71: A path cleared by a sea of ​​corpses: that's the absolute defense of a Lv5 bio-armor.

As the black iron sailed out of the main channel of the Wan River, the surrounding waters underwent a strange, visible change.

The murky yellow soup, mixed with sand and rust, gradually receded.

In its place was a deep, dark green, almost black.

The water flow became viscous and turbulent, like a pot of thick soup being stirred.

The pungent chemical sulfur smell in the air also faded, replaced by a nauseating fishy stench—

It was the unique smell of seawater mixed with a large amount of decaying organic matter, after fermentation.

“Warning: Obstacle density in the Aheadwater area is rapidly increasing.”

“Sonar feedback: Non-geological structure, avoidance recommended.”

Jiang Ran frowned slightly, looking at the densely packed red warning dots on the holographic screen.

This was the ocean current gyre area at the estuary; logically, the water depth should be enough for the black iron to pass unhindered. Where did all these hidden reefs come from?

He pushed open the observation window on the side of the bridge.

A biting sea breeze, mixed with cold humidity, poured into the bridge.

With just one glance, even Old Chen, who was eating a compressed biscuit nearby, stopped his movements, his face turning ashen.

Floating on the sea surface were not logs, nor hidden reefs.

They were corpses.

Hundreds and thousands of floating corpses, carried by the swirling ocean currents, had converged to form this black “tide.”

Some wore tattered homemade life jackets, while others were naked, swollen, and pale from being soaked.

They looked like dead fish with their bellies turned up, rising and falling with the waves.

Occasionally, they would hit the hull of the black iron, making dull “thump” sounds.

Among them were unfortunate souls executed in gang fights, refugees who starved to death, and water ghosts who drowned while trying to swim across the blockade.

They may have had different identities in life, but now they were all just refuse in this body of water.

“Is this the Jinling Floating City?”

Old Chen swallowed the biscuit in his mouth with difficulty, feeling his stomach churn:

“We haven’t even seen the city yet, but we’ve already seen this mass grave.”

Jiang Ran closed the window expressionlessly, cutting off the foul stench from outside.

“The ocean currents have washed all the dead from upstream here.”

His finger slid across the control panel, adjusting the course to steer the black iron away from the densest corpse zone.

“This also means we’ve found the right place.

The more corpses there are, the more brutal and prosperous the ‘rules’ ahead are.”

“Buzz—Rumble!”

A crude engine roar suddenly came from the mist, shattering the dead silence.

A heavily modified trawler, covered in hooks and fishing nets, emerged from the gray mist ahead and to the side, like a hyena that had smelled blood.

It abruptly burst out from the gray mist ahead and to the side.

This ship was clearly modified for killing and hunting.

Both sides of the hull were welded with sharp anti-collision spikes.

Several rusty iron cages were piled on the deck, and indistinctly, a few thinly clothed, shivering figures could be seen inside.

Seven or eight bare-chested thugs, covered in tattoos, stood at the bow.

They held homemade shotguns and machetes, their eyes filled with an unsettling greed and ferocity.

“One-Eyed Dragon! Look over there! Big catch!”

The scar-faced man leading them was sharp-eyed and immediately spotted the black iron, which had just cut through the waves.

In their view, this battleship, which had just completed its Lv5 evolution, was too special.

It was entirely dark silver, with a surface so smooth that not a single rivet could be seen.

It flew no faction flag, nor was it covered in spare tires and scrap metal patches like ordinary wasteland ships.

Such refinement and cleanliness in the wasteland usually meant two things:

Either it was a private yacht belonging to a top-tier bigshot, or it was a fat sheep unaware of its own vulnerability.

On the streamlined hull of the black iron, not even a prominent main gun turret could be seen, as all weapons were housed in internal compartments.

“Damn! This skin is so slick! It’s definitely high-grade stuff from before the war!”

The slaver ship captain’s face jiggled with excitement. He didn’t even try to communicate or shout.

He simply kicked over the operator next to him and personally gripped the pneumatic whaling cannon mounted at the bow.

“Don’t shoot! Don’t scratch the hull!

Lower the hooks, drag it back directly!”

“Bang!”

Accompanied by a dull air blast.

A steel heavy harpoon, as thick as a wrist, dragging a long steel cable, shot directly towards the side of the black iron with a piercing whistle.

This was the greeting in these waters.

No questions, no negotiations, only the most primal hunt.

“Clang—!!!”

A tremendous crash erupted on the river surface.

That heavy alloy harpoon, capable of piercing through two layers of ordinary ship steel plates.

Carrying immense kinetic energy, it slammed violently into the side armor of the black iron.

