Chapter 214

Qin Yun looked at his watch and whispered, "It's just before nine p. m. I'm beneath a civilian Egyptian vessel. Just now, a fan asked if the people on this ship might be watching my livestream."

"Actually, there's no need to worry—this supply ship is certainly equipped with satellite communication, but given the great risk they took to kidnap senior officials from the deep-sea fishing corporation, they would strictly control all satellite signals and communications, completely restricting entertainment and retaining only core communication functions."

"Now that I know my compatriots have been kidnapped, I cannot turn a blind eye."

No sooner had he spoken than Qin Yun noticed an unremarkable comment appear in the comment section—it was written in Morse code, flashing by in an instant, invisible to ordinary viewers.

He understood Morse code; one glance told him the meaning of that string of symbols.

"Stay safe. Don't act rashly. The escort fleet is en route. Keep the drone powered on."

Qin Yun's heart stirred; he gave an almost imperceptible nod. His DJI drone connected to the BeiDou satellite system, naturally equipped with precise positioning—officials could locate it effortlessly.

And from the official's tone, the escort fleet was already on its way, clearly aware that the fishing corporation's senior officials had been kidnapped.

From what he knew, China's official presence in this Indian Ocean region consisted of only two: the Chinese Navy in the Gulf of Aden and China's Oceanic Law Enforcement Patrol vessels.

Whichever it was, it was a powerful backing for him—he could now act freely.

As for "don't act rashly," that was impossible. This vast ocean was so distant; by the time they arrived, who knew what might happen to the kidnapped? If some scheme succeeded through some means, it would be too late.

"What will Qin Ye do?"

"Incredible! I'm so tense—it's more thrilling than everything combined from the past few days."

"Damn, watching Qin Ye's livestream requires keeping fast-acting heart pills on hand."

"Hahaha, but Qin Ye, be careful—this ship is clearly an armed group. One misstep and you're dead."

Qin Yun looked at the comments, and a slow surge of excitement rose within him.

Last time he gained the skill for firearms; now it seemed he could finally use them.

Yet he did not release the drone, fearing the ship's radar might detect it. Earlier, while following the pirates, there was no risk—but now, if he launched the drone, it would be easily spotted, since ship radars typically scan long distances and cannot detect objects already onboard.

But if he released the drone, the probability of radar detection would increase sharply.

He said no more, found a foothold, exerted force with both hands, and quietly scaled the ship's stern edge, then flipped over and crouched low.

…

Chen Jingsheng and Lin Xia were thrown into a pitch-black room; the door slammed shut, leaving only their breathing.

Moments later, the door opened. A tall, middle-aged man with black hair, dressed in crew attire, entered and turned on the lights.

Chen Jingsheng looked at him. Though his skin was light, he was neither Black nor White; years in the Indian Ocean allowed Chen Jingsheng to instantly identify his origin.

Egyptian!!

A flash of insight struck him—he now understood the reason. Recently, the geological survey team he led had discovered a rare earth mineral deposit in the deep sea off the southwestern Indian Ocean, and he knew Egypt was also secretly prospecting—but had never located the target.

The man stepped forward, ripped off the tape sealing Chen Jingsheng and Lin Xia's mouths, and said without expression: "Mr. Chen, Young Lady Lin, let me introduce myself—I am Ahmed."

"Employed by MDRC."

Upon hearing the acronym MDRC, Lin Xia's pupils contracted: "Egyptian Mediterranean Deep Sea Resources Exploration Company—you're…"

She suddenly realized and clamped her mouth shut.

Ahmed smiled faintly: "Young Lady Lin, I know you're not merely senior officials of the deep-sea fishing corporation—I also know you are both Chinese marine geological survey engineers."

With that, Chen Jingsheng and Lin Xia understood exactly why they'd been targeted; their faces instantly turned grim.

If the man had hidden his identity, pretending to be another group to interrogate them, they might have still hoped to survive—but now that he openly revealed his affiliation, it was clear: they would never be allowed to leave alive.

Thinking of this, both felt fear, especially Lin Xia—she was only in her twenties, unprepared to face death so calmly.

"Mr. Chen, Young Lady Lin, I won't waste words. Tell me the coordinates you discovered. I only need one set. Then I'll send you to meet the Prophet—and I won't harm you."

Chen Jingsheng took a deep breath: "Aren't you afraid of retaliation? Egypt is just a small nation. Officially, we're friendly nations—this act will trigger international conflict…"

"Mr. Chen." Ahmed interrupted. "We value resources more than surface friendliness."

He turned to Lin Xia, his tone suggestive: "You can refuse, of course. We'll simply use other means. For instance, Young Lady Lin—the pirates who brought you here were quite enamored with you. I'm certain they'd be delighted to receive you."

Lin Xia's face turned deathly pale. Even without thinking, she knew being handed over would be worse than death.

"You can't do this!" Chen Jingsheng cried. "Once this happens—"

"Mr. Chen, you have one hour to decide." Ahmed cut him off again, then re-taped their mouths and turned to leave. "After one hour, if I don't get what I want, I'll send Young Lady Lin on a little trip."

