hotmtlnovel Chapter 69 Ark Declaration
Chapter 69 Ark Declaration
At that moment, the blond-haired youth also saw the crossbow, and a sense of fear welled up in his heart.
"Oh no! Old Hei, watch out!" he shouted, frantically trying to draw his bow again and aim at Su Jin.
But it's too late.
Su Jin pulled the trigger directly. He didn't need to aim precisely. At such close range, Lao Hei's burly body was the perfect target.
Boom——
The harpoon bolt transformed into a blurry black shadow, tearing through the air with a short, sharp whistle, and shot straight towards the shore!
Old Hei also heard the blond youth's scream, but he didn't even have time to dodge. He only saw a dark shadow rapidly enlarging in front of him, and then...
puff!
The harpoon bolt struck him squarely in the chest, right near his heart!
The immense impact sent his robust body flying backward, and the vines connecting him to the sailboat's mast flew out of his hands.
He staggered back two steps, looking down at the harpoon bolt deeply embedded in his chest, his face full of bewilderment and astonishment.
He opened his mouth but made no sound, then collapsed backward, blood pooling on the beach.
"Old Black! Damn!" The blond-haired man was terrified when he saw this.
He glanced at Gunner floating in the sea, then at Old Black with a harpoon stuck in his chest on the shore, and finally at the figure on the boat who had stood up straight again and was looking at him coldly.
An overwhelming sense of fear washed over him, causing his entire body to tremble uncontrollably.
To hell with shipjacking and revenge!
Only one thought remained in his mind:
run!
The blond-haired youth screamed, threw away the broken bow, and tumbled and scrambled off the reef, fleeing like a stray dog into the depths of the island.
Not long after he turned around, a heavy whooshing sound came from behind!
Before Huang Mao could even turn around, he felt a sharp pain in his right calf, as if he had been hit hard by a red-hot iron.
"Aaaaaah!!!"
The excruciating pain caused him to lose his balance and fall from the top of the reef onto the beach below, face down, with a mouthful of sand.
He struggled to sit up and turned his head with difficulty, only to see an iron axe nailed into his right calf!
The axe blade cut deep into his flesh, breaking his bones.
Fresh blood kept gushing from the wound, quickly staining a large area of sand red.
"My legs! My legs, oh my god!"
The blond-haired youth let out a pig-like scream, his face covered in snot and tears.
He reached out to pull it out, but dared not touch it, and could only watch helplessly as the blood continued to flow.
His body began to grow cold due to the excruciating pain and massive blood loss; for a moment, he felt he was going to die.
No, he doesn't want to die!
He hurriedly looked up at Su Jin on the sea and found that the Grim Reaper was still some distance from the shore and seemed to have no other ranged weapons at the moment.
A surge of instinctive survival instinct welled up within him, giving the blond-haired youth a sliver of hope.
It's not over yet!
He still has a chance!
As long as I can get out of the woods now, find a place to hide, and stop the bleeding... Yes, stop the bleeding!
"I can't die... I can't die here..."
The blond-haired youth struggled, enduring excruciating pain, and used his hands to claw at the ground, dragging his leg, which had been pierced by the axe, as he crawled little by little toward the woods not far away.
At that moment, he crawled like a maggot, just trying to survive.
Every movement tore at the wound, causing it to bleed profusely and making him feel dizzy from the intense pain.
But he dared not stop; death was still chasing him, and if he hesitated even a step, he would die!
Soon, he will be safe.
He thought he had a chance to survive, but little did he know that Su Jin could find him by following the trail of blood.
A shrewd hunter never loses track of a bleeding prey!
Su Jin wasn't in a hurry at all; he just coldly watched the bleeding maggot escape.
The blond-haired youth was completely unaware that he was still struggling and had already climbed to the edge of the woods.
As the distance to the forest continued to shrink, hope gradually began to ignite.
He even began to fantasize that one day he would make Su Jin experience this kind of pain and torment this man who had made him so miserable.
Just as his fingers finally touched the rotting leaves and a twisted smile of relief spread across his face, a figure suddenly rushed out from behind the shadow of the tree trunk in front of him!
The man held a stone axe high in his hand; it was none other than Old Zhang, who had been hiding in the mountain earlier!
The fear that had been on Old Zhang's face was gone, replaced by boundless anger.
"You scum, die!"
The smile on Huang Mao's face froze instantly, his pupils contracted sharply, and his expression was filled with horror.
"You...fat pig? No, brother, no...don't..."
