Chapter 27
Gu Jing was the only one left in the cabin.
The waves lapped monotonously against the hull, the rhythmic rocking accentuating the dead silence inside. The dim glow of the computer screen illuminated half of his face, while the other half was hidden in shadow, making it impossible to discern his expression.
He didn't immediately look at the information sent by 739. He just sat quietly, listening to the steady but somewhat hollow sound of his heartbeat.
Full agent.
Qin Yu's last instructions before he fell into a coma.
This is like a huge, hot potato, or a poisoned double-edged sword.
Taking over meant he would truly be entering Qin Yu's dark, bloody, and shady world, a dangerous place to hide. Those so-called "resources" and "power" were likely tainted with indelible sin.
reject?
Could he refuse?
Qin Zhengfeng was like a giant crocodile hiding in the deep sea, and he would never let them go. Without the hidden power of Qin Yu, they would be like lambs exposed to wolves, destined to be torn apart and devoured.
And... Gu Jing's gaze involuntarily drifted towards the cabin door, as if he could penetrate the metal and see the man in the operating room whose life or death was uncertain.
Did that madman really trust him? Or was there another deeper plot that he couldn't see through?
Trust someone who has just "betrayed" you and even injected him with unknown drugs with your own hands (although it was later replaced with unknown drugs)?
That in itself is crazy.
Gu Jing slowly closed his eyes, his fingertips tapping the table unconsciously.
The unfinished "Believe..." in his father's recording, Qin Yu's paranoid whisper on the rainy night, his anxious eyes when he pushed himself away in the bottom of the medical ship... fragmented images emerged again.
Perhaps, he never really saw through Qin Yu.
That man is like an iceberg under the deep sea. The paranoia and madness that are exposed above the water are only a very small part. Hidden underneath is a larger, more complex and more dangerous truth.
And now, the iceberg has sunk, but the key to the abyss has been put into his hands.
After a long time, he opened his eyes.
The last trace of hesitation and ripples in his eyes completely settled, replaced by a cold, almost resigned calmness.
He reached out and opened the encrypted folder labeled "Asset A" on the computer desktop.
Enter the temporary permission password provided by 739.
Progress bar reads.
Dense data flows, structural diagrams, personnel lists, capital flows, and some business reports that he couldn't quite understand but were clearly in the gray or even black area popped up on the screen.
shocking.
The "Second Empire" Qin Yu secretly operated was far more complex and vast than he had imagined. It involved overseas money laundering, intelligence trading, private armed forces, and even some extremely cutting-edge and dangerous biological and information technology research conducted under the guise of a technology company.
This wasn't simply a self-protection force. It was almost a miniature, more secretive and efficient version of the "Qin Clan"!
Qin Yu...what on earth did he want to do? Just to bring down his father?
Gu Jing forced himself to suppress the horror in his heart and began to quickly browse, memorize and digest this horrifying information.
Time passes by every second.
It was bright outside the cabin, and the sunlight shone through the porthole, casting bright spots of light on the floor.
The knock on the door sounded again.
"Enter."
The one who came in this time was the cruise ship's captain, a middle-aged man with a calm face and eagle-like eyes. His codename was "Haidongqing." He was also one of Qin Yu's core subordinates.
"Mr. Gu." Hai Dongqing nodded respectfully and handed over an encrypted satellite phone. "This is the emergency line of Nightingale."
Nightingale? The mysterious source who first warned Qin Yu about Zhou Liguang's betrayal?
Gu Jing's heart trembled, he took the phone and pressed the answer button.
A complexly processed, electronically synthesized voice, neither male nor female, came from the other end of the phone, speaking very quickly:
"Qin Zhengfeng has moved. Three things."
"First, he claimed the hospital ship sank in an 'accident' and shifted all the blame to 'operational errors' and 'foreign terrorist attacks.' He is now doing his best to put out the fire, appease various forces, and try to stabilize the situation."
"Second, he's issued a top-level 'clean-up' order against Master Yu and you, with a staggering bounty. The order is being carried out by his most mysterious and ruthless 'Shadow' squad, led by someone codenamed 'Viper.' Your position may have been exposed, so be on high alert."
"Third," Nightingale paused, a rare solemnity in her voice. "We've detected that after Qin Zhengfeng lost the hospital ship's core database, he activated an extreme emergency plan codenamed 'Nirvana.' The specifics are unknown, but the level of authority is extremely high, mobilizing some of his most hidden resources and personnel. The goal is... possibly some form of 'mutual destruction' or 'complete reshuffle.'"
Mutual destruction? Complete reshuffle?
Gu Jing's pupils shrank slightly. That old lunatic, when forced into a desperate situation, would choose such an extreme method?
