Chapter 3017: Stubborn Taming 34

The next day, at 1 p. m.

The sun was bright, the sea calm, perfect weather for marine activities.

The atmosphere on the cruise ship restored its surface calm and luxury; last night's disturbance seemed merely a minor interlude.

Chenshu finished lunch, eagerly ran back to the suite, Jin Chen stood by the floor-to-ceiling window on the phone arranging plans; Chenshu rushed over without hesitation, tiptoed, wrapped his arms around Jin Chen's neck, and planted a loud kiss on his lips, leaving a kiss sweet with the fruit from lunch.

"I'm heading out!"

Jin Chen hung up, glanced down at him, brushed his slightly messy bangs, and only said, "Stay safe."

"Got it!" Chenshu replied crisply, then quickly pecked his chin, turned, and dashed out of the suite.

About a quarter of an hour later, Chen Gai and his group entered the suite one after another, standing in a line before Jin Chen.

"Brother Jin, everything's ready." Yan Rui reported softly.

Jin Chen hummed, his gaze swept over the several faces, finally settling on Zhou Cheng and Chu Yi.

"After I go upstairs, we still have our people on this side of the deck; Zhou Cheng will direct the operation. According to last night's plan, we will control the main personnel the Xie family left below, especially those they assigned to the engine room and monitoring room."

"If necessary, we may use force, but don't cause too much commotion."

Zhou Cheng stood straight, solemn-faced, "President Jin, rest assured, I'll get it done!"

Jin Chen then looked at Chu Yi, "Your task is to intercept the network; watch for any external abnormal signals accessing."

"Understood." Chu Yi nodded, pushed up his glasses; the lenses flashed, hiding the expression in his eyes.

Jin Chen's gaze returned to Zhou Cheng, after a few seconds he said, "Brothers, do well; when we get back, I'll hand out bonuses."

Zhou Cheng clenched his fist, nails digging into his palm, his eyes flickered for a moment before being suppressed, "I won't betray President Jin's trust."

Jin Chen averted his gaze, as if not noticing Zhou Cheng's oddness.

Chen Gai stood aside, also laughing as he patted Zhou Cheng's shoulder, "Brother Chen trusts us; do well, don't slip up."

Zhou Cheng forced a smile, his mouth twitched, but ultimately said nothing.

At 3 p. m., a waiter indeed delivered a gilt-edged invitation, signed by Xie Chang, inviting Jin Chen to a private meeting room on the ship's sixth floor to attend the Yucheng businessmen's afternoon tea meeting, saying there were a few cooperation items to discuss in person, hoping President Jin would honor it. It also specially noted that, due to important commercial secrets involved, he must come alone.

Jin Chen looked it over, expressionlessly folded the invitation twice, and slipped it into his suit's inner pocket.

Operation commenced.

Jin Chen walked alone toward the elevator; the elevator's ascent numbers ticked, and just before reaching the sixth floor, the cell signal dropped to zero.

The signal on this floor was completely blocked.

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open.

Outside, at least thirty burly bodyguards, their dark muzzles aimed at Jin Chen as he stepped out of the elevator; killing intent filled the air.

The lead bodyguard stepped forward, voice cold and hard, "President Jin, please. Master Fifth Xie and Mr. Peng are waiting in the meeting room."

Jin Chen slowly lifted his eyelids; the whites beneath his pupils stood out starkly in the dim hallway, making him look fierce and cold. As he passed, those bodyguards instinctively shrank back half a step.

Jin Chen walked to the meeting room door and pushed it open.

Xie Chang and Peng Wenqiang were already seated inside, apparently waiting a long time; the bodyguards behind them were fully armed, and as Jin Chen entered, the gun barrels followed his movement.

Jin Chen chose the chair opposite Xie Chang, sat down, leaned back against the chair, clasped his hands over his abdomen, composed yet icy and restless.

He raised his eyes; the three-white pupils met Xie Chang's eyes, which resembled a smiling tiger.

"Master Fifth Xie, nice scheme."

Xie Chang's smile widened, he leaned forward to look at Jin Chen, and said slowly, "President Jin, you flatter me."

"Compared to President Jin's thunderous methods these years, this old man of mine is merely playing petty tricks."

"Old Ninth back then had a lucky life, didn't die in Yucheng. But it's fine; the good adopted son he raised, dying here in his stead, also counts as fulfillment, don't you agree?"

Jin Chen's face showed no change, only his gaze grew colder.

Xie Chang seemed to enjoy this cat-and-mouse feeling of controlling everything, his tone laced with bait-like malice: "President Jin, why don't you guess who leaked your plan?"

——

Meanwhile, on the west deck of the cruise ship's fourth floor,

The sea wind was strong; a few gulls circled over the distant water.

Si Qianzhun wore sunglasses, reclining on a beach chair, appearing to enjoy a rare moment of leisure.

Beside him, four plainclothes bodyguards stood about three to four meters away, guarding in a triangular formation.

Pete, in a janitor's uniform, pushed a cleaning cart, slowly wiping the railings not far off, his peripheral vision always keeping an eye on this side.

