Chapter 175: One-Hit Kill

Star Leap's captain, Jiang Junxi, stood at the very front of the deck, looking down at the passengers seated on it.

Gripping his weapon, Jiang Junxi was a far cry from his usual kindly neighborhood-uncle demeanor; the eyes that normally narrowed in a gentle smile were now fully open, filled with a fierce glint, like a wild beast sizing up its prey.

Wherever his gaze swept, passengers lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes; the high school students who were spotted even trembled in fright.

Jiang Junxi said in a cold, hard voice:

"You should all have some idea of the situation Star Leap has run into. We haven't escaped the cage on the sea — we've simply traded a small cage for a larger one."

"We have to take measures and save ourselves in time, or we'll vanish in these waters just like the two ghost ships we've seen."

Panic showed on every passenger's face. Although they had already sensed something, they still clung to a sliver of hope — what if they could escape?

Now that the captain himself had said it, that they were trapped in these waters, the last flicker of hope in the passengers' hearts was thoroughly snuffed out.

In times of crisis, the weak always flock to the strong, hoping to follow behind a powerful leader and be guided out of danger.

Faced with danger, the weak fear the absence of someone stepping up to take responsibility more than they fear being dominated and oppressed by the strong.

A nice guy can't solve the crisis at hand; to get through this, they need a more aggressive, sufficiently powerful leader.

Thinking this, the look in people's eyes began to change — their gaze toward Jiang Junxi shifted from fear to warmth.

Jiang Junxi sensed the change in the crowd. A smile tugged at his lips. For things to have reached this point, eighty percent of the job was done.

He said coldly, "As captain of Star Leap, and as the person in charge of this voyage, it is both my responsibility and my duty to lead everyone safely back to land. For the sake of everyone's safety, individual interests and freedoms must be compromised!"

"From this moment on, Star Leap is under martial control. I don't care if you're a student or an old person, a man or a woman, what religion you follow, or how noble your status is out there — you must all submit to the management of myself and First Mate Li Yuanzhi, and obey our orders."

At this point, Jiang Junxi raised his head and looked toward the Xinyuzhou Sect believers on the fourth deck, and the VIPs in the fifth-deck reception room.

He said loudly, "I'll only say this once. No matter how much you don't understand or don't want to follow our orders, I don't want to hear a single voice of dissent. From this moment on, only one voice is allowed on this ship!"

"And that is the voice of Jiang Junxi!"

After saying this, he looked at the passengers before him. A few plants pre-planted in the crowd began to clap, and the passengers instinctively followed suit. Some were reluctant, but everyone around them was clapping and casting strange looks their way, so those who didn't clap could only grit their teeth and join in.

Park Changmin gave the believers a look, and the believers on the fourth deck also began to clap.

The VIPs on the fifth deck didn't want to acknowledge Jiang Junxi's words, but they were now in unknown waters, with over ninety percent of the people on the ship on his side. He had both manpower and weapons — resistance was not the smart move.

And so, the VIPs on the fifth deck also began to clap.

Clapping meant endorsing Jiang Junxi's status as leader — or rather, dictator.

Clang, clang, clang.

Just as the applause grew louder and louder, and the passengers' palms were nearly red from clapping, the sound of an iron bar striking a metal railing came from above them.

They looked up to see Wu Chang, wearing a bathrobe with a cigar in his mouth, standing on the balcony of the seventh-floor suite, tapping the railing with a baseball bat.

Seeing that he had drawn everyone's attention, he set down the bat and waved at Jiang Junxi as if beckoning a subordinate, saying:

"Come up here for a moment. You too, Puzhu Sect."

Jiang Junxi had just sworn in front of the passengers that this ship would have only one voice, and was immediately ordered around by Wu Chang like that — it was a slap in his face.

His short temper flared up on the spot. If he didn't deal with Wu Chang, how could he command respect in the future?

But just as he was about to speak, First Mate Li Yuanzhi beside him grabbed his arm and gave a slight shake of his head.

Li Zaishi was no ordinary rich second-generation heir — he was a top tycoon of Gao Mu Nation, with vast interests behind him. Especially his Star Heaven Group, which was the biggest financial backer of the Xinyuzhou Sect.

