When Lin Fengzi and her group arrived safely at Haitang Port, the port was in a tense atmosphere.
He immediately spotted the professor from the National Medical College whom he knew and quickly stepped forward. "Professor Fang, what's the situation now?"
The two groups arguing stopped when they saw the arriving boat and gathered around. One of them, dressed in uniform, frowned at the group of students who had just escaped death and scolded, "You Chinese students are really messing around! Playing around in coastal waters is fine, but how did you manage to take the cruise ship to international waters?! Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're Marshal Lin's grandson! Your grandfather must give us an explanation for this!"
Lin Fengzi was almost laughing in anger. He opened his mouth, but before he could explain, the man ignored him and continued to berate the other students, "I know you are all proud and arrogant geniuses, but you encouraged the crew to sail the ship to international waters. Don't you know what kind of accidents might happen? Or are you planning to do something shady so you can escape punishment by using international waters!"
The students, still reeling from their near-death experience, erupted in a frenzy. They were seething with anger and wanted to seek justice from the people of the United States, but they never expected to be saddled with such a huge scapegoat right in front of them.
"Professor Fang, what's going on here?" Lin Fengzi pulled the professor aside.
Professor Fang said, "As soon as we realized that something might have happened on your side, we contacted the person in charge in the US. At first, they were very uncooperative, saying that we were making a fuss over nothing. Later, your grandfather and several other senior figures came forward to negotiate in person. They seemed to take it seriously, but they kept making excuses, saying that they didn't have enough manpower and that the weather at sea was bad and they couldn't go to find people rashly."
Professor Fang said helplessly, "Right now, there are only a few of us visiting scholars and professors in the US. Even if we get to Haitang Port, we are just a small group and have no influence. We can't force them to send a ship out to search for people. What's the situation on your side? Are the students all alright?"
Lin Fengzi briefly recounted what had happened on the ship, concluding with, "Ruan Chen was taken away by them."
"Ruan Chen? I haven't heard of this student's name. Lin, based on your description and speculation, it seems that a group of researchers with US support took her away. Perhaps this student has something special about her, but if that's the case, you don't need to worry too much. At least those people have something on their mind about her, so they won't harm her life."
Strangely, despite the large crowd gathered at Haitang Port, not a single person noticed that not far from the crowd, a boy was quietly listening to their discussion.
His expression was dark and brooding, as if a storm was brewing. The iron-gray ring on the little finger of his hand, hanging at his side, gleamed with a faint silver light.
Fu Jianzhi heard it clearly: only Ruan Chen hadn't returned.
Even after the storm subsided last night, he couldn't stop worrying about Ruan Chen. He was almost certain that her mental strength was on the verge of spiraling out of control, and that such a commotion must have caught the attention of some people. They would definitely want to keep Ruan Chen in the US forever as part of that grand plan.
He turned and walked in the opposite direction from the crowd, dialing a phone as he went. "They're targeting Ruan Chen."
Fu Jianzhi's tone left no room for argument, "I'll set off right now to bring her back."
After hearing what was said on the other end of the phone, Fu Jianzhi retorted, "Wait for you to negotiate? Last year, it took you three months to negotiate a single procurement agreement with Jinghua University of Technology. By the time you finish negotiating, Ruan Chen will probably have already graduated from high school."
He hung up the phone without ceremony, calmed himself down slightly, and his vast mental network opened up, firmly connecting with Zhanlu.
The dispute at Haitang Port escalated further, with the people from the United States even calling in the coast guard to take the students from China away for separate interrogation and to ask them what they had done in international waters.
As for the students' claim that one of their companions was taken away, the group from the US simply told them to worry about their own affairs, suggesting that their companion might have left voluntarily with the pirates who were raiding the place.
When Ruan Chen and Ruan Luo first argued on the cruise ship, some people did suspect that Ruan Chen wanted to leave with the pirates on her own initiative. However, what happened next quickly dispelled their doubts. The Ruan siblings clearly had a good relationship, and what happened before was just a play they put on to protect each other.
"Mr. Lin, please leave with us." The people from the US country had obviously already learned of Lin Fengzi's identity, and their attitude towards him was very friendly, unlike how they treated the other students.
Lin Fengzi, his white polo shirt stained with blood from somewhere, stared resentfully at the distant sea. It was already broad daylight, and he stared into the distance for a long time until his eyes began to ache, but he did not see a miracle.
He was originally a very easygoing and unconventional person, easy to talk to, and rarely lost his temper. He was well-educated by the Lin family, but at this moment, when someone grabbed his arm, he suddenly exploded.
"Get out." He gritted his teeth, his anger barely contained.
“Mr. Lin, this is, after all, the United States,” the man said, knowing how to use Lin Fengzi’s identity to threaten him. “You yourself have not yet been cleared of suspicion, and I suppose you don’t want to make a big fuss and tarnish Marshal Lin’s reputation because of your uncooperative attitude.”
Lin Fengzi narrowed her long, phoenix-shaped eyes into a dangerous arc, and turned her head to look at the uniform the newcomer was wearing. "Did you come all the way from Crescent Bay?"
The name he mentioned was sensitive, and the person who came didn't speak, but simply gestured for him to enter again.
“I recorded a few words from those pirates on the ship just now,” the man didn’t answer, and Lin Fengzi didn’t ask a second time. He turned his gaze back to the sea. “There are a few names among them. If I want, in two hours, these names will be all over the internet—and coincidentally, these names can be found in some institutions in your country. How do you think this matter will end?”
Lin Fengzi's momentum was subtly gaining the upper hand. "When public opinion rises, you will have to return Ruan Chen no matter what. Rather than wasting both sides' energy and making things worse, you should be sensible now and return Ruan Chen to us before the public opinion explodes."
The newcomer was silent for a few seconds. “Since Mr. Lin brought up Crescent Bay, it means you already know something about the deeper aspects of this world. But I might as well be frank: the people who are targeting that little girl are not our people. The order to take her away came from Crescent Bay—those ‘people’ have their eyes on her.”
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