Chapter 88 Chapter 88 Dilemma

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"Meng Ran, Meng Ran?"

The people in the cabin were completely petrified, and no matter how Liang Zhao called out, they did not respond.

The binoculars were shaking and about to fall, slipping out of control and into the water. Gu Mengran stared blankly ahead, as if his soul had been sucked away by an invisible force, leaving only an empty shell.

Before it touched the water, Liang Zhao reached out and took the telescope back to the cabin. Then he held Gu Mengran's violently shaking hand, with a serious expression and a gentle tone: "Don't be afraid, don't worry, sit still, we will go back first."

Liang Zhao had dreamed of the day when Gu Mengran fell into the water, so he had naturally seen the Yongyue.

Although he only saw it from a distance in his dream and had no idea what exactly happened on the ship, Gu Mengran's reaction must have shown that something frightened and terrified him.

It was the same dream, but apart from the natural disasters and Gu Mengran that occurred one after another, the cruise ship in the dream also appeared in reality. Liang Zhao suddenly felt as if he couldn't distinguish between reality and dreams.

There was no time to dwell on these things. His intuition told him that this cruise ship was very dangerous. Liang Zhao took only three seconds to think before he stepped on the accelerator and turned the diesel boat around.

"Boom, boom, boom—"

The engine was right in front of them. When the first explosion sounded, Liang Zhao didn't pay much attention, because the sound of a diesel engine was already very noisy. But the bow of the ship broke through the water and turned around on the spot. A sound like thunder suddenly came from behind them, as if a three-dimensional surround effect was turned on, surrounding them layer by layer.

Someone, no, there were boats approaching, more than one.

Liang Zhao's first reaction was to speed up, and after he pulled the accelerator and jumped forward for a distance, he suddenly realized where to run? Take the people to the Wind Wing? Or run out along the lake outlet?

No matter which option is chosen, the Wind Wing is at risk of being exposed.

It was too late to hide the boat and the people in the space now. The distance was not far and vague outlines could be seen through the hazy mist. If they disappeared at this point, we would have to dig three feet into the ground to dig them out.

There was only a moment of hesitation as the boats behind him were getting closer and closer. Liang Zhao looked back and saw four motorized rafts, each with two or three people on board.

The silhouettes of people on the boat were vaguely visible, and loud shouts echoed over the buzzing sound:

"Who are you? Stop!"

"People in front, slow down and stop the boat immediately!"

The monk may escape, but the temple cannot. After much hesitation, Liang Zhao chose to slow down and stop the boat. At this moment, Gu Mengran, who had lost his soul, came to his senses. He gently placed his palm on the cabin, and the three bags of chayote disappeared immediately.

The roar dissipated, and the water surface disturbed by the ship gradually calmed down. The diesel boat stopped steadily, and four rafts immediately surrounded it, occupying one side each in the east, south, west and north. The boats were next to each other, sandwiching the diesel boat tightly in the middle.

Four boats, ten people, and ten pairs of eyes were staring at them, as if they were visiting animals in a zoo, looking at them with frowning eyes and unscrupulous eyes.

After a group of people surrounded him, Gu Mengran remained sitting in the boat motionless, but his face was extremely pale, his body was shaking uncontrollably, and his hands hanging at his sides were clenched into fists.

"It's okay." Liang Zhao let go of the rudder and held Gu Mengran's hand in front of everyone as if nothing had happened. When Gu Mengran's mood gradually stabilized, he looked up at the others and asked in confusion, "Who are you? What's the matter?"

"We? Hahaha..."

In the raft right in front, a burly middle-aged man stood up, bent over and laughed as if he had heard a joke. But just a few seconds later, the man's expression changed instantly, and he kicked the diesel boat hard.

"I'm giving you face, right? Who are we? I'm your father! Didn't you hear me telling you to stop the boat? Are your ears just for show? Run, keep running!"

The diesel boat was kicked one after another, making a clanging sound and shaking with the man's movements.

Liang Zhao's face was very ugly as his own boat was treated so rudely. He endured it for a while and gently stroked the back of Gu Mengran's hand with his thumb to suppress the surging anger in his heart.

Being patient really worked. The man kicked his feet a few times and then felt bored. He pulled his feet back and stood on the bow, looking down at the two people. "What are you doing? Why are you hanging around here?"

Without giving anyone a chance to open their mouths, the other man yelled in less than two seconds, "I'm asking you a question. Why are your ears not working and your mouths mute?"

Without admitting or trying to please him, Liang Zhao looked at the middle-aged man who had the final say and said in bewilderment, "That's strange. What's wrong with us hanging around at the entrance of our village? I haven't even asked you yet. What are you doing at the entrance of our village?"

"Your village? Are you also from Shijin Village?" Instead of getting angry because of Liang Zhao's attitude, the middle-aged man raised his eyebrows and looked at Liang Zhao after hearing his words, with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

I didn't get angry. I knew the name of the village. This person is a bit strange...

