Chapter 117: Big Soldiers? You're the One Getting Beaten!

Warrior School, Liu Xiaotian sitting opposite the Elder Principal had a solemn expression.

As he had expected, the Elder Principal's reason for summoning him was indeed because of Hu Sha.

The difference is that, if the original plot had proceeded, this mission of Hu Sha hijacking the Dream Vessel was originally supposed to be carried out jointly by the Red Blood Cell Group and the Sea Wolf Action Team.

But now, this task has fallen to the Warrior School.

Moreover, according to the Elder Principal, the fundamental reason the Warrior School is involved in this matter is still because of Liu Xiaotian.

Originally, Fan Tianlei merely wanted to recall Liu Xiaotian and his two companions once more, letting the Red Blood Cell Group carry out this mission, but the Elder Principal instead proactively requested that the Warrior School undertake this hostage-rescue mission.

Of course, this was not something Fan Tianlei could decide.

After the Elder Principal communicated with Deputy Commander Gao, Deputy Commander Gao decided to agree with the Elder Principal's plan, having the Warrior School take the lead in carrying out this mission.

There are two reasons: first, the Dream Vessel has now sailed into international waters, and some matters will attract international attention; having the Warrior School step forward is indeed more appropriate, and during the mission there is no need to hold back on certain issues; second, because the Elder Principal is very familiar with Hu Sha's situation and style as well as his own personality, it is easier to grasp Hu Sha's weakness.

Although Hu Sha has not yet taken control of the Dream Vessel, when the intelligence was received, Hu Sha had already led his men out, heading to the prearranged rendezvous point with his insider on the ship; by then it was already too late to react.

At the same time, Zhang Lina, whose emotions had just stabilized a bit, upon seeing dolphins appear around the hull and picking up her camera to prepare to film the dolphins chasing the cruise ship, inadvertently spotted several speedboats rapidly approaching in the distance.

Upon seeing those speedboats, Zhang Lina's heart gave a sudden thump.

If they were tourists, they would certainly not be riding such speedboats, only cruise ships; the appearance of speedboats in this sea area almost certainly means only one thing—pirates!

She immediately began adjusting the focus, trying to make out who was aboard those several speedboats rapidly approaching the Dream Vessel.

Perhaps someone would think that at this moment one should first issue a warning rather than immediately satisfy one's curiosity.

Actually, it's not like that.

Zhang Lina's camera in her hand is not bad; its maximum focal length can reach telescope level, but for such a large ship, could it possibly lack even basic surveillance equipment? The answer is, of course, negative.

In fact, before Zhang Lina spotted those speedboats, the ship's crew had already discovered them first.

Compared to Zhang Lina, who was merely guessing, the experienced and well-traveled captain could tell at a glance that they were pirates!

The captain had originally intended to immediately order the ship to turn around and head back along the coastline, but before he could finish his command, a crew member suddenly spoke up, telling him that the ship's GPS positioning system had been tampered with by the chief mate, and that all communication equipment had also been destroyed.

Moreover, searching such a large ship, let alone turning it around, even if it ran at full speed, it could not possibly outrun the speedboats.

And at this moment those speedboats were already drawing near.

Faced with the pirate threat, the captain, helpless, could only order the Dream Vessel to shut down its engines, allowing Hu Sha and his men to board.

Actually, if the captain had insisted on not stopping the ship and put up effective resistance, even ramming into the speedboats at full speed, it remains uncertain whether Hu Sha and his pirate crew could successfully take control of the vessel.

Unfortunately, in Western thinking, the correct response to such a threat is to abandon resistance and wait for rescue.

Because everyone knows that the purpose of pirates boarding a ship is nothing more than two things: one, to loot money and goods; two, to take hostages for ransom.

That is to say, as long as those on board cooperate honestly and do not provoke the pirates, generally speaking the danger to life is not actually great. Of course, among them there will inevitably be one or two unlucky individuals who will become the "chicken" the pirates need to intimidate the hostages—killing them to warn the remaining "monkeys".

After the pirates boarded, they immediately took control of all crew members and the captain, demanding they assist in gathering all passengers onto the deck to complete the pirates' first step in taking over the ship.

Zhang Lina and Cui Fen, who were already on the deck and had been frightened silly when the incident occurred, naturally became the first batch of hostages that Hu Sha viewed as valuable bargaining chips for a large sum of money.

Unlike the other tourists turned hostages, after a brief moment of panic and dazedness, Zhang Lina recognized Hu Sha.

That was the person who had killed her son; she had seen his photo.

Although several years have passed and Hu Sha's appearance has changed somewhat, Zhang Lina still recognized him at a glance.

One could say that most women are more easily swayed by emotion and prone to mistakes at critical moments, and this saying does hold some truth.

The present Zhang Lina is a prime example.

If she could have controlled her emotions, simply staying honestly with the others awaiting rescue would have been fine, but instead, the moment she recognized Hu Sha, her emotions spun out of control.

Yes, the pain of losing her son has tormented her almost incessantly over the past few years; upon suddenly seeing her enemy, it is inevitable that anger would well up from her heart.

But, aside from the fact that they bring a bunch of ruthless thugs, each of them is armed; not to mention her, even if Fan Tianlei were here, he would hardly have a chance to kill Hu Sha under such circumstances.

Yet Zhang Lina, on the contrary, jumped up immediately and lunged fiercely at Hu Sha.

At that time, the distance between them was no less than ten meters, with two or three armed pirates standing in between; her attempt to approach Hu Sha was utterly impossible.

Had it not been for the fact that she is a woman, the pirate guarding her nearby, tasked with watching over the passengers gradually being gathered together, would likely have fired.

The reason he did not fire is, of course, self-evident.

According to the "plot," the one who should have recognized Zhang Lina was Xiezi.

But now Xiezi is dead, killed by Liu Xiaotian's hand.

Yet Zhang Lina's fate has not changed because of that.

If she had not acted impulsively in this way, Hu Sha probably would not even have recalled her; by charging forward like this, how could he fail to remember her? As for why Hu Sha knows her—

Damn, a few years ago when he had his men kidnap Zhang Lina and Fan Tianlei's son, did they not even have a photograph?

The moment he recognized Zhang Lina, Hu Sha first froze for a beat, then his face broke into an indescribable, heartfelt smile.

Originally, when he decided to act against the Dream Vessel, he still harbored some worry, given that most of the passengers were tourists from that Eastern country; Hu Sha indeed felt a bit apprehensive about the military of that nation, which has rapidly developed and grown stronger in recent decades.

But now he feels that the chances of succeeding in this ransom demand will certainly increase by more than ten percent because of the appearance of this woman before him…

(End of chapter)