91: Giving a warship an injection? The Black Iron Ship has evolved "dead skin" armor!

On the screen, it wasn't just the area that had just come into contact with the jellyfish.

Dense red spots and ulcerated patches began to appear all over the black iron's once smooth and sleek hull.

The omnipresent radioactive toxic water was disintegrating the biological warship's cellular structure at a microscopic level.

"The high concentration of heavy metals and radioactive ions in this damned water has destroyed the protein structure of the living cells."

Su Qingyu looked at those shocking red spots and quickly made a diagnosis:

"Its immune system has collapsed."

"If we don't deal with it immediately, the black iron will be 'digested' by this sea until not even bone fragments remain."

She stood up abruptly and grabbed the medical communicator beside her, her gaze becoming sharper than ever before:

"Ordinary physical repairs are useless."

"This isn't a malfunction; it's poisoning."

"Since it's poisoning, we have to treat it with a doctor's methods."

"Give me control, even if only for five minutes."

Su Qingyu didn't hesitate for a moment.

She didn't even have time to put on her white coat, rushing out of the command cabin carrying a heavy silver metal case.

Her target wasn't the infirmary, but the power core cabin located deep in the bottom of the ship.

For a biological warship, that was its heart, the hub where all blood vessels converged... "Old Chen! Open valve number three of the main circulation pump! Fast!"

Su Qingyu's voice boomed through the power cabin over the intercom.

Old Chen, who was frantically checking the pipes, was startled. But seeing Su Qingyu's murderous expression, he didn't say a word, swinging his wrench to smash open the rusty manual valve.

"Pshhh—"

A blast of scalding white steam gushed out.

Behind the steam, what was revealed was no longer cold metal piping.

Instead, it was a "blood vessel" as thick as a thigh, translucent and fleshy-red, pulsing violently and rhythmically.

That was the black iron's main cooling circulation pipe.

Flowing inside was not just coolant, but the nutrient plasma that maintained the survival of all the ship's living cells.

At this moment, the blood vessel was trembling frantically.

Purplish-blue veins bulged on its surface, as if it were enduring immense pain.

"Bear with it, big guy."

Su Qingyu knelt on the ground and nimbly opened the metal case.

Inside were not ordinary scalpels or gauze.

Instead, there were rows of ampoules glinting with a dangerous cold light, and a modified, fearsome-looking industrial-grade high-pressure injection gun.

Her hands, usually accustomed to holding delicate scalpels, were now skillfully manipulating this heavy piece of equipment.

"High-concentration heavy metal chelating agent... mixed with cell wall stabilizing enzymes..."

Su Qingyu quickly muttered the formula, pouring several bottles of differently colored liquids into the injection gun's mixing chamber.

With a slight hum, the liquid in the mixing chamber rapidly turned a deep, pure azure.

It was an "Antidote" specifically formulated for radiation poisoning and strong acid corrosion.

"This dosage... it's enough to poison a blue whale to death." Old Chen watched from the side, his heart pounding in fear.

"It's a warship, not a goldfish."

Su Qingyu replied coldly.

She then raised the heavy injection gun with both hands, its alloy needle glinting under the red alarm lights.

She took a deep breath and aimed at the thick, twitching blood vessel, her gaze as focused as if she were performing brain surgery.

"It might hurt a little."

"Pfft—!!"

Accompanied by the muffled sound of air pressure releasing.

The ten-centimeter-long alloy needle plunged ruthlessly into the translucent vessel wall.

"Roar—!!!"

No actual sound was made.

But at that moment, the entire keel of the black iron let out a piercing, twisting sound.

In the command cabin, Jiang Ran jerked his head back, veins bulging on his neck as a muffled groan escaped his lips.

It felt as if someone had injected a tube of ice shards directly into his blood vessels.

Cold and stinging, it instantly spread throughout his entire body along his veins.

"Don't move!"

Su Qingyu shouted, firmly holding down the violently struggling blood vessel.

Although she knew she was shouting at the ship, she was actually speaking to Jiang Ran:

"Be good... it'll be over soon."

