87: Global wanted! S-class extermination order? That's the highest honor Ark has ever bestowed upon me!

Su Qingyu stared at him for two seconds, seemingly unaccustomed to seeing him like this.

She then turned around, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as if to hide her expression, her lips curling upward in an involuntary smile.

"Mhm, as long as you remember."

Silence returned to the command cabin.

But within this silence, the cold oppression seemed to have faded, replaced by a trace of warmth known as trust.

That rare moment of tenderness didn't last long; like bubbles occasionally rising in the deep sea, it was fleeting.

"Zzt—Hey! Hey! You two up there!"

Old Chen's signature raspy voice suddenly blared over the intercom, tactlessly shattering the tranquility of the command cabin:

"Stop staring at each other! Look at the main screen!

zero just intercepted something big!

It's an all-band encrypted signal. The power was so high it nearly fried my receiver!"

Jiang Ran and Su Qingyu exchanged a look. The ambiguous atmosphere vanished instantly, replaced by the alertness and grimness characteristic of combat personnel.

Su Qingyu quickly took half a step back and organized her first-aid kit.

Jiang Ran turned around and swiped his finger across the console, switching the main audio of the communication channel to the bridge broadcast.

"Play it."

"Zzt... Zzt..."

After a burst of sharp, ear-piercing white noise, a cold, metallic female voice spoke.

It echoed through the dimly lit command cabin.

The voice wasn't loud, yet it carried an air of lofty, unquestionable authority.

It was like a deity above the clouds reading a verdict to the ants on the ground.

"Attention all subordinate units in the Eastern War Zone, peripheral settlements, and the Bounty Hunter Guild."

"This is the Ark High Council - Special Security Committee."

"In view of the crash of the 'judgment-class' gunboat at Jinling Sky City and a series of devastating strikes against Ark assets..."

Ripples on the screen jumped violently as lines of bold, blood-red text began to refresh frantically across the holographic nautical chart.

"We are now issuing a maximum-level wanted order—Code: [S-Class Extinction Order]."

"Target: Unidentified armed vessel."

"Target Code: [black iron]."

As the words "black iron" were read, a blurry snapshot appeared in the center of the screen.

It was the moment the black iron, positioned above the Floating City, shattered the "Tower of Babel" with a single shot.

Although the ship's silhouette was somewhat distorted due to the Optical Deflection Field.

But the electromagnetic railgun, still spitting blue electric arcs, was terrifyingly clear.

The female voice in the broadcast continued its cold report:

"Target Characteristics:"

"1. Bio-active armor with extremely high mobility;"

"2. Possession of anti-gravity or similar stealth field technology;"

"3. Confirmed to be equipped with a tactical-grade nuclear engine and large-caliber kinetic weapons."

"Threat Level Assessment: Destruction-Class."

"The target is extremely dangerous, possessing strong counter-reconnaissance and aggressive capabilities.

Upon encountering the target, no warning is required; the use of any means to eliminate it on the spot is authorized."

"For anyone providing real-time coordinates of the target, the reward: Ark First-Class Citizenship, lifelong clean water rations, and 50 kilograms of gold."

"For anyone who sinks or assists in sinking the target..."

The voice paused for a moment, as if to emphasize the weight of the upcoming stakes:

"...The reward is core residency in the Ark's 'Eden' district and the 'Ark Guardian' medal."

The broadcast ended.

But the murderous chill was heavier than the deep-sea pressure, weighing heavily on everyone's hearts.

S-Class Extinction Order. Destruction-Class threat.

This meant that from this moment on, everyone on this ship was no longer just a common survivor or criminal.

They had become—in the eyes of the most powerful organization in this wasteland world—enemies of the world.

The red wanted poster on the holographic screen continued to flash.

The bold words "Destruction-Class" were seared onto everyone's retinas like red-hot irons.

The air froze for several seconds.

Then, a burst of raucous laughter broke the heavy silence. It was Old Chen.

"Hahahaha—! Destruction-Class?!"

Old Chen took a large swig of low-quality shaojiu, the burn bringing tears to his eyes. But his expression wasn't one of fear; it was a near-twisted ecstasy and pride.

He slammed the stainless steel bowl onto the console.

With a sharp clang, he pointed at the blurry photo of the black iron on the screen, spittle flying:

"Look! Everyone look! This is my masterpiece!

Those Ark bigwigs who usually look down their noses at everyone—they finally know how to be afraid?

'Destruction-Class'... tsk tsk tsk. Those grandsons actually have some taste, giving your grandpa here such a resounding title."

He admired the wanted poster as if it were a certificate of merit, looking as if he wanted to print it out and stick it above his bed.

"We used to be an 'illegally modified ship' and 'water bandits.' Now, with a shake of the tail, we're 'enemies of the world'?

Our value is rising faster than housing prices used to!"

Su Qingyu silently closed her first-aid kit with a soft click.

She wasn't as manic as Old Chen, but in her cool eyes, there wasn't a hint of retreat.

She stood up and straightened her slightly messy collar, her tone as calm as if she were analyzing a medical report.

"Old Chen is right. Although this is a kill order, it's also a form of 'certification'."

