Chapter 241: Crying at Midnight

Regimental Commander Guo broke into a cold sweat and ordered the few lackeys beside him: "Hurry and notify the soldiers in the Third and Fourth Cargo Holds to all gather in the Second Cargo Hold. By the way, call Deputy Regimental Commander Qiu over as well."

Before long, over one hundred and eighty soldiers had gathered in the Second Cargo Hold.

The soldiers who rushed in were confused, looking at each other with faces full of bewilderment and unease.

Deputy Regimental Commander Qiu squinted his eyes to survey the area, leaned in close to Regimental Commander Guo, and asked in a low voice: "Old Guo, this formation isn't right—what exactly happened?"

Regimental Commander Guo pulled him to the side, his lips almost touching the other's ear, and briefly recounted how he had encountered a monster on the deck and how the monster had eaten people.

His voice was kept very low, but the panic in his words could not be hidden.

Deputy Regimental Commander Qiu came from the underworld and had never believed in evil, trusting only that someone was playing tricks.

He frowned and pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said: "Old Guo, this sounds suspicious to me. Everything was fine, so where would a monster come from to eat people? Don't tell me someone is playing god and acting like a devil."

Regimental Commander Guo was jolted by his words, and his fear became mixed with a bit of suspicion.

He grabbed the small soldier who was huddled in the corner and still trembling, and said sternly: "You! Tell Deputy Regimental Commander Qiu everything you saw, word for word!"

The small soldier's teeth were chattering as he stammered out the terrifying experience again: "That green-eyed, long-tailed monster ate those brothers in an instant, and then, that thing disappeared..." He spoke incoherently, but the fear in his eyes could not be faked.

After hearing this, Deputy Regimental Commander Qiu's heart also skipped a beat, but he forced himself to remain calm and pressed: "Did you really see it clearly? You kid don't have night blindness, do you?"

"S-Sir! It's the absolute truth! Four living people, right before my eyes... gone! If I said half a word of a lie, may I be struck by lightning!"

Seeing him like this, Deputy Regimental Commander Qiu had no choice but to believe him seventy or eighty percent.

He turned to Regimental Commander Guo, his expression turning grave: "Old Guo, I think you were right to gather the brothers together. We cannot lose our footing right now. Anyway, the monster won't come out during the day, so let's continue the interrogation! The captain, the first mate, those old crew members—don't let a single one go. They've been on this ship the longest and know the details best; I don't believe they know nothing!"

He paused, then added specifically: "Especially that Zhao Ying—she is the shipowner, and she knows the structure and secrets of this ship better than anyone. We must keep a close watch on her! I always feel that this matter has something to do with her."

Early the next morning, Regimental Commander Guo led his men to search again, turning over almost every inch of the cargo ship.

The captain, the first mate, and more than fifty crew members were repeatedly interrogated and searched, and quite a few people were whipped.

In the end, even the good-tempered captain became anxious and threatened to turn the ship around and sail back to the United States.

Although Regimental Commander Guo was furious, not a single piece of the lost cargo was found.

In the dead of night, the sound of snoring was like thunder in the ship's second cargo hold.

Regimental Commander Guo was a light sleeper; he suddenly heard footsteps in the corridor and was immediately awakened, sitting up in the darkness.

Before long, a woman's miserable crying came, the sound wailing and pleading, now high and now low, making one's hair stand on end.

Regimental Commander Guo sat up with a start and pushed Deputy Regimental Commander Qiu beside him hard: "Old Qiu, did you hear that?"

Deputy Regimental Commander Qiu rubbed his sleepy eyes, tilted his head to listen to the movement outside, and said: "That's someone mourning the dead!"

"Old Qiu, should we send someone out to take a look?" Regimental Commander Guo said.

Deputy Regimental Commander Qiu gritted his teeth: "Send a platoon! If there really is a ghost, just blast it with a Submachine Gun! First Battalion First Company First Platoon, Wang Long, take your men and go out to see what's going on!"

The order was passed down, and Wang Long, who had just been awakened, clearly stiffened, a layer of cold sweat instantly seeping out on his back.

The thirty men dawdled for a long time before picking up their Submachine Guns, opening the hatch, and rushing outside.

Wang Long had good eyes and suddenly saw a shadow flash at the corner ahead, disappearing with extreme speed.

Wang Long shouted: "Ghosts don't have shadows, so that must be a person, everyone charge!"

The group rushed forward with a roar, but the dozen or so people who reached the corner first suddenly disappeared as they turned, and the few who rushed past behind them also vanished without a trace.

