[Item Name: Abyss Psychic Parasitic Embryo (Living Body · Mutating)]
[Current Status: Extremely Hungry/Agitated]
[Biological Rating: S-Class (Growth Stage)]
[Description: This is not an inanimate object, but a high-level lifeform larva originating from deep-sea fissures. It disguises itself in a crystalline form, incubating by parasitizing the host's abdominal cavity and absorbing blood and bioelectricity.]
[Warning: Once fully hatched, it will instantly devour the host as a "hatching gift" and possess powerful mental control abilities.]
[Special Note: It carries the unique magnetic field aura of "Sky Island."]
After reading the panel, Qin Yu's eyebrows twitched sharply.
It's alive.
This damn thing is an egg.
And it's a man-eating egg.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
The lead box in Li Ruobing's hands suddenly began to shake violently, as if something inside was frantically slamming against the inner walls.
Even through the thick lead layer, that heart-palpitating chill still seeped out.
Li Ruobing's wrist trembled, nearly dropping it.
"This thing has quite the strength!"
"Does it want to get out?"
Li Ruobing pressed down on the lid with both hands, her face pale.
"It's hitting the box, and the frequency is fast."
"Like... a heartbeat."
Qin Yu threw the cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it underfoot, then walked over and placed a hand on the lead box.
"Behave."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a murderous aura forged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
The box's shaking eerily paused for a second.
Immediately after, its resistance grew even more intense.
Although this thing was just a larva, it still knew who was the King of Hell that could end its life.
It feared Qin Yu.
But precisely because it feared him, it wanted to escape even more.
"Ruo Bing, get the heavy-duty tape and wrap it up tight."
Qin Yu withdrew his hand, his gaze cold.
"Since it's a living thing, we don't need to worry about signal shielding anymore."
"Throw it into that freezer."
"Want to hatch?"
"I'll turn you into a popsicle."
Li Ruobing nodded, deftly wrapping the lead box with industrial tape until it resembled a mummy, then turned and jogged toward the storage room.
Only the ticking of instruments remained in the room.
Yao Xue had already treated the wounds and was administering an IV to Chen Xiaoya.
"Severe blood loss, coupled with long-term malnutrition."
Yao Xue removed her blood-stained rubber gloves and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"But her life is saved."
"This girl is really lucky."
"That thing not only sucked her blood but also severely disrupted her endocrine system."
"If we had been half a day later, even a god might not have been able to save her."
Qin Yu pulled over a chair and sat down heavily by the bed.
"Wake her up."
Yao Xue was taken aback.
"Now?"
"She just finished suturing, and the anesthesia hasn't worn off yet..."
"Wake her up."
Qin Yu repeated, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"I don't have time to wait for her beauty sleep."
"If that thing is alive and still sending distress signals, it means its 'parent body' or 'kin' might be nearby."
"In this godforsaken place, the unknown is the deadliest."
Yao Xue looked at Qin Yu's utterly expressionless eyes and sighed.
She knew that once Qin Yu decided something, no one could change it.
That was this man's domineering nature.
It was also the very reason this ship had survived until today.
Yao Xue took a syringe from the first aid kit—it was a Potent Revitalizing Agent.
She injected it into the IV line.
In less than ten seconds.
Chen Xiaoya's eyelids on the bed fluttered a few times.
"Ugh…"
A pained groan forced its way from her throat.
Chen Xiaoya's eyes snapped open, her pupils unfocused, clearly still in a state of extreme terror.
"Don't… don't come any closer!"
"Don't eat me!"
She flailed her arms wildly, tugging at the wound on her abdomen, grimacing in pain.
Thwack!
Qin Yu reached out, firmly grasping her wrist and pressing it back onto the bed.
His grip was strong, with not a hint of tenderness.
"Look clearly."
"Who am I."
The pain from his grip jolted Chen Xiaoya into a slightly clearer state.
Her vision finally focused.
Before her was Qin Yu's stern face and that signature buzz cut.
The man who was both a nightmare and a savior.
"Qin… Boss Qin?"
Chen Xiaoya shuddered, instinctively shrinking back under the covers.
"I… I'm still alive?"
She touched her stomach.
It was flat.
That hard lump that had tormented her for half a month, that devil that haunted her nightmares every night, was gone.
All that remained was a long bandage and the faint, throbbing pain of the incision.
A wave of exhaustion from a narrow escape washed over her, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
"Finished crying?"
Qin Yu lit a cigarette, not giving her much time to vent her emotions.
"If you're done, shut your mouth and listen to my questions."
Chen Xiaoya quickly covered her mouth, sniffled hard, and held back her tears.
She knew that in front of this man, tears were the cheapest thing.
"Where did that thing come from?"
Qin Yu exhaled a puff of smoke, the haze curling in the dim light.
"Don't tell me you found it."
"That was a live parasite."
"An S-Class Creature."
"With that broken sailboat of yours, if you'd encountered something like that, not even your bones would've been left."
Chen Xiaoya's pupils contracted sharply.
A parasite?
Alive?
She had always thought it was some kind of mutated gem or a special energy core.
So… she had been carrying a monster all along?
The belated fear made her tremble all over, her teeth chattering.
"Speak."
Qin Yu's voice grew heavier.