She turned to look at Jiang Ran, a wise light gleaming in her eyes.

"The Ark has always been arrogant. For ordinary threats, they would only send a few flies to deal with it.

But this time, they not only used an all-band broadcast but even offered a sky-high reward like residency in 'Eden'."

"What does this mean?"

Su Qingyu gave a cold laugh.

"It means they're afraid.

It means this ship has become a thorn in their throat—a poisonous thorn that they can't pull out and that could very well kill them."

Jiang Ran remained in the command seat, his newly bandaged hand resting lightly on the armrest.

He watched the rotating red "S" symbol on the screen, the deep blue light in his eyes flickering slightly.

Fear?

No.

The moment he heard the code name "black iron" broadcasted, what he felt in his heart was actually an unprecedented sense of grounding.

It was the relief of finally not needing to hide, of finally being able to show his fangs.

"S-Class Extinction Order..."

Jiang Ran repeated it in a low voice, his lips curling into a sharp arc.

"Before, we were 'survivors' hiding in the gutters, struggling for half a loaf of bread.

In their eyes, we were bugs, trash that could be crushed at any time."

He stood up, his gaze sweeping over his companions, his voice becoming deep and powerful.

"But from today on, things are different."

"We are no longer pawns on a chessboard to be manipulated by others."

Jiang Ran reached out and made a crushing motion over the wanted order that represented the Ark's supreme will, as if squeezing it to pieces.

"We are the players."

"Since they gave us the name 'black iron,' let them remember this fear well."

"In this ocean, the black iron is the new nightmare."

An invisible aura spread through the command cabin. It wasn't the tragic heroism of facing a dead end, but the composure of a powerhouse before declaring war.

Old Chen stopped laughing, and Su Qingyu tightened her grip on her dagger.

They all knew that with the issuance of this wanted order, the era of cautious survival had ended.

Next would be the war chapter belonging to the "Legend of the black iron."

Before the echoes of the Ark's cold wanted broadcast had even faded, and while the bold words in the command cabin still hung in the air.

At this moment of high morale, as if the entire ocean were already prostrate at their feet, a sudden change occurred.

"Vroom—"

There was no warning siren.

What came first was an extremely low-frequency vibration.

This vibration was incredibly dull, even beyond the range of human hearing, acting directly upon matter itself.

Inside the stainless steel bowl Old Chen had placed on the console.

The previously calm alcohol suddenly rippled with fine, rapid waves, splashing out as if it were boiling.

Immediately afterward, the incredibly strong bio-active skeleton of the black iron actually let out a low hum, like a string being tightened to its limit.

It felt as if an invisible giant hand in the deep sea had lightly plucked the keel of the warship.

"What's happening?! Engine failure?!" The arrogance on Old Chen's face froze instantly as he instinctively lunged toward the power monitoring screen.

"Power output is stable... it's not us!" Old Chen's voice cracked. "It's outside! Something is roaring!"

"Beep—!!!"

The next second, the sonar monitoring station erupted in an unprecedented, ear-piercing alarm.

On the previously dark green sonar scan map, the smooth baseline suddenly went wild.

It shot to the very top of the screen in an instant, turning into a patch of crimson representing an extremely high-energy sonic impact.

"Ang—!!!"

A long, desolate roar, filled with primal and tyrannical aura, pierced through eighty meters of seawater and layers of armor.

Like a physical sledgehammer, it slammed hard against everyone's eardrums.

The sound was somewhat like the mournful cry of a whale, but a hundred times more grand and deep.

Intermingled within it was a metallic, screeching howl that made one's scalp tingle and blood boil.

"Warning: A super-giant biological signal awakening has been detected in the high-risk waters ahead."

zero's broadcast remained calm, but the speaking rate had noticeably quickened.

"Sound source bearing: 12 kilometers directly ahead, the core area of the 'Leviathans Lair'."

"Sound pressure level: 180 decibels."

"Epicenter depth: -150 meters."

Su Qingyu gripped the handrail tightly to steady herself, her face pale. "At such a distance, just the cry can cause hull resonance... just how big is that thing?"

Jiang Ran stood up abruptly. At that moment, the hint of warmth and relaxation he had just shown seemed to be shattered instantly by the roar.

In its place was a combat posture colder and more focused than ever before.

He strode to the holographic nautical chart.

There, in the center of the black vortex marked as an "Absolute Forbidden Zone."

A massive shadow, previously dormant, was rising slowly but inexorably.

The volume of that shadow was so immense.

It even made the surrounding smart mines, capable of sinking warships, look like plankton floating around a giant whale.

"Small talk is over."

Jiang Ran looked at the red spot that was taking over the entire screen, the deep blue light in his eyes surging like burning cold fire.

"The big guy guarding the gate has awakened."

He waved his hand sharply, his voice exploding in the vibrating command cabin with unquestionable iron-blooded authority:

"All hands, Condition One battle stations!"

"Preheat the main gun! Reactor to full output!"

"Whether it's a god or a ghost, if it dares to block the way, send it back to hell!"

The red alarm lights of the black iron rotated frantically, casting flickering shadows on the three faces. The calm before the storm was completely torn asunder.

The deep-sea hunt officially began at this moment.