Chapter 604: The Little Fisher Who Wishes to Win a Heart

Ship cabin rest area.

The minus twenty-degree cold, like countless fine needles, stabbed into Wu Changsheng's bone marrow; anyone who has endured the cold knows that feeling.

At first, Wu Changsheng still put on the airs of the Provincial Committee Secretary, calmly drinking red wine.

Later, frozen to the point of shrinking his arms and shivering, he noticed the wine in his cup gradually frosting over, and only then did he belatedly realize something seemed off.

"Captain Chen, is there a problem with the refrigeration system?"

Wu Changsheng pounded on the alloy hatch, but Chen Dingchao, guarding outside, completely ignored him.

He again tried to open the hatch from inside.

He pulled on the handle for a while, but the alloy hatch didn't budge. This hatch can only be opened in two ways: either by entering a password to unlock, or by swiping a card to unlock via induction.

The hatch wouldn't open, but strong cold air kept pouring out from the top grille.

Soon enough.

Wu Changsheng's lips turned purple from the cold, his arms hunched and trembling.

He grimly realized: this wasn't just "the situation seems a bit off"; it was truly wrong! One careless misstep and he'd fallen into the hunter's trap, his lifelong reputation ruined.

In a fit of anger.

Wu Changsheng quickly pointed his gun at the surveillance camera and, with a voice trembling from the cold, shouted: "Captain Chen, I give you ten seconds to open the door, or don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Still no one responded, because the monitoring room was empty.

The alloy hatch's soundproofing was also excellent; Chen Dingchao outside, engrossed in a comic titled Strong-handed Sailor, couldn't hear the roar inside at all.

"Are you opening the door or not? I'm going to the Sichuan mountain path!!!"

"One!"

"Two!"

……

After counting to two, Wu Changsheng paused for a few seconds.

Seeing no reply and the alloy hatch still unmoving, Wu Changsheng collapsed, near tears, and bellowed again: "You don't have much time left—2.1! 2.2! 2.3…"

Outside the hatch.

Chen Dingchao, holding a children's edition comic, was engrossed in reading.

As he turned to the next page.

He muttered to himself: "That foreigner really can make things up—if eating spinach gave you super strength, I'd already be strong enough to tear apart a great white shark with my bare hands…"

"Bang!!!"

Suddenly, it sounded like gunfire entered his ears, interrupting Chen Dingchao's train of thought.

Chen Dingchao turned his head, puzzled; the hatch was intact—had he misheard? He put his ear to the hatch and listened carefully for any movement inside.

"Bang!!!"

Another gunshot rang out, nearly shattering Chen Dingchao's eardrums.

Chen Dingchao, whose education was somewhat lacking, though he'd never studied physics and didn't know how sound propagates, could now be certain of one thing—Wu Changsheng had fired two shots in succession.

Of those, the second shot hit the hatch.

As for where the first shot landed, that's hard to guess—since it wasn't the hatch, otherwise the two shots wouldn't differ so much in sound.

To clarify the situation inside.

Chen Dingchao hurried to the monitoring room to check the footage, only to find the monitor pitch black! Upon closer inspection, the monitor itself wasn't faulty.

That likely means the surveillance camera has been smashed.

Why would Wu Changsheng smash the surveillance camera? What is he trying to pull in there? Has he realized he's caught and still wants to escape?

Thinking this, Chen Dingchao took off running.

On the wide, flat deck, Chen Xiaoyu stood at the bow holding the rail; the cool sea breeze blew in her face, lifting her hair but not her resolve.

She gazed out at the vast, rolling sea, daydreaming that in eighteen years she would become the sea's princess, a beautiful prospect.

"Xiaoyu! Something's wrong!"

Chen Dingchao came rushing over, his voice echoing at the bow before he even arrived.

Chen Xiaoyu turned her head, a little doubtful: "What's the hurry? Could someone have stolen your comic? No way—normal people don't even read that stuff."

Hearing that, Chen Dingchao blinked in surprise: "Am I not a normal person?"

Never mind whether he's normal or not.

For things he couldn't figure out, Chen Dingchao didn't waste time thinking; he quickly dismissed his doubts and solemnly reported to Chen Xiaoyu: "Nobody stole my stuff—Wu Changsheng wants to flee."

"The hatch is locked; he can't get away." Chen Xiaoyu replied calmly.

Chen Dingchao frowned: "He just fired two shots and smashed the surveillance camera inside! That guy's full of bad ideas—we need to figure out how to deal with him."

"Even if he has a gun, he can't open the hatch—no need to worry about him." Chen Xiaoyu said.

Chen Dingchao grew anxious: "He can't open the hatch, but look—he's got brains. There's a ventilation duct in the ceiling. I've seen in movies that people can crawl through ventilation ducts."

"He won't make it out; rest assured, he's just asking for trouble." Xiaoyu said.

Chen Dingchao still looked conflicted: "We can't just ignore him; in there, cornered, he's firing wildly and will wreck things…"

Faced with her uncle's hesitant words, Chen Xiaoyu was both speechless and relieved.

I remember one year, during a fierce stormy night, the whole family huddled indoors, not stepping outside. Yet Tangtang worried that the boat by the shore would be sunk by the waves, insisting on going out to tie an extra line to the hull. This habit of cherishing everything, born from childhood poverty, made them reluctant to waste anything.

Now that living conditions have improved, his nature remains unchanged—a simple, honest fellow.

Chen Xiaoyu patiently counseled Chen Dingchao: "Uncle, if things break we can fix, patch, or buy replacements. But if a life is lost, it's truly gone—cannot be repaired. You need to weigh the pros and cons. Right now Wu Changsheng has a gun in his hand; we can't control what happens inside, so we can only wait for the police to handle it."

Hearing that, Chen Dingchao still couldn't let it go.

He muttered gloomily: "This ship was a gift from Chen Dongfan, worth tens of millions; we must cherish it. If it gets damaged, I worry Lin Dongfan will be disappointed in you."

"Uncle, this ship's displacement rivals a warship—it's not that easy to break."

Chen Xiaoyu smiled faintly.

She again confidently inferred: "Compared to this ship, whose safety is more important? If Brother Fan makes a choice, I believe he will definitely choose me, not the ship."

Hearing Chen Xiaoyu say that, Chen Dingchao had nothing to say.

Since Lin Dongfan left Haishan, several months have passed without him coming to Haishan, but Xiaoyu's heart has always held Lin Dongfan; whenever she mentions Lin Dongfan, her eyebrows dance with joy, like a happy little woman.

The more she is like this, the more Chen Dingchao worries.

Someone as outstanding as Lin Dongfan has money, has power, has looks. He certainly doesn't lack women in his life; would he really keep Xiaoyu in his heart?

Chen Dingchao looked at the nineteen-year-old Xiaoyu, helplessly shook his head, and could only sigh silently.

Not knowing how to persuade her.