Chapter 231: Enemies Meet

At 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 unfolded, 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 Warrior School.

Moreover, according to the Elder Principal, the fundamental reason 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 again, letting the Red Blood Cell Group carry out this mission, but the Elder Principal instead proactively requested that Warrior School undertake this hostage‑rescue operation.

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

After the Elder Principal communicated with Deputy Commander Gao, Gao decided to agree with the Elder Principal's plan and have Warrior School carry out the mission.

In other words, as long as those on board cooperate honestly and do not provoke the pirates, the danger to life is generally not great; of course, there will inevitably be one or two unlucky souls who become the 'chicken' the pirates need to intimidate hostages—killing them to warn the remaining 'monkeys'.

In one, one look `no, one mistaken version%!'

Because everyone knows that pirates board ships for only two reasons: to loot money and goods, or to take hostages for ransom.

However, Zhang Lina's fate did not change because of that.

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

After the pirates boarded, they immediately took control of all crew and the captain, demanding their help to gather all passengers on deck, completing the first step of seizing the ship.

Yes, the pain of losing her son had tormented her almost constantly over the past few years, and upon seeing her enemy, it was natural for anger to well up from her heart.

Zhang Lina's camera was not bad—its maximum focal length could reach telescope level—but for such a large ship, surely it couldn't lack even basic surveillance equipment? The answer, of course, is no.

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

Actually, that's not the case.

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

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

She immediately began adjusting the focus, trying to see clearly who was aboard the several speedboats rapidly approaching the Dream Vessel.

Moreover, searching such a large ship—let alone turning it around—even at full speed could not outrun a speedboat.

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

Compared to merely guessing Zhang Lina, the more experienced and knowledgeable captain instantly recognized that the newcomers were pirates!

Originally on deck, Zhang Lina and Cui Fen, having been frightened silly by the incident, naturally became the first batch of hostages that Hu Sha could exchange for a large sum of money.

By then those speedboats were already close. If they were tourists, they would never take such speedboats—only cruise ships do; seeing speedboats in these waters almost certainly means only one thing—pirates!

Had it not been for the fact that she is a woman, the pirate standing beside him guarding the passengers gradually being gathered together would probably have opened fire.

At that time, the distance between them was at least ten meters, with two or three armed pirates in between; she wanted to get close to Hu Sha, but that was utterly impossible.

Actually, if the captain had refused to stop the ship and instead mounted an effective resistance—even ramming the speedboats head‑on—it would still be uncertain whether Hu Sha and his men could successfully take control of the vessel.

The present Zhang Lina is a prime example.

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

But they brought a gang of vicious thugs, each armed with a weapon; not to mention her, even Fan Tianlei here would hardly have a chance to kill Hu Sha under such circumstances.

Although Hu Sha has not yet taken control of the Dream Vessel, when he received the intelligence he had already set out with his men to rendezvous with his onboard accomplice, making any response too late.

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

If she had not acted impulsively, Hu Sha might not even have remembered her coming; after she rushed at him, how could he fail to recall her? As for why Hu Sha would know her—

At the same time, the somewhat calmer Zhang Lina, upon noticing dolphins appearing around the hull and picking up her camera to film them chasing the cruise ship, inadvertently spotted several speedboats rapidly approaching in the distance.

The captain had originally intended to order an immediate turnabout to head back along the coast, 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 communications equipment was completely broken.

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

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

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

There are two reasons: first, the Dream Vessel has now entered international waters, where some matters may attract global attention, making it more appropriate for Warrior School to take the lead and not be constrained on certain issues; second, because the Elder Principal understands Hu Sha's situation and his own personality very well, he can more easily grasp Hu Sha's weaknesses.

According to the 'plot,' the one who should recognize Zhang Lina is Xiezi.

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

If she could have kept her emotions in check and simply waited with the others for rescue, that would have been fine; but the moment she recognized Hu Sha, her emotions ran out of control.

The reason she did not fire is self‑evident.

Damn, a few years ago when he had his men kidnap Zhang Lina and Fan Tianlei's son, didn't they even have a single photo?

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

Originally, when he decided to attack the Dream Vessel, he was still a bit worried, given that most of the passengers were tourists from that Eastern country, and Hu Sha indeed felt a little apprehensive about the military of that nation, which has rapidly developed and grown stronger over the past few decades.

But now he believes that the odds of succeeding in this ransom demand will certainly increase by more than ten percent because of this woman's appearance.

(End of chapter)