Chapter 214

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

"There's no need to worry about that. This supply ship is certainly equipped with satellite communication, but given the risks they took to kidnap senior officials from the deep-sea fishing corporation, they'd enforce strict control over satellite signals and communications—strictly limiting entertainment, 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 in the chat—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.

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

According to his knowledge, in this Indian Ocean region, China's official presence consisted of only two: the Chinese Navy in the Gulf of Aden and the Chinese Coast Guard conducting long-range law enforcement patrols.

Either one would serve as a powerful backing, allowing him to act freely.

As for "don't act rashly"—that was impossible. This vast ocean was so distant; waiting for reinforcements meant risking whatever fate awaited the hostages. If some scheme succeeded before they arrived, it would be too late.

"What will Master Qin do?"

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

"Damn, watching Master Qin's livestream requires keeping nitroglycerin on hand."

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

Qin Yun read the comments, a slow surge of excitement rising in him.

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

Yet he didn't release the drone, fearing the ship's radar might detect it. Earlier, following the pirates, there was no risk—but now, launching the drone would make detection likely, since ship radars typically scan long distances and won't register objects already onboard.

But if he launched it, the probability of radar detection would rise sharply.

He wasted no more words. Finding a foothold, he pushed off with both hands, easily reaching 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 switched on the light.

Chen Jingsheng studied the man's face. Though relatively fair-skinned, he was neither Black nor White; years in the Indian Ocean allowed Chen to instantly identify his origin.

Egyptian!!

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

The man stepped forward, ripped off the tape sealing Chen and Lin's mouths, and said without expression, "Mr. Chen, Miss Lin, let me introduce myself. My name is 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. "Miss Lin, I know you're not merely senior officials of the deep-sea fishing corporation. I also know you're both Chinese marine geological survey engineers."

With that, Chen and Lin understood exactly why they'd been targeted. Their faces turned grim.

If the enemy had hidden their identity, pretending to be another group to interrogate them, they might have clung to hope. But openly revealing their identity made it clear: they would never be released alive.

The thought filled them with dread, especially Lin Xia—only in her twenties, she had not yet learned to face death with calm.

"Mr. Chen, Miss Lin, I won't waste time. Tell me the coordinates you discovered. Just one set. Then I'll send you to meet Allah—no harm will come to you."

Chen Jingsheng drew a deep breath. "Aren't you afraid of retaliation? Egypt is a small nation. Officially, we're friendly states. 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, Miss Lin—the pirates who brought you here were quite taken with you. I'm certain they'd be delighted to receive you."

Lin Xia's face turned deathly pale. She knew, without needing to think, that such treatment would be worse than death.

"You can't do this!" Chen 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. "If I don't get what I want in an hour, I'll send Miss Lin on a little trip."

"Bang!"

The door shut, sealing their last hope.

After leaving, Ahmed entered the bridge. Inside, besides several armed men holding rifles, there were several others with unmistakable air of authority, one of whom appeared to be in his forties or fifties.

"Ahmed!"

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

Shahfi Nadim—the man in his forties or fifties—removed his sunglasses. "Confident?"

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

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

"Praise be to Allah."

Qin Yun knew little about this civilian supply vessel; its layout was unclear. He moved entirely by feel, even turning off the drone's display screen to avoid any light being noticed.

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

Suddenly, an armed man emerged from the forward railing, rifle in hand.

Qin Yun instantly ducked behind a nearby fuel barrel, observing the man through the gap with his peripheral vision.

The man's rifle was clearly an AKM assault rifle: 1020mm long, matte black finish, firing 7. 2mm×39mm rounds, 30-round magazine, effective range 300–400 meters, simple to operate, low failure rate.

These details flashed into his mind the instant he saw the weapon.

He didn't move. Though dark, there might be other armed men patrolling beyond the railing. Caution was better.

The man continued along the railing toward the stern, scanned the area, then turned back—then attempted to cross the deck toward the opposite end.

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

This wasn't a movie. This was real. One mistake meant no hero's luck. A single bullet to Qin Yun's body would kill him instantly.

"…"

"Damn, I'm so tense. How is Master Qin so calm?"

"Holy shit, is Master Qin about to strike?"

"Chinese kung fu."

"Qin, just do it!"

As the man drew closer, Qin Yun's hiding spot was nearly exposed.

At that critical instant, a dark shadow shot across—so fast the man had no time to react. Qin Yun's right hand snapped around the man's throat, squeezed—*crack*—and the man collapsed unconscious.

The livestream viewers saw nothing. The fight was over before they registered it.

They only saw a blur, then Qin Yun dragging the man away, stripping his clothes, and putting them on.

A headscarf on, rifle in hand—in the darkness, Qin Yun transformed.

"What the hell just happened? It's already over?"

"Who says China has no real kung fu? Tell them to fight Master Qin."

"Master Qin's speed and strength—whether he has kung fu or not, no ordinary man could match him."

Qin Yun said nothing. He glanced left and right, tapped his waist-mounted radio, and walked forward along the railing like a routine patrol—his nonchalance was astonishing.

The supply ship wasn't large—only seventy to eighty meters long.

"بحا،تعالشربسигارة（Baha, come smoke a cigarette）"

Suddenly, a head popped up from the forward deck, waving at him.

The spot was still distant from the bridge—unmistakably the hatch to the lower deck.

"انتظرني（Wait for me）"

Qin Yun didn't speak Somali, but he knew Arabic—it was in his acquired language skills. To mask his voice, he deliberately lowered it, making it deeper and duller.

The man showed no suspicion and vanished into the hatch.

"Damn, Master Qin speaks Arabic?"

"English, Mandarin, French, Spanish, German—and now Arabic? He's nearly thirty and still this insane?"

"Heh, languages aren't as hard as you think. I've studied English since elementary school—I graduated university and still haven't passed Level 4."

"Upstairs, your waist just gave out."

"Master 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 hatch.

"بحا،أسرع（Baha, hurry up）"

"جاي（Coming）"

From below, Qin Yun heard at least three voices—three armed men were smoking and resting near the hatch.

The ladder was metal, about 2. meters between decks. He could already see one man's feet.

Facing this, Qin Yun hesitated no longer. He leapt down without warning. Since he faced away from them, they didn't immediately notice Baha was no longer Baha.

They were startled, cursing loudly.

"بحا،ياكلب（Baha, you bastard）"