room.

The specially weighted barbell was slammed heavily onto its rack, emitting a teeth-grating tremor.

What hung from it were not ordinary iron plates, but lead alloy blocks specifically used for mech counterweights.

Five on each side, each weighing fifty kilograms.

Combined with the extra-thick solid bar, the total weight was exactly five hundred and twenty kilograms. Half a ton.

A weight that would have crushed an ordinary person's spine in the old era now felt like a toy made of foam plastic.

"Too light."

Jiang Ran sat up from the bench press, his bare upper body not even sweating a drop.

He looked down at his hands; beneath his pale, porcelain-like skin, the smooth muscle lines lacked exaggerated bulges.

Yet they contained a terrifying, restrained explosive power, like a hydraulic press.

Just moments ago, he had done a hundred presses, and his heart rate hadn't even exceeded sixty beats per minute.

"zero, record data: muscle fiber strength increased by approximately 800%, lactate tolerance elevated to immeasurable levels."

Jiang Ran casually picked up a towel to wipe away nonexistent sweat, a flicker of helplessness in his eyes:

"Conventional equipment is useless now.

Next time, I'll have to go to the water pressure chamber or directly play with torpedoes."

Just as he was about to test his agility in a different way,

"Woo—woo—woo—"

A series of urgent low-frequency alarm sounds suddenly cut off the light music in the training room.

Simultaneously, the holographic projection on the wall automatically lit up, and the originally soft lighting instantly switched to the cold glow of combat readiness.

"Warning: Sonar array has detected signals from unidentified underwater vehicles."

"Bearing: Sector 03-B, distance 12 nautical miles."

"Conducting acoustic signature comparison..."

zero's cold electronic voice instantly sharpened Jiang Ran's previously indifferent gaze.

He casually tossed the towel aside and walked barefoot to the screen.

On the screen, several red dots were rapidly approaching the coordinates of the black iron.

"Comparison complete."

"Targets confirmed as: 'Ark' organization (Ark) reconnaissance unit."

"Composition: Two 'Swordfish-class' high-speed attack submarines, accompanied by three 'Water Ghost'-type unmanned underwater motorcycles."

Looking at the familiar emblem composed of various religious symbols, Jiang Ran's brow twitched slightly.

Ark.

These crazy cultists who spout "the Great Flood is God's baptism" and claim to lead humanity onto the Ark while engaging in murder and robbery.

They aren't common in this sea area.

"Why would they appear here?

There are no shipping lanes or resource points nearby."

Jiang Ran looked at the sea chart, and his gaze suddenly fell on the massive, not-yet-dissipated thermal residue nearby—

That was the seabed lava crater caused by his test firing of [Ion Roar] three days ago.

Instantly, he understood.

"So that's it."

A cold smile curled at the corner of Jiang Ran's mouth: "Sharks drawn by the scent of blood."

That main cannon shot, which instantly vaporized a mountain, didn't produce the shockwave of a nuclear explosion.

But the instantaneous high-energy heat and unique ionizing radiation it released

were like lighting a beacon in the night for this dead, silent deep sea.

These keen-nosed hyenas must have thought some "miracle" had occurred here.

Or that some unlucky large ship had suffered a reactor explosion, and they rushed over to scavenge.

Unfortunately,

they didn't find the corpse they were looking for.

Instead, they stumbled right into the arms of a freshly awakened monster.

"All combat personnel, to your stations!"

In the Command cabin, Su Qingyu had already rushed to the weapons console.

With her operations, the black iron's fire control system, which had just entered hibernation, was instantly awakened.

"Main cannon charging... 30%."

"Electromagnetic coils preheated and ready."

"Torpedo tubes flooding, loading 'Hammer'-type high-explosive torpedoes."

Su Qingyu's fingers danced across the holographic keyboard, leaving afterimages, her gaze icy:

"The armor on these 'Swordfish-class' submarines is thin.

They can't withstand our enhanced Electromagnetic Cannon at all.

Just one shot, and I can split the lead one in half."

Old Chen, standing nearby, rubbed his hands eagerly, itching to man the turret himself:

"Those Ark cultists tricked us at the supply station last time.

Now they've delivered themselves to our doorstep—perfect for testing our new gear!

Sister Su, why not skip the Electromagnetic Cannon and let the boss hit them with that... that 'mouth cannon'?