"Bang!"

The door shut, sealing their last hope.

After Ahmed left, he entered the bridge. Inside, besides several armed men holding firearms, there were several others with unmistakably refined demeanors—one of them appeared to be in his forties or fifties.

"Ahmed!"

Ahmed bowed respectfully. "General Shahfi, I've given them one hour to decide."

Shahfi Nadim—the man in his forties or fifties—removed his sunglasses. "Are you confident?"

Ahmed nodded. "We know both Chen Jingsheng and Lin Xia know the coordinates. We only need to extract them from one. Compared to Chen, I believe Lin Xia will give us a satisfactory answer within an hour."

"Excellent." Shahfi smiled. "If we truly obtain the coordinates, we can claim our share. And if we can drive these Chinese away, even better."

"Praise be to the Prophet."

Qin Yun knew little about this civilian supply vessel; its structure was unclear. He moved entirely by feel, even turning off the drone's display screen, fearing its glow might be noticed.

The deck was piled with woven sacks, barrels of fuel, and tanks of fresh water. Qin Yun glanced once, then crept forward. Though unfamiliar with the ship's layout, he knew the crew's quarters were always beneath the deck.

Suddenly, an armed man with a firearm emerged from the forward railing.

Qin Yun instantly ducked behind a nearby fuel barrel, observing the man through the gap with the corner of his eye.

The man's firearm was clearly an AKM assault rifle: total length 1020mm, matte black finish, firing 7.62mm×39mm cartridges, 30-round magazine, effective range 300–400 meters, simple to operate, low failure rate.

These figures appeared in his mind the instant he saw the weapon.

He did not act rashly. Though the night was dark, there might be other armed men patrolling beyond the railing—he must remain cautious.

The man continued along the railing toward the stern, surveyed the area, then turned back and began crossing the deck toward the opposite end.

Qin Yun's head-mounted camera faithfully recorded everything, leaving the livestream viewers utterly tense.

This wasn't a movie—it was real. One mistake, and there would be no protagonist's luck. A single bullet to Qin Yun's body would leave him dead, unable to rise again.

「……」

「Damn, I'm so nervous—why is Brother Qin so calm? 」

「Holy shit, is Brother Qin about to move? 」

「Chinese kung fu. 」

「Qin, just do it! 」

As the opponent drew closer, Qin Yun's hiding spot was nearly exposed before his eyes.

At this critical moment, a dark shadow suddenly shot across, moving so fast the opponent had no time to react. Qin Yun's right hand instantly clamped around the man's throat, then squeezed—there was a sharp 'crack,' and the man collapsed unconscious.

During this entire process, the livestream viewers saw nothing at all—the fight was already over.

They only saw a flash of shadow, then Qin Yun dragging the man behind him, stripping off his clothes, and putting them on.

With the headscarf tied and the rifle in hand, Qin Yun transformed in the night.

「Holy shit, I didn't even see what happened—it's already over? 」

「Whoever says China has no real kung fu should go fight Brother Qin. 」

「Brother Qin's speed and strength—whether he has kung fu or not, no ordinary person could beat him. 」

Qin Yun said nothing, glanced left and right, patted his waist-mounted radio, and walked forward like a patrol officer, his nonchalant demeanor impossible not to admire for its audacity.

The supply ship wasn't that big—only about seventy to eighty meters long.

「بحا،تعالشربسигارة（Baha, come smoke a cigarette）」

Suddenly, a head popped up on the forward deck and waved at him.

That spot was still some distance from the bridge—unmistakably the hatch to the lower deck.

「انتظرني（Wait for me）」

Although Qin Yun didn't speak Somali, he knew Arabic—it was on his acquired language list. To avoid voice recognition, he deliberately lowered his tone, making it much deeper.

Sure enough, the man had no suspicion and vanished into the lower-deck hatch.

「Damn, Brother Qin speaks Arabic? 」

「English, Chinese, French, Spanish, German—and now Arabic too? Damn, he's nearly thirty—how is Brother Qin this awesome? 」

「Heh, languages aren't as hard as you think—I started learning English in elementary school, and now that I've graduated university, I still haven't passed Level 4. 」

「Upstairs, damn, you just twisted my waist. 」

「Brother Qin is incredible—Arabic is one of the hardest languages in the world. 」

Ahead, the bridge glowed brightly. Qin Yun tightened his grip on the rifle and strode toward the lower-deck hatch.

「بحا،أسرع（Baha, hurry up）」

「جاي（Coming）」

Listening to the voices below, Qin Yun heard at least three—meaning three armed men were resting and smoking near the lower-deck hatch.

The staircase was metal, with a height of about two and a half meters between decks—he could already see one man's feet.

Facing this situation, Qin Yun hesitated no longer—he leapt down without hesitation. But since he was facing away from them, the men didn't immediately realize Baha was no longer Baha.

They were startled and immediately started cursing.

「بحا،ياكلب（Baha, you bastard）」