Chapter 26
The cold, salty sea breeze scraped across my face like a knife. The lifeboat bobbed and pitched on the dark sea, each wave threatening to swallow the tiny rubber raft completely. In the distance, the hospital ship, once a symbol of boundless wealth and sin, had been reduced to a blur of fire and smoke beneath the surface, like a giant, ugly scar, slowly being healed by the icy water.
The engine roared monotonously, dragging the lifeboat towards an unknown destination.
Gu Jing slumped in the boat, exhausted. Every breath brought a piercing pain to his chest and the heavy smell of blood. One of his arms hung limply, the wound on his shoulder from a ricochet still oozing blood, which mixed with the seawater, bringing a bone-chilling chill.
But his eyes were fixed on the unconscious man on the stretcher.
Qin Yu's face was a deathly pale in the moonlight, his long eyelashes covering his eyelids, a lifeless sight. His breathing was so weak that the rise and fall of his chest was barely discernible. Only the faint flickering light on the crude portable monitor next to him proved he was still tenaciously alive.
739—the man whose codename was etched like a brand in Gu Jing's mind—knelt beside the stretcher, expertly and swiftly administering an IV and urgently tending to Qin Yu's wounds. His face was tense, sweat and blood trickling down his forehead, but his eyes, like the most sophisticated instrument, were eerily calm.
"How is it?" Gu Jing's voice was so hoarse that it was almost inaudible, and he was trembling without even noticing it.
"Excessive blood loss, multiple internal organ concussions, early symptoms of infection, and the effects of unknown drug and radiation doses." 739 spoke rapidly, without any nonsense. "Surgical debridement and anti-infection treatment must be performed within six hours, otherwise..."
He didn't say the rest, but his taut jawline said it all.
Gu Jing's heart felt like it was being tightly gripped by an ice-cold hand, with the nails digging deeper into his palm. The stinging pain allowed him to barely stay awake.
"Where are you going?" he asked, his eyes sweeping across the endless black sea. This place was far from the high seas, and the nearest land was unknown in which direction.
"The nearest, absolutely safe medical point." 739 raised his head and glanced at Gu Jing, his eyes complicated for a moment, "Brother Yu arranged it a long time ago... just in case."
He paused and added, "But it's not necessarily completely safe there. Qin Zhengfeng's sphere of influence is vast."
Gu Jing fell silent. Of course he knew. That old monster had been operating for decades, with deep roots and entrails everywhere. An explosion might only destroy his most ostensibly profitable black market, but it would never be enough to completely destroy him.
It might even...completely piss him off.
The lifeboat moved forward in silence, with only the sound of the engine and the waves as its companions.
After an unknown amount of time, the skyline began to turn a faint grayish-white.
A blurry black dot appeared on the sea surface and gradually grew larger.
It was a medium-sized private cruise ship, quietly anchored on the sea shrouded in morning mist, like a dormant ghost ship.
The lifeboat approached and the cruise ship lowered the ladder.
Several men in similarly smart attire and alert eyes came down quickly, silently took the stretcher from 739, and gently but efficiently transferred Qin Yu onto it.
Gu Jing struggled to catch up, but 739 stopped him with his hand.
"Mr. Gu," 739 looked at him, his tone still respectful, but with an undeniable determination, "You also need to immediately treat your wounds and undergo a full-body examination, especially a radiation exposure assessment. This way, please."
He pointed to the other side of the deck.
Gu Jing glanced at Qin Yu, who was being quickly carried inside the cruise ship, then glanced at 739's unyielding eyes, and finally nodded. He knew that now was not the time to be stubborn.
He was led into a well-equipped medical cabin, where doctors and nurses immediately came forward to examine his wounds, clean, disinfect, bandage them, and draw blood for testing.
Throughout the entire process, Gu Jing was incredibly cooperative, as silent as a puppet. Only his gaze would occasionally drift towards the hatch.
After his wounds were treated and he changed into clean clothes, he was taken to a spacious cabin to rest. There was fine food and water on the dining table, but he had no appetite.
The hatch closed.
Gu Jing walked to the porthole and looked out at the gradually brightening sky and the boundless blue sea. The sense of relief after surviving the disaster did not come, but instead a deeper, heavier feeling of fatigue and confusion weighed on his heart.
The hospital ship exploded. The database was destroyed. Qin Zhengfeng suffered heavy losses.
Then what?
Qin Yu's life or death is uncertain.
The mess that is Gu’s company is still there.
And he himself... with blood on his hands and secrets on his body, became the nominal "godson" of the son of a globally wanted demon, and an accomplice of a real demon?
The future is like the sea before us, vast, but we can’t see the other side.
There was a slight knock on the door.
"Enter."
The one who came in was 739. He had changed out of his blood-stained combat uniform and was wearing a simple black casual suit. The stains on his face had been cleaned, revealing a handsome yet cold face, but with a look of fatigue that was hard to conceal between his brows.