In her usually cold voice.

There was now a rare trace of tenderness and comfort, like a mother soothing a crying child with a fever.

As the azure liquid was steadily pumped into the vessel by the high-pressure pump.

The originally violent, scalding dark-red plasma was quickly neutralized and cooled by that touch of deep blue.

The heart-wrenching burning sensation began to fade, replaced by a refreshing coolness.

The vibrations in the power cabin gradually subsided.

The thick blood vessel stopped spasming, and its pulse gradually became steady and strong again.

"Whew..."

Su Qingyu pulled out the needle and let out a long breath as she watched the puncture wound heal rapidly.

She reached out and gently patted the warm vessel wall.

The sensation against her palm was no longer a feverish heat, but a healthy warmth.

"Good job."

She spoke softly, a weary but gratified smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

In the command cabin, Jiang Ran, drenched in cold sweat, slowly released his grip on the armrest; that bone-deep pain had finally vanished.

This steel behemoth had come back to life... As that potent dose, enough to kill a blue whale, was injected into the core, the black iron's reaction was violent and swift.

"Crackle— Crackle—"

A series of sharp cracks, like dry bark splitting, began to echo continuously throughout the hull.

Through the porthole, Old Chen watched in horror.

The dark silver Biological Armor of the black iron, once its pride and joy, shimmering with light.

Now, it was curling and peeling off in large chunks, like dried snakeskin.

These lifeless metal flakes fell into the murky green water, corroded into nothingness in the blink of an eye.

"It's over... we're really streaking now."

Old Chen watched the "skin" continuously peeling off outside the window, his heart aching:

"How did Dr. Su's injection end up stripping off the skin?"

"To build anew, one must first destroy."

Jiang Ran stood up straight again. Though his face was still pale, his eyes gleamed with intelligence.

He could feel it.

As the pain receded, a numb, heavy, yet exceptionally solid sensation was covering every inch of the ship's nerve endings.

"Look closely at the peeling areas."

Following Jiang Ran's lead, Old Chen looked out the window again.

He saw that after the shiny silver old skin fell off, what was revealed was not bright red, fragile flesh.

Instead, it was a layer of grayish-white, sandpaper-rough new tissue.

This newly grown "skin" had no metallic luster.

It looked like the calcified bones of some ancient marine creature, or calloused dead skin.

It was ugly, dull, and completely devoid of aesthetic appeal.

But when the highly corrosive green seawater splashed onto it, it no longer made that terrifying sizzling sound.

Instead, it slid off silently, like water droplets on a lotus leaf.

"Beep— Environment adaptation evolution complete."

zero's voice chimed in:

"Surface armor properties reconstructed: Keratinized Dead Skin Layer."

"Properties: Insulation, resistant to strong acid corrosion, zero radar cross-section."

Su Qingyu returned to the command cabin, carrying her medical case.

Looking at the grayish-white model of the black iron on the screen, she said calmly:

"Since the seawater here is toxic, let it grow a layer of 'dead skin' that feels no pain."

"It's a bit ugly, but it's practical."

Jiang Ran looked at the transformed warship, a satisfied arc curling his lips.

The current black iron was no longer that sharp, silver warship.

In this toxic sea shimmering with an eerie green light, its grayish-white, rough camouflage...

...made it look like a lifeless piece of giant driftwood, or a whale carcass drifting with the current.

It blended perfectly into the background color of this sea of death.

"Ugly is exactly what we want."

Jiang Ran gripped the helm again, his voice low like a deep-sea undercurrent:

"Only dead things won't attract a hunter's attention."

He gently pushed the throttle, and the black iron's specially treated engines let out a barely audible hum.

The hull, like a gray ghost, slid silently into the thicker green mist ahead.

As the warship ventured deeper, the surrounding radioactive mist grew thicker.

And deep within that roiling fog.

Several suffocatingly massive black shadows were faintly outlining hideous silhouettes.

They were leaning skyscrapers, broken viaducts, and a sunken city.

The Magic City Dead Sea has been reached.