"Is the source of information reliable?" Gu Jing asked calmly, without a trace of fluctuation in his voice.
"Grade A credibility," Nightingale replied. "The existence of Project Nirvana can be confirmed, but our infiltration personnel cannot access its core details. We only know that the activation order has been issued. Also, regarding Shadow and Viper, you must be careful. They are not ordinary killers; they are tools designed for destruction."
"Got it. Keep in touch." Gu Jing hung up the phone and relayed the content to Haidongqing in a concise manner.
Hai Dongqing's expression instantly grew grave. "'Shadow'... and 'Viper'... are in trouble. They are the sharpest knives in Qin Zhengfeng's hand, and they never fail. And their actions... have no bottom line."
"Can you handle it?" Gu Jing asked.
"If it was just Shadow, relying on the island's defense system and our preparations, we might be able to deal with it. But with Viper..." Hai Dongqing frowned, "That guy... is a real monster. Brother Yu fought him before, and he almost..."
He didn't finish his words, but his meaning was clear.
Gu Jing was silent for a few seconds.
"Change the route." He suddenly said, his tone unquestionable, "We won't go to the original island."
Hai Dongqing was stunned: "But Brother Yu's surgery..."
"Complete the first stage on the ship. Find another location for subsequent treatment." Gu Jing's eyes fell on the intricate power distribution maps on the computer screen, and his fingers quickly pointed at several seemingly unrelated points.
"Notify the personnel in charge of these locations and activate the 'Fog' protocol. Release interference information to direct all our traces to the southeastern region of the high seas, the area densely populated with abandoned drilling platforms."
"Mist" agreement? Shock flashed in Haidongqing's eyes. It was one of Yu Ge's top-level misdirection and anti-tracking plans. Once activated, it would consume enormous resources and expose several secret bases painstakingly cultivated for years as bait!
"Mr. Gu, this..." Hai Dongqing hesitated. The price was too high.
"Do as I tell you." Gu Jing raised his eyes and looked at him. His eyes were calm, but they carried a palpitating, unquestionable sense of oppression. "If he wants 'Nirvana' and 'reshuffle', we will make the water... even more muddy."
"He wants to use the fastest knife, so we give him a cloud of fog that he can't cut."
His fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard, pulling up another encrypted file.
"At the same time, in my name, contact these... Qin Zhengfeng's old rivals, or those in the 'client' group who have had conflicts with him recently." He gave out several names and code names, each of which represented a force that should not be underestimated.
"Accidentally leak the parts they're most interested in, the 'fragmented hospital ship client list' and the 'speculated unusual fund flows.' Remember, make it look like we accidentally left them behind during our hasty escape."
Haidongqing took a breath of cold air!
This was to divert the trouble eastward, leaving Qin Zhengfeng vulnerable from both sides! But the risks were also enormous. If they mishandled the plan and brought disaster upon themselves, they would become the target of public criticism!
"Mr. Gu, this is too risky! Although those fragments and speculations are incomplete, they are enough to stir up a huge wave! And Brother Yu may not agree when he wakes up..."
"Is he awake now?" Gu Jing interrupted him with a cold tone.
Haidongqing was speechless.
"Then do as I say." Gu Jing stood up, walked to the porthole, and looked at the endless blue sea outside. His voice was not loud, but every word was clear, with a fierceness of desperate determination.
"Doesn't he like to play big?"
"I'll play with him."
Haidongqing looked at Gu Jing's tall and straight back, which revealed a sense of loneliness and cruelty. In a trance, he seemed to see the shadow of another person.
He finally took a deep breath and nodded heavily: "Yes! I'll do it right away!"
The Saker Falcon left in a hurry.
Gu Jing was still standing in front of the window. The sunlight fell on him, but it couldn't warm his cold shell.
He knew he was making a risky move, a move that could be disastrous.
But he had no better choice.
Waiting and hiding will only lead to being hunted accurately by beings like "Shadow" and "Viper".
Only by muddying the waters, dragging more people into the water, and making Qin Zhengfeng unable to take care of himself, can they fight for a chance of survival in the chaos.
As for the price...
Gu Jing slowly clenched his fists.
From the moment he signed the agreement, from the moment he chose to turn back, the price was already determined.
For the next few hours, the entire cruise ship began to operate at full capacity like a precise and efficient machine.
The route changed and headed towards the more complex and dangerous high seas area.
The "Mist" protocol was activated, and countless true and false information flows poured into all parts of the world through encrypted channels, like a stone thrown into a lake, quickly stirring up invisible ripples.
Several carefully screened and processed "confidential fragments" were cleverly "leaked", like drops of blood into a school of sharks, instantly triggering commotion and greed lurking under the deep sea.
