Chapter 31
The tranquility of Pelican Harbor was shattered by the sharp beep of a satellite phone.
Gu Jing's hand, just as he was about to pick up his coffee, paused mid-air, his eyes instantly meeting Qin Yu's as he sat on the sofa across from him. The slight warmth that had settled in his eyes suddenly vanished, replaced by an icy sharpness.
Qin Yu's recovery was astonishingly fast. Although he was still thin, the sense of control and oppression between his brows had re-condensed. He nodded slightly.
Gu Jing pressed the answer button and turned on the speakerphone.
The processed electronic sound of "Nightingale" came out immediately, more urgent than ever before, even with a rare hint of... panic?
[The plan has been leaked! Repeat! The core content of 'Nirvana' has been leaked!]
Gu Jing's heart suddenly sank.
[Qin Zhengfeng... he's crazy!] Nightingale's voice was distorted by extreme emotional fluctuations. [His 'Nirvana' is not a counterattack plan at all! It's destruction! A plan to drag everyone to hell!]
[He used all the biological samples and genetic data collected by the hospital ship over the years... combined with some extreme environmental modification technology... he created a... a highly specific genetic weapon!]
Gu Jing and Qin Yu's expressions changed suddenly at the same time!
Genetic weapons?!
"That's not a weapon of mass destruction..." Nightingale's voice was filled with fear. "Its target is extremely precise... all... all those whose blood connection to the Qin family exceeds a certain threshold! This includes all collateral relatives, in-laws, and even... possibly some illegitimate children he doesn't even know about!"
[He wants to... he wants to completely wipe out the entire Qin family from a genetic perspective! Including himself!]
"Madman!" Gu Jing roared, a chill running through his body from the soles of his feet to his head! Could Qin Zhengfeng have gone this far?! This wasn't just commercial oppression or a personal vendetta; it was outright, inhumane genocide!
Qin Yu's face was frighteningly pale, and his fingers unconsciously clenched the armrest of the sofa, his knuckles turning bluish-white. Even he was clearly shocked by this horrific plan.
[What's even more terrifying is...] Nightingale's voice trembled. [We suspect... he may have already... conducted a small-scale... release experiment... through some extremely secret channels...]
[Southeast Asia... Africa... and several areas in Eastern Europe... There have been several recent cases of mysterious deaths with unexplained causes and strong family clustering... The symptoms are highly consistent with the late effects described for genetic weapons!]
Death... has begun?
Gu Jing felt dizzy and his stomach churned.
[Qin Zhengfeng has gone completely mad! He doesn't care about the Qin family, the property, or even his own life! He only wants to drag down all those who share the blood of the Qin family with him to destruction! For him... for his twisted ambition and failure!] Nightingale's voice was almost tearful. [You... you must immediately...]
The call ended abruptly.
It turned into a shrill busy tone.
As if it was forcibly cut off by some powerful force.
There was deathly silence in the control room.
There was only the subtle but startling sound of the bottom of the coffee cup hitting the tray.
Gu Jing slowly put down the cup, his fingers cold and stiff. He looked at Qin Yu.
Qin Yu leaned back on the sofa, eyes closed, his thick eyelashes casting a deep shadow on his pale face. He looked unusually calm, but his slightly trembling fingertips and tense jawline betrayed the turbulent waves within him.
The air was as solid as substance.
After a long moment, Qin Yu slowly opened his eyes. All the emotions in those bottomless eyes had settled, leaving only a cold, almost empty silence.
"...I see." He uttered these four words very softly, his voice hoarse, but with a kind of all-knowing mockery and... sadness.
"He never thought of having an heir... What he wanted was an absolutely 'clean' 'new world' under his complete control. And we..." He pulled the corners of his mouth, and the smile was uglier than crying, "...are all stains that need to be cleansed."
So, no matter how hard he tried, how he proved himself, or how he wanted to get rid of the curse of that surname, in the eyes of that man, he was just a mistake that was destined to be erased.
A huge sense of absurdity and a coldness that penetrated deep into his bones swept over him.
Gu Jing looked at him like that, and his heart felt like it was being stabbed by a needle. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found that any words were pale and powerless at this moment.
