81: Devouring the Aegis! Abyss Form Awakens! Dive into true hell amidst despair!

Leaving that suffocating skyscraper, Jiang Ran took Su Qingyu back to the black iron hidden in the shadow of the bridge.

As the two stepped onto the deck, this ghost warship, which had been in a state of optical deflection, finally deactivated its camouflage.

Its dark silver hull revealed its true form in the rainstorm like a giant beast rising from the abyss, letting out a low hum.

It slowly sailed toward the still-burning waters.

That was the crash site of the "judgment-class" gunboat.

At this moment, it had turned into a boiling Shura Field.

Half of the crashed giant ship's wreckage was stuck in the silt of the shallows, still burning fiercely.

Leaking aviation fuel ignited the water surface for hundreds of meters around, forming a floating sea of fire.

Countless scavenger ships and small sampans that had been hiding in the shadows...

Like a swarm of flies seeing rotting meat, they were frantically surrounding the edge of the wreckage, ignoring the high heat and danger.

They tried to tear a piece of valuable flesh from this divine corpse using iron hooks and crude cutters.

Until the massive shadow of the black iron arrogantly broke through the wall of fire.

"Get out."

Only this single word came through the loudspeaker, accompanied by the cold turning sound of the close-in weapon system turret and the faint hum of the electric motor.

This was enough to cool any greed.

Those scavengers looked in horror at this black star of death that could shoot down an Ark gunboat.

Like a frightened school of fish, they scrambled to drive their small boats away in all directions, fearing they would become the next sacrificial victim if they were a second late.

In just half a minute, an absolute vacuum zone was cleared around the wreckage.

"zero, scan."

Jiang Ran stood on the bridge, looking coldly at the pile of red-hot scrap metal: "Mark the most valuable parts.

Although this ship is an outdated model, some parts are still barely acceptable."

"Scan complete."

zero's holographic projection instantly covered the burning wreckage.

Countless complex structural diagrams were disassembled and analyzed, finally locking onto two areas flashing with golden light.

"Target one: On top of the bridge, the wreckage of the simplified 'Aegis' active electronically scanned array radar.

Although the logic units are burned out, its core gallium arsenide transceiver components and signal processing array are still intact.

After devouring, it can significantly improve our radar's resolution accuracy and anti-interference capability."

"Target two: The tail engine compartment, the core of the thrust-vectoring turbofan engine.

It contains about 1.5 tons of high-purity rhenium-nickel single crystal alloy.

This is an extremely rare high-temperature resistant material that can be used to strengthen our reactor's cooling circuit or the rail life of the Electromagnetic Cannon."

"I want these two."

Jiang Ran nodded: "Dinner time."

As the command was given, the black iron revealed the hair-raising side of a Lv5 bio-mechanical ship.

It slowly pulled its side against the hot gunboat wreckage.

Immediately after, the dark silver armor on the contact surface of the black iron suddenly softened and flowed like a living fungal carpet.

Although it hadn't evolved to the Lv6 state of free liquid restructuring, the extensibility of this bio-metal was already astonishing.

Countless thick, metallic-black tentacles grew frantically from inside the hull.

Ignoring the thousands of degrees of high-temperature flames around them, they were like a swarm of greedy black pythons, instantly drilling into the gaps of the gunboat's broken armor.

"Creeeeak—Sizzle—"

A tooth-aching sound of metal melting rang out.

In the eyes of the survivors still peeking from a distance, this scene was even more terrifying than a ghost story.

They saw that strange black ship.

It was as if it had grown an invisible giant mouth and was performing some indescribable 'autopsy' on the dead gunboat.

The black tentacles precisely wrapped around the radar array and engine core.

It wasn't a violent dismantling, but rather the secretion of a highly corrosive bio-acid glowing with a ghostly blue light.

The hard aviation aluminum alloy casing melted and peeled away like ice cream in front of this acid.

Revealing the most core and precious precision components inside.

Then, the tentacles tightened.

Those core components weighing several tons were forcibly dragged into the open armor cavities of the black iron.

