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墨書 Inktalez
I slowly opened a crack in the Hatch, crouching down and squinting my eyes to look outside. The Passage was empty, and I glanced over at the Rest Cabin across the way, where Jenny and Li Xin were staying. The Hatch was open, but there was no one inside. Mai Lao's quarters were also open, yet not a single person was there.
It seemed something had indeed happened. I quietly signaled to Jiao Ba and the others, and the three of us tiptoed out of the resting cabin, keeping close to one side of the corridor as we slowly moved toward the deck.
When we reached the hatchway, we huddled in the corner to avoid being seen. Using the Underwater Light from the ship, I finally saw what was happening outside, and it startled me slightly.
On the deck, there were more than a dozen men armed with guns, pushing and shoving Mai Lao and the others. I estimated that besides the three of us, all the other sailors had been captured.
These men looked unfamiliar; I had never seen them before. They were dressed casually without any uniformity. How did they get on board? And in this vast ocean, how did they find us? Looking at their demeanor, it was clear they were well-prepared and likely came specifically for us.
Shunzi whispered in my ear, "It's over, Brother Yi. We might have run into those legendary pirates."
I replied in the softest voice possible, "They shouldn't be pirates." Although I had never encountered pirates before, these people didn't seem like them; they resembled more like thugs from society. But what kind of thug could possess so many firearms? They were almost like a small reinforced battalion.
At that moment, a tall, thin man wearing a beret brandished a Submachine Gun and shouted loudly, "Everyone listen up! Get down now!"
Mai Lao and the sailors initially stood their ground; no one crouched down. "What do you want? You better not do anything reckless," Mai Lao said to the tall man in front of him. The man's expression was devoid of emotion but radiated an aura of coldness—no, more accurately, a murderous intent. This was the first time I had seen such a cold gaze from Mai Lao; usually, he wore a smile that gave me an impression of being unfathomable.
The tall man sneered and said, "Old man, do you want to die early? Get down now or I'll blow your brains out." He pressed the Submachine Gun directly against Mai Lao's head, glaring fiercely at him.
Seeing this, Shunzi foolishly attempted to rush in to save him. I grabbed him and hissed, "What are you doing, you idiot? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"What... what should we do? We can't just watch Mai Lao get killed, can we?" Shunzi was genuinely concerned for others even at this moment.
"Let's wait and see, look for an opportunity to act," I whispered back.
I watched every move of the other side. Although Mai Lao had a gun pointed at him, he remained calm and composed. This Old Man had quite the fortitude; I couldn't tell if he was truly that tough or just too scared to react.
The Tall, Thin Man shouted again, "Old man, do you think I can't make you squat down? Do you believe I'll shoot you dead?"
Before Mai Lao could respond, the Shandong Big Sailor chimed in, "You little brat, if you have the guts, put down the gun and let's settle this one-on-one."
I had to admit, this guy's intelligence was quite limited! Did he really think they came all this way just to duel him? Even if it were a duel, it would be him against a whole group.
Seeing someone else provoke him, the Tall, Thin Man tilted his head and approached the Big Guy, saying, "What did you just say? Say it again if you dare."
"What difference does it make? You bunch of bastards, if you have guts, let's fight one-on-one!" The Big Guy shouted back defiantly.
"I'll fight your mother!" The Tall, Thin Man smashed the butt of his gun into the Big Guy's mouth, sending him tumbling backward. Blood gushed from his mouth; it looked like he wouldn't keep his front teeth.
Just as Mai Lao was about to step forward to help him, he was pushed back by the gun of the Tall, Thin Man: "Everyone stay down! I'm only saying this one last time—don't force me to shoot."
"Everyone better behave! Otherwise, if I kill you, don't say I wasn't merciful." A hoarse voice came from somewhere. Although I couldn't see who was speaking, I recognized that voice—it was the same one I heard outside the Hatch. Who could this person be? With our limited perspective, we could only see part of the deck; we couldn't see what was happening deeper inside.
In the end, Mai Lao and the others complied and squatted down. The Shandong Big Guy was out of luck; not only did he take a hit from the gun butt for nothing, but now he also had to squat down while blood continued to flow from his mouth. Mai Lao tore off a piece of his clothing to temporarily cover the wound on the Big Guy.
At that moment, I suddenly realized that Jenny and Li Xin were not in the crowd. Where could they be? Just as I was getting anxious, the hoarse voice of the old man came again: "Miss Ma, finding you is no easy task! I had to go through a lot of trouble to get here! By the way, how's your ship? It's much better than mine."
"What do you want? I have no grievances with you, so why are you targeting me?" This was Jenny's voice; it seemed she was indeed on the other side of the deck.
"You should know what I want. Last time I asked you for a price, and you refused. You brought this upon yourself. Now, if you hand over the item, I'll let you all go." It was still that hoarse man's voice; he was likely the leader of this group.
Just at that critical moment, Jiao Ba, that foolish guy, sneezed loudly enough for everyone on the ship to hear. When Shunzi and I heard him sneeze, we exchanged helpless glances. Shunzi's expression was one of utter despair, as if he had just tasted something terrible.
We both turned our gazes toward Jiao Ba, wishing we could kill him right then and there. How could he sneeze at a time like this? Didn't he realize it would reveal that there were still people in the cabin? I realized that this guy was a liability at crucial moments.
Jiao Ba wiped his nose and awkwardly said, "Sorry, Brother Yi. The sea breeze has been strong lately; I think I'm coming down with a cold." I was so furious that I almost wanted to stab him right there, but it was too late to say anything; we had already been exposed.
"Oh, I didn't expect there to be fish that slipped through the net! Who's inside? Come out now!" The Slim Tall Man in a Beret took a few steps toward the cabin.
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