Because of the Heavenly Ranking situation, let's take a moment to review a certain tough girl's track record on Earth.
Her first battle was in Tianjin, where she instantly KO'd a thug who tried to mess with her. Honestly, that barely counts as a "battle," but since it was her first fight on Earth, let's go ahead and put that little punk in the history books.
Her second battle was in Hong Kong, where she wiped the floor with countless underground fighters and became the queen of black-market brawls, earning herself the nickname 'Bloody Queen.'
The third fight was in Eastern Ukraine, her first run-in with the SD Syndicate. That was also her first time getting double-crossed—shipped around like cargo, auctioned off with price tags. Naturally, she blew her top and trashed one of SD's bases. That whole experience is what started her beef with the SD Syndicate.
Fourth time, she teamed up with Xiao Jingzhe to beat the stuffing out of the Alien Queen. After that... well, she got sucked into the Pacific world's big Void Collapse and was stuck in another dimension until just now.
As for the Shanghai Corpse King incident, she and Teacher Yang broke through the miasma barrier and might be the only ones who ever really punched Black Death Emperor in the face. But maybe because the whole dimension of Shanghai shifted during that mess, it doesn't count as an "Earth" achievement—so it's not included.
Or maybe they just counted her as Teacher Yang's 'summoned beast' and gave all the credit to him. Either way, her epic smackdown of Black Death Emperor didn't boost her Heavenly Ranking at all.
So, if you look at it closely, our tough girl spent her time smacking down this one and flattening that one, but her moves on Earth weren't actually that wild. Thinking back on the enemies she beat, they're honestly not that impressive anymore. The Alien Queen she once struggled to defeat? These days, that's just a casual tail swipe.
But to be fair, those wins might not be huge, but they're definitely not small. Not every Chosen One could pull that off—especially taking down the Alien Queen, which is a legit achievement. Even now, most Chosen Ones probably couldn't handle it. Luo Yuxi is ranked in the Heavenly Ranking's top 5,000, but even if you handed her a divine weapon, she'd probably struggle solo against the Alien Queen and might even get wiped out.
So, if you crunch the numbers, even based on her old achievements, Queen Yang's Heavenly Ranking shouldn't be lower than the top 1,500. From a god's-eye view, here's a spoiler: why is she listed as 'top eighty thousand'? There's gotta be a reason worth thinking about.
Obviously, don't go telling her about the author's spoilers, because right now she's fired up and ready to storm SD for trouble—and maybe rack up some wins to climb the Heavenly Ranking.
——Night falls, the moon is bright and the stars are sparse——
In the depths of the Pacific, the sea is calm—no wind, no waves. The moon isn't dark, the wind isn't high, so it's not exactly a classic murder night. Of course, for modern humans with all their tech, nighttime isn't much of a problem anymore.
A massive cargo ship, weighing tens of thousands of tons, carves through the Pacific waves. The world's largest container ship can displace 800,000 tons; this beast isn't quite that huge, but it's still over 500,000 tons. If you can't picture how big that is, just think of the Titanic—then imagine something ten times bigger. You get the idea.
It's basically a mountain cruising across the sea.
Its bow is emblazoned with huge letters: "HEAVEN." The wide deck is packed with containers, looking just like any regular cargo ship. But in reality, it's owned by the SD Syndicate. Behind those bright lights are all kinds of advanced detection gear. You know what they say—if you don't do shady stuff, you don't fear ghosts, but this ship is always on high alert. No surprise, since they're professional crooks.
In the darkness, a sleek, jet-black boat is quietly tailing them from a dozen nautical miles away.
Inside the cabin, it's like a high-tech command center—Jonathan and Big Bro are glued to the screens. Big Bro might not be a fighter, but as a member of Nobody Under Heaven, he's got to join the mission. According to Yang Qi, every Nobody Under Heaven member needs to be battle-ready when necessary.
Jonathan grips the console and stares at the monitors, his face serious as he taps his earpiece mic: "Everyone, stay sharp. We've been tracking the SD Syndicate for ages, but we still don't have the full picture. However, we've got an informant deep inside SD, and they've learned SD is making a move this time."
"The informant managed to sneak aboard this ship and has been sending updates regularly. But recently, those updates stopped coming. So, I'm guessing they've been exposed. Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe we're missing a shot to wipe out SD for good, but I still think we should go ahead with this op. Your Majesty, what do you think?"
