Chapter 143: Dog Training and Boarding the Ship

Shengli Recycling Group,

a sign hung up only a few days ago, is now being trampled underfoot.

Not only is the brand-new, polished iron slab covered in filth, but it is also dented and deformed, practically reduced to scrap metal.

"Can't find anyone. The bunch of brats we saw at first seem to have evaporated. BOSS, I'm thinking, why is this place so weird?"

Rainwater soaks his trench coat, and the chill constantly bores into his somewhat thin frame, but even the torrential rain cannot extinguish the fire of revenge in his heart.

"If they aren't on the surface, they're underground. Blow it up, starting with that building. Even if you have to dig ten meters down, find them!"

Night Owl looks haggard, his gaze as sharp as his codename. As the cold rain hits his face, his heart feels like it's being twisted by a knife. 'Living or dead, it is a state of being, but death should not have come for him. Joseph, I didn't even have time to express my love, yet you withered like a white rose. It shouldn't be this way, it shouldn't!'

Hands that have ended countless lives cannot save the person he relies on; this sudden yet incredibly heavy hatred makes him reckless for the first time.

"Except for the Red Flower, no survivors."

"Yes, BOSS!"

Night Owl's order reaches every member's ears a few seconds later. This time, they seem unafraid of attracting the attention of the Barrier, and begin to bomb the only small building.

……

Green vines crawl onto Liu Mu's wrist; Xu Xiaofeng uses this method to convey the sequence of events and the situation underground.

Construction over the last few days has created enough space underground to hide a thousand people, and with the Great Master Flower's own underground tunnels, they can even move about freely.

But the problem is... the top layer is only five meters from the surface.

Given the insane attack methods of the Sky Viper, they will soon discover the Great Master Flower underground.

What Liu Mu worries about is not simple physical attacks, but—the Sky Viper's Laboratory has lethal weapons for dealing with mutated flora and fauna, either highly toxic or agents that accelerate Mutation.

The information Xu Xiaofeng transmits is limited; as soon as things happened, she panicked, busy saving people and hiding everyone, unable to observe calmly at all.

One thing concerns Liu Mu the most—Li Gang is not underground; his work assignment today is on the ship.

Looking out from the mountain, mist rolls in from the sea, gradually obscuring the outline of the ocean.

Probably starting a month ago, thick fog would rise from the sea every morning and evening, covering the surface completely within a quarter of an hour, making even massive objects like ships disappear without a trace.

But this fog does not come ashore, as if an invisible Barrier keeps it blocked within the water.

Liu Mu withdraws her gaze and tells Xu Xiaofeng her plan of action.

At this distance, Heitao A can display the message directly on the underground mainframe without exposing too much of its inexplicable, heaven-defying functionality.

--I'm going to the ship to check on the others.

--Okay, the explosions don't affect me much; I can hold out for a while longer.

--We start the operation after dark. I will use some extreme methods; you must not show yourselves, and your branches and leaves must not come out either.

--Is it very dangerous? But, aren't these people leaving? They've already gotten the ship, and the supplies are outside; they could clearly just take them and go.

--They likely have other objectives. I'm heading over first; you all stay silent.

--Okay, be careful.

The combat strength left at home is still too little. Liu Mu and Niu Boyi circle from behind the mountain to the seaside, pondering how to coordinate the combat personnel between the Huishou Group Headquarters and the Mine after this.

The heavy rain and the darkening sky perfectly conceal their tracks.

Should they bring some of the Mountain Rats from Sunshine Energy over? But this thought is quickly dismissed.

At the mine, the Mountain Rats can help, but here, they would likely become a disaster and food.

The seawater and white mist rise and fall in sync; anyone who sees it would notice something unusual.

Liu Mu lies in the uncleared rocks by the seaside with Gouzi, quietly waiting for the fog to become thick enough.

Niu Boyi's ears twitch slightly, the dense fur on them moving softly along with the motion, before he dejectedly shakes his head at Liu Mu after a long while.

"Master, there isn't a sound on the ship at all. There wouldn't be no living people left, would there? I'm so scared."

"Whether there are or not, we have to go take a look. The ship is ours; we can't let people just take it for nothing."

"How about I, Doggy, go back and clean up that bunch of b-brats?"

*Smack! *

——"Oooo-ru-ru, Master, why did you hit Doggy's head?"

"You're not allowed to use foul language at your age. And what is up with this tone of yours? You're not a 'Taiwanese dog'. I told you not to be so effeminate! Sooner or later I'll snip your balls and make you a real eunuch."

"Don't, super-duper beautiful Master, I, Doggy, just learned to talk from everyone else. Don't threaten Doggy."

Liu Mu raises a hand to cover her forehead, finally understanding where the problem lies.

She herself practiced an accent that works everywhere from the southeast to the northwest through years of roughing it. But Niu Boyi only started using human language this past year, and after learning from the big sisters with their heavy coastal accents, of course he ended up with a soft southeastern accent.

No, wait—Liu Mu's dark eyes narrow slightly, suspiciously eyeing the dog beside her... Could it be that this guy has actually been this dainty since he was little? After all, he is a local dog...

Realizing this, she finds it hard to look at the tall, mighty, and battle-hardened Niu Boyi the same way.

"Treasure, it's not that your current way of expressing yourself is bad, but you could also learn more from the way Li Gang and the others talk. That way... the communication might, perhaps, maybe, be more imposing."

Gouzi tilts his head, indicating he doesn't understand, but he wags his tail and agrees, also reminding Liu Mu that the time is almost up.

After witnessing Master slip into the sea, Niu Boyi follows her instructions and turns back toward the Barrier.

Master said some humans would come to cause trouble, and he has to go stop them; otherwise, these useless people would still ask them for a reward, and he doesn't want to part with it.

Liu Mu anticipated that the Barrier would send people, but she didn't expect Yang Shuo to be so willing to invest; of course, that is a story for later.

It is easy to lose one's way in the thick fog, but the ship is such a large vessel, and it is in the harbor, so one could find it even with eyes closed.

It is just that this time, the seawater actually makes her feel a bit of a chill... the temperature has dropped again. It is not very obvious, but at the very least, it shows the temperature of the nearby waters has been falling.

The range Heitao A can detect is limited, and it cannot determine if this cooling is local or comprehensive, but it is enough to make Liu Mu vigilant.

The ship's mooring position has not changed. Liu Mu approaches silently from the water, encountering no obstruction.

Of course, she isn't naive enough to think the Sky Viper wouldn't leave people on the ship, but just as the information from Niu Boyi's super-hearing suggested, the ship is indeed excessively quiet.

Not being sure if it is a trap set by the other side, Liu Mu naturally cannot climb up from the side again.

Fortunately, having walked through most of the ship before, and having listened to Hong's detailed explanation during the return voyage, she chooses to enter through the low-level underwater hatch.

This door is very difficult to open from the outside, but brute force works miracles.

The other party likely did not expect anyone to be able to board the ship in this manner; there was no one on the lower deck, not a single person.

The machines that usually maintain the basic operations inside the ship were actually all shut down, so quiet that it made Liu Mu feel suspicious.

During this period in her previous life, she had never heard of a cruise ship having an accident near Haicheng, but her past experience no longer had any reference value; after all, in her previous life, she wouldn't have dared to even dream that she could possess such a good thing.

And this intense sense of crisis had another reason—after boarding the ship, Heitao A had fallen silent once again.