Liang Zhao nodded thoughtfully and continued, "Of course, we are the only village nearby."

"Really?" The man's attitude became much friendlier, and he asked half-doubtfully, "Then why did you run just now?"

Seeing that things were turning around, Liang Zhao softened his attitude and laughed softly, "Brother, if a group of strangers blocked the entrance to your alley on the way home, would you run away?"

"That makes sense. Then why didn't you run away?"

"The monk may run away, but the temple cannot. The whole family is still in the village."

"Hahaha!" The man was amused by him and laughed for a while, holding his stomach.

But people are so fickle. One second he was still laughing, and the next second, the man raised his chin, turned his head and said to the small boy who was curled up in the raft, "What are you doing? Why don't you say hello to the people in your village?"

After saying this, the timid boy raised his head to look at Liang Zhao, then turned his eyes to look at Gu Mengran, and stammered, "Hello, you guys."

"What's so good about that? You guys from the same village is just greeting each other like this? You can't even call each other's names?" The middle-aged man's face was terribly gloomy. As he spoke, he raised his foot, as if he wanted to kick the boy.

"Second mate!"

A cry of surprise stopped the man, and the foot paused in midair before slowly falling back to where it was. The boy, however, seemed to be extremely frightened, and he hugged his head as a conditioned reflex, curling up into a ball and trembling.

"Zhou Qi, you are still so timid." The man leaned forward and patted Zhou Qi's shoulders twice. "Tell me the truth, do you know them?"

"No, I don't... I don't know him."

"Oh?" The man let go of his hand, turned his head and looked at Liang Zhao again, and smiled meaningfully, "Strange, we are also from Shijin Village, Zhou Qi doesn't recognize you, may I ask which Shijin Village are you from?"

Liang Zhao said calmly, "We joined later, it's normal that he doesn't know us. You can ask him if he knows Brother Duan, Xiaodong, and Sister Fang."

Hearing these names, Zhou Qi looked up as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw and hurriedly said, "I know them, I know them——"

"Did I ask you?" The man glared at her.

I thought I was lucky to pick up two people who were alone to try it out, but who would have thought that they were actually from Shijin Village. Fang Jianming was very itchy, but he didn't dare to delay the captain's plan. He could only suppress his displeasure and waved to the raft next to him, "Leave the boat here, and take the people up to confirm."

He was not even pretending. After he finished speaking, he bared his big yellow teeth and smiled at Liang Zhao, "It was just a misunderstanding. Since we are brothers from Shijin Village, we are all friends. Our captain is a guest in your village. Maybe we will be a family in the future."

"Leave the diesel boat behind and take our kayak."

"Hurry up, move faster."

…

Going ashore to the village was better than boarding the cruise ship. Liang Zhao gave up resistance completely, took Gu Mengran and got on someone else's raft, and arrived at the shore with a sharp buzzing sound.

The cruise ship was very close to the shore. When going ashore, Liang Zhao looked back inadvertently.

The rain kept falling, but the wide open deck on the second floor was crowded with people. Dozens of people were leaning on the railings, looking around curiously. There were both men and women, all young people, without exception.

To confirm their identities, three men accompanied them into the village.

Hearing from that person, the captain was a guest in the village. Liang Zhao didn't care about the situation in the village, but the captain certainly couldn't be alone. He only cared about how he could get Gu Mengran away if the villagers let the cat out of the bag.

The water had risen to the entrance of the village. Liang Zhao did not have time to think of countermeasures. The three men seemed to have been here countless times. They led them through the alleys with ease and came to the largest stone house in the village, which was Sister Fang's home.

The door was wide open, and a circle of villagers stood in front of it. They had no fear, terror, or sense of danger at all, and they all craned their necks to look inside the door, seemingly just gathering there to join in the fun.

Having worked in the village for several months and having traveled frequently over the past year, Liang Zhao and Gu Mengran were basically familiar to the villagers. Seeing them coming out from the corner, several familiar ladies greeted them.

However, they were still alert. Seeing the two people's serious expressions and the strangers in front of them, they just said hello and didn't say much.

There is no need to worry after passing this stage, because Sister Fang is a smart person.

It was difficult to squeeze through the crowd and into the main room, but there was still a large group of people in the room.

There was no table in the room, only two chairs. Twenty or thirty men were standing in several rows against the right wall. They were standing in a casual and unkempt manner, just like the idlers on the street before the disaster.

The only two chairs were occupied by Sister Fang, a gentle and elegant middle-aged stranger.

The man had a gentle appearance and proper manners. His dress and temperament were out of tune with the surrounding environment. The broken wooden stool he sat on made him look elegant. If it wasn't clearly placed in front of him, it would be difficult to associate him with that group of street urchins.

When five people entered the house together, there was naturally quite a bit of noise.

Everyone in the room looked at them at once. Gu Mengran did not react at all, and the calm man in the middle just glanced up casually. Liang Zhao could clearly feel that the hand in his palm was shaking violently.