33: Wanted across all frequency bands! Ark's Red Bounty Poster

The black iron ghost, like a sated deep-sea shark, activated its silent cruise mode.

It glided silently through the flooded ruins of Jiang City's old district.

Although the heavy rain continued to fall, compared to the suffocating Heavy Water and radiation beneath the museum...

The air here was so fresh it was almost moving.

Inside the cockpit, Jiang Ran leaned back in the Commander's seat, playing with the small, pitch-black 'Spark' crystal in his hand.

On the table beside him...

That deep blue bio-fusion crystal core was sealed in a lead box, waiting to become the key to opening the Lv4 era.

"The harvest this time is enough for us to move unhindered in this apocalypse for a long time."

Su Qingyu was performing a physical examination on Jiang Ran to confirm his genetic stability after the high-intensity battle.

She looked at the data flickering on the holographic screen and breathed a slight sigh of relief:

"All your indicators are very stable. It seems that gene potion has completely integrated into your body."

"It's more than just integration."

Jiang Ran clenched his fist, his knuckles letting out a series of pops like metal grinding against metal, as he felt the power surging within him:

"It is remodeling me.

I feel like I could tear this ship's anchor chain apart with my bare hands right now."

Just as the two were enjoying their rare moment of victory...

At the center of the console, the originally quiet zero cursor suddenly flashed with a red warning light again.

[Warning: All-frequency high-power broadcast signal detected!]

[Source: Ark Project · Jiang City War Zone Headquarters.]

[Coverage: All water areas.]

[Encryption Level: None (Public Broadcast).]

"A public broadcast?"

Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow. "It seems those people realized something is missing and are getting desperate. Play it."

"Zzz... zzz..."

Accompanied by a few bursts of static...

A majestic male voice, suppressing extreme anger, boomed through the high-power transmission towers.

It erupted from every radio, walkie-talkie, and even the public speakers in shelters across the entire Jiang City waters.

"Notice to all survivor factions, armed teams, and individuals in the Jiang City waters."

"I am Ark Project Executive, Colonel Zhao Weiguo."

"Half an hour ago, a national-level strategic resource point located in the Old District Museum was illegally invaded.

Extremely dangerous terrorists murdered the entire Ark Ninth Execution Squad and stole top-secret material code-named 'Spark'."

Hearing "the entire Ninth Squad," Su Qingyu subconsciously glanced at Jiang Ran. That was Li Sen's squad; truly not a single one was left.

The broadcast continued, its tone shifting from anger to coldness, and finally into naked temptation:

"We are now issuing a Red Highest Wanted Order."

"Target characteristics: A modified warship approximately 20 meters long, entirely black, with radar stealth capabilities.

The target is extremely dangerous and possesses heavy weaponry."

"Anyone providing the target's exact coordinates will be rewarded with 500 jin of rice and 10 boxes of antibiotics."

"Anyone who sinks or assists Ark forces in capturing the target..."

The voice paused for a moment, then threw out a stake sufficient to drive every living person in these waters mad:

"Will be rewarded with three permanent residency tickets for the Ark Inner Zone!"

"One ton of high-grade diesel!"

"And... one Ark-exclusive 'Type I Gene Enhancement Potion'!"

Dead silence.

For a few seconds after the broadcast ended, it was as if the entire world had gone quiet.

Su Qingyu sucked in a breath of cold air. "Crazy... they've truly gone crazy.

Permanent tickets?

That's something so many people wouldn't even dare to dream of.

And that enhancement potion—they're actually willing to offer it as a bounty?"

"Under a heavy reward, there will surely be brave men."

Jiang Ran sneered, tossing the 'Spark' crystal up and catching it.

"It seems the value of this stone is even greater than I imagined.

For its sake, the Ark isn't hesitating to launch a 'people's war'."

As if to confirm his words...

In the next second, on zero's radar screen, the few scattered green neutral light dots all suddenly turned into a piercing blood-red.

Furthermore, in more distant areas, countless new red dots were lighting up.

Those were survivor factions originally hiding in various building ruins, shelters, and even sewers.

Whether it was a gang with armed speedboats or a refugee group with only a few broken fishing boats...

At this moment, they were all stimulated to the point of bloodshot eyes by those 'three tickets' and the 'gene potion'.

Greed is a more terrifying infectious disease than the zombie virus.

[Warning: Multiple unknown signals are detected converging toward our coordinates.]

[Quantity: 15... 28... still increasing.]

[Nearest target distance: 2 kilometers.]

"They've awakened all the hyenas."

Jiang Ran looked at the red dots densely surrounding them on the screen. There was no trace of fear in his eyes; instead, a bloodthirsty excitement began to burn.

He stood up, walked to the porthole, and looked at the countless searchlight beams faintly lighting up in the distant rain curtain.

Those beams swept across the water like a flock of vultures searching for carrion.

"Want to use my head to exchange for tickets?"

A cruel arc curved at the corner of Jiang Ran's mouth as he gently stroked the console.

"Just as well. I haven't had the chance to properly test this ship's limits yet."

He turned to look at Su Qingyu, a faint blue light flashing through his eyes:

"Dr. Su, sit tight.

Since they want to play a hunting game, I'll let them know... who the hunter is and who the prey is."

The black iron ghost maintained its optical stealth state.

Like a weightless dark cloud, it glided along the water's surface, silently approaching the encirclement.

"Commander, high-density obstacles and heat sources detected in the main channel ahead."

zero's voice broke the silence of the cockpit. "That is the only path to the deep waters of the suburbs, and it has now been completely blockaded."

Jiang Ran raised his hand, and the holographic main screen immediately cut to the footage sent back by several high-altitude circling hummingbird drones.

The scene in the footage was practically a doomsday version of a maritime market—chaotic, noisy, and reeking of nauseating greed.

On the originally wide river surface, it was now packed with all sorts of vessels.

There were modified fishing boats reinforced with steel plates and heavy machine guns, and speedboats flying skull flags.

There were even several armed floating rafts cobbled together from empty oil drums and wooden planks.

Countless searchlights swung wildly across the water, illuminating the pitch-black rainy night like broad daylight.

They had strung up long stretches of barbed wire, cutting off the entire river surface.

They had even haphazardly deployed a large number of homemade 'sea mines' into the water—which were actually liquefied gas tanks rigged with detonators.

On the public radio frequency, various dialects and slang clashed in a noisy mess:

"'Iron Anchor Gang' hold the left side! Whoever dares to snatch my position, I'll blast them first!"

"Fuck off! Our 'Jiang Long Society' claimed this stretch of water first! That black ship is ours!"

"Stop arguing! The Ark people said there's a reward just for providing coordinates! Has anyone seen it?"

"It's a bunch of rabble."

Su Qingyu frowned as she watched the boats on the screen, which were even starting to shove and curse at each other to seize advantageous positions.

"But there are too many of them.

Roughly estimated, there are at least forty armed vessels and over three hundred personnel.

And those crude sea mines... although they're simple, if they cause a chain explosion, the shockwave would be quite a handful for us."