Chapter 108 Golden Hook Fishing - Twenty-Two Rescue Operations
Unexpectedly, the seemingly delicate Miss Xu was serious. When the uneven ceramic chip pressed against her face, Ah Ying saw the image of her beloved in her mind.
With a sorrowful expression, she reluctantly said, "Tonight, the boss is going to hold a celebration banquet in the lobby on the first floor. There will definitely be people going up and down the main staircase outside. Go out and keep turning right until you reach the end. There's a narrower staircase there. The rooms near that staircase are mostly empty. Go down to the first floor from there and exit through the emergency hatch. There are emergency escape life jackets, swimming rings, and escape pods hanging at the door. You need to bring a pair of scissors. After throwing the escape pod down, cut the rope and you can escape."
Xu Zhiyu was surprised that Aying explained things in such detail, as if she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to escape.
Ah Ying noticed her confusion and explained why she was working there: "Don't worry, I'm not lying to you. If Chen Hui managed to get you here and you're treated so well, your family must be powerful. To be honest, my boyfriend and I were tricked by a friend and ended up working for Chen Hui. My boyfriend is a veteran, and these guys have a bad reputation for soldiers. They've locked him up and tortured him every day. I've been trying to find a way to escape and rescue my boyfriend!"
Tears welled in her eyes as she continued, "I'm just too cowardly. There are people here who have escaped but been caught and brought back. They were all beaten horribly! I've already planned the route. If you really can escape, please, please save us!"
After hearing Ah Ying's explanation of the whole story, Xu Zhiyu knew that Ah Ying was actually on her side. Ah Ying wanted to help her escape. The people on the ship were doing things that the law could not tolerate. If they could really escape, she would definitely not leave them to fend for themselves!
"You can absolutely trust me. If I manage to escape, those people will definitely be brought to justice!" Xu Zhiyu didn't explain that her family wasn't actually powerful; it was Xingmian's family that was powerful. This was the only way to get Aying to help her wholeheartedly.
"However, you only told me how to escape. I still need to save someone else. You should know Lin Xingmian, right? He's Chen Hui's main target this time, an eighteen-year-old boy. Where is he being held?"
When Ah Ying heard her say she was going to rescue that person, her expression turned slightly displeased: "Of course I know this person. Chen Hui has been working on this plan for two whole months to ensure its success! It's fine if you run away and get caught, but if that man runs away, the employer will definitely demand a refund, so you can't take him with you!"
She was very serious. "Besides, the place where that person is being held is on the basement level directly below the lobby. The little staircase I told you about only goes down to the first floor, not down to the bottom. If you insist on going to rescue him, neither of you will be able to escape! If you get caught and Chen Hui finds out that I told you the escape route, then I'm completely finished too!"
"It's alright, it's alright. Don't panic, I know what I'm doing, I'll think of something..."
Xu Zhiyu looked Aying up and down and fell into deep thought.
.
Ten minutes later, the room door opened, and under the surveillance camera, Ah Ying walked briskly to the end of the corridor with her head down.
She was so nervous that she barely dared to breathe, the only sound in her ears being her own heartbeat. Her hands were in the pocket in the middle of her apron, which contained a pair of scissors, a piece of ceramic, and a rag.
Once outside the room, the ship was enormous, decorated in an ancient yet luxurious style, and brightly lit. Through the railing, one could see people on the ground floor opening bottles and cheering wildly, the air thick with the smell of smoke, creating a noisy scene.
Fortunately, they are busy celebrating now, otherwise, with such tight security, they might not have been able to get out so easily.
Ah Ying descended the stairs very quietly but very quickly, afraid of attracting anyone's attention. Once on the first floor, she first found the emergency hatch and figured out the escape route.
The ship was as bright as day inside; it wasn't until we got off that we realized how dark it was.
Then, she went around to the edge of the hall and peeked through the door at the chaotic men and women inside, who were holding wine glasses and huddled together in twos and threes, with wine and colorful ribbons spilled all over the floor.
Many of these people had extensive tattoos; the women had long legs and fair skin, while the men were burly. Among the dense crowd, she spotted a familiar face. The man was somewhat overweight, with scars covering his eyes, and was passionately kissing the women in his arms, a still-burning cigarette between his fingers.
That person was the leader of this group, Chen Hui.
It seems he's now engrossed in his love affair and has completely forgotten that there's a sleeping little white flower lying in the room upstairs.
Ah Ying mustered her courage, picked up a bottle of red wine from the side, and mingled into the crowd. She kept her head slightly lowered, refilling the glasses of passersby as she walked, blending in from the east side of the lobby to the west. Just as she was about two or three steps away from the stairwell to the basement, a voice suddenly called out to her:
"Hey, little maid, my wine glass is empty too."
Ah Ying's body trembled almost imperceptibly. She gripped the bottle tightly, turned around, and smiled with her head down: "Okay, I'll pour it for you right away."
When the man saw Ah Ying turn around, even though she had her head down, her smile made him stare wide-eyed!