Yang Qi's voice crackled over the radio: "Action approved. Honestly, don't overthink it—SD's been surviving in the shadows for ages, so their intel and secrecy are top-notch. Wiping them out in one go is basically impossible, so our best bet is to take them out wave by wave. Besides, how could my people get tripped up by something this small? We're not scared of them anymore, so let's go head-to-head! Treat this as a training run. Jonathan, you're in charge—everyone, get ready to go, go, go!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Jonathan replied, then started issuing commands: "Switch to Deep Shadow mode and move in on the target. We don't know what tech they're packing, so everyone be ready for anything."
A chorus of replies came through the headphones: "Copy that." "Got it." "Understood." "You don't have to tell me twice!" "Boss mode!" All sorts of responses, each with their own flavor.
Whoosh—the sleek boat started shifting, its hatches snapping shut and the hull morphing its shape.
Eternal Night Group started out in ocean shipping—they really know their ships. Jonathan's an ambitious guy; as the Zade family's cast-off, he never just accepted his fate and always looked for ways to expand his reach. Back in the day, he set up a shipbuilding company to carve out his own territory.
But before, the Zade family held him back, so the shipbuilding company was just for show. After he awakened his True Name and survived the Donald Island incident, he finally broke free from the Zade family's grip and started making waves. Once he reorganized as Eternal Night Group, they basically went full cheat mode and started dabbling in 'black tech.'
This ship is called Deep Shadow—a product of the Eternal Night shipyard. It's still just a prototype, but its biggest strength is anti-surveillance. The hull contracts, making the whole boat sleek, compact, and dense. As its displacement drops, so does its buoyancy. The waterline rises until only the 'scalp' is above water—just barely peeking out.
Since it's not a real submarine, Deep Shadow doesn't store much oxygen and can't stay submerged for long. The upside? It's way smaller, which means it's faster and more agile. The 'scalp' has a vent, and when waves crash over it, water sometimes floods the air hole. But thanks to clever design, it all drains out easily—like how a whale never gets choked by seawater.
Its black coating absorbs most short-wavelength waves, making it super stealthy on radar—which is how it got here from Hong Kong in the first place. Deep Shadow's engine isn't a regular propeller either; it's a fluid drive that's almost silent. Right now, it's like a sneaky shark, speeding after the giant HEAVEN ship.
A crew member reported: "Target speed, ten knots. Initial scan shows nothing weird. Deep scan is blocked by their deck plates—can't get specific info."
"Alright." Jonathan pressed his mic. "Xiaoying, it's your turn now."
"No problem," came the reply in his earpiece. Then a video feed popped up on the console screen—live from Liu Xiaoying's camera, now shared for everyone to see.
No one knew where Liu Xiaoying was, but she was using a bird's-eye view to survey the whole giant ship. At first, the footage looked just like Deep Shadow's own scans, but soon—click!—the sound of a camera shutter came through, and suddenly a bunch of individuals were highlighted on the screen.
"Sailors and crew?" Big Bro stared at the highlighted figures, then shook his head. "Nope, they're not walking like regular sailors. These guys are trained—deadly."
"Hang on, let me take a closer look," Liu Xiaoying replied. The shared feed zoomed in, and to the crew's amazement, not only did the highlighted people get clearer, but their gear was tagged one by one too.
"Look, it's a pistol! It even tagged the gun through their clothes!" "Check out that guy—he's inside a room, behind a wall, and it still outlines him!" "This is just like Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain—totally unreal!" (Ahem, technically that game wasn't out in 2014, but I love it~~ hehe~~)
Oddball Bro's proud voice came through the mic: "Is that it? Xiaoying's 'Paparazzi Lens' can do way more! Xiaoying, swap out the 'Sneaky Paparazzi Lens' and hit 'em with the 'Wide-Angle Paparazzi Lens'!"
"Oh, shut up—who says I'm yours? I have a boyfriend, you know." Liu Xiaoying snapped back at the small stuff but let the big stuff slide, basically accepting the 'Paparazzi Lens' nickname.
She didn't stop working, though. Suddenly, the screen lit up and a ton of objects popped into high relief. Roaming crew members, hidden gadgets, important devices—everything in view was highlighted in different colors.
Anyone who'd never seen this kind of thing before was totally blown away—speechless.
"Alright. Now mark the strategic targets—first, the engine components; we need to disable the ship's mobility. Next, the radar system; we have to wreck their communications. Remember, these guys can launch missiles for long-range strikes." Jonathan said, suiting up in a wetsuit. "I'll handle things underwater. Get ready to attack as soon as I give the signal!"
"Yes, sir!"
Big Bro asked, surprised, "You're going to fight in person even though you're the commander?"
"The Queen draws her sword—how can the knight hang back? Besides, I'm not your average commander." Jonathan patted Big Bro's shoulder and strode out. "I'm the commander of Nobody Under Heaven."