Outside the submarine, Yang Ying carved a series of small circles into the hatch with his Mi Sword. The massive "Cannon Monster" then pressed the hatch inward, forcing it into the submarine’s interior. A moment later, a torrent of bubbles surged out of the breach with violent force, slamming into Yang Ying. Simultaneously, an even stronger undercurrent swept in from behind him—the ocean desperately trying to flood the vessel.

Yang Ying stabilized himself, riding the current, and plunged into the submarine. He found himself in a narrow corridor where water filled the space above, below, and to the sides. The remaining air was being violently squeezed out through the opening.

The watertight doors on either side of the corridor were firmly sealed, trapping the seawater. In mere seconds, the corridor was completely submerged.

“The number two access point has been breached.”

Gaius listened to his subordinate’s report, his face as grim as if it could drip water itself. He slammed a fist against a nearby pipe, roaring, “Ascend! Surface immediately, or we will all perish at the bottom of the sea! Pump at maximum capacity! Deploy every combat robot! Once we surface, open the watertight doors and annihilate the intruders!”

He knew that a few watertight doors were useless against the cutting power of a lightsaber. In fact, virtually all tangible matter in the world could not withstand the extreme temperature of a lightsaber blade, a temperature that surpassed the boiling point of every substance known to man—perhaps only ultradense matter like that found in a neutron star could resist it.

Even so, he had exhausted every effort, attempting to sway the pursuer’s resolve with words, trying to buy time to formulate a new plan. He believed that if they could just survive this immediate crisis, the Caesar family’s deep resources and extensive network would allow them to recover. Afterward, they would certainly engage these mysterious newcomers in a relentless struggle for vengeance.

However, no matter what he said, the pursuer showed no sign of giving up, seemingly focused solely on their heads, offering no room for negotiation whatsoever.

After declaring the sins of the Caesar family, even the channel for communication was severed. Gaius was certain the pursuer was observing this location, yet no matter how loudly he shouted, nothing returned to his mind.

Amidst the churning waves on the ocean surface, a dark silhouette gradually emerged from the depths. With a deafening boom echoing from the sky, accompanied by a muffled clap of thunder, the slightly sharp bow of the Killer Whale broke the surface. The entire submarine bobbed momentarily before slowly stabilizing.

Given the vessel’s size, one might mistake it for a cruiser; viewed from a distance, it exuded an overwhelming, commanding presence.

Yet, there was an undeniable, moderate-sized rupture on the forward deck, continuously venting seawater, utterly destroying that majestic aura.

“Are we on the surface?”

Yang Ying had blasted through two more watertight doors in the corridor. He felt the water pressure significantly decrease, and the leak from the original breach had stopped. The water that had been over his head was being rapidly pumped out, the level dropping quickly. He immediately understood they had surfaced.

Suddenly, a mechanical whirring sound erupted, and all the watertight doors snapped open. Confronting Yang Ying was a dense formation of combat robots!

They were armed with Uranium Cannons, Plasma Blasters, Grenade Launchers, and miniature missile pods, all aimed precisely at Yang Ying.

Although Yang Ying was currently cloaked, his feet standing in the water created two distinct ripples, and the green lightsaber in his hand clearly betrayed his position.

Yang Ying paid the robots’ threat no mind; they were nothing more than paper tigers. Just as they were about to fire, he raised his hand and launched a Boron Missile into the core of the robot cluster.

A deafening explosion followed, and a visible shockwave materialized in the air, seeming to warp the light itself as it instantaneously spread throughout the entire submarine.

Almost every instrument inside the vessel sparked violently at the same moment: computers, navigation systems, radar, communicators—all electronic devices were utterly incinerated. A smell of burning flesh and scorched metal slowly permeated every corner of the submarine.

The command tower, housing the most sensitive electronics, ignited instantly. Gaius was knocked down by a bodyguard, narrowly dodging a massive spray of sparks. Several men were not so fortunate; the sparks struck their faces, searing their eyes and skin. They screamed and collapsed, rolling desperately on the deck.

Gaius shoved his bodyguard aside, braced himself, and scrambled to his feet, shouting, “Report the damage! Tell me how many weapons are still functional!”

A few bodyguards frantically worked their control panels, but even Gaius could see the grim reality; almost no console responded to their inputs, regardless of how many times they attempted a reboot.

“Who is this enemy? How can the Killer Whale be this vulnerable?” Gaius clenched his fists, his face flickering between pale and ashen.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Yang Ying pushed past the obstructing robots, thinking, It seems this submarine has become an iron coffin floating on the sea. If it can still operate after taking a direct Iodide attack at this range, the Research Institute needs to upgrade its Iodide missiles quickly.