The last person to run, seeing this situation, ran back desperately, shouting: "There's a ghost!"

Standing at the entrance of the cargo hold, Wang Long heard this and took off running into the cargo hold.

As soon as he entered the cargo hold, he closed the hatch.

Only five people followed him in.

The soldier who ran back was called before Regimental Commander Guo.

Regimental Commander Guo asked: "What exactly happened?"

The man trembled and said: "Sir, it's definitely a ghost. A dozen people were suddenly eaten."

The next day, the ship was already in a state of panic, and terrifying rumors began to spread: it was said that the monster in the sea would climb up at night to eat people..."

Regimental Commander Guo was completely insane.

Deputy Regimental Commander Qiu Chen looked at his dark circles and said: "Old Guo, although this monster is quite scary, we have ways to deal with it, after all, it doesn't come out during the day. We should arrest that woman Zhao Ying!"

"Why?" Regimental Commander Guo grabbed his hair in frustration.

"Before boarding the ship, I carefully looked at the file of that woman surnamed Zhao," Qiu Chen lowered his voice, "This woman is not simple. A few years ago, she was involved in a major bank robbery case. It is said that she took the money without even opening the vault door. Tell me, could there be a supernatural person under her command?"

"Old Qiu, your brain is still sharp!" Regimental Commander Guo's eyes lit up, "Let's arrest that woman!"

The weather was fine, cloudless for ten thousand miles, and a few seagulls circled the mast.

He Yuzhu, Zhao Ying, and Su Qing were standing on the deck getting some air.

Regimental Commander Guo brought ten men, fully armed, and rushed over, surrounding the three of them directly.

Zhao Ying looked at the ferocious-looking Regimental Commander Guo and mocked: "Officer Guo is in such a good mood today, are you here to enjoy the scenery too?"

Regimental Commander Guo shook a piece of paper in his hand and sneered: "Zhao Ying, female, twenty-five years old, born in the twenty-third year of the Republic, formerly employed by the Military Statistics Bureau... later suspected of stealing money deposited by Bureau Chief Wang in Citibank, so I have reason to suspect that everything on the ship was done by you. Hurry up and come back with me to be interrogated!"

"You lost things, you lost people, and now you want to find a scapegoat. Can't you people play some new tricks?" Zhao Ying said.

"Stinking woman, don't be stubborn with me, tie her up and take her away!"

A dozen soldiers swarmed up and quickly tied He Yuzhu and the others up tightly.

The three were taken to the cargo hold on the second level.

Regimental Commander Guo drove all the soldiers inside out, sat on a wooden crate himself with a grand air, and began the interrogation.

He grinned, his smile revealing a hint of ruthlessness: "Zhao Ying, if it weren't for my deputy reminding me, I would have really forgotten that you, damn it, are actually a notorious thief! Confess honestly, where did you hide those hundred boxes of gold? By the way, and those fifty-plus missing brothers, where did you take them?"

Zhao Ying spat with disdain: "Hmph, you really know how to make things up!"

"Stinking woman, you won't talk, right? Someone! Give me the whip! I want to see if your mouth is still hard after a few lashes!"

A soldier quickly handed over a horsewhip.

Regimental Commander Guo took the whip, weighed it in his hand, made a "snap-snap" sound, and threatened: "If you confess honestly and sleep with me, maybe I'll let you go."

"Pah!" Zhao Ying spat a mouthful of saliva directly onto his face.

Regimental Commander Guo wiped his face, flew into a rage, raised his whip, and was about to lash down!

Just at this moment, He Yuzhu moved! Although his hands were tied behind his back, his feet were free! He suddenly spun his body, delivered a fierce side kick, and the top of his foot landed solidly on Regimental Commander Guo's face!

"Bang!" Regimental Commander Guo was kicked directly to the ground, blood spurting from his mouth and nose.

The five guards beside him hurriedly reached for their guns.

But He Yuzhu's movements were faster; relying only on his legs, he kicked all five guards to the ground.

"Good!" Seeing this, Zhao Ying shouted in approval.

He Yuzhu exerted force with his arms, and the binding Rope snapped in response.

He glanced at Zhao Ying and asked, "How should we deal with this guy surnamed Guo?"

Zhao Ying's eyes were cold; remembering the bastard's filthy language just now, she shouted without hesitation, "Still trying to have designs on me? Kill him!"

Su Qing hurriedly said, "Wait, there are still over one hundred and forty people outside! We can't kill him!"

At this moment, they heard Deputy Regimental Commander Qiu outside ask, "Old Guo, are you alright?"