Just then—
"Bang!!"
A dull thud, unlike the crash of waves, suddenly came from beneath the hull! The entire cruise ship shook violently!
"What's going on?!" Gu Jing stood up suddenly and rushed to the control console!
Haidongqing's voice came from the intercom, filled with shock and anger: "There's something underwater! It's hit! It's not a reef! It's... some kind of small submarine! It's stuck near the propeller!"
Almost at the same time!
“Swish—bang!”
A red flare, trailing a dazzling flame, shot suddenly into the sky from a dilapidated fishing boat that had appeared out of nowhere not far away! It exploded in a striking cloud of red smoke in the sky!
Then, several heavy weapons suddenly appeared on the fishing boat, their muzzles pointed coldly at the cruise ship!
Farther out on the sea, three extremely fast armed speedboats were cutting through the waves, hurtling towards them in an encircling formation! The boats were filled with figures wearing miscellaneous combat uniforms, yet armed with sophisticated weapons!
They are not the well-trained style of "Shadow", but more like a group of... greedy and desperate mercenaries and pirates attracted by the huge bounty!
They've been discovered! And they're surrounded!
"It's that flare! They're sending a signal to their accomplices!" 739's face turned grim. "We're being taken advantage of!"
The remoteness of Pelican Harbor has now become a fatal weakness!
"Can we get rid of it?" Gu Jing asked anxiously.
"The propeller is stuck! The power is damaged! We can't sail at full speed!" Haidongqing's voice was filled with despair. "There are too many of them! The firepower is too strong! We..."
His words were interrupted by a burst of dense gunfire!
“Bang bang bang bang—!”
The heavy machine guns on the armed speedboat and the fishing boat opened fire simultaneously! Bullets rained down on the cruise ship's hull like a torrential rain! There was a terrifying crash! Glass shattered! Sparks flew!
The bodyguards on the cruise ship were forced to fire back, but their firepower was completely suppressed! The enemy was clearly well prepared, with an absolute advantage in both numbers and firepower!
"Find cover!"
"Protect Brother Yu and Mr. Gu!"
Chaotic shouts and gunshots intertwined!
A □□ came roaring with white smoke trailing behind!
"Be careful!" 739 suddenly pounced on Gu Jing!
□□ flew past the side of the ship, exploding a huge column of water on the sea behind!
The shock wave caused the cruise ship to shake violently again!
Gu Jing's ears rang with shock, and he was dragged by 739 to hide behind a metal bunker. He looked in the direction of Qin Yu.
Qin Yu had stood up without realizing it, leaning against the wall. His face had grown even paler from the impact of the explosion, but his eyes were cold as ice, without a trace of panic. He had a compact pistol in his hand and was calmly observing the situation outside.
"Their goal is to board the ship! Capture them alive!" Qin Yu's voice was remarkably clear amidst the chaos, carrying a cold judgment. "Bounty."
Sure enough, those speedboats and fishing boats were trying to get closer, throwing out hooks, and the pirates were howling and preparing to board the ship by force!
"We can't let them come up!" Haidongqing roared and commanded the counterattack.
The crew members who were still able to fight on the cruise ship fought desperately, and people were shot and fell one after another. The deck instantly turned into a bloody battlefield.
But the disparity between the enemy and us is too great. It seems that the defense line is about to be breached!
Just then!
Qin Yu suddenly shouted to Gu Jing and 739, "Follow me!"
He covered his still painful abdomen, but moved towards the stern of the ship extremely quickly!
Gu Jing and 739 followed immediately.
The situation at the stern was slightly better, but pirates also tried to climb from there.
Qin Yu's eyes glared, and he raised his hand and fired two shots! Accurately hitting the two pirates who had just appeared! Amidst screams, their bodies fell into the sea!
He quickly opened an inconspicuous storage compartment at the stern, which contained several more powerful automatic weapons and several... things that looked like underwater thrusters!
"Put it on!" He threw one thruster to Gu Jing and quickly put the other one on his back. His movements were so skillful as if he had practiced them countless times.
"What are you going to do?" Gu Jing was shocked.