Before he could finish pleading, Old Zhang had already rushed in front of him and used all his strength to chop the stone axe in his hand down hard on Huang Mao's neck!
puff!
The blond-haired man's screams abruptly ceased. His eyes widened, and the last trace of resentment in them vanished with death.
Old Zhang remained in the downward chopping position, panting heavily. Because it was his first time killing someone, he was slightly uncomfortable, and his shoulders were trembling.
But he didn't regret it; instead, he felt a sense of relief, as if he had been granted a pardon and the pressure had suddenly disappeared.
On the sea, Su Jin's ship finally slowly approached and stopped near the shallows.
He didn't disembark immediately, but stood at the bow, quietly watching everything that was happening on the shore.
From the blond youth crawling on the axe, to Old Zhang suddenly rushing out, and then to that final, decisive chop.
His face was expressionless, but the look he gave Old Zhang was tinged with admiration.
Actually, he spotted Lao Zhang when they were near the beach.
He was surprised that Lao Zhang was still alive, but actually not that surprised.
After all, it's normal for a shrewd person to foresee danger and survive.
But when Lao Zhang rushed up and killed Huang Mao, at that moment, he actually admired the other man's courage.
At this moment, Old Zhang turned his head to look at Su Jin, and bravely and calmly wiped the blood splattered on his face, but unexpectedly, the more he wiped, the worse it got.
He gave an awkward laugh, then said in an indignant tone:
"These bastards are asking for it! They don't know their own limitations, daring to ambush you, sir, and even try to kill me and steal my things. Hmph, they'll get away with dying like this!"
"But it doesn't matter, I believe the King of Hell will be just and will surely send them to the eighteenth level of hell, turning them all into beasts, unworthy of being reborn as humans!"
He paused, seemingly unsure how to continue, then simply looked at Su Jin with a fawning expression.
"Hehe, boss, it wasn't that I didn't want to come out immediately, but rather... well, to prevent them from escaping, you know?"
Then, feigning concern, he pulled Su Jin's iron axe off the yellow-haired man's corpse and retrieved the harpoon bolt from Old Hei's body for Su Jin.
While Lao Zhang was doing these things, the other survivors seemed to realize that the conflict here seemed to have ended, and one by one they poked their heads out from their own islands.
At this moment, Su Jin also noticed these guys. His eyes narrowed, and he gave a cold snort.
He then brazenly placed the blood-dripping harpoon back onto the ballista.
This scene instilled fear in everyone, and they all looked at Su Jin with more apprehension.
Su Jin didn't care about any of that. After retrieving both axes, he swept his lion-like gaze over the terrified survivors once more, and roared with a hint of anger:
"Who else?!"
He abruptly turned to look at the bespectacled girl on Sweet Dew Island:
"you?"
He then looked at an older woman in the distance:
"Still you?"
Then he glared fiercely at the remaining two:
"Or perhaps it's you?"
"Who wants to kill me!"
Every survivor whose gaze was swept over by Su Jin trembled with fear, terrified that the harpoon would fly towards them and pierce them through at any moment.
Looking at this group of scheming individuals, Su Jin sneered and mocked them with rude language:
"Damn it, are they all out of their minds? Fighting amongst themselves in this godforsaken place where life is hanging by a thread!"
"Selfish, greedy, and willing to kill for the smallest gain—they're a bunch of short-sighted idiots!"
He glanced coldly at the surrounding small islands, a disdainful smile appearing on his face:
"Look at the island behind you. It looks resource-rich, with mountains and water, and beautiful scenery, but in reality, it's a prison!"
"What will you do when sea monsters attack, storms arrive, and resources run out?"
"Is it better to stay on that island and wait to die, or to go to someone else's island and fight desperately for it? But on someone else's home turf, 90% of the time you die and get thrown into the sea to be fed to sharks."
"You'll end up like those three idiots just now, or... do you think you can kill me?!"
Everyone, including Old Zhang, turned pale; Su Jin's words had clearly struck a nerve.
No one dared to meet Su Jin's gaze. When he once again scanned the surrounding islands, the contempt in his eyes became even more obvious.
"Tsk, I really overestimated you guys. It's been so long, and you haven't even found a single level 2 island. You're all fucking trash!"
As he spoke, he exhaled a puff of foam, raised his chin, and said:
"I'm giving you a chance, a chance to survive in this godforsaken place."
Everyone looked up, including Old Zhang, and held their breath.
Su Jin pointed arrogantly at the ship beneath his feet and said:
"See this? This is my ship, the 'Ark,' and it's also my island—a level 4 island that you might never reach in your entire lives! Most importantly… it can also be upgraded!"