"Mr. Gu." He nodded slightly. "Brother Yu's surgery has begun. Our best medical team is in charge. The condition... is temporarily stable."
Gu Jing's heart calmed down a little, but he was still worried: "How long will it take?"
"Unsure. It depends on the complexity of the surgery and the subsequent reactions." 739 walked over to him and also looked out the window. "This ship will take us to a private island. The medical facilities there are more complete and more secluded. We will be relatively safe until Brother Yu wakes up."
Relatively safe. Gu Jing chewed on these four words.
"What about Qin Zhengfeng..." he asked hesitantly.
"The hospital ship sank, and the core data was destroyed. He's now overwhelmed. First, he has to deal with the doubts and anger from various 'clients', as well as the possible internal unrest. He probably won't have the energy to pursue us at all costs in the short term," 739 analyzed calmly. "But this is only temporary. He will never give up."
Gu Jing was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Did you start the buzzer?"
739's body stiffened imperceptibly for a moment, then returned to normal. He shook his head, "It wasn't me."
Gu Jing suddenly turned his head to look at him.
"It wasn't me," 739 repeated, a look of confusion and fear in his eyes. "I was trying to distract another group of guards. The alarm and subsequent explosion... came without warning, and the timing was terrifyingly precise."
Not 739? Then who could it be?
A chill ran down Gu Jing's spine. Besides Qin Yu's backup plan, could there be a third party hidden on this demonic ship? Friend or foe?
"That explosion..."
"Preliminary assessment is that the backup energy storage tank next to the power compartment was deliberately detonated, triggering a chain reaction." 739's gaze sharpened. "The enemy is very familiar with the ship's structure, and... their purpose is clear: to cause maximum chaos and destruction."
A third party hiding in the dark, with ruthless means and unclear intentions?
This realization makes the situation even more confusing and dangerous.
The two fell into silence for a moment, with only the sound of the cruise ship breaking through the waves.
After a long while, Gu Jing spoke again in a low voice: "What are your plans next?"
739 looked at him, his eyes showing a bit of scrutiny and... a hint of subtle inquiry.
"The most urgent task is to ensure that Brother Yu is out of danger. Then..." He paused, "We need to reassess the situation, integrate the remaining resources, and await Brother Yu's instructions."
"Integrate resources?" Gu Jing keenly caught this word.
"Yeah." 739 nodded, seemingly having made up his mind. "Brother Yu hasn't just been collecting evidence of Qin Zhengfeng's crimes these past few years. He's secretly been cultivating some...power and assets of his own. While we can't directly compete with Qin Zhengfeng's empire, it's enough for us to lie low and strike back."
He looked at Gu Jing and said in a serious tone, "Mr. Gu, Brother Yu has previously instructed that if anything happens to him, all of his rights and interests in the Gu Group and the power he controls will be temporarily managed by you...with full authority."
Gu Jing was stunned and almost thought he had heard it wrong.
"Me?" he repeated incredulously. "Agent?"
Qin Yu handed over his hidden power and assets, which were probably equally shameful, to him?
Would that madman with such a strong desire for control make such a decision?
"Yes." 739's tone was devoid of any joking. "This was Yu-ge's last clear instruction before he passed out. He said... you know what to do."
Do I know how to do this?
Gu Jing's heart felt like it had been struck hard, and a complex wave of emotions washed over him. Was it trust? Was it a trust? Or was it another, deeper, more impenetrable situation?
He looked at 739's calm yet bottomless eyes and suddenly understood.
From the moment Qin Yu forced him to sign the agreement, from the moment he stepped into the banquet at the Qin family's old house, from the moment he chose to turn back and save Qin Yu... he was no longer able to turn back and was tied to this pirate ship.
Qin Yu used this extreme method to completely pull him into his own world, his own war.
Hate?
perhaps.
But more of it is a kind of numbness that comes from being caught in the huge whirlpool of fate and having to dance with it, and... a hint of madness that he himself is unwilling to admit, like a broken pot.
He took a slow breath, and the salty smell of sea water rushed into his lungs, bringing with it a cold sense of clarity.
"I understand." He heard his own voice say, calmly without a trace of emotion.
He turned away from the empty sea and looked inside the cabin, at the table with the laptop and satellite phone.
"Give me the list of resources that can be mobilized at present, as well as all the assessment reports on Qin Zhengfeng's recent movements." He ordered, with a cold and decisive tone that was unfamiliar even to himself.
A trace of extremely slight surprise flashed across 739's eyes, and then turned into a genuine solemnity with a hint of awe.
"Yes. Mr. Gu."
He bowed slightly and left the cabin.
The door closed gently.
Gu Jing walked to the table, sat down, and turned on the computer. The light from the screen reflected on his pale yet unusually calm face. Deep in his eyes, there was a silent, cold wasteland, yet burning with a dark flame.
The game is far from over.
It's just a change of players and battlefield.
And now, it's his turn to play chess.
His dear adoptive father, dear...partner.
Are you ready?
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