Simultaneously, accompanied by the rapid decomposition of the bio-acid, they turned into flowing metal particles and were continuously pumped back into the body of the black iron along the tentacles.

As the devouring progressed, bright silver veins began to appear on the originally dull hull surface of the black iron.

As if a beast that had just finished its meal was digesting.

[High-level radar components... fusing.]

[Special heat-resistant alloy... extracting.]

In just five minutes.

That massive gunboat wreckage lost all support, looking like an empty shell with its marrow sucked out.

With a mournful sound of metal snapping, it collapsed and completely sank into the murky riverbed.

The black iron seemed to let out a burp.

The layer of black fungal carpet covering the ship's side slowly retracted, and the surface regained its mirror-smooth, cold, and ruthless armor texture.

"Tastes good."

Jiang Ran looked at the hardware parameters on the screen, which had improved significantly, then turned around without giving the ruins another glance.

"Cleaned up.

Let's go, time for the next place."

As the gunboat wreckage completely disappeared, the atmosphere on the river surface underwent a subtle change.

Those small boats that had scattered in fear...

Seeing that the black star of death had no intention of a massacre, they actually gathered back slowly, emboldened.

There were even a few speedboats flying white flags, engines idling, cautiously approaching the side of the black iron.

Several small leaders stood on the bows, bowing and scraping.

Holding gold and supplies scavenged from who knows where, their faces were filled with fawning smiles.

In the survival laws of the wasteland, the old king is dead, a new king must rise.

Since this man killed the Ark's gunboat and didn't slaughter the city, according to custom, he was the new master of the Floating City.

These hyenas barely surviving here were eager to kneel before this new overlord.

In exchange for the qualification to continue eating carrion under the new order.

"Already lining up to get dog tags?"

Old Chen stood in the airlock, looking at the fawning ships on the holographic screen, and spat disdainfully:

"A bunch of spineless weaklings.

Jiang Ran, what do you say?

Should we hang a 'No Visitors' sign at the door?"

"No need."

Jiang Ran sat in the command chair, not even glancing at the ships trying to approach.

His finger slid lightly across the trackball, issuing the final command to the abyss.

"We don't belong here."

"zero, dive."

"Abyss Form, activate."

"Hum—Clank—"

Accompanied by the sound of hydraulic transmission.

The forty-five-meter-long steel beast, the black iron, began its astonishing transformation in front of everyone.

This wasn't a simple sinking, but a morphological reconstruction full of mechanical beauty and biological eeriness.

On the foredeck.

The Electromagnetic Railgun turret that had just been spitting death...

Rapidly folded back and flipped amidst a precise mechanical clicking, then slowly sank into the hidden weapons bay beneath the deck.

Two thick Biological Armor plates then slid over, covering the gun position seamlessly, without leaving even a crack.

Next was the bridge.

Outside the wide bulletproof glass windows.

Layers of black scale-like armor plates, like living eyelids, quickly closed from the periphery toward the center.

"Click! Click!"

All external antennas, railings, and close-in weapon system turrets automatically retracted, embedding themselves into the streamlined hull.

The originally angular and aggressive surface warship shape became rounded and smooth within just ten-odd seconds.

The entire ship was completely encased in that layer of dark silver active metal, turning into a perfect, giant water-drop structure without any protrusions.

It no longer looked like a ship.

It looked more like a giant black cocoon, or perhaps an unhatched egg of some deep-sea behemoth.

"Gurgle—"

The ballast tank valves opened, and river water poured in frantically.

Under the stunned gazes of the survivors...

This steel giant, which had been invincible just moments ago, gave no warning and accepted no surrender.

It simply dipped its bow coldly, like a whale tired of the air, and resolutely dove into the murky river water.

The black river water washed over the deck, over the bridge, and finally swallowed the tip of the mast that was only slightly exposed.

No giant whirlpool, no parting whistle.

It just disappeared silently from everyone's sight.

Leaving only ripples on the water surface that were rapidly spreading and eventually returning to calm.

Those small leaders holding gifts froze in place, not even noticing when the gold in their hands fell onto the deck.