Let them see what divine punishment really is!"

"No, that's our trump card; the cooldown is too long."

Although Su Qingyu refused verbally, her hands were already adjusting the secondary cannon's firing parameters, about to press the launch button.

"Stop."

At that moment, an unnervingly calm voice came from the passage behind.

Jiang Ran walked in, draped in a white towel and bare-chested.

He didn't even pause his steps, heading straight to the sea chart table and casually taking a sip of the now-cold tea.

"B... Boss?"

Su Qingyu's finger hovered over the red launch button, stunned: "Why?

They're already within attack range.

Ark members are notoriously unreasonable; it's kill or be killed on sight."

"I know they're unreasonable."

Jiang Ran set down the teacup, his gaze sweeping over the approaching red dots on the screen with an indifference akin to looking at ants:

"But is it worth using a heavy machine gun to kill a few rats?"

He pointed at the deck beneath his feet: "The black iron is now a Level 5 deep-sea overlord.

Even a conventional Electromagnetic Cannon shell costs more in materials and energy than half of one of their rickety submarines."

"Not to mention using 'Ion Roar'."

Jiang Ran shook his head, as if Old Chen's suggestion were absurd: "Using a strategic weapon that can vaporize mountains on these small fry?

Not only is it wasteful, but it also exposes us."

"This sea area isn't clean; who knows if other eyes are watching from the shadows?"

"That trump card should be saved for a truly worthy opponent."

"Then... what do we do?"

Old Chen scratched his head, looking bewildered: "We can't just let them approach, can we?

Judging by their posture, they see us as easy prey.

The way they're swarming over clearly means they plan to board and rob us."

"Then let them come."

Jiang Ran turned around, casually pulling off the white towel to reveal his body of muscles, honed like forged steel.

He flexed his wrists.

His knuckles emitted a series of crisp cracking sounds, and a faint, dark golden light seemed to flow in his pitch-black eyes.

"Perfect."

"I'm tired of machine data; it always feels lacking."

Jiang Ran looked at the two reckless submarines on the screen.

A cruel smile curled at his lips, like a starving Ghost about to enter an all-you-can-eat buffet:

"The best whetstone has delivered itself to our doorstep; why turn it away?"

"I also want to know, in my current state..."

"how far I can go without relying on the ship."

"You... you're going personally?"

Old Chen's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

He glanced at the two menacing armed submarines on the screen, then at Jiang Ran, empty-handed.

He couldn't help but wonder if his boss had lost his mind:

"Boss, those are submarines!

Even if they're light-class, the micro-torpedoes and deep-water autocannons they carry aren't for show!

You... you plan to fight them hand-to-hand?"

"Not hand-to-hand."

Jiang Ran turned and walked toward the individual equipment locker on the side of the Command cabin, his tone as casual as if he were heading to the backyard to trim weeds: "'Dismantling.'"

As he approached, the locker's sensor door automatically slid open.

Although Su Qingyu's face was full of disapproval,

out of professional instinct, she quickly followed, her fingers rapidly inputting commands on the control panel:

"If you insist on going, you must wear heavy armor."

"Activating 'Deep Sea Titan' powered armor preparation program.

Thicken external armor layers, equip two shoulder-mounted micro-missile pods, and additionally..."

"Unnecessary."

Jiang Ran reached out and pressed down on Su Qingyu's busy hand.

He directly canceled the activation program for that bulky, fortress-like powered armor.

His gaze passed over the heavy equipment and landed on a sleek, pitch-black lightweight diving suit hanging in the corner.

That was the "Ghost"-type nano-combat suit.

Apart from basic cold and pressure resistance, it offered almost no physical defense.

Its original design was for frogmen on infiltration missions.

Once exposed to fire, this thin layer of fabric couldn't even stop the most ordinary harpoon.

"Give me that."

Jiang Ran pointed at the combat suit.

"Are you insane?"

Su Qingyu's eyes widened, her voice rising an octave: "That's cloth! That's clothing! The enemy is equipped with armor-piercing rounds!

Do you want to wear a bodysuit and become a target?"

"For me now, heavy armor would only hinder my feel."

Jiang Ran didn't explain further.

He walked straight over, took down the combat suit, and swiftly put it on.

The black nano-material clung tightly to his slender frame, outlining every muscle contour.

Though it looked thin,

Jiang Ran standing there now gave off a sense of danger greater than if he were wearing heavy armor.