Chen Xiaoya took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
"It… it was on an island."
"An island?"
Qin Yu narrowed his eyes.
In this post-apocalyptic sea, islands weren't rare.
Most were reefs breaking the surface or mountaintops not yet submerged.
"Yes, a very strange island."
Chen Xiaoya's gaze grew distant, as if lost in some terrifying memory.
"About half a month ago."
"I wasn't in this area of the sea back then."
"The 'Blood Shark Gang' was chasing me, my ship was damaged, and I was drifting with the currents."
"That day, the fog was thick, extremely thick. The sea was covered in gray mist; you couldn't even see the sun."
"Just when I thought I was going to die, the fog cleared a little."
"I saw that island."
At this point, Chen Xiaoya swallowed, her throat dry.
Even Yao Qian, who was listening, felt scared and quietly moved closer to hand Chen Xiaoya a cup of warm water.
Chen Xiaoya gave her a grateful look, took a big gulp, and continued.
"That island... it doesn't grow in the sea."
Qin Yu frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Chen Xiaoya set down the cup, gripping the bedsheet tightly with both hands, her knuckles turning white.
"It... it's floating."
"But not like a raft floating on the water."
"It's... it's trying to float into the sky."
Qin Yu's hand holding the cigarette froze.
Float into the sky?
Anti-gravity?
"Explain in detail." Qin Yu leaned forward, the pressure he exuded making the air feel heavy.
Chen Xiaoya took two quick breaths.
"The seawater around that island is different."
"Other seawater flows downward."
"The water there... it curls upward!"
"It's like... like there's a giant vacuum cleaner sucking from the sky!"
"Huge chunks of rock float up from the seabed, circling the island, then slowly rising."
"As soon as my boat got close, I felt it become lighter."
"That feeling was especially nauseating, like the sudden weightlessness in an elevator—I felt like I was going to throw up my stomach."
"The island is covered in black rocks, no trees, only a kind of purple vine."
"Those vines grow upside down too!"
"Their roots are buried in the rocks, but the leaves stretch desperately toward the sky, each leaf looking like it's trying to grab something."
Qin Yu quickly visualized the scene in his mind.
Anti-gravity field.
Purple vines.
"How did you get on it?"
Qin Yu asked the key question.
"Since gravity was abnormal, why didn't your broken boat fly up?"
Chen Xiaoya shook her head.
"It didn't completely fly up."
"That island seems to have a chain... or some kind of energy rope, pulling it into the sea."
"It wants to fly, but it can't escape."
"My boat ran aground at the edge of the island."
"I was starving at the time, thinking there might be food on the island, so I climbed up."
"There's a large pit at the center of the island."
"Inside the pit... it's full of these blue stones."
"Densely packed, thousands upon thousands."
"All glowing, flickering like breathing."
"I was bewitched at the time, thinking these things must be valuable, or some kind of life-saving tool."
"So I picked up the smallest one."
"Who knew that as soon as I got my hands on it, the thing... it burrowed into my hand."
At this point, Chen Xiaoya clutched her stomach again, her face filled with fear.
"Then I started having a fever and fell unconscious."
"When I woke up, my boat had already been washed away by the waves."
"After that, I encountered the Blood Shark Gang, and then I met you all..."
Qin Yu fell silent.
Thousands upon thousands?
If the thing inside Chen Xiaoya's stomach is an S-Class juvenile...
Then that island must have an entire army of S-Class creatures?
This is a damn hive of insectoids!
"The location of that island."
Qin Yu was concise.
Chen Xiaoya was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly.
"I... I don't know."
Seeing Qin Yu's expression darken, she quickly explained.
"I really don't know the exact coordinates!"
"My navigation equipment had long been broken by then!"
"And that island... it moves!"
"It moves incredibly fast!"
"Just like a ship, it drifts across the sea!"
Qin Yu stood up.
Pacing back and forth in the narrow room.
It moves.
Anti-gravity.
S-Class creature hive.
Plus the "Sky Island" aura the system just detected.
All the clues connected, pointing to a phrase that made Qin Yu's heart race—
The truth of the world.
The system's task was to gather five fragments of the "Ocean Soul Crystal Mother" and touch the truth of the world.
And this so-called "Sky Island" was likely one of the key nodes.
Even...
It might be a phenomenon caused by a massive fragment of the "Ocean Soul Crystal Mother"!
Because of energy overflow, gravity was reversed.
Because it was the foundation of the world, it gave birth to such high-level creatures.
"Interesting."
Qin Yu stubbed out his cigarette butt on the bedside table.
"This isn't survival."
"This is clearly a treasure hunt."
"Except there are monsters guarding the treasure chest."
He turned around and looked at Chen Xiaoya.
"Are you sure that happened half a month ago?"
Chen Xiaoya nodded frantically.
"Absolutely! I remember it clearly!"
"It was a night just like this, right after a storm ended."
Qin Yu stroked his chin.
Half a month.
Given the speed of this ship, if the direction was wrong, they would have been long gone by now.
But.
That thing was calling for help just now.
The sensory range of an S-Class Creature is vast.
If its "mother" or "nest" was truly too far away, it wouldn't have bothered sending a signal.
Its reaction was so intense just now.
Meaning...
That island has returned.