However, the scene that unfolded next froze everyone’s expressions.

The moment the sharp harpoon head touched the hull.

The dark silver Biological Armor on the surface of the black iron instantly produced an extremely high-frequency, subtle vibration.

There was no expected penetration or embedding.

That powerful harpoon, heavy with force, was like striking special bulletproof glass coated in grease; it simply couldn’t find any point of leverage.

Accompanied by a series of dazzling and teeth-grinding sparks, the harpoon head carved a long phantom across the ship’s surface.

With a “whoosh,” it slid right off, not even leaving a white mark.

The immense recoil sent the harpoon flying into the air like a boomerang, then it plunged weakly into the water, splashing an awkward wave.

“What... what the hell kind of metal is this?”

The slaver ship captain’s eyes widened, staring in disbelief at the undamaged battleship.

Inside the bridge, Jiang Ran didn’t even turn his head.

He glanced at the holographic screen, where the hull integrity reading still showed “100%,” and a cold smile played on his lips.

“Courting death.”

Su Qingyu’s finger was already on the red gate of the fire control console; the cover of the hidden high-speed autocannon on the side had just flipped open halfway when Jiang Ran raised his hand to stop it.

“Save some ammo.”

Jiang Ran’s voice was steady: “Firing at this kind of cobbled-together junk is a waste.”

He made no evasive maneuvers, nor did he slow down.

Instead, he slammed the power lever all the way forward.

“Vroom—!!!”

The dormant nuclear reactor instantly unleashed terrifying output, and the black iron emitted a low roar, like a fierce beast.

The bow suddenly lifted.

Like an enraged deep-sea giant shark, carrying irresistible kinetic energy, it charged directly towards the slaver ship that was still trying to retrieve its harpoon.

“They’re crazy! They’re insane! Turn the rudder, quickly!!”

The captain on the other side finally realized something was wrong, screaming in horror as he tried to grab the helm.

But at such close range, facing a biological battleship with a military-grade nuclear power system.

That clumsy trawler was like a snail trying to dodge a train.

Fifty meters.

Twenty meters.

Impact.

There was no buffer, no suspense whatsoever.

“Crack—Screech!!!”

The bow of the black iron, reshaped with active steel and sharp as a blade, sliced into the slaver ship’s side with overwhelming force.

It was a sound that could induce nightmares.

Rusty iron plates, brittle keels, and human bones were instantly crushed and shattered by the immense force.

The slaver ship’s seemingly menacing anti-collision spikes were like paper toys in front of the black iron, instantly flattened.

The bow of the black iron embedded deeply into the enemy ship’s hull.

Driven by enormous inertia, it directly pierced through the hundreds-of-tons trawler midship, tearing it into two halves.

At that moment, the silver armor on the surface of the black iron even activated a hardening reaction due to the force.

Its edges glowed with a cold, eerie light, like a giant guillotine blade.

The black iron didn’t even slow down.

Its massive hull, like a moving mountain of steel, directly rolled over the broken wreckage of the slaver ship.

A chilling grinding sound came from beneath the hull—

It was the reinforced propellers indiscriminately shredding the fallen thugs, broken planks, and scrap metal into debris.

The already dark green river water instantly churned into a vast expanse of murky dark red.

Countless splashes erupted on the surrounding water surface.

The mutated piranhas and corrosive eels, which had been lurking in the corpse zone, smelled fresh blood and flesh and swarmed in frantically.

The screams lasted only a few seconds before being drowned out by gulping sounds.

Old Chen stood by the porthole, watching this scene, unable to put the half-eaten compressed biscuit back into his mouth.

He silently pulled out his cigarette pack, lit one, and took a deep drag, trying to cover the bloody smell that had entered his nostrils with the scent of tobacco.

“This is truly a hellhole.”

Old Chen exhaled a smoke ring, his eyes complex:

“In the Wan River, people would fight over a piece of iron, but at least there were still some ‘underworld rules.’

Here… it’s simply a meat grinder.”

Jiang Ran stood at the helm, his expression still indifferent.

On the holographic screen, the red dots representing enemies had completely disappeared, as if they had never existed.

“The more corpses there are, the more valuable what’s ahead is.”

He looked up, his gaze piercing through the thick gray mist ahead.

There, a huge shadow, flickering with eerie neon lights, was vaguely visible.

It was like an iron beast crouching on the water, appearing and disappearing between dozens of skyscrapers that emerged from the water.

“Don’t see them as people, Old Chen.”

Jiang Ran’s voice was as cold as if it came from the deep sea: “They are just road signs.”

“Telling us, ‘Welcome to hell.’”