The whole nation: You're put to survive on a desolate planet, you'll be running an alien b

The waves, like an invisible giant hand, carelessly tossed the orange-red lifeboat around. All around was boundless darkness; the sky and sea merged into a despairing deep black in the far distance, as if the entire world consisted of only this small boat.

The aftershocks of the Poseidon's sinking had not yet subsided. Burning wreckage and indistinguishable debris floated on the sea, occasionally bubbling with greasy foam and emitting a nauseating, burnt smell. The cold wind, mixed with icy salt water droplets, lashed at everyone's faces like fine whips, and every breath was chillingly cold.

Li Haotian leaned against the side of the lifeboat, soaked to the bone. His black tactical uniform clung to his body, outlining his lean yet powerful muscles. He held Xiao Hei tightly in his arms. This usually arrogant spirit beast was now curled up like a real house cat, its body trembling slightly from pain or cold. Its once silky fur was now disheveled, and dark red bloodstains mixed with the seawater, not yet washed away.

"Are they all alive?" Li Haotian's voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded.

"I'm alive, I'm lucky to have escaped with my life," Liu Hu replied, panting heavily in the front seat. He mechanically rowed the boat, his facial muscles twitching with each stroke. Although he was a tough guy, the series of fierce battles and the perilous escape from the submarine had pushed his physical limits.

Qin Yue sat silently in the corner, taking stock of the remaining supplies. A few first-aid kits, two remaining pistols, and half a canister of fresh water. Looking at the meager reserves, her brows furrowed tightly, but her hands did not pause for a moment, skillfully cleaning each bullet and reloading it.

Su Wan sat at the stern, holding a specially made military communication terminal in her hands. The faint glow of the screen illuminated her pale face. She turned the frequency knob again and again, but all she heard in the earpiece was a monotonous, lifeless hissing sound—the sea's coldest rejection.

"How is it?" Li Haotian didn't turn around, his gaze still scanning the dark sea around him warily.

"There's no signal at all." Su Wan took off her headphones, her voice filled with undisguised despair. "Whether it's civilian channels, military frequencies, or even emergency distress channels, it's all deathly silent. The Poseidon may have released strong electromagnetic interference when it sank, or... the surrounding waters have been completely blocked off."

Li Haotian fell silent. He knew what the unspoken second half of Su Wan's sentence meant—the power of the Divine Grace Trust was far greater than they had imagined; they even had the ability to create a "vacuum zone" on the high seas.

"Don't worry, as long as the boat is still afloat, there is hope." Li Haotian lowered his head, his gaze falling on the center of the lifeboat.

Lying there is the girl Lin Mo, whom they snatched from the auction.

She was wrapped in a thick military raincoat, her face was almost translucent white, and a few strands of wet black hair clung to her cheeks, making her look exceptionally tragic. Although she was in a deep coma, her breathing was steady and weak, and her chest moved rhythmically with the rise and fall of her chest.

What truly caught Li Haotian's attention were her exposed arms and neck.

Beneath her porcelain-like skin, strange patterns faintly emerged. These patterns were unlike ordinary tattoos; rather, they resembled some kind of living parasite, flowing with her pulse and emitting an extremely faint, eerie blue light. Li Haotian reached out and gently touched the patterns with his fingertips. Immediately, a strange warmth emanated from his fingertips, and he could even feel a faint fluid surging beneath.

"This thing... is much more advanced than the embryos we saw in the underground factory," Li Haotian muttered to himself.

The ones on the production line before were just unformed, deformed chunks of flesh—failures. But the patterns on Lin Mo's body are complex and intricate, as if they contain the genetic code of some higher being. They are not merely parasitic, but rather undergoing some kind of deep fusion with her.

"Boss, who exactly is this girl?" Liu Hu slowed his rowing and couldn't help but look back. "For her, we sent a massive ship weighing tens of thousands of tons to the bottom of the sea. Wasn't that a bad deal?"

"A loss?" Li Haotian sneered, his eyes deepening. "This girl isn't a commodity; she's a 'key.' The god that Professor Chen was shouting about insanely, and that huge thing under the Poseidon, are all related to her. We destroyed the auction house, which only wrecked their storefront; but having this girl by our side is like prying open their deepest secrets."

As he spoke, his brow furrowed slightly. This was indeed a huge problem. With Lin Mo in their party, they had become the primary target of the Divine Grace Trust and all the dark forces behind it. On this vast ocean, without support or supplies, they were like a mobile shooting range.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 202ᴋᴋs.ᴄᴏᴍ]

Suddenly, the little black cat in his arms stirred. It struggled to lift its head, its eerie green eyes fixed on the patterns on Lin Mo's body, letting out a low, complex whimper. It was no longer the hostility of before, but a contradictory emotion mixed with fear and affection. The silver patterns on the little black cat's body also lit up at this moment, faintly, yet echoing the eerie blue light emanating from Lin Mo.

"It seems they share the same origin." Li Haotian calmed the restless Xiao Hei down, understanding dawning on him. This might be the only variable.

"Su Wan, calculate the nearest flight path." Li Haotian snapped out of his thoughts and regained his composure as a commander.

"We're in the deep international waters, at least 300 nautical miles from the nearest land. With the current winds and waves and our rudimentary propulsion system, even at full speed, it will take at least two days and two nights." Su Wan looked at the flashing data on the screen, biting her lip. "Moreover, our fresh water and food won't last that long."

Two days. Drifting at sea for two days means that you could encounter storms, sharks, or killer ships pursued by divine grace at any time.

Li Haotian pulled a flattened pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out and put it in his mouth, but couldn't light it. The damp sea breeze rendered the lighter useless, just like their current predicament; dryness and warmth were luxuries.

"Two days is enough time for Death to circle around several times," Liu Hu said with a wry smile, but he tightened his grip a bit more. "But I'm betting we're tough."

Looking at his exhausted yet persevering comrades, Li Haotian felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He pulled out an alloy tactical dagger from inside his tactical vest; the blade reflected a chilling glint in the faint starlight. This was his last weapon, and the source of his confidence.

"Everyone, don't let your guard down." Li Haotian's voice was deep and powerful, piercing through the roar of the waves. "What Lin Mo has on him could be a time bomb, or it could be the answer we need. Now that we've brought it out, there's no reason to throw it back."

He turned to look at Su Wan, his eyes filled with unwavering determination: "Even without a signal, you must continue monitoring. Report immediately if you detect any abnormal electronic fluctuations."

"Understood." Su Wan nodded vigorously, put her headphones back on, and her eyes sharpened.

The lifeboat struggled to navigate between the crests and troughs of the waves, the surrounding seawater as black as ink, like countless pairs of eyes watching. Li Haotian felt the gradually stabilizing heartbeat of Xiao Hei in his arms and the faint breathing of Lin Mo at his feet. He knew that this small boat carried more than just a few lives.

They are survivors who have crawled back from hell, and their remaining life at sea is destined to be anything but peaceful. On this forgotten high seas, a life-or-death struggle even more thrilling than that of the Poseidon has quietly begun in the darkness.

The sea breeze scattered the unlit cigarette shreds, the white fragments drifting into the black seawater and disappearing instantly. Li Haotian gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, his gaze piercing as he stared into the unfathomable darkness before him.

"Let's go, let's move towards a way to survive."