She felt uneasy under the man's intense gaze, and beads of sweat trickled down her temples. The man, overcome with lust, raised his hand to grab Ah Ying's breasts—
"Hey, you newbie, don't you know the rules?" In a moment of danger, another man grabbed the man's groping hand. "Look closely, there are a lot of people in this place wearing these clothes, but very few wearing name tags. You can't touch the ones with name tags; they're the boss's personal property."
As the other man explained, he picked up Ah Ying's name tag and showed it to the new man: "See that? 'Ah Ying,' that's her name. Only the boss can sleep with her."
The new man immediately deflated, muttering discontentedly, "Fine. This boss really knows how to enjoy himself; everything he uses is so nice..."
The man who was explaining raised an eyebrow: "Or why don't you become the boss?"
After saying that, he was afraid that the newcomer would not be able to control his own flesh and blood, so he waved his hand and told Ah Ying to leave quickly. Ah Ying did not hesitate for a second, turned around and rushed towards the main staircase, heading straight for the basement.
The man, having drunk too much, didn't think much of it and assumed she was just scared, so he hurriedly fled.
Ah Ying breathed a huge sigh of relief as she descended the stairs. If she had stayed in that situation for even a second longer, she would have been exposed!
That's absolutely terrifying!
The lower level is the part of the ship that is submerged underwater. The space here is cramped, and it feels incredibly damp and makes breathing difficult. There is usually no one down here, except for two locked rooms, the rest of the space is occupied by the ship's mechanical equipment.
She looked at the two identical room doors and gently knocked on them one after the other. There was no response when she knocked on the first one. When she knocked on the second one, she still pressed her face against the door, but unexpectedly the door shook violently from the inside out, throwing her away.
It's obvious without even thinking that the person inside must have kicked it with all their might!
"Fools! Can't you tell the difference between the big and small kings? Let me tell your boss, the Lin family has definitely started looking for me. If she loses even a single hair tonight, you will all be executed!"
Ah Ying fell on her bottom, but she didn't care about the pain. Just hearing that familiar voice made her feel like tears were about to burst out.
The commotion was a bit loud, so she cautiously looked around to make sure no one was coming.
What she didn't know was that Lin Xingmian had been causing trouble all along on the lower level. There used to be a guard, but he thought she was too noisy and was also thinking about the party going on upstairs. So, he took advantage of Chen Hui being drunk and sneaked upstairs to play, which gave Xu Zhiyu the opportunity to take advantage of him.
She scrambled to her feet, crouched down, and quickly leaned against the door, whispering, "Shh, don't make a sound, I'm here to save you."
Lin Xingmian, who was in the darkness behind the door, trembled upon hearing these words. He then immediately quieted down and said in a deep voice, "Okay."
Ah Ying pursed her lips, trying to hold back her tears of nervousness. She squatted down by the door and studied the keyhole. Then she took three hair clips off her hair, folded them into a vertical bend, and tried them one by one.
The dampness and anxiety had left her neck covered in sweat, and her clothes on her back were soaked. She had already tried two hairpins without success in opening the lock. Frustrated, she took deep breaths to calm herself, repeatedly chanting in her mind: "It can be opened...it can be opened...it definitely can..."
At this moment, the person inside the door was also squatting at the door, quietly listening to the sound of the person outside unlocking the door. The lock had been open for ten minutes and still hadn't been opened. He knew she must be anxious and scared, so he gently comforted her, "Take your time, don't rush."
But actually, he was the most anxious one right now. His biggest worry was whether those people had hurt her, forced her to do things she didn't want to do, fed her random things, or bullied her.
In the midst of this anxiety, a sudden "click" was heard, startling both the person inside and outside the door. Then, the person outside turned the doorknob, and a faint light shone into the dark room. The door opened, and the person locked inside, carrying a damp, gloomy aura, stepped out and pulled Ah Ying into his arms.
He tenderly and guiltily stroked her hair: "It's my fault for dragging you into this."
At this moment, Xu Zhiyu, dressed as Ah Ying, finally raised her head from Lin Xingmian's arms. Her eyes were already red and swollen. She was trembling in his arms. Boss Xu, who had grown up peacefully in Huainan Lane since childhood, had never seen such a life-or-death situation.
The moment those words "kill Lin Xingmian" came out of their mouths, she had to take time to process them. Was it true or a trick by Xingmian to surprise her?
She dared not waste any time, her trembling hands clutching Lin Xingmian's sleeve: "Mianmian, let's go, let's go, I know how to escape, let's run quickly!"
Lin Xingmian grasped her hand in return and said calmly, "Don't be afraid. I left clues for my family. They should be able to find us by midnight at the latest. My biggest worry before was what they would do to you. Tell me, have they bullied you?"
Xu Zhiyu shook her head frantically: "I'm fine, I'm fine. We have to go, we have to go! Their goal isn't money, they want to kill you! We can't stay here for another second. We have to escape first, then we'll figure out how to contact Uncle Lin!"
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