Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Gu Nianzhi’s waterborne abilities had been honed with the Special Forces guys. Therefore, if it was merely swimming, Yin Shixiong wouldn’t have to worry about Gu Nianzhi at all no matter how strong the waves were. However, there were not merely waves in the ocean. There was the possibility that those people who just jumped off the ship might be lurking around, intending to bring harm to them.
Yin Shixiong rushed to the bow of the ship and waved his arms frantically, but he did not dare to call her name out loud. He did not want people to know that she was in the water lest it attract more trouble. He only let out a long howl to vent his anger and frustration.
It was already noon. The sun blazed onto the sea, causing it to appear an even brighter shade of blue. Gu Nianzhi swam in the direction of the Blue Hole with all her might. The day was clear and the water blue, but she was not in any mood to admire the scenery. Her face was hot from the glare of the sun. Thankfully, she had her diving goggles on to protect her eyes.
She did not dare to dive underwater, as she did not have a compass with her. She’d lose her sense of direction if she dove under without a compass. She had to keep a lookout for potential snipers when she swam on the surface of the water as well, in case the ones who had just abandoned their ship were still lurking around. If they still wanted her dead and were hiding somewhere near, they could kill her anytime.
It was fine if she died, but no one would be there to save Huo Shaoheng if she did. And Huo Shaoheng wasn’t just important to her; he was important to the entire Hua Xia Empire as well. Once she thought of this, she felt an immense sense of responsibility, and a sense of bravery came over her. Even so, she did not swim blindly. She utilized all her skills learned from her swimming lessons. She tried her best to get to the Blue Hole as quickly as possible, using the least amount of energy.
…
Gu Yanran was standing on the bow of her black ship, looking at the waves ahead and the journey toward the Blue Hole. The middle-aged lady walked up to her from behind and asked her one final time, “Yanran, you really have to go to the Blue Hole to save Huo Shaoheng?”
“Yes. I can’t just let him go to that dangerous place without doing anything,” Gu Yanran replied without even turning to look at her. She was looking fixedly at the Blue Hole nearby. The water there was a deeper shade of blue compared to the water around it. It was so blue that it was slightly overwhelming.
“He doesn’t even love you. Why do you still want to save him?” The middle-aged lady looked at Gu Yanran curiously. “Even if you save him, could you bear to see him together with another girl?”
Gu Yanran lowered her head and kept quiet. After a while, she said sadly, “If that’s the case, I can’t do anything, right? But if I save him, he’ll definitely remember it…”
“Haha, I didn’t expect Yanran to be such a loyal girl. Couldn’t tell that about you in the past.” The middle-aged lady nodded. “Okay then, since we are unable to be on the same page, give me a small boat and let me go off from here.”
“You want to leave?” Gu Yanran finally turned to look at her. She was calm. “Why do you always dress up like that? Moreover, we’re at sea. You’re sure you’ll only need a small boat?” Without water or food, the moment the wind blew, the boat would definitely disappear into the sea.
It was akin to suicide.
The middle-aged lady sniggered. Shaking her hand at Gu Yanran, she said lazily, “You don’t have to worry about how I dress myself. However, the person you’re going to save is the person who has been trying really hard to arrest me. Should I be sitting here, waiting for my death?”
“But it’ll be dangerous if you get off here, too. There’s a possibility of death.” Gu Yanran walked to the middle-aged woman and looked at her closely. “I have no idea about the feud between the two of you, but can’t you make peace with him for my sake?”
“Haha, you sure you want us to make peace?” A strange smile crept up the middle-aged woman’s face. “I shan’t elaborate further. Just give me a jet ski and let me leave. Otherwise, it’ll be too late. He’ll have seen you together with me and will misunderstand again.”
Gu Yanran sighed. “Looks like you’re not going to let it go. Why? Must you?”
“Stop commenting like you really know the whole story. You don’t. You’re not in my shoes. If you were, I don’t believe you’d still be all calm and being such a saint.” The middle-aged woman sniggered again and shook her head. “Just give me a boat. I still have two loyal subordinates. They’ll protect me. We won’t have problems getting back to shore.”
Seeing that she wasn’t able to talk her out of it, she knew that she had done her part as a friend. Nodding, she agreed. “Okay then, I’ll give you a safety boat with some food and water. Ration them. If everything goes well, you’ll be back on land in half a day.”
“It’s just half a day, why are you so wishy washy?!” The middle-aged woman was getting impatient. She turned around before she left and said, “I’m leaving. I’ll really be going this time around. There won’t be any reason for us to meet in the future, either.” She paused, turned around again, and smiled strangely at Gu Yanran. “However, are you sure you’ll be able to enter the Blue Hole to save him? I’ve already turned on your father’s electric fence…”
“What?!” Gu Yanran was in shock. She walked faster in an attempt to grab the middle-aged woman. “How did you do it?! How did you know about the electric fence?! Who told you?!”
