Among the panicked and uneasy crowd, another group remained remarkably calm.

Ning Qiang leaned leisurely against the railing, his gaze never leaving Zuo Ling's family.

The Ning family members protected him behind them. Ning Xiaoqi would occasionally launch small fireballs to kill a few blind sea snakes, while the others remained on guard.

There were at least a hundred dead sea snakes around them.

Ning Qiang sniffed and said lazily:

"Ning Xiaoqi, control the heat a bit. We didn't bring any dry food with us when we went out, and we'll have to use these as ingredients later."

Ning Xiaoqi's lips twitched. "I know."

Ning Qiang smacked his lips twice. It wasn't just that they hadn't brought any food; they were completely broke and didn't even know where they would sleep tonight.

Sigh, when have I ever been this miserable?

When Guo Qi and his men arrived at the wheelhouse, they found that many sea snakes had died before even getting close to the wheelhouse, and many more had died on the deck leading to the lower deck.

He didn't dare to be careless, searching every nook and cranny carefully, for fear that there might be any fish that had slipped through the net.

Once he was sure it was safe, he breathed a long sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his brow, and realized he was exhausted from running around all day.

After thinking about it, the way those snakes died looked familiar. He slapped his forehead and realized that it must have been Zuo Ling's family who did it.

He raised his voice and instructed Di Fei:

"It's all right here. You should hurry and go help Brother Yang. The snake is poisonous, so be careful."

Di Fei agreed and led his men to run upstairs.

On the deck, a scene of contrasting extremes unfolded.

A group of people used all their skills to fight off the sea serpents—some with machetes, some with iron bars, some with hammers, some with ropes, and some even bare-handed…

Two other small groups stood by and watched the spectacle.

As the death toll rose, many people looked at Lin's wife with envy, thinking, "If I had stood up and said a few words of justice back then, would I also have been one of those being protected?"

I'm furious with those who spoke rudely. You think you can bully people with superpowers? Now look what's happened, you've angered them and they're just washing their hands of it.

Looking at the cold-blooded bystanders of the Ning family, the contrast makes the Zuo Ling family all the more precious.

I berate myself for being blind and clumsy; such a great opportunity was right in front of me, yet I managed to miss it.

When Di Fei flew up, this was the scene that he saw—a scene of anger and helplessness.

They were all fuming when they were chopping snakes. They were all so arrogant and ignorant, not even knowing their own limitations. They dared to curse and provoke anyone.

The problem is, after you caused all this trouble, you made me do all this hard labor here. Do you think sea snakes are so easy to clean up? They're poisonous, they're poisonous... Clang, clang, clang... I've even worn out my knife trying to clean them up, and I still haven't finished.

With everyone on edge, apart from Captain Chang and the few people in the bridge, no one noticed the faint white mist rising ahead.

The fog was very light at first and did not obstruct visibility. Fog at sea is normal. Captain Chang did not take it seriously and ordered the ship to slow down, at least until the current filled the crack before adjusting the course.

It was already evening when the boat set sail. After all the commotion and cleaning up the sea snakes, it was completely dark and the fog was getting thicker and thicker.

For safety reasons, Captain Chang ordered the ship to anchor and rest for the night before setting sail again the next day.

The ship was filthy, with sea snakes and human corpses intertwined, a truly horrific scene.

When Guo Qi heard Di Fei say that more than 200 people had died, his eyes narrowed. How could this be... Then he remembered what Xiao Hao had said, and his face darkened. What could he say?

People who can't be kept even when others are desperately trying to push them away, I really don't know what to say about them.

Zuo Ling didn't want to stay on the boat for even a moment longer, so she took the inflatable boat out and inflated it while the boat was stopped.

Ning Qiang grinned and said, "Hey, Sister Zuo, where are you going? Take me with you."

Zuo Ling ignored him, while Xiao Hao glared at him warily.

Ning Qiang smiled gently:

"Little brother, don't look so bitter and resentful. I was just joking with your sister."

Xiao Hao rolled his eyes and snorted, "Is that how you joke? You attacked me from behind! Attacked me from behind!!"

Ning Qiang patted his pocket and said again:

"Brother is very poor right now and doesn't have any chocolate for you. But in the future, when I have the chance, I'll definitely get you some delicious candy."

"Who cares?" Xiao Hao said arrogantly. "My sister has plenty of candy in her space. I'm tired of eating it all."

As soon as the air was filled, Ning Qiang jumped onto the assault boat first.

Zuo Ling's face darkened: "Get down."

"Take me with you, I'm very useful. I don't just eat and drink for free, I can work, I can fight, I guarantee I can hit the target, I'm very effective."

Ning Qiang chose a comfortable spot, crossed his legs, and swung his toes back and forth, looking quite content.

The Ning family members' faces twitched. Was this really their cold and arrogant second young master?

"Brother, throw him down," Zuo Ling commanded Pei Nansheng.

"No, no, no, don't do it. It wouldn't be nice if you damaged your inflatable boat."

While the two sides were locked in a stalemate, Guo Qi received the news and rushed over.

"Zuo Ling, it's so late, where are you going? It's not safe to leave now."

He ignored everything and pulled Zuo Ling back.

Yang Chengang followed. There was a lot of work to be done on the ship, and they were worried that some people might have slipped through the net. They were conducting a thorough search and also needed to deal with the bodies. He hadn't been paying attention for a moment and almost let Zuo Ling's family escape.

Sigh, so many people died, and she's still not over it? This girl has such a temper.

Ning Qiang raised an eyebrow at Pei Nansheng:

"Looks like we can't leave. I'll do the work and help you pack up the inflatable boat."

"Get down."

Pei Nansheng's face darkened.

This time, Ning Qiang was very obedient and got off the boat obediently.

Xiao Hao glared at him hard, and the dog barked a few times in the snowy night, emboldened by its master's presence.

Ning Qiang chuckled and patted Xiao Hao's head. "Why do you keep glaring at your brother? Your eyes are already big, don't make them pop out of their sockets."

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