Unless absolutely necessary, or unless Park Changmin gave the word, he couldn't be touched.

Jiang Junxi clenched his fists, his face darkening. He gave a cold snort and headed up the stairs, with Li Yuanzhi following close behind.

Jiang Junxi had made up his mind — even with Park Changmin protecting him, he had to take this Li Zaishi down a peg. Star Leap was his ship; he had to make this tycoon know who was boss.

The two arrived at the seventh-floor balcony. At the round table where coffee was being served, Negotiation Master and Great White Shark were currently dressed in maid outfits, playing servers and pouring coffee for the group.

Life is hard; players sell their skills.

Though they were reluctant, they worried their boss Wu Chang might be in danger, so they could only hold their noses and take the job.

"Your coffee. Please enjoy."

Jiang Junxi looked up at Negotiation Master. Facing a maid who was more than a head taller than him and had a more imposing build, some of the momentum he had built up instantly drained away.

"Thank you."

Jiang Junxi took a sip of coffee to ease his embarrassment, then glanced up at Park Changmin with a questioning look.

Park Changmin returned an innocent look, indicating this wasn't something he had arranged — he was just as bewildered.

Wu Chang picked up his coffee, took a leisurely sip, and said slowly:

"The reason I've called you all up here is that I have something I'd like your cooperation on."

Park Changmin kept his smile in place. As long as Wu Chang hadn't done anything excessive, he wasn't planning to be the first to tear off the veneer.

But Jiang Junxi's expression shifted slightly — he sensed that Wu Chang had come with ill intent.

What angered him even more was that Wu Chang's gaze had been on Park Changmin the entire time, not giving him the slightest attention, as if he, the captain, the current leader of Star Leap, were air.

Wu Chang continued, "First, allow me to apologize. If nothing unexpected has happened, everyone on this ship should have been dragged into this because of me."

The moment this explosive opening line came out, Park Changmin and Jiang Junxi both froze. As the designers and executors of the plan, they very much wanted to say, "How come we didn't know about this?"

Wu Chang went on taking the blame upon himself, saying in a tone that suggested he had seen through everything:

"It's perfectly normal that you can't sense it. This trip of mine has been accompanied by coincidences from the very start, with a strong feeling of being set up. Those assassins first sabotaged my ship, lured me onto this one, and then, through covert tampering, brought Star Leap to these waters."

"It's obvious they're after me."

Park Changmin, Jiang Junxi:?

Park Changmin was struggling to hold it together. He suppressed the urge to expose the plan and correct Wu Chang, and said in a low voice:

"Could this just be an accident? Or perhaps the target isn't Director Li, but everyone on the ship?"

Wu Chang shook his head. "This is absolutely not an accident. I can smell the stench of conspiracy. Every time someone tries to assassinate me, I can smell it in advance. As for who the conspiracy targets…"

Wu Chang showed a confident smile. "This conspiracy involves a large cruise ship and over a thousand passengers. On this ship, only I am valuable enough for the other side to pay such a price. Even Li Yubin wouldn't do."

Now Park Changmin and Jiang Junxi understood — Wu Chang was a narcissist with severe persecution complex.

Normal people can't communicate with the mentally ill, so the two decided to go along with Wu Chang for now and see what he was really after.

Park Changmin asked cautiously, "Then what are your plans, President Li?"

Wu Chang set down his coffee cup, stood up from his seat, paced behind Park Changmin, placed both hands on the back of Park Changmin's chair, and said softly:

"I have two traits. One, I don't hold grudges. Two, I value safety and quality. Holding grudges wastes too much energy. Anyone who wants to make a move on me, I'll dig them out before we disembark and let them stay in the sea forever."

Saying this, Wu Chang glanced at Kang Junseok, intentional or otherwise, making Kang Junseok instantly tense up.

"Valuing safety and quality means I will never entrust my safety to anyone other than myself."

Kang Junseok caught Wu Chang's meaning. It was obvious—this was a power grab.

But who was he, Kang Junseok? Forget Li Zaishi—even Park Changmin shouldn't dream of taking his ship from him.