Like a freshly sharpened, pitch-black blade.

"And..."

Jiang Ran looked down at his palm.

As he willed it, the familiar dark golden patterns faintly glowed through the black combat suit fabric once more.

Forming a flowing energy shield over his body.

"Who said I don't have armor?"

"This body is the best armor."

Su Qingyu watched the eerie dark golden glow, swallowing back the words of caution that had reached her lips.

She suddenly realized that the man before her could no longer be measured by human common sense.

"What about weapons?"

She sighed, giving up the struggle: "You can't go twist screws empty-handed, can you?"

"That will do."

Jiang Ran casually pulled a seemingly ordinary tactical dagger from the weapon rack.

It was a high-frequency particle vibration blade.

The blade was no more than thirty centimeters long.

But the moment the switch was activated, the blade would vibrate madly at tens of thousands of times per second, enough to cut through most conventional metals.

"One knife, one man."

Jiang Ran inserted the dagger into the tactical sheath on the outer side of his thigh, clicking it securely into place.

"The black iron is now Lv5, but as its Captain, I can't stay at Lv1 forever, relying on the ship to support me, can I?"

He turned and walked toward the hatch leading to the decompression chamber, waving his hand behind his back to the two of them:

"Don't fire, just watch."

"I'm going to give our body... a 'break-in test'."

"...Flood it."

Jiang Ran stood inside the special decompression chamber at the bottom of the black iron, giving a calm order into the communicator.

"But boss, your pressurization procedure isn't complete yet..."

Old Chen's worried voice came from the speaker: "The current depth is 800 meters underwater, with external water pressure close to 80 atmospheres.

If we flood it directly now, the huge pressure difference will crush your lungs like a hydraulic clamp!"

"The current me doesn't need those cumbersome procedures."

Without explanation, Jiang Ran reached out and pulled down the red manual emergency flood valve.

"Boom——!!"

Icy seawater poured into the narrow chamber like a bursting flood.

The instantly erupting turbulence, carrying immense impact force, slammed hard into Jiang Ran's body.

In the past, such an impact would have been enough to break his bones. But now, Jiang Ran didn't even sway.

His feet seemed rooted to the alloy floor as the violent water flow submerged his head.

A few seconds later, the chamber was fully flooded.

Terrifying water pressure followed.

Eighty atmospheres meant that every square centimeter of his skin had to bear eighty kilograms of weight.

Converted, it was like being crushed under a heavy-duty truck.

"Crack, crack..."

Jiang Ran heard a few faint, crisp sounds from his bones.

It wasn't a fracture, but... compression.

Under this immense external pressure, his entire body's restructured, high-density bones and muscles

instead tightened like wound-up springs, entering a more compact, more excited "combat stance."

"No sense of oppression."

Jiang Ran slowly opened his eyes in the water.

He wasn't wearing goggles; his unprotected eyes were directly exposed to the high-pressure seawater, yet he felt no discomfort at all.

On the contrary.

"It feels good."

This heavy, enveloping sensation was like a thick, icy blanket.

It perfectly suppressed the restless "reactor" within his body.

Giving his cells, constantly on the verge of overheating, a refreshing coolness.

He only wore a small portable underwater breather in his mouth—

and that was just to prevent him from speaking underwater and bubbling to expose his position.

In fact, Su Qingyu's test report showed that his skin could now even filter trace amounts of oxygen directly from seawater.

"Splash——"

The hatch opened.

Jiang Ran stepped out, his body completely suspended in the boundless deep sea.

Surrounding him was suffocating darkness; the seawater was icy cold, enough to freeze any conventional creature within a minute.

But in Jiang Ran's senses, this was no longer a silent grave.

As he willed it, countless dark golden patterns slowly lit up beneath his thin black nano-combat suit.

Through the black fabric, they emitted a dim, mysterious glow.

The surrounding seawater seemed to sense this energy.

It actually formed an extremely thin vacuum film around him due to the high temperature.

This made him feel as if he was no longer swimming, but... riding the wind.

Jiang Ran looked up toward the dark sea area in the distance.

Compared to those several dozen-meter-long, heavily armed steel submarines, he, suspended in the deep sea, was as insignificant as a speck of dust.

But at this moment, this speck of dust bared fangs more ferocious than those steel behemoths.