They stared blankly at the empty river surface, a sense of unprecedented emptiness welling up in their hearts.

It turned out that for the truly strong...

This Floating City they fought so hard for didn't even have the qualification to be a resting place.

He was just a... passerby.

A true ghost.

Beneath the surface, the world was set to mute.

As the last sliver of light was swallowed by the thick river water.

Inside the deep-dive command center of the black iron, it fell into a gloom illuminated only by the cold light of the instrument panels.

The deafening thunder, the clamor of survivors, and the crackling of burning flames outside...

Were all completely isolated in another world by the thickened bio-active armor and hundreds of tons of water pressure.

Only one sound remained.

"Beep—... Beep—..."

It was the monotonous and oppressive detection pulses emitted by the phase sonar in the deep water.

Every echo was like drawing an invisible line in this pitch-black abyss, outlining the hideous contours of the surrounding riverbed.

All physical observation windows had been sealed by armor plates.

Inside the bridge now, they were replaced by a wrap-around giant holographic projection screen.

What was displayed on the screen was no longer a scene visible to the naked eye, but a "digital abyss" composed of countless green lines and data streams.

"Depth: 50 meters... Flow rate: 12 knots... External water pressure: Normal."

Old Chen leaned over the engineering station, staring intently at the jumping pressure readings, his wrinkled old face now overflowing with a childlike ecstasy:

"Stable! It's so damn stable!

Not a single abnormal sound from the hull structure!

That layer of 'Silver Scale' armor is automatically adjusting its surface tension; our drag coefficient is now lower than that of a real fish!"

He excitedly slapped the console as if he were slapping a newly tamed stallion:

"This is what you call a submarine! Those tin cans from before are just floating coffins compared to this!"

Jiang Ran sat in the command chair, ignoring Old Chen's noise.

His expression remained calm, but in the ghostly blue light, his eyes seemed exceptionally deep.

He reached into his coat and took out the deep sea black box he had seized from Golden Tooth, gently placing it on the central induction area of the tactical table.

"zero, read the data. Expand the East Sea nautical chart."

"Hum—"

The blue patterns on the surface of the black box instantly lit up.

A complex and grand holographic map slowly unfurled in the air of the command cabin.

It was no longer the narrow channel of the Yangtze River, but a vast and awe-inspiring deep blue territory—the East Sea.

But within that deep blue, it was filled with dense red warning symbols.

Especially the funnel-shaped area of the Yangtze River estuary, which was covered by a shocking blood-red color.

It was marked with countless scalp-numbing symbols:

[old era Automatic Sea Mine Array (Active)]

[Shore-based Automatic Defense Batteries (Remnant)]

[High-Risk Mutant Creature Migration Zone]

And in the very center of the estuary, a giant black vortex specifically marked with a skull—

[Absolute Forbidden Zone: Leviathan's Nest]

"This is where we're going."

Jiang Ran's finger passed through the holographic projection, lightly tracing across that blood-red estuary, leaving a golden flight path:

"Pass through this minefield, kill that big guy guarding the gate.

Then we'll be free."

Su Qingyu looked at the peril-filled sea chart and took a deep breath.

She knew that the battle in the Floating City just now was merely the final tutorial match of the beginner village.

The real survival challenge was only just beginning.

"Those people... I mean the people in the Floating City, what will happen to them?"

Su Qingyu subconsciously glanced back at the rear screen, where there was only pitch-black water.

"They will continue to struggle; perhaps a new king will be born, or perhaps they will be completely destroyed."

Jiang Ran withdrew his hand, his voice cold and firm: "But that has nothing to do with us anymore."

"Here, only those who move forward have the right to talk about the future."

He suddenly pushed the power lever.

The water jet propulsors at the rear of the black iron ghost erupted with a silent torrent in the deep water.

The massive hull was like a black torpedo.

Accompanied by the monotonous sonar pulses, it accelerated toward that broader and more lethal deep sea.

Behind it, the legend of the 'black iron ghost' would circulate on the ruins of the Floating City for a long time.

But the protagonist of the legend had already vanished into the abyss, leaving no trace.