He hardened his tone and said, "We're all professional crew. Every year we spend far more time at sea than on land. We're professionals. President Li, you should trust us."

Pfft.

Wu Chang laughed out loud, as if he had just noticed Kang Junseok sitting there, and said with contempt:

"What I'm talking about now isn't a navigation issue—it's my safety issue. You're just someone who drives a boat. What reason do I have to trust you?"

"I..." Kang Junseok was getting angry. This second-generation rich kid in front of him was so stupid it made him physically ill. Did this idiot not know they were out on the open sea, and that he, Kang Junseok, had just seized control of this ship?

If not for Li Yuanzhi holding him back, and Park Changmin sitting beside him, he would have had someone take Wu Chang out long ago.

Since Wu Chang was so blind, he wasn't going to keep pretending either.

He already looked down on parasites of society like Li Zaishi and had no habit of licking the boots of these chaebol. Park Changmin beside him was acting as if it had nothing to do with him. If he blindly went along with Li Zaishi's little game and the plan went off, he'd be the one left holding the bag.

"President Li, let me be blunt. I'm the only captain here. I'm not some boat driver—I'm the person in charge of this ship. Everyone, including you, needs to follow my orders. If you have any objections, you can get off the ship and file a complaint against me."

Wu Chang pursed his lips, circled from behind Park Changmin to his side, and asked, "Bishop Park, what do you think?"

Park Changmin gave a dry laugh. "I'm just a devout believer. I believe everything is the Lord's arrangement. I won't interfere with fate in any way."

Wu Chang left Park Changmin's side, returned to his own seat, and sighed.

His left hand rested on the coffee table, tapping the surface rhythmically. The few people present unconsciously looked at the fingers tapping the table.

"In that case..."

The next moment, his right hand gripping the baseball bat swung out from beneath the table. The bat, trailing flickering electric light, moved as fast as lightning and struck Kang Junseok squarely on the temple. Kang Junseok's head burst open on the spot like a watermelon, red juice splattering everywhere.

The seemingly casual strike was actually not simple at all.

First, this strike was imbued with a large amount of lightning spiritual power. After the Thunder Art Remnant Scroll was upgraded to B and he fully mastered the cultivation method, he could freely use the energy within his body. Half of the energy inside him was channeled into the bat. Infusing half his energy was merely the upper limit the bat could withstand, not his own limit.

Second, it activated his Sea Serpent Transformation.

After the Sea Serpent Transformation boosted his energy attribute by 50%, his energy attribute reached 124!

124 points of lightning spiritual power converted from energy, combined with his 56 Strength and 50 Agility—anyone who took that hit would be seeing stars.

Besides that, while he was drawing their attention with his fingers, he also activated the charge-up of Iaido.

"Skill Name: Iaido"

"Skill Level: B"

"Skill Description: Accumulate energy to enhance the next attack. Effect can stack with other skills. Enhancement depends on charge time. Charge cap is three seconds; maximum damage multiplier is three times."

"Note: A true master strikes to subdue the enemy in an instant—one hit, one kill!"

While pretending to hesitate, he charged Iaido to its three-second cap.

!

Last of all, Kang Junseok never expected that the dignified head of the Xingtian Group would be so uncouth, killing someone the moment words failed.

With intent against an unsuspecting target, this strike achieved what the Iaido note described—one hit, one kill!

Staring at Kang Junseok's head suddenly bursting open, everyone on the ship was dumbfounded.

Park Changmin was shocked by Wu Chang's ruthlessness and disregard for rules. For the historically impoverished people of Gao Mu, they had never heard of anything called a Hongmen Banquet.

Even if he had heard of it, he would never have imagined that the richest and most powerful young man in Gao Mu would set up a Hongmen Banquet for a stinking boat driver, and do the deed himself no less. Did he still want any dignity befitting the upper class?

The Negotiation Master and the Great White Shark, meanwhile, were shocked by Wu Chang's hidden depths.

They had originally assumed they were placed here, pretending to be maids and waiters, waiting for Wu Chang to smash his cup as the signal to swarm Kang Junseok together.