"Go underwater." Qin Yu said hurriedly but calmly, "Their attention is all on boarding the ship. This is our only chance!"
He glanced at the small submarine stuck near the propeller, his eyes cold: "By the way... let's see which friend sent this 'big gift'."
"It's too dangerous! Your injury..." Gu Jing said anxiously.
"It's more dangerous to stay here!" Qin Yu interrupted him, looking at him sharply, "Trust me this time."
Gu Jing looked at his eyes that remained calm and determined in the hail of bullets, gritted his teeth, no longer hesitated, and quickly put on the heavy underwater propulsion device.
739 also equipped himself without hesitation and handed an assault rifle to Gu Jing: "I'll cover your retreat!"
"Keep the communication open! We will divert some of the firepower!" Qin Yu quickly instructed Hai Dongqing into the communicator, then looked at Gu Jing deeply.
"Follow me."
After saying that, he was the first to climb over the stern railing and slid silently into the cold sea!
Gu Jing and 739 followed closely behind!
The icy water instantly enveloped his entire body, sending a shiver through him. Visibility underwater was low, and all he could hear were the muffled sounds of gunfire and explosions from above.
Qin Yu turned on the thruster and swam silently towards the small black submarine stuck near the propeller.
As we got closer, we realized the submersible had an odd shape, with no markings on its surface, like some kind of custom-made luxury item. One of its wings had cleverly become lodged between the propeller blades, causing a blockage.
Qin Yu circled the submersible, his gaze fixed on a hidden port on the hatch. He pulled a multi-purpose saber from his leg, expertly pried open the panel, and connected a data cable to a waterproof microcomputer strapped to his wrist.
The screen lights up and data scrolls quickly.
Qin Yu's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
Suddenly, he raised his head and looked at Gu Jing, his eyes filled with unprecedented shock and... a hint of unbelievable horror!
He gestured quickly, pointing inside the submarine, then pointing at himself, and then making an explosion gesture!
Gu Jing's heart sank suddenly!
Qin Yu meant… there was a bomb… in this submarine?! And it was… targeting his genetic identification?!
This wasn't an accidental collision! This was a carefully planned assassination attempt on Qin Yu! Using genetic weapons as a cover, or... was it actually part of that weapon?!
Who is it?! Qin Zhengfeng?! Or... someone else who knows the inside story?!
Just as the two were shocked——
“Buzz!!”
Suddenly, a strange, dark blue light shone from within the small submarine, accompanied by a rapid, heart-pounding buzzing sound.
The countdown has been triggered!
Qin Yu's face changed drastically. He pushed Gu Jing away and signaled him to leave! At the same time, he tried to forcibly destroy the identification device with his saber!
But it's too late!
The blue light grew brighter and brighter, and the buzzing sound became sharper and piercing!
The outer shell of the submarine even began to turn slightly red and deform!
The explosion is imminent!
Gu Jing looked at Qin Yu's back as he desperately tried to defuse the bomb, the beads of sweat rolling down his pale face and his red, anxious eyes...
At that moment, all hesitation, fear, calculation...all disappeared.
There was only one thought left in my mind -
He can't be allowed to die.
He suddenly turned the thrusters, not to escape, but to slam into Qin Yu with a resolute attitude!
Under Qin Yu's astonished gaze, Gu Jing used all his strength to knock him away from the submarine that was about to explode! At the same time, due to the reaction force, he drifted in the opposite direction!
“No——!!!” Qin Yu roared silently in the water, his eyes bloodshot, and he tried frantically to swim back to Gu Jing!
But everything happened in a flash!
The ball of blue light suddenly shrank, and then...
"boom!!!!!"
A dull but powerful explosion suddenly erupted underwater!
The huge shock wave and scorching bubbles instantly engulfed everything around!
Gu Jing felt an irresistible force slam into his back! The thrusters instantly failed! Icy seawater rushed into his mouth, nose, and ears! His internal organs felt like they were shattered, and he felt a sharp pain!
Everything went black before his eyes. In his last moments of consciousness, he only saw Qin Yu's red eyes, filled with extreme fear, despair, and madness. He was desperately trying to break through the aftermath of the explosion and swim towards him...
Then, there was endless, cold darkness.
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