「Half an hour ago.」

The Lost Home sailed quietly across the sea.

The sky was high and vast, and a gentle sea breeze was blowing.

Zhang Chongshan walked up behind Yuan Dajun, carrying a plate of sashimi. "Uncle Yuan, want to try some?"

"That stuff’s too cold. I’ll get an upset stomach if I eat too much." Yuan Dajun waved it away.

"How about some steamed oysters then? They’re good for you, an aphrodisiac." Zhang Chongshan picked up a slice of raw fish and tossed it into his mouth.

"You guys go ahead. I’m afraid of getting gout if I eat too much seafood." Yuan Dajun said, then remarked with a sigh, "This is my last day on the ship. Once today’s business is over, I’m planning to disembark. You’ll be the captain of this ship then."

"Uncle Yuan, thank you so much for your help all this time," Zhang Chongshan said gratefully.

Yuan Dajun waved his hand and smiled faintly. "It has little to do with me. It’s mainly because you’re capable."

Zhang Chongshan shook his head and said seriously, "Uncle Yuan, you can’t say that. Your help wasn’t just on the ship, but in all aspects of my life."

"I’m a newcomer who just joined the Qin Alliance not long ago. You were willing to bring me into the circle and introduce me to your friends. Without you, I don’t know how many detours I would have had to take."

"Haha, you’re the captain of the Lost Home, don’t sell yourself short. What circle? We’re all just ordinary people trying to survive in this Otherworld. If you’re capable, people will welcome you."

As they were talking, a crewman suddenly came over with a message.

"Captain, First Mate, we saw the ship next to us raising a white flag and lighting a signal fire. It looks like a distress call."

Hearing the news, Zhang Chongshan’s expression changed slightly. He and Yuan Dajun exchanged a look.

He hurried to the deck and looked in the direction the crewman was pointing.

In the distance, another fishing boat a few hundred meters away had its stern sinking slightly and its bow tilting up. A white flag hung from the mast, and a column of black smoke was rising from the deck.

"There’s a problem. The hull must be leaking." Zhang Chongshan’s face was grim. He muttered to himself, ’Something’s not right. Why would the hull suddenly start leaking? Could it have been an attack?’

Yuan Dajun’s expression tensed. He seemed to have thought of something as he scanned the surrounding sea. A moment later, he located the culprit.

"There’s something over there. A big one, under the surface." Yuan Dajun pointed to a spot not far away, where a large, dark shadow was circling the other boat.

"That thing..." Zhang Chongshan recognized what was under the water.

"It looks a bit like that Mosasaurus!"

Yuan Dajun narrowed his eyes. "That thing actually holds a grudge. It’s come back to attack us. We need to notify the Qin Alliance right away. Also, set up the Car-Mounted Crossbow on board and prepare to attack. Zhang, do you think we can tie a chain to the sinking ship and tow it back to shore?"

Hearing this, Zhang Chongshan quickly stopped him. "No! We can’t do that! We’re not a professional tugboat. Our ship’s structure means that doing so might actually speed up the hull’s collapse. The best thing to do is have their crew abandon ship..."

He stopped halfway, hesitating. He felt that abandoning the ship might not be the best idea. "But the ship isn’t too far from the shore. They could try to steer it onto the nearest sandbar and then make repairs."

Yuan Dajun looked toward the sandbar that extended from the reef, like a causeway leading to another island.

It was currently low tide during the day.

"Alright. We’ll find a way to cover them as they head over. The distance isn’t too great. Get the Message Bird from the ship and send a message to the shore."

The Lost Home had a Pigeon on board.

This Pigeon had been trained in a dovecote building belonging to a Qin Alliance member and could understand simple commands.

However, this "Pigeon" looked a little strange...

It had a long, pointed snout, wings like a bat’s, and sharp claws.

It was clearly a small Winged Dragon.

After tying the envelope to its leg and watching the Winged Dragon fly away, Zhang Chongshan worried, ’I wonder how long it’ll take for backup to arrive.’