They never expected the boss didn't need either of them—he handled the matter himself, and did it cleanly and decisively.

That strike just now—even though it didn't land on them, just watching from a distance gave them a suffocating feeling.

That strike was full of power, devastatingly strong, launched covertly, with no killing intent whatsoever. As players, they couldn't help imagining what they would do if they were the ones attacked.

The answer was obvious—their fate wouldn't be much better than Kang Junseok's.

The ability to one-shot a player wasn't the most terrifying part. The most terrifying part was that Wu Chang showed no hostility or killing intent before acting.

This meant either he had such fine control over his own aura that he could block others' perception, or killing was as simple to him as eating or drinking—like a person casually swatting a flying insect without any ripple in their heart.

The Negotiation Master thought about how her Judgment couldn't lock onto Wu Chang, and considered an even more terrifying possibility: that Wu Chang possessed both qualities at once.

Could their boss actually be a boss?

Having smashed Kang Junseok's head open with one strike, Wu Chang swung the bat to shake off the blood, sat back down in his seat, and said helplessly:

"Who drinks coffee without wearing a helmet?"

Park Changmin stared at the bat in Wu Chang's hand, swallowed hard, and said in a dry voice:

"President Li, what are you doing?"

Wu Chang glanced with disgust at Kang Junseok's headless corpse and said matter-of-factly:

"Bishop Park, you heard it too. I politely discussed with him, letting me manage this ship, and the boat driver could keep driving his boat. But he refused and insisted that I listen to him."

"I manage the Xingtian Group and the Xingcai Gang. What right does some boat driver have to demand I listen to him, unless he harbors ill intentions?"

This question stumped Park Changmin. Wu Chang's words did seem to have some logic. Whether by status or by ability and seniority, Kang Junseok was in no way comparable to Li Zaishi. If it was truly for the good of the passengers on board, why insist that Li Zaishi listen to him?

That's not right!

Park Changmin furrowed his brow. He had been led around by Wu Chang and was now, like Wu Chang, searching for the culprit under the premise of "there are always traitors who want to harm me."

If the incident currently befalling the Star Leap is viewed as an ordinary maritime disaster, then Kang Junseok's behavior was merely that of a stubborn captain—not enough to warrant death.

"But…"

Wu Chang smiled and cut off Park Changmin's words. "There's no 'but.' I told you before — anyone who threatens my safety, I won't let a single one go. I gave him his chance just now."

Park Changmin's voice was a little dry. Like a rusted robot, he stiffly turned his head to look at the first mate, Li Yuanzhi.

"Director Li, then he…"

Wu Chang smiled faintly and said lightly, "He has to die too."

Li Yuanzhi hadn't expected Wu Chang to be so absolute. He hadn't said a word the whole time, and had even held Jiang Junxi back several times — and the result was still death.

He kicked over the round table, spun around, and bolted toward the railing, trying to jump down to the third deck to use the passengers who had just sided with them to block Wu Chang, shouting at the same time:

"Siba! Bishop Park, save me…"

Before the words had finished, Li Yuanzhi — more than half his body already over the balcony, hanging in the air — was caught up from behind by a flying baseball bat. The bat struck precisely on the back of his skull, sending the loyal first mate to follow after his captain.

Li Yuanzhi's head burst open. His body froze midair. In that suspended instant, the passengers on the third and fourth decks all looked up at his shout.

The next moment, they saw the first mate who had been so high-spirited moments ago fall stiffly from the seventh deck and crash onto the third-deck deck.

Thanks to Xiang Jianxing's quick reflexes, she cleared the passengers from the landing spot in time, so no one was injured by Wu Chang's utterly conscienceless high-altitude drop.

Wu Chang, as if brushing off dust, lightly patted his palms twice. He pulled his gaze back from Li Yuanzhi, who had flown out over the balcony, turned to look at Park Changmin, and asked with a face full of puzzlement:

"Bishop Park, he seemed to be calling for you just now. Between you two…"

Park Changmin's face still hadn't cooled from Jiang Junxi's brains. Meeting Wu Chang's gaze now, he hurriedly shook his head to distance himself.