Gu Jing sat at the center, calmly receiving feedback from all sides and quickly issuing orders. He handled matters with a maturity and decisiveness that belied his age, even... a kind of almost instinctive, keen sense of the dark rules.
Haidongqing and 739 assisted from the side, with more and more surprise and awe in their eyes.
This person...seems to be born for this kind of blood-thirsty game.
In the evening.
The setting sun dyed the sea blood red.
The lights in the operating room finally went out.
The attending physician emerged wearily, removing his mask. A look of relief crossed his face. "The operation was a success, and he's out of danger for now. However, he'll need a long period of observation and recovery from the excessive blood loss, infection, medication, and radiation. Most importantly, he needs absolute rest and must avoid any further stimulation."
Gu Jing's tense heartstrings finally relaxed a little, but when he heard "no more stimulation", a complex shadow flashed across his eyes.
He walked into the makeshift intensive care unit.
Qin Yu lay quietly on the hospital bed, an oxygen mask on his face, his complexion still translucently pale. Various monitoring devices beeped rhythmically around him. He closed his eyes, as if in the deepest sleep, with only the faint rise and fall of his chest proving he was still alive.
Having lost his usual paranoia, madness and powerful aura, he even looks a little fragile at this moment.
Gu Jing stood by the bed and looked at him quietly for a long time.
It was this man who had dragged him into hell, and then repeatedly pulled him back from the brink of hell. He hated him, feared him, yet had no choice but to rely on him, and even... now, he was wielding the power of darkness on his behalf.
The mood is so complicated that it is hard to describe.
He stretched out his hand, and brushed the back of Qin Yu's cold hand with his fingertips very lightly, almost not daring to touch.
"You'd better wake up soon." He whispered, his voice hoarse, "Your mess... is too heavy, I can't bear it anymore."
The person on the bed showed no reaction.
Gu Jing withdrew his hand, took a deep breath, turned around and prepared to leave.
Just as he reached the door—
The satellite phone rang rapidly again.
It's a nightingale.
Gu Jing picked up the phone immediately.
"They've taken the bait." Nightingale's voice was still electronic, but with a hint of urgency. "The three parties who received the 'fragment' have already taken action. They are privately and frantically investigating and verifying the information, and have begun to put pressure on Qin Zhengfeng. There are signs of chaos within Qin Zhengfeng!"
"But," Nightingale's tone suddenly darkened, "'Shadow' is moving faster than expected! It seems they haven't been completely misled! A team is conducting cross-searches at an alarming speed towards several areas where you may be located! At most... there are still two hours!"
"Where is the viper?" Gu Jing asked calmly.
"He hasn't shown up yet. But he must be there." Nightingale's voice was unusually solemn. "Be careful. His style... never plays by the rules."
Hang up the phone.
Gu Jing walked to the control console. The radar on the screen showed several faint spots of light moving rapidly at the edge, converging in their general direction in a precise and disturbing trajectory.
"The fog... doesn't seem to be able to completely block them." Hai Dongqing's face turned grim. "'Shadow's' tracking ability is too abnormal."
Gu Jing stared at the screen with cold eyes.
Two hours.
"Launch the final emergency plan." He suddenly said.
Haidongqing and 739 looked at him at the same time.
"Release the coordinates of the last bait. Point our 'most important person' and 'core data backup' to the northwest, towards the 'fortress' disguised as a research vessel." Gu Jing spoke very quickly, "Then, we turn and head full speed towards the abandoned drilling platform area in the southeast."
"What?" Hai Dongqing was shocked. "That 'fortress' was built by Brother Yu with great effort..."
"It's a bait." Gu Jing interrupted him, his eyes sharp, "It's also the strongest shield. The main force of 'Shadow' will definitely be attracted to it. And we..."
He looked towards the southeast at the complex sea area known as the "sea cemetery".
"Let's go there and meet Mr. Viper, who never plays by the rules."
Put yourself in danger and then you can survive.
Haidongqing and 739 looked at each other, and saw shock and... a hint of ignited blood in each other's eyes.
"yes!"
The order was given.
The cruise ship changed its course again, and like an arrow shot from a bow, it shot forward without hesitation towards the sea area full of dangers and unknowns, and filled with steel ruins.
The setting sun completely sank below the sea level.
Darkness falls.
Gu Jing stood at the bow, facing the biting sea breeze, looking at the abandoned drilling platforms that were getting closer and closer in front of him, standing like the skeletons of giant beasts.
His heartbeat was steady and his eyes were surprisingly bright in the night.
He knew that the hunter had already set his net.
And the prey is actively stepping into the trap.
It’s just that who is the hunter and who is the prey.
It is still unknown.
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