Ruan Chen gripped the cold glass bottle in her hand, barely managing to land at the junction of the cabin and the deck. She steadied herself, silently withdrew her foot, and squatted down against the wall.
She took a big gulp of orange juice, trying to sort things out in her mind.
It's certain that they have ill intentions, but who is behind this group? This is the United States, the cruise ship was chartered by the Ye family, and the ship is full of Chinese students who came to participate in the competition, a total of nine groups. Even if they have some valuables, is it worth making such a fuss?
The most valuable thing on the ship is probably the design of the Acuvue engine by his own group. Although from Ruan Chen's point of view, it is not worth taking such a big risk for this little thing, if the other party is really after this design, it is not impossible to give it to them.
In short, we must first get out of the current predicament.
She slipped on her slippers, strolled to Lin Fengzi's room, knocked on the door, and then called Ruan Luo to ask him to come to her room.
"Are you having trouble sleeping again?"
Ruan Chen pushed the computer screen in front of the two of them. "I've connected to the cruise ship's monitoring system. Take a look at the surroundings."
Lin Fengzi yawned, "What access? We're all on the same side, no need to be so euphemistic. Just say it's an intrusion, no one will report you... What the hell is going on?"
He snapped his mouth shut as he stared at the monitor.
But it only took him a few seconds to calm himself down, his eyes suddenly becoming calm and sharp. "These are the speedboats that pirates in the coastal waters often use. Cruise ships going out to sea are often the targets of these pirates, but our ship is anchored in Haitang Port. In theory, they can't even get close to us without bypassing the coastal monitoring system."
Ruan Luo placed her phone on the table, gesturing for Lin Fengzi to look at the location on the map. "We're no longer in Haitang Port; this is international waters."
"For money?" Lin Fengzi frowned. "At first glance, there are hundreds of speedboats. Even if we can loot a lot of valuables on our ship, each person won't get much. Is it worth it?"
Ruan Luo shook his head. "If they were after money, they probably would have already come up. Right now, they seem to be waiting for some instructions, just surrounding us without attacking. Could it be that they're after your design?"
“I’ve thought about that possibility, but the probability is not high,” Ruan Chen said while still drinking juice. “You can see that the model and color of the speedboats are very consistent. They should be from several different pirate gangs. The person who can bring them together wouldn’t be interested in just one design that is still in its infancy.”
"Stop guessing, let's get moving." Lin Fengzi shrugged and stood up. "Ruan Luo, go and call the students in the guest rooms one by one, so that everyone is mentally prepared. When these people board the ship later, give them whatever they want, and don't let them resist."
"Okay." Ruan Luo nodded without hesitation. "And what about you?"
“I’m going to check out the cockpit,” Lin Fengzi stretched and rubbed her knuckles. “I want to see who in the cockpit has the guts to sail the cruise ship out to sea and deliver it to pirates.”
"I'll be with you."
Lin Fengzi pressed Ruan Chen back down, teasingly saying, "Just take care of yourself. Your head is the most valuable thing on our ship."
"You can manage on your own?" Ruan Chen frowned. "I'm worried they might treat you..."
Lin Fengzi smiled meaningfully, "Don't worry, I have a protective charm."
The two left one after the other. Ruan Luo had barely left when she turned back, poking half her head in. "Ruan Yunhan hasn't shown up. Could it be related to her?"
“You really overestimate her,” Ruan Chen tapped the screen. “If she were capable of putting together such a scheme, why would she bother fighting for something from the Ruan family?”
Lin Fengzi walked along the narrow passageway to the end, wanting to call her father to let him know, but found that there was no signal at all.
It's been blocked.
His heart tightened suddenly, and he stopped in the middle of the passageway.
His confidence and protection came from the Lin family. His grandfather was a marshal, and he possessed the Lin family's token. At the very least, if his grandfather simply made a casual greeting to the United States and a few surrounding small countries, he would be safe. But now he had lost contact with the Lin family.
No one here would know that he is the only son of the Lin family.
Just then, his phone vibrated slightly in his palm; the caller ID was unknown.
"Hello?"
The voice on the other end of the phone was that of a middle-aged man with a somewhat fiery temper, rattling off a series of questions, "Has something really happened? Why is your voice trembling? Are you in danger right now? Is it a convenient time to talk?"
"Dad?" Lin Fengzi reacted quickly, without wasting words or asking how her father discovered something was wrong, and simply replied, "Our cruise ship, which should have been docked at Haitang Port, is now in international waters for some reason. My classmate and I checked the ship's surveillance footage, and there are pirate speedboats all around us. I'm on my way to the bridge now to see if I can find any clues."
A long sigh came from the other end of the phone. "Your classmate, is her name Ruan Chen?"
Lin Fengzi was somewhat surprised. He had never told his family about Ruan Chen. In fact, he had only officially met her in the last few days.
"Yes." But he knew this wasn't the time to let his curiosity get the better of him.
“Go back and stay by her side, never leave her side,” Lin’s father said sternly. “Whatever happens has nothing to do with you. Your only task is to protect her—these are your grandfather’s exact words.”
Lin Fengzi was completely dumbfounded.
grandfather?
He recalled his grandfather's resentment that there was still no girl in the family, and an inappropriate drama of love and hate unfolded in his mind. He cautiously asked, "Dad, tell me the truth, Grandpa hasn't done anything immoral outside, has he?"
Lin's father paused for a moment, then immediately understood what this brat was imagining.
“I can tell you the truth,” Lin’s father said seriously, “She once had a connection with Chixiao.”
Lin Fengzi's pupils suddenly contracted; he understood what those words meant.
Although his mental strength was only at level six, compared to his grandfather and father, he knew what the Ten Famous Swords were from a young age because of his family background.
He had even seen the Tai'a sword of Old Master Lin.
He didn't have time to ask for specific details, and simply replied in a hoarse voice, "I understand."
He turned and walked towards Ruan Chen's room. The signal on the other end of the phone started to drop intermittently, and he could only barely hear the phrase "at all costs".
Lin Fengzi smiled bitterly. If he had another chance, he would like to vent his anger on the old man. Didn't he know how important someone who could resonate with the Ten Famous Swords was? He actually let a genius like Ruan Chen wander around. Now that something happened, he was anxious and came to him saying something like "at all costs".
He pounded on Ruan Chen's door, but no one responded.
Lin Fengzi took two steps back and kicked the door lock open.
It was completely empty.
Ruan Chen has disappeared.
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