The Lost Home slowly approached the Mosasaurus. Perhaps because it had been injured by the Lost Home before, the Mosasaurus was very cautious when facing it.

With a single dive, it plunged into the depths and vanished from the surface.

But everyone knew that the creature was definitely still lurking in the depths, watching them.

Judging by its behavior, the Mosasaurus held a serious grudge and would never give up so easily.

A vengeful creature like this would never just leave so easily.

Sure enough, ten minutes later, just as the leaking fishing boat had covered most of the distance and was nearing the sandbar, the hull of the Lost Home, which was providing cover, was suddenly rocked by a violent jolt.

The ship trembled violently. The Mosasaurus had rammed the Lost Home hard from beneath the sea.

"The hull isn’t breached! No water intake for now!" a crewman reported, rushing onto the deck.

Just then, "SCREEE—"

A cry echoed from high above.

"It’s a Beaked Eagle!"

"No, it’s the Leader! The Leader is here!"

Everyone on the ship looked up to see Qin Ziwen lying low on the Beaked Eagle’s broad back, his robes whipping loudly in the fierce wind.

The Beaked Eagle beat its wings once, and a violent blast of air, almost tangible, swept down and slammed into the sea, pressing a shallow depression into the surface.

But to the boundless, deep blue expanse, this ripple was but a fleeting trace.

Immediately after, the Beaked Eagle folded its wings and dove like a bolt of gray lightning. An instant before touching the wave crests, it abruptly pulled its head up and soared, performing a nearly vertical "Cobra Maneuver" as it ascended sharply.

And in the instant it shot skyward, the sea below exploded!

Clinging to the Beaked Eagle’s neck, Qin Ziwen had a crystal-clear view from directly above.

The parting water rolled back like curtains, and a colossal, pitch-black shadow burst from the waves.

Trailing a thousand-ton wake, its gaping maw was filled with a dense forest of ghastly white teeth.

In the depths of its throat was a profound darkness.

Time seemed to freeze in that instant.

"CRUNCH~"

The giant mouth snapped shut.

A blast of air and water sprayed everywhere.

"BOOM—"

The Mosasaurus crashed back into the sea, stirring up massive, churning waves.

From beneath the surface came the Mosasaurus’s indignant roar.

Almost at the same instant, a straight, violent white line erupted across the distant sea horizon!

Qin Ziwen turned his head. From the direction of the Gated Community’s reef, a figure as burly as a moving mountain was sprinting across the surface of the sea!

Its body was over seven meters tall. Its skin, under the sun, had the metallic luster of blue copper. Every flex and contraction of its muscles seemed to contain explosive power.

Each step kicked up a fan-shaped wall of waves several meters high.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

It plowed a straight, churning white wake across the sea, its target set directly on the Mosasaurus.

Qin Ziwen’s jaw dropped unconsciously.

...

"Holy shit!" On the ship, Zhang Chongshan rubbed his eyes, staring in disbelief at the humanoid figure sprinting across the water.

"Old Yuan, my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me, are they? He’s running on the water!!!" As Zhang Chongshan’s shocked voice rang out, countless residents of the Gated Community—on the deck of the Lost Home, on the balconies of the Celestial Tower—were plunged into deep shock as they witnessed the scene.

In the past, although they knew about the Extraordinary who surpassed ordinary people, in their minds, it had never seemed this exaggerated. At most, it was on the level of "Captain America"—just a warrior with immense strength.

They were envious, but it was still within an acceptable range.

But now, right before their eyes, they were witnessing a seven-meter-tall "little giant" literally walking on the sea! This was a fucking exaggeration!

"Instructor, I want to learn how to do that." Qin Ziwu’s mouth watered with envy.

Du Yu was silent. He didn’t know how to do it himself.

However, he thought, ’being able to sprint on the water probably isn’t just due to high physical stats. It’s likely related to his special ability.’

Cao Biansheng, whose go-to phrase was "Holy shit," exclaimed, "This new hero’s power level is way too high! I feel like I’m about to fall behind the current meta!"

... 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

...