Upon hearing about the level 4 island, not only the other survivors but even Old Zhang couldn't help but show surprise.
He knew Su Jin's ship was an island, assuming it was at most a level 3 island, but it turned out to be a level 4...
Immediately afterwards, he heard Su Jin say:
"In the future, it will become a sea fortress, fearless of sea monsters, self-sufficient, and free from worries about food and clothing."
"Now, I have three kinds of tickets."
As he spoke, Su Jin slowly raised one finger.
"The first option is first class, there's only one seat available, it's the creator's seat."
"When I was still walking on broken planks, I boarded the ship with all my resources and technology, betting everything on my insignificant existence..."
"In the future, you will walk alongside me, and as we delineate new world territories on nautical charts, your name will be remembered along with the New World!"
After saying that, he glanced at Old Zhang, seemingly unintentionally, and then his tone softened as he raised his second finger.
"The second option is business class, which is for our partners."
"We cooperate on an equal footing, trade with each other, and maintain friendly relations."
"You helped me build the ark, and when you want to board it in the future, I promise you a place in the future."
"You are partners of the Ark. In the future, you will have your own cabins and priority in the allocation of supplies."
"You can even form your own teams and showcase your talents within the rules I set!"
When Su Jin raised his third finger, his tone turned cold.
"The third ticket, economy class, is for those who hesitate until the last minute, thinking they're so clever!"
"By then, the ark will be complete. Would you like to board?"
"Ha, sure, but this ticket requires all your savings, and then you'll have to do the hardest and most tiring work on board to earn the right to stand in a corner of the hold!"
"Because when others are betting their lives and families, your hesitation is itself a price to pay!"
After hearing these words, everyone's expression changed in different ways.
To Wang Qingmei, everything Su Jin just said was just a bunch of nonsense!
The title of "creator" is just a name, a pie in the sky, but in reality, she has to give up everything.
Isn't this the kind of scam that's often talked about on the radio?
Scammers love to make empty promises and trick elderly people out of their money.
As a super-talented individual who awakened the power of beast blood, she believed that she had awakened invincible superpowers.
She can make crops grow better by irrigating them with animal blood; ordinary animal blood works, but sea beast blood is even better.
Then, the island where she was located was extremely rich in resources. Not only were there plenty of vegetables on the island, but the land was also very fertile, which was just right for her talent.
Having farmed for half her life, she believed that she could use this superpower to get rich and live a good life sooner or later, and she certainly wouldn't rely on Su Jin, this murderer!
People who resort to violence at the slightest disagreement should be arrested!
Why can't we discuss things properly? Why do we have to resort to violence? These young people are really rude!
As for the so-called collaborators and equal exchanges...
That's a forced sale; they're trying to trick her into giving them resources with garbage. Don't even think about it.
Only a fool would get on the ship!
Zhao Tieshan shared the same thought as her. This old man didn't want to listen to Su Jin anymore and turned around to go into the mountains.
Meanwhile, the female college student on what's called Sweet Dew Island frowned, looking Su Jin's sailboat up and down, seemingly deep in thought.
On the other side, a chubby man who looked relatively young saw that no one spoke up and he also had a hesitant expression, but in the end he didn't say anything.
Seeing that the group didn't react much, Su Jin frowned and turned to look at Lao Zhang, who was the one who most wanted him to join.
This was an idea he came up with on the spur of the moment, but he didn't regret his decision.
His ship cannot have only a few sailors like Shen Ruying; he definitely needs more manpower to grow stronger.
When Old Zhang saw Su Jin looking at him, he gave an awkward smile again.
He has a different mindset than others.
He knew the first-class cabin was reserved for him by Su Jin, but he... didn't want it!
He wanted to curry favor with Su Jin, but he wasn't willing to gamble everything.
As a businessman, he couldn't go all in because the risk was too great.
He was very clear about his talent; it was a god-level talent that he was sure would develop further.
While he might not be as powerful as Su Jin, he should at least be on par with him.
But he was also afraid that if he didn't go all in and accept this "kindness," Su Jin might be unhappy.
He hesitated greatly about this, after all, Su Jin was his benefactor. He had just started his business and it was thanks to Su Jin that he had made his fortune. He didn't want to offend this big shot.
He still wanted to rely on this big shot for a while, and just as he was hesitating, a clear female voice came over.
"My name is Lin Xuan, and I am a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry at Tsinghua and Peking Universities."
"Am I eligible for a first-class ticket?"