Yang Ying moved forward to press the attack, but suddenly stopped. He looked up, down, left, and right, a strange thought dawning on him: Why am I sticking to the corridor?

He suddenly remembered: he had a lightsaber, and what wall was truly uncuttable?

“Let this submarine truly become your coffin. I’ll send you all down to rest on the seabed,” Yang Ying said. He casually inverted the hilt and stabbed it into the floor, carving a circle that sliced a hole straight through the deck.

The floor below instantly dropped away, revealing another corridor, empty save for the rushing water. Simultaneously, the accumulated water from the upper level poured down through the newly made opening.

Yang Ying realized this was due to the submarine’s immense capacity contrasted with the relatively small number of personnel aboard, leaving vast, unoccupied spaces.

He repeated the cutting action, dropping another level. This area appeared to be an officers’ mess hall—not large, but elegantly furnished. Several richly dressed Elders were seated around a table, conferring in hushed tones.

Seven or eight bodyguards were scattered around the periphery, their eyes wide as they stared at the circular section of ceiling, about the size of a millstone, descending from above, the spray of water gushing from the hole, and the green lightsaber suspended in mid-air.

“Intruder alert!”

The cry was abruptly cut short. Yang Ying transformed the cascading water jet into a dozen water blades and scattered them across the room, instantly clearing the entire space. Elders and bodyguards alike were sliced apart by the water blades in that single instant.

Yang Ying continued downward, cutting through five or six more layers. He encountered another group of people on the way, whom he dispatched just as casually.

Soon, he reached the very bottom.

“One last try!” Yang Ying thrust his sword into the deck, but the resistance made his heart skip a beat.

The lightsaber sank in up to the hilt, yet it failed to pierce the deck!

What thick external armor. Yang Ying frowned slightly, then retracted the blade. If he encountered armor thicker than the blade’s effective length, cutting would not be so easy.

Did he have to cut section by section?

Yang Ying shook his head. I refuse to believe the external armor is uniformly thick. There must be a weak spot.

He reactivated his holographic tactical display and the life-sign detector, mapping the entire submarine structure. After a brief scan, he let out an "Oh," shifted his footing, and vanished without a trace.

On the other side, Gaius led a contingent of trusted confidants toward the escape pod launch bay. A row of about ten shuttle-shaped lifeboats, each about twenty meters long, sat before semi-open launch tubes, their hatches waiting.

Gaius looked back once, sighing, “I never thought the day would come when I, Gaius, would show such disorder.”

“My Lord, shouldn’t we notify the Elders?” a bodyguard asked.

“Communications are down. Who would you send? You?”

Gaius let out a cold snort. The bodyguard immediately shrank back, hastily declaring his loyalty to Gaius.

“I am the Patriarch of the Caesar family. As long as I am here, the Caesar family can overcome this current difficulty and emerge even stronger. I am the most vital person in the family; I must not be subjected to any risk.”

“Yes!” The bodyguards lowered their heads deeply, their expressions utterly respectful.

“Let’s go. That intruder will need a significant amount of time to purge the entire vessel. We have time. Traveling at the speed of these lifeboats for two hours will get us into the operational zone of the Earth Navy’s Atlantic Fleet. Once there, we can seek military protection.”

With that, Gaius turned and walked onto the lifeboat without looking back. The bodyguards hurried to follow.

The lifeboat hatch hissed shut, sealing the semi-open launch tube. Simultaneously, water began filling the tube.

It was the same principle as launching a torpedo, only this time, they were launching a much larger vessel.

“Water filling complete. Ready for activation,” a bodyguard reported to Gaius from the lifeboat’s cockpit.

The bodyguards activated various systems on the control panels; indicator lights illuminated one after another, showing the lifeboat was prepared for departure.

“Let’s go.”

Gaius adjusted his uniform, sitting with an air of practiced composure, as if abandoning the Elders was a matter of no consequence.

“I must commend the reliability of this submarine’s life support facilities. They must have been built with the directive that if all other systems fail, the life support must remain operational. Even such a close-range Iodide attack failed to paralyze this section. They deserve praise.”

Yang Ying’s voice suddenly echoed in Gaius’s mind. In an instant, Gaius’s face contorted into a mask of fury. Veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes blazing with hatred, and he snarled, “Who exactly are you?”

At that precise moment, the tip of a lightsaber pierced through the alloy plate directly above Gaius’s head. It rapidly carved a circle, slicing free two circular alloy plates, each about a meter in diameter, from both the launch tube wall and the lifeboat’s outer hull—two pieces aimed directly at Gaius’s skull.