"I'm not close with them. Our only interaction was that over the past two days they wanted to join the faith and asked me to perform baptism for them."

Wu Chang nodded. "Then my managing affairs aboard the Star Leap…"

If he had known earlier that Wu Chang would act this way, Park Changmin might have found a way to stop him for the sake of the original plan.

But now Jiang Junxi and Li Yuanzhi were both dead. Dead men have no value, and no amount of regret would help. He could only say:

"Of course I have no objections. I've always admired Director Li's abilities. If there's anything useful I can do, Director Li, just say the word — our Xinyuzhou Sect will definitely cooperate!"

Wu Chang laughed especially happily upon hearing this, stood up, and patted Park Changmin on the shoulder.

"I knew I could count on you, Bishop Park. Perfect — I need all the crew down below brought under control, and we need to thoroughly investigate Jiang Junxi and the others' accomplices. The ship will be short on crew these two days, so Bishop Park, think of a way — pick a few people out from the believers, and let's get the ship moving first."

Park Changmin: "Ah?"

Wu Chang didn't bother with Park Changmin, who stood rooted to the spot. The Great White Shark could indeed sail the ship through her talent, but it wasn't yet her time to appear.

Given Park Changmin's way of doing things, now that Jiang Junxi and the others' malicious intent had been confirmed, with this batch of crew detained by him, Park Changmin wouldn't dare fish them out no matter what.

The ship sat motionless in the shipwreck belt. If this delayed the sacrificial ritual, Park Changmin and the Tranquil Church behind him would be far more anxious than he was.

Whoever's in a hurry has to find a way.

To solve the problem of sailing the ship, the Xinyuzhou Sect would inevitably have to reveal some new things. If they had no choice but to reveal their method of freely entering and exiting the shipwreck belt, that would be even better.

Watching Wu Chang head toward the third deck, the Negotiation Master and the Great White Shark, who were mopping the floor, exchanged glances.

Wait — that's it?

You solved all the problems by yourself, so what was the point of arranging for them to be here?

Could it really just be to have them change into maid outfits and actually serve as waitresses on the side?

Wu Chang went down from the seventh deck all the way to the third. He picked up the bloodstained baseball bat from the ground, and on the side saw the Four Great Vajras, Xiang Jianxing, Shadow, and the others bringing the ship's original crew under control.

A few crew members sensed something was wrong and tried to take the chance to jump into the sea and escape, but were blocked by players arranged by Li Yubin.

In just three minutes, all the Star Leap's crew were caught, tied up like zongzi, and thrown into the cargo hold, awaiting further screening and interrogation by the Great White Shark.

Her special effect of dealing extra damage to the Navy should boost interrogation too, right?

Wu Chang shook his head, suppressing his curiosity. Looking at the pale-faced passengers, he put on the air of the underground Emperor of Gao Mu Nation.

"Some of you here may have heard my name, but in person probably none of you have seen me. Let me give a brief self-introduction: I, Li Zaishi, Chairman of the Star Heaven Group, controller of the Star Color Gang."

Just as Wu Chang said, his self-introduction was brief — but those two titles alone were enough to awe the passengers on board.

"Those wastes Jiang Junxi and his group tried to use this incident to harm this ship. I've already dealt with them."

"Unlike those scum, you don't need to worry that I have designs on you — because there's nothing on you worth my scheming."

"Lastly, my principles are simple and easy to remember: maintain order and stability. As long as you don't violate the rules I set down, I won't interfere with you beyond that. But trust me — don't you dare disrupt the order and distract me. You won't want to experience what happens when you break my rules."

After Wu Chang finished speaking, the passengers broke into spontaneous applause without needing Tuo to lead them.

Wu Chang's words were harsh, but the truth was just as he said — he looked down on them, so he had no ulterior designs on them.

After finishing his speech and gaining everyone's recognition, Wu Chang successfully seized control of the Star Leap, and the faction ranking list shifted accordingly.

Oh no, I feel like I'm stuck in a strange loop — no matter what time I start writing, I always end up finishing right at 23:58–23:59.

(End of chapter)