The clamor outside woke up many residents in the Gated Community.

The shouting was coming from outside the living room window.

Liu San climbed out of bed and looked out the window. He gently nudged Da Zhuang, who was fast asleep.

"Wake up, wake up."

Da Zhuang mumbled and rolled over.

’This guy sleeps like a pig.’ Liu San put on his jacket and walked out of the room. He saw Qin Ziwen emerging from his own room and hurriedly called out, "Sir."

"They’re all asleep. Keep your voice down." Qin Ziwen waved his hand and glanced at Liu San. "Can’t sleep?"

"I’m getting old. A little noise outside is enough to wake me." Liu San rubbed his face and lowered his voice. "Sir, it’s pretty loud out there."

"Mm, it is," Qin Ziwen nodded.

The two of them went to the balcony.

Outside, the distant sky was dark.

It was hard to see clearly. They could only vaguely make out the sea, which seemed to be churning with turbulent waves.

Qin Ziwen went back to get his telescope. This time, by the light of the moon, he could finally see clearly.

On the surface of the sea, there was an enormous whirlpool just two kilometers south of the island reef.

Qin Ziwen lowered the telescope, his expression grave.

The whirlpool was massive. If a ship were caught in its center, it likely wouldn’t even have a chance to struggle.

The whirlpool at sea lasted for nearly two hours before it dissipated.

It was almost low tide. The water receded, gradually revealing the wide tidal flats on the beach.

Qin Ziwen returned to his room and went back to sleep.

「The next morning.」

The sea had returned to its calm state.

Suddenly, a commotion stirred in the distance.

A large school of fish, as dense as falling rain, skimmed across the surface of the sea.

A few of them leaped from the water—they were dolphins, sprinting forward at incredible speed.

Just behind them, a familiar fin sliced through the water’s surface.

BOOM—

An elongated, ferocious, massive head burst from the sea. Its enormous body leaped into the air and crashed back down, throwing up a colossal wave.

"Mosasaurus."

Qin Ziwen saw it clearly. Even from a great distance, the massive silhouette was unmistakably a Mosasaurus.

Turning back toward Home, he said to Jia Liangcai, "It’s time. Have everyone board the ship and get ready."

He then went to inspect the deck of the Lost Home. In addition to the four Crossbow Cannons on the lower deck, there were eight Car-Mounted Crossbows fixed to the main deck, four on each side.

He nodded to himself. ’In terms of numbers, this should be enough.’

Twelve Giant Crossbows in total. A single broadside could fire about six shots in one direction.

"Wake everyone up and take inventory of the equipment." After giving his final instructions, Qin Ziwen mounted the Beaked Eagle and flew away from Home, heading out over the sea.

After he was gone, people began to board the deck one after another.

The Yan Family’s Three Brothers were also in the line, boarding the ship with the main group.

The air was filled with the sound of discussion.

"When are we setting off?"

"Probably once the Node opens, we can go through."

"I hope a big one shows up soon."

The Yan Family’s Three Brothers squeezed up to the ship’s rail, watching the bustling crowd. Yan San nudged his eldest brother with his elbow. "Bro, that sound last night... it didn’t seem right. Was it really just a whirlpool?"

"I don’t know. It’s not like I haven’t seen whirlpools before from living by the sea, but I’ve never heard one that sounded so strange." Yan Da narrowed his eyes. As they were talking, Du Yu walked over.

He glanced at the three of them, then pointed to a nearby Car-Mounted Crossbow and asked, "Do you know how to use this?"

"Brother Du, this is a military Heavy Crossbow Wagon, right? We’ve never used one, but it doesn’t look too difficult." Yan Da could guess its function after a single glance.

Du Yu nodded. "It’s not. This Car-Mounted Crossbow is yours to man. The Arrows are in the chests at the back of the deck. You can go grab some before the battle starts."

"Haha, sounds good." Yan Da readily agreed.

Then he asked, "Boss Du, when are we heading out to sea?"

"You’ll know when the time comes." Du Yu gave a faint smile, leaving them in suspense.

In fact, the Yan Family’s Three Brothers didn’t have to wait long to find out.

Right in front of the ship, the air tore open as if ripped by an invisible hand, revealing an eerie blue rift. The edges of the rift shimmered with an iridescent sheen.

At the same time, the Ghost Ship beneath their feet, which had been moored in the repair dock, gave a sudden jolt.

With the sound of winches and chains, the large ship slowly tilted, its bow dipping as it began to slide toward the blue passageway.

"Hold on tight!"

Du Yu’s booming voice echoed across the deck.

Everyone instinctively grabbed onto the nearest object.

The great ship accelerated, plunging headfirst into the blue Node passageway.

WHOOSH—

It was like passing through a door. The sound of whistling wind filled their ears.

Blue sky, white clouds, open sea.

The surrounding scenery changed in a flash.

The bow sank abruptly, slamming into the sea.

A huge spray of water erupted.

Yan Da steadied himself and instinctively scanned his surroundings. Then, his gaze froze.

He locked onto the surface of the sea over a hundred meters away.

A black shadow, so large it was terrifying, was lurking just beneath the surface—and it was approaching them.

"So... so big," Yan San breathed, his eyes wide with excitement.

He stared intently at the black shadow circling rapidly beneath the waves.

He had seen sharks in the sea before, but even a shark would be insignificantly small in front of this thing.

Drawing on his years of experience, he estimated that the creature’s body length was likely not much smaller than the ship he was standing on.

At that thought, Yan San’s heart began to pound.

After the shadow hiding beneath the sea drew near, it didn’t attack rashly. It seemed to be wary of this being that was even larger than itself.

It circled the ship, swimming restlessly.

Around the ship, it generated a whirlpool visible to the naked eye.

Pulled by the whirlpool, the ship began to rock from side to side.

"Port side! Aim!" Du Yu’s voice rang out.

Yan Wu said, "Port side, Bro. That’s us."

"I know." Yan Da operated the Crossbow Wagon, making small adjustments to its angle.

He aimed at the dark shadow that had swum under the left side of the ship.

"Fire!"

Almost simultaneously, the four Car-Mounted Crossbows on the port side and the two Crossbow Cannons on the lower deck fired with a tremendous ROAR.

THWANG!

Six black bolts tore through the air with a piercing shriek, crossing a hundred meters to land precisely in the area of the underwater shadow.

The undersea creature was so massive that at this distance, they didn’t even need to aim. As long as they fired in the right direction, a hit was almost guaranteed.

"ROAR!!!"

A terrifying, furious roar erupted from beneath the waves!

Immediately after, the sea surface bulged violently upward, and a ferocious head the size of a small mountain burst from the water!

A Crossbow Arrow was embedded in its head, and another in its shoulder. Dark red blood gushed from the wounds, staining the surrounding seawater.

The intense pain brought out the prehistoric overlord’s savage nature.

It raised its head, its cold, slitted eyes fixed on the Lost Home. The muscles in its neck tensed, and in the next instant, its massive body shot forward, leaving a white, arrow-shaped wake behind it.

Its huge head slammed violently into the side of the Lost Home.

The hull of the Lost Home let out a piercing groan. Like a whipped top, the ship was thrown sideways.

At the stern, the unmanned rudder spun wildly, trying its best to stabilize the vessel.

The people on deck fell like stalks of wheat in a gale.

On the mast, the gauze-thin sails danced wildly in the wind, enveloping the entire ship in a faint, transparent mist. The people on board, immersed in the fog, noticed nothing unusual.

But Qin Ziwen, flying high in the sky on the back of the Beaked Eagle, could see everything clearly.

...

...