"This feeling of freedom..."

Jiang Ran sent a final command to zero through the neural link in his brain, his voice carrying a hint of uncontrollable madness:

"In the past, I watched the sea from inside an iron can."

"Now, I am part of the sea."

"The hunt begins."

"...Beep... beep..."

Inside the "Judgment," an attack nuclear submarine belonging to the Ark organization.

The Sonar Operator stared intently at the circular screen glowing with an eerie green light before him, his brow furrowing tighter.

His fingers nervously fine-tuned the knob repeatedly.

"What's going on?"

Standing behind him was the submarine Captain, a burly, bald man with a silver cross hanging around his neck.

He impatiently tapped the chair back: "Haven't you locked onto the heat source yet?

God has pointed the way for us; don't tell me you're blind."

"No... no, sir."

The Sonar Operator's voice carried a hint of confusion and hesitation: "That massive heat source reaction is still five nautical miles ahead, likely the wreckage of the target.

But just now... I picked up a new signal."

"A new signal?"

"Yes.

Very faint, very small in size... about two meters long."

The Sonar Operator pointed to the flickering dot at the edge of the screen: "It suddenly appeared on our left flank, less than a kilometer away."

"Two meters long?"

The Captain scoffed, the vigilance in his eyes instantly vanishing: "That's a fish.

Or some deep-sea mutated creature that hasn't died out yet.

Ignore it; continue full speed ahead. We need to grab that pile of 'treasure' before anyone else."

"But sir... its speed is off!"

The Sonar Operator suddenly cried out, his voice sharp with shock: "Its movement speed... instantly broke 60 knots!

And it's still rising!

This can't be a fish! What fish can swim that fast?!"

"60 knots?!"

The Captain's expression changed.

Conventional torpedoes aren't much faster than that.

"Could it be a new type of drone?

Quick! Shine the searchlight over there!

I want to see what the hell that thing is!"

...Meanwhile.

Eight hundred meters deep in the sea.

In this absolute darkness where ordinary humans couldn't see their own hands.

Jiang Ran, suspended in the water, slowly curled his lips into a cold smile.

"Found you."

As he willed it slightly.

The muscle groups around his eyes instantly adjusted, and the world shifted dimensions in his vision.

The darkness faded.

In front of his sight, the originally pitch-black, empty seawater now clearly lit up with two dazzling orange-red light clusters, like blazing suns.

That was the immense heat emitted by the nuclear reactors at the submarines' tails.

In that icy seawater.

These two submarines were like two drunkards running naked in the night, holding torches.

No matter how they activated their silent mode.

No matter how they applied wave-absorbing coatings.

In Jiang Ran's eyes, capable of directly observing energy flow, they were utterly exposed.

Even through that red outer shell.

Jiang Ran could vaguely see the tiny, panicked, moving pale-red human-shaped heat sources inside.

"What fragile tin cans." Jiang Ran muttered to himself.

Under the gaze of these "Eye of God."

Those steel constructs, once representing the pinnacle of industrial technology, now appeared so clumsy, sluggish, and full of flaws.

"Warm-up over."

Jiang Ran took a deep breath of the oxygen-depleted seawater, not feeling suffocated at all.

Instead, he felt a coolness instantly seep into his heart, giving the explosive power that seemed ready to burst in his blood vessels an outlet.

The next second.

The muscles in his legs suddenly tensed.

The originally smooth lines instantly bulged, the subcutaneous dark golden patterns glowing brightly, as if pumping nuclear energy from within into his lower limbs.

"Boom!!!"

In the deep sea, it was as if a silent depth charge had detonated.

At the spot where Jiang Ran had been hovering, the seawater was instantly displaced by the terrifying explosive force, forming a white air bubble several meters in diameter.

And propelled by this terrifying recoil, Jiang Ran's entire body transformed into a black afterimage.

Like a kinetic armor-piercing round fired from a barrel.

With a terrifying speed that defied the principles of fluid dynamics, he shot toward those two dazzling red light sources!

"Beep————!!!"

Inside the "Judgment," the sonar alarm instantly became a continuous line, shrill like a death wail.

"It's coming!! It's charging straight at us!!"

"Collision warning! Collision warning!!"

Under the Captain's horrified gaze.

That tiny red dot on the screen, carrying an aura of apocalyptic destruction, slammed fiercely into their defensive perimeter.