Not long after, Chenshu, in a server's uniform, lowered his head and walked toward Si Qianzhun, holding a silver tray with two glasses of champagne, the liquid swaying slightly, reflecting sunlight.

He held the tray, stepping closer step by step.

When he was about five meters from Si Qianzhun, Pete on the other side accidentally knocked over a decorative ceramic flowerpot.

The two bodyguards behind Si Qianzhun simultaneously turned their heads toward the sound, slightly shifted their bodies into a defensive stance; one even gripped the handle of his waist gun, cautiously resting his hand on it.

Chenshu quickened his pace, the hand beneath the tray gripping the silenced pistol Jin Chen had given him.

Si Qianzhun, lying on the beach chair, raised his glass toward him, "You're here to kill me, aren't you?"

Chenshu's heart sank; he stopped, standing before Si Qianzhun.

Si Qianzhun slowly rose from the chair, gestured for the distant bodyguards not to come over; they hesitated, but remained in place, eyes fixed on this spot.

Si Qianzhun removed his sunglasses, sized up Chenshu from head to toe.

"I've waited all day for you; you think I don't know your bald friend has been staring at me in the bar for so long?"

Chenshu narrowed his eyes, dropped the pretense, his hunched spine straightened; he seemed transformed from an inconspicuous server back into the hunter who had survived blood and fire, his voice turning cold: "Someone leaked information to you."

Si Qianzhun's answer was completely beyond his expectation.

"Chu Yi."

Chenshu's pupils suddenly contracted.

Si Qian was very pleased to see that fleeting shock in Chenshu's eyes.

"Your head isn't worth much money."

"At least, for me it's not as valuable as another deal." He looked at Chenshu, his eyes holding a merchant's calculation and temptation, "I'll give you an opportunity—you cooperate with me."

Chenshu's pistol was taken off by Si Qian's bodyguard; he tilted his head to glance, then was searched again until confirmed unarmed, after which the bodyguard released him.

He coldly stared at Si Qian, "What do you want to say?"

"You want to kill me because of your family's grudge. I admit that back then I was involved in that matter." Si Qian readily admitted it, but then shifted tone, "But your grandmother's death, and the rest of your family, wasn't solely my doing."

Putting it that way, Si Qian didn't realize the others were already nearly all dead.

The identity information he previously wanted to exchange for port data belonged to Si Qian; it seems Si Qian isn't one of them either.

Seeing this, Chenshu cooperated, his face slightly changing color.

"But if you help me do one thing—just one simple thing—once it's done, I can tell you the names, identities, and current whereabouts of the other participants back then. How about it? This deal would be far more profitable than simply killing me."

"Fine…… what do you want me to do?"

Si Qian's face broke into a satisfied smile, as if everything were under his control.

Simple—wait until tonight, when Chu Yi makes a move on the internal network, creating chaos, you take Jin Chen's……

His words cut off abruptly.

Chenshu flicked out the blade hidden under his tongue, viciously stabbing it into Si Qian's throat.

Sss—

That was the sound of a sharp blade slicing flesh and windpipe, chilling to the bone.

Si Qian raised his hand to cover his throat, but lost strength midway; his fingers twitched a few times before limp drooping.

"I don't deal with the dead." Chenshu leaned into Si Qian's ear and gave a scornful hiss.

"Boss!!" The two bodyguards finally reacted, simultaneously drawing their guns!

Chenshu lunged forward, swiftly dodging the first volley of bullets, then grabbed Si Qian's corpse and used it as a shield.

Several bullets all struck Si Qian's corpse.

At the same time, Pete, who had been ready, darted out from behind the two bodyguards, his short bolt with barbs and wire striking the bodyguard's calf.

Pete fiercely pressed the switch in his hand!

A powerful current surged into the bodyguard, his body convulsing violently, unable even to cry out, he toppled straight back into the adjacent infinity pool.

The other bodyguard, seeing this, turned his gun to shoot at Pete!

Chenshu tossed aside Si Qian's corpse, flung the blade from his hand, slashing across the bodyguard's gun-wielding wrist.

"Ah!" the bodyguard screamed, his pistol flying from his grip.

Taking advantage, Chenshu elbowed the man's temple, then kicked him into the pool, sending water spraying high, glittering in the sunlight.

The bodyguard flailed in the water, trying to climb out, but Pete had already produced his prepared device, tossing one end of the wired connector into the water. Blue arcs exploded on the surface, crackling.

"Clean up the scene, withdraw according to plan."

"Understood!" Pete nodded.

Chenshu lingered no longer, immediately leaving; Chu Yi's betrayal made his uneasy premonition grow heavier.

He quickly stripped off the blood‑stained waiter's jacket, balled it up and stuffed it into the nearby trash can, lowered his cap brim, and hurried toward the interior stairs on the fourth floor leading up to the upper deck.

However, just as he reached the stairwell turn, his peripheral vision caught something on a lower deck three levels down.

He saw Zhou Cheng leading several individuals clearly dressed as Xie family bodyguards, guns pointed at Chen Gai; Yan Rui was also wounded, his arms bound behind his back, being escorted toward a secluded cargo hold.

What the hell—didn't Jin Chen know Zhou Cheng was a traitor? How did he still let him pull this off!