The middle-aged woman laughed like she had just heard the funniest joke in the whole world. Holding onto her chest, she laughed, rocking back and forth. Eventually, she laughed until she cried. Wiping away the tears that came out from the corners of her eyes, she giggled. “…How did I know? Who told me? Good question, but I don’t know, either! Hahahahaha…” The middle-aged woman continued laughing as she jumped off the ship into one of the lifeboats the ship put down.
Her subordinates followed suit. The lifeboat swayed a couple of times. The middle-aged woman steadied herself and started the lifeboat. Gu Yanran watched them go from the bow of her ship.
Almost immediately after the three of them left, Gu Yanran’s ship arrived at the waters near the Blue Hole. The brilliant blue water in front of them was almost blinding to their eyes. After looking at the Blue Hole for a while, it would make one feel like other things were white in color…
Gu Yanran raised her hand, and the caretaker immediately put a pair of shades into it. Putting the shades on, she looked ahead at the Blue Hole and was relieved that it was clearer to the eyes. She mumbled, “How did the electric fence start? It had been so many years, shouldn’t it already have run out of power?”
She felt extremely uneasy and paced around the bow with folded arms. She eventually decided to not trust the middle-aged woman’s words and issued a command to her caretaker. “Get someone to take the lifeboat to the Blue Hole to save people.”
“Who do we save, Miss?” The caretaker asked, clueless. “Do you have a picture?”
Gu Yanran laughed at the caretaker’s questions. “There wouldn’t be any living organisms in the Blue Hole usually. Why would you need pictures? Just save whoever’s there.”
“Yes, Miss Gu!” Even though the caretaker found Gu Yanran’s words extremely weird, she was still the employer, and she paid them. Therefore, he would listen to her commands by hook or by crook.
The caretaker’s actions were swift. In only a couple of minutes, he managed to get two muscular, well-built swimmers into the lifeboat before heading to the Blue Hole.
Gu Yanran and her black ship remained about ten meters away from the Blue Hole. Whatever was going on there, they could see clearly with their eyes, not to mention, Gu Yanran had a pair of highly functional binoculars with her.
Looking through the binoculars, she saw Huo Shaoheng’s head bobbing up and down in the water around the Blue Hole. Seeing his handsome features, strong shoulders, and swimming strokes so perfect that he could appear in any instructional swimming books, he looked relaxed, like he wasn’t afraid of any danger at all. Swimming around in this blue world, it felt like this was his territory, and he was the king!
…
Gu Nianzhi was finally nearing the Blue Hole. However, a black ship cruised toward her even before she swam over. It was going toward the Blue Hole as well. The ship created a big wave that swept Gu Nianzhi under. Gu Nianzhi only managed to surface after quite an effort. That wave also blocked the view of Gu Nianzhi from the people in the ship.
Be it Gu Yanran or the middle-aged woman and her two companions who had just left the ship, they did not notice a slim figure floating toward the waters of the Blue Hole.
Gu Nianzhi surfaced and missed seeing the trio who had just left on the lifeboat. Shaking her head to get rid of excess water, she looked around and determined her direction before following the black ship. She still did not know who was on board the black ship, but due to meeting those bandits from the white ship, Gu Nianzhi was still cautious of the people on this ship. Carefully hiding herself in the ship’s blind spots, she avoided being seen by anyone from the black ship.
…
“Miss Gu, it’s the waters of the Blue Hole. Right ahead.” The caretaker stood beside Gu Yanran and looked at the two swimmers going down to the lifeboat from the ship.
Gu Nianzhi had already managed to make her way to one of the reefs near the Blue Hole. Her dark gray diving suit camouflaged her perfectly with the reefs around her. She stayed there quietly, observing her surroundings. The waters around the Blue Hole weren’t flat. The area had weird stones stacked around it. Therefore, ships would not be able to make their way there. However, lifeboats would have no problem.
Gu Nianzhi opened her eyes wide and looked at the lifeboat moving toward the Blue Hole. Three meters, two meters, one meter… It was in!
Pssst!
Just when the lifeboat was about to enter the area around the Blue Hole, a purple electrical current jolted the bottom of the boat. However, this time around, the current was way stronger than compared to before. It was almost like a bolt of lighting. The lifeboat became a black mass, and the two people on board died instantly.
Gu Nianzhi was in shock. The purple current hadn’t been so strong just previously! It hadn’t even been half an hour? How did it become so strong?
Gu Yanran was in shock as well. She did not expect that the electric fence that her father left behind could not be controlled anymore…
